![masoro masoro](/content/dam/domusweb/en/architecture/2013/09/12/gac_masoro_villageproject/2_masoro.jpg.foto.rmedium.jpg)
![masoro masoro](/content/dam/domusweb/en/architecture/2013/09/12/gac_masoro_villageproject/3_masoro.jpg.foto.rmedium.jpg)
GAC suggested the inhabitants of Masoro adopt EarthBag, a low-cost building technology previously adopted to construct bunkers and adapted for civil purposes by Johnny Anderton of Eternally Solar, a South African agency. EarthBags are polypropylene bags that are filled with soil, stacked one on top of the other to build walls and subsequently made stable. This means that concrete, a high-cost and imported material, is only used for the foundations and door and window lintels. It is somewhat ironic to have employed polypropylene as a component in sustainable construction because, as a waste product of oil production, it will be around for a long time and it is also virtually indestructible when protected from the sun’s rays.
Yutaka Sho and the students from KIST taught the people of Masoro to build a house in three months using EarthBags. They also provided some design input so that the new houses are suited to the regional lifestyles and weather conditions. The house plan includes a porch with a sloping roof, meaning that, during the rainy season, the residents are able to do chores traditionally executed outdoors such as cooking, washing clothes and drying beans and manioc under cover.
![masoro masoro](/content/dam/domusweb/en/architecture/2013/09/12/gac_masoro_villageproject/4_masoro.jpg.foto.rmedium.jpg)
![masoro masoro](/content/dam/domusweb/en/architecture/2013/09/12/gac_masoro_villageproject/5_masoro.jpg.foto.rmedium.jpg)
![masoro masoro](/content/dam/domusweb/en/architecture/2013/09/12/gac_masoro_villageproject/6_masoro.jpg.foto.rmedium.jpg)
The Masoro Village Project, Masoro Sector,
Rulindo District, Rwanda
Architectural design: GA Collaborative
Design team: Yutaka Sho (principal designer and construction manager, GAC); James Setzler (designer and construction manager, GAC); Michael Beaman (designer and graphics, GAC); Zaneta Hong (designer and graphics, GAC); Killian Doherty (KD|AP, consultant); Rwandan architecture student partners from Kigali Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) – Theophile Uwayezu, Doreen Ingabire, Rene Isabane, Patrice Ndababonye
Structural consultant: Johnny Anderton, Eternally Solar,
South Africa
Construction supervision: GA Collaborative with Rwandan architecture students Riaan Hough, EarthKaya, South Africa
Solar lamps: Great Lakes Energy, Rwanda
Landscape design: GA Collaborative
Compacted earth floor: Earthenable, USA
Client: People of Masoro, Association Dushyigikirane
Built area: 86 m² (gross)
Cost: 7,865 Euros
Design phase: November 2011 – June 2013
Construction phase: June 2013 – September 2013
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