Description

The Prenda Neighbourhood Unit (historically named Precol Neighbourhood Unit no. 1) illustrates Le Corbusier’s direct influence across three distinct scales: urban planning, collective housing blocks, and single-family housing.

Following an internship with Le Corbusier and André Wogenscky in France in 1959, Fernão Simões de Carvalho (born in 1929) returned to his hometown Luanda, where he joined the Municipal Council as an architect and urban planner. In 1961, he led a multi-disciplinary team at the Municipal Urbanisation Office, sharing his knowledge of modern principles acquired from Le Corbusier. Fernão Simões de Carvalho referred to this office as “a true school of urbanism”. He built on concepts from Robert Auzelle, a critic of the Athens Charter who advocated for the integration of socio-economic factors into urban planning. Carvalho had studied with Auzelle at the Sorbonne Institute of Urbanism and was very interested in Le Corbusier’s experiences with béton brut, and the Modulor system, which he learnt from his involvement in the design and construction of the Unité d’Habitation in Berlin and the Convent of La Tourette.

In Luanda, Simões de Carvalho worked within the context of the city‘s demographic expansion driven by the economic boost from the coffee trade and the “II Development Plan”, aimed at addressing the housing shortage and managing the city’s rapid, informal expansion, which had been going on since the 1950s. Luanda was inhabited by natives, Europeans and Africans from other countries who established businesses while evading fiscal control.

He developed urbanisation plans, including the Futungo de Belas Urbanisation Plan (1960–1962), the Luanda Master Plan (1961–1962) and plans for Neighbourhood Units. The Luanda Master Plan introduced a road hierarchy, establishing major thoroughfares and minor routes. Instead of zoning by functions as previously advocated, the plan adopted a system of neighbourhood units where residential, work, equipment, industry and service functions were grouped together. It aimed not only to develop new areas but also to transform the downtown area, where circulation challenges would be addressed by implementing two main penetration axes, one from north to south and another from east to west, connecting the city centre to Angola’s interior through four ring roads. Additionally, three large multi-storey parking facilities were proposed at the intersections of these major roads before entering downtown. While this plan was never implemented, it served as the foundation for structural city axes and the development of three neighbourhood units in Prenda musseque, with two being realised.

Between 1963 and 1965, Fernão Simões de Carvalho collaborated with Luiz Taquelim da Cruz to create a detailed plan for Neighbourhood Unit No. 1, organised according to the “7V’ system” (“Les sept voies de circulation“), a traffic hierarchy system proposed by Le Corbusier and developed by Maxwell Fry and Jane Drew for Chandigarh. This unit covers about 30 hectares and comprises 22 residential buildings. To integrate various social groups, diverse housing types and amenities, such as a cinema and shopping centres, were defined. The unit features a winding commercial street (V4) where traffic moves slowly and a meandering access road (V5) for residences. Between these two roads, many facilities were planned but never constructed. Dead-end streets (V6) were designed for single-family homes and row housing, and small squares were placed between the collective housing blocks.

One-bedroom apartment blocks and office towers concentrated on the commercial street, bounded by V3 roads. This circulation hierarchy, along with open spaces created by pilotis-supported buildings, aimed to foster community gatherings and build trust among residents of varying socio-economic backgrounds. The planned population ratio comprised 1/3 indigenous and 2/3 European residents, with 1,150 housing units. The architect hoped this ratio would evolve over time, contributing to a multi-cultural society.

Simões de Carvalho emphasised socio-living aspects over climatic or hygienic concerns, which had dominated planning in African colonies. Nevertheless, he considered climate factors by adopting the semi-duplex design, facilitating cross ventilation and avoiding block alignment with prevailing winds in Luanda. External louvres were integrated for shading.

Prenda presented an opportunity to synthesise architecture and urban planning, as Simões de Carvalho, in collaboration with architects José Pinto da Cunha (1921–1985) and Fernando Alfredo Pereira (1927–), also accepted a commission from Precol, initiated by the Luanda Municipality, to design the residential blocks of the neighbourhood. The blocks varied in height and typology, with 12 floors (Type A, west), seven floors (Type B1, north, and Type D1, south), six floors (Type D2, south), and 16 floors (west and southeast). They shared a consistent formal solution, elevated on pilotis with horizontal circulation galleries, allowing for diverse housing modules. Out of the 28 planned blocks, 22 were realised.

While the Prenda Neighbourhood Unit has undergone alterations, with informal settlements encroaching on open spaces and between pilotis, it still stands out in the city‘s skyline and layout—a symbol of modern urban planning, an isolated island where efforts were made to uphold the principles of the Athens Charter during a time when it was believed that the city‘s rapid growth could be regulated, populations integrated, and pleasant living conditions created for all.

References

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Originally published in: Uta Pottgiesser, Ana Tostões, Modernism in Africa. The Architecture of Angola, Ghana, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Birkhäuser, 2024.