Marina Rosa

The 4,582,401m2 area within the Perimeter of Urban Intervention Agua Vermelha 2, in the East side of Sao Paulo City, was first occupied in the 80s with the formation of the Jose Martins Lisboa Slum. It currently holds 23 precarious settlements with 16,973 homes. The main challenges for the re-urbanization of this perimeter were to mitigate flood risk and to plan drainage and sewage systems while preserving watercourses and local environment and providing social and leisure spaces for the community.

The design seeks to highlight the benefits of having a river and its natural system close to home. The strategy was to create a large fluvial park which could make a transition between the protected ecosystem and the existing urban fabric. Its fundamental idea was to recover and regenerate original floodable areas along the Tiete-river, efficiently matching urban and environmental focus. Landscaping played an essential role as an instrument of pacification, creating connectivity and improving the environmental quality of a segment of the city that lacked identity. Employing a detailed study of the fluvial systems, flood control operations were also developed. Considering that the project zone is part of an Environmental Protection Macrozone, which requires a very low population density, a decision was taken to reallocate a significant number of homes to other regions.

*Awarded first prize in Urban Design and Social Housing Competition Renova SP.