Alejandro Aravena and his firm, Elemental, famously design "half a good house" to solve low-income housing crises. By building only the core, structurally complex half, they save money and allow families to finish and expand the remaining space themselves over time. [1, 2, 3]
The Concept: Incremental Housing
Faced with tight government subsidies and expensive, centrally located land, Aravena chose to invest in the half of a house that families could not build on their own. This "hard half" includes essential structural, foundational, and utility frameworks, such as kitchens, bathrooms, and stairs. The other half is left as an open, unfinished space that residents can fill in or expand as their needs and budgets grow
Quinta Monroy (Iquique, Chile): The 2004 project that pioneered the model. It allowed residents to expand their initial 36-square-meter structures into 72-square-meter middle-class homes over a few years, tripling the property value for the residents. [1, 2, 3]
Villa Verde (Constitución, Chile): Built after a devastating 2010 earthquake, this project applied the incremental housing concept to disaster relief and permanent reconstruction. [1, 2]
Elemental, led by Alejandro Aravena, evolved this idea when commissioned to draw up a new master plan for Constitución, Chile, after it was hit by an earthquake of magnitude 8.8
Born from the scarcity of resources in Chile, Elemental has produced low-income houses that are won’t be destroyed in an earthquake or flood, and feel safe for the people who live there.
