Technological design and participatory process for the retrofitting of informal settlements in Colombia

The contribution presents the results of a three-year research about the regeneration of spontaneous settlements in conditions of social, economic, environmental and technological inadequacy. The research develops within an agreement between the Department of Architecture of the Roma Tre University (Italy) and the Faculty of Architecture, Design and Urbanism of the University of Boyacá in Sogamoso (Colombia). The research was aimed at developing procedural strategies and design solutions capable of regenerating spontaneous settlements. With this aim, a system of solutions for informal and degraded housing has been designed for a total of forty case studies in the urban marginal areas of Sogamoso in Colombia. The strategies adopted contributed to reducing the perception of housing insecurity by increasing the cohesion of the community. The results show the multidisciplinary character and the trans-scalar nature of the research, for favoring integration, for operating on technological reconfiguration, and for involving the local community.