It’s the ultimate bottom-of-the-pyramid challenge: How do you create a well-designed, safe, and affordable house for the world’s poorest people?
When Vijay Govindarajan and Christian Sarkar posed that question in an HBR.org blog post in August 2010, they offered their own simple sketch of a possible solution—and wondered if a version of it could be mass-produced for $300. Since then the $300 house has become a full-fledged movement, with a growing list of advisers, a website (300house.com), and corporate sponsors.
In June the group announced the winner of its first design contest, sponsored by Ingersoll Rand. Here is the first-place entry, as voted on by members of the online community at jovoto.com.
The Costs
The estimated price to build a one-room dwelling using these materials:
Lower Walls: $84.80
360 15-by-27-in. solid polybags, 370 linear ft barbed wire, 1 cu ft dry cement for foundation stucco
Upper Walls: $69.80
480 linear ft 9-in. mesh tubing, 7 8-ft uprights, 5 8-ft pieces 2-by-4 wood plate, 300 linear ft Polycord, 3 cu ft lime for wall plaster
Roof: $139.20
8 4-ft-by-79-in. galvanized corrugated metal sheets, 4 8-ft and 1 10-ft 2-by-4s for porch framing, galvanized wire to hold down roof, 3½ 8-ft 2-by-4s for ridgepoleBasic House Total: $293.80
Accessories Shown Here: $54.10
downspout pipe to rainwater barrels, rebar window grilles, mosquito nets, and a solar electric system
The Designer
Patti Stouter is the founder of Simple Earth Structures, a nonprofit group that researches, promotes, and tests concepts for inexpensive homes and trains builders to create them.