The Arch Daily award-winning house is owned by Cdu dos Anjos, a 32-year-old artist living in a densely populated area. favela Agglomerado da Serra, located at the foot of the hill that surrounds Belo Horizonte (Minas Gerais state, southeast Brazil).
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“The design of the home is a building model that uses common favela materials, but with particular attention to lighting and ventilation, resulting in a space with excellent environmental quality,” Arch Daily describes the project on its website.
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“I am very proud that my house received this award, because the favela news often talks about violence, shootings, houses falling apart. It’s the other way around: a shack (village house) reaching the top of the world,” celebrates a young man with shaved hair under a cap and earplugs.
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She has a light and airy two-story house with horizontal casement windows and a large terrace, built on land she bought in 2017.
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“I know very well that my house is not the most luxurious in the world. But it’s a well-built country shack,” insists dos Anjos, who has lived there since 2020 with two dogs, a cat and “more than 60 plants.” .”
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“What the architects have achieved is real magic. The area is only 66 m2, but here we hosted parties with up to 200 people,” he says.
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aerial view of favela Aglomerado da Serra, home to an award-winning home in Belo Horizonte (Minas Gerais state, southeast Brazil).
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The plan was designed by the Levante team of architects, who offer their services on a voluntary basis or at low cost for projects in the favelas.
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“This house is very similar to the neighboring houses, but differs by a number of solutions that make it stronger and more respectful of the environment, especially in terms of ventilation and natural light,” explains architect Fernando Maculan, who came up with the project.
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One of the differences from the surrounding houses is the arrangement of bricks. Instead of stacking them vertically, using their large surface area to save material, they are stacked horizontally in alternating rows, giving the structure more strength and insulation.
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Detail of the windows of the house, which provide excellent lighting to the rooms.
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The entire work cost R$150,000 (US$29,000). And the investment paid off: in addition to the international fame that the award brought him, the house helped him fulfill a childhood wish.
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“When I was a child, I lived in a very precarious room with poor insulation. My sister and I were stung by a scorpion. Receiving this award after we have experienced difficulties precisely because of the problems associated with the architecture, represents a great achievement,” he concludes. Dos Anjos.
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Source: RPP
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