Created with funding through SELAVIP and the input of the local community, the adjustable Framework House can be customised to the client’s needs, from the layout to material selection. Each site-specific house is built using local labor and sustainable building techniques to keep its environmental footprint, construction costs, and maintenance costs to a minimum. The organisers empowered the community with training workshops that taught locals how to affordably and sustainably replicate the original Framework House design.
Built for resiliency, the Framework House is elevated atop precast concrete pillars to protect against flood risk. However, families also have the choice to fill in the ground floor if they choose. A split-roof and operable shutters allow natural ventilation to flow through the home, while the angled and overhanging canopies mitigate solar heat gain. A combination of sustainably grown timber, bamboo, natural materials, and recycled materials were used to construct much of the house framework.
Related: Atelier COLE’s Bamboo Trees combats illegal Moon Bear trade in Laos
Though the Framework House was built for a Cambodian community, its design is applicable to many other places in a similar tropical climate. The low-cost and easily replicable design can also be used as emergency housing.
+ Atelier COLE
+ Building Trust International
+ Habitat for Humanity Cambodia
