Adopting open source concept and incremental housing as self-planning housing for low-income community

Abstract

Responding to the high cost of planning a house, people with middle to lower economic background have to adapt the situation, including by doing self-planning without hiring planner services. In fact, self-planning may produce housing units that are less habitable and consequently, may bring adverse impacts or even create unfavorable condition to surrounding environment. In Chile, the issues linked to settlements gave birth to a great thinker, Alejandro Aravena, whose incremental housing design had solved the settlement problems effectively and efficiently. When connected with computer science discipline, the idea of open source can be a solution for computer users with economic limitations, allowing computers become a valuable asset to accommodate creativity. The method is by observing open source concept and find the possibility for adoption into the field of architecture, especially in housing design provision. By observing Alejandro Aravena’s incremental housing design and identifying house design in general, some basic plan modules will be formed as the result of design adaptation. By presenting an open design organization, it can facilitate any design to be delivered to people in need. One of the ideas of a house that can be presented as self-planning solution is universal design of incremental house. With effective management and the provision of right design, independent planning could be directed into huge capacity to solve housing problem.