architects use the ancient nubian vault as a modern solution for rural tanzania

the jorejick family in rural tanzania need a new home that is sustainable and affordable. as part of a competition launched by archstorming, architects elia tonutti and mengzhu jiang share their proposal, which centers on the use of the ancient nubian vault system from egypt to construct a well insulated home using local soil. the aim of the project is to share this contemporary interpretation of the ancient technique across africa.

south elevation

all images courtesy of mengzhu jiang, elia tonutti

after researching existing building systems in rural tanzania, jiang and tonutti discovered that the problems faced by the jorejick family apply to many other homes in the region. existing methods of construction using mud and branches is affected by erosion over time, which therefore requires regular maintenance, while timber is scarce due to deforestation, and baking bricks is costly and unsustainable for the environment.

courtyard

the nubian vault construction originates from nubia – a region along the nile river that was home to one of the earliest civilizations in ancient africa. the system is low-cost as the majority of the construction uses sunbaked bricks made from local soil and no formwork is required. thanks to this, the architects were able to design a home of 2368 ft2 (220 m2) for 13 family members costing just $15,684 USD (€13,350 EUR), including labor and additional furniture materials.

living room

the modularity of this system allows the design to be built in stages over time. understanding how difficult it may seem to construct, the duo has also illustrated construction process diagrams to show how easy the system can be implemented.

site axonometric

mengzhu jiang and elia tonutti want to share this construction technique with the jorejick family to not only help them build an affordable and comfortable home, but also to provide knowledge that can be shared with communities beyond getamock. the project strives to enhance living conditions and to potentially create new jobs for people with these skills.

axonometric

floor plan

nubian vault construction process

staging

ventilation and water collection

project info:

project name: nubian home

competition: archstorming

architects: mengzhu jiang, elia tonutti

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.