Creating a design revolution: changing paradigms for reduced spaces in Mexico's small housing market in alliance with small-scale industries

Abstract

In Mexico, a developing country constantly exploring for new ways to satisfy its resident's needs, a latent prob­lem has emerged. Dwellings in Mexico have been reduced in size by almost one third of the stipulated size by the Urban Development Law. This is affecting not only institutions and organizations, but also small-scale industries and families. The problem has impacted the State of Chihuahua, where, on the one hand, families are struggling with the large furniture that is currently available and on the other, the furniture industry is unpre­pared to meet the demands created by the reduced living space. These circumstances have generated questions and the search for possible solutions which could lead to inno­vations and new areas of opportunity. This creates a potential opening for a design intervention in the furniture industry. This document offers a proposed first step towards a possible solution to this dilemma, targeting the middle and middle-low class as its market. The Room in a Box concept is a product/service offering based on a series of criteria generated through the study of Microarchitecture theory. The concept adopts a "design as a whole" approach, taking into consideration the living condition factors that are related to small dwellings and their households' circumstances, such as space, organization, quality, budget, etc. Room in a Box could be described as pre-designed packages that combine innovative, multifunctional and flexible products in conjunction with customized organizational and visual strategies. These pre-designed packages can create an ideal arrangement for a particular room maximizing the space and optimizing the user's resources. Moreover, because Room in a Box's "design as a whole" approach encourages working outside the box, then this concept has the potential to stretch its boundaries to include the idea of an organization model. That is a conceptual Room in a Box service that organizes key elements and events that in combination could provide a "one stop shop" for the users. These elements include the emergence of a Coordination Center, which charged with the task of design development, marketing strategies and logistics thereby linking the various participants. The organization would also involve small-scale industries including workshops, suppliers and institutions which are related to the potential target market, the small house developers and the furniture industry of Chihuahua. In the long term, critical alliances would be established so that the key elements could work together generating jobs and creating a better quality of life for the Mexican people. This document is focused on the conceptualization of the initial Room in a Box product/service offering which is first phase of that long term plan. The development of this initial phase could be the foundation for a proposal for a second phase in which the product/service is implemented and tested. Successful execution of that phase would provide the basis for a later third phase involving the initiation of a plan for a commercial venture.