Analysis of apartments designs in João Pessoa, PB (1980-2016): renovations and reproductions in spatial arrangements

Abstract

This paper is part of a master’s dissertation proposing to examine some examples of apartment floor plans in the city of João Pessoa, northeastern Brazil, built between 1980s and 2016. The research study addresses the evolution of apartments as products, from the point of view of the market and academic research in architecture and urbanism. The main goal is to analyse apartment floor plans in the city of João Pessoa, aiming to identify reproductions and renewals in spatial arrangements. The study analyses aspects related to functional issues of the space (the needs programme), its dimensional issues (total dimensions of sectors and rooms) and space configurations (through spatial syntax). The method adopted sought to detect patterns that repeated over time and to point out eventual alterations, from a diachronic perspective. The results obtained indicate that the designs offered by the real estate market present renewals that subvert some historical patterns of Brazilian dwellings, as well as reproductions of characteristics that appear to be almost crystallised in the domestic space of the apartment floor plans.

Keywords:
Apartment floor plans; Spatial arrangement; Space configuration