The extensive open area that accompanies the Águia de Haia Avenue presents great potential to become an urban park with reach to the entire region, given its proximity to bus and metro stations and the strong presence of ZEIS in the surrounding area. The Ponte Rasa stream, which crosses the entire area, is polluted and without proper treatment of the banks, with areas of flooding and informal occupation along its course. A significant part of the free area contiguous to the stream belongs today to Petrobrás, delimiting a protection zone for an oil pipeline, a factor that limited other occupations. Two favelas occupy the region today, the Favela Agreste de Tabaiana, which according to SEHAB guidelines will be removed entirely, and the Favela FATEC, which will have around 20% of its housing units removed.

The proximity to the headwaters of the stream and the small size of the watershed make it possible to clean the water and open interesting possibilities for the design of this future park. For the development of the proposal, we counted on the consulting services of a team specialized in urban drainage projects in São Paulo.

Starting with the rectification of the stream’s course and the construction of the pre-molded concrete bed, the stream’s margins will be limited by gabion walls, defining floodable portions of the park to avoid the recurrent flooding of the region, especially in areas currently occupied by slums. Besides this function linked to the drainage system, these lowered areas can have leisure uses. The revised sewage network of this small watershed, duly connected to the collecting main (indicated in the implementation) and the new microdrainage network guarantee clean waters in the Ponte Rasa stream. Thus, sports fields and wooded gardens (with planting of jenipapos and ingás or other species resistant to flooding), may be integrally connected to the higher areas (wooded or paved), forming an extensive linear park.

The dwellings that are today closest to the stream will be a priority in the removal action in the FATEC Slum. It was decided to remove a narrow strip of the slum that is aligned with the sidewalk of Águia de Haia Avenue: these are residences “leaning” over the busy avenue. A five-story building was built there, with a free first floor, which guarantees a distance between the favela and the road, without hiding or oppressing it. The new building will be able to house part of the population that had to be removed, about fifty families. The others will be transferred to provision areas, or, after due analysis and design of the surrounding ZEIS, transferred to neighboring areas.

Other fundamental actions to reorganize the community include the opening of a street that reaches the back of the favela, the opening of alleys that end in alleyways, the opening of small voids in the most dense and unhealthy nuclei, and the construction of a small square taking advantage of the wooded hillside. This core of the favela ceases to be a background, and gains a front to the city, to qualified public spaces, seeking at the same time to avoid a new expansion of the favela over the edge of the stream.

The proposal demonstrates flexibility indicating the possibility of, in a future scenario, removing the entire shantytown and occupying the front of the sports court as well, guaranteeing the qualification of the Hague Eagle Avenue in this entire strip, with commerce on the first floor and housing on the other floors, in an attempt to define an urbanization pattern to this important structuring axis of the region (a characteristic that is already observed in a long stretch to the south of this land).

The development of the project ensures, after analysis by the team, that the urbanization and infrastructure project of Tiquatira, as well as the projects for the 3 areas of provision meet the budget forecast defined by the tender.

ORATORY

The Ribeirão do Oratório, a tributary of the Tamanduateí River, with approximately 7 km, begins in Mauá and is on the southeast border of the municipality of São Paulo with Santo André and Mauá. Currently polluted, its banks have been largely occupied by precarious housing and some small industries that still today suffer with the river’s floods.

The extensive intervention area is located in a strip between Ribeirão do Oratório and Avenida Sapopemba, which is 80 meters above the river floodplain. There are dozens of tributaries of the Oratório here and very steep topography. The riparian forests along the streams were almost totally removed, and the horizontal occupation, by small houses or slums, characterizes the region. Several public facilities are present, such as day-care centers, primary and secondary schools, health units, the CEU Rosa da China and a recently inaugurated Cultural Workshop. Because it is located near municipal boundaries, the dynamics of the flow of services and equipment mixes daily the residents of the three cities.

The urgent need to review the form of occupation of areas with high slopes and riverbanks, combined with the creation and qualification of public spaces, guided the work.

In this proposal, the entire population residing in areas considered to be at risk should be removed to adjacent areas, in new housing, and the remaining slums will be urbanized.

The proximity to the headwaters of the streams and the reduced size of the micro-basins make it feasible to clean up the water. The riverheads should be densely forested, with the cataloging of the sewage network of households, to promote the interconnection to the existing collecting trunks in this stretch. Thus, the small streams can become linear parks with landscaping, leisure, and clean water treatment.

As these streams contribute to the flooding of the Ribeirão do Oratório, from the hydric structure of the region (perimeter that comprehends three micro-basins, Morro Grande, Santa Madalena and Mata da Juta creeks) a water retarding system was proposed. The strategy was to implant it in the three basins, contributing to control the flow before it reaches the Oratório. Composed of retardation ponds located at the crossings, the water from the stream, during periods of heavy rainfall, would be dammed until the flow is normalized, leaving through spillways.

The Ribeirão do Oratório, even with these retainers, would still be an important contributor to the waters of Tamanduateí. To control its flow a huge swimming pool was built between the avenues Luis Juliani and Antônio de França e Silva, but floods are still frequent there. In order to slow down the volume of water that flows downstream, rainwater reservoirs would be built along the river, on both sides, receiving the water coming from the neighboring settlements that would undergo simple treatments before reaching the river, such as filtering through gravel or plant species. For the development of the proposal, a team specialized in urban drainage projects in São Paulo was consulted.

The Oratório river channel would have its width increased and would be straightened to become a Linear Park and receive qualified free spaces, such as green areas and bike paths, as well as public equipment and sports courts. A 120-meter stretch of cover was proposed for the existing swimming pool, in order to connect the two sides of the river through public spaces. The existing soccer field would be the start of this platform. In the future, if the water of the creek is cleaned up, the floor level of the reservoir could be configured as a recreational area. If this condition is not possible, as the area is very large, it could be entirely covered, generating a huge leisure area. Specific equipment (three day-care centers, two EMEIS, a Telecenter and a USP Hospital), mentioned in the Regional Plan, could be located in this part of the park, next to the connection roads with Sapopemba avenue.

The similarity between the geographical conditions of this park and the Sabesp Adutora Park, located parallel to each other, with Sapopemba Avenue in the watershed, indicates the possibility of cross connections between them. Two bike path systems were imagined, one in each park (in the adutora park it already exists) connected with the transportation axis implemented in the ridge avenue.

There is an elevated monorail line planned there on the central bed, under construction by the Metro, which will connect the city center to the east zone in a 30 kilometer long axis. There are three stations close to the intervention perimeter, one of them intermodal, next to the Sapopemba\ Teotônio Villela Terminal, of SPTrans. The articulation of these stops with the transversal avenues indicates connection lines from the upper part to the lower part of the region, through existing streets.

In the axis of Avenida Oratório, parallel to the floodplain of the creek, the EMTU trolleybus system is in operation, connecting São Mateus, Santo André and São Bernardo to the Jabaquara intermunicipal terminal.

These cross streets should receive landscaping treatment with specific trees, adequate lighting, buried wiring, and standardization of public sidewalks.

The development of the plan presented here for the removal and transfer of the slum population foresees specific geological procedures for each case, due to the high slopes and possible landfills made before the occupations. With this it will be possible to evaluate if some hilltops will have to be excavated to reduce landfills, and to safely hold the new occupations.

New housing blocks were planned to house the removed families, always close to the old houses, with direct access from the street, in higher locations according to the topography, close to the new parks and equipment proposed. New streets, parallel to the Ribeirão do Oratório, were planned to establish a new front to the water course, with qualified open spaces and new crossings.

Provision Land

The starting point for the design of the provision areas was the densification and optimization of land use, always approaching the legal limit of the use coefficient.

The use of different typologies (towers, blocks, and blades) and distinct circulation systems allowed all the lots to be faced in a balanced and efficient way. Most units are independent of the use of elevators, and when this equipment is used, we seek to increase the potential of its use. This association of building typologies allows the construction of spaces with identity, reference, and quality. In this sense, the open spaces are carefully designed and the housing units are equipped with green areas, sidewalks, benches, toys, sand ponds, sports courts, and bicycle, skateboard, and skating rinks. The articulation between the street and the surrounding public spaces is one of the premises of the projects, with wide sidewalk designs and commercial areas turned to the public sidewalk.

The units are always organized around the living room, a space that crosses the plant and guarantees two sides of sunlight and cross ventilation. The use of balconies mitigates heat gain in the summer, protects the frames, and expands the small space of the units. Some units have service areas associated with the balconies, recovering the idea of a backyard. The modulation of the units seeks to facilitate industrialized construction processes, and was made to allow adaptations for units with “universal design”.

Provision Area 1 – Nicola Pietro, Campo Limpo

The complex resulted from the association of blade, block, and tower, shaping a strong identity also for each of the free spaces, shaped sometimes as a street, sometimes as a patio, sometimes as a garden. The front of the block facing Itapecerica Road, occupied on the first floor by stores, had its sidewalk widened to accommodate large trees and parking spaces. The typologies of the block (first floor plus four floors) and the blade (seven floors with access through an intermediate level) do not need elevators, which means about 60% of the residential units.

Provision Area 2 – André de Almeida, São Mateus

A huge plot of land that will hold a population of a little more than 800 families, designed from a new street that runs through the whole extension of the complex, and the opening of visuals on the hillside. The commercial front, with 12 stores, mediates with the city, and the buildings are developed over the internal street.

In this complex all units are accessible by stairs and elevators, which resulted in more vertical blocks. On the other hand, the open areas are generous and accommodate sports facilities and courts, leisure areas, and a large linear parking lot along the internal street.

Provision Area 3 – Antonio Sampaio, Tucuruvi

The complex is defined by a five-story blade and two fourteen story towers, totaling 180 units. The blade, articulated in three blocks, defines a commercial front and a widening of the sidewalk to Av. Antonio Paiva Sampaio, also drawing the corner. The use of horizontal circulation in this low-rise building optimizes the eventual installation of elevators and alternates the face of the units between the street and the internal green area of the site. The towers are implanted in the lower part of the site, and can be accessed either from the avenue (at an intermediate level) or from Rua Cristovão Dantas, which skirts the lot.