Monday, February 8, 2010

Caddywhompus Architecture, In Love With Knowledge

The euphoria that my brain feels when I breathe in recent crazy amounts of knowledge, because it's so damn easy to get high these days, has been making me dizzy. With school on the horizon I cannot get enough information lately. Checking out articles, blogs, papers, and artists, I've discovered an overflowing treasure chest. ...One that is surely soiled with other grabby hands, but I still love it nonetheless.
What a unique gem I was immersed in while living in Rocinha. It's only now that I am understanding the great urban planning miracle that favelas like Rocinha really are. Traditionally built climbing up mountainsides, with winding streets and precariously placed houses, these micro-cities are surprisingly incredibly strong and resilient. Daniel, who grew up in Rocinha, told me that his house, originally built out of wood decades ago was rotting away from the flow of water that runs wherever it wants to due to their unique sewer system. When they saved up enough money they replaced one wall at a time, generally one wall per year, with cinder brick. These small changes are an illustration of time and patience in urban planning.

More to come...

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