Projected traditions? Tracing an East German-Cuban Collaboration in Loam and Soil Cement Construction in Havana-Cocosolo

Abstract

This article unveils the history of constructing the "Cocosolo Experimental House" in Havana, a collaborative endeavor involving East German and Cuban participants. This singular project was designed around 1989-90, in parallel with the end of the GDR, to serve as a prototype for “self-construction technology” making use of local soil. A crucial step in the development process of this project was the search for the most suitable construction material, ultimately leading to a choice between loam (a mixture of clay, silt, sand, and aggregates such as gravel, which does not require an additional binder) and soil cement (a mixture of local soil and cement, while cement works as binder). Although several obstacles prevented the project from being completed as planned, it was finished after the East German group from Weimar left within the framework of Cuba’s specific local self-construction system. The history of the Cocosolo project unfolds as a tapestry of experimentation, adaptation, and unintended consequences. It addresses both the socialist discourse regarding material scarcity—and the actual lack of construction materials in the Cuban context. In our article, based on archival research in Cuba and Germany as well as site surveys, we unpack the expectations of the German partners experimenting with loam abroad, as well as those of the Cuban actors, focusing on the local uses of soil cement technology. Finally, to nuance the understanding of how a Cuban loam-building tradition was imposed, we analyze the clash of expectations at the construction site.