One of the stunningly beautiful islands of the Caribbean,
also called the ‘Pearl of the Antilles’, Haiti has been witness to a rich
historic past. However, it was struck by an earthquake of catastrophic
magnitude (7.0 on Richter scale) in January 2010 that destroyed its
buildings and towns, displacing the people and their lives. Since then massive
reconstruction efforts have been going on in Haiti in an attempt to rehouse its
people and restore their lives and dignity.
Vincent CallebautArchitects have proposed a utopian eco-village, inspired by the coral reef,
to provide housing for 1,000 Haitian families as part of the reconstruction
efforts.
They have developed a plug-in matrix to build a self
sustainable village from a standardized and prefabricated module.
This basic module is a duplex of two passive houses, a metal
structure with tropical wood facades interlocked around a transversal
horizontal circulation linking every unit. Built upon seismic piers off the
coast of the mainland, the Coral Reef project comprises two rows of wave-like
housing structures standing on an artificial pier.
The modular housing units are layered and cantilevered in
staggering rows on the façade of these structures. The roof of each module offers
itself as an organic suspended garden for each Creole family to cultivate their
own food. Between the two inhabited waves is a lush interior canyon with
terraces and cascades of food gardens. This canyon – the central axis and heart
of the community life of this eco-village – will be a true reflection of the
Haitian tropical ecosystem with its distinct and diverse local flora and fauna.
An anti-seismic basement, which will absorb the seismic
shocks of an earthquake, will be provided in the heart of this canyon to
provide a safety shell to its inhabitants in case of another natural calamity.
This basement opens up to panoramic views of the ocean on the other side, and
will be used as a multi-purpose community hub to enhance the social life of
this futuristic village.
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