Low Cost Housing
, 1984
Client
Pan-African Develepment Corporation, Washington
Concept
Martin Rauch
First prize of the 1984 in the USA juried competition on “Low cost housing in Africa”. The proposal of Martin Rauch refreshes the tradional african clay building style to its modern requirements. He assumes that under a collective overview in the countries of concern, only earthen building materials can be used in order to achieve the needed decentralization and the right ratio between resources and demand. The project is mainly connected to the conditions in Zambia, however could be, in slight modifications, be relevant for the whole of Africa.
From the Jury protocol: “The project accounts for all the different scales- from the wall, the house, the cluster to complete villages, towns and cities. It offers unlimited growing potential for rural and urban contexts. The cross pattern establishes a strong organizational principle with basic means. The use of locally available materials is adapted through comprehensive proposals to the building process of today’s requirements and conditions.”
