the Vila Amélia project, a low-income residential building located in Sertãozinho, in the interior of São Paulo (Brazil) is based on the premise of building, with minimal financial resources, maximum architectural incentives for coexistence. Developed under the Minha Casa, Minha Vida brazilian program (which offers attractive financing conditions for low-income families), the architects' challenge was to design eight apartments of approximately 70 m² - with a suite and a second bedroom with a bathroom in the hallway - while keeping the construction cost below R$1,300.00 (approximately 230 dollars) per square meter.
Like the rough and tough exterior of a precious stone, Vila Amélia protects what is most valuable inside. By closing itself off from the street, the building preserves a void in the center - a central courtyard that articulates daily life, promoting encounters and encouraging collective living. This element is central to the building's functional structure. By adopting this volumetric configuration, which defines an internal courtyard, the project breaks with conventional housing models, which often ignore interaction between residents.
To reduce costs, the building was built with a reinforced concrete structure and prefabricated slabs. Metal walkways connect the volumes, which are enclosed in Bahian brickwork. Standardized windows and doors, arranged asymmetrically, give the building its striking visual identity.
The slight slope of the roof - with fiber cement tiles on the slab - encourages natural light into the courtyard and contributes to the composition of the façade. In the apartments, the bedrooms face the lower traffic areas, while the social areas open onto the internal courtyard. Supported by landscaping, this arrangement provides residents with privacy and quality of life.
By stimulating encounters, Vila Amélia sensitively proposes a new practice of daily life, the result of the integration between the built space and the void. The courtyard, together with the building, acts as a catalyst for social dynamics.
Vila Amélia was a finalist in the Tomie Ohtake Institute's 5th Architecture Prize in 2018 and was nominated for ArchDaily Brazil's Work of the Year 2019 award, as well as competing for ArchDaily International's Building of the Year 2019.
