'ukuta wa maisha' is a rammed earth housing proposal for tanzania

as part of a competition to design a family home in tanzania, jose xavier fuentes coyula, manuel aranzola and luis enrique aparicio share their proposal, ukuta wa maisha, which was awarded honorable mention. launched by archstorming, the competition asked architects and designers from across the world to develop a house for the jorejick family on a site near karatu. the brief looked for a scheme that could be implemented not only in tanzania, but also in other african countries where good quality and affordable housing is an increasing problem.

all images by jose xavier fuentes coyula, manuel aranzola and luis enrique aparicio

after analysing the site, the design team decided to position the house near important features such as existing trees, the neighbors’ access, and crops and livestock. they layout of the building is formed as a functional rhombus, in which the family can carry out their daily activities. contained by a rammed earth wall and covered by a floating roof plane, the house is designed to maximize the interior-exterior relationship, with spaces as open as possible without losing privacy.

the house is composed of a strip of rooms that surround the other functions. the continuous rammed earth wall wraps around all these space, finishing at showers and water tanks, which end up marking the interior space consisting of the kitchen and a bright and spacious dining room. the interior is well ventilated thanks to the large fractured roof that allows the inside spaces to be bright, and the hot air to be evacuated efficiently.

the roof structure is supported by a wooden truss formed with 4 “x 2” and 3 “x 2” inch beams. the supports vary and are optimized to take advantage of the walls to reduce costs and facilitate construction.

the house has a biogas system that uses solid waste from the latrines and animals in the biodigester, located next to them. easy to build and very favorable for rural life. it provides fuel and organic fertilizer, reduces enviromental pollution, improves hygienic conditions, contributes to reducing levels of deforestation for energy purpose and reduces the risk of disease transmission through the reduction of pathogens, worm eggs and flies. the water collection systems are used in the livestock roof (stored in the troughs and the surplus to the biodigester) and in the house (designed to store all the water that falls on the surface of the roof, later driven by the wall inclined towards the tanks and the cistern).

project info:

project name: ukuta wa maisha

location: near karatu, tanzania

architects: jose xavier fuentes coyula, manuel aranzola, luis enrique aparicio

competition: archstorming

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: lynne myers | designboom