Parque de Educação Ambiental Professor Mello Barreto

Name	Parque de Educação Ambiental Professor Mello Barreto by Architect Fernando Chacel
Place	Rio de Janeiro, Barra da Tijuca
Country	Brazil
Topic	Revitalisation of an illegal residential occupation area to a city park
Author(s)	Juliana Aschwanden-Vilaça
Completion	Please enter the date of completion
Client	Please enter the client
Project costs	Please enter the costs (if known)
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Rationale: Why is this case study interesting?

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• The author of this project is the architect Fernando Chacel, one of the most important landscape architect in Brazil, with more than 50 years of experience. He was Roberto Burle Marx's trainee in the 50's.

• The project shows how a natural and protected area that suffered the impact of an illegal occupation can be restored through the called “ecogenesis”. According the botanic Luiz Emygdio de Mello Filho ”the idea of ecogenesis as the main purpose of man’s creation of substitute ecosystems for degraded or lost ecosystems as result of human interventions stems from the 40’s. It was proposed by team members of the National Museum and has perfectly adjusted to the country’s socioenvironmental reality. It is therefore essential that these anthropic substitute ecosystems, through different from the original ones, maintain, preserve and convey to the future the values they once sustained so that they may endure in the environment reality.

Author's perspective

• The Professor Mello Barreto Nature Education Park is an example for the big cities those have difficulty to join big urban development with nature conservation. As an architect from a big city I believe that this project brings hope to the city people those want to live with the nature despite the aggressive urbanization.

Description

• Rio de Janeiro is the second biggest city of Brazil, with more than 6 million people in an area of 1200 km2. The Professor Mello Barreto Nature Education Park is located in Barra da Tijuca, around the Jacarepagua Lagoon, in an area of 50'000 m2.
• The park was financed through a local community (Acibarra) that wanted to recuperate the degraded area and guarantee the protection of the Lagoon-Margin Protection Belt.
• The restoration of the area where the park is today was executed through an innovative idea of “ecogenesis”: recuperation of a biological landscape through the utilization of association and individuals of the original ecosystems.

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Landscape and/or urban context

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• Situated on a peninsula around the Jacarepagua Lagoon, surrounded by the Atlantic Rainforest of Rio de Janeiro, the area is in the Tijuca Lagoon-Margin Protection Belt, covered by a good-sized mangrove before it was illegally occupied.

• The Park is an answer to the recuperation of the mangrove ecosystem into the Lagoon-Margin Protection Belt. The whole landfill that landed the mangroves during the years of destruction was used to build the park, that is situated in a higher level.

Cultural/social/political context

Around thirty years ago, this area, that is twenty times bigger than Rio downtown, was empty and with a difficult access. Just in the 70's, when the access was improved, big undertake companies began to buy lands for a very low price to build for the rich people. At the same time the poor population that worked on the construction, built their "favelas" around, what contributed too for the destruction of the ecosystem, through the trash they threw into the lagoon.

During the construction of the big luxurious buildings around the lagoon, the mangroves were landed. The ecosystem was almost totally destroyed. Although the area is regarded as permanently preserved area by the Brazilian Constituition, the government didn't interfere. After some years, the area got value and the “favelas” turned inconvenient for the rich population and for the traders. The simply removal of this population would be against the human rights. But the permanent accusation of ecological degradation “helped” them to accuse the “favelas” as the responsible for the destruction, what served as an excuse to remove them.

To avoid the forced removal of this poor population, a local community (Acibarra), leaded by a lawyer, started a project of environmental education for the people about the importance of the mangrove ecosystem for the fauna and for the human life quality. The community could convince the population to move back their constructions from the Lagoon-Margin Protection Belt and to replant the local vegetation. Despite all efforts during two years and the new mentality, the government and the builders didn’t care and decided to move the “favelas” away through violence. In 1994 was all the “favelas” completely remoed. The local community and the government dislocated the population to a new popular houses complex nearby, specially built to shelter them.

Once the area was reclaimed for the public domain, the municipal government and private enterprise again joined forces to recuperate the Lagoon-Margin Protection Belt, under the supervision of the Municipal Environmental Protection Agency. Today, the Professor Mello Barreto Nature Education Park occupies this area.

• Ocupaçao 1.jpg

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• Ocupaçao 2.jpg

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History

The implementation of a project according the ecogenesis principles was something new.

• In 1969 the architect Lúcio Costa reflected about the future of the Tijuca area, where the park is. He could already see that if the area continues without protection, it would be totally destroyed, losing completely the original ecosystem. He wanted to find a way to conciliate urbanization with protection and conservation of the natural scenarios. The idea of sustainability was already there.

• After three years, in 1972, in the Stockholm Conference, the principles of sustainability were discussed. For the first time was it alerted to the authorities the danger of developing without the environmental basis. It came for the first time the concept of sustainable development.

• One year later, in 1973 in Brasília, the government created the Environment Secretariat. The environmental laws were developed but stayed on the papers, because the military government had any interest in innovative ideas of sustainable development.

• Only in 1986, with the end of the military time, the government make the National Consul of Environment that through the First Resolution turns obligatory in the country the Environmental Impact Study and the Environmental Impact Report.

• From this moment the landscape projects turn a deed as compensatory action or mitigate procedure in the Environmental Impact Study. The goal is to recuperate or recreate the destroyed ecosystems in the affected natural landscape. Here comes the idea of ecogenesis, the recuperation of damaged ecosystems with the human intervention.

• In 1992 with the ECO-92 the environmental questions are discussed again specially about the sustainable development. In the same year is created in Brazil the first biosphere reserve, in the Atlantic Rainforest. One year later, in 1993, the area of Tijuca, where the park is, turns an Area of Environmental Protection. All new projects in the area need from this moment to follow severe laws of natural protection based on all sustainable development principles.

Spatial analysis of area/project/plan

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• The park is situated in the Lagoon-Margin Protection Belt around the Jacarepagua Lagoon, along one kilometre of a seven kilometres area that involves the Via Parque.

• The project process involved:

1. Recuperation of the mangrove forest.

2. Recreation of a substitution ecosystem.

3. Restructuration of the mangrove forest and the restinga vegetation (vegetation of a salty and sandy land near by the sea) with native flora.

4. Education through the park – the visitors can appreciate and learn about the Atlantic vegetation along the park ways.

5. The park excludes any intensive use, like sport courts – the idea is to rest, to appreciate the nature along the ways and to learn with it.

Core Questions Working Group Nature Conservation / Water

What is the role of user groups?

The park is visited by the local people of all ages. The installations planned for the park include walkways and places to stop and stay. The idea is to invite the visitors to learn about the native plants through explanation signs along the beltway. Moreover there’s a cycle path where the park meets the crest of the slope that separates it from the mangrove and an arena where visitors can gather or disperse (the only constructed element in the park), plus two piers for mooring small boots. The park is intended for extensive use.

What is the role of the city?

The park is situated in a peninsular position, bordering a newly created stretch of “Via Parque” (a highway built along the right side of Tijuca Lagoon, to guarantee a lagoon shoreline protection). The area where is the park, Barra da Tijuca, is an area of expansion of Rio de Janeiro’s city that increases since the 80’s.

How do urban and natural structures interact?

The landscape architect has instituted innovative design strategies that conserve areas of the original ecosystems of the coastal lagoons and restore other areas by mixing fragments of the original vegetation with new indigenous plantings.

The idea is to integrate the restored area to the nature that surrounds the whole city of Rio de Janeiro. It’s not that easy, since the city has the natural landscape as a strong characteristic and the landscape architectural work cannot compete with. The park proposal included a bromeliad garden and a sector dedicated to “restinga” species. For the first time in a public area of Rio de Janeiro one could see terrestrial orchids and species from the dunes and beach ridges. The project tried to organize plants associations according to the landscaping process, resemble the “restingas” that had been destroyed in this area.

An arboretum of Atlantic Rainforest species was planned for the park, even though this was a rather unconventional measure. Visitors could learn to recognize native species of this formation, which constitutes the Atlantic Rainforest Domain, together with “restingas” and mangroves.

The grounds are located at the land-water interface on Tijuca Lagoon – on one front, it’s a privileged site next to a lagoon, with a good view of the surrounding panorama; on the other, natural monuments such as the Tijuca Massif stand out in the landscape.

What is the role of water?

The water’s environment balance is the most important point to guarantee the life of the native species, especially for the mangroves. The illegal occupation on the area and the irregular construction of the new buildings had polluted the lagoon and landed the mangroves. With the implementation of the park a big part of this trash was taken from the lagoon’s water away and the ecosystem of the mangroves was saved.

What is the evolution of the urban relation between humans and nature?

1996, Landscape Architect: Fernando Chacel, Client: ACIBARRA (Commercial and Industrial Association of Barra da Tijuca)

The project shows how a natural and protected area that suffered the impact of an illegal occupation can be restored through the called “ecogenesis”. It is therefore essential that these anthropic substitute ecosystems, through different from the original ones, maintain, preserve and convey to the future the values they once sustained so that they may endure in the environment reality

Analysis of program/function

• What are the main functional characteristics?

The recuperation and preservation of the delicate ecosystem of the mangrove forest is the goal of the park. The walkways and rest areas are just a consequently use, in order to invite the visitors to learn about the ecosystem they are through the park signs.

• How have they been expressed or incorporated?

The main function of the park is the protection of the local ecosystem. It was the only way they found to preserve the area against the massive and aggressive expansion of the city that was destroying completely the mangrove forest.

Illustration: Map/diagram/sketches photos and background notes

Analysis of design/planning process

• How was the area/project/plan formulated and implemented?

The project was formulated by the architect Fernando Chacel together with an interdisciplinary team. They started the project with an inventory of the landscape, where they analyze each element of this landscape. It is observed the physic, the biotic and the anthropic aspects of this landscape and its inter-relations. After that it is establish a program and a concept. Only after the concept come the first drafts. It is important in the beginning of the process to avoid the draw, because the initial prospective is fundamental.

• Were there any important consultations/collaborations?

The architect Fernando Chacel has a partnership with botanists, biologists, geomorphologists, forest engineers, agronomists, urbanists and other architects.

Illustration: Map/diagram/sketches photos and background notes

Analysis of use/users

• How is the area/project/plan used and by whom?

The park is used by the local inhabitants and other visitors. It has any relation with a special public or an age group.

• Is the use changing? Are there any issues?

The park has a stable extensive use. The proposal of the park is to educate the visitors through ecological principles and ideas of preserving.

Future development directions

• How is the area/project/plan evolving?

The future of the park depends on maintain its functions and on remain as an initial model from the whole lagoon-margin protection belt along the linear park “Via Parque”. Unfortunately the construction of the highway “Via Parque” didn’t followed the conceptions of the project – the vegetation was planted at random, without following the park principles.

• Are there any future goals?

The main goal is to keep the park as it is, saved from future new occupations, preserved, conserved and in a good condition.

Peer reviews or critique

• Has the area/ project/plan been reviewed by academic or professional reviewers? What were their main evaluations?

The work of Fernando Chacel was deeply analyzed by the landscape architect Peter Jacobs (fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects and professor of the University of Montreal) in the book “Contemporary Garden Aesthetics, Creations and Interpretations” (Conan, Harvard University Press, 2007) and in the magazine Landscape Architecture of May 2006. Chacel’s work is intensively praised because the ecological focus in the innovative idea of ecogenesis. The integration of the spreading city with more than 600 favelas (informal housing settlements) with its imposing nature is also a Chacel’s challenge that is recognized with admiration. The magazine “Folia” is also a landscape architecture magazine from Italia that had in April 2000 an article about Chacel’s work.

Points of success and limitations

• What do you see as the main points of success and limitations of the area/project/plan?

• Success: The Flora was successful re-established into the park through the process of substitution called ecogenesis. Moreover the local social problem was solved – the illegal inhabitants were relocated to a relative near area.

• Limitations: Although the relocation of the people that occupied illegally the area represented a barrier, the main difficulty during the project was to find native species in the market.

• Future limitations: The park must be conserved; it is difficult in a place with so many social, economical and political problems. The Nature is not taken as an important thing.

In Brazil the idea of conservationism is still new and the most of people, that hasn’t a good education, cannot understand the importance of this.

Illustration: Summary table

What can be generalized from this case study?

• Are there any important theoretical insights?

The project of Prof.Mello Barreto Nature Education Park and other projects from Fernando Chacel in Barra da Tijuca followed the principles of ecogenesis. The concept is not really new, but from 1986 with the new laws, it turned possible the execution of this kind of project. The ecogenesis is a process where ecosystems are recreate as a biotic compensation for the development impacts through landscape solutions.

Which research questions does it generate?

The project is used as a support for researchers through a creation of research applied on the materialization of the ecosystem of substitution. It adopt the principles of ecogenesis for the degraded areas. This kind of intervention once introduced, can turn the position of environmental public institutions strong enough to claim more projects like this, with the substitution system. Consequently the market alerts to the production of native flora in the plants nursery. Nowadays it is still hard to find a variety of native plants for sale in the market, turning the realization of this kind of project more difficult.

Image Gallery

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  View from Prof.Mello Barreto Nature Education Park

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  View of a walkway in the park

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  Overview from the area before the installation

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  Mangroves

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  View to the lagoon

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  View into the park

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  Another walkway in the park

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  Earthwork on the area

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  Area nearly finished

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  View of the park with mountains

References

• References and fotos: CHACEL, Fernando Magalhães . Paisagismo e ecogênese . Rio de Janeiro: Frainha, 2001. Permitted use by the author.
• Other references: CONAN, Michel . Contemporary Garden Aesthetics, Creation and Interpretations . Harvard University Press, 2007.
• Maps of Brazil and Rio de Janeiro: MIRANDA, E.E. de; COUTINHO, A.C. (Coord.) . Brasil Visto do Espaço . Campinas: Embrapa Monitoramento por Satélite, 2004. Disponível em <http://www.cdbrasil.cnpm.embrapa.br>

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