Social Housing I: Polling the Locals to Build Their Homes

Energy and sustainability, expanding design practices, Low Density, Project, Territory and mobility

Bamboo, Community, Context, Empowering society, Energetic Approach, Housing, Local materials, Mexico, On-site prefab, Participation, Project, Puebla, Recycling, Territorial Approach, Updating Native Techniques, Vernacular

The Nahua community of Tepetzintan, located in the northeastern Sierra of Puebla, had two seemingly isolated problems. On the one hand, there was a lack of housing appropriate to the site, the climate and the customs and traditions of the region. In parallel, there was untapped bamboo, which was considered a hindrance to the milpa and coffee plantations and was being removed from the plots without any use. The question was: How could we connect these challenges?