Residential building: A Selfish Giant

Abstract

Some urban growth in the city of Santiago is explained by the construction of high rise homes in downtown areas originally with low rise and density. This urban renovation process has resulted in spatial shifts in traditional quarters and, particularly, in the relationship between public and private spaces, with potential impacts on the dynamics of the population. The article explores the new forms or verticality, focusing on how the private spaces that have a direct visual, spatial or functional relationship with the public space are arranged. The idea is suggested that a housing building that is constructed in these quarters is characterized as the selfish giant. It is a giant due to its size, imposing its presence over the quarter; and selfish due to the type of relationship that it establishes between private space and public spaces.