Home for the Jorejick family,

Atelier 62

Improving the quality of life of the Jorejick family, respecting at all times their way of life and their tradition, is the objective of this proposal.

We feel the need to respond not only to the needs of a family, but also to the needs of a building style that breathes the past. In this proposal, the experiences of a specific nature, the social realities, the local materials and the cultural patterns characteristic of this area are felt. We propose a versatile home that can be adapted to different situations in the area and that acts as the ideal setting for family scenes. We understand their way of living, as a community lifestyle, where moments in privacy are not the protagonists. For this reason, we project an open house, with an open floor plan, where the exterior and the interior converge. The house is designed through a series of modules, image of the traditional cabin. These are arranged as an open patio around a central space, the outdoor kitchen, considered the center of family life.


With this floor plan, the existing vegetation is respected and the animal area is incorporated into the courtyard as a whole at a certain distance for control. The proposed implementation at no time hinders transit through the plot, integrating the movement of neighbors and animals into the intervention and the architecture. While the transit spaces in the house are open to the outside, each of the modules has the possibility of being hermetically isolated, to satisfy security and privacy issues. By hierarchical level, the living room-dining room-kitchen module stands out. An open space full of light, characterized by the iconic image of the fireplace as a milestone, under which the interior kitchen will be housed.


The 6 bedrooms are designed as independent modules and similar in size, arranged linearly along an open corridor. Going through this space will generate sequences for the viewer where light and material dialogue, generating a welcoming and sensory atmosphere. As continuity of these modules and the corridor, the warehouses, the showers, Nico’s house and the latrines will be arranged, all of which can be understood as a single set. The use of traditional construction techniques and the use of materials that are easy to obtain in the area have been chosen.

The house is resolved by means of double brick load-bearing walls, protected by a mud plaster. The roof is made of sheet steel folded over wooden beams. The design of the cabins facilitates sun protection throughout the day, as well as cross ventilation. A rainwater harvesting system will be installed for use by the family.

 

Author: Atelier 62.
Location: Karatu, Tanzania.
Year: 2020
Competition: African house competition.
Prize: Shortlisted.