Autoconstruction in the Caribbean

The Caribbean house in the context of the inner-city is a product of autoconstruction, where the resident embodies several roles as the architect and builder. This process results in an urban fabric rich in character, with a vernacular language of immediacy, ingenuity and resourcefulness born out of circumstances of scarcity that exemplify the Jamaican maxim “make something out of nothing”. Within inner-city communities, undesirable parcels of land are claimed along drainage pathways known as gully banks that bisect communities, creating conditions ripe for unrest. This thesis project proposes a revitalization of the gully bank that stitches volatile autoconstructed areas together to foster community building.