The Cubata The history of every people contains certain invariable elements, or certain elements whose variations are so slow as to be imperceptible. Octavio Paz, The labyrinth of solitude,1968.CONCEPTIn the origin of Angolan housing tradition, particularly amongst Bantu people, houses an elementary building type composed of a single enclosed space connected to the exterior through a single opening. This elementary building, known as cubata (1), is the fundamental unit that when multiplied and distributed in the open space according to a precise social logic, forms the Bantus housing compounds. They are PAVILLION one of several detached units into which a building is sometimes divided AND PATIO COMPOUNDS.In fact, the idea of a PATIO as an open space unit, stage for daily family life and a PAVILLION as an enclosed space unit to shelter the private life are seen in the ancient African housing structures. Other African people, like the Zulus, had complex building structures similarly generated. The kraal Zulu (2) is the result of huts gathered within an enclosed circular space. The Ashantis and primitive Sudanese and Camaronese housing compounds were also generated from the aggregation of similar elementary buildings around a patio.Reflecting a past socio-spatial organization, today the PATIO-PAVILLION HOUSING TRADITION is still alive in the rural and urban areas, and even in the musseques of Angola.This proposal is based on the concept of these essential space units, the PATIO and the PAVILLION. DESIGNWith no site specification, our aim was to design a flexible housing structure that could adjust to the distinct parts of Luanda and its particular environmental, topographical and urban conditions, as well as to the distinct cultural backgrounds that form Luandas social landscape. The proposal is based on a flexible process of aggregation of two space units: one enclosed the cubata, and the other, open the patio. The aggregation process is structured in the plot and in the urban block levels. PLOT LEVELWithin the plot, the aggregation process is defined by the distribution of three cubatas in order to configure distinct patios: a) a front yard that mediates the interface between public and private life; b) a backyard where future expansions could take place; c) and a private central patio that integrates, centripetally, family daily activities, including cooking according to the Angolan tradition close to the ground. The cubatas are of three types: (a) the private one contains the parents and grandparents bedrooms; (b) the service one, houses the kitchen, bathroom and laundry utilities; (c) the social one, integrates living activities and, at an upper level, accommodates, temporarily, sleeping area for familys children, which could be transferred to independent cubatas in the expansion area, reinforcing the monofuncional feature of the traditional huts. It is important to highlight that the occupation of the sleeping spaces is variable, allowing families to occupy the bedrooms according to their specific needs. It is suggested that the housing expansion should follow the same aggregation principle: each new cubata is placed along the central transitional space, always adjacent to open spaces, therefore constituting new private patios. At the end of the aggregation process, each