ZEMCH 2015 - International Conference Proceedings | Page 294

1 Introduction
Due to the new carbon dioxide (CO2) constraints and regulations caused by the global warming
increase, the development of zero energy and CO2 emission sustainable houses has become crucial for the future of the building construction (Noguchi 2013). However, the common concept
of social housing is usually linked to mass production for the achievement of low cost on a large
scale, which disregards important social issues.
Some Latin American countries have followed the tendency of mass-produced housing since the
1990s, based on public investment with the decisive participation of the private sector. In Brazil,
a series of regulatory, institutional and productive mechanisms might favour and expand the
role of private actors in the housing policy. The private sector participation empirically outlines
a blurred boundary between production forms for the construction of social housing and those
destined to the housing market, creating a hybrid intermediate zone – the “social housing market” (Shimbo 2012).
Based on this new arrangement – market, institutional mechanisms, investment funds and sources – Brazil has taken on the large-scale production housing, specifically with the “My House, My
Life Program” (Programa Minha Casa, Minha Vida - PMCMV), producing 3.4 million housing units in
only five years (2009-2014). The Program, still in operation, is organized in Tracks defined according to household income ranges. Track 1 is applied to social housing for low-income households
(monthly incomes of up to R$ 1,600.00 or approximately 700 USD - January / 2014), whereas the
other two tracks (Track 2, up to R$ 3,100.00 or 1,300 USD and Track 3, up to R$ 5,000.00 or 2,000
USD) refer to the housing market destined for middle-income families.
Track 1 absorbs the social housing programs that have operated in Brazil since President Lula’s first
term (2003-2006), with some significant changes, especially regarding the amount of resources
and role of promoter agents. Tracks 2 and 3 clearly evidence the encouragement of public authorities to the housing production by private actors for low-income and middle-income sectors. In
both cases, construction companies gain relevance because they are actors of the program no
longer restricted to government biddings and quotation requisitions, and real estate agents who
intermediate landowners, fiscal agents and consumers.
The production of the PMCMV is characterized by a large scale and standardization of the housing product, which is mostly large housing estates composed of three basic patterns: vertical
buildings (most of them with up to five floors and no elevator), horizontal developments (single
houses and often double-houses) and a combination of both in the same land. The low architectural and urban planning quality is a frequent criticism of the housing development of PMCMV
(Ferreira 2012, Cardoso 2013). Recent studies have clearly pointed the design of such houses does
not take thermal comfort and energy efficiency into consideration (Lopes & Shimbo 2015).
As a critical perspective, the concept of “mass customization” could improve the housing quality
in the Brazilian context considering the large scale and individual dynamic needs and desires with
no increase in costs. Such a concept dates from 1950’s, explicated in the book ‘Scope of Total Architecture’ (Gropius 1956), where the author emphasizes the need of ‘standardizing and mass-producing not entire houses, but only some components to be disposed in a customized way, considering not only the decrease in operational cost and time (by mass-producing elements), but
also quality (customization).

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ZEMCH 2015 | International Conference | Bari - Lecce, Italy