Competition – Social housing in Cambodia

THE AIM

Designing a Cambodian sustainable housing which integrates function, structure, details and the needs of those living in Cambodia.

THE CONTEXT

Cambodia, from the Dangrek to the Cardamon Mountains, bordering the Tonle Sap Basin and the Mekong Lowlands, one of the 20 poorest countries in the World, a country in the Tropics with an architectural tradition beginning in the early 12 century, featuring monuments compa- rable to the harmony of design in ancient Greece and Rome.

OUR ATTITUDE

Proposing an eco-climatic design based upon:

• solar heat reduction by providing shade to the ceiling and the vertical surfaces of the house with an umbrella roof
• thermal body comfort by supplying fresh air, an appreciable air movement, cross ventilation and air flow around the buildings
• controlled day light by avoiding glare and radiation
• noise reduction by setting up an absorbent wall surface

• sustainable locally sourced material selection like bamboo as structure as well as supple and tight surface, clay bricks, palm leaves
• flooding prevention by designing a stilt house, assuring accordingly hygienic and safe living spaces

These will be our tools for giving a response to the need of people to live with dignity.

OUR IDEA

In order to increase the living comfort of every family member, two separate parts are defined in the house, one for the day and one for the night.

A slight squeezing of the house volume gives a dynamic momentum to the rooms and allows to transform the passage between the houses into a small private outdoor space – a ‘garden’ able to provide a ‘terrace’ character to the living room by opening the four sliding doors.

To ensure the privacy of the inhabitants , the longitudinal facade facing the sliding doors is made of non-removable boards, shifted ten centimeters in order to supply continuous ventila- tion and a soft brightness.
(…There is a crack in everything That’s how the light gets in…. Leonard Cohen)

The entrance facade is made of traditionally crafted Cambodian wooden columns. We believe that ornament plays an important role in conferring dignity.