Bioclimatic buildings in the tropics

SUBHEAD: Home built of indigenous materials, without walls, in northern Columbia is a beachside paradise.

 By Paula Alvarado on 20 September 2011 for TreeHugger -  
(http://www.treehugger.com/files/2011/09/bioclimatic-no-walls-house-in-northern-colombia-is-caribbean-paradise.php)  
Image above: Photo by Sergio Gomez. From original article.
 
World renewed for their work in Medellin, especially with the Orchid House at the Botanical Garden, Colombian firm Plan B Architects is busy and keeps coming up with great projects.

One of their latest is this wall-less house in Rio Cedro, a city located by the Caribbean Sea, 200 miles north from Medellin.






The house (spotted at Inhabitat) was built with certified wood from reforested sources as a way to respect the surrounding native vegetation that has been hit with deforestation due to the expanding livestock industry.

Instead of coming up with a structure that can resist efforts and loads, they came up with one that can be traversed by the environment that surrounds it. As the climate in the area is warm all year long, they decided on an open, permeable design that has passive cooling trough through solar orientation (main facades point to north and south) and crossed ventilation.



For the ceiling, they chose a local construction technique with branches of the Palma Amarga (sabal mauritiiformis) and palmata (Bactris guineensis) stems, as stated in Plataforma Arquitectura.

About 30 centimeters (12 inch) thick, the roof is impermeable to rain and helps control temperature. Concrete was only used to secure the base of the building and accessories like a sofa, stairs and a table on the lower level.



The upper level was designed for day activities and the lower level is thought for more intimate, night activities. All facilities have modular installations that can be arranged to accommodate more or less people.

Undoubtedly this is a paradise beach house in no way thought for practical applications in places less perfect than the Caribbean, but it's always interesting to see projects conceived especially for local conditions and carefully carried away with local materials.