For his masters thesis, Adrian Yiu looked to repurpose a system that once drove the economy in a now poor area. The Morro da Providencia favela in Rio de Janeiro surrounds a decommissioned quarry that once provided jobs to the townspeople, but that quarry now sits defunct. Rather than letting it waste away, Adrian Yiu imagined turning it into a community center built into the deep canyon.
The project would use the quarry as a community-led cooperative, empowering the people in the area and giving them a way to earn funds through the quarry. Ultimately, the project would allow the poor people throughout the favela to have some economic self-sustenance, freeing them from what Yiu views as the economic oppression of the state.
Quarry Community Centers
Adrian Yiu's Design Empowers the Poor in Rio de Janeiro
Trend Themes
1. Community-led Cooperatives - Repurposing abandoned facilities as community-led cooperatives to empower communities and foster economic self-sustenance.
2. Upcycling Architecture - Incorporating underutilized spaces to construct community centers, solving social and spatial problems.
3. Sustainable Micro-enterprises - Creating micro-enterprises using sustainable practices and community resources to empower the poor and drive economic development.
Industry Implications
1. Architecture - Opportunities for architects to upcycle and revitalize underutilized spaces into community centers.
2. Social Impact - Creating sustainable and impactful social solutions by empowering poor communities through locally-led initiatives.
3. Sustainable Economic Development - Disrupting traditional economic structures through community-led micro-enterprises that use sustainable practices and local resources.