favela pocket dictionary

S.L.U.M. LAB / issue 8 / fall 2013

FAVELA pocket DICTIONARY

the beginning of a dictionary of objects,

spaces

and notions, found in favelas complexes in

brazil

published at S.L.U.M LAB /issue 8/fall 2013/ETH D-ARCH

B R I C K [1]

A clay element created in a form and hardened in a

rectangular unit so that it can be multiplied and create

a bigger structure. In favelas the bricks create walls,

and if repeated, walls create houses. Houses, multiplied

and repeated, form street fronts and neighborhoods.

The multiplication of a small constructive unit creates a

structural pattern that spreads and formulates the favela

structure. ░

THE PATTERN:

A pattern is an original object used to make copies, or a set of

repeating objects in a decorative design and in other disciplines.

Favelas seem to be formed by a superposition of different patterns ,

with the repetition of objects, motives and layers.

PENDANT [2] Steel rods projecting from

reinforced concrete elements,

indicating the possibility of

the structure being continued.

In favelas the pendant

becomes a common image,

it is seen on the roofs of

one- or two- floor houses,

usually combined with a

temporary canopy ░. It is the result

of the continuous process of self-construction. Each

self-made house covers the immediate needs of the

people constructing it, and therefore there is the need

for flexibility and potential transformation . As a result,

the “pendants” of the concrete columns are left exposed,

waiting to receive the next floor , indicating a system

of ongoing transformation. It is a dynamic system in

continuous change and mutation.

THE TRANSFORMATION

The process of changing form and characteristics. It is related to

transition, mutation, evolution, and transfiguration. A system under

transformation is a dynamic system, receiving forces and tensions

that lead to its transition toward a new situation. Favelas constitute

a system under continuous transformation and evolution, where

multiple forces and actors influence the procedure of change.

THE UNFINISHED

An object is considered unfinished when it hasn’t yet arrived

to its final form. A situation is considered unfinished when it

hasn’t reached an end. “Unfinished” has evident characteristics

that reveal its constructional procedure and permit a range of

potential interpretations and evolutions. In favelas, the state of the

“unfinished’ is permanent, yet creating an integrated image; the

image of a pending completition.

WINDOW [3] A transparent or translucent opening in a wall that allows

the passage of light and air. A window is held by a frame,

and its porosity is defined by the material that covers it

(i.e glass, cobogo, curtain). A window needs a wall in

order to exist. Its presence declares the establishment

of communication between exterior and interior. Its

absence means an unbreakable limit.

Windows differ among civilizations, as they reveal

characteristics of cultural identity, materializing the

limit and the relation of private and public space.

In favelas, windows are particular. Embodied in the

brick walls, they maintain almost the same size and

proportions creating a motif, a pattern in favelas

images. Windows are supposed to define the limit and

the relation between public and private space. However

this is an issue under continuous negotiation in favelas.

Therefore, the “window” placed on the fragile limit of

private and public, becomes a peculiar object, a space of

continuous redefinition. Sometimes, it is not respected

and a new wall comes to block it. Other times it is

appropriated by the life of the space where it belongs, and

it becomes the frame of private moments, revealing a

hanging birdcage, fresh washed clothes, or decorations.

However, it’s not rare for its use to be questioned

and appropriated as a thin slice of interstitial space

between public

and private. In some of

these cases, it is

transformed ░

to a sitting space,

a meeting point,

a shop or a pub.

CORRUGATED CANOPY [4] Light-weight cover with characteristic wave-geometry,

made out of corrugated zink, aluminium, or copper.

Known as CGI (corrugated galvanized iron). Because of its

structure and attributes it can be used easily and quickly

for constructing a roof or a small canopy. Corrugated

metal is widespread in favelas . It forms canopies to

entrances, covers to yards between houses or open-air

rooms, covered spaces on the roofs or over exterior stairs

leading to upper floors. Spaces that are neither open nor

closed, spaces at the edges, instant and transitional. ░

INTERSTICE [5]

A gap or a space left empty between spaces full of structure

or matter. Found as interstice or interstitial space.

Favelas are very dense. The built mass, being aggressive

and conquering the void, becomes proportionally

prevailing. However, the interstices, found unexpectedly

between solid and concrete masses, allow views and

Erasmo Valeria / Markaki Metaxia / Tsikas Apostolis


At first sight a favela seems to be a strange homogeneous complex; an

ever-expanding compact mass that extends without a specific structure

or organization; a chaotic form where rules and order are difficult to be

recognized. However, looking closer at a favela, different structural elements

begin to appear. The “Favela Pocket Dictionary” is based on observations

made in the informal part of the cities of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.

It is an effort to decode the visual and the spatial language of a favela,

decomposing it to objects, spaces, and notions, that although already known

to us, in a favela context they aquire special meanings. The current article is

the beginning of a collection, to be continued through the development of

a platform for collecting and archiving favelas constitutional elements, the

http://favelapocketdictionary.tumblr.com

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THE DICTIONARY

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INSTRUCTIONS FOR READERS

This dictionary contains three different writings and therefore three

parallel readings. The BLUE terms: which are abstract terms related

to favelas. The BLACK terms: which are everyday objects found in

favelas. The SYMBOLS: which are small icons that create references

between objects and abstract terms, formulating a cross-reading of

the text. In this way, the reader can create its own path in the article

similar to the path that is traced when walking in a favela.

FAVELA pocket DICTIONARY1

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frame further perspectives. The

interstices are the spaces through which

light, air, view, water and even

infrastructures penetrate in the favela

dense aggregate . And although feeble,

intimate, and fragile, they become one of

the strongest elements in favela’s streets. ░ ░

THE TRANSITIONAL AND THE TRANSITORY:

Terms describing the absence of defined spatial character and time

identity. Spaces with imprecise limits, spaces in-between private and

public, open and closed, permanent use and instant appropriation.

This kind of spaces create an ambiguous and non-precise

environment where its everyday redefinition and appropriation by

the inhabitants form its spatial characteristics.

WATER TANK [6]

A cylindrical concrete or plastic container used to

store water. It is present on almost every rooftop in the

favelas, where it is used as a support to the existing

water supply system, creating extra water pressure. It is

an element of the denuded favela infrastructural system.

Along with the evident water pipes on walls, the electric

cables running over the streets and the open sewage

systems, in favelas most infrastructural elements are

not carefully hidden, but instead they are uncovered

and revealed in the streets . As in the development of

favelas, in which first the houses were built and then the

networks arrived the development of a water system was

also reversed. The infrastructural

system has been placed last,

precariously, evident

on the facades and

in the public sphere.

STAIRS [7]A construction designed to bridge a large vertical distance

by dividing it into smaller vertical distances called steps.

Often found in favelas, stairs enable vertical movement

into the tissue, on one hand connecting the multilevel

platforms of the private houses, and on the other hand

creating a public pedestrian road network that follows

natural topography. Generally they are combined with

open-air rainwater runoff channels. The public stair

network, composed of multi-fragmented levels, by

definition excludes vehicles and offers the potential for

different ways of appropriation . The stairs in favelas

constitute almost a sculptural element. Running along the

streets, they enter the houses, climb floors, and exit again

on rooftops. It seems as if they tie together the public and

private sphere with one continuous gesture. Although

in favelas every void is conquered and squatted, the stairs

and the passages are

valuable and well respected.

In addition, they become poles

of social life where people play

cards, drink or dance. It seems

as if the space they lack in their

interiors is placed in the streets

and transformed to

a community living. ░

SELF-APPROPRIATION:

Procedure through which people occupy space, either with

activities or with built structures, extending the limits of their vital

space. Privatization is a form of appropriation including issues of

ownership. The appropriation is an underlying force and the

constructive mechanism of a favela’s built environment and

common life.

EXTRA SMALL:

Last unit of the scale XL L M S XS. Indicates the minimum dimensions

used for vital activities in favelas because of the lack of space.

HANGING LAUNDRY [8]

Colorful and multi-shape

fabrics hanging on houses

or public spaces after being

washed. Elements of very intimate use and character like

sheets and socks exit the domestic zone and become a

constructive element of the identity of a favela street.

Hanging clothes have both a theatrical and revealing

aspect. Near the bricks and the pendants they create a

fluid and colorful layer ░ indicating people’s identities

and their tendency to extend to public sphere , self-

appropriate, and construct their space according to their

needs. ░

FAVELAS_

A valuable space for a collector of objects, terms, and meanings. A

complex system with ambiguous and contradicting inner structure

that could not easily be determined and listed in a pocket dictionary.

However, a dictionary could be the start of a map to enter through

a favela’s interstices and explore this aggregate of forms, situations

and conditions. [d]


the beginning of a platform for collecting and archiving objects /

terms / meanings in complex aggregates as favelas

REFERENCES

1. Christopher Alexander, Sara Ishikawa, Murray Silverstein, A Pattern

Language, Towns, Buildings, Construction. , N.Y, Oxford Press, 1977

2. Anne Mikoleit, Moritz Purckhauer, Urban Code, 100 lesson for

Understanding the City, Cambridge, MIT press, 2011

3. Z.Baladrian-V.Havranek, Atlas of Transformation, Prague, Tranzit, 2000

*pictures from the personal archive of the authors

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an open platform for collecting and archiving objects, meanings and notions

related to complex aggregates as favelas