Affordable Kit House – French Polynesia

Cyclone Veena destroyed much of the housing on the French Polynesian islands. Kit houses were developed to provide housing for the homeless. After a second cyclone, the kit houses were the only homes that were still standing. These kit houses were spread all over the islands, yet were almost unlivable during the day due to high temperatures.

At UC Berkeley, I worked with a team of graduate students to analyze the thermal performance of a kit house designed to replace these kit houses in Moorea, French Polynesia. I was later hired as a research/design consultant for the UC Berkeley Gump South Pacific Research to assist with suggestions for the kit house redesign in respect to environmental impact and energy usage while maintaining affordability, comfort and cultural sensitivity. As part of this process, we also assisted with organizing an  onsite thermal analysis of kit house using an embedded wireless sensor network.