Housing for a favela: Parque Santo Amaro V

The residents in this São Paulo slum lived with rats and in constant fear of floods. When Vigliecca & Associados designed Parque Novo Santo Amaro V, residents were relocated and a vast new housing complex was built with water features and football pitches, playgrounds and public spaces. The tenants lives were transformed by their new homes, which are far superior to the shacks that surround them. The communal spaces were supposed to be for everyone, but now the newly formed residents' association wants to close the gates. The architect reacts...