Conforming Homes

Hello! Welcome to this column where I’ll be talking about everything related to the creation of homes—what we often refer to as domestic or residential architecture.My name is Gerardo, and I work every day with young families looking for more than just a basic structure to live in. I’ll share in a simple and clear way what I believe are the vital aspects a house must have in order to be considered a true home—regardless of size, shape, finishes, styles, or, more importantly, the business model of speculative real estate development focused solely on maximum profit.

I start with these factors because they are part of the problem: housing is often valued differently depending on the perspective from which it's analyzed. It can be seen as a right, a basic need, an investment, a simple construction, a piece of property, future inheritance—or as a product designed for profit.

Latin America faces a serious challenge in meeting the growing demand for housing. This need has been addressed by both governments and private entities through standardized solutions, where the population is essentially categorized and packaged based on socioeconomic labels.

The decision about who the final user of a house will be is complex, and often, livability is not even a consideration—it's simply about meeting a need as quickly as possible.

As a result, most people live in improvised housing (self-built homes) or in mass-produced houses (market prototypes). But every home is unique, and its architecture should be a specific and suitable solution for each family—without defaulting to generic approaches based on statistics, standard dimensions, or baseline needs.

On the contrary, there are design factors that can genuinely improve the relationship between the inhabitant and their living environment:

SINGULARITY

Every home is unique, and its architecture should be tailored specifically to each family. Starting from generic cases based on averages, dimensions, or basic needs only leads to generic results.

OWNERSHIP

The inhabitant must be a co-creator alongside the architect, actively participating in the process by sharing how they live and how they would like to live. Over time, this co-creation is reflected in the human relationships that unfold in the space, shaping it through lived experiences.

FOR THE INHABITANTS

It may sound obvious, but housing projects should be designed for the specific group of people who will live there. In practice, however, housing is often developed in a standardized way for a "market," based on demographic, economic, and statistical data—and worse yet, on the profit margin of the developer.

UTILITY

A home must be useful in addressing the specific needs of a family or group—not just from the perspective of basic shelter, but by maximizing the value of space, resources, life cycle, and design elements.

DEFINED RESOURCES

This is where most projects fail. Resources must be defined from the planning stage: an integral project should analyze space, needs, budget, and time through proper planning. Otherwise, the ideas remain on paper and never become viable.

CONTEXT

I once read something that really stuck with me: Every piece of architecture, when conceived, should reflect its historical, geographical, cultural, economic, and even political moment.Without context, a house loses its place in time—and cannot be truly authentic.

ENVIRONMENT

From analyzing the basics—sunlight, orientation, topography, infrastructure, neighbors—to things not immediately visible, like the atmosphere, the history of the place, and its essence.

FUTURE

A home must be designed for the present and future needs of the family. It should allow for progressive growth and adaptability to new situations—through spatial logic and efficient design.

IDENTITY

If all these factors are thoughtfully addressed, we can truly say a house is singular, made specifically for the people who live in it, designed to be a place where they can grow, coexist, and develop their human potential.

In conclusion, it is crucial to give housing its proper value—not as a mere construction, but as the place where we live and develop our human potential.That’s why housing solutions must be conceived with a clear understanding of the needs and desires of the people who will inhabit them, rather than being reduced to demographic data or business logic.

It’s time to stop thinking of housing as just an investment or a piece of property—and start recognizing it for what it truly is: a home.