Urban morphology, environmental performances and energy use. Neighborhood transformation in Rio de Janeiro and design of Porto Maravilha cultural center via IMM

The search for the ultimate sustainable urban form perhaps now needs to be reoriented to the search for a number of sustainable urban forms which respond to a variety of existing settlement patterns and context...“ (Jenks at al. 1996) We are all aware of the fact that future of our cities depends on our actions today. Moreover, achieving sustainable cities should be the main imperative in our rapidly urbanization today. Regarding the facts and data, we can assume that by 2030, 61% of the population will be urban. This problem implies the scale in which we should deal with that issue. It is already elaborated that shape, size, density, morphology and uses of the cities affect its sustainability. However, these relationships and their character are still not defined enough. Because cities are so complex, as a living organism, sustainable cities are much more difficult to achieve than green buildings or environmentally friendly cars. Empirically is proved that it’s not enough just to have sustainable buildings in a city in order to have also sustainable city. For instance, if that buildings are really far apart and everyone has to drive long distances to get around, the main point of sustainability is missing. This tells us that some forms may be sustainable locally, but not regionally. Consequently, for achieving urban sustainability, connections between urban form and cities, regions (taking in consideration all different geographical scale) needs to be established. Departing from the scale of the building, in this thesis we were dealing with the scale of the city, trying to understand and develop new urban matrix of Porto Maravilha region In Rio de Janeiro city. All analysis, intervention and design are done in accordance to IMM, Integrated Modification Methodology, based on specific design process that aims to improve CAS’ (complex adaptive systems) energy performance, through the modification of its constituents and optimization the architecture of their ligands. The fundamental objective of the project was to address architectural, sustainable and functional deficiency by creating a consistent and legible image for the Porto Maravilhia Waterfront. Connectivity with proposed “Green fingers” between the vitality of the city and the seaside and a continuous, publicly accessible waterfront were the main priorities of the Masterplan. The plan expresses a vision that brings a sustainable, ecologically productive ‘green foot’ to the rich culture of the metropolis, and suggests a new coherence and continuity along the waterfront. Design of the building itself, Cultural Centre of Porto Maravilhia, was derived from previously designed master plan, by zooming a wider scale, as one of the possible solution that could have been made in that exact location. After comprehensive analysis that were done in urban scale, the main volume and function were already defined for that location on the waterfront, so our goal was to maintain obtained conclusions and transform in, as much as possible, sustainable unit. This unit represents just one peace of the puzzle that is part of the system, and contributes to general sustainability of the whole neighbourhood.