Vernacular Home Domus Rustica

Press Kit

Unique Properties

The Vernacular Home in Modonpur, Bangladesh, is a sustainable house built with local materials like mud, straw, bamboo, bricks, and tin sheets. Designed for a family of four, it supports living, working, and livelihood. It responds to the hot, rainy climate with a raised veranda, steep roof, and cross-ventilation strategies in the facade design. Clay pots on the wall cool the tea house, while 'liter bottles of light' brighten interiors, showing a low-cost, low-impact design philosophy.

Dimensions & Packaging

tin sheet: 2' width * 8' length
Brick: 9 5/8" length* 4 5/8" height * 3" depth
Pottery: large opening is 5" R, and the small side opening is 1.5" R
The mud wall is 10" thick
Bamboo: 1.5" R

Tags

sustainability, vernacular home, rural, house, traditional building, local materials, climate

Production Technology

Bangladesh's locally made bricks and tin sheets.
Natural straw, mud, pottery, and bamboo.
The brick and the tin sheets are standard sizes and are manufactured in the local factories.
Traditional handmade mud and the way of polishing.
The potteries on the mud walls are smaller than the local typical size, which were made in the neighboring village.
The way of tying the straw is their vernacular type.

Design Challenge

Use the vernacular materials and design the buildings to face the local climate to make the microclimate more comfortable. Control the building budget and labor cost under 2500 USD.

Research

Two weeks were spent in the village to become familiar with local materials and to study traditional mud construction techniques as well as straw-tying methods. During this period, I also researched the climate of Para Dash and analyzed the vernacular architectural language, considering how new strategies could be integrated into the design to improve the microclimate. The needs and expectations of the local residents were carefully documented and incorporated into the final design.

Inspiration

This project explores the social responsibility of architects. Despite rapid technological advancements, many regions around the world remain underdeveloped. People in these areas are more directly exposed to natural conditions, yet they also have the right to live a better life. As architects, we should not only make better use of locally available materials but also respond to the most immediate needs of these communities by designing housing that is practical and suitable for widespread use.

Project Duration

It is designed in Modonpur, Bangladesh, a very natural village called Dash Para. The design phase lasted 4 months. It is a concept design.

Operation Flow

Given the hot climate in Bangladesh and long monsoon season, the design addresses thermal comfort and climate responsiveness through spatial layout, façade design, and roof form. A raised veranda protects against flooding, and steeply pitched roofs ensure efficient rainwater runoff. Rooms are arranged for optimal cross-ventilation, with varying window heights on windward and leeward sides to expel heat. On the tea house façade, locally made clay pots from a neighboring village are inserted into the mud wall to help cool the air by compressing airflow, enhancing microclimate comfort.

Image Credits

Image #1: Xinyun Li
Image #2: Xinyun Li
Image #3: Xinyun Li
Image #4: Xinyun Li
Image #5: Xinyun Li