Maputo: densificação autoproduzida. O sonho do primeiro andar sobre a casa existente

Abstract

Progressively, since Mozambique's independence, the discussion on the informal space and self-produced house in Maputo has been increasingly more inclusive of its positive and diverse potentialities. But, despite this evidence, three quarters of the country's total population still lives in slums. And given that, annually, the estimate growth rate alternates from 3,2% to 5%, it's likely that the problem intensifies with time, if not handled in an sustainable way. The present dissertation contemplates the various approaches on the resolution of this problem, subsequently focusing on the operation of one in particular, the Kaya Clínica project, held in the neighbourhood of Benfica in the city of Maputo. And as a way of building a pragmatic contribution to this same entity, and foreseeing achievable positive outcomes of urban densification - on the amount and variety of opportunities for a larger number of people - this study considers the hypothesis of building a first floor above previously existing houses. To achieve this, eleven case study houses and families were surveyed to reflect on the current method of self-production of the house, and its adaptation to the construction of the module of the first floor. Accordingly, these findings along with the data of other studies, were branched into three main themes: financing, which intends to question how the dwellers gather financial resources to assemble the house; materials and skills, in other words, in what way is the house formed, and with which elements; and architectural project, and how daily behavior configures the house plan. In a context like Benfica, where the preponderance of self-construction is evident, it is relevant to understand how the architect's role is reshaping and readapting, in order to consciously assign a sustainable view over the urban city.