CINVA Housing Studies

Bogotá

Barrio Perseverancia. An impoverished neighborhood. March 1953.
  • Prefabricated concrete construction. February 1952
  • February 1952
  • July 1954
Barrio Quiroga. Public housing for workers. Construction began 1951.

Governments had the resources to sponsor large-scale developments like Quiroga. CINVA, on the other hand, focused on research, development, and technical assistance for self-help projects, often in rural areas.

Rural Colombia

Plan of an existing rural house, Colombia. Drawing by CINVA student ca. 1954
  • Steel plant. Acerías Paz del Río, Boyacá. August 1955
  • House built by owner, vicinity of Sogamoso and Nobsa, Boyacá. October 1955
CINVA worked extensively in rural Colombia. Natural resources for producing steel were discovered in Boyacá Department and a new steel plant drove a need for low-cost housing.

People in rural Latin America traditionally built their own houses and took pride in them. CINVA developed economical methods to enable homeowners to build their houses with a