Vargens, the latent urban landscape

Vargens, the latent urban landscapeThe testing site for the studio is the Vargens, in the southwest of the municipality of Rio de Janeiro, and adjacent to the area master planned by Lucio Costa in the late 1960s. The area is a key ecological piece in the transition from the National Park of Pedra Branca (one of the biggest urban forests in the world), and the sea front ecological system formed by the Chico Mendes Park and the Lagoa de Marapendi. The Vargens is already set for

The testing site for the studio is the Vargens, in the southwest
of the municipality of Rio de Janeiro, and adjacent to the area
master planned by Lucio Costa in the late 1960s. The area
is a key ecological piece in the transition from the National
Park of Pedra Branca (one of the biggest urban forests in the
world), and the sea front ecological system formed by the
Chico Mendes Park and the Lagoa de Marapendi.
The Vargens is already set for development as defined by the
PEU, a municipal planning regulatory framework with highly
flexible rules for developers and very vague environmental
constraints. This lack of a cohesive structure
in the strategy of development of the Vargens threatens the
ecological value of the central wetlands in the landscape
matrix connecting Pedra Branca and the sea front.
The semester develops research and analysis of existing site conditions, diagnosis, and design development engaging the cultural and ecological dimensions of place.