The monthly AO Factory conversation series featured urban planning project leader, cartographer and data, planning and urban design specialist Carolina Passos.
With a focus on the macro scale, Carolina and her team are dedicated to developing 3,630,419 square meters of masterplans completed over the past two years by AO. The presentation showcased 12 projects in different locations across the country, many of which combine residential, commercial and corporate uses to create new hubs.
For the urban planner, such demand for projects for new areas with a mixed-use character, more generous and attentive to people's experiences, points to the expansion of locations based on new economies, and the interiorization in search of spaces more sensitive to use in synergy with the environment.
The center seeks to rely on research, understand the various changing urban determinants so that they can propose the best and most unique solutions.
"We see that places today considered references in urban planning, such as Medellín, in Colombia, and Barcelona, in Spain, are focused on the well-being of their citizens, pedestrians and cyclists, clean mobility and walkable spaces," says the urban planner.
In contrast, there are several cities planned for the use of automobiles, such as Brasília, which are currently suffering increasingly from levels of congestion, air pollution and time wasted on commuting, which in turn impacts the productivity and well-being of the population, the specialist points out.
For Carolina, one of the main points to be considered when designing masterplans concerns the decision on the use of existing construction potential.
"We realized that building the maximum allowed is not always the best alternative when prioritizing the quality of the project over time.
Often, lower dimensions allow for the creation of a more delicate and harmonious relationship with the surroundings and the existing occupation, resulting in an increase in the value of the project that can certainly compensate for or even exceed the profitability that a larger area could bring", he adds.
Among the places that have large areas under development by the AO are Uberlândia, in Minas Gerais, Campo Alegre, in Santa Catarina, and Brasília itself, in the Federal District, breaking with the logic of the expressways of the established Pilot Plan.
For theAO team , these are opportunities to make compact urban insertions viable and involve social, programmatic, ecological and financial solutions in synergy with the community, ensuring low environmental impact and long-term quality of life.
AO _masterplan featured in the media
*About AO Factory
AO Factory is a meeting space for us to get closer, share expertise, experiences and valuable reflections for our practices in architecture, urban planning, sustainability, innovation and others. The talk takes place monthly online and in person. The guest tells us about his/her trajectory, insights, research and anything else he/she wants to share with the AO team.
