The Babassu Harvesters Reference Center, designed by Estudio Flume a municipality in the state of Maranhão in the Northeast region of Brazil where there are different rural communities dedicated to the harvesting of babassu coconut The design was the result of work carried out with a series of collective design workshops in local communities Given the lack of resources and the absence of collective facilities in these communities Estudio Flume began by carrying out a study of the production process that would allow it to understand the production process carried out by the workers to carry out a project where the spaces and flows between the different programs that had to be hosted were optimized The centre is organized under a large light roof where a structure of pillars and brick walls organize a series of small buildings and open spaces or patios a sequence of places where the more than 40 women (mothers and grandmothers) who are part of the group of collectors find a decent place to work and meet with their families and neighbours Project description by Estudio Flume. The formation of organized associations within rural communities has allowed us to gain a deeper understanding of the dynamics of processing babaçu The project represents an innovation in the daily lives of the community we worked alongside them in a series of collective design workshops By taking various approaches to finding solutions whether through images or speculations we organized the utility of the space and hierarchies within the built ensemble architecture functions as a means to provide the community with freedom and the future of the project with flexibility to adapt to new demands Even with the focus on productive activity we identified that every project opportunity should necessarily be an opportunity to gather and unite Keeping in mind that the village has scarce resources and no shared facilities the project is organized around a series of courtyards Given that more than 40 women make up the group of babaçu harvesters the workspaces also transform into places for meeting and recreation for their families and neighbours The project defines its constructive features based on a reinterpretation of local materials and building techniques The region still has many single-family homes made of wattle and daub The village is located 35 km from the nearest urban center: the city of Vitória do Mearim situated within the Mearim River Basin (UEMA/ NuGeo floods with the waters of the Grajaú and Igarapé Ipixuna rivers making land transport impossible during the rainy season and the understanding of local techniques and resources the maintenance of the built structure is minimized over time This self-supporting structure defines the work and living spaces independent structure to support the roof was made with local wood sourced from forest resources authorized by IBAMA This double roof system offers better thermal comfort conditions ensuring permanently shaded and ventilated areas.Coconut Harvester Center by Estudio Flume it provides a protected construction site where the different stages of the building process could take place creating a sheltered area for brick production on-site The roof includes gutters for rainwater harvesting and the project incorporates systems for treating sewage and greywater through a biodigester septic tank and banana tree circle All these techniques were discussed and disseminated within the community encouraging their replicability to achieve a greater environmental impact than the project itself Estudio Flume. Lead Architect.- Noelia Monteiro Architect / Coordinator.- Christian Teshirogi Architect / Lighting Design.- Ana Lúcia Hizo Maíra Acayaba. Archive Architecture You'll now receive updates based on what you follow Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors If you have done all of this and still can't find the email is this workspace for babassu coconut harvesters the São Paulo practice of Noelia Monteiro and Christian Teshirogi Vast babassu groves spread out in the mid-north of Brazil Babassu is an important source of income for local communities The oil of its fruit has much commercial value for the food and cosmetics industries and is extracted almost exclusively by women the project is based on a rereading of building tradition with materials of the region because the village is located in the watershed of the Mearim River Given geographical conditions and lack of access to construction materials blocks of rammed earth were the chosen material manually compressed with a mechanical press then the roof was built with a frame of wood from a forestry resource authorized by IBAMA (Brazilian Institute of Natural Renewable Resources) thus also providing a protected area on the building site for the manufacture of bricks during the rainy season This was followed by the making of self-supporting masonry modules The roof includes rainwater-collecting gutters as well as graywater-treatment systems Workshops were held with the rural communities to learn the productive process of the harvesters and thus know how to design spaces that would optimize the uses by organizing the productive activities in a dynamic flow around a series of covered and open-air courtyards This facility was distinguished in the Collective Places section of the fifth Living Places – Simon Achitecture awards (2024) there arent any match using your search terms but regularly takes on social and environmental projects in remote areas across the country “We work across different biomes,” explains Monteiro “Each one is an opportunity to learn about the areas’ different geography Our projects always have the goal to improve the conditions of the communities we are working within—the learning process before construction is the most important phase.” But Estudio Flume’s holistic practice reaches still further providing its clients and their communities with tools and frameworks in addition to built spaces Estudio Flume completed construction on a new building in Sumauma village in the Vitória do Mearim district of northern Brazil that now serves as a place of work for about 40 local women who grow and break babassu coconuts that are then transformed into oil and flour Built using portable machinery that will remain permanently at the site and with bricks made of dirt from its grounds the new building—which features large spaces open to the outdoors and an elegantly pitched roof—offers shade enabling the babassu coconut-breakers to preserve their historical way of working It also minimizes travel needs: the closest city is about a four-hour drive from the remote locale and variation in water levels in the region makes river transport necessary at certain times of the year these factors will allow for a possible expansion of the project in the future—one led by the community itself Sign up to our newsletter for the latest arts and culture updates This website no longer supports the Internet Explorer web browser Microsoft is retiring and will no longer support Internet Explorer.  Please use another web browser to access this website.   Click here for more details. 2024 - Vale and Wabtec Corporation (NYSE: WAB) announced today a master service agreement (MSA) to further increase the efficiency and operations of the Evolution Series (EVO) locomotive fleet on the Estrada de Ferro Carajás (EFC) will optimize the maintenance services for Vale’s fleet increasing performance and the potential for expanded freight transport on the EFC connecting the southeast of Pará to the capital of Maranhão "This long-term strategic agreement means a new standard of reliability availability and safety for EFC locomotives reinforcing our commitment to consistently invest in the quality and technology of our railway operations and promote the technological development of the railway sector in Brazil,” said Carlos Medeiros Vice President of Operations at Vale.  Wabtec will analyze locomotive performance data from the last three years at EFC The company also will provide Vale real-time monitoring on 5,000 parameters of the EVO locomotives operating on the railway Wabtec’s Global Performance Optimization Centers will evaluate the data and identify opportunities for continuous performance improvement and optimization of maintenance cycles - reducing towing and failure rates A global leader in the supply of equipment digital solutions and value-added services for the railway sectors Wabtec has been supporting more than 18,000 locomotives around the world for almost two decades.  “Wabtec has a proven history of providing integrated services designed to maximize reliability and availability of customers' locomotives at optimal operating costs,” said Danilo Miyasato President and Regional Leader of Wabtec in Latin America “This contract reinforces our long-standing working relationship with Vale to drive sustainable and efficient growth of EFC's railway operations.”  Economic Impact and Job Generation in São Luís: In addition to planning and supplying parts for preventive maintenance the agreement foresees the creation of specialized jobs in São Luís contributing to the local economy and strengthening regional infrastructure The job opportunities add specific skills to the sector preparing the local workforce for advanced technological challenges in the railway industry Intensive training programs will be carried out with the Vale team preparing employees to maintain and operate the locomotives with the highest efficiency.  This contract also brings the positive socioeconomic benefits of the Partilhar Program a Vale initiative that aims to support and encourage its supply chain to contribute to the sustainable development of the regions where it operates Social investments in local communities add to other programs already developed by Wabtec through Voluntec a group of company employees who focus their actions on the areas covered by the contract Vale and Wabtec have worked together for almost three decades to supply locomotives the two companies also announced an agreement for the purchase of three FLXdrive battery locomotives The two companies also plan to study ammonia as an alternative fuel to diesel.  About ValeVale is a global mining company that exists to improve lives and transform the future together One of the world's largest producers of iron ore and nickel and a major copper producer Vale is headquartered in Brazil and operates around the world Its operations comprise integrated logistics systems including approximately 2,000 kilometres of railways marine terminals and 10 ports distributed around the globe Vale has the ambition to be recognized by society as a benchmark in safety and a benchmark in creating and sharing value.  Wabtec Media Inquiries (Brazil)Tatiana FernandezTatiana [dot] Fernandes [at] wabtec [dot] com (Tatiana[dot]Fernandes[at]wabtec[dot]com)+55 31 99120-6546 Wabtec Media Inquiries (USA)Tim BaderTim [dot] Bader [at] wabtec [dot] com (Tim[dot]Bader[at]wabtec[dot]com)682.319.7925 Wabtec Investor InquiriesKyra YatesKyra [dot] Yates [at] wabtec [dot] com (Kyra[dot]Yates[at]wabtec[dot]com)817.349.2735 Vale Media InquiriesBruno DeiroBruno [dot] Deiro [at] vale [dot] com (Bruno[dot]Deiro[at]vale[dot]com)+55 21 99299-9752 Transportation solutions that revolutionize the way the world moves we help our customers overcome their toughest challenges by delivering rail and industrial solutions that improve safety 30 Isabella StreetPittsburgh, PA 15212 - USAPhone: 412-825-1000Fax: 412-825-1019 By 2023-10-03T15:00:00+01:00 BRAZIL: Mining group Vale SA is equipping the Estrada de Ferro Carajás with 4G internet in partnership with telecommunications specialist Vivo the installation is expected to improve safety and efficiency at a cost of R$240m Forming the core of a major communications upgrade along the 892 km line between mines in the Serra do Carajás and the deep-water port at Ponta da Madeira near São Luis together with the 101 km branch serving the S11D iron ore deposit 4G will allow all communications on the 1 600 mm gauge railway to be switched from analogue to digital Real-time video transmission will be available for train crews giving drivers the ability to see the status of track and equipment along the route Information generated by telemetry on train performance will be available in real time along the entire railway and staff will benefit from more stable mobile phone communications So far 27 communications masts have been installed Connectivity to EFC’s regular passenger service will be enhanced and communities along the route are expected to benefit as well Vale CEO Eduardo Bartolomeo said that ‘this initiative is in line with our commitment to invest in projects of shared value with society It meets not only Vale’s needs ― modernising the technology used to exchange data during the movement of trains ― but also those of the communities.’ Vivo Vice-President of Business Alex Salgado asserted that ‘our private network project plays a leading role in the materialisation of initiatives that accelerate industrial digitalisation artificial intelligence and analytics within the operation All 15 passenger stations along the route will have a free internet signal by the end of 2024; the first five stations to be equipped will be São Luís Vitória do Mearim EFC and Vivo are keen to emphasise how much communities along the route will benefit Around 280 free internet access points will be provided at busy locations where there are schools Vale is currently in discussion with local representatives to determine which locations will be offered access said that ‘since the project was conceived we have combined the need to modernise the railroad’s communications with meeting a legitimate demand from the communities which is to have greater access to digital telephony in the region’ BRAZIL: Mining company Vale has ordered 50 Wabtec Evolution Series diesel locomotives to modernise operations and lower carbon emissions on its Vitória a Minas and Carajás railways The order announced on March 26 covers 36 EVOBBW locomotives for EFVM BRAZIL: Mining company Vale submitted engineering design documents for the 92∙8 km Ferrovia Kennedy to the Espírito Santo state government in early July The line from Anchieta to Presidente Kennedy near the border of Rio de Janeiro state will serve Piúma BRAZIL: Mining group Vale has signed a 10-year master service agreement with Wabtec Corp for maintenance of the Evolution series diesel-electric locomotives used on the 1 600 mm gauge Estrada de Ferro Carajás the agreement will ‘optimise the maintenance services for Vale’s fleet Site powered by Webvision Cloud The community of babassu harvesters gather and work here A rural hub in Brazil connects the babassu harvesters a female community of workers in Maranhão The sprawling Maranhão Babaçu forests are home to dazzling flora, but also the traditional community of babassu harvesters. This local, predominantly female group living in the north of Brazil has been working in its distinctive tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion environment for decades its daily life and economy strongly linked to the region’s dominant plant can be opened to reveal seeds that can be pressed for oil whose properties make it popular in the beauty It is here that São Paulo’s Estudio Flume just completed its latest project the Reference Center of Babassu Coconut Breakers  ‘[Babassu oil] is the livelihood of a large part of the rural population and is extracted almost exclusively by women: the coconut harvesters,’ say architects Noelia Monteiro and Christian Teshirogi ‘It is estimated that there are more than 300,000 female babassu coconut harvesters spread throughout the Mata dos Cocais regions.They are officially recognised as one of the 28 Brazilian traditional communities.  either by hindering access or by cutting down the palm trees to make pasture The harvesters’ quest for survival is based on strategies such as grouping women through associations strengthening their representation before institutions and dignifying their work by trying to add value to the product through alternative applications.’  Located in a village some 35km away from the city of Vitória do Mearim These were compressed manually with a mechanical press on site working with the limited construction possibilities in this hard-to-access rural part of the country The building’s role is to provide a physical hub a space for the women to gather and work under protected by the elements – yet it remains open enough to align with the community’s traditions and ways of working A series of collective workshops on site allowed the team at Estudio Flume to fine-tune the users’ needs and adjust their design to better fit its purpose which act as a focal point for the community ‘Considering that more than 40 women who make part of the group of breakers are mothers and grandmothers the workplace also becomes a meeting place a place for social mobilisation and recreation for their families and neighbours,’ the architects said estudioflume.com Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox. Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper* She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006 visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas Ellie has also taken part in judging panels such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022) You don't have permission to access the page you requested What is this page?The website you are visiting is protected.For security reasons this page cannot be displayed.