18 September 2014
In Ghana, the social aspiration for development is moving faster than the built environment can accommodate; physical infrastructure and architectural practice are lagging behind technological advancements. Families wanting to build and establish themselves on settled land are challenged with opposing options. Vernacular construction made from local, native materials is accessible and affordable. Socially, however, traditional materials hold a stigma and are associated more with the past than the developed future. In contrast modern construction techniques offer a sense of establishment and an affiliation with progress, but the high material cost and required labor make this method more difficult to attain.
The thesis project is a house and development plan for the Setsoafia’s, a typical multi-generational family in Woe, a rural village in eastern Ghana. The building details, construction innovations and response to materiality will explore new methods of utilizing traditional techniques. Beyond the specific client and specific plot, this design and development plan will provide a learning opportunity for others. The design can become a prototype and address the larger issues of construction in coastal Ghana. The goal is to adapt and develop construction and development techniques to be affordable, sustainable, and culturally significant.
A House for Crossed Crocodiles is an implementable proposal, striving to satisfy diverse tastes and influences—access vs. affordability, emulation vs. celebration, addition vs. incorporation—and reconcile the challenges associated with modern construction to develop a new Ghanaian architecture.
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