PRECEDENT

The project takes place in Cidade de Cimento, highlighting the lack of public spaces throughout the city. It is located along the coast of Maputo City, characterised by a formal urban grid, in contrast to the surrounding neighbourhoods. Cimento, was the zone in which most of the urban planning and organisation developed.

After the Independence, the area was abandoned due to the retreat of the Portuguese; this lead people to commute to Cimento for work and today, this dynamic remains the same.

ANALYSIS & PROPOSAL

Through the research and by means of interviews, the main challenges were revealed: lack of sense of belonging, privatisation of the few public spaces, lack of urban furniture and sanitation problems.

Thinking of a way to reactivate some abandoned spaces in the city, it was important to consider the possibilities of the many potential uses according to the needs. The challenges lead to the development of “on-the-ground” interventions through policies that could act as mechanisms of change, in order to achieve long term outcomes.

MASTERPLAN

The intervention consists of three areas referred to as “extensions” and one main “core”. The goal is to create a network of decentralised services, establishing a new focal point for the city and the surroundings. 

The targeted users are the local population of Cidade de Cimento, inhabitants from the peripheries and tourists. The objective aims to break social barriers, and to set up spatial conditions for the improvement of the city’s economic growth and its social cohesion.

EXTENSIONS

The extensions were proposed where services were found more concentrated in the existing context, in order to provide complementary facilities. They cover a radius of a 6 minute walk and around 500 meters that can also extend to the surrounding. 

Different elements set the spaces apart depending on each extension’s function: leisure, commercial and cultural.