2024-12-04T04:25:36-05:00 https://archinect.com/news/article/149938728/inside-aravena-s-open-source-plans-for-low-cost-yet-upgradable-housing Julia Ingalls 2016-04-06T14:35:00-04:00 >2018-04-28T12:01:03-04:00 <img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/qa/qaxlfsmepsyrza0t.jpg?fit=crop&auto=compress%2Cformat&enlarge=true&w=1200" border="0" /><p>After <a href="http://archinect.com/news/article/149938424/it-s-going-to-be-about-gratitude-and-it-s-going-to-be-about-joy-watch-alejandro-aravena-s-pritzker-acceptance-speech" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Alejandro Aravena accepted the Pritzker Prize yesterday</a>, his firm Elemental released four open source plans for low income housing that, according to the firm's website, balance the constraints of "low-rise high density, without overcrowding, with possibility of expansion (from social housing to middle-class dwelling)." The plans were released partly as a response to the looming housing crisis of 2030, in which it is estimated that two billion people will be living under the poverty line.</p><p><img title="" alt="" src="http://cdn.archinect.net/images/650x/ct/ct6sz29e2ingepdw.jpg"></p><p>Aravena's self-described "incremental housing" is partly a governmental effort, and partly an individual one. By providing plans for proven models of sustainable housing, people can have greater agency in housing themselves. "Given the magnitude of the housing shortage, we won't solve this problem unless we add people's own resources and building capacity to that of governments and the market," reads Elemental's statement.&nbsp;</p><p><img title="" alt="" src="http://cdn.archinect.net/images/650x/6d/6dqgz9he1h58tq4q.jpg"></p><p>The four projects Elemental has released plans for are Quinta Monroy, V...</p>