Ecological Park in Carapicuíba village: landscape participative design enriching a historical heritage

Abstract

This article discusses the design project “Ecological Park in Carapicuíba Village”, which was started in 1994 and was implemented in 2004. The process put together different themes such as the recuperation and consolidation of the feeling of belonging to a place considered a historical and environmental patrimony. The study points out the community concept of participation in the design process, considering that, in this case enabled the implementation of the park and strengthened the preservation of the historical and environmental patrimony. The participative method for designing the park enabled the articulation of various levels of teaching, and was accomplished by a team work involving an architect hired by the municipality, graduate students of the FAUUSP (College of Architecture and Urbanism – University of São Paulo) and the staff and high school students of the Esmeralda Becker Freire de Carvalho School, situated in the Carapicuíba historical village. In this process the execution of the original project, even being partial, was only possible because of the community involvement. The participative process also highlights that the relation between art and perception, when goes beyond the simple observation, may contribute to the sense of belonging to a place, and in this case, the preservation of the historical and environmental patrimony. By stimulating the school to occupy the art spaces when developing its perception, it enabled a possibility of a greater valuation of the historical, environmental and cultural patrimony.