Valuation of a sustainable, handcrafted construction system at a lower cost.
Building low-cost houses, adapted to the lifestyles of the Haitian middle class and to the country's multiple challenges of resilience, with limited technical means, by rediscovering artisanal and creative implementation processes, is an original concept conceived and experimented by the artist Marie-Louise Fouchard since 2010. This concept has been fully integrated in this project.
The four single-family houses are organized like a traditional Lakou* on a lot with a dense vegetation. In order to preserve as much of the existing vegetation as possible, the units have been divided into two distinct blocks that are freely implanted according to the constraints of the land. The two blocks are connected upstairs by a footbridge that covers a terrace on the ground floor. The placement of the houses leaves many voids between the constructions that allow good air circulation through the site to maintain an adequate climate.
While the confined masonry structure (cement block and reinforced concrete strips) is carried out by skilled workers, the finishing work is carried out by low-skilled craftsmen who are trained on site in the use of the lost techniques such as the manual production of shutter doors, the rediscovery of the Terrazzo as a covering or furniture, etc. The finishing touches give way to creation and imagination, with reused materials or transformation of everyday objects, such as floors made from raw scrap wood, washbasins made from cement flowerpots sold in the street, taps and faucets made from raw plumbing elements. These elements, created on site, have proven to be more adapted to the need of the users as they are often more solid then the usual elements found on the market and cheaper to repair.
Floor area per unit: 164 m2
Cost per m2 structure : 550 USD/m2
Cost per m2 secondary elements and finishings: 380 USD/m2
* space common to several houses in which members of the same family reside, grouped around the patriarch's house. Learn more