The project Under Construction in Quito is about a form of “social economy” and its implications for people and the physical environment they inhabit. Despite contemporary global urbanization and its attendant economy, there are still rural areas today where barter is the main mode of exchange. The project draws on this tradition and proposes bartering as a practice in an urban context for the refurbishment of the historical center of the city – a process carried out by people without sufficient monetary means. Here, bartering replaces typical capital investment with a direct form of exchange between two parties. For example: the owner of an abandoned house in need of restoration and tenants without monetary means but willing to exchange their labor as a form of rent.

Read project feature in 4th Holcim Awards 2014/2015 (flip-book)