New York City-based SO-IL has nearly completed work on the six-story Las Americas social housing project in León, Mexico that aims to offer a new "prototype for the development of vertical dwellings" in the city.
The project, created in partnership with Imuvi Development and the City of León, aims to counter the ubiquitous, sprawling detached, single-family social housing communities that have taken root across the country in recent years.
As construction on the project continues, SO-IL has unveiled photos taken by Iwan Baan on its Instagram page highlighting the structure.
The architects aim to do this by introducing vertically stacked condominium units to the city's social housing efforts in order to create a marriage between existing affordability and ownership models. Describing the project, the architects write, "Resonant of the traditional home’s sense of privacy, no two units face one another. Units are arranged in a single-loaded corridor to face the courtyard and provide views out to the neighborhood, promoting the sense of private homeownership."
The project's facades are wrapped in concrete blocks articulated in expressive, repeating patterns, while the overall massing of the complex is laid out in an abstracted figure-8 design that creates a sweeping, twisting form rising against the relatively low-sung neighborhoods surrounding the forthcoming complex. The project is well under construction and is scheduled for a 2021 completion.
5 Comments
Machines for living, indeed.
A lot of experimental projects in Mexico, especially in housing.
this is such a great project. SO-IL has been a great office from the start but this one feels more like its venturing into territory not already looked at by Sejima. I'm really looking forward to seeing what comes next.
I'm lovin it
I wish this were being realized in New York. We need more social housing here.
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