Security and Architecture: Violence and the urban design in Rio de Janeiro

Supervisors: Jorge Fiori, Sam Jacoby

It is possible to argue that security is a constant that is always present in architecture and the idea of the city. In Rio de Janeiro, architecture, topography, legislation and social conflicts have shaped an urban model in which fear and security are visible. This thesis investigates the consequences of violence on the morphologies and typologies found in Rio. It will identify and analyse the shifts in definition and perception of security and violence that have transformed the idea and form of the city over time.

Thiago Tavares Abranches de Soveral graduated from the Architecture and Art Centre of Universidade Snt Ursula, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2003. He subsequently studied at the Bauhaus in Germany at the Transnational Spaces Kolleg Programme. He worked as an architect in Rio de Janeiro before joining the MPhil in Projective Cities at the Architectural Association. In 2013 he earned a scholarship from the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) to develop his PhD research at the AA.