The project is based on a careful reading of Vila Gilda (Santos, SP, Brazil), a stilt-house complex that stretches 47 km along the mangrove. To serve the entire territory, new axes of crossings and infrastructure are proposed every 1 km, where itinerant modules can dock. The site and its challenges also informed the proposed programs: a fire tower, hydroponic farm and restaurant, carpentry and metalworking workshops (to support and train local self-building), a multipurpose space, and a basic health unit. This architecture of in-between times recognizes in the ordinary a collective, continuous, and ingenious way of building and inhabiting.
The project stems from a careful investigation into the relationship between ordinary architecture and the production of informal urban space. It seeks to explore ordinariness as a means to read and propose within a sensitive territory. Vila Gilda, the largest stilt settlement in Latin America, spans 47 km along the mangrove edge and has been the subject of political and administrative movements that oscillate between extremes—either a project with a long execution timeline or the total omission of action.
The design method proposed here emerges from the proximity between ordinariness and the everyday making of favelas, viewing them as spaces of invention and resistance. Instead of operating through tabula rasa, the project seeks to address existing deficiencies—such as access to healthcare, education, employment, culture, and especially fire prevention—without romanticizing or crystallizing precariousness. It proposes building in the in-between: an architecture that offers present support but can be dismantled if permanent public policies are implemented; one that can stretch along rivers and coastal arms between the island and the surrounding areas of Santos. It is a mobile response—when it no longer makes sense in one location, it can meet the needs of another community.
The project proposes a new relationship with water, no longer seen as the community back. During site visits, it became clear that while houses are built over water, they remain oriented toward land, treating the Rio dos Bugres as a neglected space. With an eye on local needs, the existing makeshift boardwalks, built from secondhand materials, are reimagined as structures that connect land and water, extending electrical, hydraulic, and sewage infrastructure from the neighborhood edge to the water, establishing a new front and enabling the deployment of floating modules.
The project redesigns the favela’s relationship with water. Boardwalk-like alleys now connect land and sea, bringing essential infrastructure from the land’s edge to the water surface and creating a new inhabitable front. Here, floating modules address urgent local needs. Seven pedestrian axes, implemented every 1 km, are structured by ferrocement walkways in four replicable modular shapes—unit, cross, L, and T—designed for community-led construction. These elements respect the labyrinthine logic of the favela and avoid imposing a rigid orthogonal layout, while offering solutions for public lighting and collective maintenance.
At the end of each sea-bound alley, floating dumpsters are attached and towed by boat for proper waste disposal, aiming to reduce illegal dumping. On the water, piers connect these walkways to programmatic platforms: carpentry and metalworking workshops, a firefighter module, a hydroponic farm with a community restaurant, a basic health unit, and a multipurpose space. Constructed with locally familiar materials (beams, tarps, planks, etc.), these modules rest on EPS-filled ferrocement floats, use sandwich walls, and include rainwater tanks that also serve as ballast.
These devices are designed to respond to time—they offer immediate relief while remaining adaptable. By embracing reversibility, reprogramming, and itinerancy, the project proposes an in-between-time architecture—one that installs without fixing, acts without erasing, and sees in the ordinary not just an aesthetic, but a way of reading a collective, continuous, and inventive practice of building and dwelling.
The interventions proposed aim to support the daily demands of the community without displacing families or erasing construction traditions. Drawing on the formal and material repertoire of stilt houses, the project proposes ingenious solutions to pressing issues, including food insecurity, large-scale fires, limited access to healthcare, and lack of technical and professional training opportunities.
Investigating the connections between ordinary architecture and informal urban production, the project finds in ordinariness a way to interpret and design within sensitive contexts. The local repertoire of makeshift solutions and ground-anchoring techniques stands as testimony to the community’s resilience and creativity in the face of scarcity. These often improvised solutions challenge conventional architectural models by making necessity, affordability, and the use of available materials central to innovation.
More than adaptations, these practices offer a chance to rethink architectural production, breaking with alienated, scripted, and bureaucratic processes. They explore the potential of common materials—often designed for specific uses—by repurposing them creatively. Elements found in mainstream construction markets and reused discarded materials gain new meaning and function. In doing so, local construction practices challenge established norms and promote an architecture deeply attuned to context, valuing local knowledge and community resilience.
With this in mind, the project seeks to add a new layer of complexity to the cultural richness of ordinariness, proposing new dynamics that can extend beyond Vila Gilda to other underserved areas. It acknowledges the need for large-scale government actions, yet contributes to the present, existing for as long as needed. Should one day the issues of accessible housing or appropriate urban planning be addressed through permanent public policies, these structures can be dismantled or relocated.
Returning to the water relationship: the boardwalk alleys become connectors of land and sea, enabling infrastructure to reach the water’s edge and allowing the implementation of floating modules that respond to identified needs. The method involves placing seven pedestrian axes approximately every kilometer, scaled for foot traffic. Built with four replicable ferrocement walkway modules (unit, cross, L, and T), they can be assembled by the community. These paths bring infrastructure to the axes and can adapt to the favela’s labyrinthine layout without imposing rigid grids. At the end of each pier-like alley that reaches the sea, floating dumpsters are added. These can be linked and towed by boat to proper disposal sites, aiming to improve waste collection in an area with virtually no services.
Upon reaching the water, the structures fan out into piers that receive articulated walkways, connecting infrastructure decks to the proposed floating platforms. These floating structures use basic local construction materials (rafters, battens, planks, tarps) and rely on EPS-filled ferrocement floats, sandwich panel walls, and rainwater tanks that double as ballast. The floating programs are designed for adaptability and mobility—meeting current needs while remaining open to future reconfiguration and redeployment.
The modules serve the following purposes:
Firefighter Tower:
A floating fire control unit that responds to recurring fire hazards. When not in emergency use, it can host social and recreational activities and serve as a lookout tower. The 14.4-meter height, inspired by the water tower of the Pelé Housing Complex, integrates with the local skyline and offers views of the entire settlement. It includes a rainwater collection system with a tarp canopy that directs water to a central tank. This reservoir also acts as ballast and can be used to fight fires or cool the structure during hot days.
Hydroponic Farm and Restaurant:
The hydroponic farm supports local food production without soil—ideal for the dense urban context—and promotes efficient, sustainable growing. It includes seedling cultivation rooms and study areas, creating a pedagogical garden. A simple kitchen and community restaurant transform the produce into meals, making the space a hub for both nutrition and learning.
Carpentry and Metalworking Workshops:
These three modules share a design strategy: a reversed gable roof forming a trapezoidal tent structure with metal frames and tensioned tarps. This configuration ensures water runoff, stability, and ventilation while referencing nautical sails through light-filtering surfaces. Given that many locals work in construction or build their homes with empirical knowledge, the workshops provide tools, training, and exchange opportunities. They support local know-how, enhancing techniques like soil anchoring and material reuse, and encourage resilient housing solutions using wood and other available materials.
Multipurpose Space:
A flexible gathering point for learning, culture, and recreation, adaptable to various events and community needs. It features two side strips—one with restrooms and storage, the other with a linear stage—freeing up the center for diverse activities. Sliding and pivoting doors open three facades for seamless integration with the surroundings. The space supports courses, workshops, assemblies, cultural events, and community meetings, fostering local participation, learning, and celebration.
Basic Health Unit (BHU):
This module complements the health network of the Rádio Clube neighborhood, bringing medical care closer to vulnerable residents. It supports vaccination campaigns, disease prevention, and public health programs. Regular presence enables early diagnosis and prevents hospital overcrowding. Based on the Ministry of Health’s basic unit design, it includes rooms for sampling, treatment, storage, sterilization, and vaccination, providing essential care to the community.
Ultimately, this work investigates the intersections between ordinary architecture and informal urban space, reflecting on formal city-making through a project that engages with ordinariness as a lens and a tool for design. It explores the resourcefulness of time and water as approaches to understanding and shaping the territory and practices of Vila Gilda.
