Affordable Housing Case Study

Traditional Navajo hogans were located in the arid deserts of the Southwestern United States. Locally available soils were mixed with water and packed over a structure to create a small domed dwelling. The mud acted as an effective insulator to keep the heat out in the summer and in during colder periods. Navajo hogans also traditionally faced towards the East to allow the morning sunlight into the building.

Navajo hogans varied in shape, size, and structure, and are grammatically gendered as either “male” or “female”. Male hogans were pyramidal in shape with five trangular planes meeting at a central apex. Female hogans (as depicted above) varied from pentagonal to octogonal in shape, and were built using timber beams placed in decreasing concentric patterns. Contextually, male hogans were used for communal, ceremonial, and religious purposes, while female hogans were used for daily living.

While male hogans were smaller than female, both could hold multiple occupants. Traditionally, it is important to note the divisions of the space - men would commonly occupy the south side while women would occupy the north. Within the Navajo culture, the south is reserved for working and living, the west for social endeavors, and the north for reverance and worship. Since the Navajo are a matrilineal culture, the space occupied by each member directly aligns with their position in the culture.