Ingvartsen Architects . photos: © Julien Lanoo
The Star Homes Project has been in development for over a decade, exploring ways to develop novel, low-cost, comfortable, and insect-proof housing to enhance people’s health in rural areas of Sub-Saharan Africa. The project consists of 110 identical, single-family ‘Star Homes’ constructed across 60 different villages in rural Mtwara, one of the more underdeveloped regions of Tanzania, with a high incidence of malaria, respiratory tract infections, and diarrhea. These houses form the basis of a trial, which aims to provide robust data to show whether improved housing can improve family health.
Both upgraded and vernacular house styles in Sub-Saharan Africa appear to predispose residents to contracting vector-borne, enteric, and respiratory diseases. Resource use and environmental performance – Unlike most rural Tanzanian housing, our prototype house is two stories high. This reduces the area of the foundation and roof, which are often the most expensive and material-intensive components of a home. Our approach to optimizing resource use was a key concept in the design of the house, which enabled a reduction in embodied energy and builds cost. The 0.75mm thick prefabricated light gauge steel (LGS)frame can be manufactured and erected in under 3 days; walls are solid but hollow, consisting of two thin layers of cement render on wire mesh; and the house is passively cooled and includes solar lights, USB chargers, and rainwater collection. The result is a home that uses 70% less concrete compared with a typical concrete block design and has 37%less embodied carbon.
The prototype windows have no glass and are instead screened with strong netting, which keeps indoor temperatures approximately 2.5 degrees lower than those of comparable local houses. Thick walls absorb heat during the day and radiate it into the home at night, which deters occupants from using bed nets, therefore increasing the risk of malaria transmission. Ground-level bedrooms have higher mosquito densities, which also increases the risk of contracting vector-borne infections. Cooking is generally done on open fires within poorly ventilated spaces, which can lead to respiratory health issues, especially among women and children. Surfaces are generally made from compacted earth that is difficult to clean, which, alongside open pit latrines, inadequate water supply, and minimal sanitation, leaves families susceptible to diarrhea and other enteric infections.
The health consequences of building in this way are most severely felt in rural regions, such as Mtwara in southern Tanzania, where families have limited access to public health services. Following the construction of all 110 Star Homes in June 2021, families moved in and began participating in the trial, in which children under 13 years sleeping in the Star Homes and neighboring traditional homes will be followed over a three-year period to detect episodes of malaria, acute respiratory infections, and diarrhea. Alongside the trial, a team of architects, entomologists, and social scientists will assess the performance and acceptability of the house design, using mixed methods involving in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, house walk-throughs, and questionnaire-based surveys. Light traps are used to collect mosquitoes and flies in the Star Homes and the control homes to assess the amount of malaria-carrying mosquitos entering the houses.
Building capacity and sustainable communities – The Star Homes project aims to build capacity in some of the poorest communities in the world by providing robust and affordable housing and teaching new construction skills. In total, the house and latrine cost between $6000 and $8000 to build and can be constructed in under 4 weeks. Electricity and water are provided to occupants throughout the 30-year predicted lifespan of the house, and there are no operational or maintenance costs. This unlocks time and resources(otherwise spent on activities such as house rebuilding, dealing with preventable illnesses, or collecting water), which can be used to strengthen rural communities and lift families out of poverty long-term. All components and labor have been sourced from within Tanzania, building local construction capacity.
The Star Home is designed by an interdisciplinary team of architects, public health specialists and entomologists and combines a series of design interventions to improve family health into a single house. A detailed process was undertaken to select the recipients and location of the Star Homes. In 2019, prior to the start of the construction, a survey of the rural villages in Mtwara was conducted. Households that wanted to participate and met the study inclusion criteria (such as having children under 13 years of age in the household) could enter a lottery to win a Star Home built on their land. The lottery was conducted in an open and transparent manner to select the recipients. The study is due to be completed by 2024.
_
THE STAR HOMES PROJECT. MTWARA, TANZANIA
Team
Jakob Knudsen, Ingvartsen / KADK
Lorenz von Seidlein, Mahidol Oxford Research Unit
Hannah Wood and Otis Sloan Brittain, Ingvartsen
Salum Mushamu and Catherine Khabuka, CSK
Steven Lindsay, Durham University & London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Jacqueline Deen, University of the Philippines – Manila
Arnold Mmbando, Ifakara Health Institute
