Recife : students committed to improving the habitability of a disadvantaged community

5 Nov 2024

For their Habitat 2024-2025 project, fourth-year students at the Unicap-Icam site in Recife (Brazil) are challenged to imagine and design intelligent, « low-tech » solutions to improve the habitability of housing for modest families in Ilha do Joaneiro.

 

The O3 students, supervised by Múcio Jucá and Marcella Urtiga, began their Habitat 2024-2025 project last September. This innovative, solidarity-based project is being carried out in Ilha do Joaneiro. a disadvantaged community. “We met the leaders of this community in 2019 at an event organized at Unicap with the University of Antwerp. And in 2021, we worked on home improvements for 10 families, financed by the NGO Habitat for Humanity. Since then, we’ve kept in touch, always looking for opportunities to improve habitability, the urban environment and empower residents. That’s why we approached them for this project, which they accepted,” explain the two teachers.

« Low-tech » solutions that can be reproduced by residents

Over the course of two years, the students will work within a design-build process targeting smart solutions to improve the habitability of housing owned by low-income families. These can be « low-tech » ideas to ensure environmental comfort, energy conservation, water heating or rainwater harvesting solutions. The aim is to promote a sustainable model of construction and materials.

Divided into five groups, the 29 students must design and define all materials and budget by the end of this year. Next year, they will test their proposals on the university campus, before building the final version in the community. They will also produce a manual and tutorial, so that residents can replicate the solutions in other homes and buildings in the community.

Last September, the students had the opportunity to visit Ilha do Joaneiro, and were highly involved and motivated by this project, which has a strong social and human dimension, in line with Icam’s values

Mariana Rodrigues testifies :
“Doing this Habitat project in the community of Ilha do Joaneiro adds value to it, as it is no longer just an academic project but something that effectively contributes to helping a community in need. My team’s solution will be to develop a Rainwater Collection System, so that this water can initially be used for common purposes, such as washing dishes, the floor of the house, clothes, in order to mitigate the waste of water that occurs every time it rains. We’re at the stage of detailing how we’re going to implement this system. It’s been very interesting, and gives me the opportunity to take my knowledge acquired in the classroom to help improve people’s lives. When I wanted to do engineering, it was because I understood that I loved inventing, creating, solving. For me, being able to do that and also see lives transformed because of our solutions is what it means to be an engineer. We’re on the right path !”