THREE TWO MUDHOUSE
Contemporary prototypical mudhouse
Abetenim Village, Ejisu-Juaben District, Ghana
Co-lead by Angela Yang, Christopher Tomasetti, Manuel Cordero, and Jean Gu
2015
Three Two Mudhouse is a process and experience that goes beyond the end result.
It is a response to culture, to environment, to living.
It is a continuous discussion of the role of architecture and design in a global society in terms of accessibility, affordability, and quality.
It is an advocate of learning by doing.
Born out of a competition proposal, Three Two is an earth prototype that is sensitive to its surroundings – culturally and environmentally – but also invites change. It is a case study of the exciting possibilities and revival of mud construction in contemporary design. Our design is centered around a structural logic of L-shaped pillars, made of cast earth (a mixture of mud and cement that is poured), that are multiplied and rotated to form our interior and exterior spaces. These cast earth pillars exemplified our concept of innovative mud construction practices that are both sustainable and beautiful. Celebrating the plasticity of poured cast earth, we used bamboo as our formwork, after which we reused for our landscaping. Within the cast earth pillars is an infill of cobb (or locally called aptapame) wall which is a mixture of mud and straw. The aptapame is shaped by hand to form the infills, resulting in a beautiful texture from the very fingers of our workers.
We were the designers, the project managers, the contractors, the accountants, the marketers, and the laborers.
With a team of nearly 30 (local workers and international volunteers),we formed relationships and bonds that strengthened our process and our project - making this their project just as much as ours.
