Humble Brick Competition

This design project invites students from the University of Dar Es Salaam (USDM), who competed in a competition, to translate a humble brick prototype – developed by UNC Charlotte students – into two housing typologies: one for Ifakara and one for Dar es Salaam. The challenge is to design contextually responsive, scalable housing solutions that build upon the innovative potential of the brick while addressing the unique needs of each urban environment.

Objectives:

• Engage with Materiality: Select one existing brick prototype and study its thermal, structural, and airflow performance.
• Design for Context: Develop two distinct housing typologies, ensuring adaptability across multiple sites within the given urban context.
• Bridge Scale: Demonstrate a clear translation from unit scale (the brick) to building scale (the house).
• Integrate Learning: Apply insights gained from case study analyses, site research, and interviews to ensure culturally, climatically, and technically appropriate design solutions.

While the students are encouraged to suggest refinements to the brick prototype, the central focus of this competition is on the housing design and its performance at both the building and neighborhood scales. Participants must demonstrate a thorough understanding of the physical principles embedded in the brick, such as thermal behavior, ventilation potential, and structural capacity, and clearly show how these principles translate into a full-scale enclosure system. Designs should thoughtfully integrate the insights gained from case study analyses and interviews, ensuring that each proposal is contextually grounded and technically sound.