Providing accommodation for tourists does not have to come at the expense of locals

Using one of Cuba's oldest and rapidly gentrifying neighbourhoods as a lens, architect Iwo Borkowicz explores tourism and social housing.

Part of the Project

From the Series

Havana, the historic core of Cuba, is experiencing two things: a housing crisis and a tourism boom. Iwo Borkowicz, a graduate at Ku Leuven in Belgium, says merging these two realities could provide a solution.

His project, A Symbiotic Relation of Cooperative Social Housing and Dispersed Tourism in Havana Vieja, seeks to provide not only housing and tourist accomodation, but also a source of income for locals.

Borkowicz is one of three winners of the 2016 Young Talent Architecture Award. His project plans to revitalise the city.

He presented the project at the inaugural antenna, Design Indaba’s global scan of the best in design done in collaboration with Dutch Design Week.