Portuguese exhibit hunts radical solutions in Angolan slums
| FEATURE |
 |
LISBON — A major exhibition in the Portuguese capital is presenting radical solutions to one of the world’s most pressing architectural conundrums: Genuinely low-cost housing in the developing world.
The target? The “musseques” or slums of Luanda, the densely populated districts of corrugated iron shacks surrounding the capital of Portugal’s former colony, Angola.
Architects from around the world were invited to enter a contest to design a low-cost house for the slums. Thirty of the best designs are being displayed until Jan. 16 at the Lisbon Architectural Triennale, billed as one of the top architectural events in western Europe, before being taken on to the southwest African state.
“Luanda is a challenge for any architect,” said Jose Mateus, the director of the Triennale. “It was built for 500,000 people, but today the population is six million.”
The rules of the competition were simple: architects had to design a 100-square-meter (1,076 square feet) house on a 250-square-meter lot for a family of up to nine persons that could be built for a maximum of 25,000 euros (34,000 dollars)..... MORE
Source: The Daily Tribune
URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20101218com3.html
0 comments
Post a Comment