Socially-Conscious Mexican Residences

The Casa Caja residence by S-AR is an architecture project that is meant to empower local labourers. The home is located in General Zuazua, a suburb of Monterrey, one of Mexico’s wealthiest cities.

Casa Caja stands at a 7 by 15 metre plot and is built using concrete block materials. Its first floor features a living space and a spacious kitchen with a patio view while its second storey houses two private, en-suite rooms.

Despite of its wealthy neighbourhood, this home belongs to a low-income family. Upon first glance, Casa Caja resembles a modernist weekend retreat but is soon revealed to be a modest family home that is built by the region’s construction workers.

‘Construction workers constitute a very vulnerable sector in Mexican society because of the instability of their trade and their rare opportunities to save money or apply for a loan through the government’s housing programme’.

Comunidad Vivex, a non-profit organisation founded by S-AR rejects this notion and gives Mexico’s trade workers the opportunity to design and build their own home at minimum cost.