HOUSING

CASA TECHO

VIVIENDA EMERGENCIA

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Location

Bogota - Colombia

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Category

Vivienda Emergencia

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Lead Architects

Sebastian Contreras

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Area

25 m2

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Project Year

2016

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Photographs

Sebastian Contreras

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MEMORIA 

 

A roof is more than the structure of a house, it is a place, a spatial device that covers from the weather. A roof is a primitive and elemental element that allows to live, an essential architectural element when we think about a house. A roof is a symbol to speak of dignity. It is what people claim in the streets of cities. Even if the image of a roof is minimal or precarious, a roof represents people's dreams.

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Casa Techo synthesizes two architectural elements into one because it is a wall and a roof at the same time. Thanks to this, the construction process is optimized and materials are saved.

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We believe that a roof is the minimum element that constitutes a house. If we build a roof in an architectural way we are giving an efficient answer to the habitability of a house.

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We propose a house as a habitable roof. We are convinced that if only one Roof is solved, we are solving the most difficult part of a house, at the same time the most useful part of it for various climates and topographies, and we are providing the indispensable for a safe and comfortable living.

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The fundamental criteria that we used for the proposal are precisely that the house was transportable, light, of fast and easy assembly, comfortable in front of the cold or the heat, ventilated, safe and that it solves with low environmental impact the shortage of water.

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Our proposal is based on a support principle that allows us to build a living space covered by two inclined planes that support each other to form a traction triangle. The structure is made up of triangular and rectangular wooden frames, of a size suitable for handling by three people, this allows the house to be assembled and disassembled without any type of machinery.

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The elemental wooden structure of the Roof House represents the reduction of technology to its minimum expression and the maximum simplicity of assembly.

The "Casa Techo" house has been developed as a low-cost shelter with good thermal insulation. It is composed of a translucent ground floor that allows for a kitchen cabinet and eating/ sleeping space, a second living level for sleeping and a structural thermal protection cover that envelops the entire house.

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With the idea of reducing weight and size and enhancing portability, the dimension of the volume is determined based on the length of the standardized sawn wood and the size of the wooden planks, with the purpose of reducing the number of processes in the construction, decrease the amount of cuts and loss of material, optimizing the construction in its costs and execution time.

Built entirely of wood, polycarbonate and polypropylene tiles, Casa Techo is a contribution to the traditional model of emergency housing.