The housing problem in big cities is not something new. Whether in developed or developing countries, both present challenges that need reflection.

Knowing that, currently, more than half of the world's population lives in urban areas and that the urbanization process has been extremely fast, we easily understand that quick solutions and adaptations of the territories that welcome these new inhabitants who are looking for better living conditions are also necessary.

The fact that urban growth happens very quickly and in an uncontrolled way, poverty, lack of social housing, limited access to land and the consequent exclusion and discrimination of the most disadvantaged, mean that they often have to resort to self-construction , illegally using free land that they find. This is how informal settlements originate, characterized by the lack of essential services and which are often located in the centers, coexisting with the formal city. In this way, we have fragmented cities where each part is defined as autonomous and without any articulation with the whole.

Luanda is an example of this phenomenon of accelerated population growth and this lack of urban articulation, with an estimated 3⁄4 of the population living in musseques - informal neighborhoods - which often cohabit with the formal city.

In this context, Bairro do Chabá stands out, a territory limited by structuring roads in the city of Luanda, which shares its borders with the formal and organized city. This neighborhood is mostly inhabited by a lower social class population, characterized by small-scale and rudimentary housing.

In this way, an articulated proposal was developed for this neighborhood between the urban pre-existence (network, streets, paths), the typologies of the existing houses and the housing culture of the African tribes.

A reinterpretation of the urban organization of African tribes was made, where a quilombo (village) is made up of several kraals (“blocks”). The latter are made up of several huts (houses), which surround a territory and where the center is intended as an area for meeting and carrying out religious activities. Thus, in conjunction with the various types of blocks, it was intended to maintain the idea of being a predominantly pedestrian neighborhood, maintaining the memory of the place and creating common public spaces for meeting, favoring community life.

For the housing proposal, a study was carried out, not only of the country's history and informal housing, but also through existing housing examples, which helped to understand the following aspects: the importance that outdoor space has for this population; the coexistence of commercial spaces and/or annexes for rent; the tradition of self-construction; and family structures. Taking these premises into account, three different typologies were designed with two, three and five bedrooms, with the capacity to adapt and grow according to the needs of the household, based on the constructive modular logic, through the use of materials and construction systems of simple application , without the need for specialized labor.

That said, with this example and reflection it is intended to demonstrate that there is the possibility of unifying the formal city with the informal city, maintaining characteristics of both and corresponding to the needs of the inhabitants of the musseques, redesigning new ways of living in informality.

More info:

https://casasparaumplanetapequeno.fa.ulisboa.pt/ENG/projects-and-thesis/10_angola_chaba.html

Image: Proposal for Bairro do Chabá in Luanda, (source: author, 2016)