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Fideicomiso: When Architects Become Developers (And Everybody Wins)

A decade before Kickstarter made "crowdfunding" a buzzword (particularly in architecture circles), a similar concept - going by a far more poetic name - was already alive and well in the streets of Buenos Aires. 

Fideicomiso is a system of development which gained popularity in Argentina after the financial crisis of 2001; banks crashed, the public grew wary of developers, and a more democratic system of development gained prevalence. Under fideicomiso, the architect himself takes on the risk of development; residents collect their assets and provide them to the architect, who buys the land, funds the project and oversees the design/construction.

Now, Elias Redstone, a researcher who took part in Venice Takeaway (Britain's Pavilion at last year's Venice Biennale) and spent time investigating this model in Argentina, has returned to his home country - and is anxious to see if this system could be applied in Recession-struck Britain.

Read more about this revolutionary model of development, after the break...

Luchtsingel / ZUS + Hofbogen BV

Text description provided by the architects. The Luchtsingel is a pedestrian footbridge in Rotterdam that is being realized by crowdfunding, an exciting new means of funding in which the public donates money via an online platform (essentially investing in an unrealized idea) in order to make a project reality. The Luchtsingel, which uses the slogan "the more you donate, the longer the bridge", has resonated with the public imagination and surpassed its initial funding goals, becoming an important part of Rotterdam's urban rejuvenation.

Luchtsingel / ZUS + Hofbogen BV - Pedestrian Bridge, Facade, CityscapeLuchtsingel / ZUS + Hofbogen BV - Pedestrian BridgeLuchtsingel / ZUS + Hofbogen BV - Pedestrian Bridge, Facade, Stairs, HandrailLuchtsingel / ZUS + Hofbogen BV - Pedestrian Bridge, Facade, CityscapeLuchtsingel / ZUS + Hofbogen BV - More Images+ 7

Read more about the unusual birth of this public bridge, after the break...