A house in Luanda: patio and pavilion
The project integrates conceptual elements of local tradition with a design logic that
expresses a contemporary vision of living and sociality.
The proposed scheme intends to accept the legitimate aspiration for growth and development
of that part of the population likely to be excluded from the processes to modernize going on
in the city of Luanda.
The project take place from the tradition of the ancient towns of indigenous villages: in the
residential complex each form of settlement and architectural presence is part of a unitary
body, which is flexible in its possibilities of use.
Within the suggested system the ordinary life permeates every architectural element.
The interstices between the individual functions is connective tissue space dedicated to
conviviality and everyday activities.
Even the fence is not a mere border, but living and versatile space (can be bench, element of
shadow, support and so on.).
Traditional matrix occupies the centrality of the house: the well is intended as a source of life
and ancestral link with the ground. The hole in the cover, which reflects the existence of the
well, joins earth and heaven in a reading from top to bottom: the patio is the symbolic and
conceptual union of the two natural elements.
Starting from the mother cell (the living space contained in the fence and articulated around
and within the inner family places) some hypotheses have been studied for aggregation,
These studies recover a factor of continuity in the geometry of Kente fabric. A further effort to
synthesize modern and local identity in an original development proposal based on the
criterion of enhancing available skills and resources.
The house consist of clay buildings on the ground floor: the boundary wall and cone volumes,
their relation “projects” the living space on the total area of the lot.
The dig on groud floor produces 45 mc of earth that can be used tu build the boundary wall (41 mc
required).
The upper level is supported by a wood structure. Floors and side wall consist of double wood
boarding with a straw interspace. The outer covering is made of bamboo canes.
