Paula Nascimento

Unfolding Urban Ambiguities: Prédio do Livro continues a long-term reflection and study on the city of Luanda—a city of sharp contrasts whose uncontrolled growth created ambiguous zones where the formal and informal meet in unexpected ways revealing different configurations and potential articulations within urban space. The site is a modernist tower block transformed over the years by distinct modes of occupancy, located at the intersection between different neighborhoods—the end of the planned city and the beginning of the self-built neighborhoods. Its short lifespan allows one to reflect upon and imagine radical futures for the site. What happens after the erasure of this building and the collapse of the border it represents? How does architecture manifest itself in those conditions? Working within this ambiguous place and navigating its dichotomies, this project considers the interstitial as a crossing space, a potential meeting place, or a space of encounters. Thus, it explores the possibilities of a common ground that links the two distant neighborhoods and that is activated through spontaneous and ephemeral activities—a catwalk for life to unfold and a catalyst for human relations to form.

FAS - For Arts Sake

Concept: Paula Nascimento + Jaime Mesquita
Architectural Design: Jaime Mesquita (Oba Architects)
Technical Drawings / Collaborators: Dedaldina de Paula, Raquel Santos, Luzineide da Silva, Ricardo Neves, Robilson Tombela, Egídio da Fonseca, Mirian Vanda
Film Directed by: Kiluanji Kia Henda
Image and Graphics: Iris Buccholz Chocolate
Photography: Ngoi Salucombo, Claudio Chocolate
Texts: Paula Nascimento, Jaime Mesquita
Technical Advice: Raul Betti (Dumbo Design Studio)
Production in Venice: Raul Betti (Dumbo Design Studio)
Production in Luanda: Oba Architects