Comunidad Elkano Social Housing

Medellín, Colombia, South America

Completed · Residential · Social Housing Hillside Block · Tropical · 2012

Part of Medellín's Urban Acupuncture strategy, this social housing block in a steep informal settlement integrates public stairways, community space, and flood-resistant foundations into a single structure. The project established a replicable model for formalising informal hillside urbanisation.

Innovation highlights

• integration of public infrastructure (stepped streets) into building structure
• flood and landslide risk mitigation engineered into foundations
• co-design process with informal settlement residents
• urban acupuncture model: catalyst building triggers neighbourhood upgrading

Client / Developer

Empresa de Desarrollo Urbano (EDU) Medellín

Architect

Alejandro Echeverri / URBAM EAFIT

Engineer

EDU Engineering Division

Type

Social Housing Hillside Block

#social housing #urban acupuncture #informal settlement #hillside construction #community co-design #Medellín

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