To know, to coexist and to live together

In a city like São Paulo, seeing a STOP sign on the street is as common as encountering beggars and homeless people. The difference is that when we see them, we speed up. For me, born and raised between the Brás and Mooca neighborhoods and a student in the Luz district, which has the highest number of drug users, this scenario was even more familiar.

At the end of my street, I knew of a place called Arsenal da Esperança which, according to my neighbors, attracts an undesirable and violent population. I knew it was a shelter run by Italian missionaries and that for over a century, it had welcomed millions of immigrants arriving by train from the port of Santos, including my maternal grandfather from Basilicata. Not by chance, the Arsenal shares space with the Immigration Museum and an old train station.

When I was younger, I used to spend a few weeks of my holidays volunteering at the Arsenal. One afternoon, I participated in the Floresta que cresce, an initiative in which guests are encouraged to engage in social actions. Talking and listening to their stories, I better understood the circumstances that can lead a person to the streets, and this made the stereotypical image I had of a “homeless person” seem even more jarring.

While attending the Arsenal, I took part in many other initiatives open also to the surrounding community, such as the Batuca-Bresser carnival parade, the Bazaar, the Migrant Festival promoted in collaboration with the Immigration Museum, and also A Praça, a meeting point for local youth and adults. Despite the numerous initiatives, the Arsenal still suffers great pressure from residents, who blame it for the violence and drug trafficking in the neighborhood.

It is in this context, mixing historical legacies, emotional memories, and professional concerns, and inspired by the work of the Arsenal da Esperança, that at the end of my architecture course at the University of São Paulo, I decided to dedicate my thesis to the theme: Know, coexist, and live together: a proposal for the Hospedaria de Imigrantes in Brás.

When I presented the idea, I felt great openness and harmony from Sermig, which is trying to rethink and develop the Arsenal as a place even more open to the street, creating, for example, a café and spaces for workshops and activities for the neighborhood. In my thesis, I use architecture to facilitate this integration, creating environments that promote coexistence and exchange among people.

By reconfiguring the spaces of the Arsenal, the project aims to break down the barriers between the guests and the external community, transforming this large house into a cultural meeting point where people can engage in activities that promote social inclusion. Reorganizing the structure is essential to create a welcoming atmosphere, where living together is seen as a fundamental right for everyone. I truly hope that at least part of it will come true.


NP February 2025
Raissa Tronnolone Martin