The facility, Elemental's first construction outside Chile, builds on an already internationally renowned scheme to build very low-cost housing to replace slums. This way of dealing with the housing crisis in large cities has already been recognized by several awards given both to the association and personally to Aravena (for example, the Silver Lion of the Venice Biennale 2008).
The residential complex in question is located in the city of Santa Catarina near Monterrey, on a plot of 0.6 hectares. It includes 70 apartments, grouped in two: the lower tier is occupied by a one-story "house", and its roof plays the role of a porch terrace for a two-level apartment on top. United by the end walls, they form a rectangle in the plan with a courtyard in the center; an additional row of similar apartments is built across the road.
Changes have been made to the standard design based on local conditions. In particular, if Chile, for which it was originally developed, has a desert climate, the Monterrey region receives 600 mm of precipitation per year (comparable to central Russia), so the complex received a continuous roof line. This protects open terraces from rain, and it will also help the future completion of residential premises. Since "independent" construction is very developed in Mexico, the complex is designed for subsequent expansion by the tenants (thus, each duplex can increase from 40 to 76.6 m2, and an apartment on the 1st floor - from 40 to 58.75 m2) … The most "complex" parts of the building have already been erected - stairs, bathrooms, kitchen, and the rest can be expanded to your liking. Another difference is a more generous budget: in Chile it was about $ 10,000 per apartment, in Mexico - $ 20,000. However, the construction itself there was more expensive due to stricter legislation.
But the prospect of self-completion and a higher price should not affect the affordability of housing: for Elemental Monterrey, an area of the local "middle class" level was initially chosen, therefore, both the cost and the area of buildings are designed for relatively wealthy buyers.
The Brit Insurance Design Awards are awarded by Brit Insurance in partnership with the London Design Museum. This year Anthony Gormley was the chairman of the jury. So far, only laureates in 7 sections have been named (except for architecture, these are transport, fashion, industrial design, graphic design, furniture, the interactive sphere), and the winner of the Grand Prix will be determined only on March 16.
The rivals of Elemental Monterrey in the architectural category were such different structures as the Munich Brandhorst Museum by the Sauerbruch Hatton Bureau, the British Embassy in Warsaw, Tony Fretton, the High Line Park in New York “Diller Scofidio + Renfro”, the residential wing of Hutong Bubble 32 in Beijing MAD Bureau, New Museum Berlin by David Chipperfield and Zaha Hadid's MAXXI Roman Museum, TEA Herzog & de Meuron Tenerife Cultural Center and the Melbourne Concert Center and ARM Workshop Drama Theater.
