2010

‘A HOUSE IN LUANDA: PATIO AND PAVILION’
International Competition
Luanda, Angola

Prototype for a patio/courtyard house for an extended family with 7-9 persons

A HOUSE IN LUANDA: PATIO AND PAVILION was an architectural design competition sponsored by the Lisbon Architecture Triennale in partnership with the Luanda Triennale. The goal of the competition was to explore design possibilities for an economical ‘patio’ (or courtyard) house prototype intended for an extended family of 7-9 people. It was assumed that the structures would be located on flat terrain within the city of Luanda and accommodate two parents, 3-5 children and 2 grandparents.

DESIGN CRITERIA

the project

Design a simply constructed, prototypical, two-story townhouse around a central patio/courtyard.

The entire house should be as open as possible to the patio/courtyard but isolated from the street and its surroundings.

The patio/courtyard should be central to the daily life in the house and should be accessible from all major rooms.

On the ground floor, the kitchen, living room and bedrooms should line the patio/courtyard.

On the second floor, the patio/courtyard should isolate the parent’s bedroom from the remainder of the house.

The open patio/courtyard should function as a primary source of natural daylight to the entire house.

urban design

1 - Provide a hierarchical flow  of traffic separating the movement of vehicles, pedestrians and bicycles.

2 - Design interconnected residential blocks.

3 - The design should allow for a high degree of variability.

4 - Provide the ability to connect contiguous units.

5 - An internal network of pedestrian pathways should encourage a sense of neighborhood, safety and children’s areas.

6 - Employ urban plazas and community spaces.

daily life

1 - The patio / courtyard should connect all the rooms of the house

2 - Provide privacy for the house inhabitants.

3 - Provide the possibility for connections between neighboring units.

4 - Provide multiple unit entries.

passive environmental control

1 - Sun protection

2 - Natural ventilation

3 - Simple insulation system

financial feasibility

1 - Simple building type

2 - Employ locally available and economical materials

3 - Simple construction methods

4 - Allow for Do-It-Yourself construction by owners.

5 - Allow for partial occupation of building during construction

6 - Allow for future expansions.