Costa Rica House

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COSTA RICA

WORLD HOUSE 207 Adelaide Street East, Suite 209 Toronto, Ontario M5A 1M8 Canada T: 416.943.0303 F: 647.439.4959

Project Team: Melissa Amarelo

Karl Johnson

Connor Malloy

Project Advisors: Monica Contreras Dimitri Papatheodorou

Table of Contents

Conceptual Development Design Concepts ..........................................................................................27 Spatial Division .............................................................................................28 Service Core ..................................................................................................2 9 Energy..............................................................................................................30 Air Handling....................................................................................................32 Vernacular Modularity .................................................................................33

Design For Change Background World House Costa Rica Project ..............................................................01 Costa Rica ......................................................................................................02 Guanacaste....................................................................................................03 Seismic Study ...............................................................................................04 Climate Conditions.......................................................................................05 Matapalo.........................................................................................................06 Areas Surrounding Matapalo .....................................................................07 Greater Matapalo .........................................................................................08 Getting to Know Matapalo .........................................................................0 9 Town of Matapalo .........................................................................................10 Matapalo Streetscapes ..............................................................................11 Outdoor Living ...............................................................................................12 Outdoor Cooking...........................................................................................13 Indoor Kitchen ...............................................................................................14 Indoor Living ..................................................................................................15 Guanacastecan Housing Typology-Historic ...........................................16 Guanacastecan Housing Typology-Contemporary ...............................17 Learning From Matapalo.............................................................................18

Introduction to the Proposed Housing Unit ...........................................35 Site Plan .........................................................................................................38 Floor Plan .......................................................................................................3 9 North/ South Section ...................................................................................40 East/ West Section ......................................................................................41 Furniture Plan................................................................................................42 Perspectives..................................................................................................43

Design Analysis Systems Systems Systems Systems

Thinking-Shade Study ................................................................46 Thinking-Water ............................................................................50 Thinking-Air ..................................................................................51 Thinking-Spatial ..........................................................................52

Design Implementation B uilding in Stages .......................................................................................54 Implementation Options .............................................................................75 Prescriptive....................................................................................................76 Do It Yourself .................................................................................................77

Conclusion Research Analysis Tools for Analysis .........................................................................................20 Four Fold.........................................................................................................21 Twelve Systems ............................................................................................22

Conclusion .....................................................................................................83

Appendices Drawing Package..........................................................................................85 Materials List ................................................................................................100

background

World House Costa Rica The World House Costa Rica Project pursues social housing solutions for rural communities in regions culturally, economically, and ecologically impacted by international development. Proposed in 2007 by Institute without Boundaries alumnus and Costa Rica Ministry of Culture employee Georgiana Penon, the project has quickly gained momentum through the support of partners including the Costa Rica Ministry of Housing, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, and the coastal resort Reserva Conchal.

Capitalizing on this unique opportunity, the Guanacastican community of Matapalo offered their participatory support as a prototype for a community renewal program applicable to many regions encountering similar change. With emphases in all three levels of sustainability, ecological, economical, and social, the housing design takes its place alongside two other projects initiated by the Institute, a town square revitalization plan for the town of Matapalo and a regional planning proposal for the region of Santa Cruz.

After four months of research and preliminary design development, the Institute student team conducted a week of field study in Costa Rica and hosted two charrettes, intensive cooperative design seminars. The first, in San Jose, guided interaction between the Insti-

tute and Veritas University’s School of Architecture in an exchange of insight and expertise toward the mutually explored development challenge. The second charrette, in Matapalo, gauged the case study community’s reactions to the Institute’s preliminary design concepts, allowing the team to gain a better understanding of the residents’ needs. In their own ways, both charrettes proved crucial to the project’s successful development.

At the end of the field study, a healthy relationship had been forged between Matapalo and the Institute, as well as several domestic and foreign NGO’s, the government of Costa Rica, Veritas University, and Reserva Conchal. The project became real, and its long-term implementation insured.

As of this writing, after nine months of development, the Institute has synthesized its cultural, geographic, and architectural research into a concrete design package, the draft of which having just circulated Costa Rica garnering responses from local investors and partners. The package hopes to articulate a sensitive, affordable tropical housing solution for an economically, environmentally, and socially sustainable future for Costa Rica.

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Costa Rica A tropical, mountainous boundary between two oceans, Costa Rica boasts tremendous diversity in climate, landscape, and life. The seemingly insular inhabitants have since Spanish colonization established a culture based on peaceful conduct and compromise, a locus of safety and stability in an otherwise politically tumultuous milieu.

At a population of five million, Costa Rica seeks to pick up economic ground on better-known first world nations, and stands behind a banner of ecological pride and preservation. However, much of the nation has already been transformed by agriculture and cattle ranching, habitation has been slow to follow suit—one third of the country’s population live in the San Jose metropolitan area; much of the rest of the country is rural.

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Region of Guanacaste Situated on the country’s north Pacific coast, Guanacaste is Costa Rica’s second fastest developing province behind that of San Jose. The accelerated growth has placed great pressure on the region’s cultural and natural resources. Many locals are individually pressured to sell their land to foreign interests.

Caribbean Sea

Nicaragua

Although a recent boom has created employment opportunities in the tourism industry, local residents are often excluded form these benefits and are distrustful of new projects in their area. Indeed, the resource demands of new resorts have resulted in water shortages and blackouts for many neighbouring towns.

Tourism adopts the trend of environmental degradation from the once-lucrative practice of cattle farming, the single largest cause of Guanacastican deforestation and responsible for still-pervasive land erosion and water contamination.

Guanacaste

San Jose

North Pacific Ocean

Panama

Town of Matapalo Region Of Guanacaste Costa Rica

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Seismic Conditions

Nicaragua

Sandwiched between the Cocos and Carribbean tectonic plates, Costa Rica is almost entirely seismically active. The activity manifest dramatically in the country’s several famous volcanoes, but felt broadly in its devastating earthquakes. The western half of Guanacaste bears the highest possible seismic intensity rating—a ground activity on par with Los Angeles and the San Andreas fault.

Caribbean Sea

Earthquakes like that of 1991, which rendered 13,000 Pandora residents homeless, have challenged the practicality of traditional building practices. The Costa Rican government has recently prohibited the use of adobe, effectively dissolving the most economic and cultural means of home construction.

Guanacaste

North Pacific Ocean Matapalo

Panama

Guanacaste Zone II Zone III Zone IV

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Climate Conditions (˚C)

Guancaste

40 30

N

20 10 jun 21

0 -10

5 pm

jan feb mar apr may jun

4

jul aug sep oct nov dec

3

Average Monthly Temperature Ranges: Guanacaste vs. Toronto

2

1

noon

9

10

11

7

8

6 am

jun 21

apr & aug 21

W

mar & sep 21

(mm)

80˚

500

70˚

feb & oct 21

60˚

400

dec 21

50˚ 4 pm

200

dec 21

40˚

300 3

2

8 am

30˚ 1

20˚

11

10

9

10˚

100

(horizon)

jan feb mar apr may jun

jul aug sep oct nov dec

Average Monthly Precipitation: Guanacaste vs. Toronto

Toronto Guanacaste

Proximity to the Pacific Ocean exaggerates the seasonal dichotomy for Guanacaste; floods, droughts, and wildfires are familiar occurrences in the region. Extremes are also exaggerated by El Niño and La Niña currents, which arrive every two to seven years. Also, the most recent data on climate change project a sustained broadening of these extremes.

North Pacific Ocea

Guanacaste is located close enough to the equator that the sun passes through the northern half of the sky during summer months. Sunrise and sunset are roughly consistent throughout the year, occurring at 6:00 AM and 6:00 PM, respectively.

Typical winds blow northeast from April to December at 6-9 km/h; east from December to February at 14-16 km/h; and northeast from February to April at 15 km/h. Stronger trade winds tend to carry a lot of dust, a problematic condition for locals.

alt. 0˚

0

Costa Rica experiences two annual seasons: wet and dry. During the wet season, precipitation comes from the ocean in major storms on strong northeasterly trade winds. These systems account for 70% of annual rainfall. The wet season occurs between May and October—the other half of the year is hot and humid with negligible rainfall.

Sun Path Diagram, 10º N

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Matapalo Guancaste

Matapalo is named after Guanacaste’s most typical tree, the Matapalo or Ficus goldmamii, whose dense umbrella-like canopy offers an island of shade in its typically pastoral setting. This may have indicated the intentions of the founders who tilled the land much for their own subsistence, having settled quite a distance from the nearest city of Santa Cruz.

The town eventually adopted the role of gatekeeper and steward to one of the most famous beaches in Costa Rica, Playa Grande. The beach is simultaneously an acclaimed surfing destination and revered nesting ground for the endangered leatherback turtle.

Brasilito

Puerto Viejo

Within the past few years, Matapalo’s insular and maternal relationship with the area has changed. The establishment of Marino las Baulas National Park by the Ministry of the Environment transferred care of the turtles to the Costa Rican government. Meanwhile, property for the future resort of Reserva Conchal was purchased within ten kilometers of the town, one of many recent international acquisitions in the region. Fortunately, Reserva Conchal has taken a sensitive stance to its impact and its operators are interested in working with neighbouring towns such as Matapalo toward sustainable community development.

Reserva Conchal

Playa Real

North Pacif

El Llano

MATAPALO

Playa Grande Beach / Marino las Baulas National Park

Guanacaste Reserva Conchal

TO SANTA CRUZ & LIBERIA

Lomas

Paved roads

Matapalo

Huacas

Garita

Unpaved roades

Town markers

Lajas

Salinas Salinitas

TO VILLA REAL & SANTA ROSA

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Areas Surrounding Matapalo

Playa Conchal

Although resorts cannot own property within fifty meters of the ocean, they are capable of effectively cutting off means of public access to the water. Meanwhile, the countryside is seeing continued transformation in the form of shops and outlets for predominately North American expatriates and retirees.

Reserva Conchal Resosrt

Farmland

Matapalo

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Greater Matapalo

TO PLAYA CONCHAL

TO RESERVA CONCHAL TO RESERVA WORKERS VILLAGE Existing Roadways River Existing Trees Commercial Institututional Residential

The town could be said to sit in a slight basin or valley, though too close to headwaters for the ‘rivers’ to be considered permanent or reliable. Instead, potable water comes from one of three local wells. Agrarian practices have however made much of the land impermeable, increasing runoff, erosion and water shortage.

Matapalo is not differentiated to any great extent from surrounding towns such as Lajas or Huacas. There is however a strong sense of belonging among the town’s residents, demonstrated by their pride in past achievements, their desire to grow, and their concern that new developments be approached in the right manner.

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Getting to Know Matapalo

Bullring

Community projects have generated cultural amenities such as the community center large enough to host meetings, exercise classes and town events, and a bull ring which has become part of the local rodeo circuit. Matapalo hosts an annual festival to which surrounding communities flock in mid-December.

Townsquare

Community Centre

Church

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Town of Matapalo

Existing Roadways River Existing Trees Commercial

3

Institututional

2

Residential

5 1

4

The center of Matapalo surrounds the Spanish-influenced town square. Whereas many Guanacastican squares are formally treated with paved paths, gardens, and trees, that of Matapalo is an open field with trees held to its perimeter.

Intense heat and humidity discourage use in any perpetual capacity.

Shops, markets, and bars flank the square on two sides, while the school, church and housing occupy the other half.

With many of Matapalo’s residents working out of town, the bus stop is a hub for activity and gathering.

The school teaches children up to grade seven. High school students must commute by bus 10 km to another town. At this point many children stop their education, eventually becoming prone to unemployment and drug and alcohol addiction.

1. Community Centre 2. Bull Ring 3. School 4. Town Square 5. Church

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Matapalo Streetscapes

Residential streets in Matapalo are modest, dotted only periodically with manicured lawns or two-story houses.

Fences and iron window bars are the norm. Only the roads around the square and those leaving town are paced and maintained. Household organic waste is burned while domestic waste is collected routinely by a private service.

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Outdoor Living

Guanacasticans have little reason to spend time indoors; the consistent heat and humidity of the region shape an open-air lifestyle. Leisure time is spent in the welcome shade of a tree or porch, with benefit perhaps from a seasonal breeze. This strict adherence breaks towards dusk when a soccer match can be organized.

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Outdoor Cooking

Just as heat from the sun is avoided, so is the heat from cooking. A prominent feature of a Guanacastican house is the outdoor kitchen, usually equipped with a working surface, wood fire grill and mud oven. Beans and tortillas are prepared here. A pila, or outdoor washbasin, is the common tool for dishes and laundry.

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Indoor Kitchen

The modest indoor kitchen is home to appliances of more precise food preparation: electric stove, microwave, and refrigerator. Common practice sees both kitchens used in tandem with frequent traffic through a rear door—perhaps between a bubbling pot of beans outside and a simmering pot of rice within.

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Indoor Living

The living space, known as the sala, is the most important room in any Guanacastican home. It is the first space upon entry and serves as the main social forum for a hosting family. It is typically furnished to a much higher level than the rest of the home; guests are rarely invited into bedrooms. The sala is typically shuttered during the day, brightly adorned with wall paint, hangings, and knits.

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Guanacastecan Housing Typologies

Historical

Urban Colonial Adobe House 1. Entry 2. Living Room 3. Laundry Area 4. Bedroom 5. Dining Room 6. Kitchen 7. Gate 8. Hallway 9. Furnace 10. Outdoor Bathroom 11. Patio

Much of the Guanacastican lifestyle stems from colonial Spanish practices. The aboriginal practice of thatch hut construction did not survive long into the colonial period, and residences adopted instead the techniques of adobe and wood frame and a more sedentary lifestyle in general.

A combination of cultural inheritance and climatic allowance define how Ticos live. Much of this philosophy is evident in the continuing evolution of spatial relationships in their homes.

Rural Colonial Wooden House 10

4

11

4

9

3

8 1

2

5

6

1. Entry 2. Furnace 3. Kitchen 4. Bedroom 5. Living Room 6. Hallway

5

4

4

3

2 1

6

7

As the colonists had little wealth or access to specialized tools, they used what was available to shelter themselves. Adobe—sun-baked mud and straw bricks— composed the walls fo their single-story homes. The foundation for these homes was formed either by stone or wood laid directly on the ground. Roofs were made of clay tiles or thatch, the window and door frames of moisture-resistant woods.

Windows were typically left unglazed, covered with shutters at night and in times of sickness. Floors were either hard-packed earth, native hardwoods, or clay tiles.

Like other Colonial homes, verandas led to interior salas where guests and family were entertained—the sala the real living space of the home. The bedrooms and kitchen could be found behind this central living space. Colonial adobe houses were prominent in Guanacaste until the early Twentieth Century.

Described as the typical Guanacastican house, the rural Spanish colonial house was organized much like its urban counterpart, with bedrooms and kitchen behind the sala. Access to these spaces was granted through a covered corridor flanking the home, and by way of an enfilade connecting the rooms. Construction of these dwellings followed the urban colonial version very closely, although wood-framed rural homes can also be found. The distinguishing factor between these two styles was the three-pitch roof. This peculiar form slowed rainfall runoff while still providing high ceilings along the house’s central axis. The ridge, open at both ends, encouraged air flow for superior ventilation.

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Guanacastecan Housing Typologies

Contemporary

Single Bay House

Central Corridor House

Accessory Unit 16’-0”

bath

bedroom

bath 16’-0”

sala

cocina

bedroom sala veranda

sala

8’-0”

bedroom

bedroom

bedroom

veranda

pila 3’-0”

veranda

veranda

24’-30”

With as much shape as a shoebox, the central corridor house is the most commonly found house in Guanacaste. A central corridor divides the public and private spaces along the longitudinal axis with entry at either end. One side of the divided interior is occupied by the sala and kitchen, while the other contains two bedrooms and a bathroom, separated by an axial demising wall.

Typically set on a concrete slab, this housing type can be found constructed from either wood framing or concrete block. In the case of wood framing, the framed walls sit on a concrete knee wall to prohibit contact with floodwater and insects.

Except for the wealthy, rural window schemes employ shutters instead of glazing.

The walls can be sided in wood, or in the case of concrete, stuccoed or painted.

Roofs vary between front and side gabled, hip, and shed configurations. Roofs are stick-framed and covered with corrugated steel or clay tile.

The single-bay house is identical to the central corridor house in both spatial plan and construction, except that the two halves of the front wall are staggered by one to three meters. The single-bay’s veranda does not span the width of the front façade, but comprises the indentation beside the projected wall. The projected room can either be the end of the sala or a bedroom depending on the home. With entry to the home always from the veranda leading into the sala, an entry facing to the street indicates a suppressed sala, whereas an entry oblique to the street indicates the sala has been projected. This housing type is typically found supporting front gable roofs.

These small standalone dwellings can be found built on the lots of existing homes either before or behind the main residence. Containing a living space, small kitchen, and bathroom, these units support the needs of a single person or a couple.

Constructed for either a family member or as a rental for migrant workers or tourists, these units do quite well increasing population density without requiring additional land. Accessory units are typically set on a concrete slab and constructed from concrete block. Roofs are stick-framed and typically sheeted in corrugated steel or a plasticized equivalent.

Windows can be found glazed, shuttered, or louvered while their jams are always made of wood. Both gable and singlœe-slope shed roofs are employed. Although small, the units always have a covered veranda—social interaction remains a cultural priority regardless of income level.

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Learning From Matapalo Given the emerging global and local situation, current Guanacastican housing solutions are decidedly insufficient. Water use is greatly unregulated. Little is done to avoid solar gain. Passive air circulation is not maximized and slab-on-grade construction is unacceptable in areas at risk of flooding. Current construction trends exhibit an over-reliance on carbon-heavy concrete fabrication. Furthermore, many self-made houses are left unfinished due to their prohibitive cost. Local communities cannot afford the economic and ecological costs of familiar construction methods—an appropriate solution demands address to these new challenges.

The Ministries of Housing and Culture have outlined financial support of a four person, 42square-meter house with a commitment of $8,000 per unit. The Institute has made all efforts to keep costs within this subsidy for the houses to remain affordable.

The ultimate success of the design comes not through its methods of economy but from the enthusiastic acceptance by the homeowner. The house must resonate with natural conduct of the persons living there, who will in turn invest pride in and concern for the house’s operation. Properly infusing a contemporary house with a traditional culture may be the hardest design challenge facing the Institute.

Thus the solution must be in three ways sustainable: environmentally, economically, and socially.

A successful design resolves seemingly contradictory priorities of reduction and growth, transformation and preservation, with practices at once seasoned and innovative. A careful process must be used to ensure all factors are acknowledged and synthesized into the design.

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research analysis

Tools for Analysis The Institute has developed tools through which the systems of a house can be analyzed, the house as a whole assessed in its ability to maximize the use of its resource inputs. A matrix of twelve systems effectively outlines the entirety of a house’s metabolism, be the systems implicit or explicit in nature, attributed to the house proper, its users or its access to external infrastructure. Much as the earth is a closed system, so too can the home be considered as such. We approach a meaningful definition of sustainability.

i

Four folds divide the systems into relevant relational categories, pertaining to either terrain, climate, economy or culture. Properly integrated, these elements generate solutions that promote long-term health for all species and cultures. This matrix provides a framework for innovative generative concepts and audits the quality of the final product.

i

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www.worldhouse.ca February 2008

The house acts as a moderator for how its inhabitants choose to identify themselves within their cultural milieu.

Social functions are defined by the house’s spatial properties, all the while reflecting the inhabitants’ identity.

February 2008

MATRIx ExpLORATION KIT

Communication, finance and mobility outline the infrastructure by which a house functions in society. As a result, it serves its inhabitants in exchanging information, goods, resources, and services that support and enhance their and others’ lives.

culture

MATRIx ExpLORATION KIT

economy

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The forces of nature sculpt a house through methods of construction, air handling, or energy harvesting. These forces occur regardless of how they are intercepted, though a house can be designed to take fullest advantage of what is effortlessly attracted to it.

WORLD HOUSE COSTA RICA

A house is dependant on and a part of local and distant ecosystems. Food and water enter the home and are stored to feed and sustain us. They leave, along with other inorganic materials, to reenter the system as nutritious or polluting waste.

climate

February 2008

terrain

MATRIx ExpLORATION KIT

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Four Fold

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Twelve Systems

water Where there is water, there is probably life. We rely on it daily in our homes for cleaning and for nourishment. With debates around this precious resource heating up—is water a human right or a commodity?—how can we improve its collection, conservation, reuse and distribution to ensure fair global access?

food Food maintains life and is also plays an integral role in cultural identity. Moving meals from field to table is dependent on a complex social and economic network driven by global, mechanical, bio-technical and media forces. Advances in appliances and preservation make eating increasingly hassle-free for the modern-day homeowner. How can we incorporate culturally-powerful aspects of food cultivation and preparation into a contemporary lifestyle?

waste Waste is the by-product of life. In our homes alone, we generate biological, organic, chemical, and synthetic waste, each of which requires its own management system to avoid polluting soil and water, and to prevent outbreaks of disease.

Today, the sheer volume of our waste threatens not only cities, but also our entire planetary balance. How can waste be reinterpreted as nutrient for different biological and technological systems?

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terrain

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Twelve Systems

LOCAL

Shelter results from a process of material extraction, component fabrication, and human or mechanical composition and assembly in a way that effectively mediates adverse climatic conditions. How can we improve this process to increase local sourcing and owner participation while reducing environmental impact?

air handling Moving, replenishing, moderating, and maintaining air quality within an around a home is fundamental to the health and well-being of its occupants. How can we capitalize on basic laws of physics to passively propel air?

energy Electricity and fuel, combined with technology, grant us mechanical efficiency within our homes, generating light, power, heat, and air conditioning. Regional growth stresses supply by the existing electrical grid. How can we reduce the electrical demand of a house?

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climate

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construction

Twelve Systems

Sharing ideas is a powerful way to shape societies. Whether by telephone or video broadcast, we constantly transmit and receive information through our dwellings.

New techniques constantly emerge by which we can more effectively communicate with one another, or by which our homes can communicate with us. How can a house express its operational functioning to a homeowner?

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economy culture

COSTA RICA

WORLD HOUSE

www.worldhouse.ca

The flow of people and goods to and from the home, and also within the home, both physically and virtually, permits networks to form, business to take place and economies to grow. However, transportation costs effort, energy, and oftentimes combustion. How can the design of a home economize transportation costs?

communication

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Houses are often the reward of our life savings, yet for many, a house sufficient for a family’s needs and dreams is prohibitively expensive. Some cases see an extended construction phase where homeowners complete whatever they can with available finances; half-built or inappropriately small houses typically become end products. How can a home subsidize its own cost?

mobility

WORLD HOUSE COSTA RICA

finance

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Twelve Systems

imagine...

social Often, the design of a house determines the nature and degree of interaction that will take place between family members, roommates, and neighbours. It can be open to the street or fenced in; it can provide space for group gatherings, or dictate isolation. How can a house expand and adjust to the various social ‘moods’ of its inhabitants?

spatial People inhabit three-dimensional space. Its configuration and composition in light can identify it with feelings of privacy or openness, danger or safety, direction or stasis. Boundaries can be explicitly defined or implicitly suggested. How can a house perceptively expand inhabitable space, blur the boundaries between interior and exterior while preserving the sanctity of privacy?

identity Houses shelter us from the elements and also support the actions and intentions of our lives. They are extensions of our dreams and desires. Al house—its form, materials, location, and style—presents an image to the world and its occupants.

How can a contemporary house appropriately reflect the traditional language and values of its inhabitants?

culture

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conceptual development

Design Concepts Five concepts have shaped the final design solution. Given the context and related issues of the project, the 12 systems were prioritized in the order of influence they would have on the form and organization of the home. Spatial, Energy, Air Handling, and Construction were identified as the key systems in this regard. The fifth selected system, Identity, plays a central role in the development of the solution but is not described specifically here as it is the synergistic product of the four aforementioned systems. With this in mind, these four systems were pushed and pulled with the collective local identity and contextual appropriateness firmly in mind. The five concepts listed here, and illustrated on the following pages are derived from these explorations.

1.

Spatial Division 2.

Service Core 3. Energy 4.

Air Handling 5.

Vernacular Modularity

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8hours

8hours

outdoors indoors

8hours

asleep

1. Spatial Division

z z

8hours

8hours

outdoors indoors

8hours

asleep

z z

z

Spatial use is roughly equally divided between the private, public and shaded outdoor areas of the home. This understanding forms the basis of a spatial use parti. As the home is restricted to a footprint of 42sq. m, the use of implied space is leveraged with the incorporation of a generous 8hours shaded outdoor area providing additional living and social spaces. The home will also be designed to grow with and for it users. The private section of the home must be orientated so that when the home is expanded, the home’s spatial hierarchy remains intact.

z

patio

8hours

outdoors indoors

asleep

z public

ou

8hours

z patio

8

private

public

z

private

patio

public

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2. Service Core

kitchen

kitchen kitchen

washroom

washroom washroom

Grouping the services in the home will reduce the amount of material required while allowing for the development of an efficient water system. Put back-to-back, or side-to-side, a service core creates opportunities to collect and intelligently conserve Guanacaste’s most valuable resource, water. As the typical plan separates the two service areas in the home for public-to-private hierarchy, the challenge remains to maintain the existing spatial language while grouping these two service areas.

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3. Energy

Solar Altitude Analysis

N

noon june 21

6 am

5 pm 4

3

3

2

1

noon

2

11

10

8

9

1

W

7

jun 21 may & jul 21

2

3 pm mar. & sept. 21

8

9 am 4 mar. & sept. 21

6

noon dec. 21

apr & aug 21

mar & sep 21

6

5 9

80˚

4 feb & oct 21

70˚

860˚ 50˚

8.0’

7

jan & nov 21 dec 21

W

8.0’

E

N

S

40˚ 8.0’

30˚ 20˚

alt. 0˚

2.0’

East & West Orientation

10˚ (horizon)

8.0’

5.5’

North & South Orientation

Sun Path Diagram, 10º N

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Continuation...

Orientation & Shade Requirements The design solution seeks to avoid excessive energy overload. Limiting solar gain through calculated shade protection will allow the house to remain cool while also providing covered exterior areas for expanded living space. With the requirement of 6’ – 8’ eaves on three of the four sided of the home, it was decided that protecting all sides of the home from sun exposure for all orientations with a single roof design was not possible. As only the public areas of the home are used during the day, with bedrooms culturally used exclusively as sleeping areas, a scheme was developed to completely shade the pubic areas throughout the year with a roof plan that works for all orientations. This approach requires additional ventilation in the private areas and materials that dissipate heat quickly.

N

2’-9”

(Passive Cooling) N

The design solution seeks to avoid excessive energy overload. Limiting solar gain through calculated shade protection will allow the house to remain cool x while also providing covered exterior areas for expanded living space. With the requirement of 6’ – 8’ eaves on three ofWthe four sided of the home, Eit was W decided that protecting all sides of the home from sun exposure for all orientations with a single roof design was not possible. As only the public areas of the home are used during the day, with bedrooms culturally used exclusively as sleeping areas, a scheme was developed to completely shade the pubic areas throughout the year with a roof plan that This 8’-4” worksSfor all orientations.

8’-4” approach requires additional ventilation in the private areas and materials that dissipate heat quickly.

5’-10”

8’0”

E

Resultant form

Required eave depth for 100% shading

N = 70° S = 50° W = 40° E = 40°

x = 2’-9” x = 5’-10” x = 8’-4” x = 8’-4”

Shade calculations for 8’ walls

(Air Handling) Imagining a house that breathes explicitly describes the desired permeability for

S

Interpretation of required shade for the public spave

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4. Air Handling

5.

3.

Imagining a house that breathes explicitly describes the desired permeability for the proposed housing solution.

With ambient temperatures sitting between 25째C and 35째C throughout the year in Guanacaste, the need for a home to rid itself of hot air to maintain a comfortable living environment is a primary design consideration. The building envelope must be designed to encourage airflow and capture incoming breezes while also directing the escape of hot stratified air. In addition to preventing flood damage, raising a home allows for another surface to take in air while also facilitating a cooling effect. Several effective vehicles of air exchange have been determined through analysis of precedent sustainable tropical architecture.

4.

2.

1.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Raised structure for floor vents Venting beneath the roof eaves Cross ventilation with openings on opposite walls Venting at top and bottom of interior partitions Raised ridge capturing breezes and evacuating hot air

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5. Vernacular Modularity The design will make use of local building material proportions in order to minimize waste and speak to regional identity. Rather than forcing material dimensions into a proposed solution, the home will be organized on a grid system determined by local material products. With sustainability at the forefront of the design, the selection of two modules allow for the decreased reliance on one material. A prefab concrete wall system, developed and manufactured by Holcium, a Costa Rican cement company concerned with environmentally sensitive production was selected as the core module. Despite concrete’s longevity and cost effectiveness, it possesses high-embodied energy and should not be used for the entire housing envelope. Rather, the second module bases itself on the ubiquitous 4’ x 8’ sheet size for the public and private wings of the home allowing for the use of numerous sheeting options. Like a Japanese tatami room, the floor area corresponds to the wall area resulting in little material waste.

1.

1.

2.

4’x8’ sheet proportional grid Prefab concrete post and panel module

2.

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design for change

Introduction to the Proposed Housing Unit The proposed design solution successfully integrates the five design concepts into one cohesive entity. The house promotes scalability through local modular systems and responds to climatic, geographical and cultural context. Grouping the services in a prefabricated concrete core consolidates the house’s connection to the grid—for both energy and water—while anchoring public and private wings to against seismic events. With the most technically demanding aspects of construction kept within the core, the remaining assembly can be freely modified by unskilled labor. The implied living space reaching to and beyond the large veranda strengthens the public-to-private spatial hierarchy, and maintains a sense of the local vernacular within the confines of the 42sq. m. footprint. Finally, the house harnesses the elements exchanging air through apertures placed on every structural surface from floor to ceiling and captures rainwater for non-potable use.

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Perspective

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Unit In Context

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Site Plan

Scale: 1/8” = 1’-0”

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Floorplan

Scale: 1/4” = 1’-0”

Rain Barrel

Veranda

Pila

Cocina

Dormitorio 1

Bano Sala

Dormitorio 2

Entrada Veranda

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North/South Section

Scale: 1/4” = 1’-0”

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East/West Section

Scale: 1/4” = 1’-0”

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Furniture Plan

Scale: 1/4” = 1’-0”

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Perspective

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Rear Perspective

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design analysis

Systems Thinking

Energy Homes use energy for many activities, such as lighting, heating, cooling and cooking. Homes can also be exposed to too much energy, particularly from the sun over heating the home. This last point is a concern in most climates, but its especially pressing in the tropics.

Shade Study- North June 21

September 21

December 21

N

9am

6 am

5 pm 4

3

3

2

1

noon

2

11

10

8

9

1

W

7

jun 21 may & jul 21

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6

9

apr & aug 21

mar & sep 21

6

5 9

80˚

feb & oct 21

70˚

860˚ 50˚

12pm

4

7

jan & nov 21 dec 21

40˚ 30˚ 20˚ 10˚ alt. 0˚

3pm

(horizon)

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Systems Thinking

Energy

Shade Study- East June 21

September 21

December 21

N

9am

6 am

5 pm 4

3

3

2

1

noon

2

11

10

8

9

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W

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mar & sep 21

6

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4

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Systems Thinking

Energy

Shade Study- South June 21

September 21

December 21

N

9am

6 am

5 pm 4

3

3

2

1

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2

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8

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6

9

apr & aug 21

mar & sep 21

6

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feb & oct 21

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12pm

4

7

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40˚ 30˚ 20˚ 10˚ alt. 0˚

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Systems Thinking

Energy

Shade Study- West June 21

September 21

December 21

N

9am

6 am

5 pm 4

3

3

2

1

noon

2

11

10

8

9

1

W

7

jun 21 may & jul 21

1

4

7

2

5

8

3

6

9

apr & aug 21

mar & sep 21

6

5 9

80˚

feb & oct 21

70˚

860˚ 50˚

12pm

4

7

jan & nov 21 dec 21

40˚ 30˚ 20˚ 10˚ alt. 0˚

3pm

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Systems Thinking

Water The availability and conservation of water is becoming a vital concern around the world. It is accepted that modern house design should try to limit the use of water whenever possible. As Guanacaste has seen serious water shortages in recent years, homes there should be no exception.

For several months of the year, Guanacaste receives enormous quantities of rain. To make use of this, the house harvests rainwater when it can. This water is used to flush toilets and supply the outdoor wash-sink (pila). While it cannot replace all the water used by toilets, enough can be collected to supply a family of four for half the year.

Downspout “Bio-garden� / Engineered Wetland

Corrugated Metal Roofing

Grey water is collected from the house and is sent to an engineered wetland. This is a small, marshlike garden, constructed from rocks and aquatic plants. The garden cleans the water which is then stored in a small tank. While not ultimately potable, the resulting water is quite clean and can be used in the garden.

Catchment Tank Eavestrough

Pila/Outdoor Washing Sink Greywater Diversion Low-flow Toilet

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Systems Thinking

Air Handling The flow of air, especially in a given hot and humid climate, is of vital importance. Air conditioners and other mechanical energy consuming cooling devices are unnecessary if the home is passively cooled through natural ventillation.

The house needs to be kept cool and to address this, the house has been designed to use passively cycle air. The concrete core of the house is elevated so that it protrudes above the rest of the roof. The top of the core is open on the sides. As hot air naturally rises, the heat will be drawn up and out of the house, cooling it down. This effect is heightened by breezes, and should reduce or eliminate the need for fans or air conditioners.

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Systems Thinking

Spatial Openable wall panels blur the boundary of interiority and enlarge the perceived living space. The verandah provides a smooth transition between dwelling and environment. The house thus does not so much protect its inhabitants from their surroundings as it does foster inhabitant-surrounding participation.

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design implementation

Building in Stages

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Building in Stages

01 The footings are poured and allowed to cure before the foundation walls are formed. The foundations are connected to the footings with mechanical key joints. It is also at this time that the postholes for the veranda piers are dug and filled with concrete. Once the post piers are cured, steel brackets are anchored to them in order to receive the veranda post while also providing a material break between the concrete and wood.

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Building in Stages

02 The prefab hollow core slab is installed on the core’s foundation walls. The slab sits on a high-density plastic bearing strip set right on top of the foundation wall. The sill plates are also added at this time for the framed wing sections of the home. ¼” sill gasket is laid between the sill plate and the foundation wall before the plates are bolted down.

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Building in Stages

02 03 Prefab concrete columns supplied by Holcim’s ‘Sistema Prefa’ are attached to the slab. The slab has been pre-fitted with the connections required for the installation of the columns. It is also as this point that the door jams within the core are added before the concrete panels are slid into place.

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Building in Stages

02 04 The design has been simplified to use just two different sizes of concrete panels, which are slid into place within the column grid. These panels at just over a 1-1/4� thick are easily manageable by two people.

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Building in Stages

02 05 The prefab core is capped with a steel ‘C’ channel provided with the panel system which in addition to a 2”x6” top plate is bolted down directly to the threaded rods set in the top of the columns. A double 2”x8” beam is hung from hangers on the PC columns on either side of the kitchen opening, and attached to the portion of ‘C’ channel spanning the kitchen opening. This beam will carry the load of the short ribs on top of the core supporting the raised roof. The 2”x8” ledger is lag bolted to the foundation wall in preparation for the installation of the floor joists in the framed wing portions of the home. Also at this time, we see the steel brackets for the double 2”x6” rib posts anchored to the two foundation walls flanking the core.

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Building in Stages

02 06 The 2”x8” joists spanning from core to flanking foundation walls are installed, hung from joist hangers attached to the 2”x8” ledger running the length of the core. As a joist is hung, we see one of the double 2”x6” ribs stood up to receive the other end of the joist before being bolted through. As this procedure is not as fluid as standard platform framing, temporary bracing may be required until the rafters are added to stabilize the posts.

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Building in Stages

02 07 The brackets to receive the double 2”x6” posts and rafters on top of the core are added. We also see the assembly of the remaining floor joists on the wing floors. As the framed wings work on a 4’ grid system, these 2”x6” joists are 8’ members cut in half. The design aims to maximize material sizes and minimize waste, the shortest members possible have been included and worked to maximize their usefulness.

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Building in Stages

02 08 The short ribs are added on top of the core, and the rafters are installed on the wings. The rafter’s sandwich between the double 2”x6” ribs before being bolted through with ½” carriage bolts. Carriage bolts were selected for this procedure, as they only require one wrench for installation.

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Building in Stages

02 09 Upper rafters are added to the ribs on top of the core. 2�x6� blocking is added between the ribs on the exterior walls of the wings to brace the walls and add lateral stability. This stability and structural integrity will be increased when the shear panels are added to the exterior corners of these areas. With a zone 4 seismic rating, resistance to seismic activity remained a fundamental consideration during the design process.

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Building in Stages

02 10 1”x3” purlins are attached to the top of the rafters to provide a nailing medium for the roof sheeting. The purlin also provides a spacer between the rafter and the roofing material so in the case of a leak, the rafter is not in direct contact with water.

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Building in Stages

02 11 The galvanized corrugated metal roofing material is added, nailed directly to the purlins. It is recommended to use screws with plastic washers to prevent leaks through the attachment points if available.

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Building in Stages

02 12 The deck of the interior floor is sheeted. As this flooring material is to be the finished floor, unlike western platform framing this sheeting was added after the roof to prevent water damage. This remains a benefit of the construction system pushing the structure to the outside of the platform.

The sheets should overlap every 4’, laid perpendicular to the 2”x8” joists spanning the two foundations. With the floor deck based on a material proportional grid, the sheeting of the floor only requires one cut for each wing and the loss of zero material waste.

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Building in Stages

02 13 Interior framing is added and openings between the exterior ribs are prepped for the addition of the wall panels. The services for the home are also roughed in at this time.

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Building in Stages

02 14 Exterior wall panels are added. These panels are comprised of water and mold resistant ½” plysom sheeting and 2”x2” pine blocking. With the structural ribs based on a 4’ grid, the exterior walls could in fact be sheeted in any material available in that dimension. If reclaimed materials are selected, such as old boards and corrugated roofing scraps, subsequent blocking may be required to facilitate smaller material dimensions.

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Building in Stages

02 15 Veranda posts are added. It is also at this point that a 2”x6” ledger is bolted to the flanking walls of the core to allow the roof rafters to be hung.

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Building in Stages

02 16 Veranda rafters are added as well as the blocking between the posts. This blocking is required to stabilize the posts as well as provide a bearing point for the rafter tails at the front and rear portions of the veranda roof.

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Building in Stages

02 17 The 2”x6” joists are added to the veranda. Much like the previous floor joists, these members have been calculated and selected from lengths to minimize material waste and needless cut-offs.

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Building in Stages

02 18 The veranda deck is covered with 12’ deck boards cut in half. With the deck just under 6’ deep, this allows for the boards to be cut in half, laid and trimmed while minimizing material waste. The veranda’s roof is also sheeted at this time in the same manner as the rest of the home. The gutters are also added to the roof planes at this time to divert rainwater to a rain barrel for use in flushing the toilets and washing in the pila. As the system does not filter or process the collected water, it is for non-potable use only.

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Building in Stages

02 19 All screening material is added closing in the home from insects, allowing it to breathe while not being shuttered. Stairs are added to the veranda as well as the bio-garden put in at the rear of the house.

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Building in Stages

02 20 The addition of a +1 or accessory unit follows the same construction process as the rest of the home. The benefit of adding directly to the existing home is that the additional living spaces only require three walls to enclose them. The roof pitch of the private wing has been designed to be carried at the same angle over the new addition. These additions can be sheeted any way the homeowner would like, although it should be noted that as the additions stick to the 4’ grid, any sheeting material could be applied easily and with little waste.

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Implementation Options The Institute has studied and outlined different methods of user co-design in community redevelopment projects. The flexibility of the core-wing system satisfies any level on this participatory scale, from Institute-prescribed rural planning to improvisational D.I.Y. solutions imagined by the user. In the former instance, units are envisioned surrounding a common space promoting neighbourhood interaction and involvement. In the latter cases, the unit core remains a prefabricated service hub from which any number of additions or interpretations can grow.

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Prescriptive

Block Cluster The Institute’s cluster plan supposes a rational growth of Matapalo along the same dimensions as the established street grid. Despite a shorter depth by almost 100 feet, the plan increases density 25% while providing public land for common use. The land may be reforested, transformed into communal rainwater harvesting or black water marsh, reserved for wind power generation, or support a rancho, or public gazebo, with provisions for cooking, washing, and hanging laundry. These schemes require the buy-in from a minimum of 16 houses.

Bio-garden & Food Garden Proposed Trees Residential Pathway

Housing Unit

Vehicle access for maintenance

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Do It Yourself...

HousingUnit + Accessory Unit A simple homemade extension to the prescribed unit is the attachment of an accessory unit to the front of the house. A separate entrance onto the public porch makes it appropriate for tourist or migrant worker subletting as well as extended family or guests. The accessory unit comes equipped with a composting toilet and washing facilities

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Do It Yourself...

Luxury Unit The unit can also be expanded form the rear of the house.

Rooms similar in design to the accessory unit can be attached sequentially to the back porch enabling the family to grow within their property.

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Do It Yourself...

Adding onto the Core Unit Many renditions can be generated from simply supplying the prefabricated service core. Users may choose to reorient their spaces to fit specific needs or expand beyond the 42 square meter government restriction to the proposed social house design.

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Do It Yourself...

Slab On Grade In situations where users cannot finance materials needed for an elevated house, a slab-on-grade version may instead be employed, only at great detriment to the passive cooling system and at increased risk of water damage should flooding occur.

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Do It Yourself...

Rancho Similarly, the core can be used beyond housing purposes, as in this interpretation of turning it into a community rancho complete with washroom.

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conclusion

Conclusion If the initial reception is any indication, this house design may have already succeeded in synthesizing conservative and innovative service techniques into a form all the while ‘Costa Rican.”

However many details remain unresolved, the renewed enthusiasm and support for the housing project will carry it to the next level of design development, leaving the IwB studio and entering the professional architectural realm.

The house is charged with an identity equally reflective of the Costa Ricans to live in it as well as the interdisciplinary spirit of the school that designed it, the physical manifestation of living, multifold cooperation and wisdom—in all senses an embodiment of Pura Vida.

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appendicies

Drawing Package

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207 Adelaide Street East, Suite 209

Toronto, Ontario

M5A 1M8 Canada

T: 416.943.0303

F: 647.439.4959