Review of the industrialization of housing and three experiences of construction systems in Latin America

Abstract

This article tries to present, in a synthesized way, a set of variables obtained from an inventory of 123 construction industrialized techniques, prepared by a group of American researchers, listed in the First catalog of industrialized techniques for the low-cost housing in Latin America and the Caribbean with the coordination of the architect Walter Kruk.

The variables refer to the extent of the use of industrialized techniques, the kind of techniques, materials, periods of development, the intensity of the investment and the type of labor; which, in general, allow to identify the characteristics of the construction companies that have opted for the path of industrialization. This part concludes with a description of the technological profile of a Latin American company.
Finally, to illustrate the main features of the building systems that use industrialized techniques in Latin America it concludes with a brief review of three successful and innovative experiences for low cost housing as the sytems BENO in Argentina, SANDINO in Cuba and SANCOCHO in Venezuela.

Keywords: Review experiences, industrialized techniques, housing, Latin America.