Alejandro Aravena: Elemental

What began as an academic initiative to improve the quality of life of the poor strata of the population has now become a professional "do tank" offering services that cover the entire spectrum of urban development. The celebrated Chilean architect, winner of the 2016 Pritzker Prize and Director of the 2016 Venice Architecture Biennale, Alejandro Aravena (born 1967) founded Elemental in 2001 in his hometown with the goal of alleviating social deprivation directly instead of hoping for a balance of income relations. Besides building public facilities and public housing, Elemental also develops new approaches for the reorganization of resources and the potential of cities by means of projects devoted to infrastructure and transportation. This volume, first published in 2013 and now back in print, documents the social activity and history of the international architectural team and sheds light on its financing strategies, for example through participatory building.
Elemental is an initiative creating innovative solutions for subsidized housing. The programs urban projects aim to improve social housing for poverty stricken families. Elemental organized an international architecture competition which resulted in 7 constructed projects throughout Chile as hybrids between house and building, pushing the limits of expansion and density. Built in central areas, these houses are half-constructed, offering the inhabitants the infrastructure to extend the house to personal needs. This book is afascinating study of the successes and failures of the 'Element Houses.'ELEMENTAL is a Do Tank affiliated with the Pontificia Universidad Catlica de Chile and COPEC, implementing urban projects for social interest and public impact.