2016 MINHOCAO TRAVEL SCHOLARSHIP

“O parque já existe, só faltam as árvores!”“The park already exists, its just missing the trees!”

(the motto of the Associação Parque Minhocão)

Sunday on Minhocao. An urban motorway becomes an ephemeral park, but can the transformation become permanent?

WILLIAM HENLEY

2016 MINHOCAO TRAVEL SCHOLARSHIP

Abstract

This project will explore how individual agency can affect collective decision-making in urban design. The study will be based in Sao Paulo, Brazil, where I will shortly begin an internship with Metro Arquitetura. It revolves around how different sections of urban society are incrementally transforming a 3.5 KM elevated motorway into a unique urban park running through the centre of the city. During January 2016 I conducted initial researches holding interviews with key stakeholders to help define the project.

Known colloquially as Minhocao (The Big Worm) The Rua Elevado Presendente Costa e Silva was built during the period of dictatorship in 1971, relieving pressure on the downtown network of a city, which expanded chaotically at a rate far beyond that of older European centres. It was built by engineer-mayor Paulo Maulf who discontinued the expansion of the metro network in order to fund it. This four-lane highway is in many places just meters from residential windows and effectively encases two storeys of the street below to noise and pollution. For many it is both an environmental and symbolic scar on the landscape of a central neighborhood once known for its cultural vitality.

However, since 1989 the road has been closed to traffic after 10pm and then, in response to public pressure and lobbying, on Sundays and most recently, Saturdays after 3pm. Over this period, increasing numbers of Paulistanos* began reappropriating it as leisure space. Led since 2013 by the Associacao Parque Minhocao, a campaign is gathering support to close the road permanently and establish an elevated park inspired by New York’s High Line or Paris’ Promenade Plantee. Sao Paulo’s is a culture firmly rooted in rodoviarismo (automobilism) where those with the means, are wedded to independent vehicles despite some of the worst traffic problems worldwide. The victory of pedestrianisation in this particular battle would mark a significant change in mentality, which may be in part due to the ‘urban imperative’ of the progressive mayor Fernando Haddad, who is also Professor of Contemporary Political Theory at the University of Sao Paulo.

The principal aim of the study will be to work with the organisations involved during August and September 2016, documenting and exploring their activities through essays and film (Baixo Centro, Avores Por Ai, Associacao Park Minhocao) and to collaborate with Guilerme Wisnik of the Instituto Maria Antonia in a forthcoming exhibition on the subject. I intend that the project will open new paths for me in continuing my academic career and help me develop a critical practice as an architect and urban design professional. I also intend that some outputs of the study will be published in the British architectural press.

*Residents of the city of Sao Paulo

WILLIAM HENLEY

2016 MINHOCAO TRAVEL SCHOLARSHIP

Architects & Collective Decision Making

Large architectural and urban constructs such as the Minhocao are always the result of collective decision-making process. Their outcomes as objects of design will depend just as much on the negotiation of variables by interested parties as it will on the skill of the designer who is generally engaged much later in the process. Contemporary thinking in the wake of the Farrell Review seeks to modify the trajectory of the architect by ’swimming upstream’ in the design process in order to engage creatively with the world of Planning, and thus politics1.

Still another form of influence over the democratic apparatus may also be exerted by working closer to the ground. By forming the organisation Associacao Parque Minhocao, individuals, artists and some well-respected architects such as Marcio Kogan, have claimed ‘a part for those who had no part’2 . Through their constitution as a group beyond pre-existing institutional boundries, they have become the authority on the possibility of the park. Through small scale but consistent actions they are bringing about incremental changes in a web of urban legislations covering the Minhocao. We may also consider these acts works of design.

During the 2013 Sao Paulo Architecture Biennale ‘Ways of Making, Ways of Using’, the founder of the organisation Athos Comolatti bought a 2nd floor apartment immediately adjacent to the road way. Working with leading Urbanist and Vice-Director of the Instituto Maria Antonia, Guilerme Wisnik, they staged an exhibition on New York’s famous High-Line park. Comolatti had visited the American ex-goods rail line and immediately thought of the possibilities in his native city of Sao Paulo. He bought a book on the project and became inspired. The exhibition years later opposing of the possible future seen directly against the backdrop of the grim reality, made a powerful impression on visitors. One of these was influential politician Poilcy Netto, he too became enamored with the idea of the park. He then became central to the actions of the group assisting them in their actions in the Camera Municipal.

The high point for the group was when the following was contained in the small print of Sao Paulo’s city masterplan. Released in July 2014, it covers the next 15-year period in the city’s growth:

The Rua Elevado Costa e Silva shall be subject to a specific law determining gradual restriction in its use by individual motorized transport, defining successive deadlines until its complete deactivation to traffic, its demolition or transformation (partial or complete) into a park.3

Law no.16.050, 31 July 2014

This decision by Haddad’s premiership to define two possible futures leaves space for a democratic discussion to take place and has been considered an innovative approach4. Yet beyond this isolated paragraph lost within a 200-page document, is a complex history in which Paulistanos have endeavored to resolve the problem of the Minhocao. Ranging from the visionary sketches of Pitanga Do Amparo

1 ‘Public Service’ Finn Williams http://www.farrellreview.co.uk/_downloads/champions/Public_Service.pdf2

Jacques Rancière (2004) The Politics of Aesthetics: The Distribution of the Sensible3 See appendix for Portuguese original4 http://planetasustentavel.abril.com.br/blog/urbanidades/afinal-o-que-sera-do-minhocao/

WILLIAM HENLEY

2016 MINHOCAO TRAVEL SCHOLARSHIP

(1987) to the many entrants in The Premio Prestes Maia architectural competition of 2006, solutions and alternatives to its present state are many.

The space seems to offer a canvas for this broad range of activities which would have seemed implausible not long ago. New attitudes to public space have appeared in Sao Paulo in the wake of a series of urban occupations which took place in June 2013. Leading urbanist Guilerme Wisnik highlights that as these events took place at the beginning of Haddad’s term in office, the present government has since been operating under an urban imperative5. Progress has been made, yet initiatives such as the Rua Aberta programme and a new cycling scheme have been met with cynicism by some who demand that more be done to treat systemic problems. Proponents for the park see it as the key opportunity for a more meaningful realisation of those ideas.

Part A - Writing & Scholarship

It will be key to this study to explore the evolution of this history through further research and in depth interviews with the activists, architects, politicians involved. The Sao Paulo Architecture Biennale will take place between August and November of 2016 and will be a key moment to explore how the debate evolves. From an academic perspective, my methodology will seek to define what constitutes democratic apparatus in the context of the process. I will seek to link this work to the existing research program at the RCA exploring the role of architects and the design of public spaces between London and Sao Paulo6.

Although now familiar to Portuguese speakers in Brazil, the debate over Minhocao has yet to be fully brought to the English speaking world. At the time of writing, I am aware only of two short articles in Le Monde and The Guardian and could find none in specialist architectural press. Considering current vogue for elevated linear parks – The High Line, Promenade Plantee and perhaps London’s proposed Garden Bridge - I expect it to be of some interest to publishers, particularly considering the added focus on Brazil during the Olympic games. I hope that this will provide a springboard for future writing commissions.

Part B - Film Work

During the Biennale the Instituto Marina Antonia will be leading a programme of interventions by artists and architects during August and September in the pubic spaces in its immediate environs. This will be followed by a 2-month exhibition developed back inside the gallery spaces of the institute, reflecting on the preceding events. Since the institute is very close to the Minhocao, many interventions will deal with it directly.

Urbanist Guilerme Wisnik is developing the programme and in discussions held in preparation for this application was extremely enthusiastic about collaborating on a film project documenting the intial programme of interventions and public art projects. This will be an excellent opportunity to expand my film-making practice, which I developed during my MA at the RCA and in two short-courses in 2015 and 2010.

5 Guilerme Wisnik, ‘A cidade apropriada’, Ilustríssima, 15.11.156 http://www.rca.ac.uk/news-and-events/events/public-spaces/

WILLIAM HENLEY

2016 MINHOCAO TRAVEL SCHOLARSHIP

Timescale

I will undertake the project to coincide with the Olympic games beginning in August. The restrictions of visas mean that by the end of my present period of work in Brazil, I will be eligible for a further 3 month stay until the end of October (6 months in every 12). Over this time I will devote 1 month to the writing and film projects on Minhocao. The remaining 2 months I will spend in architectural practice, hopefully again with Metro Arquitetura, a practice with links to Universidade de Sao Paulo and who collaborate with leading Brazilian Architect Paulo Mendes Da Rocha. Far from being a distraction, I anticipate that this contact with a range of architectural voices in the office will greatly strengthen the project. I will take the initial 2 weeks on arrival in August to write journalistic pieces during the Olympic games. I will then maintain contact with the situation for the next 4 weeks until taking 2 weeks to work on the documentary film aspect.

Budget

(Based on 30 days researching within a 3 months period during August, September and October)

£260 Accommodation

£450 Subsistence (15 daily)

£230 Independent display at Sao Paulo Biennale

£166 Rode Pro DSLR Microphone£275 Sigma 17-50mm Camera Lens£69 Manfrotto Compact Advanced Tripod

£550 Return Flights to Sao Paulo with Air Europa

Appendix

i) Lei especifica deverá ser elaborada determinando a gradual restrição a transporte individual motorizado no elevado costa e silva, definindo prazos até sua complete desativação como via de tráfego sua demolição ou transformação parcial ou integral, em parque.

Interviewees

Marcos Rosa - Sao Paulo-based Architect, Urban Planner, Researcher, Hand Made Urbanism (20 13)Guilerme Wisnik - Vice-Director, Instituto Maria AntoniaAthos Comolatti - Founder, Associaco Parque Minhocao

Bibliography

Josh David & Robert Hamond, ‘High Line: The Inside Story of New York City's Park in the Sky’, FSG Originals, 2011.Mariana Leguía, Latin America At The Crossroads’, Architectural Design Vol.81, Wiley, May/June 2011.Justin McGuirk, ‘Radical Cities’, Verso, 2014.Various, ‘Stones Against Diamonds’, Collected Writings of Lina Bo Bardi, Architectural Association, 2013.Various, ‘Building Brasilia’, Thames & Hudson, 2010.Jeremy Till, ‘Spatial Agency: Other Ways of Doing Architecture’, Routledge, 2011.

Films

Joao Sodre, Maria Buhler & Paulo Pastorelo, ‘Elevado 3.5’, Akron, 2007.Fabiano Maciel, ‘A Vida E Um Sopro’, Europa Filmes, 2007.Andreas Dalsgaard, ‘Cities on Speed: Bogota Change’, Danska Film Institut, 2009.

WILLIAM HENLEY

2016 MINHOCAO TRAVEL SCHOLARSHIP

Profile:

I graduated in 2015 from The Royal College of Art having spent two years in the design studio ‘Architecture and Activism’ led by Public Works Art & Architecture. My thesis project ‘Brixton’s Backbone’ reimagined the role of railway infrastructure in a unique and rapidly changing inner-city context. This gave me first-hand experience of the pressures local authorities face as they seek to make positive change in sensitive urban environments and led me to a 4-month internship with Lambeth Council.

I have long standing personal and professional connections to Brazil and through this project I will be able to define a direction for post-graduate study and practice linked back to the UK. Additionally, as a competent speaker of Portuguese, I am in a strong position to contribute to existing exchanges between institutions across the respective cultural divides. Primarily, the public space research project between RCA, The LSE Cities Programme, Universidade de Sao Paulo and Escola da Cidade.

London Borough of Lambeth, Planning and Regeneration, 20154 months as an Intern with local authority in the same location as student thesis project.

The Re-creative Film School, South London Gallery, 2015A month’s film making course with Said Taji Farouky.

Royal College of Art, MA ARCHITECTURE, 2013 - 15Distinction at dissertation ‘The Freedom of The Field’, looking at Berlin’s Tempelhof airport.

Brixton’s Backbone’ was my thesis project on the public potential of railway infrastructures, I explored film alongside drawing techniques. The final film was exhibited at the Ritzy Cinema and Pop Brixton.

Member of The Wembley Civic University’, a 6 month urban research project led by Public Works Art & Architecture. I led the exhibition of this work at the AHRC funded ‘Creative Citizens: 2014 Conference’.

Rick Mather Architects, 2011 - 13,

Primarily working on the Peabody-Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts.

University of Liverpool, BA ARCHITECTURE 2007 - 11, First Class HonorsOne of the top three finalists. ‘Seven Streets’ for Liverpool’s UNESCO Sites. Exhibited in BD Student Shows 2011.

John Rankin Prize, for hand drawing.

Holt Travelling Scholarship, ‘Dear Siza’ looked at the adoration of Alvaro Siza in Portugal. 2011

CinemArchitecture, participated in a workshop between Liverpool, Cambridge, Porto & Tallinn Universities.

Lusophone architectural culture:

Teatro Oficina & Movimento Bexigão, Exploring a Lina Bo Bardi designed theatre and its role in the regeneration of a part of downtown Sao Paolo. (Application to The British Council’s Lina Bo Bardi Fellowship) 2015.

Porto Academy Workshop, Portugal With San Rocco, on the phenomenon of Fatima. (week) JULY 2013

‘Can Architecture Be Lusophone?’ Brasilia and Porto comparison (application to Michael Ventris Award) 2013

WILLIAM HENLEY