Europe 40 Under 40 Awards Tell a friend

Kiwengwa, Tanzania

Situated on an extended sunflower field near the school and the dormitory, this complex of 16 houses will welcome teachers and their families.

The complex is formed by two identical blocks of eight houses each.

Naturally illuminated in a uniform way during the whole year, every block is composed of two symmetrical "arms" of four houses each one, opened towards the west to avoid the strong wind and the consequent sand coming from the east. Simultaneously, the bottleneck position of the houses allows the wind to enter through the timber structures of the roofs to extract the heat presented under the corrugated sheets.

Simple, small, functional, and characterized by the exclusive use of bricks, obtained by the local soil compacted and then baked, the 16 houses present the same distributive scheme: a day area always oriented toward the inner patio and the night area, more private, oriented outside towards the external nature.

For couples or single teachers without children, there are four smaller houses that are equipped with a bedroom and a reduced living room, guaranteeing in this way certain typological flexibility of the whole complex.