A House For Nghia and Banh
Community Partners : East Biloxi Coordination Center
Building Partners: Hope Force International
Nghia and Banh have lived in Biloxi for 23 years. When they moved to Mississippi, they owned and operated their own shrimp boat, pulling in income from the thriving local trade. The family was devastated by Hurricane Katrina: in addition to their wood-frame, one story home being completely demolished, their shrimp boat - their livelihood - was a total loss. Nghia has been an active resident builder since Hurricane Katrina. He and Banh began with small scale storage and FEMA trailer additions, moving on to larger accessory buildings and shaded work spaces.
In East Biloxi, as in other communities, a property’s utility is not as conveniently defined and parceled by the resident as conventional zoning ordinances might suggest. Residential, agricultural, and industrial uses can often be seen coupled on single ¼ acre sites. Many Vietnamese residents, in particular, extensively cultivate and farm their parcels into large working gardens while others set up shop mending shrimping nets. Land is used as a resource and the architecture, here, acknowledges this visual multiplicity of utility found both on individual parcels and throughout East Biloxi.
The new home is elevated 10 feet, allowing ample space for a ground level mending shop. The C shape of the plan permits light to filter to the ground level and a cistern to collect water from the valley roof. All plumbing fixtures are stacked on a single wall to prevent “spider” plumbing lines, and closed-cell icynene insulation in the rafter cavities allows the A/C ductwork to be located within the conditioned space, creating an energy-efficient design.
