Domesticity and modern social housing in France and in Brazil: historiography and heritage

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to study the ways of living in the residential complexes suggested and implemented by the modern architectural concepts of housing rationing, workers' housing and minimum dwelling in housing complexes. As part of a broader research on domesticity and ways of living, we will seek to study gender relations and the role of women in formalizing housing programs, from two different perspectives: that of residents, and that of people in charge of promoting the programs (i.e., architects, engineers and social workers). We will investigate the ways of living influenced by the modern minimum dwelling movement abroad, notably in France, and its interpretation and appropriation in Brazil, problematizing the worker housing concepts promoted by the State. Based on documentary, bibliographical and iconographic research, we will study the housing standards proposed in residential complexes from the beginning of the 20th century through the grand ensembles of the post-war period, including the emblematic Corbusian dwellings. Since the 1990s, Brazilian historiography has focused on broadening the understanding of architecture, including, for example, social housing - however, the knowledge surrounding this production still needs to be expanded. The relationships between this production and Latin America, as far as the ways of living are concerned, and (well beyond that) housing production in France are some of the subjects that have yet to be explored by the Brazilian literature on this field. In that sense, I intend to pursue a research internship at the Center d'histoire sociale du XXème siècle of Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, which gathers scholars who have dedicated years of study on the subject, as that presents a unique opportunity to strengthen research on this field in Brazil.