The first thoughts when thinking about the development of a building should be around its positioning. The biggest aspect in tropical and sub-tropical climates is how to keep the building sufficiently cool. Big and tall buildings should be orientated according to the solar radiation, while smaller buildings benefit more from an orientation according to the predominant wind directions.

The longest sides of our building are facing in the NNW and ESE direction and are thus standing perpendicular to the two prevailing wind directions. (view absolute north indication on plan)

Another aspect is the consideration off harmful insects like termites. In the case of Sitio Joaninha these considerations can be neglected.

Plan

The plan of the example house is a variation on a scheme proposed by the Instituto Habitat. The example house has a floor-area of 48,5 m2 plus an outside veranda area of 11 m2 and accommodates a living room, a kitchen, a bathroom with anteroom and two bedrooms. It has a broken pitch-roof, where the one side is overgrown with grass and seasonable vegetables, while the other side is covered with Micro Concrete Roofing (MCR) tiles and carries the solar collectors. Rainwater for private garden irrigation can be gathered from this roof side as well.

Parts of the veranda can be built up and transformed into a mini workshop suitable for shoemakers, key-makers, watchmakers, electricians and the like. The veranda is facing the common courtyard and becomes thus, with the installation of workshops a link to the community.

Section A-B

Detailed Section A-B

To create the elevated platform for the water storages, extra reinforcement was necessary. These walls where used for the creation of storage space as well.

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    Plan (310 kByte)

    Section (455 kByte)

    Detailed Section (668 kByte)