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Vanuatu Housing Design Guide

1-2 Sentence Explanation: The ‘ Housing Design Guide’ collates a broad range of research, design process and guidance for anyone wishing to construct a sustainable, and resilient, home. Its core principle is accessibility, ensuring the resources and construction methods are available to everyone.

Longer (200-300 Word) Description: The Design Guide outlines a new approach to housing in the South Pacific, with specific reference to Vanuatu. The document is broken down into various sections: research, design process, guidance, and exemplary projects. Thus, the guide provides utility to a wide range of audiences, such as governments, architectural professionals and local people.

With the ever-increasing frequency and destruction of natural disasters, a new system is urgently required to create resilient homes in the South Pacific. Rammed earth provides the solution, as it is uniquely aligned to face the many challenges in Vanuatu. Its low cost and high availability ensures it can be widely adopted by everyone. It is a low-tech and easily replicable solution, allowing the local community to independently construct housing without international aid.

Flexibility is key, ensuring one house design is not imposed and carbon-copied throughout the island. Accounting for individual difference, various financial situations and site-specific constraints, this document serves as an open guide that can be adopted, and adapted, in all situations. The principles remain constant, yet each design will be tailored to the user. Therefore, regardless of personal circumstance, this guide enables all locals to have a safe and sustainable home.

Future Research / Progression Questions: Is rammed earth truly a viable option in Vanuatu? Does the geology and geography allow for the proposed system to be a success?

As there is negligible research into rammed earth as a cyclone resistant material, how will a rammed earth house perform under cyclone conditions?

Will the proposal be positively accepted and adopted by the people of Vanuatu?

Is this guidance reflective of Vanuatu? Or have some cultural considerations been overlooked?

Is the document easy to understand? Will it need to be translated / made simpler so locals can accurately use it to build their own homes?

SITE RESEARCH: DESIGN PROCESS: GUIDANCE:

Demographic: Site as Resource: Exemplar Houses: Condition A

Ethnic Origin: Population by Age (in thousands): Population (2020): VANUATU Users: Income: Accessibility: Location: Client Mentality: $$$ MALO TRADITIONAL HOUSING BUILDING SITE NEIGHBOURING MELANESIA / POLYNESIA Total Floor Area: LOCAL CONTEXT Design Proposal ISLANDS + SPECIALIST RESOURCES Isometric: Ni-Vanuatu (94%) 308,098 European (4%) 18m² *estimate based on Others (2%) previous census ISLAND RESOURCES (Sleephouse Only) DESIGN = 39% of population VANUATU

Vanuatu Climate Future Adaptation:

North Vanuatu Central Vanuatu South Vanuatu North Vanuatu South Vanuatu

GUIDE. Exentsion Rammed Earth Process: Temperature (°C) Temperature Precipitation (mm) Precipitation

Month Month

Hiu Vot Tandé Tégua SECTION XX Loh Uréparapara 1:50 Toga Mota Cyclone Formation Process Lava 1 - Warm water evaporates. 3 - Clouds form in the upper Mota TORBA The moisture rises, atmosphere as the warm creating thunderstorm. 2 - Winds spiral upwards and air condenses. Santa Mérig outward. A low pressure system Maria forms over the ocean surface. SANMA Méré Lava Low wind shear allows clouds to organise.

Lathi

Maéwo Espiritu Aoba Rammed Earth Architectural Precedents: Santo Mavéa PENAMA Tutuba The Great Wall of WA,Australia Dakar Housing, Senegal Aoré Malo Pentecôte SOUTH (Luigi Rosselli - 2016) (Marc Thorpe - TBC) Eye of PACIFIC storm OCEAN Lopévi MALAMPA Tomman Épi 5 - When the storm passes over land, the supply of moisture and heat is cut off and the storm gradually dissipates. Émaé 4 - The entire storm starts to spin Makura (counterclockwise / clockwise depending on the hemisphere). Moso Émao SHEFA Lélépa Éfaté

One Family ‘Building’ Cyclone Impact on Buildings: - each private shelter + land

CORAL Apartment 2 SEA Vété Manung Horizontal Wind Loads + Uplift from Wind Suction + Weaknesses in Openings, TAFEA Vertical Rain Loads Differential Pressure such as Windows Apartment 1 SECTION YY 1:50 Aniwa Work Studio Apartment 2 Tanna Futuna

Phased Intervention: Anatom Flying Objects and Debris Storm Surges + Long-term Erosion can become Projectiles Increased Sea Level if near Water

Preliminary 1:1 Wall Timber Frame + Block Testing Prototype Rammed Earth Cladding Vernacular Architecture: Vanuatu KEY Province Boundary Building 02: Land Mass Épi Island Open-Fire Road 15.3767° S, Cooking Space 166.9592° E

Building 01: Building 03: The ‘Vanuatu Housing Design Guide’ collates a broad range of research, design Sleephouse Toilet process and guidance for anyone wishing to construct a sustainable, and resilient, + Storage First Rammed Rammed Earth Rammed Earth home. Its core principle is accessibility, ensuring the resources and construction Earth Structure Typology Variations methods are available to everyone. Building 04: Shower Vanuatu ‘House’

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