Archetipo

I am an acme of things accomplished I an encloser of things to be My feet strike an apex of the epices of the stairs On every step bunches of ages, and larger bunches between the steps All below duly travelled and still I mount and mount Rise after rise bow the phantoms behind me W.Whitman, Leaves of grass Designing in Tanzania shouldn’t be considered only as an opportunity to promote equality in living conditions in Global South but also as a unique chance to celebrate our roots as specie on this planet.

That’s the reason why we propose an introversive project with no windows, no landscape hugs and porticos, no british college inspired plans. We strongly believe in a non-white proposal which refers to a shared past.

The house we designed is a contemporary long-hut shaped building manifactured on site.

Main entrance is located in the middle, above a concrete platform hosting an outdoor fireplace standing in the landscape. Harvest can be dried out here before being conserved inside.

Interiors have been thought as contemporary and introversive spaces taking light from above into protected gardens that can be used as cultivated areas and for open air activities.

Walls have been used as their primitive meaning suggest: outline our space in contact/contrast with nature.

As we know traditional building systems are the easiest to spread in rural areas. We have the responsability as architects to demostrate how poverty and tradition are not necessarily related.

Our proposal is to build adobe walls with rammed earth process and thatched roofs. Ramming earth is in fact a faster and cheaper solution than bricks and demonstrate good resistance to rainseasons.

Thatched roof on the other hand are healthier than metal sheet ones and don’t contain dangerous element like heavy metals. Run off performances for rainwater harvesting have been guaranteed by the application of tarpaulines to the structure.

Entrances and cuts into the building’s facades are made with wood panels and tree branches taken from the building site. This one has to be considered as an aesthetic choice to refer to the traditional structure.

Technical parts of the building have been detached from the house in a smaller block. This block will host showers and dry toilets, a small animal area and the rainwater harvesting system divided into four 1500L tanks and two smaller of 500L for showering. Wastewaters will be collected for secondary uses.