I have known about this publication for a while thanks to an architecture graduate student from the University of Idaho (thanks Andy), but I wanted to check it out before passing the info along.
The book is a bricolage of projects- some more interesting than others- that are thinly tied by various aspects of informality (contrary to the title, not all projects are directly related to “favelas”). Projects range from physical interventions in informal settlements (public space, transportation, public equipment, infrastructure), to studies on the informal urban fabrics, to incremental housing projects that allow a strong component of auto-construction. Mostly, the book includes a list of usual suspects- JR, FavelaPainting, Marjetica Potrč’s art installations, U-TT with their very publicized metrocable in Caracas, and Mazzanti’s Library of Spain in Medellin, amongst others- but there is also a showcase of less-publicized projects such as the Nairobi Project by ETH studio Basel, and Stairology by Arqui 5, Celula Urbana in Rio de Janeiro, as well as a couple of surprises of “new” projects like Frederic Druot’s studies of Rocinha (Rio de Janeiro). It is a very graphic publication showing little analysis but many “results.” There is also limited writing apart from project descriptions, and I would say, one good article at the beginning.
Bref, although not too theoretical nor analytical, I think the publication remains a good visual illustration of a wide range of projects, and worth checking out.
{FAVEL issues} 