1. Everyone has the right for themselves and their family to have an adequately sized dwelling that provides hygienic and comfortable conditions and preserves personal and family privacy.
— Constitution of the Portuguese Republic - CRP - Article 65
ROOF portrays the lives of those who are left out of the statistics and those who are experiencing the HIDDEN side of the housing crisis in Lisbon, Europe's number one tourist destination. The people portrayed in this work often have to choose between putting food on the table or having money to pay rent.
Developed over the course of a decade (2013-2014, 2019-2020 and 2023), ROOF has materialized in a hard-to-digest book about the housing crisis that is overwhelming Portugal, in the year that marks the 50th anniversary of the 25 April Revolution, which established democracy and enshrined the right to housing in the Constitution.
The city now hides the faces of those who live in inhumane conditions and those who fight lonely battles for access to housing. These people survive on the scraps of what others reject and occupy abandoned buildings, boarded-up factories, vacant schools or rusty shipping containers in an effort to transform them into something resembling a home.
roof was published by the new york times and distinguished by magnum photos.