TAMassociati and Arup on display in the Italian Pavilion at La Biennale di Venezia
“This project is a great opportunity, because it explores the way to develop a new concept of social housing addressing some of the most urgent contemporary challenges for emerging countries, such as urbanization, social integration, sustainability and placemaking”.
Photo by Andrea Avezzù courtesy La Biennale di Venezia
TAMassociati and Arup present a world preview of a new masterplan: 10,000 new units of Social Housing in Cameroon. A pilot project for future planning throughout the African continent
The new project by TAMassociati and Arup, one of the largest urban projects in the history of this African nation, will be exhibited in the section Global South, coordinated by Paola Ruotolo. This area of the exhibition will recount the experiences of Italian architects working alongside the international communities most exposed to climate change and its social consequences.
The “Les Pétales” masterplan, included in the Cameroonian government’s National Social Housing Program, aims to build 10,000 homes and 61 public buildings in six years to respond to the rapid population growth in urban areas and the lack of affordable housing. A pressure that is exploding, with all the related social imbalances, especially around the capital Yaoundé, where the housing shortage is growing steadily.
“The city is seen by millions of people as the only opportunity to improve their living conditions and access a higher level of services (health, education, work …),” explain the TAMassociati and Arup designers. “An expectation that for many remains unfulfilled and translates into a further deterioration in their quality of life. In this context, the problem of housing and access to housing is central.”