Ignacio Rojas Hirigoyen Arquitectos and The Andes House have partnered to create modular homes that can be configured and modified to build low-cost housing.
At a time when the housing crisis is accelerating day by day, the Industrialized construction system prototype is an ingenious solution manufactured by Cromulux in Santiago, with final assembly in the city of Casablanca, Chile.
The prototype was designed to respond to the urgent global housing crisis.
We decided to build a house as the first prototype of the construction system, but with these parts and pieces that work like a “LEGO”, any other typology can be designed and built.
Ignacio Rojas Hirigoyen
The house prototype features a thick laminated fiberboard that is expanded with “wooden sub-modules which are connected by means of a system of fasteners and wedges“. This, in turn, forms a foundation or building blocks for floors, ceilings and walls. All this creates the modular coordination of steel and wood carpentry without excess material, and where each piece has its place and function.
All panels were positioned and installed in a lightweight structure constructed from recycled steel.
The structure measures 5 by 18 m, while building a house that occupies 80 m2. The panels were covered with a vapor barrier and corrugated sheets that provide ventilation to the facade.
The roof has a rather gabled shape and is made of metal. It forms a striking triangular truss at the top of the house.
Under its wide eaves, a draft is made that brings fresh air inside through the windows below. It also serves as a fog trap for condensation, which allows water to be collected and serves as a support for the solar panels for an electrical scheme 100% isolated from the network.
Ignacio Rojas Hirigoyen
The interiors of the house include two bedrooms, two bathrooms and an open concept dining room, living room and kitchen. The house also has a sewage treatment system. The prototype construction process was smooth, efficient and agile. It took four crew members, a bunch of wrenches and screwdrivers, and a crane.
Designate: Ignacio Rojas Hirigoyen Arquitectos and The House of the Andes
