harvest home

This experimental house, based on a traditional scheme, is realised with natural resources which grow abundantly in the area. Its slender shape becomes an organic element that mingles with the valley’s landscape. A bamboo shell, interwoven with a wicker mesh, creates a hard-wearing structure.

Luis Aguirre
Maite García

Building area: 60 sqm per unit
Location: Cauca valley, Colombia
2nd prize on the Advanced Architecture Contest by IaaC

AQSO Harvest home, self-fab house, bamboo structure, low-tech

The project is located in the Cauca valley, in Colombia, where bamboo, a superb material for construction, can be found in abundance. This versatile, light-weight and sustainable material differs from other woods for its essential capacity of regrowth after being cut.

AQSO Harvest home, self-fab house, prototype, physical model, wires, balsa wood, close- up

This self-sufficient housing model is particularly important where there is a strong demand, but the qualified labourers and technical resources are scarce. In Colombia, approximately 3 million citizens have been forced to leave their homes in the last 40 years, becoming one of the countries with the highest number of displaced people in the world.

AQSO Harvest home, self-fab house, Cauca valley map, diagram, location plan

The Harvest Home is an experimental house based on a simple concept: day and night activities are separated in two floors around a fireplace. Its modular elements and its construction system are key points to become a self-sufficient, residential model for rural areas.