An "Air Pipe" House uses pipes made of synthetic fiber into which compressed air is pumped to form a structural material. Zippers are used to connect the parts thus making it easy for anyone to build this house. Moreover, the modular nature of the design makes it easy to add another unit allowing the occupants to customize the house to suit their needs.
1. An Air Pipe House uses structural materials are very light weight and strong. The synthetic fiber pipes filled with compressed air have a good tolerance for seasonal climate changes. The Air Pipes are fastened to an aluminum frame which is anchored to the foundation. Special care is used to prevent corrosion of the frame.
2. An Air Pipe House uses readily available, pre-manufactured, industrial materials which provides an economy of scale resulting in a very low cost house. We avoid using expensive materials like concrete and iron to keep cost down. Because the materials we use are so light, and occupy a small volume, we can save on transportation expense.
3. An Air Pipe House is easy to build. We use air and zippers for connecting the units so the house goes together quickly. We also do not dig the ground to make a foundation which also saves time. It is very easy to set up a water tank system outside the house and start using it right away.
4. Our creative use of materials results in a design that does not require special skills in order to build and maintain. Its easy to extend a room or change the lay out.
5. An Air Pipe House is very light weight. Normally compressed air is pumped in an air pipe. However, when you take sir out from the pipe, it becomes flat as a sheet which can be carried everywhere. This house does not need a foundation layered so we avoid worrying about ground strength. We do not damage the ground at all, so it will be easy for Kosovo people to built their future house on the same site.
6. An Air Pipe House is comfortable to live in. The pipes have efficient heat insulating performance which can be further improved by creative placement of residences clothing storage facilities. This increases the houses insulation. We use a sloped roof to collect rain water for storage in a water tank. The use of a double roof system avoids leaks and helps keep warm air inside the house. The ridge of the roof keeps good air circulation.
Architecture is supposed to provide shelter. In early 1999, nowhere was the need for shelter more critical than in the war-torn region of Kosovo. Hundreds of thousands were without a place to live. Their homes in ruins and the infrastructure of the region collapsed, the returning population needed immediate and highly-dispersed temporary housing.
Architecture for Humanity hosted an open competition to design five-year transitional housing for the returning people of Kosovo. The competition's goal was to foster the development of housing methods that would relieve suffering and speed the transition back to a normal way of life. Architects and designers from 30 different countries responded. We received more than 200 designs. From these, a jury selected 10 finalists and 20 notable entries. This proposal from Hattori & Aihara of Tokyo, Japan was one of those ten finalists.
