Which Are The Most Used Materials in Social Housing?

© Ana Cecilia Garza Villarreal

Choice of building materials and the inherent continuous reflection about the reach and capabilities of architecture are an interesting alternative way to approach this issue. The materials used in social housing should address local and economic possibilities and the real needs for access to housing in the contemporary context.

In this article, we analyze different projects published on our site to identify some of the predominant materials used in social housing, both for the formation of structures or enclosures. The intentions of this are two-fold: firstly, to create a worldwide panorama of different case studies with different construction styles from a range of geographical locations, and secondly, to provide inspiration and tools to architects to make better social housing.

Below we present 15 social housing projects and their diverse materials and construction styles.

Dry wood framing with undulated zinc sheet roof and wood residue chipboards. 

Architectural System for Rural Social Interest Housing / Ensamble de Arquitectura Integral
Location: Magdalena, Colombia

© Juan Pablo Pardo

Dry wood framing with aluminum and zinc alloy coated steel sheets with PVC frame.

Villa Verde Housing / ELEMENTAL
Location:  Maule Region, Chile

© Suyin Chia

Reinforced concrete frame, impregnated pine with double skin coligüe (rügi).

Ruca Dwellings / Undurraga Devés Arquitectos
Location: Metropolitan Region, Chile

© Guy Wenborne

Beam-column frame structure reinforced with concrete block masonry and ceramic block.

Casa Cubierta / Comunidad Vivex
Location: Monterrey, México

© Ana Cecilia Garza Villarreal

Prefabricated wooden structure with bamboo weave.

Soe Ker Tie House / TYIN Tegnestue
Location: Tak Province, Thailand

© Pasi Alto

Reinforced concrete structure with concrete blocks.

Quinta Monroy / ELEMENTAL
Location: Iquique, Chile

Cortesía de ELEMENTAL

RC structure with cement blocks.

SOS Children’s Village In Djibouti / Urko Sanchez Architects
Location: Tadjoura, Djibouti

© Javier Callejas

Concrete block, prefabricated slab panel, plastering on block.

Monterrey Housing / ELEMENTAL
Location: Monterrey, Mexico

© Ramiro Ramirez

Pre-molded concrete frames, corrugated cement board, nipa palm panels.

S House / Vo Trong Nghia Architects
Location: Tân An, Vietnam

© Hiroyuki Oki

Brushed pine, plasterboard, aluminum frame.

Social Rural Housing FNH / Pontifical Catholic University of Chile team
Location: Rancagua, Chile

Cortesía de Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

Reinforced concrete structure and unidirectional forged reinforced concrete slab foundation. 

26 Homes in Umbrete / Gabriel Verd Arquitectos
Location: Sevilla, España

© Jesús Granada

 

Facade with precast concrete pieces.

Barajas Social Housing Blocks / EMBT
Location: Madrid, España

© Roland Halbe

Prefabricated structural insulated panels (SIP) used for roof and walls.

Studio 19 Community Housing / Strachan Group Architects, Studio 19
Location: Auckland, New Zealand

© Jackie Meiring

Flat plate with small wave sine plate.

Housing Building in Carabanchel / Amann-Canovas-Maruri
Location: Madrid, España

© Miguel de Guzmán

Reticular lightened slab, plaster flat with vinyl paint finish, aluminum frames. 

Cacamatzin 34 / DEA Diseño Exterior y Arquitectura
Location: México City, México

© Onnis Luque