Winners of "Kay e Sante nan Ayiti" - Haiti Housing and Health Competition

Today, the five winning designs of "Kay e Sante nan Ayiti" (Creole for Housing and Health in Haiti) were announced. Organized by ARCHIVE (Architecture for Health in Vulnerable Environments), the open-innovation design competition aims to demonstrate the importance of health considerations in housing. 

Of course, today also marks the one-year anniversary of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the 3rd deadliest earthquake in history. Although Kay e Sante nan Ayiti was conceived prior to this event, the need for such a project only increased in light of challenges of the past year. The competition organizers are confident that the winning designs will help Haitians build a healthier future.

1st Place: Breathe House

Anselmo Canfora (architect); Richard Guerrant (medical doctor); Ewan Smith (engineer); Galen Staengl (engineer); Michael Stoneking (architect); Aja Bull-Richards, Sara Harper, Sally Lee, Nathan Parker, Chase Sparling-Beckley, Lauren Thompson (architecture students); USA and UK

At the heart of Breathe House is the concept of sustainable health and housing. It considers as its key design elements the use of natural light and ventilation, access to clean water and independent renewable energy, and the combination of passive environmental systems with modest active ventilation. The design engages the involvement of regional building industries with the intention of expanding the local building trades and improving the overall building stock in the area.

The use of local materials and the simplicity of construction made Breathe House a strong proposal. The judges were particularly impressed with the “user’s guide” to construction and the possibility of employing local, less-skilled, but supervised building workers. The addition of composting toilets, creation of excellent ventilation and a design that considers the landscape complete the features that made this health- and environment-conscious design a winner.

The team from Virginia, USA, and Wales, UK, says: “Safe, healthy and well-built housing serves a basic human right. We hope that our participation will have a positive, long-term impact on the availability of quality housing.”

 

2nd Place: Maison Canopy

Lilian Sherrard and Brook K. Sherrard (architects); USA

The idea behind Maison Canopy is to offer a sanctuary to heal the body and spirit.

The open plan of this home creates a protected yet open place from which to engage new neighbors and build new friendships.

Judges described Maison Canopy as “a low-tech, user-friendly design” using “recognizable and familiar building technologies.” In this design, cooking and communal areas are separated, maximizing cross ventilation, and insect screens acknowledge the prevalence of vector-borne diseases. Additionally, the rainwater harvesting and storage facility and the sanitation and waste management technologies can easily be managed and adapted.

Both members of the team from Tampa, Florida, have spent considerable time in the Caribbean. “Our design was conceived in light of the limited resources in Haiti and the reality of living on a tropical island,” they said.

 

3rd Place: Shutter Dwelling

Marco Ferri (engineer); Giorgio Giannattasio (physician & immunologist); Sara Parlato, Roberto Pennachio, Andrea Tulisi (architects); Italy

Shutter Dwelling focuses on using the functional distribution of space to facilitate the interaction of patients with other occupants. It uses the separation of the bedroom and the connected bathrooms from other spaces to limit the mixture of infected and clean airflows, and emphasizes the use of the kitchen as social space.

The judges were particular impressed by the extent to which this design blends with Haitian culture and landscape. The design team have achieved this by making use of local building practices, such as the concrete block walling and timber framing/ cladding. Meanwhile key additions such as steel reinforcement and angling offer more protection and higher performance.

The team from Naples, Italy, says: “We hope our project will assist in the research of sustainable and replicable solutions in order to make health a central focus in housing planning.”

 

Honorable Mention: Bois l'Etat – the Architecture and Ecology of Healing

Gregory Canaras, Wayne Norbeck, Jordan Rogove (architects); Moya Brown, Lynn Dee Silver (public health specialists); Wendy Meguro, Junko Nakagawa (sustainability consultants); Patrick Cullina (horticulturalist); Erin Reisinger (structural engineer); Donald Chalfin (medical doctor); USA

The defining feature of Bois l'Etat is the focus on communal planning and lifestyle. As the heart of its spirit is the use of local materials and building practices wherever possible, with the expense of construction and development finding its way back into the local economy.

The dwelling will utilize all available and practical sustainable methods to promote healthy, dignified living. The addition of rainwater harvesting, composting toilets and the efficient use of energy and resources led the judges to describe it as “an elegant evolution of familiar, simple housing typologies”.

For the site inhabitants the design team envisions a transformation: a restoration from stigma and struggle, the creation of a self-sufficient environment, and becoming contributors to the marketplace and the world beyond.

The team from New York City says: “The devastation of last year’s earthquake in Haiti was apparent on television, but it wasn’t until hearing first-hand experiences from a physician friend that the full scope of the catastrophe became clear. This project was an opportunity for our team to contribute to the rebuilding in Haiti by combining our capabilities.”

 

Merit Award: Cycle House

Henry Luis Oquet, Kenneth Lopez, Arlin Morales (architects); Pedro Almonte (engineer); Dominican Republic

Cycle House revolves around the idea of open and closed spaces that promote and facilitate a healthy lifestyle. The judges were impressed by the innovative application of this simple but effective theme.

The design defines two types of spaces: solid spaces (rooms and bathrooms), which are the only completely closed structures and independent of the house, and open spaces, which are lined with blinds and sliding screen doors. Additionally four green spaces are to be planted with medicinal herbs to help patients with the preparation of tizanas or aromatherapy. Stationary bicycles in the Cycle House also generate electricity and are able to be detached to be used for local transportation.

“Haiti is our brother country and we we wanted to help,” says the team from Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. But they have also have a global vision: “As Earth is reaching 7 billion people and a large percentage does not have access to or resources for food, water, transportation, electricity and communication, we wanted to develop the most self-sufficient and lowest-impact design.”

 

See the 15 Finalist projects in the image gallery below. All images courtesy of ARCHIVE.