Water is the hot topic among the project entries for the Holcim Awards in region Latin America. Whether for wastewater, drinking water, or tidal water, many of the prize winners have innovative and often surprising proposals for ways to master the use of this precious resource in Latin America.

Part of a long-term neighborhood upgrading process, the project is a mixed use civic hub. Across three adjacent buildings, it hosts, among other things, a dance school, auditorium, crèche, and commercial space. The design has been developed through collaboration between community organizations, a local architecture firm, and a private developer. The project is elaborated through time. Appropriation of the site through temporary events and structures makes the site a social space before construction even commences. Coinciding with a long-term investing model – “patient capital” – the durable, low-maintenance architecture foresees the popularity of the civic center for generations to come.

Patient Capital, Inclusive Model

Building on the concept of the “patient capital”, Projeto Integral Paraisópolis Avança (PIPA) is invested in the long-term economic self-sufficiency of the project. The business plan redistributes the benefits generated by the retail uses to ensure the operational capacity of the cultural and educational programs. The architectural design responds to the financial logics of the project, addressing the retail optimization and efficiency to ensure the viability of the cultural and social programs, their adequate management and maintenance. While the project gains zoning approval, the site is already in use providing enough revenue to maintain the temporary programming. The parking use of part of the site subsidizes the ongoing cultural and social activities and maintenance of the space.