Mexico’s Institute of the National Fund for Workers’ Housing, (INFONAVIT), recently invited 90 design offices to present proposals for a new national housing model. INFONAVIT is a federally-administered program that works with labor, business, and government to help Mexican citizens exercise a constitutional right to dignified housing. Six SCI-Arc faculty members were selected to finalize designs to address housing needs in a variety of environmental and economic climates across the nation:

  • Griffin Enright- Vice Director John Enright, and SCI-Arc Faculty Margaret Griffin;
  • Pita + Bloom- Graduate Thesis Coordinator Florencia Pita, and SCI-Arc Faculty Jacki Bloom;
  • Zago Architecture- SCI-Arc Faculty Andrew Zago; and
  • RNThomsen Architecture- SCI-Arc Faculty Russell Thomsen.

 “We are proud and excited that many of our faculty are part of this ambitious project,” says SCI-Arc Director Hernan Diaz Alonso. “We see it as an organic development of our commitment with Mexico, and to tackle complex architecture problems with the desire and hope that, despite constraints, ambitious ideas can prevail.”

The designs will be incorporated into a master plan by New York-based MOS Architects into a prototype neighborhood of unique houses. Construction will commence in September of 2017 in Apan, Hidalgo, Mexico.

Out of the 90 design offices initially invited by INFONAVIT, a total of 10 SCI-Arc faculty were included:

Small House with a Big Personality by Griffin Enright
Small House with a Big Personality by Griffin Enright - Leveraging the region’s common concrete construction methods, a familiar concrete frame and slab delivers a surprising form that combines an atypical ruled surface and the candela/thin-shell concrete roof structure that figures prominently in Mexico’s architectural heritage. A compact footprint lends a vertical presence in which each structure features four variable ruled-surface roof configurations. The firm’s design includes three residential unit prototypes, each measuring 480 square feet and two-levels. Narrow stairs to two bedrooms and a bath are lit by a skylight above. Upstairs lofts in the thin shell roof-system provide additional sleeping or storage. Porches or overhangs extend interior living spaces into the yard. Of the 12 roof configurations, each generates its own elevation profile for a distinct character. A single unit stands self-contained and is designed to negotiate dense, urban relationships adaptable to varying plot sizes and solar orientations.