Umubano Primary School
Kigali – Rwanda
Nominated for the Aga Kahn Award for Architecture 2013
The School’s seven buildings house nine classrooms and a library on a sloping site. Unique settings for education have been created to occur within a mix of interior rooms, exterior teaching areas – some of which are covered by sloping roofs – and terraced play spaces for children. Local materials such as brick and bamboo are used, and shading and natural ventilation is relied upon to reduce energy consumption. In the classrooms, light from clerestories above balances the light from windows. Curricula have been specifically developed to provide quality education for over 300 vulnerable or orphaned children. Adult evening classes are promoted and serve to improve literacy within the wider community.
Architectural Record Girubuntu Primary School – March 2012
