Brazil: design strategies in the houses of dona Dalva and Kdu

Abstract

The production of social housing in Brazil is essentially focused on multifamily buildings and is primarily financed by the public sector. However, there are some private initiatives designed and built over the last decade that stand out both for the quality of their architecture and for their design and construction processes. Two notable examples are Dona Dalva House and Kdu House, designed by the firms Terra e Tuma and Coletivo Levante, respectively. Both projects have received international recognition and awards. The interest in investigating these houses arises from their evident exceptional character within the field of social housing, demonstrated by the quality of both the processes and the results achieved. The analysis is structured around three main dimensions: urban-territorial, social, and technological, identifying and discussing design characteristics that underlie the architectural decisions. Recognizing both buildings as examples of high-quality architecture within the context of Brazilian social housing highlights the importance of exploring new design methods and processes in the field of social housing.