Blue Arches
The Pinheiros as a bridge to improve social accessibility, environmental quality and the connection between people and water
K. Asarpota (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
N.E. Modderman (TU Delft - Civil Engineering & Geosciences)
S. Thoen (TU Delft - Civil Engineering & Geosciences)
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Abstract
Sao Paulo, a megacity of almost 11 million inhabitants in its city center, is facing environmental, societal and infrastructural challenges due to its rate of rapid urbanization. The rivers in the Tiete basin reflect the painful truth of unmanageable urban planning and the unawareness of water as a valuable source. The rivers, once the blood vessels of the city, now function as a barrier in the development of the city by their stench and filthy appearance.
An integrated design approach, covering multiple scales and disciplines, aims at tackling the issues by emphasizing the value of water. The Pinheiros should function as a bridge to improve social accessibility, environmental quality, and the connection between people and water.
In a natural environment nothing is straight, everything is connected and balanced in an organic form. In Sao Paulo, as the city has expanded, the urban form has become linear and rigid. The city has modified the natural shape of the river. Blue arches envisions a resemblance of the original meandering shape of the Pinheiros. By connecting blue-green infrastructure on both sides with a green bridge for commuting and leisure, allowing for the meandering shape of the ecological places to cross the river.