Kampala House/
Marc Thorpe Design
Project Details
Location(City/Country):
- / Uganda
Tipology:
Residential
Year (Design/Construction):
- / 2022
Area (Net/Gross):
- / -
Operational Carbon emissions (B6) kgCO2e/m2/y:
-
Embodied Carbon emissions (A1-A3) kgCO2e/m2:
-- The house is built with EcoBlock, compressed earth brick made of 90% local soil and 10% a mixture of cement, lime, sand and water.
- The Ecoblock is a thermal and acoustic insulator, ecologically sustainable, more resistant than cement blocks and 30% less CO2 production.
- Use of solar panel and harvest rainwater (stored in an adjacent water tower).
Project description as provided by the Architects:
Marc Thorpe Design partners with Stage Six and Échale International to develop sustainable, ecologically responsible housing in Uganda, East Africa. According to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics, Uganda has a deficit of 2.1 million housing units, growing at a rate of 200,000 units a year. By 2030, the deficit is expected to reach three million units.
The goal is to provide housing to middle to lower income families. Currently, there is an extremely low supply of housing and it is usually of poor quality. Stage Six, Échale International and Marc Thorpe Design aim to relieve this pressure on the housing market and the people of Uganda.
About the Kampala House
The house is constructed using Echale International’s EcoBlock, compressed earth brick. The EcoBlock is produced of 90% local soil and 10% a mixture of cement, lime, sand and water. It is a thermal and acoustic insulator, ecologically sustainable, more resistant than cement blocks and 30% less CO2 production.
The house is the first in a series of houses of various sizes to be built with partnerships in Africa. The Kampala house has three bedrooms, two baths, living, dining and kitchen. Connected to the kitchen is an exterior wood burning stove for outdoor cooking, commonly found in Uganda. A large terrace wraps the front and side of the house allowing spaces to gather in shade for outdoor activity.
Over the house is a large corrugated steel and wood roof designed to support a solar panel array, harvest rainwater and store in an adjacent water tower. The concept of a water tower for each home is to provide a community network of water supply to be able to access and share in the event of a drought.
The goal of the house is to create an environmentally responsible home that responds to its surrounding context and environment while providing a socio-economic opportunity to home ownership and community stewardship.
The first houses of Echale International will be constructed in Uganda this Spring 2022.
We believe in an architecture of responsibility. – Marc Thorpe
Partners:
Marc Thorpe: Architect
Échale International: Echale.mx
Stage Six: Stagesix.com
Visualization by Truetopia: Truetopia.it
