House in Luanda: Patio and Pavilion

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House in Luanda: Patio and Pavilion

Type

Residential › Multi Unit Housing

SIZE

10,000 sqft - 25,000 sqft

BUDGET

$10K - 50K

CONCEPT
In the origin of
Angolan housing tradition, particularly amongst Bantu people, houses an
elementary building type composed of a single enclosed space connected to the
exterior through a single opening. This elementary building, known as cubata (1), is the fundamental unit that
when multiplied and distributed in the open space according to a precise social
logic, forms the Bantus? housing compounds. They are PAVILLION? one of several
detached units into which a building is sometimes divided ? AND PATIO COMPOUNDS.
In fact, the idea of
a PATIO ? as an open space unit, stage for daily family life ? and a PAVILLION
? as an enclosed space unit to shelter the private life ? are seen in the
ancient African housing structures. Other African people, like the Zulus, had
complex building structures similarly generated. The kraal Zulu (2) is the result of huts gathered within an enclosed
circular space. The Ashantis? and primitive Sudanese and Camaronese housing
compounds were also generated from the aggregation of similar elementary
buildings around a patio.
Reflecting a past
socio-spatial organization, today the PATIO-PAVILLION HOUSING TRADITION is
still alive in the rural and urban areas, and even in the musseques of Angola.
This proposal is
based on the concept of these essential space units, the PATIO and the
PAVILLION.
DESIGN
With no site
specification, our aim was to design a flexible housing structure that could
adjust to the distinct parts of Luanda and its particular environmental,
topographical and urban conditions, as well as to the distinct cultural
backgrounds that form Luanda?s social landscape. The proposal is based on a
flexible process of aggregation of two space units: one enclosed? the cubata, and the other, open ? the patio.
The aggregation process is structured in the plot and in the urban block
levels.
PLOT LEVEL
Within the plot, the
aggregation process is defined by the distribution of three cubatas in order to configure distinct patios:
a) a front yard that mediates the interface between public and private life; b)
a backyard where future expansions could take place; c) and a private central
patio that integrates, centripetally, family daily activities, including
cooking according to the Angolan tradition ? close to the ground.
The cubatas are of three types: (a) the
private one contains the parents and grandparents bedrooms; (b) the service
one, houses the kitchen, bathroom and laundry utilities; (c) the social one,
integrates living activities and, at an upper level, accommodates, temporarily,
sleeping area for family?s children, which could be transferred to independent cubatas in the expansion area,
reinforcing the monofuncional feature of the traditional huts. It is important
to highlight that the occupation of the sleeping spaces is variable, allowing
families to occupy the bedrooms according to their specific needs.
It is suggested that
the housing expansion should follow the same aggregation principle: each new cubata is placed along the central
transitional space, always adjacent to open spaces, therefore constituting new
private patios. At the end of the aggregation process, each house will be
composed of five patios and pavilions that guarantee natural light and ventilation.
CONSTRUCTION
The rammed earth
building technique was chosen to give form to the cubatas, aiming at the exploitation of Angolan natural resources, cultural
heritage and environmental conditions. Because of the nature of the materials
used and the wall thickness, a better insulation will be achieved.
For the
implementation of the walls it will be placed metallic casts that could b used
in the construction of several housing units. . First, the framework is built
and filled in with layers of the moist earth, after that the layer of the moist
is compressed by mechanically compacting with lever-operated brick-making press
properly prepared dirt and next layer of moist is added. This kind of
mechanical compression not only compresses the soil, but also vibrates the
individual dirt particles, shifting them into the most tightly packed
arrangement possible.
The roof is built
soil cement rammers on two layers of waterproofing transverse Geotextile and
sat on wooden structure.