Architecture as a Determining Factor in Human Behavior

Abstract

The aim of this research is to analyze Argentina’s housing problem during the years 1870–1909 and, consequently, its direct impact on the population from an economic, hygienic, social, and moral standpoint. From an architectural perspective, the typical models that constituted responses to the problem of the period were studied: a) the conventillo, or tenement house, and b) low-cost or workers’ housing. The advantages and disadvantages offered by each of these architectural types are analyzed here, since they constituted different factual proposals that resulted in different forms of human behavior.

The research was carried out following the scientific-analytical method, through a detailed study of: 1) the socio-emotional factors that influenced and determined the concepts of habitat and human environment; and 2) the political, economic, social, and historical facts that constituted the sociocultural framework of the period under analysis.

The evaluation of different statistical studies made it possible to understand the magnitude of the problem, as well as some of the most influential factors that gave rise to it. Moreover, an investigation was carried out into the different legal aspects that offered solutions to this housing problem, as well as their significance and/or acceptance by the population targeted by such legislation. This study led to a deep understanding of the way of life that a large part of the population—those in need of low-cost housing—had to endure in a habitat that constituted the only option available to them. Consequently, it was possible to determine the strong influence exerted by habitat on the behavior of its users. At the political level, the conclusion is that the measures proposed did not constitute a satisfactory or adequate solution for the social sector for which they were intended. This paper proposes a different view of the attitude to be adopted in analyzing the way of life in a conventillo. It is a proposal from a personal perspective, based on the reading and interpretation of primary sources, and constitutes an important contribution to the analysis of Argentina’s housing problem.