Kampala House

Kampala House . Uganda

Marc Thorpe Design partners with Stage Six and Échale International to develop sustainable, ecologically responsible housing in Uganda, East Africa. According to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics, Uganda has a deficit of 2.1 million housing units, growing at a rate of 200,000 units a year. By 2030, the deficit is expected to reach three million units. The goal is to provide housing to middle to lower income families. Currently, there is extremely low supply of housing and it is usually of poor quality. Stage Six, Échale International and Marc Thorpe Design aim to relieve this pressure on the housing market and the people of Uganda. 

About Stage Six

Stage Six helps commercially viable social enterprises use the franchise model to scale rapidly, vastly, and sustainably.  Stage Six’s wide-ranging and geographically diverse client portfolio tackles essential needs, including health, nutrition, education, water, sanitation, housing, and clean energy. Because they are using the franchise model to expand, they all create local business ownership opportunities and jobs.

Stagesix.com

About Échale International

ÉCHALE is a social housing company that provides community infrastructure and is committed to improve the life quality of the families. Our main construction material is 90% local soil and 10% a mixture of cement, lime, sand and water. It is thermal and acoustic insulation, ecological and more resistant than cement block. The mission of Échale International is to build sustainable community development through social inclusion in the construction of housing and community infrastructure in the world.The house is constructed using Echale International’s EcoBlock, compressed earth brick. The EcoBlock is produced of 90% local soil and 10% a mixture of cement, lime, sand and water. It is a thermal and acoustic insulator, ecologically sustainable, more resistant than cement block and 30% less CO2 production. 

Echale.mx

About Kampala House

The house is the first in a series of houses of various size to be built with partnerships in Africa. The Kampala house is comprised of three bedrooms, two baths, living, dining and kitchen. Connected to the kitchen is an exterior wood burning stove for outdoor cooking, commonly found in Uganda. A large terrace wraps the front and side of the house allowing spaces to gather in shade for outdoor activity.

Over the house is a large corrugated steel and wood roof designed to support solar panel array, harvest rainwater and store in an adjacent water tower. The concept of a water tower for each home is to provide a community network of water supply be able to access and share in the event of a drought. The goal of the house is to create a environmentally responsible home that responds to its surrounding context and environment while providing a socio-economic opportunity to home ownership and community stewardship. The first houses of Echale International will be constructed in Uganda this Spring 2022. 

We believe in an architecture of responsibility. – Marc Thorpe