DALLAS: In 2003, in Iquique, Chile, 100 families were rehoused with the help of the architectural practice Elemental. The available budget was $7,500 a home, including the cost of land, an amount that would have paid for 30 square metres of living space, which is less than the minimum set for studio flats in the British government’s current space standards.
Elemental decided to spend the money on what they called “half a good house”, rather than a whole bad house, which meant providing a structure with the basics of plumbing and shelter, which residents could then expand using their own labour and skill…