Interpositions: Architectural interventions in Mafalala, Mozambique

This publication contains the works of third-year architecture students attending the KADK - The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Schools of Architecture, Design and Conservation - Institute of Architecture, Urbanism and Landscape. The students produced the entire material during the intense three-month period of the development of their bachelor thesis projects, comprising architectural proposals for community center projects in the context of Mafalala, an informal settlement in Maputo, the capital of Mozambique. The publication presents material from the entire development process of the community center projects, including survey of the context, urban analysis, programmatic diagrams, abstract interpretations of the context, typological massing models, tectonic detail models, and final project proposals.

Cities in Africa are growing rapidly, due to migration from rural areas and high fertility rates. Much of the urban development takes place without effective planning and infrastructure provision and the majority of the urban population growth is accommodated in informal settlements, characterized by problems with insecure tenure, housing of poor quality, overcrowding, as well as inadequate access to safe water and sewage.

The community center projects produced by the students discuss the UN Sustainable Development Goals related to the context by addressing issues such as access to health, education, gender equality, water, sanitation, and climate change. The process of developing the projects involved interdisciplinary collaboration reflecting societal analysis, technical knowhow, and artistic work, as expressions of a holistic understanding of the architecture profession embodied in the work of the students.