Love Stairs
Laurinda Lane is a non-urbanized area that stretches from the top of Morro do Alemão to the boundary with Olaria, at the Alemão Complex — a territory under the military occupation of Pacifying Police Unit. The Lane is the only access many residents have to their houses and offers many risks. It never had infrastructure or public services; there is a thick layer of rubble above a very steep ground; rocks become slippery as unchanneled rainwater and sewage flow though them. Many houses are condemned and some have already slid down the hill, adding to the rubble. It would only take one large infrastructure construction to remedy so many risks, but as long as there it no urban planning at Laurinda (as it was planned by the Growth Acceleration Program), residents will remain there with their families, coming and going and living. The Love Stair project sought to improve the conditions to move around the terrain, a priority among so many demands. The group organized in task forces on the weekends to dig into the soil of Laurinda and find constructive solutions and safe paths amid the landslide. The construction material bought at the foot of the hill was transformed into stairs, bridge and handrail. Several techniques were used: cinder blocks; iron concrete dome; and the roman arch in a bridge that crosses the open sewer. The first stairs that was built, in front of Maria Antonia's house, was named "Love Stairs" because it was built on Lover's Day (June 12). The Lane's population was active in the task forces: children eager to stir cement and smear concrete all over themselves; the adults carried cement and made a barbecue. Besides serving for basic transit, the Love Stairs gave rise to a network of affection. A network that becomes frail when shootouts are intense, but has managed to secure some steps on the ground, where they can at least step on.
Permanências e Destruições – a project that organizes artistic actions in Rio de Janeiro, in territories that are between use and abandonment. In 2016, besides proposing temporary artistic interventions, Permanências created a multidisciplinary group aiming to think about a permanent urban intervention in Morro do Alemão. Group member: Ana Altberg, Carlos Zebulun, Cesar Jordão, Claudio Savaget, Daniela Moreira, João Paulo Quintella, Juliana Monteiro, Hugo Genes, Paula Quintas, Pedro Varella, Priscila Fiszman.
Instituto Raízes em Movimento — Our mission in the institute is to foster human, social and cultural development in the Alemão Complex and in other communities through the participation of local actors as protagonists in those processes, focusing on strengthening and expanding the social capital of those communities. Members of the Institute: Alan Brum, Bruno Coutinho, David Amen, Diogo Sulamar, Lauro Sidney Ottoni, Thiago Matiolli, Renato Oliveira, Ricardo de Moura
Through the Alternative Urbanization Project course taught by Pablo Benetti and Solange Carvalho, FAU UFRJ has been developing students' familiarization with alternative urbanization projects in housing areas for the low-income population. Group members: Annalena Brinckman, Lola Paprocki, Marco Aurélio Cunha, Pablo Benetti
Matéria Base — Working since 1998, architects Fernando Minto and Thomas Burtscher have a comprehensive and complementary portfolio. The long-standing partnership led to the creation of MATÉRIABASE, whose scope includes the development of urban and construction projects, advisory services for environmental certification processes and construction on land.
