Competition:  Architectural design and urban plan for middle income class dwellings, Ghana, operated by ENVIU

In collaboration with: Olga Peek

Location: Coast region Ghana

Year: 2010

 

 'Mefie incremental‘ means ‘my incremental house‘ in Twi, Ghana‘s first language. Mefie Incremental was a competition entry for a middle income class house design in Ghana. The design is based on the principles of incremental housing, architecturally as well as in the urban design principles. The basic units offer primary needs such as shelter to sun, wind, rain, prevents burglars and vermin to enter and offers drainage and water supply. Accordingly, the design is made such that the dwellings can be adapted and expanded according to future changes such as family size, disposable income and change in programmatic desires. The dwellings are clustered such that collective social space is orientated to one another to facilitate social interchange while the inhabitants also have their private indoor and outdoor space. The urban structure allows 50 dwellings per hectare, dense enough to realize commercial activities and services such as a doctor and a pharmacy. Open enough for everyone to have fresh air, privacy and collective public space.