The Ubiquity of the American Dream – Housing priorities around the World

Prepared for the exhibit at the UN World Urban Forum in Rio, March 2010.  Situated within the context of the exhibition hall with thousands of occupants per day, a participatory structure was developed which mapped the conception of home from a myriad sources. Each viewer was asked to take a blank card and draw what represented their home on the font side. The viewer was then asked to place their card onto a stacked system built up over the several days of the Rio exhibit: each card was cut to have slots that fit together, making a house of cards. The informal nature led to an irregular pattern of growth, mimicking the favelas in the informal settlements in Rio.