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Marvel Architects, a firm based in both New York and Puerto Rico, has developed a plan to build a community of resilient homes in the remote mountainside town of Villalba, Puerto Rico, to better weather future storms. According to Fast Company writer Adele Peters, the houses can work off the grid, without any municipal services, for one to three months. The team intends to utilize solar panels, rainwater collection systems, and insulated concrete walls. See more details about the project below.

The design uses solar panels and batteries to supply enough electricity to keep the home running when the grid goes down. A rainwater collection system stores and filters water, while a solar water heater keeps showers warm. Outside, a garden can provide some food. The interior can stay bright with natural light from windows, and uses cross-ventilation and insulated concrete walls to stay cool without air conditioning. (Overheating was a major challenge after Maria, when houses roasted in the humid, hot weather, and people wanted to keep windows closed to shut out the pollution from diesel generators.)

The design is “based on what we know is affordable housing in Puerto Rico for a single family,” says Hector Ralat, an architect based in the firm’s Puerto Rican office. “But the focus was to alter the DNA of that knowledge and to put in the essential components that someone would need to sustain living conditions for at least two weeks, which is the recommended time here for someone to receive aid after a disaster.” The houses will likely cost around $120,000, a number that lets homeowners access favorable interest rates on mortgages. The units can be stacked on top of each other; in Villalba, most of the community will be three stories high (the solar will serve the whole building).

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