Quinta Monroy |
Iquique, Chile
|
Problem
What should political authorities do to resettle and improve the lives of 100 families of the poor Quinta Monroy community who occupied a site in the city of approximately 5,000 sqm for more than 30 years and were located in the very center of Iquique and in the environment of the Chilean desert? |
Solution
With the help of an architecture firm, resettle the families in the same site and at a low price, instead of displacing them to the periphery, in housing that increases in value over time through the construction process which are intentionally incomplete and arranged around shared common spaces. |
Description
Much too often the solution to an urban problem, like homelessness and slumification, tends to merely get rid of it by means of eviction or send it away to other parts of the city. This 'band-aid' approach has been used extensively in many cities around the world. Sometimes, the solution to a problem is reframing the problem as something other than a problem. In Quinta Monroy, the architecture firm ELEMENTAL took on the task to find a new way of looking at the problem of informal cities and social housing for the most in need by shifting their mindset. One could approach the problem as "how to house 100 families with a limited amount of money?" But a better question is "what is best possible price of a building capable of accommodating 100 families?" The former question focuses on economics and the most efficient way to build. But the architects at ELEMENTAL chose the latter, a way to capitalize architecture that works for the needs of the poor.
In this project, social housing has been redefined as an investment and not as an expense. So, the initial subsidy had to add value over time and so does the architecture, using the talents and abilities present in the lives of informal dwellers to match the available funds. In order to be able to pay for the site, ELEMENTAL prioritized the quality of life of the urban poor and allowed them to maintain the network of opportunities that the city offered and therefore to strengthen their economy. The final design provides a supporting (rather than a constraining) framework that avoids the negative effects of self-construction on the urban environment over time and facilitates the expansion process that naturally arises in the construction of poor dwellings. |
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$ ☺ ჻ ⌨ ☆ |
9 months $204 /sqm using a $ 7,500 government subsidy Elemental Architects (Alejandro Aravena, Alfonso Montero, and Tomás Cortese), the Tarapacá Regional Government, Chile-Barrio Program, Quinta Monroy residents and community. Social: Keeps the site, maintaining the network of opportunities that the city offered and strengthening the family economy; a good location is the key to increase a property value. Environmental: Refuses to relocate city-dwellers to the fringe through efficient land-use methodology by addressing density in the city without overcrowding and creating resilient structures Provision of a physical space for an “extensive family,” a house of middle income size. Collective space with housing arranged around a common courtyard. 50% of each unit’s volume is self-built. Simple design and aesthetic that promotes the in-dweller to appropriate the structure. Self-build architectural and urban processes that can be design to add value and change over time. Embraces informal and formal typologies |
Benefits
Rather than displacing the residents, it provides a design for permanent housing on the same site for the same families. Units left intentionally incomplete allow in-dweller to utilize his talents to fit the needs and demands of growing family and adds personalization to the project, allowing each home to be and look unique. Arranged around shared common spaces to retain existing social networks. |
Negatives
"Slum aesthetic" Did not 'efficiently' use the block to build a maximum number of housing units to serve a larger number of people. |
Links
http://www.moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/2010/smallscalebigchange/projects/quinta_monroy_housing
http://www.archdaily.com/10775/quinta-monroy-elemental/
http://www.elementalchile.cl/en/proyecto/quinta-monroy-2/
http://www.moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/2010/smallscalebigchange/projects/quinta_monroy_housing
http://www.archdaily.com/10775/quinta-monroy-elemental/
http://www.elementalchile.cl/en/proyecto/quinta-monroy-2/