The construction site in self-managed mutual aid

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The transformations in the civil construction production model historically proposed by housing movements through self-managed *mutirões* (mutual-aid efforts) in Brazil, compared to market-driven production modes, are not limited to the labor force responsible for undertaking construction. That is, it is not merely a swap of wage labor for decommodified mutual-aid work. Instead, these innovations span various spheres, from architectural design—conceived from a collective perspective and as a common good that positions the mutual-aid builder as "author, producer, and future user"—to the production mode itself. Unlike the traditional model, in this framework "it is not possible to increase productivity through increased exploitation, precarization, overtime, and layoffs, but only through the invention of new procedures and construction techniques." This theme is a subject of debate for many architects, both in the theoretical arena and in practice and experimentation, where the construction site becomes the stage for efforts toward rationalization, optimization, and horizontal processes.

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Design process with future residents. Image © USINA CTAH
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Cite: Daudén, Julia . "The construction site in self-managed mutual aid" [O canteiro de obras no mutirão autogestionário] 05 Jul 2026. ArchDaily. (Trans. Romullo Baratto) Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1122735/the-construction-site-in-self-managed-mutual-aid> ISSN 0719-8884
Construction of Mutirão União da Juta. Image © USINA CTAH

自治互助建房中的施工现场

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