LAKOU AFFORDABLE HOUSING LITTLE HAITI MIAMI
LaKou
Proposed Urban Prototype
The Little Haiti Housing Association Invited Competition
Little Haiti, Miami, USA
Second Place
LaKou means court in Creole and plays an important role in Haitian culture. As a project in the heart of Little Haiti, the project re-frames this culture which is transplanted in Miami. The project is financially structured as a condominium so with the Little Haiti Housing Association organizing prospective owners and residents. The LaKou Condominiums are formed around a central space that is the result of connecting together four typical city lots in Miami. The Condominium massing has been developed so that quarter and half portions of the project may be built on other lots that are respectively quarter and half the size of our 4 square lots. The project is envisioned as four separate building parts connected by a court and circulation that links the four parts around a courtyard. The concept of the project uses the idea of the individual lot as a system of stripping or striation of the site to provide for individuality and diversity of lifestyles. The building itself initiates the stripping of the courtyard gardens that allow for individual gardens for each resident, a larger collective garden or children’s play-space depending upon what the condominium association chooses. The condominiums are stacked pre-tensioned concrete tubes that are connected on site, saving some time in construction.
TEAM: Jennifer Cheung, Rebekkah Grohe, Arthur Liu, Patrice Strahan, Heather Bizon