CASA DA NEIDE
In Brazil, an affordable housing solution rooted in local design.
STUDIO
Office of Independent Design
SERVICES
Experience Strategy
YEAR
2019
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Like 11 million Brazilians, Neide spent most of her life in dense working-class neighborhoods known as favelas, where construction is low-quality and public services are scarce. Her place in Bahia was built by hand as money came in from her job as a cook, and morphed as family needs changed. Eventually, it became a mutant structure with an odd floor plan, haphazard finishes and poor ventilation. So Neide saved up, bought a plot of land and asked for help designing her dream house.
Organic architecture: The built environment quickly evolves according to needs in Brazil’s favelas. For Neide, we developed a functional house that could grow over time without losing its original design intent.
Leaning into natural elements.
Office of Independent Design offered to assist with designs and drawings that met Neide’s requests (an open plan, master suite, two parking spots and space for family in need of accommodation) with grace and efficiency. We studied local buildings and the innovative use of readily available, inexpensive materials like tile and brick. The goal was to work with the tropical environment, including a constant breeze and periods of intense rain, to reduce maintenance costs while improving quality of life.
Moodboard : Local materials, indoor-outdoor living, well-ventilated, naturally lit spaces, native planting.
A functional, feasible structure in 2 phases.
The front house is built first. It consists of a living/dining area, kitchen, half bath downstairs and master suite with balcony upstairs. The 2br/1ba guesthouse, with an independent entrance and laundry area, is built second. A front yard and central garden provide ample landscaping opportunities, with priority given to native species.
Cobogó: Brazilian breeze blocks as key design feature.
Three-dimensional tiles allow the entrance of sunlight and natural ventilation. They create dramatic shadows and add visual permeability in both units. Cobogó was invented in the 1920s not far from Neide’s house and became a staple of Brazilian modernism. It can be made of concrete, ceramic or brick, which we suggested for this application.
Optimized for fabrication.
In the main house, the upper bathroom is stacked above the kitchen and half bath, streamlining construction while reducing plumbing costs. Similarly, in the back house, the bathroom shares a wet wall with the outdoor laundry area. The spacious floor plan is optimized for privacy, circulation and air flow, with cobogó in both exposures to capture cross breezes. Polished concrete floors and a double height white painted brick wall lend the interiors a gallery-like feel. A septic tank and enclosed water tower mean the house does not need to plug into the public sanitation system.
Clear, image-driven instructions.
To get the house built, Neide will tap into her solidarity network for mostly unskilled construction labor. Because literacy levels tend to be low in underprivileged communities, we provided Neide with illustration-driven instructions that clearly communicate key features, dimensions and materiality. The building plans can be shared through the group’s preferred communications channel, WhatsApp, making the new residential typology available to a large, eager audience.