Housing Prototype in Port-au-Prince, Haiti

Project realized in collaboration with Tuck School of Business and Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth University.

After winning the 1st jury award in the 300 dollars house international competition, I had the opportunity to perform as a designer and consultant at a housing prototyping workshop hosted by Dartmouth University in Hanover in January 2012.
Students, faculty, local community leaders and a handful of engineers and architects collaborated to develop urban and rural housing ideas, community development strategies and financial models. The workshop focused on the rehabilitation of a housing block located on a devastated site in Port Au Prince, Haiti. The dwellings help build community, a group of houses creates a ‘Lakou’ with semi-private streets and courtyards for many activities. The design is flexible for the families to grow, build shops or expand the dwelling for renting to workers or other families. Moreover, the homes shared infrastructure strategy saves resources and energy, significantly lowering execution costs when the scale of production is hundreds of dwellings.
All images © Elsa Ponce