D - EUW: Radical Housing Experiments in Brazill [E]

The seminar explores a number of radical housing experiments in Brazil that sought to translate utopian ideals into built form—and, ultimately, succeeded in doing so. These projects challenged conventional ideas and assumptions about housing in multiple ways: through models of social and racial coexistence; through their scale, number of inhabitants, and relationship to the city and the environment; through innovative construction techniques, materials, and processes of realization; and through alternative models of ownership and new articulations of the public–private relationship. While many of these ideas remained unrealized in the Western world, or failed, a number of Brazilian projects demonstrate that aspects of these utopian visions could survive and, in some cases, achieve the social and architectural ambitions for which they were conceived. The seminar will use these case studies to critically examine what makes a housing utopia possible, and what allows it to endure over time. Rather than treating utopia as a purely speculative or unrealizable condition, we will investigate the architectural, social, political, and material conditions that enable utopian ideas to become concrete forms of collective life. The central activity of the seminar is a 10-day excursion to Brazil in March 2027. Students will visit housing projects in Brasília, including Lúcio Costa’s Superquadras; in São Paulo, including Oscar Niemeyer’s Copan Building; and in Rio de Janeiro, including Affonso Eduardo Reidy’s Pedregulho housing complex. The excursion will be preceded by an organizational and introductory meeting, and students will actively contribute to the preparation of the trip. Upon their return, students will reflect on one of the visited projects through a short-written assignment, using the experience of the excursion as a basis for critical analysis. The excursion is open to 10–15 students and is organized in collaboration with the institutes of Prof. Elke Reichel (EUG) and Prof. Meyer-Grohbrügge (EUR). Introductory meeting: 22 OCT 2026, 11:30 - 13:00, FG EUW