Athletes on the Edge:
Lagoon Living for Barra da Tijuca
4th Year design project, Unit 16, The Bartlett
The main Rio 2016 Olympic Park is located at Barra da Tijuca - a previously relatively undeveloped area set adjacent to a polluted lagoon outside the centre of Rio de Janeiro. It was planned by Lucio Costa in the 1960s. Lax planning and economic speculation has led to the formation of a place dominated by the car and lacking in street life, with gated condominiums the predominant housing typology today.
In contrast to the existing athletes’ village proposal, the project is reimagined on the boundary of the Olympic Park and the Jacarepagua Lagoon. The existing man-made lagoon edge is transformed with a series of piers, creating a softer, inhabited edge condition within the lagoon’s unique Restinga ecology. This tidal ecosystem is characterised by mangrove plants that have gradually been destroyed by pollution over recent years, a process that the city is aiming to address in the build up to the 2016 Olympics.
A series of steel-framed towers sit in the lagoon, with accommodation hanging between. The structural arrangement provides a variety of flexible apartment spaces, allowing for easy post-Games conversion. Clear separation of services within the towers also aids future flexibility, with bathroom and kitchen units sitting within the towers.
Shaded spaces are maximised throughout, informed by the hot Brazilian climate. Wicker screens and perforated Corten panels provide shading and aid natural ventilation, whilst large shaded balconies throughout aim to maximise outdoor living as characteristic in Brazil.
