Comunal: Taller de Arquitectura Social Housing Production

Distributors / Implementing Organizations

The prototype is built by Comunal: Taller de Arquitectura and Union of Cooperatives Tosepan Tititaniske  

Manufacturing/Building Method

First, the steel, bricks, and bamboo are transported to the site in pieces and then assembled on site. The walls include bamboo (exported from the US) panels coated with a local tissue known as ixtle. These slot on top of breezeblock bases. Then bamboo trusses and beams lie above these walls to form a mono-pitched roof. With the same bamboo, window and door shutters are made. In addition to the windows, some walls are featured with natural ventilation caused by lattices of red bricks.

Intellectural Property Type

Select Type

User Provision Model

The design is a prototype, and so there is no provision model to date. However, it is eligible for government funding.

Distributions to Date Status

Only this prototype exists so far (As of June 2021).

Design Specifications

The design is composed of a structural frame that is assembled on-site and then fitted with prefabricated panels. The primary materials are bamboo (40%), concrete (30%), and ECOLAM (10%).  The bamboo panels are covered in ixtle, a local vegetable fiber. Some walls are brick lattices that allow for ventilation, especially in the kitchen where the smoke needs to be removed. The roof is made of ECOLAM, a local metal sheet made from food-grade recycled aluminum. The design has two bedrooms, a bathroom, the main hall, a kitchen, and a porch. The local people were trained in making the panels so they could provide maintenance and be able to replicate the technique.

Product Schematics

Technical Support

The locals were trained to give maintanance.

Replacement Components

The mortar could need retouching, and the windows and doors could be replaced if needed.

Lifecycle

Unknown.

Manufacturer Specified Performance Parameters

Performance targets include: being able to be constructed in a week by locals, having a sustainable focus, and being appropriate to the social, cultural, and economic context.

Vetted Performance Status

Unknown.

Safety

People working on the construction are subjected to the risks it entails; heights, heavy objects, and tools.

Complementary Technical Systems

None

Academic Research and References

Compliance with regulations

Unknown.

Other Information

The design won the silver medal for the first National Rural Housing Projects contest. It also won the AR emerging Architecture Award in 2019.