Sunbird House

House design

Sunbird House will be a two bedroom, two bathroom single storey house with an open plan kitchen and living room.

Cool design
With average annual temperatures of around 30 degrees centigrade the house needs to incorporate cooling design such as increased ceiling height and roof louvers to allow warm air to escape.

Unique materials
Many of the houses in The Gambia are built using concrete blocks which are then rendered. Sunbird House will be built from lovely terracotta coloured fired bricks from brickworks in Bansang in northern Gambia. The house will be one of the few in Gambia built from these bricks and making it very unique.

Outside space
To make the most of the climate the outside areas need to be well planned with different areas to enjoy the sun or shade throughout the day. Sunbird House will have a range of outdoor spaces including a covered veranda that can be used as an outside living space even in the rainy season.

Water and power
A 'tube' well supplies water which will be pumped to the house using a solar pump. Solar power will heat the water, light the house and provide all other power requirements (no hairdryers though!) Compost toilets work really well and both toilets will be specially designed by David, who is an expert in compost toilets. Used 'grey' water will irrigate the garden.

More information
Kevin from eekos really helped us with the design process and his website has loads more information.

website by Edelman web design