Banca de DEFESA: DANIELA PEREIRA DE FREITAS MONTENEGRO

BALCONIES: HOUSING QUALITY FOR WELL-BEING OF USER MIXED USE BUILDING IN NATAL/RN

Residential architecture, habitability, well-being

This professional master's qualification work consists of the development of the
architectural design of a mixed-use building in Natal/RN, emphasizing the discussion of
the architecture of well-being as a means of qualifying living. This document is composed
of a technical report and the development of the architectural project. As a result of the
behavioral changes resulting from the covid 19 pandemic, especially in the residential
environment, it was possible to perceive a growing interest in horizontal buildings. In
Natal and the metropolitan region, it was possible to identify, through the interpretation
of satellite images, the expressive crowding in horizontal condominiums during the
pandemic. In that scenario, social isolation as one of the most effective practices in
combating the spread of the disease led many people to develop illnesses, such as
depression. It is believed that families residing in multifamily buildings were the most
affected, especially due to the spatial limitations that are often characteristic of this
housing model. From the previous reflections, the question is: how should vertical
multifamily projects respond to the space of living, especially in the post-pandemic? The
hypothesis is that multifamily residential projects centered on the well-being of users
should respond to the main demands of today and tomorrow. In this way, the general
objective of the work is to develop an architectural proposal in the form of a preliminary
design of a mixed-use building conceived from the perspective of well-being. To achieve
this, we seek to research the main spatial and behavioral transformations of users in the
residential environment during the covid 19 pandemic, study design guidelines based on
the concepts of well-being, quality of life and the person-environment relationship and
apply, also in the design process guidelines that can validate an architecture based on
this concept. Methodologically, systematic studies in dissertations, theses and various
articles with related themes were carried out, with the intention of providing a theoretical-
conceptual basis so that, subsequently, the architectural proposal would be supported
technically as well as theoretically. Studies of indirect references in several projects were
carried out, which significantly helped in the programmatic and plastic definitions of the
building under development. Based on the disciplines taken in the referred program, the
design process was being developed and improved, generating interesting discussions
regarding the concept of the project, its architectural approach, the intentional choice of
the land, the studies of urban conditions and prescriptions and, finally, the development
of a satisfactory project proposal. It is expected, with this partial work, to be meeting the
minimum requirements for continuation in this program, so that the development of the
work results in collaborative discussions for those most interested due to the relevant
theme of living with quality.