MIDWIFES QUARTERS HAVÈ
In 2016 teams from Georgia Institute of Technology and Peter Behrens School of Arts developed a design project in support of the Have Health Clinic in Ghana. The Midwives Quarters Have provide housing for midwives and international aid workers to enable their work at the Health Clinic in Have. Working with the NGO Meeting Bismarck, the community of Have, the Have Technical School and the department for Health of the Volta region, the project aims to re-vive vernacular construction techniques such as bamboo through digital design methodology and craft. Construction started in March 2016 and will be continued in Summer 2016 and 2017 by Georgia Tech and PBSA students. The project interprets the vernacular typology of the compound house: four rectangular blocks are grouped around a courtyard. In oldest examples, the four blocks are not connected, which allows for air circulation through the courtyard. The airflow creates a building type that is well-suited for warm-humid climate.
Collaborators:
Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta, USA
Peter Behrens School of Arts, Düsseldorf, Germany
Have Technical Institute (Crafts College), Have Etoe, Ghana
Meeting Bismark e.V. Cologne, Germany
Images and Plans
Technical Description
The compound house was built from local materials such a lateritic soil, timber, bamboo, raffia palm, and creepers. The most developed forms show Asante ornamentation and decorations. Developed in conjunction with climate engineers from Transsolar, the building uses the courtyard for ventilation and tries to shield the housing units from direct solar radiation through a highly articulated bamboo screen. The outer envelope and the roof is built from bamboo, whereas the inner volumes use blocks.