Cactus Home
Alejandro Salvo
Chile


© Alejandro Salvo

© Alejandro Salvo

© Alejandro Salvo

© Alejandro Salvo
Looking at current conditions, it is likely that problems such as land value or uncontrolled migration will continue and even worse will increase. In this situation, not all cities are able to deal with this, particularly in northern Chile with shared border with three countries, the future looks uncertain and worrying.
In addition, advances in technology have allowed the sustained advance of teleworking, allowing professionals and specialists in the field of services, computing, architecture or others to carry out their jobs at home.
However, a fragment of the population, clearly more dispossessed than the rest, does not have studies or these advantages.
It is under this precedent that the idea of CACTUS - HOME was born, after analyzing the places where immigrants and low-income people or those living on the streets live, it is generally on the outskirts of large cities, with the services and needs in the cities they are isolated, having to travel long distances, leaving their families alone, exposing themselves to risks to earn money.
For the same reason, the CACTUS - HOME, as opposed to modern buildings, is cheaper and easier to maintain, since it takes advantage of many inherent qualities of the cactus; resistance to the sun, the ability to capture water, thermal control and growth among others.
The farms managed to develop prototypes with small, soft or non-existent spines, in addition, they managed to intervene enough inside to make it habitable, making it moldable to the will of the inhabitants, allowing multiple changes, small shoe stores, bakeries , retail sales or technical services, with a little patience it could be adapted to almost any program.
These tinies but resistant houses found a place in small but growing families that inhabited the extensive desert areas of Chile, both as an emergency place in the face of catastrophes (natural and economic) and to be passing through before finding a permanent place.