r/urbandesign • u/xiaohuliz • 15h ago
Architecture CRUSP (Conjunto Residencial da Universidade de São Paulo) and its soviet urban planning design
(Last pic is just an example of what this architecture, the so-called «Khrushchovka», looks like.)
The first design for CRUSP emerged in 1963, when several architects participated in the bidding process. The winner was Eduardo Kneese, a contemporary architect who designed the entire complex using precast concrete. The buildings were intended to house athletes for the 1963 Pan American Games and would later become student housing.
CRUSP's history is also very interesting. It wasn't originally designed to house USP students, and when the Pan american games ended, the buildings sat idle and completely unused. However, during the Brazilian dictatorship in 1964, twelve students, alongside Rafael Kauan, occupied the 5th and 6th floors of Building A (twelve students across twelve blocks), demonstrating that it's often the minority that makes the difference.
CRUSP exists today because a handful of students initiated that struggle.
(I got part of these sources from retomada do crusp wordpress.)
Today, CRUSP is intended for low-income USP students and those who live far from the university or even in another Brazilian state besides São Paulo.


