From the Maid’s Room to the Outskirts: How Does Architecture Respond to the Social Changes of Domestic Work?


© José Afonso Junior, via projeto "Suitemaster e Quarto de Empregada"

© José Afonso Junior, via projeto "Suitemaster e Quarto de Empregada"

The maid’s quarters are “with their days numbered”, although they still find a place in the new luxury apartments. The information is from a report published in Folha de S. Paulo in March of this year, which says that in 2018 less than 1% of domestic workers, mostly black women, lived on the premises of their employers – a low number when compared to the 12% of 1995. With the decrease in the number of professionals residing in the employers’ homes, the “maid’s room” would gradually be no longer part of the architectural plans of Brazilian housing buildings.

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