Progressive Housing

At first glance it doesn't seem like much, we have all seen social housing we don't expect much from it we expect it to do the necessary, provide shelter for those less fortunate, we are never shocked when we drive by section 8 housing and the neighborhood seems a little dingy, overcrowded or even ugly.
Alejandro Aravena has different expectations Quinta Monroy is a housing complex in Iquique, chile completed in 2004. Aravena's concept is to build better housing conditions on a site previously occupied by squatters- simple so far- but his intention is to keep families on the same plots they occupied but upgrade their living conditions, this allows them to maintain emotional and work ties as well as the historical stratification of the city....the How?

He uses architecture to create basic forms to which families construct additions to accommodate their use over time. The design team uses basic technology and materials to create single family units (keeping the cost relatively low) and a plot layout that allows more than one family to occupy each allocated lot this caters to the congestion of the area but eliminates the chaos that previously existed in the slum. The firm held technical and support workshops showing the families how they could add to their homes over time creating a platform for successful transformations by equipping them with the knowledge they needed to plan and construct additions. Each unit was a basic shell with plumbing and structure provided and each family finished the house over time according to their desired aesthetic. The thinking behind this was that such a move would create a sense of ownership and pride in the community- a place that previously existed as a temporal dwelling; by his definition creating a new domestic intimacy.

I had not really considered ownership as an important factor in my design I believe creating communal spaces within a neighborhood allows different groups living in one area to interact and develop a sense of belonging but the issues raised by Aravena are crucial to my site. Slums seem to have unique cultural languages,different rules of conduct, of existence... to overcome the lack of infrastructure and temporary conditions characteristic to a slum he argues new definitions of intimacy and boundary must be created with a flexibility that allows for growth and modification, qualities innate to slum dwellings. It is hard to disagree when the progressive development of his project seem so successful...

As you look at the pics remember this area was previously covered by squatter settlements!!! that puts some perspective into it!