⁠Rural Housing System

  • Location:
    La Mojana, Columbia
  • Type of Use:
    Housing and Agriculture
  • Year of construction:
    2016–today
  • Size:
    49 m² per lot
  • Project sponsor:
    Martin Anzellini
  • Principle of fail addressed:
    Uniform Architecture, Short-term Responsibility, Resource Ignorance, Social Ignorance

A Matrix Loaded With Sustainability

The Mojana housing system is designed as a response to extreme conditions caused by climate change that make La Mojana one of the most vulnerable regions in Colombia. Simple design and the use of local materials were key in having this matrix adopted by the community. 

More Than A System: A Matrix 

The Mojana sub-region, located in the Depresión Momposina wetlands of the Colombian Caribbean region, faces extreme poverty driven largely by climate change. This housing system is designed as a response to extreme floods, prolonged rainy seasons, heat waves, and hurricane winds, conditions exacerbated by the loss of natural tree barriers due to pro-longed flooding and deforestation. Beyond proposing a typical social housing design, the project introduces a matrix of alternatives to quickly address the urgent need for sufficient shelter. Gradually, depending on available resources from people or institutions, these so-lutions can adapt and improve to meet other family residential needs and their agricultural livelihoods. They are responsive to each family's specific size, economic capacity, produc-tive activity and desires.

The matrix is structured from nine modules: Large (3.60x8.10), medium (3.60x5.40) and small (3.60x3.60); for daytime, services and nighttime. The modules can be built independently and be grouped, creating different layouts, adapting to each specific case.

Why SHIFT selected this project

  • Necessity: Designed to address climate vulnerability and extreme poverty in flood-prone rural communities.
  • Affordability: 10% cheaper than traditional housing, with long-term savings from disaster resilience.
  • Simplicity & Appropriateness: Uses a mix of local and industrial materials to maximize passive climate control.
  • Sufficiency & Efficiency: Eliminates the need for mechanical systems lowering both cost and emissions.
  • Scalability: A modular system based on family-specific needs, easily replicable with local labor and materials.
  • Beauty: Emerges through community pride, personalization, and adaptability in form and color.
  • Unique Principle of Success: A flexible matrix of modules and knowledge transfer enables families to self-build climate-resilient homes.
  • Limitations: Detailed data on scaling impact and broader community uptake are still evolving; dependent on knowledge retention.

Adaptability Meets Comfort

The project is constructed using native materials such as “palma amarga” (bitter palm) and “lata de corozo” canes, earth and wood, alongside industrialized materials including con-crete, PVC pipes, cement bricks, and steel. 

The following passive systems were implemented for meteorological control: 
- Air vents ("Rejillas" and "cajas de aire"): Located on upper walls and roofs to enable natu-ral ventilation.
- Raised plinth ("Aterrado"): A high basement designed for flood control, resilient against 100-year return period events.
- Palm-thatch roofing: Provides thermal insolation in the day spaces.
- Zinc roofing: For rainwater harvesting during dry seasons and to accelerate nighttime heat dissipation in the night spaces. 

The greatest savings for families lie in not having to build or readapt their house every year, and in the fact that prototypes don’t implement (nor require) any type of mechanical system. The blend of vernacular and industrialized architectural solutions guarantees adaptability, simplicity, sufficient comfort and safety. On one hand, traditional knowledge brings the passive systems, the technical and cultural appropriation, the contextual rele-vance, and the aesthetic and climatic symbiosis. On the other hand, disciplinary knowledge and simple modern solutions guarantee the efficiency of these systems, as well as durability, ergonomics and the resilience to new climatic conditions.


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