Emergent Vernacular Architecture (EVA Studio) is a socially-oriented research and design studio. Since 2014 EVA’s team has been providing urban and architectural design solutions in London and Port-au-Prince, Haiti. With a community-based research , EVA acknowledges the values of people’s solutions when responding to situations of scarcity, both in the global south and in developed countries. We see architecture as more than just a design. For us it is an inclusive process based on collaborative effort. Through this process, we are able to explore a community’s vision and potential, and make places that promote equality, resilience and creation of social capital. Our work in Haiti focuses on public buildings and spaces for people in informal neighbourhoods, with the aim of creating better quality of life and stronger community ties, whilst in London we are using the same approach to develop a new model for low-cost housing.