Black Market Architecture or: “The International Low-income Style”

In Sarah Williams Goldhagen’s book, “Welcome to Your World: How the Built Environment Shapes Our Lives,” she defines slums as “…where resources truly are scarce.” No matter what country you are looking at, slums remain consistent in terms of population density, sanitary set up (or lack of, in most cases), material and construction arrangement, and an obvious deficiency in food and funds. Slums, in some sense, could be perceived as “The International Low-income Style” they take on no cultural form, nor relate to anything sacred to the region they reside in. The thing grows and develops into a more complex being; driven by thousands upon thousands of inhabitants looking to enhance their lives with what few, precious materials they can salvage. Slum construction revolves around one thing: necessity. If there is a need for another room, then there shall be another room. Same goes for a passageway, viewing portal, covering, or enclosement. There is no planning, only development by which needs fuel growth.

In the practice of architecture, I believe we can take this extreme example of mankind’s development and apply in such a way that gives the user the ability to make use of their space. To use it in such a way that they have control over how that space is loosely defined and remains adaptable in the following years to come. The challenge is to discover what the truly essential components to the space are, and what needs to be adjustable for the user’s needs?