Architects: Ayako Arquitetura, Helena Meirelles arquitetura, Larissa Monteiro, Zebulun Arquitetura, messina | rivas
Area: 790 m²
Year: 2023
Photography: Federico Cairoli
Lead Architects: Carlos Zebulun, Francisco Rivas, Helena Meirelles, Juliana Ayako, Larissa Monteiro, Rodrigo Messina
Urban Landscape: Ecomimesis Soluções Ecológicas LTDA
Project Management: Ricardo Kawamoto
Structure: Kleber Ribeiro
Water Treatment: Ana Kling
Lighting: Carlos Florido
Geometric Pavement: Leandro Vaz, Jorge Luiza da Silva
Installations: Paulo Roberto Silva
Execution: Ecomimesis Soluções Ecológicas LTDA, Cone Engenharia
City/Location: Realengo, Rio de Janeiro
Country: Brazil
Realengo Park Market Square in Rio de Janeiro forms part of the Parque Realengo complex, a civic initiative shaped by sustained community dialogue. Designed collaboratively by Ayako Arquitetura, Helena Meirelles arquitetura, Larissa Monteiro, Zebulun Arquitetura, and messina | rivas, the 790-square-meter project transforms a corner once occupied by informal shops into a structured yet adaptable public space. Two intersecting buildings define the site: one a broad steel canopy marking an entry point to the park, and the other a low concrete gallery accommodating relocated local stores. The design prioritizes continuity between preexisting urban life and new civic infrastructure, offering shaded gathering areas and open plazas that encourage everyday social use. As a result, the Market Square operates as both threshold and destination—an interface between formal planning and grassroots urban culture.
The Market Square emerged from a long process of negotiation involving residents, designers, and social movements advocating for equitable access to public amenities. Located in Realengo, a district historically affected by uneven urban development, the project responds to the challenge of designing in contexts marked by displacement and environmental vulnerability. Instead of erasing prior occupations, the architects integrated them into a broader spatial reorganization that maintains the social and economic fabric of the community. The outcome is a project that redefines public architecture as a collaborative and adaptive process.
The architectural composition is based on two linear structures that intersect to form a cohesive whole. The taller of the two defines the park’s entrance, where a steel canopy stretches sixty-six meters in length, supported by slender trusses that create a lightweight, permeable roof. This volume establishes a shaded civic threshold, open to multiple interpretations and uses—from temporary markets to cultural gatherings. Its indeterminate nature allows residents to appropriate the space in ways that reflect their daily rhythms, underscoring the project’s flexibility and openness.
In contrast, the lower concrete structure houses eleven commercial units that replace the informal stores previously occupying the site. Each unit was assigned to existing shopkeepers, ensuring continuity for local businesses that serve the neighborhood’s daily needs. This pragmatic approach to relocation preserves social ties while formalizing the spatial environment. Supporting facilities, including a public restroom and an open square, extend the utility of the project beyond the park’s boundaries, fostering constant public use.
Materially, the architecture expresses structural clarity and economy. The canopy’s steel framework forms two trusses connected by nine-meter beams, achieving large spans with minimal support. Rotated concrete pillars at the edges promote visual fluidity and ease of movement, while the gallery’s concrete block walls and steel frame slab ensure durability. These straightforward construction methods embody an ethos of efficiency suitable for public works, where robustness and accessibility take precedence over monumentality.
The Market Square’s significance, however, lies as much in its process as in its physical form. Developed amid public debate and mobilization led by initiatives such as the Realengo 2030 Agenda, the project stands as an example of architecture as advocacy. It illustrates how design can operate within contested terrains, translating community demands into spatial realities without dissolving the complexities of the context. Rather than delivering a static vision, the architects cultivated a framework for ongoing occupation and reinterpretation.
Ultimately, Realengo Park Market Square demonstrates how architecture can mediate between institutional intentions and collective aspirations. It is a modest yet powerful intervention that prioritizes inclusion over spectacle, continuity over replacement, and dialogue over prescription. By intertwining commerce, recreation, and public life, the project underscores the potential of small-scale, community-driven architecture to transform peripheral urban landscapes into spaces of shared belonging and civic dignity.
Project Gallery
Project Location
Address: Realengo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
The location specified is intended for general reference and may denote a city or country, but it does not identify a precise address.
