Project Statement

"Lugar de Encontro" or a Landscape of Encounters is a transformative landscape urbanism project in Sobral, Ceará that repurposes a former airport site (closed in 2017) that displaced the historic Pajeú Creek disrupting the Jaguaribe watershed. At the heart of our design lies a commitment to water filtration responding to the city's distraught relationship with sewage water treatment and urban flooding. By reclaiming the airport as an ecological armature, the project builds upon existing filtration efforts, strengthens connections between fragmented neighborhoods, and creates a diversified public realm representing the rich biodiversity of the underappreciated Caatinga biome.  

Project Narrative

Project Narrative: "Lugar de Encontro" – Reclaiming Sobral's Ecological and Cultural Heart

Sobral, Ceará, has long been a center of health, education, and industry, earning its place as the second-fastest-growing city in the state. In 1978, the construction of an airport runway displaced a historic creek within the Jaguaribe watershed exacerbating flooding and disrupting adjacent water filtration systems. The defunct airport, closed in 2017, now stands as a critical urban void, fragmenting Sobral's ecological and urban systems.

Design Vision

At the heart of our design lies a commitment to water filtration and ecological restoration responding to the city's distraught relationship with sewage water treatment and urban flooding. The project aims to reconnect the blue system—from the existing Filtration Gardens (the city's pilot natural filtration project) to the downstream Acaraú River—while embracing landscape as a pedagogical tool for environmental awareness and community engagement. Water management strategies showcase the region's diverse habitats, integrating ecological approaches to landscape remediation.

The project exhibits a multi-layered interconnected system- An ecological approach to landscape remediation with a blue-green armature, a cohesive urban development that stitches fragmented neighborhoods as well as Sobral's strong cultural identity reflected in an interconnected system of civic anchors. These interconnected systems are showcased through four major nodes.

Node 1: Celebrating Water Filtration

Strategically positioned near the UVA campus, the first node celebrates natural water filtration techniques. This water museum serves as a civic hub, engaging the community and leveraging the city's strong educational resources. Pajeu Creek, which once terminated at the runway, now meanders through the regraded site, traversing an expansive filtration system.

Node 2: Fostering Local Economies and Social Encounters

A multipurpose pavilion, designed to host markets, fairs, and events, celebrates local culture, as well as legacy and trade of native fruit production, while integrating seamlessly into the Sertão habitat; the dry ecosystem of Caatinga.

Node 3: Reviving Connection with Water

Acaraú once stood as a vibrant cultural anchor, bustling with social activities, including canoeing. In recent years, however, these traditions have diminished due to various factors, including environmental degradation and urban development. This node, situated at the confluence of the filtered water creek and the Acaraú River, aims to revive active recreation by reintroducing canoeing and river bathing; culturally significant practices that have faded over time.

Node 4: Weaving Community and Urban Wetlands

Sobral lies on the eastern flyway, witnessing the migration of various bird species. The city is filled with opportunities to interact with nature like the nearby Heron's lake but lacks access, leaving green spaces fragmented. The wetland plaza interweaves urban wetlands with communities while being adaptable to the city's varying seasons—extreme dry and extreme rainfall.

Lugar de Encontro seeks to continue Sobral’s trajectory as the center of health, education, and industry by envisioning a landscape that integrates ecological technologies to celebrate green and blue systems within the urban fabric, enhances multimodal connectivity, and supports Sobral’s emergence as the second-fastest growing city in Ceará, Brazil.