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Renovation conducted in Jardim Colombo shows how simple architectural solutions can change the routine of residents in extremely small houses, where basic structure for sleeping, cooking, and using the bathroom with privacy is lacking.
Francisco da Silva, known as Tiquinho, lived in a space of just 4 m² in Jardim Colombo, in the Paraisópolis Complex, in the southern zone of São Paulo.
Without a bathroom, kitchen, running water, or refrigerator, he slept on an improvised bed near the ceiling, accessed by the wall.
The situation changed after a renovation conducted by the Fazendo o Lar project, an initiative of the Instituto Fazendinhando, led by architect Ester Carro, born and raised in the community.
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The intervention expanded the living space to 11 m² and included a bathroom, kitchen sink, mini-fridge, suspended bed, furniture with niches, and a custom staircase.
According to a NeoFeed report published on April 21, 2025, the work was made possible with R$ 10,000 raised through an online campaign and executed with the support of residents.
4 m² House in Paraisópolis Became a Symbol of Renovation in Precarious Housing
Tiquinho’s case gained attention on social media as the “smallest house in Brazil.”
Before the renovation, the resident lacked basic structure for daily activities, such as bathing with privacy, cooking, or storing food.
The Fazendinhando page dedicated to the project states that he lived in a 4 m² house, with a suspended bed on the ceiling, without running water and without a refrigerator.
To adapt the space, Ester Carro designed multi-use solutions.
The access staircase to the bed also started to function as storage furniture, while the renovated area received coating, flooring, tiles, painting, and a small garden made by the resident himself.
In an interview with NeoFeed, the architect described the work as “one of my greatest challenges.”
The renovation reorganized the internal use of the living space to separate, within a reduced area, functions such as rest, hygiene, food, and circulation.
With the change, the property ceased to be a room without a bathroom and without access to water to have basic infrastructure and planned furniture according to the space limitations.
Who is Ester Carro, Architect Raised in Jardim Colombo
Ester Carro was born and raised in Jardim Colombo, one of the nuclei of the Paraisópolis Complex.
The community is next to Morumbi, a neighborhood in the southern zone of São Paulo known for its high-standard condominiums, mansions, paved streets, and tree-lined areas.
The architect’s journey is linked to this urban contrast, as she has recounted in interviews and texts published about the work of Fazendinhando.
The daughter of a bricklayer and granddaughter of a carpenter, Ester had contact with civil construction before entering architecture.
Her father, Ivanildo de Oliveira, also a community leader, used to take her to meetings about public projects in the favela.
To NeoFeed, she said that she came to see architecture and urbanism as tools for social transformation by understanding the impact of these areas on residents’ lives.
Entering college brought another challenge reported by the architect.
According to Ester, she was the only student in the class who lived in a favela, and at that time, there was little discussion about social architecture or impact entrepreneurship in the course.
Currently, she presides over the Instituto Fazendinhando, an organization that defines itself as an institute of territorial, cultural, and socio-environmental transformation.
According to Fazendinhando, Ester is an architect and activist, was featured in the Forbes Under 30 list of 2023 in the design category, is a PhD candidate in the Postgraduate Program in Architecture and Urbanism at Mackenzie Presbyterian University, holds a master’s degree in Urban Planning from FIAM-FAAM, and is a specialist in Social Urbanism from Insper and in Housing and City from Escola da Cidade.
Paraisópolis is among the largest favelas in Brazil
The Paraisópolis Complex appears among the largest favela territories in Brazil.
According to data from the 2022 Census released by IBGE, Paraisópolis had 58,527 residents and was the third most populous favela or urban community in the country, behind Rocinha in Rio de Janeiro and Sol Nascente in Brasília.
The same survey identified 12,348 favelas and urban communities in Brazil, where 16,390,790 people lived, equivalent to 8.1% of the country’s population.
These data contextualize the extent of the urban and housing infrastructure deficit in such areas, although each territory has its own characteristics.
In Jardim Colombo, accounts published by Ester and Fazendinhando point to the presence of small homes, narrow alleys, and properties adapted according to the needs of families.
In a text published by Piseagrama magazine, the architect stated that she was born in Jardim Colombo and described the difference between the community and the surroundings of Morumbi.
From the landfill to Fazendinha Park in Jardim Colombo
Before gaining visibility with home renovations, Ester was at the forefront of transforming an area of about one thousand square meters used as a dump in Jardim Colombo.
The space began to be converted into Parque Fazendinha, with the participation of residents in joint efforts and collective actions.
The area was located in one of the few free spaces in the territory, according to a report published by Ester in Piseagrama.
In the text, the architect stated that the place was taken over by trash and that the removal of the waste involved community mobilization and pressure on the public authorities.
After the intervention, the space began to host activities of social interaction, leisure, and culture.
From this experience, other demands reached the institute.
One of them was the improvement of precarious housing, organized in the project Fazendo o Lar.
According to NeoFeed, the initiative had already transformed 360 environments by the time the report was published, with support from donations, volunteers, joint efforts, and private partners.
Women from the community are trained for construction work
Another outcome of the work in Jardim Colombo was Fazendeiras, a project aimed at training women from the community to work in construction.
The initiative was created in a context of unemployment, low education levels, and increased social vulnerability during the pandemic, as reported by NeoFeed.
The courses are offered by residents who already work as bricklayers, tilers, and professionals in the field, as well as partners like Tintas Coral and Senai.
By the time the report was published, about 400 women had completed the training.
Among them is Tainá, who joined the project after seeing a vacancy for a tiling course advertised by Ester in a community group.
Later, she also took courses in painting, electrical work, and vinyl flooring installation.
With the experience, she began working on the renovations in Jardim Colombo and became the coordinator of Fazendeiras.
Renovation of a house without a complete bathroom is also in line
The renovation queue also includes the case of Daniela Aparecida Cesário, identified by NeoFeed as unemployed and a mother of five children.
She lived on the upper part of her sister’s house, in a space of three rooms without a complete bathroom.
The eldest daughter even took out a loan to try to build the structure, but the money only allowed for the installation of the toilet, without a tap or flush.
“Without a tap, without a flush, without anything,” said Taína, Daniela’s daughter, when reporting the situation to NeoFeed.
According to her, the renovation would allow the mother and siblings to use a bathroom inside their own home, without relying on the facilities of other people.
In Jardim Colombo, the projects led by Ester Carro combine architecture, community effort, donations, and local training to tackle concrete housing problems.
In the cases reported by Fazendinhando and NeoFeed, the interventions involve small spaces, lack of bathrooms, water scarcity, poor ventilation, and the need for furniture adapted to the size of the homes.
In houses like Tiquinho’s, solutions such as suspended bed, sink, bathroom, and planned staircase change the everyday use of the space.
The experience also shows how small-scale renovations can meet basic needs that remain out of reach for some residents of urban communities.
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