The inner city is now a domain of the rich. While service jobs are still needed in this environment, the poor are forced to commute, losing money to gas prices and time to traffic. Why not build more low-cost housing to improve the lives of the poor? A developer would say that regardless of demand it would not be profitable; a 20% ROI is required to even think about developing a plot. Is centrally located low-income housing a far-off dream?

Architect Jack Self proposes a solution to this problem: The Ingot is a conceptual building uses existing financing methods to create low-cost worker housing. Described by Self as “form following finance,” the 365-meter high tower in central London would be funded through a 50-year bond mechanism designed to give creditors secure returns. To hedge against downturns, the Ingot is electroplated in gold; the building itself is a security underwriting the bond. Through these mechanisms, rents can be reduced to 46% market rate. The ingot presents an alternative democratic model for property development and ownership in the modern age.