Casa Techo — Open Source Housing

Memory

I was invited to Barcelona to present Casa Techo, an open-source housing design developed as a response to the urgent challenges of social and rural housing in South America.

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Social housing, priority housing, affordable housing, and incremental housing are different names describing the same underlying issue: the deficit and inadequate quality of housing across South American territories.

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In Colombia, this condition presents additional complexities that make the scenario particularly challenging compared to neighboring countries. More than fifty years of armed conflict have left large rural territories in a state of structural uncertainty. Unclear land ownership, a significant housing deficit affecting more than half of the country’s municipalities, and poor spatial and construction quality in existing dwellings are among the primary challenges. As a result, a large portion of the rural population continues to live under conditions of extreme vulnerability.

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Within this context, the project emerged from a fundamental question: what design strategy can reduce construction costs while improving spatial quality for families averaging six members, incorporating interior spaces for food storage and productive activities, and establishing a meaningful dialogue with the rural landscape?

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The outcome of this research enabled the launch of Casa Techo Open Source, an adaptable architectural system that rethinks housing not as a fixed object, but as an evolving framework capable of growing with its inhabitants and their territory.