In this design by MACh Arquitetos + Connatural Arquitectura y Paisaje, water plays a fundamental role, serving multiple purposes in the different intervention areas, from the irrigation of crops and gardens to the improvement of soil and air quality. The proposal also explores alternative water systems and environmentally efficient solutions, such as constructed springs and filtration gardens, taking into account the local topography and landscape values.
The project responds to the values, expectations and aspirations of the community through a multidisciplinary approach involving professionals from different fields. Organised into four large, contiguous and interconnected areas, it combines the renovation of existing buildings, the creation of public spaces and the enhancement of local knowledge and materials, to foster new forms of collective and community life.
Território-parque by MACh Arquitetos + Connatural Arquitectura y Paisaje. Photograph by Leonardo Finotti.
Project description by MACh Arquitetos
The Território-Parque project emerges from the immense challenge of restoring and creating the urban, architectural and landscape conditions necessary for the Córrego do Feijão community to remain in and reconnect with the place of its origins and history. The community is located in a rural area of the Brazilian municipality of Brumadinho and was the most severely affected by the collapse of the dam of the same name in January 2019.
The name Território-Parque expresses the intention to integrate urban space with its surrounding landscape, strengthening the relationship between people and nature. The project's strategy is guided by a socio-environmental connection embedded in every proposed solution, rooted in the recognition of water as a central element of life in this territory.
Water is a constant presence, serving multiple purposes throughout the different intervention areas: irrigating crops and gardens, improving soil and air quality, providing spaces for leisure and recreation, and integrating landscape and symbolic elements.
Universal access to basic sanitation is the first step towards exploring alternative water supply systems through environmentally efficient solutions with low implementation and operating costs, such as constructed springs and filtration gardens, taking into account local topographical characteristics and landscape values.
The proposals seek to respond to the values, expectations and aspirations of the community, whose voices were heard through a series of meetings organised by Instituto Kairós, which coordinated the socio-environmental integration of the planned interventions.
The project also benefited from the contributions of a multidisciplinary team of professionals specialising in architecture, urban planning, environmental sustainability, biology, sanitation, landscape architecture, design, lighting, communication and various branches of engineering.
The project comprises four large, contiguous and interconnected areas, with construction beginning in 2021. The Central Area, submitted to the São Paulo Biennial, was handed over to the community in stages, from 2023 until its full completion in mid-2024, while the remaining areas are either in the final stages of project development or under construction.
Within the Central Area, Praça 25 de Janeiro was redesigned around the existing spontaneously grown woodland, incorporating gardens with medicinal and ornamental plant species characteristic of the region and commonly found in the gardens in front of community homes.
The Ipê-amarelo Central Market occupies an existing adobe house, restored as part of the project, and accommodates spaces for food services and the display of products managed by local residents.
The Laudelina Marcondes Culture and Crafts Centre, whose roof forms a terrace level with the square, houses facilities supporting cultural activities, workshops, a community library and the headquarters of the Community Association, becoming a natural extension of the public space.
The self-management of these spaces by residents, the recognition of local knowledge and materials, and the development of new forms of collective appropriation of space form the core of this proposal. It demonstrates how architecture, when guided by attentive listening and socio-environmental connections, can help restore the bonds between a community and its territory.
