Haiti Prototype

This experimental structure, designed for post-earthquake reconstruction in Haiti, was built with the aim of minimizing construction costs by utilizing local resources. The main challenge on the island is sourcing building materials, as many are imported from abroad at a high cost.
The load-bearing walls are entirely made of baled, compressed rice straw. The roof structure is engineered in bamboo, while the foundations feature a specialized seismic isolation system that leverages the elasticity of used car tires. The prototype allowed for the study of load-bearing straw bale construction technology through the realization of a full-scale “slice” of a building, exactly as it could be constructed in Haiti.
Part of a multidisciplinary project developed in collaboration with the NGO Architettura Senza Frontiere (ASF) Piemonte, the prototype simulates the behavior of the four buildings that make up a family residential home complex. Rice straw and bamboo are easily sourced in Haiti and form the main structural framework of the prototype.

Location
Poirino

Year
2012

Typology
Prototipo

Competition Organizer
Polytechnic University of Turin

Status
Completed