Rose Town, Jamaica is a neighbourhood of Kingston, and historically has been torn apart by gang violence. The violence itself has been mostly quelled, however the destruction and area segregation of the town is still evident. The Prince’s Foundation was brought in to create a new neighbourhood centre and regenerate the town itself by renovating existing dwellings and designing new unit types based on a neighbourhood survey of buildings, and of Rose Town’s existing local vernacular house types.These five site specific house plans are flexible, low-cost Carribean house types, and each has a phasing strategy for ease of construction and budget. Each unit employs natural ventilation, natural lighting, hurricane safety strategies and components such as low front walls and gates and open front porches to facilitate interaction between neighbours and encourage a renewed sense of community in this regenerated town.
Completed with The Prince's Foundation for the Built Environment.
The proposed masterplan of Rosetown, Jamaica (a neighborhood of Kingston). A community-led regeneration of their gang violence torn neighborhood, the plan focuses on housing and key civic buildings and spaces, such as a library, community center, and school.
Drainage is a big issue on the island, with hurricanes and heavy rains, so a controlled wetland scheme was created. During the drier months, the spaces in the interior of the blocks would act as a semi-public park, and during the wet months drainage and run-off would be contained in a retention pond in the center, drastically lower the threat of flooding within the buildings
Additionally, the waste water from each residence in the block (purified via septic tanks and sand pits, would drain into the retention pond, where it would be further treated by bacteria-eating wetland plants.
These interior spaces would not only provide a clean way to dispose of household waste water and work to significantly lower the threat of flooding, btu they would also act as pack and recreation spaces throughout the year
The typical state of housing in Rosetown pre-intervention.
One of the proposed housing typologies. Each typology was adapted from local vernacular building methodologies. This not only ensured their appropriateness in Jamaica, but also employed building techniques and materials which could be found within the immediate surroundings of the town
All house plans are flexible (use of space, size of family, number of families), all call for details which increase the structure's resiliency to hurricanes (rebar tie-downs to concrete foundations, detached porch roofs, etc.), all employ natural ventilation and lighting, and have separate kitchen/bathroom units which can be constructed at a later time.
Measured drawings of the housing types which can be used as plans for local builders.
Some house types included a shop out front for live-work applications.
All housing types have phasing options, for those families who can only manage a bit at a time.
