2011 - prototype constructed at Building Back Better Communities Expo in Port-au-Prince
Size: 54 square meters / 580 square feet for prototype as built; design is adaptable to various sizes
Budget: $24,800 for prototype as built; cost is less for multiple unit developments

Designed in collaboration with Relief International for those displaced by Haiti’s January, 2010 earthquake, this housing prototype’s “kit-of-parts” can be easily assembled to provide safe, healthy, environmentally friendly, and affordable housing for the people of Haiti. These houses are designed to withstand earthquakes and hurricanes, and the cross ventilation created by careful window placement plus insulated walls creates cool interior spaces.

The modular design allows for an initial build-out (phase I) to provide immediate basic living space, plus an additional area of foundation and roof to enable the inhabitants to add onto their homes in the future (phase II), or the home may be initially built to phase II if funds are available. The prototype was built to the phase II design. Individual units can be combined to create duplexes, with multiple units being grouped linearly or around a central courtyard forming communities.

Made of Structural Concrete Insulating Panels (SCIPs) these housing units can be locally manufactured with the skill-set to create and assemble the residences being transferred to the people of Haiti. This allows for construction to continue long after relief efforts have diminished, contributing to economic development and long-term recovery. The prototype at the BBBC Expo was built by local Haitian contractor Signa Enterprises.