ASTOC - Architects and Planners

BR-São Paulo Mooca, Urban restructuring

ASTOC Architects and Planners, Cologne and VIGLIECCA&ASSOC, São Paulo have been commissioned with the urban redesign of the Mooca - Vila Carioca district of São Paulo, Brazil. The district, which has a total area of about 1,650 hectare, was established around a century ago as one of the first major industrial and working-class residential districts in the centre of São Paulo.

The development zone in the centre of the city will be the subject of an in-depth study by ASTOC Architects and Planners, Cologne and VIGLIECCA&ASSOC, São Paulo. The primary urban design characteristic of Mooca district is its large-scale industrial areas. The area covered by the planned redevelopment is cut through north to south by an urban motorway, the Rio Tamanduateí river and a railway line that connects São Paulo with the port of Santos. São Paulo handles 33 percent of all Brazilian exports and 40 percent of all imports – most of these goods are shipped through the port of Santos. The Mooca - Vila Carioca development is part of the 3rd masterplan produced by architects and town planners Jorge Wilhelm.

Industrial decentralisation and a downturn in production have resulted in large areas of the district standing empty. The slum quarter (Favelas) developed without formal planning directly adjacent to the secure affluent inner city residential quarter. The enormous size of the area, around 1650 hectare, and a very complex mixture of land uses require the area to be subdivided into individual sectors. In addition to infrastructural problems, there is also the desire to create new public spaces and facilities. The objective of the development is to transform the former industrial area into one of mixed use with housing, offices and commercial zones, as well as extensive public green spaces and leisure facilities and to improve the present urban design structures. This is intended to create the conditions for a unique, new and yet historic urban quarter in the heart of the city.

São Paulo is the world's sixth largest conurbation after Tokyo, Seoul, Mexico City, New York and Mumbai. The metropolitan region of São Paulo includes a total of 39 cities in the Brazilian federal state of São Paulo. Due to the population growth over the last century, these cities have merged to form a single urban agglomeration. Today, São Paulo is the leading centre of the economy in Brazil and around 21 million people live in the region.