Project, Land, and Freedom: The Ilé Wa Quilombo Mesquita Community House

Abstract

This paper lays on an empirical design exercise to discuss the possibilities of breaking with the hegemonic logics of space and materiality production in architecture. A project is proposed for a Community House in Quilombo Mesquita, located in Goiás, about 50 km far from Brasília Federal District. Quilombola communities have been an alternative to the social structures of oppression since their creation. They represent the cultural resistance and social organization of the black population and their descendants. In short, quilombola territories and traditions symbolize freedom. How can architecture designed for the Quilombo contribute to breaking hegemonic spatial structures and expressing freedom? This paper attempts to answer this question through a discussion that relates to counter-hegemonic values and design, and vernacular knowledge, topics that are discussed in this issue of V!RUS Journal. The goal is to create a place with a non-hegemonic logic of design. To this end, Quilombo's territory and history, and the participation of the community in the definition of the guidelines and development were essential. The methodology is structured in the theoretical and historical contextualization of quilombos, with an emphasis on the Quilombo Mesquita, and the project development process, whose result is the Ilé Wa Community House. This project expresses the sense of freedom through the relationship with the territory, the spatial configuration, and constructive elements. As it emphasizes memory, vernacular knowledge, and the struggle for freedom which is in the essence of the quilombos, the project highlights possibilities for architecture to break with spatial structures evoking oppression.