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Accepted Paper:

Original copies? Imitative dwelling practices and housing forms in a squatter settlement  
Peter Kellett (University of Newcastle)

Paper short abstract:

Self-build squatters construct their homes following predictable design patterns which appear to be copies of middle class dwellings. Drawing on Bourdieu, the paper explores competitive display and distinction in these housing practices and concludes that both imitation and originality are valued.

Paper long abstract:

Although frequently limited by economic constraints, builder-dwellers in informal self-made environments are free to choose housing forms and materials without external constraint or control. This situation potentially offers considerable freedom for expressive gestures, originality and individuality, in contrast to housing projects constructed by the state or by private developers where large numbers of identical dwellings are produced without reference to future occupants. Drawing on data from a longitudinal ethnographic study of dwelling practices in a squatter settlement in Colombia the paper will explore how dwelling forms and practices are characterised by imitative behaviours at a range of scales: settlers attempt to faithfully reproduce orthogonal settlement layouts which date back to colonial times; there are only minor variations in house plans between neighbours; only a narrow range of materials are regarded as acceptable; and dwelling furnishings follow equally clear patterns.

The main arena for competitive display and distinction is on the front facades of the dwellings where variations in colour and form become increasingly evident as settlements consolidate through time. It is clear that most of the referents and sources of the design languages come from outside the settlement, and that dwellers are attempting to reproduce housing designs which are associated with middle class life styles and values. The paper utilises Bourdieu's ideas of distinction and cultural capital to explore the changing dynamics of housing design and display, and concludes that such practices are simultaneously copies of external forms, but also original in asserting individuality and difference between neighbouring dwellings.

Panel P12
Something borrowed, something new? Practices and politics of imitation
  Session 1