CORY REYNOLDS | DATE 8/4/2016

Alejandro Aravena: Elemental

Designed by Chilean architect Alejandro Aravena of the Santiago-based firm Elemental, this project for 70 families in Nuevo León, Mexico, is an example of the incremental housing and participatory design that earned Aravena the 2016 Pritzker Prize. Each unit contains two homes that must be finished and personalized by the owner. Located in a middle-class neighborhood where the average home price is $50,000, Elemental Monterey's innovative participatory design allows for each unit to come in between $20,000 and $25,000. "The location will mean an immediate value gain for the properties, but also expresses that the units will benefit from higher urban standards of public space, access to jobs, health care, education and transportation."