D E S I G N /// ck

Here's one from the archives with new life- a few years ago my firm let me develop this prototype tropical house as a pro bono project. This particular version is to provide a house for Andre and Justine Jean, a pastor and his wife in Ft. Liberte, Haiti. It hasn't been built yet, but it was designed to be a viable design for other applications in any tropical climate. I revisited this project last month and came up with the above configuration.

The general design utilizes a modular kit of parts, based on local materials and construction trades, and can be rearranged in many forms to be properly oriented on site. The site for Andre's house is near a large harbor, several miles from the sea, with prevailing cool breezes from the north. The entire house is designed as a wind-catcher, scooping in the cool breeze on the upper level and venting the hot air out through vents on the roof. Additionally, vents between the levels pull air from the lower level (where the breeze is usually absent) with a stack effect utilizing the strong cross breezes of the upper level, much like how a chimney draws smoke upwards.

In a country with unreliable electricity, these passive cooling systems are essential. Typical Haitian houses are essentially small concrete ovens, built with little thought to harnessing the cool breezes passing above their roofs. Hopefully this house can be an example of how much can be done with little, and how design can use the things God has given us for free; things as simple as a cool breeze from the sea.