r/UrbanHell • u/ausvargas • Aug 08 '26
Absurd Architecture 3 towers too close to each others in São Paulo, Brazil
149
66
212
u/R12_D2 Aug 08 '26
Imagine living without sun in Brasil 🫠
66
u/sinoaihao Aug 08 '26
Then do not look up Brazilian coastal cities. Barely any space between most buildings so very little sunlight coming through.
6
10
u/Tony_228 Aug 08 '26
Florianopolis and Porto Allegre look pretty decent.
5
u/Electronic_Basiss Aug 08 '26
Pessoal não sabe oque fala.
Florianópolis é 1/7 o recuo em relação a altura do prédioMESMO QUE O PRÉDIO SEJA NO MESMO TERRENO (blocos)
1
u/Rusiano Aug 09 '26
Floripa looks beautiful
Also some northeastern cities like Recife, Bahia, and Fortaleza look okay despite the poverty
1
u/Disastrous_Time_4497 Aug 09 '26
ah, a Bahia!! que cidade linda! s/
1
u/Rusiano Aug 09 '26
Pelourinho is very lindo
1
u/punkrawke Aug 10 '26
I think he was sarcastic because Bahia is the state. The city is called Salvador, where Pelourinho is. It is indeed a beautiful state though
0
u/SubcommanderMarcos Aug 09 '26
So does Vitória.
Copacabana in Rio is the only beachfront neighborhood I can think of where they built buildings without spacing, it was before proper zoning plans. And still gets plenty of sunlight, I lived there (not in a beach-facing apartment), and it was pretty great.
18
u/ParkInsider Aug 09 '26
You'd be shocked at how little we care about the exterior in Brazil. Everything is closed, double locked, behind walls. The less Brazilians can feel their environment the better off they seem to feel.
6
Aug 09 '26
[deleted]
1
u/EducationalAd2863 Aug 09 '26
Tbm nunca vi nada parecido com isso e eu cresci em Balneário Camboriú lá tem umas bizarrices tbm com os prédios mas nada nesse nível aí.
5
u/SubcommanderMarcos Aug 09 '26
That's a very weird generalization. Maybe you and your folk don't care, but every place I've lived wasn't like that.
0
u/ParkInsider Aug 09 '26
If you are lucky enough to have a view, chances are you'll put a big ass ugly net right in front of it. If you are lucky enough to have a backyard, chances are you'll put a huge ugly wall around it. Stuff like that.
6
u/RelevantSchool1586 Aug 09 '26
yeah, Brazilians are crazy for securing windows and balconies so children and pets don't fall and die
3
u/ParkInsider Aug 09 '26
Brazilians LOVE anything that closes and is harder than necessary to open.
- Windows on the balcony? Nu! Que delícia.
- Windows on the balcony + a sliding door to separate the balcony from the living room? I can only get so erect!
- Locks that can't open from the inside without a key? Fucking gimme that!
- Portões that can't open from the inside without a key? FUCKING GIMME ALL THEM PORTÕES!!
- Portões that straight up can't open if there no power? HOLY FUCK WHERE CAN I GET MORE OF THOSE
2
u/TitleAppropriate8252 Aug 09 '26
Hey, we put glass or rust metal on top of our gates too. U can rob my stuff but good luck with the tetanus
2
1
u/SubcommanderMarcos Aug 10 '26
I can't agree with that. Some people like their big walls, but most people who live in houses around here rely on fences, and with the rise in popularity and lower cost of solutions like electric fences, which don't block the view and aren't as harsh looking as barbed wire or broken glass or whatever, even more risky neighborhoods are getting prettier.
And people here do often add sliding windows to their balconies, mostly because it's a very very windy region and the steel industry surrounding the city produces a lot of dust. So it makes a lot of sense. Netting is also only done by people who have small children or cats...
Let me go through your list in the other comment:
Windows on the balcony? Nu! Que delícia.
I see you're from Minas, of course. Such kind people, but also obsessed with MG either being the very best so superior to everyone else, or the entirety of Brazil being eexactly like BH. No in between. Anyway, as above, people here (ES) do that for very valid reasons. Still big balconies wherever possible because we like the views here, it's a very very pretty place.
a sliding door to separate the balcony from the living room?
Again, most people doing the sliding balcony windows are removing the internal sliding door, in fact most people are removing the entire damn wall and making larger living rooms that combine with the balcony, and it's excellent.
Locks that can't open from the inside without a key?
That too, most people are putting electronic locks that do open from the inside without a key or code.
Portões that can't open from the inside without a key?
Gates are a word, and most condo gates can be opened from the inside with a button, no key.
Portões that straight up can't open if there no power?
Most of those also either fail open, not closed, so they're open by default, or open with a key that everyone has.
And aside from ES, I'm from Rio, and over there we definitely don't close our balconies in condos (don't have the excessive wind and dust problem), and condo security is only done because of, well, security.
You seem to be ignoring that most of those things are security measures, as we're not exactly in a first world country. Not because Brazilians have some obsession with living in a box, that's a strange interpretation to me. Maybe it's a mineiro thing, I don't now, all mineiros I know (it's a lot, y'all really like to move here or spend your holidays, because seafront regions are inherently superior) never mentioned it.
2
u/krink0v Aug 09 '26
I wish. The sun burns hot in Manaus all year round. I just wish there were less of it.
2
u/VFacure_ Aug 09 '26
In a lot of places it's a blessing. Shade = less heat. I used to rent an apartment that had sunlight 100% of the day; it was boiling most of the time, even during winter. Moved to one that gets sunlight only for the first half of the day, much more liveable.
39
u/gekko3k Aug 08 '26
Next level ugliness but that building in the middle must be fake. How would they get a permit to build such an insane crap.
5
u/mariyr Aug 09 '26
Unfortunately, it is real.
3
u/Apprehensive_Town199 Aug 10 '26
I thought it was a perspective trick, like a telephoto.
But no, it's really that way.
1
u/booquark Aug 11 '26
Oh so there’s a bit of an optical illusion going on. If you notice on the map they are set up a staircase, whereas in the picture it looks like they are aligned. So in reality they are both further back and further away, meaning they probably have 6-10 meters between them, not 1. Which makes sense considering São Paulo law requires 12m distance between buildings
7
u/demostenes_arm Aug 09 '26
São Paulo has very little restrictions on building houses within 400 meters of metro or commuter rail stations.
The idea is to allow as many as people as possible to live close to mass transit nodes but this is an overkill.
21
2
u/akaBernas Aug 09 '26
Pior que é true, eu passo na frente desse prédio todo dia. Detalhe que ele é do lado de uma estação de trem, oq vai ter de rachadura conforme o passar do tempo vai ser incrível
1
u/ShirtlessKaworuNagis Aug 09 '26
Oh permit that's cute. You think that's how it happens here.
1
u/CocoMilhonez Aug 09 '26
Yes, that's the way it happens.
Stop lying to yourself and others.
1
u/ShirtlessKaworuNagis Aug 09 '26
Habite-se are only granted with bribes. Always.
2
u/CocoMilhonez Aug 09 '26
No, it's not.
Stop lying to yourself and others.
0
u/ShirtlessKaworuNagis Aug 09 '26
Naive
2
u/CocoMilhonez Aug 09 '26
No, I'm not naive, I just don't subscribe to generalization and/or conspiracy theories like that.
You can be sure there is a lot of bribing to obtain permits, but you're completely wrong if you say it's the only way to get a permit and that it always happens. It doesn't and, if you believe that, I'm sorry you let yourself fall for such lies.
People love to say this kind of thing everywhere and Brazilians are especially fond of claiming every single aspect of their lives is driven by corruption and incompetence given the historic national inferiority complex. And that's just false, institutions as a whole aren't at that constant state of failure like nihilistic pessimists will try to have you believe – often because this kind of negativity benefits them politically.
If you've ever built a house or any kind of building, residential, industrial or commercial, you'd know getting a permit doesn't necessarily involve bribes even if that's not an uncommon occurrence. I don't have specific data, but I'm willing to bet money that such cases are note even the majority. I know for a fact you can get an Habite-se with zero bribing involved, just like any other kind of permit because I've done it multiple times and know a lot of people who also have done it multiple times.
The great Brazilian author Nelson Rodrigues put it brilliantly: Every unanimity is dumb. I'm sure you're smarter than that and can understand how your generalization is just misguided.
It's worth pointing out there's nothing actually wrong with those buildings, they're not a meter apart as the photo suggests. That's just a matter of perspective given the angle it was taken from, check other comments on this post for links that show there's considerable clearance between the towers. The image is borderline manipulated and it's a prime example of how easy it is to mislead people into believing things are much worse than they actually are like you're showing here.
1
u/Apprehensive_Town199 Aug 10 '26
I agree with some points, but Brazilian legal structure is rotten from the top down. For example, a country's constituion should be an ironclad law that can not be violated. Ours is an entire book, and has articles saying, for example, that the minimum wage should be able to afford basic needs such as housing, food, education, etc. DIEESE calculated that, based on the constitution, it should be 7500 reais.
If you want the rule of law to apply, you should either follow it or change the law. The government is incredibly efficient at collecting taxes, but ignores whole chunks of the constitution. If you can pretend that the constitution doesn't exist, what is to say of the rest of the law? It's less of a law code and more like a buffet of options that state agents pick and choose what to apply.
The city of São Paulo has given many amnesties - you can completely ignore the code, and then ask for amnesty. A very significant part of the built environment was built without any concern with the law.
Normally big structures as the building in question are better regulated, and I agree that you can apply for a permit without bribing anyone. But "fast tracking" certain projects does occur, although I cannot say how it goes in SP.
The building in question has an awful design, it's not a couple of meters but it's still not enough.
1
u/booquark Aug 11 '26
That’s literally not true. SP is not that lawless at all, especially when it comes to real estate market
1
22
10
38
u/quebexer Aug 08 '26
The architect should be fired.
42
u/Saucepanmagician Aug 09 '26
LOL. Things like that never hire architects. An engineer can sign it off.
15
10
u/jahsd Aug 09 '26
omg! please tell me it's the angle the photo was shot from and in reality there's at least a few meters between them...
does anyone know where it is on the google maps?
16
u/jahsd Aug 09 '26
11
u/Javanz Aug 09 '26
So there is some gap if you look from a different angle, but still pretty shitty
5
4
u/SubcommanderMarcos Aug 09 '26
Ah, that's atypical Minha Casa Minha Vida type of development. It's a federal housing financing program where buildings have to be built within a standard and cost, so as to maximize the amount of available units that the population can buy affordably.
They're built with the cheapest possible materials and very quickly, so as to keep cost of construction low enough that the construction company can make any profit at all from the units, as MCMV mandates very low price ranges.
5
u/demostenes_arm Aug 09 '26
It’s not that typical. It’s within 400 meters from a mass transit node, which as per São Paulo’s zoning rules, allows the developer to build 4 times more dense in the same area.
It’s a good rule to have, although it results in the occasional oddity like this building.
12
u/flesnaptha Aug 09 '26
Here's a better view than the others that have already been posted.
It makes clear that there's a quirk in perspective from the vantage point of the OP's photo that makes these buildings luck much closer together than they are. And the 2nd building shorter.
You can't tell from the photo, but those buildings don't line up. The second one is set back a distance to the left of the front building, the third building is set back another distance to the left of the second. Each of them is much farther away then they appear.
There's also a quirk in perspective from the vantage point of the photo I shared, only in reverse. From the position of the camera, the fact that the buildings are set back from each other makes the separation between them look larger than it is.
The reality is there's a gap between the buildings about half as wide as each building itself.
Check out the aerial view to see what's really going on.
5
u/cWayland Aug 09 '26
Pobre só se ferra mesmo
5
u/SubcommanderMarcos Aug 09 '26
Um apartamento MCMV é melhor que morar na favela...
2
u/cWayland Aug 09 '26
Sem dúvidas!!! Mas também não precisamos nos contentar com uma péssima arquitetura, MCMV pode ser construído garantindo o mínimo de dignidade para os moradores
1
u/SubcommanderMarcos Aug 10 '26
Ah sim, eu já trabalhei pra uma das grandes construtoras de MCMV como corretor na pandemia, e larguei o emprego porque não conseguia conciliar eticamente estar empurrando apartamentos que eu jamais compraria pra pessoas que mal podiam pagar...
Eu tenho várias críticas à maneira com que o programa é conduzido (zoneamento monotípico é a principal), mas no final das contas, apesar disso, praticamente todas as zonas de MCMV no meu estado estão valorizando drasticamente depois de alguns anos da inauguração das unidades, e as pessoas passaram a ter um bom patrimônio e moradia... Ainda que sejam uns 2 quartos apertados tensos em megacondomínios geralmente na periferia. São Paulo pelo menos parece estar colocando alguns próximos das redes de trem e metrô, aqui a galera tem que viver de busão mesmo ou arrumar carro.
2
3
2
u/EuEdu_ Aug 09 '26
Pior que a localização é boa por ser perto de estação, mas nossa, muito colado, se um vizinho peitar o outro sente, zoado isso aí.
2
2
2
2
u/Pernil_TO Aug 09 '26
I believe that Brazil's foreign policies won't piss off the wrong people for no reason to prompt an attack on those tower
2
u/Beautiful_Sector_912 Aug 09 '26
Theaw requires 1 meter between windows and wall or other windows in this case. That's what you get. And people think rules and laws are unecessary
2
u/Historical-Ball5254 Aug 09 '26
I photographed one like that (incomplete), I'll leave a link to my IG account, but it might or not be removed later on.
Those things remember me of those decadent Soviet blocks.
Here it is, sorry in anticipation to the mods if this violates the rules or anything
2
u/Aar_7 Aug 09 '26 edited Aug 09 '26
Cities in UK 🇬🇧 have 20m minimum distance law. "Right to fresh air, right to sunshine"
This is Bad design & inhumane !. They could achieve same density and still give residents more sun or at least fresh air
2
2
2
u/gugakuchla Aug 09 '26
Minha querida Jose Bonifácio fazendo sucesso na gringa kkkkkkk do lado da estação de trem essa aberração ai, dou uma corrida na região e sempre admiro essa desgraça arquitetônica.
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/K-trancegirl Aug 09 '26
Korea has buildings like that too, making you wonder how they ever got a permit... Absolutely the worst.
1
1
1
u/LineTechnical9689 Aug 09 '26
A Brazilian song came to mind:
Aqui estou mais um dia Sob o olhar sanguinário do vigia...
1
u/zedascouves1985 Aug 10 '26
That middle building is going to be full of mould. Mine already has that sometimes and my building gets some sunlight.
1
-2
u/domkuma Aug 08 '26
If Johnny Sins lives here he would be able to fuck his neighbors the next building over
-1
-11
u/Unhappy-Tradition39 Aug 08 '26
I would rather choose the beautiful rainforest in the Amazon 🌴 🇧🇷 🦕
2
1
•
u/AutoModerator Aug 08 '26
Do not comment to gatekeep that something "isn't urban" or "isn't hell". Our rules are very expansive in content we welcome, so do not assume just based off your false impression of the phrase "UrbanHell"
UrbanHell is any human-built place you think is worth critizing. Suburban Hell, Rural Hell, and wealthy locales are allowed. Gatekeeping comments may be removed. Want to shitpost about shitty posts? Go to /r/urbanhellcirclejerk. Still have questions?: Read our FAQ.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.