Las Anacuas Housing

In the local housing market, the cheapest home on offer cost about 30,000 dollars, out of reach for the poorest families. The Chilean design team developed an improved version of their incremental housing typology, with houses at ground level and duplex apartments above.

Each unit starts at an initial cost of 20,000 dollars but can reach a middle-income standard of 72 square metres through self-built extensions. The white rows are designed with gaps and open frames that families fill over time, so the complex becomes more varied as it is lived in.

The efficient use of land without overcrowding allowed the project to buy a site in a neighbourhood where homes cost about 50,000 dollars on average. Families benefit from that gain in value and from being close to services and opportunities, which is what the price of land reflects.