The Roof House was a UN sanctioned competition for the resettlement of the victims of the boko haram scourge that enveloped the North-Eastern parts of Nigeria and led to the displacement of up to two million from their homes and farms. These homes, traditionally built, were a mix of residences and farming, built around a courtyard.
As an answer to the competition question, we created a housing system that can grow incrementally, with the core idea being to build the most technical part of the house, the roof, which most of the users might not be able to build themselves, with most of the grant money from the UN/IOM. This money, $3000, will also be used for the building of a mud fence and a pavilion under the roof, which can be replicated by the occupants as they begin to earn money after resettlement.
The entire compositions of roofs, in the urban sense, becomes reminiscent of the traditional Hausa Street, with its public sitting, connected to fences, that allow for chance meetings and public discussions. The entrance, a simple 45 degree cut in the façade, when mirrored, becomes the motif that announces the scheme on the street, while also amplifying to a high degree, privacy.