Stronghouse
Can a kit-of-parts system provide critical infrastructure for healthy communities?
In partnership with Stronghouse Foundation—the first crowdsourced housing charity in Southeast Asia—CAZA developed single-family and multi-family prototypes to provide affordable houses to families in the rural communities of the Philippines. The design employs a modular kit-of-parts approach, generated through parametric design, to create highly economical and customizable units that can be easily adapted for families with varying needs. This system reflects a strategy of distributive networks, allowing infrastructure to scale across multiple households and foster interconnected, resilient communities.
Location
Camarines Sur, Philippines
Research Areas Regenerative Health
Typology Housing
Size
Small
629.15 SQF
Status Complete
Project Team Carlos ArnaizAlden ChingGaby San Roman
We consider each project on its own terms and develop tailored responses. Learn about our vision and mission.
The single-family prototype is currently being implemented in Camarines Sur Province, with plans to roll out across the Philippines. The multi-family prototype is designed for flexibility — it can serve as individual sleeping quarters or combine into larger public facilities, creating shared spaces and stronger community bonds.
The design specifically addresses two of the most pressing challenges facing rural communities in the Philippines: the lack of functioning ventilation and sewage systems. Each year, many fatalities in the region result from cooking fume inhalation and illness from poor sanitation. Both prototypes integrate water and ventilation equipment and enable distributive networks of water lines and sewage infrastructure across units — a step toward delivering regenerative health systems that improve well-being at the scale of the entire territory.
Our approach is strategically driven and informed. Click here to learn about our process.
Site studies
CAZA studied the relationship of the site to surrounding infrastructure and public resources, identifying needs that could best be served at the community level and designing prototypes that address them through modular and distributive strategies.
Single-family version
The single-family version is currently being deployed in Camarines Sur Province. The simple concrete structural system with metal roofing, based on modular built solutions, allows the prototype to be constructed quickly using local labor and materials.
Multifamily version
The multi-family version can be flexibly partitioned or combined into larger public facilities. More than just providing basic living environments, this approach creates communities with shared water infrastructure, public spaces, and recreation areas — embodying principles of regenerative health by supporting the physical and social well-being of residents over time.
