Quinta Monroy in Iquique, Chile, is a housing project by ELEMENTAL, led by Alejandro Aravena, completed in 2003. The article calls the style minimalist and modern. The Ministry of Housing and Urbanism funded it, giving each family about $10,000.
Families had occupied the 5,000 square meter site informally since the 1960s. ELEMENTAL kept them there rather than moving them to cheaper land. It built 93 two-story homes in 13 blocks around four courtyards, using reinforced concrete and concrete masonry units. Each unit was built only as a half house, with a kitchen, bathroom and timber stairs. The other half was left for residents to build.
By 2017 every apartment had been extended, with an average increase of about 230 percent. The article says it helped Aravena win the 2016 Pritzker Prize, and it records criticism of the approach.
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