HOUSES FOR CHANGE

Unpredictable climate changes in the world’s coastal communities, have induced some enormous disasters like typhoons and flooding. The coastal community of the Baseco, a informal settlement neighborhood, off the Manila in the Philippines, has experienced received a Category 5 super typhoon, which destroyed many homes.
The design proposed should take into account not only physical realities, but also the cultural, economic, and the social context.
1. Physical: Provide a design that works with low technology. Utilize the local labour force for construction with low-skill technique.
2. Cultural: Understand and provide the needs of the communities. Incorporate basic facilities for the communities like market and recreational spaces.
3. Economic: Utilizing local materials in resource limited settings. Make use of bamboo and recycled materials as building materials. Local materials like pallet is versatile to reuse as a furniture.
4. Social: Retain and reinforce the strength of social context in informal settlement. Ensure each of the communities have enough space for both public and private activities. Improve the social linkage through spatial configuration such as connecting the private space, semi-open space and public space.
Apart from the four aspects, flexibility, sustainability and low technology are also the objectives during the design in order to deal with the difficulties in Baseco.
The proposed design is based on a modular grid system 3X3m, so that the model can be reproduced or duplicated. The building typology is a combination of different units created by module responding to social need.
The first module is for 1 to 2 person (3X7.5m), single storey. The second and the third module are for 3 to 5 person (6X6m) and 6 to 8 person or more (6X9m) respectively. Ground floor is used for dining and living areas, Bedrooms are located on the first floor. Each module consists individual kitchen and sanitary facilities. Vertical vegetations are available on the facade to avoid
flooding and soil pollution.

The whole village is formed by varies small communities. Each of them incorporates a semi private open space for their dwellers to have social interaction within the small community. There are plenty of spaces in the central plaza for social activities like trading and playing.
The completed structure rests on a base of typical plastic barrels along with fixed frame work. The barrels also serves as rainwater storage for irrigation and emergency use. In order to comply with the floating system, the building services like fresh water and black water are connected by flexible piping system.
Starting from the corner of the compound, the vision of this project is to spread out the idea of rehabilitation and improve the living quality of this informal settlement in a sustainable and practical measures.