Evolving building system for expandable housing by means of corrugated metal sheets

Abstract

Large housing programs in developing countries built out of permanent materials are likely to be too costly for low-income people. Such housing would have to be subsidized or allocated to middle-income groups. For this reason, some governments provide sites and services that allow low-income families to live in temporary units. This intervention has enabled low-income families to live on regulated demarcated and serviced land if not in permanent dwelling units. While doing so, they are able to build incrementally more permanent dwellings according with their life-cycle and their changing financial resources. This type of strategy supports the concept that housing is not a finished and static product but a continuous process over time. In order to adapt the initial temporary dwellings built by the low-income groups, and help with their transition to permanent buildings, this thesis proposed a building system which adapts to the dynamic and progressive building processes of these groups. The initial shelter is built out of corrugated metal sheets and steel members made out of thin metal sheets. The building system proceeds in stages from a simple temporary shelter -expanding and evolving- to a permanent dwelling. This transition is achieved by gradually strengthening the structure and transforming the surfaces of the dwelling with different levels of finishings.