Mediagua
Mediagua, is the name given in Chile to a type of prefabricated house, constructed of wood panels, which can be erected in less than a day. The traditional model has an area of . They are traditionally used to provide emergency housing solutions after natural disasters, or to give an inexpensive house to homeless people. Because they are designed as temporary solutions they are commonly installed without sanitation or electricity, but often they become permanent homes. Elements A standard mediagua, such as those installed by the housing foundation Un Techo para Chile ("A Roof for Chile") is of long by wide, which is designed to house a family of 4. There is also a model of half the area of the former, for single people and couples. They are made of 8 panels (2 floors, 2 sides, 2 front and 2 rear), two windows, one door, 8 sheets of zinc for the roof, plus 15 support logs of long to isolate the house from the moisture of the soil. The house is divided in two rooms. History In the mid-nineteenth century the first slums began to appear around Santiago de Chile, where unskilled workers lived. The sanitation, safety and housing