Plaster Housing Projects / Mauritania

The Plaster Housing Projects in Nouakchott, Mauritania by L'Association pour Le Développement d'une Architecture Et d'un Urbanisme Africain [1977-1983]. The association wanted to create a cheap, fast, and effective solution for the acute housing shortage in the Mauritanian capital. The projects are made of basic gypsum plaster shaped into domed vaults. The gypsum was taken from the large gypsum dunes 40 km from the city already in the form of powder, thus being the cheapest building material available. While cheap, it is extremely effective in insulating the structures which is important considering the region is one of the hottest in the world. The construction allows for natural ventilation further cooling the interiors of the structures. Each of the units were so cost effective and affordable that they could be purchased in full by the many refugees seeking homes after both the dramatic cycle droughts and floods that constantly ravaged Mauritania from the 50’s through the 90’s.

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