Flat-pack housing

LocationAccra, Ghana
SizeVarious
Year2023
StatusStage 1

In Accra and later the Philippines we developed a $500 architectural product linked to a housing loan service provided by ASA International, one of the largest MFI’s worldwide.

The flatpacks are ‘bridge-homes' that pave the way to housing credit-worthiness, a mortgage and ultimately a better quality of life. They are seen as the ‘first step’ on the housing ladder.

The basic house unit is designed as a $500 ‘kit-of-parts’ (the same price as a client’s typical yearly rent). Housing modules can be grouped together to form ‘communal living units’ on left-over slices of land.
The houses are built with various applications of bamboo and sheltered by a lightweight corrugated metal roof. Bamboo is flexible, easily assembled, extendible and movable, yet strong and durable, comfortable and beautiful.
Bamboo is looked down upon as a poor man's material in Ghana, because typically it is not treated and therefore quickly rots. We established connections with local bamboo suppliers and treatment facilities to ensure the proper borax solutions are applied to ensure its unusual strength and longevity.
The modular partition system allows the plans to be freely configured to suit the accommodation needs of the occupants. The houses are long and thin to respond to the typical form of available land slivers in Accra.
Central to our ‘communal living’ concept is the provision of an integrated veranda with each unit — a space which mediates between inside and outside — a shared living room and a space for more intimate social interactions between the residents.

Credits

TeamMatt Ball, Annebé Brouwer
PartnerASA International

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