the project proposes to design a prototype school suitable for all different regions of ethiopia as an archetype for the human aid organization “menschen für menschen”. the existing type of school which has already been built more than 200 times all over the country is too expensive and since most of the used materials are imported, not very sustainable. therefore the focus is set to reduce the costs of the current type of school to a minimum by using local materials which goes hand in hand with a more ecological way of designing. another issue is to implicate the external space in an integrated planning to enhance the complete school grounds and make it an attractive place to study and to work at.
excursion
to get familiar with the local materials and the way of building it was necessary to visit the country. the many experiences which were made by driving to most of the project areas were used to improve the project as well as the contacts to the local population. a workshop at the addis abeba university helped to get a feedback from the different people who are familiar to the country and its local architecture. the final step was to exchange email addresses and phone numbers with the students and professors to stay in contact and having a possibility to inquire about problems which only can be answered on the ground.
concept
the first basic step of the concept was to orientate the classrooms along a north-south axis for climatically reasons. by opening up the façade only in the north and south the high angle of the sun nearby the equator guarantees to reduce the essential sunblind to a minimum. double skin roofing with an integrated air space prevents the classrooms for overheating. a pitch roof guarantees the best possible natural ventilation. folding doors and louver windows are offering a quick and simple solution for the classroom itself.
the space in front of the classrooms provides a common area where the children can play during the breaks protected by solar panels. usually to classrooms are put together to on unit. the space in front of the classrooms added to a bigger, less private common area connecting the different classrooms and other buildings of the school to each other. the constellation of the single classrooms leaves the possibility to extend the school easily without disturbing the existing system. facilities for sports and gardening can be added alongside the classroom track.
research
it was important to learn about the way of building in ethiopia, especially about transportation, costs and availability of materials and the consequences following to the architecture. another essential point was to figure out the craftsmanship of the local population.
materials
the foundation simply consists of natural stones with cement mortar. the walls are made of clay bricks reinforced by a ring beam on top which serves also as bracket for the roof construction. the roof construction itself is designed as a truss frame made of eucalyptus wood. the roof covering finally is formed as thin trapezoidal sheet, offering a cheap solution with a minimum amount of maintenance.

Location