From pollution to solution - Video conference # 4 – 05.07.11

During the fourth video conference three mayor issues were discussed: the final student plans on the Via Mangue project, the plan for revitalizing the inner city of Recife and the water situation in Recife. Since the first two subjects were extensively described in earlier posts, we will now focus on the water issue.

In Amsterdam cleaner water and a nice waterfront turn out to be huge assets for the identity of a location and a better liveability of an area. The water also offers opportunities to generate sustainable energy. In all these matters it's very important to have the community involved. How are these things going in Recife?

There is a big problem in Recife with pollution of the surface water by sewage because the sewage system is very basic. Architect Julien Ineichen investigates ways to work on a better sanitation system using architecture. A key thing is to tackle the cultural problem that the Recifens don't seem to care for cleaner water. For this purpose he conducts the campaign 'Eu quero nadar no Capibaribe, e voce?/I want to swim in the Capibaribe, and you?'. Via a website (http://capibaribe.info/, http://swimmingtherivers.net/) and regular events he aims to create a positive identity of the Capibaribe and invites the public to participate.

Paulien Hartog from Waternet is impressed by the project; it seems to be a good initiative to trigger community involvement. The main question if people are willing to change their behaviour, is a challenge in Amsterdam as well. We may have a good 'top-down system' but we have to combine it with bottom-up initiatives. A nice reference are swimming pools in the river like they have in Amsterdam, Kopenhagen and Berlin. People can experience what it would be like to swim in the river.

Regarding the sewerage system in Recife, this should obviously be improved. In Amsterdam we have an efficient system, but because this 'traditional' system is firmly in place, newer, better systems are difficult to implement. Having areas with no system at all is sometimes a good thing, so you can immediately start with realizing the best solutions.

Ana Virginia from COMPESA (Sanitation company of Pernambuco) explains how Recife is working on better water sanitation. The sewerage system is facilitated by Compesa, the public water drainage by the municipality. The two networks sometimes are interconnected – without the owners knowing! - which often leads to overuse. Together with private parties they now are working on a project to provide sewerage for the whole metropolitan region of Recife.

    Hanneke's Boom Amsterdam

A main challenge, both in Recife and in Amsterdam, is how to make sure drainage and sanitation solutions are integrated in urban development.

Flora van Gaalen

Students project: Transforming Via Mangue's territory into a District Park.

In video conference #4 the student's project presented a new concept of how to intervene in the area of study. Since there is a lack of green and public spaces in Boa Viagem and Pina's districts the idea is to expand the mangrove into the city, by transforming these districts into a District Park. The main objective of this concept is to highlight and to create new public and green spaces throughout the area providing a new pleasant environment where the citizens and the city interact.

One of the main challenges of this project is how to trespass the barrier created by the Via Mangue's construction. Although this freeway promises to relief Recife's chaotic traffic, other negative aspects of its design and characteristics must be discussed, such as the fact it does not contemplate public transportation, it mostly blocks the view and the access to the mangrove and it does not present any sustainable solutions.

The students developed ten different macro plans according to the concept of a District Park, indicating possible solutions for social and urban problems, which may already pre-exist or appear as a result of Via Mangue. One of the projects is the one located in a Zone of Special Social Interest (ZEIS). This project's proposal seeks to break high-density blocks and to transform the neighbourhood into an open and healthy space, guarantying a better quality of life the community.

After October's exposition at ARCAM the students intend to expose this project to Recife's City Hall to provoke a debate among the citizens about Recife's urban problems and necessities; projects developed by public/private partnership and, most importantly, what is their opinion and suggestions concerning these subjects.

Amanda Dias, Morgana Lima and Fernanda Lins

I Amsterdam, We’Recife

ARCAM organized a workshop with Robson Canuto da Silva (State of Pernambuco), Cristiano Borba do Nascimento (Fundaj) and George Alex Da Guia (Iphan) who participated in the Course on Urban Heritage Strategies organized by IHS and the Netherlands Cultural Heritage Agency.

ARCAM invited some Dutch architects, urban planners and researchers to get an introduction on Recife and discuss the state of affairs in urban planning in Amsterdam and Recife and more specifically the case that Robson, Cristiano and George are working on, namely the 'revitalisation of the historical inner city of Recife'. Special guests are Martine de Wit (DUS Architects), Johan Rasmussen (Cities), Jaap Klarenbeek (Studio Rosa), Karla Gutierrez (DRO) and Zineb Seghrouchni (Okra/Studio Papaver).

Recife is the fifth biggest city of Brasil and one of the oldest capitals. Originally Recife was the port of Olinda, a settlement founded by the Portuguese. In 1630 it was conquered by the Dutch who firmly 'founded' Recife by adding 'Mauritsstad' which was connected to Bairro do Recife by the first bridge of the Americas and has a Dutch urban outlay that is still visible today.

Nowadays this part of the old inner city is very crowded between 7am and 5pm with all kinds of commercial activities. But because people don't live there, after 5pm it gets quiet and dangerous. 

The case that Robson, Cristiano and George are working on is how to revitalize the area to make it more attractive and safe by respecting and even articulating the heritage as a value. They focus on the crossing of the Av. Dantas Barreto and the Av. Guararapes. The municipality wants to attract the creative industry to take root in this district.

Overall it is important to note that Recife does not have one overarching master plan for the development of the city, but that developments are guided by zoning plans. Most of the land is privately owned, what makes it difficult for the government to implement a coherent vision. At the same time one could say this makes the city very flexible since private investors can quickly respond to demands from the market.

Some remarks, recommendations and questions mentioned in the workshop are:

- Use the fabric shops and haberdasherries to make a connection with the creative people (like fashion designers) that could be interested to live/have their studios in the area. Start from the existing activities!

- Suggest architectural interventions to make living above the shops possible (also a challenge in Amsterdam and Utrecht!)

- Think about how preservation of heritage and tourism are related. Is there a strong link and could tourism be used to attract investors in heritage?

- The most special feature of this area in Recife is that it is surrounded by water. Highlight this aspect by showing ways in which this area could open up more to the water. (Amsterdam is also reorienting towards the water!)

- Amsterdam could learn from Recife how to 'plan' with less means. More collaboration with private parties, letting loose control, create space for self initiative and work on a smaller scale could be suggestions.

Flora van Gaalen

Course on Urban Heritage Strategies – 24.06.11

Within the framework of rXa, ARCAM collaborates with the Netherlands Cultural Heritage Agency and Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies that organized a ‘Course on Urban Heritage Strategies’. The course was tailored towards professionals who work in a number of selected cities and countries with heritage that (partly) has Dutch roots. Brazil is one of them and three architects that participate in rXa (Cristiano Borba, Robson Canuto and George da Guia) participated in the course. The course aimed to build the capacity of its participants to formulate and implement strategies for heritage in cities with its focus on urban heritage in inner-city locations. All the participants had to work on an action plan to propose further development of a certain case in their home country.

ARCAM organized an excursion for the whole group of participants that showed how Amsterdam deals with heritage near its inner city. After an introduction by Bureau of Monuments and Archeology on the Amsterdam heritage policy we visited Westergasfabriek and NDSM-werf.

The research case of the professionals from Recife consists of a plan for revitalization of the old inner city and former harbour from Recife. This historical core of the city consists of the Bairro do Recife and São Antonio that used to be called ‘Mauritsstad’ and was constructed by the Dutch during the reign of Maurits van Nassau from 1636 tot 1643. The ‘Dutch’ urban outlay is still visible. Nowadays it is a lively urban area until 5 pm, but after that time it is completely empty. How can the existing heritage help to make a coherent neighbourhood that is more lively and safe? In their research they posed different questions like: what is the value of shared heritage, what opportunities does redevelopment of urban heritage offer and can urban heritage awareness be enhanced?

Flora van Gaalen

Top down/Bottom up - Video conference #3 - 14.06.11

An important issue on the agenda of video conference #3 is the situation of public/private partnership in Recife and Amsterdam. In Recife, traditionally the government is only involved in checking the building plans with the zoning laws. But this seems to be shifting. There are some examples of projects in which the municipality or the state take an active stance in development and realization. A challenge is how the Recife government could promote a coherent vision of the future and at the same time stimulate private parties and the public to work according to this vision. The Amsterdam team illustrates how traditional ways of public/private partnership are also changing. Traditionally the city government owns about 80% of the land and hands it out in land-lease constructions. This makes it possible to control planning. The design of public space, masterplans for a certain area, the zoning plan and selection of developing parties are all in public hands. Because of the economic crisis a lot has changed though. Developing parties already leased a lot of land, but don't have money anymore to develop. Other private parties that are eager to develop are stepping forward, but they don't have access to the land. So, things need to change, we need a new kind of planning and a different way of public/private partnership. How can we shift from top-down planning to a more bottom-up way to do this? 

Maybe by making less strict masterplans and relying more on zone planning like in Recife. An important thing to think about on both sides is to find out what kind of (relatively small) interventions could have a huge effect. What are the ambitions of the cities and what inspiration do we want to give to the public? In other words: what story do we want to tell?

Another issue for the discussion was the Via Mangue project. Last conference the students presented possible master plans suggesting adaptations of the official plan. The Via Mangue is an elevated highway from the city district Boa Viagem along the mangrove to the old city centre. It is clear that the Via Mangue will worsen certain problems like the lack of open, public spaces, a good connection between the Mangrove and the sea and overall liveability of the area. The Via Mangue will be another barrier. The students suggest specific projects to tackle these problems, partly inspired by the Amsterdam feedback that stated examples of the Amstel river banks development and ways to make a connection with the inhabitants by improving public space and making it more green. 

Some aspects of the projects are: more green spaces, solutions for relocating population (that has to move because of Via Mangue construction), cultural centres to open up the Mangrove area to the public, infrastructural solutions like a cable way, a multifunctional station and boulevards. The Amsterdam team suggests that it is important to think about priorities. What is essential to get a transition started? This helps to connect the projects to the masterplan again and produce a strong integral design.

Flora van Gaalen

Blueprint vs. zoning planning - Video conference #2 - 24.05.11

‘We have to move from blueprint to zone planning’ (Amsterdam)
‘We want to go more from zoning to overall vision planning’ (Recife)
 
The second conference started with a presentation by the students on the Via Mangue project. The students approached the Via Mangue from the themes heritage, water and mobility. Challenges are: integrate borders, create a complex totality, integrate natural and built heritage, transform a freeway into an avenue park, create open spaces for social interactions and integrate the mangrove, the river and the ocean. The fact that the Via Mangue seems a purely infrastructural project makes it difficult to find integrated solutions. The Amsterdam side wonders if there is a basic vision from the government on the future of Recife and how the Via Mangue project fits in. The Recife team explains there is no overall strategy like the Structural Vision 2040 in Amsterdam but that they use a zoning plan: Plano director: http://www.recife.pe.gov.br/pr/secplanejamento/planodiretor/. 

 
Foto: Meriam de Lange

The infrastructure and water situation in Recife are pretty dramatic and because the ecological situation is very different from Amsterdam, cases are hard to compare. Waternet remarks that in the sixties the Amsterdam canals were also very polluted, but that this doesn't mean it cannot change. 

Despite the challenges, a lot of projects are realized in Recife. Big infrastructural projects are implemented by the government and building projects on a smaller scale are initiated by private parties. This market oriented way of building incorporates a high level of flexibility that Amsterdam envies. Recife on the other hand admires the strong planning tradition in Amsterdam. Although the Recifian municipality has suggested some long term visions for certain areas (like the former harbour area in de Bairro do Recife) these are difficult to 
implement. 

The discussion shifted to the fact that Amsterdam is turning its face towards the water again with the development of the Northern and Southern IJ banks. In Recife a similar trend is visible, although the public still doesn’t value the water as highly because of the poor conditions. How could things get better?

Flora van Gaalen

Do you Recife? – Video conference #1 – 19.04.11

‘Water seems to be the power of Amsterdam, but the problem of Recife’

In cooperation with Microsoft Amsterdam and Microsoft Recife, ARCAM initiated a series of video conferences with architects and urban planners from both cities. The Recife team consists of among others representatives of the University of Pernambuco, the municipality of Recife, the state of Pernambuco and the IAB (Institute for architects). On the Amsterdam side the contributers are representatives form the Urban Planning Department (DRO), water company Waternet, Bureau for Monuments and Archeology (BMA) and the Infrastructure Department (DIVV).

The first conference started with general introductions on the development of Amsterdam and Recife up until this day. The municipality of Amsterdam just launched the ‘Structural Vision 2040’. Four important development movements are: rolling out the city centre, interweaving the Metropolitan landscape and the city, the rediscovery of the waterfront and the internationalization of the southflank.

Check for more information: http://www.dro.amsterdam.nl/publish/pages/359143/plan-01-2011-eng.pdf

In Recife the delta of the Pina, Beberibe and Capibaribe rivers is central to the city and its development. The development of Recife started on Barrio do Recife and Sao Antonio, then moved inland to Sao Jose. Because of a flood in the 1970/80’s the city extended even further. The last decades the Boa Viagem district on the south side is very popular. A mayor challenge is how to improve mobility and realize urban design that respects and improves the natural environment.

After these general introductions the topics ‘water’, ‘heritage’ and ‘infrastructure’ were discussed more specifically.

Foto: Meriam de Lange

Flora van Gaalen