Social Housing and Incremental Design, in Neoliberal Chile.

SOCIAL HOUSING AND INCREMENTAL DESIGN, IN NEOLIBERAL CHILE.

fig.1 Parjesi, N. (n.d: 154) Quinta Monroy

Social Housing and Incremental Design, in Neoliberal Chile.

To what extent can incremental design approaches implemented within Elemental’s Quinta Monroy scheme, formulate itself into social housing situated in the global neoliberal climate.

A Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment o the Manchester School of Architecture for the degree of Master in Architecture (MArch) Word count: 9829

by Callum PLUMB MMU ID: 19073708 2019-2020 Manchester, United Kingdom

Tutor: Kim Foerster

MANCHESTER SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE MANCHESTER METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

AUTHOR’S DECLARATION No portion of the work referred to in this dissertation has been submitted in support of an application for another degree or qualification of this or any other university or other institute of learning.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY STATEMENT i. The author of this dissertation (including any appendices and/or schedules to this dissertation) owns certain copyright or related rightsin it (the “Copyright”) and s/he has given The University of Manchester certain rights to use such Copyright, including for administrative purposes. ii. Copies of this dissertation, either in full or in extracts and whether in hard or electronic copy, may be made only in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (as amended) and regulations issued under it or, where appropriate, in accordance with licensing agreements which the University has entered into. This page must form part of any such copies made. iii. The ownership of certain Copyright, patents, designs, trademarks and other intellectual property (the “Intellectual Property”) and any reproductions of copyright worksin the dissertation, for example graphs and tables (“Reproductions”), which may be described in this dissertation, may not be owned by the author and may be owned by third parties. Such Intellectual Property and Reproductions cannot and must not be made available for use without the prior written permission of the owner(s) of the relevant Intellectual Property and/or Reproductions. iv. Further information on the conditions under which disclosure, publication and commercialisation of this dissertation, the Copyright and any Intellectual Property and/or Reproductions described in it may take place is available in the University IP Policy, inany relevant Dissertation restriction declarations deposited in the University Library, and The University Library’s regulations.

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ABSTRACT Our current neoliberal climate has directly affected the social housing provisions, with the state prioritising interests in the privatisation of industries and the housing market. In the case of Chile’s neoliberal governmentality experiment, many of the poorer Chilean population had to suffer at the hands of the neoliberal hegemony, which was governed by the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet. At present many current policies harbour the neoliberal extremities of the past, yet a new light has been cast upon Chilean’s social housing scene.

Elemental's Pritzker Prize Laureate incremental building scheme Quinta Monroy won many plaudits amongst the architectural mainstream media. Their method of maximising available state funding, with the combination of residents' savings, to create a housing typology greater than its initial value within a simplistic architectural framework is one of great poignancy. This thesis sets out to discover whether an incremental building method, echoed by architects in the 1960s, has a place within the twenty-first century.

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CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1 Introduction.....................................................................................................................................................................11 Research Methodology................................................................................................................................................12

CHAPTER 2 Literature Review.........................................................................................................................................................15 Dawn of Neoliberalism................................................................................................................................................16 Housing in Chile (1960s - Present)...........................................................................................................................19 Elemental.........................................................................................................................................................................23

CHAPTER 3 Media Rocognition........................................................................................................................................................30 Finances...........................................................................................................................................................................31 Prototype.........................................................................................................................................................................34 Architecture....................................................................................................................................................................37 Community and Identity..............................................................................................................................................41

CHAPTER 4 Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................................................44 Bibliography....................................................................................................................................................................45

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LIST OF FIGURES

Fig. 1 Parjesi, N. (n.d). Source. Aravena, A. and Iacobelli, A. (2016). Elemental. Ostfildern: Hatje Cantz Verlag (page 154)

Fig. 2 Vergara Perucich, F. (2013). Pinochet – DEMOCRACITIES. [online] DEMOCRACITIES. Available at: https://democracities.wordpress.com/tag/pinochet/ [Accessed 5 February 2020].

Fig. 3 Gilbert, A. (1996). Latin America. London: External Publications, University of London.

Fig. 4 İlgü Özler, Ş. (2012). The Concertación and Homelessness in Chile: Market-Based Housing Policies and Limited Popular Participation. Latin American Perspectives, vol. 39, no. 4, pp. 53–70. JSTOR, www. jstor.org/stable/23239006. [Accessed 23 February 2020] (page 55)

Fig. 5 Lopez, S. (n.d). In. Waite, R. (2015) AJ Interviews Venice Biennale Director Alejandro Aravena. [online] Architects Journal. Available at: https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/aj-interviews-venicebiennale-director-alejandro-aravena/8692588.article [Accessed 13 March 2020]

Fig. 6 Palma, C. (n.d). In. Aravena, A. and Iacobelli, A. (2016). Elemental. Ostfildern: Hatje Cantz Verlag (page 151)

Fig. 7 Elemental. (n.d). In. Aravena, A. and Iacobelli, A. (2016). Elemental. Ostfildern: Hatje Cantz Verlag (page 157)

Fig. 8 Palma, C. (n.d). In. Aravena, A. and Iacobelli, A. (2016). Elemental. Ostfildern: Hatje Cantz Verlag (page 192)

Fig. 9 Parjesi, N. (n.d). Source. Aravena, A. and Iacobelli, A. (2016). Elemental. Ostfildern: Hatje Cantz Verlag (page 193)

Fig. 10 Palma, C. (n.d). In. Aravena, A. and Iacobelli, A. (2016). Elemental. Ostfildern: Hatje Cantz Verlag (page 164) 7

LIST OF FIGURES

Fig. 11 Elemental. (n.d). In. Aravena, A. and Iacobelli, A. (2016). Elemental. Ostfildern: Hatje Cantz Verlag (page 113)

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LIST OF FIGURES

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my dissertation tutor Kim Foerster, for his patience, guidance and interest in my chosen topic. His teaching assistant Adam Przywara, for always offering feedback and my University peers, for the love, laughter and Friday night drinks.

DEDICATION To my family and friends.

“I can do things, you cannot, you can do things I cannot; together we can do great things,” (Mother Teresa)

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1 CHAPTER

INTRODUCTION RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION The purpose of this thesis is to analyse the role of social participation in Elemental’s Quina Monroy, as a form of advocacy to help shape social and economic adversities. “The beginning of the 21st century will be remembered as the moment from which, for the first time in mankind history, there will be more people living in cities than in the countryside” (Aravena, A. Iacobelli, A. 2016: 24). This creates an even more prevalent demand for housing within our cities, specifically for those who can’t afford the general market prices. At present in Chile, architects Elemental, led by Alejandro Aravena and Andres Iacobelli, have created an incremental housing and participatory design manual as a blueprint to combat the social housing crisis in Chile. Many projects within their portfolio adhere to these principles and notably, for their project Quinta Monroy, where they were awarded the Pritzker Prize Laureate in 2016. Inhabitants often harbour an architectural dissociation with their homes. Social participation in the form of design and construction, aims to negate those effects, facilitating in a multi-disciplinary exchange of information, placing the individuals at the centre, with the end goal to develop their own architectural identity through engagement. “The pride and sense of identity that comes from owning one’s own home represents the main argument of the Chilean government for supporting incremental houses.” (Marinovic, G. and Baek, J. 2016: 125).

Architects since the 1990s, have been embedded within a globally claustrophobic neoliberal economic model. From its inception after the “Keynesian ideology was side lined” (Harvey 2006: 8), Harvey (2006) states that in the 1970s “Chile became a socio economical laboratory for neoliberalism.” Pinochet’s warm embrace of neoliberalism has sinced romanticised the idea of a free market, sustained by the traditional upper class, major international corporations and architects under the guise of national renewal. Austerity and privatisation of social housing has been a result of subsequent governmental schemes, excluding housing provisions for the poorest members of the community. Thus, it has become increasingly difficult for socially led projects to occur and develop any state financial interest. For the architectural world, is largely dictated by property developers, amassing a portfolio of unaffordable new developments, for the middle-upper class, with the prime focus shifting away from the architecture towards the value of the square metre. This in effect has given rise to an increasingly fragmented building sector around the globe, with a power shift that excludes an architect. Yet, when today a “socially” driven project like Quinta Monroy gains international stardom, echoing 20th century J. F. C. Turner and Henry Sanoff, it begs the question. Have we found a solution?

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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Chile has had a complicated political scene from the sixties with various political ideologies taking centre stage, and as a result has affected the availability of social housing. Throughout Chilean housing history, its deficiency has remained a consistent theme. Chile may not be as sophisticated as Europe’s advanced nations, but its GDP grants the country a developed status. Today, “Chile is seen as a positive example to the world, since its macroeconomic policies have proved to be solid and consistent and have provided undoubted economic growth to the country even at times of serious crisis in the Region” (Paola Jiron, M. 2004: 2).

As a once developing country throughout the twentieth century, policies have shifted repeatedly from investments into the welfare and into economy. The correlation between political ideology and housing has been evident within the case of Chile. The socialist era prioritised nationalising its industries and increasing accessibility to housing for the poorest members of the community. Contrary to the neoliberal experiment, when industries where privatised and housing provision suffered. Neoliberalisms inception into Chilean governmentality was due to its reception by General Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship. When he sought out of aid from Chilean economists that were educated in the United States, The Chicago Boys. This group initiated the first national experiment of Neoliberalism within policy making, which was monitored from a far in countries like the US and UK. Ronald Reagan and Margret Thatcher have been champions of this ideology and if it wasn’t for the perceived success of the Chilean economy, the world may have been a different place.

Born in this era were Chilean nationals Alejandro Aravena and Andres Iacobelli, whom at the start of the twenty-first century, founded the architectural practice Elemental and initiated their first social housing project, Quinta Monroy. Working within the state and its tight budgetary framework, they developed at the University of Catolica the Parallel Building scheme, an incremental building method of rehousing one hundred families living within a shanty town development within the city of Iquique. In 2016 the project’s concept was recognised by the architectural world and Alejandro Aravena received the Pritzker Prize Laureate, the most prestigious award for an architect to receive. An award granted on the basis of its social endeavours, whilst resting the notion of incrementality on the success of the project. Beneficiaries of the “half a good house” were forced to complete the construction of their homes with the limited savings they had, whilst shrouded amongst the heading it “gives economic opportunity to the less privileged,”

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CHAPTER 1

said Tom Pritzker,” (Phaidon 2016). Media outlets such as the New York Times and Archdaily depict an alternative view to the scrutiny written by UCL academics Camillo Boano and Francisco Vergara Perucich (2016). Locating myself amongst the literature and articles available, have granted me the evidence to analyse the “social” validation surrounding the award.

To formulate an understanding from the historical frame of the subject matter, I’ve used various sources of qualitative, quantitative and video research. Gathering the information on the times prior to the well documented late sixties and early seventies, proved to be a challenge, as this was a period that was of less importance to being translated to English. Journals written by academics, proved to be a valuable source, to develop this information. Yet, the neoliberal experiment of Chile is well documented by authors such as David Harvey (2006) and his portrayal on neoliberalism and the crucial role played by The Chicago Boys, ultimately shaping specifically Chile, and the world we live in today. Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship is a pivotal moment in history and has had an extensive variety of media recorded. As a visual learner and someone who suffers from dyslexia, I was able to benefit from videos as a method of interpreting this era. Although much of this period that is documented, highlights the atrocities associated with that of Pinochet, it was instrumental to engage myself amongst the Chilean historical framework of what has been decades of austerity and control.

For the purpose of research, purchasing Elemental’s incremental and housing participatory design manual, gave me the first-hand account of the award-winning project of Quinta Monroy through the lens of the architects. There are also selected case studies of the beneficiaries of the scheme that could help situate myself within their experience. The manual also displayed a depth quantitative data in the terms of budgetary framework that was unparallel to what can be accessed elsewhere. Also, it informed the policy makers within the scheme, subsequently generating the focus of the chronological timeline of Chilean housing history.

As the start of 2020 brought upon the world the unprecedented nature of Covid-19, areas of research could not have come to fruition. I had planned to have an interview with a Chilean national to develop a more first-hand experience on the housing crisis within Chile and the options surrounding the topic of social housing. As the country went into lockdown, the universities facilities ultimately closed. Limiting the ability to use the library and its archives for any further material, than what can be obtained from the internet.

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2 CHAPTER

LITERATURE REVIEW - DAWN OF NEOLIBERALISM - HOUSING IN CHILE (1960s -PRESENT) - ELEMENTAL

CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW I will formulate my literature review by highlighting the pivotal 1970s Chilean ‘dawn of neoliberalism’ era at the point of Salvador Allende’s socialism, vs Augusto Pinochet’s acceptance of neoliberalism, and how this has shaped Chile’s economy and housing up to present day, to the detriment of many Chileans, to the benefit of few. Augusto Pinochet was a dictator in Chile, from 1973-90. He was adored by the neoliberal global north politically, with Margret Thatcher pinning the success of the Falklands War, down to the aid of Chile. Similarly, as in Britain, he privatised the housing market within Chile and despite his tyranny, is recognised as the one who developed his nation into a ‘rich country’, but many of the poorest were abandoned. Still to this day Pinochet’s effect on Chile leaves many divided, the leftist population were the result of a mass genocide, whilst many thank him for their economic gain.

Analysis the Chilean housing timeline from the establishment of MINVU (Ministry of Housing and Urbanism of Chile) and their activity through relationships with many presidents over the last century.

How neoliberalism, the global north and the media have advertently affected the scenario, will allow me to develop empirical evidence to suggest, why it became a laboratory for neoliberalism, the decline of social housing and what this means specifically for architecture of the Elemental generation. Investigating the claims and strategies of participatory architecture, during the establishment of the incremental housing and participatory design model at Quinta Monroy, for Chileans most “needy individuals” (Sanoff, 2000: 1).

I will focus on their award-winning project, Quinta Monroy, a prototype for their incremental design and housing manual. To understand it from an economical, architectural and personal lens and how it situates itself within the present Chilean housing political framework, whilst drawing from its experiences from the early 20th century.

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DAWN OF NEOLIBERIALISM Before the introduction of Neoliberalism to Chile, the economy was struggling, there was a widespread discount, and a hunger for change. After consecutive failed campaigns, Salvador Allendes’ socialist party won the election by a plurality of 36% votes. A man with a vast amount of experience in politics, dating over 30 years, co-founding Chile’s first socialist party in 1933. Allende was the first democratically elected Marxist in Latin America. Immediately, he implemented his social program “Chilena al Socialism.” A radical attempt to nationalise the country and continue Chile’s trajectory of reducing the housing deficit.

Large scale industries like banking and copper mines returned to state control, to the dismay of the US. One of the central objectives of the Salvador Allende government, in the face of housing policy was to build and repair homes in poor condition and improve the urban conditions of the poorest sector. The regulation of the application and housing allowance regime is modified through the Popular Savings Plan. Allende was a Cuban sympathiser and had strong ties with the communist party of the Soviet Union, reflected in 1972 when he received the Lenin Peace Prize. Despite their shared political interest there were still fundamental differences in approaches. After the earthquake in 1972 the KGB’s support for Allende was further illustrated by their economic intervention. Over US$100 million in credit was donated along with many natural and capital resources to help revive the shaken nation. Throughout Allende’s premature career as President, the United States of America under Richard Nixon, wanted him out, as it apposed their neoliberal ideologies and ordered covert CIA operations “to make the Chilean economy scream” (Kornbluh, P. 2003). The US played a significant role from the start, in attempting to prevent Allende’s inauguration, this was opposed by the Commander In Chief of the Chilean army, Rene Schneider. As a constitutionalist, the decorated and respected official, wished to continue the Chilean military’s long apolitical history. In 1970 he was assassinated by CIA funded coup plotters.

In 1973, Allende was advised to elect Augusto Pinochet to be the commander in chief by his predecessor Carlos Prats, as Fig. 2 Salvador Allende’s Inauguration.

Foreground: Salvador Allende. Background: General Augusto Pinochet (Vergara Perucich, F. 2013)

he was convinced Pinochet was a constitutionalist (see fig. 2).

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It was only a mere nineteen days in his new role when, the CIA orchestrated Pinochet execute the coup against Allende. To Allende’s credit, he faced the immediate tyranny head on. A bombing commenced at the presidential palace as the army surrounded. Armed with a Kalashnikov given to him by Fidel Castro, he and his entourage managed to hold off the Chilean army for hours. Before surrendering, he recorded a speech that was his last address to the nation “I am not going to surrender, I will pay with the loyalty of the people with my life.” Reports suggest that Allende shot himself, but there is compelling evidence to accept he was assassinated. Cue the dictatorship.

On September the 13th 1973, the man who two years ago was a nobody, was now relishing his new position of power. Over the next sixteen years Pinochet would rule unchallenged [1]. Pinochet sought out for help from Chilean native capitalist economists, The Chicago Boys. Chile was to become the most extreme test laboratory for their free market ideas and the influence of neoliberalism. The aim was to decentralise Chile’s economy into a modern market economy. The US senate finally got what they wanted and now were able to start buying many Chilean industries. These reforms stay largely intact in today’s climate, with US figures claiming that Chile has one of the most open trading regimes in the world.

Neoliberalism has been the dominant ideology or political economic paradigm, that rose to prominence in the last thirty years. It has been the force that has shaped our world. A belief in free markets, that commerce should be able to travel from place to place freely, with as little regulation as possible. The drivers of this neoliberal mindset are businesses, corporations, striving for financial globalisation via the interconnection of countries. Not just through diplomacy, but through economy, commerce in the form of ruthless capitalism. The champions of this mindset were Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan, they introduced reforms and fought the trade unions, who opposed this doctrine of neoliberalism. Their ideology expanded far beyond that on an international level, by working with the IMF (International Monetary Fund) to force privatisations and deregulations across the globe. The IMF is a group that gives out loans to developing countries, having to comply to the demands of the richer countries, who in fact fund the IMF, thus, are also funding the loans. These loaned countries have to adopt the policies by the neoliberal politicians in power. If they didn’t comply, they face the fear of not receiving more loans, diplomatic isolation and if necessary, invasion. As we have seen in the aforementioned case in Chile, CIA covert operations.

[1] I struggle to resist explaining the horrors that many Chileans were subjected to over the next 16 years, as it feels a disservice to the victims.

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They had to privatise their state assets, their services and give corporations free rein, by lowering taxes.

It was all about opening up their economies to western companies and this was the key to the success of the neoliberal project. The arrangement it created meant that, corporations from the West were able to go into the poorer developing countries to exploit the cheaper labour and natural resources. Evident in (fig. 3) with Chile’s copper mines. This was central financial globalisation of the world. As result there was a transfer of wealth from the poor to the rich, forming neoliberal hegemony. This was shown in the financial crisis of 2008 and later the eurozone banks, when they were given huge bailouts and the poor were unfortunately just given austerity programs. They were forced to cut down on the welfare schemes, jobs were lost, but wages went down as well. Neoliberal governmentality embraces individual empowerment and the dilution of state power. Promoting entrepreneurship, competitiveness and selfinterest. Economists claim that free market principles work no matter what politicians are in office. They have proven themselves in Chile and it facilitates the desire to create a land of opportunity, idealising the perfect model to be that of America.

Fig. 3 Table 2.3 . Major exports by country 1985 Gilbert, A. (1996)

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HOUSING IN CHILE (1960s- PRESENT) By the beginning of the 60s there were at least twenty-eight institutions dependent on eight ministries involved in housing and urbanisation. To address this situation, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development (MINVU) was created, which together with the Housing Corporation (CORVI) and the Housing Services Corporation (CORHABIT), made up the Urban Improvement Corporation (CORMU). A company Autonomous State, one of whose main functions was to improve and renovate the deteriorated areas of cities, through rehabilitation and urban development programs.

Throughout the history of its public housing programs, the Chilean government has fought against the housing deficit and provided support for low income families. Responding to a more socially driven political agenda, the main measure taken by the government in the 1960s was the establishment of the Ministry of Housing and Urbanism (República de Chile, 1956). The government founded a Ministry for Housing and Urbanism (MINVU) to set policy and manage public funds. It promoted a cultural of saving in low-income households through the Popular Savings Program (PAP), and the establishment of saving and Loans Associations (S&L). Public funds were allocated to the Ministry of Housing and Urbanism to build low-cost houses that were sold to low-income households.

Within Eduardo Frei Montalva’s term in charge from 1965-70, there was real intent to reduce the housing deficit, which was mirrored from a global perspective, in countries of the global north like the US and UK. In Chile “a global six-year plan was designed to construct 360,000 dwellings, of which 60% would be destined for the lower-income sectors” (Kusnetzoff 1987: 159). Housing programs would incorporate schools, health centres, sports fields, among other spaces. It was considered that the solution of the housing problem required the participation of the beneficiary families.

The Allende administration aimed to “add an ambitious emergency plan for the year 1971, with the goal of beginning the construction of 80,000 dwellings that year.” (Kusnetzoff, J. 1987: 161). A series of other policies were initiated to favour the popular sector. Kusnetzoff, J. (1987) summarises Allendes term as one that “showed a greater capacity to deal with the accumulated lack of housing, with the institutional structure and existing resources.”

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During Pinochet in 1976, they “dismantled the structure by which the Chilean state over a continuous process of more than 50 years were able to make. The great advancements in key areas of the economy and in social development, have repressed implacably the political organisations and social sectors identified previously with the benefits of state action” (Kusnetzoff, J. 1987: 164).

MINVU was restructured, privatised and regionalised, territorially deconcentrating through a metropolitan ministerial secretariat. Demonstrating an immediate shift away from the previous public spending incentives of Allende et al. Still, MINVU stated that “urban policy is the first place ought to maintain a strict control over urban expansion, as much to utilise to its maximum capacity the existing resources of the urban infrastructure as to avoid an increased occupation of agricultural lands. This measure will succeed, principally, through the freezing of the urban radius, allowing for expansion only in very qualified cases.” (Granifo, C. 1976: 86).

Regional ministerial secretariats (SEREMI) and Urban Development Departments were created in all regions of the country. The four Corporations merged: CORHABIT, CORMU, CORVI and COU, establishing a Regional Housing and Urbanisation Service (SERVIU), in the Metropolitan Area and throughout Chile.

A new general law on urban planning and construction is promulgated, granting the state a level of centrality and control, typical of a neoliberal mindset. A major feature amongst Pinochet’s reign with regards to housing, was characterised by the dramatic increase in poverty, providing the nation with its worse period of homelessness. In reference to (see fig.4), between 1952 and 1970 the housing deficit increased by 20%.

Fig. 4 Table 1 . Estimated housing deficit in Chile, 1952 - 2009.

Table 2. The housing deficit in Chile, 2006 - 2009 İlgü Özler, Ş (2012: 55)

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Contradictory to the ministries statement three years prior, they exacerbated housing tension privatising “control over urban land was loosened and the urban limits of Santiago were abolished by Decree No. 420 of October 1979. Some 64,000 hectares were added to the existing 36,000 occupied by the metropolitan area of the capital, almost tripling instantly the potential land market” (Kusnetzoff, J. 1987: 166). In 1979 the government issued the Politica Nacional de Desarrollo Urbano. It read “at the level of the urban system, planning will be aimed at making the process of urban development compatible with the global model of the country’s development, creating the conditions most convenient for facilitating the operation of the urban land market” (MINVU. 1979: 7).

MINVU made important changes in its programs in 1981, by extending the regulation of the newly created Variable Housing Subsidy. This measure gave rise to the Basic Housing Program, contemplating a system of variable subsidies and considering basic housing as the first step for social housing. Marking a state awareness to a demand, yet contrary to neoliberal beliefs. The houses were assigned to people who lived in marginal populations and camps that were identified in the MINVU maps and municipalities.

The SERVIU opened a new permanent application system that it incorporated savings and the number of family charges. Basic homes that were allocated through this system, could qualify for a subsidy equivalent to 75% of the value of the home. In 1985 the number of registered applicants reaches 170 thousand families, illustrating a necessity for provision and a reflection of the countries housing crisis.

SERVIU’s mission was to contribute in improving the quality of life of the inhabitants in its assigned region, through housing programs, pavements, community facilities, subsidies, urban parks and urban roads.

It’s principle aim was to assist the lower income sectors in overcoming housing shortages. It is stated there have been numerous mechanisms implemented in the permanent search for greater effectiveness and efficiency to meet the housing demand of the population, particularly in the most vulnerable sectors. İlgü Özler, Ş. (2012: 60), suggests, that despite their good intentions to serve the poorest part of the communities, they indivertibly contributed to further income segregation. Those who benefitted were of moderate income and were often given social housing on the poorly networked peripheries of cities, due to the lack of housing within cities, available on the secondary market. Putting the beneficiaries under the unpredicted stress in maintaining the funds for program (about US $420) and neglecting those under minimum wage.

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Then towards the final years of Pinochet, the housing deficit total increased to a further 35%. However, despite the recent Concertacion government’s efforts to reduce poverty in the development of welfare policies, lack of housing was a constant issue throughout their era. “The committees operated as atomistic units rather than as a cohesive housing rights movement that would push for a shift away from a neoliberal housing system to a social housing system” (İlgü Özler, Ş. 2012: 59). At the fall of Pinochet’s reign, a plebiscite was held in 1988. Patricio Aylwin was elected, and democracy had finally been restored to Chile. From the preservation of Pinochet’s neoliberal policies, the Concertacion government adopted the ideology of housing being a commodity rather than a right. “Yet these neoliberal housing programs stratify residents into categories of poverty in which the poorest residents compete against one another to access subsidies and find housing” (İlgü Özler, Ş. 2012: 53). It was a system that not only neglected equality, but one of equity too. It couldn’t provide the simple necessities of the poorest and homeless, in addition it was often criticised by those who could access its provision, due to the extremely long waiting times and the poorly considered location of the housing. “The poor end up in low-quality housing in economically segregated neighbourhoods far from jobs and services” (İlgü Özler, Ş., 2012: 67). The competition created, encouraged bitterness between communities, eliminating the threat of solidarity where efforts could’ve been channelled into harmonising the collective, and more politically considered forms could generate a protest. Crippling the notion that the community can act cooperatively to seek a solution. It was the aim of the government to ensure that citizens would behave in a unconfrontational manner against the state, within their technocratic and bureaucratic processes. Pinochet’s dictatorship epitomised a neoliberal control of the masses, inciting conflict amongst his population.

Under Michelle Bachelet (2006-2010), in the last Concertacion coalition, the population was promised a developed housing program, encouraging a more bottom up participation amongst citizens, as the case of Elemental’s Quinta Monroy. In reality these housing programs still harboured the same market principles as before, yielding only a limited laissez-faire form of public participation. Concertacion created an unchallenged model of social protection within the focussed private housing sector, thus Chile’s housing and income inequality persisted.

Paley (2001) mentions that they prioritised “governability, stability and consensus at an elite level than promoting social organisation.” It was their commitment to neoliberalism that the instigated social demobilisation of a nation.

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ELEMENTAL Elemental was founded by Alejandro Aravena and Andres Iacobelli in 2000, who the met at Harvard University, when they questioned why social housing is so bad in Chile, when Chilean architecture was starting to get world recognition. They highlighted four conditions on how to create a real impact:

a)

“Anything developed for social housing must be proven on a scale of the complex and not with just

one unit.” b)

“Projects presented on paper are futile. To confront the scepticism normally directed towards

academic works, we had to build” (Aravena, A. Iacobelli, A. 2016: 30) c)

Working with the constraints of current market rules.

d)

“Had to survey and formulate the right question (not invent it, instead of asking ourselves what

would constitute a quality social housing project” (Aravena, A. Iacobelli, A. 2016: 30).

Elemental are considered widely to be the “starchitects of the poor” (Trevino, L. 2016). Their accolade in the Pritzker Prize Laureate in 2016 was given world-wide media coverage in the architectural world, with glittering articles from many world leading newspapers and magazines. Aravena’s curation of the Venice Biennale 2016 titled, “reporting on the front line,” has popularised social housing amongst architects becoming the poster boy of the movement. Thus, these “two events and Aravena’s global fame are for us an excuse to ask a simple question: is it possible to produce more social justice in the entrenched neoliberal present?” (Boano, C. and Vergara Perucich, F. 2016: 60). The half happy architecture report by Camillo Boano and Francisco Vergara Perucich (2016) critiques Quinta Monroy and the 2016 Venice Biennale in a different light to what the media has presented us with.

“We were puzzled by the use of the word social architect.

Fig. 5 Portrait of Alejandro Aravena.

Lopez, S. (n.d)

After that then, we followed the opening speech of the 2016 Venice Biennale where the rhetoric of the social turn has been 23

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displaced, literally, on top of a metal scale staring to the frontier of the yet to come experimentation of formalist architecture with a social look” (Boano, C. and Vergara Perucich, F. 2016: 59). It was here that I discovered an alternative opinion to what is embedded within media outlets like Archdaily and The New York Times. Their work was “contesting its real contribution to the idea of good quality architecture for the poor,” (Boano, C. and Vergara Perucich, F. 2016: 59).

In 2001 at the University of Catolica in Chile, Andres Iacobelli was the head of a newly formed program relating to public policies. “Elemental became a case example of how a university could influence government policy, in this case, housing policy” (Aravena, A. and Iacobelli, A. 2016: 38). “If universities have vital social function, it is form intellectuals. If intellectuals have a function, it is to generate ideas.

Ideas’ are a form of political and cultural imagination that can guide societies as they seek to manage change” (Miessen, M. 2006: 275). Elemental strive to use housing as something more than a shelter but that as a tool to overcome poverty. Value appreciation for beneficiaries is a by-product of their concept and is “the most direct way to measure the quality of housing.” (Aravena, A. Iacobelli, A. 2016 p21) They aspire to create projects by challenging the current logic of building, “where the housing is close to nothing, in underserved peripheries, marginalised from the opportunities that cities concentrate” (Aravena, A. Iacobelli, A. 2016: 14). Thus, due to this scarcity, people tend to expand their homes using whatever materials they can within cities, developing slum like developments.

“Value gain has to be achieved knowing that people themselves will build a significant part of their homes,” (Aravena, A. Iacobelli, A. 2016: 21) This underpins the success of the scheme on the quality of incrementality. In the eyes of the state, extending the existing provisions of clean water and improving plumbing in urban areas, is a more efficient use of capital than to create new ones in rural areas, where the population is a lot more dispersed. I should state the incremental housing isn’t something that is new, during the sixties J.F.C. Turner implemented an incremental housing approach in the slums of Peru.

The project was a huge success towards creating autonomy within the built environment. “what matters in housing is what it does for the people than what it is.” (Turner, J. and Fitcher, R. 1972: 102) “Building social capital is a primary objective in this approach and is achieved by residents playing a central role in decision making, believing they own the process, as they move away from being dependent.

Many case experiences suggest, that resident driven initiatives have a greater chance of success, because residents are more aware of the realities of their own environments than outside professionals. They 24

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have a sense of what will and work.” (Spatial Agency. 2016).

Elemental were to create an “exemplary incremental build project” (Wainer, L. et al. 2016: 23), as the appropriate solution to resettle one hundred families on a shanty site in Iquique, where they had been occupying it illegally. The illegal nature of the settlement was due to a dispute after the death of Ernesto Monroy and “a judicial dispute among the heirs began overregulating the site and holdings with rental contracts” (Aravena, A. and Iacobelli, A. 2016: 85). Over the course of thirty years there had been many failed initiatives, but they hoped that they could include one of their current University schemes, the heavily incrementality reliant “Parallel Building”. By using state subsidiaries, they note that “if the money can only pay for around forty square metres, instead of thinking of that size as a small house, why don’t we consider it as half a good one?” (Aravena, A. Iacobelli, A. 2016: 17). Suggesting construction of the half that the average family would struggle to build on their own (see fig.6). They were able to “work within the framework of the VSDsD – That is 300UF or US$7,500 per family – we could buy the land that cost three times what social housing could afford and still have enough money to build homes for one hundred families” (Aravena, A. and Iacobelli, A. 2016: 39).

Aravena’s approach to social housing is modelled on a middle-class blueprint, as an aspiration to alleviate the working class’ social status via a promotion of housing typology. Instead of drawing from inspiration of J.F.C. Turner, when he “uncovered the effectiveness of self-organisation practices in the peri-urban bariadas of Lima and the extensive range of tactics and innovations that urban poor had to offer. Informality and poverty were stated to be seen as a site of potentiality to learn from, rather than a mere problem to solve. (Boano, C. and Vergara Perucich, F. 2016: 69).

Fig. 6 Left: Quinta Monroy at handover, December 2004.

Palma, C. (n.d: 151)

Right. Quinta Monroy, June 2006.

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“Community building is a holistic approach that focuses on the efforts of the people. It is dedicated to the idea that residents must take control of their density and that of their communities. Community building grows from a vison of how communities’ function normally, where community members create institutions that help achieve their aspirations as well as strengthen their fabric.” (Spatial Agency. 2016) An aspect of community building resides in the workshops of the Quinta Monroy scheme. Committees were created to facilitate the other residents, that didn’t benefit from the architectural assistance, during the primary incrementality phase. Governing what could, or couldn’t be built, installing a sense of collective control over the settlement. Whilst also educating methods of accessing state funds to make additional improvements to the courtyard areas. Happiness of the residents wasn’t a seamless trajectory from start to finish, with a proportion reluctant to move into a temporary camp, moreover as additional reductions occurred in not receiving initial bedroom or water heater. “The gradual dismemberment of the slum generated unforeseen tension and difficulties” (Aravena, A. Iacobelli, A. 2016: 120).

The square metre value of the typical middle-class home is translated into the final design of The Parallel Building, although at hand over, it has only constructed half, we have “to understand that incrementality doesn’t mean to simply leave a construction unfinished and wait for each individual to complete it.

Incrementality has to be designed” (Aravena, A. Iacobelli, A. 2016: 18). Designed to benefit who?

Elemental “belong to Angelini’s, a company that owns questionable businesses such as Empresas Copec and Forestal Arauco” (Boano, C. and Vergara Perucich, F. 2016: 66). One can speculate that as Forestal Arauco sell the type of timber panels that appear in the aesthetic of the incrementality phase (see fig.7), could there a darker side to the incrementality? Yet, “Elemental’s solution is as far from challenging the architectural discipline as it is from representing an innovation in the history of social housing.” (Boano, C. and Vergara Perucich, F. 2016: 68).

The struggle Elemental have to face is the repercussion of its neoliberal past and present. Housing schemes Fig. 7 Quinta Monroy after the incrementality phase with locals enjoying the courtyard area.

Elemental. (n.d: 157)

from the 1960s were successful, yet a detriment to their 26

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economy. “forty years ago, with a GDP that was ten times lower as the present one – Chilean social housing used to have European standards. While, today the social housing projects by Elemental for low-income communities to live in half-designed, weak architectural proposals.” (Boano, C. and Vergara Perucich, F. 2016: 69). Funding for social housing in Chile is somewhat available but lacking any real capital to actually create the difference within the lives of whom social housing harbours. When money is limited the natural “alternative is to reduce size and quality and frame the problem as incremental housing” (Aravena, A. Iacobelli, A. 2016: 17). Using this lens, one can envision self-construction as a solution rather than a problem. “Evidence shows that self-construction actually requires considerable financial and building capacity. The real scarce resource then is not so much about money, but coordination.”

(Aravena, A. Iacobelli, A. 2016: 17).

What the neoliberal world order has installed, is a priority measure of GDP. Elemental’s Ivy League background has conditioned this thought process. Contrary to this belief, the President of Bhutan at a TED talk, mentions the policy of the country being governed above any monetary gain, by “Gross Domestic Happiness (GDH)” (Tobgay, T. 2016). Can the world restore any socialist values from its past or are we too far capitally orientated? “Therefore, social housing is becoming a pathway to debt, which results in the reproduction of the capitalist landscape” (Boano, C. and Vergara Perucich, F. 2016: 63).

The failed capitalist structure seeks alternatives for housing. Aravena exhibits “a good way to include the less privileged in the banking system, by providing land tenure and promoting entrepreneurialism” (Boano, C. and Vergara Perucich, F. 2016: 63). Which is why the Pritzker award seems less of a focus of the actual architecture and more to one of that bares the economics fruits, to be well situated with the neoliberal climate. This “may sound a bit disturbing to those architects that are actually socially engaged, or that practice an embedded, action-orientated and transformative architecture.” (Boano, C. and Vergara Perucich, F. 2016: 65). As the award proposes “to honour a living architect or architects whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vison and commitment, which has produced consistent and significant contributions to humanity and the built environment through the art of architecture.” Boano and Perucich (2016) don’t directly say that Aravena and his practice weren’t deserved of the award, but instead the award brings centre stage, the urgent discussion surrounding its misleading nature, that recognises Quinta Monroy as the epitome of social housing. “The radical change related to this critique that involves not only the lived experiences of alientation, objectification, and self-

27

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hatred, but also the more fundamental systems of oppression responsible for those experiences, is left and abandoned and packaged for being consumed in exhibitions and ceremonies” (Boano, C. and Vergara Perucich, F. 2016: 65).

28

3 CHAPTER

ANALYSIS (CASE STUDY, QUINTA MONROY) - MEDIA RECOGNITION - FINANCES - PROTOTYPE - THE ARCHITECTURE - COMMUNITY & IDENTITY

CHAPTER 3

MEDIAL RECOGNITION Trevino, L. (2016) titles his article in January for the world bank blogs as “the starchitect of the poor.”

A phrase that has commonly been attached to Alejandro Aravena. Internationally renowned outlets like Archdaily, Dezeen, and the New York Times, write complimentary reviews about his award for the Pritzker Prize Laureate in 2016.

A consistent theme amongst these articles, is to merely focus the tip of the iceberg. As Trevino, L. (2016) writes, “Alejandro Aravena, 48, has offered solutions to the global housing crisis that are so creative, speedy, budget-conscious and scalable that he has been awarded the 2016 Pritzker Prize, considered the Nobel for architecture. His work—and the prize—challenge architects to envision innovative buildings not just for businesses and other wealthy clients but for all the people.” Failing to mention, the keys are handed over to an unfinished home, without a bedroom, without a heater.

In January, the same month of Trevino, L. an article from, Winston, A. (2016) at Dezeen writes “Elemental is a champion of “participatory design.” Once again, in January, a report from the New York Times

by Pogrebin, R. (2016) gives a very similar account, but for Kimmelman, R. (2016) in May that year, begins to look deeper on the scheme. The International Growth Centre publishes the final report in 2016 on Incremental housing, and other design principles for low-cost housing, stating the incrementality “dynamically transforms the simple housing solution offered in a complete and personalized home, according to their own investments capacity and preferences.” (Wainer, L. et al. 2016: 23).

The media have distorted the reality of the Elemental incrementality. The glossy images of completed self-build houses make for good posters, but the reality behind the façades of these buildings is the hardship a lot of these families had to endure. There has a been a notable media shift away from the glittering articles of Quinta Monroy, January 2016.

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FINANCES

X = 100 families x US$7,500 x 30m2 / 0.5 ha

The strict budgetary framework was a huge constraint for Elemental, a burden for the beneficiaries but success for the state. The ability of rehousing one hundred families with no extra expense, has inevitably enhanced Elemental’s relationship with the state. They have displayed resilience to adapting and situating themselves within a neoliberal regime. This first project has consequently led to the being employed by future state projects.

The VSDsD’s framework of 300 UF / US$7,500 per unit was the available subsidy for Elemental. When to evaluating the development as a whole, rather than just one building, meant that US$7500 x one hundred families = US$750,000, thus making it seem more achievable. In fact, the true value per home “was around US$8,300” (Aravena, A. and Iacobelli, A. 2016: 138). Due to the cost of the site being US$175,000 and the contractor cost equalling $670,000, totalling at US$845,000. This in turn did affect Elemental’s theory, as it proved they couldn’t achieve their original tight budgetary requirement, questioning its replicability.

At the time, many of similar bids for funds were voided, as adjustments were made, between a new state policy and the market. There was another case where the “VSDsD received a cross-subsidy from SERVIU for the construction, raising the cost to some 555UF per home,” Aravena, A. and Iacobelli, A. 2016: 139).

Almost US$14,000 per home, an enormous disparity between cases.

The families “had to pay US$250 of their savings in advance, a requirement from the Housing Solidarity Fund that for these families meant saving money for a couple of years,” (Aravena, A. and Iacobelli, A. 2016: 175). The average Quinta Monroy resident’s monthly income was US$100, US$20 being the least, US$900 the most. The incrementality phase for residents of the project, would prove to be the most strenuous, expensive, yet the most valuable, in terms of value appreciation. All residents were compelled to use their savings in order to complete, with varying costs to varying incomes. Average money spent on additions was US$1000. Resulting in the value gain of a complete home at US$20,000.

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36 m2 If the first half of the house was US$7,500

Fig. 8 Quinta Monroy at handover.

Palma, C. (n.d: 192)

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36 m2

72 m2

and the second half

the final value is more than

US$1,000

=

US$20,000

Fig. 9 Quinta Monroy after the incrementality phase.

Parjesi, N. (n.d: 193)

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PROTOTYPE

“We were most interested in maximising the use of public resources to create a value much greater than the sum of its parts. So, what was really new was the idea of value gain as a way to redefine quality” (Aravena, A. and Iacobelli, A. 2016: 191).

At the start of this century, Iacobelli’s program at the university of Catolica regarding public policies, laid the foundations for their prototype, the Parallel Building. It was the inception of Elementals career in social housing. Through refining their design and the presentation of abstract projects at many seminars, they approached MINVU once they thought they had a resilient design. A “typology capable of buying more expensive land (due to density) that simultaneously allowed for growth” (Aravena, A. and Iacobelli, A. 2016: 38). It was at this point that the national director at the Chile Barrio Program decided to hire them for Quinta Monroy. They conducted a variety of participative workshops for the inhabitants, before refining their design and making it site specific. Yet the parallel building already existed, without any information on the adaptation the typology, raises the question, to what extent did the parallel typology adapt other than costs, to the desires of the inhabitants? Economically, it is understandable that the Parallel Building typology was retained, as they had identified that this was one way of purchasing the land, but also improve existing living conditions, within the budgetary framework.

The success of this prototype and Elemental’s desired replicability, would ultimately be dependent on only using the public subsidies provided by the state US$7500 per unit. Quinta Monroy has demonstrated that participation in design can have a place in the architectural world within the twenty-first century. It has also shown that social housing within the global south can be achieved amongst the strict centralised control of neoliberalism, shedding light upon architects and governments to explore similar techniques.

Elemental “has proven that the problems of cities can inspire all of us to come up with creative and effective ways to develop business models or design public policies to serve the needs and enrich the lives of those that need it the most”. (Trevino, L. 2016) The notion of participatory design, engaging the public with the project is noted, but due to the convenient existence of the Parallel Building, was this typology ultimately their goal? There were one hundred 34

CHAPTER 3

families living within Quinta Monroy. The likelihood of them all requiring the same size and needs is highly unlikely. Would a tabling a concept suggestive of equity, where one’s needs are already expressed into the initial handover, be out of the question? Marinovic, G. and Baek, J. (2016: 128) propose “reorienting the first phase of the incremental housing process with the focus on the families’ needs and expectations for house. This can be achieved through close collaboration with each family from the community. Architects who designed the initial phase of the existing incremental houses communicated only with community leaders. As an alternative to this type of design process, we suggest that architects who design the initial phase of incremental houses should engage in conversation with every single family of a particular community. Through this complex and time-consuming process of design, families would be able to get housing units which are, from the beginning, adapted to grow progressively, according to their lifestyles and habits.” Elemental could argue given that the considered flexibility of the design beyond handover will eliminate this issue, but would a typical family of four have to immediately build?

The standardised replicability of the Parallel Building on a large site with unconventional corners, allowed them to rotate units successfully at angles whether it may be a concave or convex. Suggesting that their concept, on paper would be the most efficient one. Other options were considered, which reflected the current housing market at the time. Ones that were of familiar style to the families; the detached, terraced and multi-storey.

The detached typology was the preferred typology to the residents. A typology that they were also expecting, but due to inefficient use of the site the scheme was scrapped. Out of the one hundred families needed to rehouse, it could only accommodate thirty units. Aside from that there wouldn’t have been enough state subsidy to purchase the land. Working with such low density, would’ve resulted in the scheme being relocated to the cheapest land, on the peripheries of the city. It was at this point that Elemental “consciously avoided starting any search for a philanthropic donation of the land, because it would have threatened the future replication of the model” (Aravena, Iacobelli, 2016 p92).

The terraced typology is a method of increasing spatial efficiency on a site. In response to the local surrounding the typical two storey row house was tested and yielded a better overall result. An issue regarding this option, was that the families had the desire to expand their homes beyond handover. Other issues like lighting ventilation and privacy were identified. Ultimately, the fact that only sixty out of the 35

CHAPTER 3

one hundred could be rehoused within this typology setting, the scheme was eliminated.

Lastly, the multi-storey typology. Hugely efficient in terms of land use but without the flexibility for growth. The specific policy Elemental were working within, meant it would have created homes that were only thirty square metres, developing an even greater risk of overcrowding and a necessity for expansion. Due to the historical incapacity, to determine maintenance responsibilities of the communal spaces, it was not well received to which point, “the families threatened us with a hungers trike if we dare to consider this type.” (Aravena, A. and Iacobelli, A. 2016: 96).

Elemental were concious not to displace the families, into the rural peripheries of the city, allowing them to retain access to existing economic opportunities. A stance, which in fact apposed the usual neoliberal housing policy, as land was considerably cheaper and therefore could accommodate many at less expense for the state. Extending existing sewerage network to the peripheries could also be seen as a longer-term investment, as the city’s population grows, this would enable the more developments to spring up within the outskirts. New developments at the time were appearing in the outskirt region of Alto Hospicio, therefore illustrating the states intention. A natural progression from this situation, would be to have a new build development replace the existing, targeting towards the middle-class population, ideally located in the city, thus, overall housing market of the area increasing. Elemental’s stance on negating displacement, solely focussed on the opportunities for the families of Quinta Monroy, allowing them to retain close access to the city’s amenities, services, jobs and education, facilitating the growth of the community. Commuting times would double if families were located to Alto Hospicio, incurring a more financial burden for them.

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THE ARCHITECTURE As the Harvard graduates Aravena and Iacobelli (2016: 14) noted: “any of us in a middle-class family can live reasonably well in a house of between seventy and eighty squared metres,” thus, modelling the parallel building on a typical complete middle-class home. Yet the initial dwelling, prior to expansion, for the Quinta Monroy residents is, thirty-two squared metres. Each unit consists of two dwellings . One ground floor house with the ability to expand from the initial six squared metres to nine squared metres. One ‘duplex’ second floor apartment, of what had perceived to be another six squared metres but, befittingly “available money allowed to us to delivery only half of it, so it resulted in a double height loft space of three by six, with the same program as the house” (Aravena and Iacobelli, 2016: 112). The structure was a block work c-section, providing the necessary fire resistance and acoustic insulation between the units, separated by what Elemental describe as a “horizontal dividing wall” (Aravena, A. Iacobelli, A. 2016: 112) simply, a concrete slab. Inside the empty shell are timber framed wall partitions with only one side of sheet material. No mention of water proofing when considering the bathroom area, and from photos (see fig.10) suggestive of none. The fixtures the beneficiaries would receive are, a kitchen sink, toilet, hand basin and a shower. Through the most optimistic lens, you could reword the aforementioned as a blank canvas, with the families being the artists, to create their own composition within the framework of the house. An expectation installed, for the growth of the architecture. “Adaptation, self-construction, and community innovation are certainly central issues, but approaching them by leaving half of the house unbuilt can easily lead to the aestheticization of poverty and subsequent process of marginalisation.”(Boano, C. and Vergara Perucich, F. 2016: 67) “The housing policy demanded” (Aravena, A. Iacobelli, A. 2016 p112) a new built ‘home’ to be of at least a mere twenty-five squared metres. Including

Fig. 10 Inside Quinta Monroy at handover.

Palma, C. (n.d: 164)

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a bathroom, kitchen, bedroom and living-dining space. The construction of the six by six home would result in small cramped spaces for this quantity of rooms, therefore Elemental suggested to prioritise the complex construction sequence. Preventing a situation to arise where a kitchen appears on the 3rd floor with awkward plumbing routes. The beneficiaries could construct the relatively simple spaces e.g. a bedroom. Moreover, the bedroom was then subject to elimination within the initial build. “Saving on the bedroom meant bending a policy rule the MINVU was at first unprepared to bend. We obtained an exception from the ministry only after the community unanimously voted for well-built structural systems, kitchens and bathrooms.” (Aravena, A. Iacobelli, A. 2016: 110) Elemental frame the scarcity embedded by neoliberalism within the incrementality of the scheme, that can therefore be translated into the design. As the project grows, the introduction of elements allows it to do so in a more flexible and reasonable form. “Although austerity and scarcity are inevitably intertwined — the regimes of austerity induce real scarcities — austerity is not the same as scarcity. Austerity is the outcome of the ideologies of neo-liberalism, whereas scarcity is a higher-level condition that both drives those ideologies and also threatens them. Scarcity is the motor of capitalism: scarcity of supply regulates the market” (Till, 2012) A water heater wasn’t to be incorporated, to the expense of the families, installation would occur at a later date. Due to insufficient funds, families were made aware of this revision, as the project budget was at risk of being compromised. The option tabled was, water heater or land ownership? For the inhabitants to receive a home, although half finished, one that has improved the overall hygiene, has inextricably tackled one the UN sustainable development goals. no.6, Water, hygiene and sanitation (United Nations, 2015). The idea of a flushing a toilet, is one that is taken for granted [2] and has now gifted Quinta Monroy an additional basic human right.

Outdoor spaces are integral to every housing development schemes. It gives inhabitants the space for social activities, as well as an area for children to play, before retreating to their abode. As Aravena and Iacobelli (2016: 107) state to “develop a communitarian association beyond the nuclear family unit.”

[2] I volunteered for the NGO, Raleigh Tanzania in Autumn 2017 focussing specifically on the goal of water hygiene and sanitation. Despite the critical analysis surrounding such ‘white saviour’ projects. It has created within me the awareness of The United Nations sustainable development goals that were re-evaluated in 2015.

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The community engagement with defining the public spaces was crucial, they had identified the opportunity to orientate the units to generate four plazas amongst the development. The plaza is a familiar iconic public space typology around South America town centres, usually located amongst municipal buildings.

They offer a place for demonstrations or festivals to take place. Some extra initiatives have been executed by the communities by applying for regional funds in the development of “paving courtyards, painting the additions, and hauling the trash and construction materials from the courtyards.” (Aravena, A. Iacobelli, A. 2016: 108)

From a design point of view, the prototype successfully fulfils the desires of the housing policy. It’s a model that fits with in the tight budgetary framework and delivers to one hundred families. If you ignore briefly the economical constraint for the family and buying into its neoliberal nature, the idea that a house can expand to beyond that of anything else available on the market, is in essence, success. That being said, the house is not a home. It is a concept that isn’t unique to Elemental but looks good on paper, devised at a university. Making the parallel building a reality, was not going to be an easy task. After all, It was a prototype, there are going to be issues that arise from it naturally. It is a form that efficiently maximises space on a site. Encouraging news to the state. Elemental have followed the brief and devised a scheme which unfairly is unfinished and a burden to the families. “The current incremental housing program fails to reach families’ expectations, which creates negative perceptions of the initial houses.”

(Marinovic, G. and Baek, J. 2016: 128).

39

CHAPTER 3 House

Ground Floor

Duplex Apartment

Self-Construction

2nd Floor

3rd Floor Fig. 11 Quinta Monroy floor plans of the house and duplex typologies Elemental. (n.d: 113)

40

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COMMUNITY AND INDENTITY During the demolition and construction process of Quinta Monroy, the families were relocated to a temporary camp. Located in Alto Hospacio, two families shared lots of 8.75 metres by 17.5 metres, with a communal bathroom and kitchens. Fifty families were located within the emergency housing provisory camp, “six would be permanently relocating from Quinta Monroy, six would receive houses in another SERVIU project, four would receive temporary housing in a SERVIU project, forty families would relocate on their own accord,” (Aravena, A. Iacobelli, A. 2016: 118). Breaking up the community and placing families in an undesired situation away from their existing labour networks and schools within the city, drew a sense of irony, as this was ultimately the type of displacement that Elemental wanted to avoid in the beginning. The complexity of such a situation brought the idea of to involve the Chilean army to help transfer belongings and materials from place to place. The rehousing period wasn’t as smooth as anticipated. Whilst others moved to various locations, others stayed until threatened with police eviction.

“The gradual dismemberment of the slum generated unforeseen tension and difficulties: one could not simply dismantle a house and leave others without electricity, water or access to septic tanks,” (Aravena, A. Iacobelli, A. 2016: 120). A sense of uncertainty grew between the residents and the authorities, not only were the designs being compromised, but whilst they were absent, SERVIU would initially own their property at Quinta Monroy. With their future homes lingering on promises, an assurance, which at this point they didn’t trust

How Elemental measure the success of such schemes is via value appreciation, relying on the incrementality and the beneficiary’s savings. The romanticism of such a proposition, ignores the fact that the community don’t have the resources to purchase the envisioned materials of quality, in the terms of longevity, performance and aesthetics. As signified with the intentions of conducting a façade workshop for the community. When you look at the existing composition of materials of Quinta Monroy, they are basic, that are readily available. Effecting the overall performance of the dwelling. “We wanted to save materials and parts of the original dwellings to create the transition camp and later the definitive house,” (Aravena, Iacobelli, 2016 p120).

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Elemental note that they were to apply guidance through this phase, and to their credit they have no immediate control on the individual family’s budget, but should have paid it more sympathy. For those families that initiated the incremental phase immediately after handover, Elemental conducted a series of workshops to suggest what actions could be taken. Due to the standardised dimensions of the ‘voids’, the materials they were advised on, seemed to be the logical option to employ. After these workshops had been implemented, the immediate beneficiaries were asked to the exchange on knowledge they received, to those that were about to embark on this phase. These community groups were created to ensure that community interests were governed. Another responsibility of such socialisation was to also create a committee regarding the inhabitants’ additions. Everyone was within their right to extend, as the program encouraged. This order, present in neoliberalism, ensured is that community spaces weren’t compromised, and the quality of materials are controlled subconsciously by Elemental. The combination of styles in the incrementality phase evident in Quinta Monroy, begin to create an identity amongst the communities. It wouldn’t be fair to assess the success of the project on simply the aesthetics. What you start to identify, is the character of the development, the homogenous individuality that the scheme lends itself to, presents how the proletariat has begun to encompass the bourgeoisie model, enhancing an appeal to an international scene. “This type of housing process celebrates a collage strategy of urban development, and it lends itself to diversity in an outward appearance of housing. A colourful facade of incremental houses juxtaposing different materials is the result of the dwellers’ efforts to turn the house’s structural frame into a liveable home,” (Marinovic, G. and Baek, J. 2016: 121).

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4 CHAPTER

CONCLUSION

CHAPTER 4

CONCLUSION The purpose of this thesis was to highlight how the introduction of neoliberalism in Chile from 1973 has directly affected its social housing climate. Neoliberal hegemony and austerity brought upon a hardship for many of Chile’s poorer inhabitants, by the privatising of industries and an increased deficiency in access to housing provisions. At the start of the twenty-first century amongst a newly found democratic governmentality, Elemental aimed to reshape the social housing scene, using an incremental building method to alleviate the poorest members of the community from their socio-economic status. Despite their strict budgetary framework from policies still harbouring neoliberal ideologies, their prototype, The Parallel Building sought out to maximise state funding and the savings of the Quinta Monroy residents, to provide a home capable of emulating that of a typical middle-class typology, after the incrementality phase had been completed. Question marks are raised over their “social” epitome status awarded by the Pritzker Prize Laureate in 2016, as many residents had to endure subsequent years of financial burden, buying into a neoliberal scheme, in order to complete the unfinished home, they were granted. That being said, the value appreciation of the homes they now own have provided them with an outcome not equal to the sum of its parts. As result, it can be justified that incrementality does have a role in social housing within the neoliberal twenty-first century, but one that should echo times of the socialism from Allende et al, that shifts state capital from our economically orientated policies.

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