The Private House

Abstract

Although there is significant variation in the socio-economic and political circumstances of each Latin American country, there is also, in all of them, a dramatic contrast between the conditions of life of the poor majority and those of the wealthy. This is seen in the spatial qualities of buildings and parts of cities which the two groups inhabit, as well as in the modes of property ownership. Indeed, according to statistics, most middle-income/ middle-class individuals and families own their house and, often, second holiday homes.¹ Paradoxically, against the realities of poverty brought forward in the previous three chapters, the design of single-family houses and holiday homes is a regular commission for Latin American architects, who, sometimes, amass significant portfolios of this kind of projects while they are still very young. It is precisely because of the youth of their authors that residential architecture often displays great diversity, creativity and vitality, even though the projects are usually small-scale. Rather than underlining similarity throughout the continent, this chapter highlights the diversity that is associated with young architectural practices in Latin America.