PREVI Lima: How Resident Modifications Challenge Architectural Authorship
Initiated in the late 1960s, PREVI Lima served as Peru's Experimental Housing Project, bringing together a diverse array of architects, such as James Stirling, Aldo van Eyck, and Christopher Alexander, to create housing models that could evolve over time. Over five decades later, the area stands as a testament to the choices made by its residents, showcasing a style of architecture intended to be perpetually in progress. This initiative raises important questions regarding how structures undergo alterations, repairs, additions, and spontaneous changes that eventually diverge from their initial design, thereby questioning the concept of authorship in architecture.
Key facts
- PREVI Lima was conceived in the late 1960s as Peru's Experimental Housing Project.
- The project invited an international group of architects including James Stirling, Aldo van Eyck, and Christopher Alexander.
- The housing prototypes were designed to accommodate growth over time.
- More than fifty years later, the neighborhood reflects resident decisions and modifications.
- The project challenges the traditional credit architects receive for buildings long after construction.
- Buildings accumulate modifications, repairs, additions, and improvisations over time.
- PREVI Lima is an example of architecture designed to remain unfinished.
- The article is published on ArchDaily.
Entities
Artists
- James Stirling
- Aldo van Eyck
- Christopher Alexander
Institutions
- ArchDaily
- PREVI Lima
- Peru's Experimental Housing Project
Locations
- Lima
- Peru