Community Sustained Design
Rural Classroom Development

One of the most important aspects of aid in developing countries is creating systems that can be continued and sustained over time by the local people, and not by continuous foreign efforts. A building plan that creates schools that are more accessible in rural conditions needs to not only be constructed with materials and labor that are known and found locally, but also requires prolonged community involvement in order to continue growth. Innovative building strategies in Africa should go beyond just the final product of the structure, but include the entire construction process as well as self sustained operation and expansion.

The key concept of the school design is a sheltered community gathering space, which extends the life of the learning environment of the classroom and incorporates the life of the village. The breezeway and its relationship to the individual classroom provides an area for daily transformation. Growth of the school complex happens over time with locally sustained phase two expansion plans. The Community Sustained Design proposal embodied in this competition entry for a set of classrooms employs simple yet progressive use of local building materials and techniques, and creates a safe and welcoming school where learning occurs through everyday exposure to effective building and site strategies.

Construction and Time

The timeline of the construction process, in reality often takes on certain unplanned events. In countries like Uganda, where the demand for rural school development is great, investments in education is a nationwide priority, but obstacles still delay implementation. Successful design in rural Uganda needs to ensure that growth will still occur, by taking into account these realistic obstacles. The construction of a school involves both heavy government and community involvement, and when administration delays, the community must feel empowered to step in and continue. A prolonged construction timeline secures community involvement and allows for natural interruptions to be taken advantage of, instead of being the cause for delay.

Ground Prepared
The first step of construction is the planning of the site. Sanitation and hygiene are incredibly important and proper placement on the site is key. Water storage tanks, made of economical ferro cement, are built early to ensure use, and raised to keep separate from groundwater. Placing pit latrines at the lowest point on the site is one step in trying to stop contamination of drinking water. By having an effective sanitation system in a primary school, children learn proper hygiene techniques early and continue to practice them. After leveling the site of construction, planting fast growing eucalyptus, which is abundant in the area, begins development of the site, and will prove useful later in the development process.

Framework
Next a timber frame for the roof is built. Because Uganda is in a seismic zone and reinforced masonry is difficult to adequately construct in rural areas, mud brick construction can be dangerous. Safer conditions are created by allowing the main structural system to be wood, which is more flexible in an earthquake. Timber construction is also simple and a familiar local building material. With the framing in place, corrugated metal roofing made of light gauge steel and gutters for water collection, are assembled. At this stage in the construction process, one secured storage area is also built, for safe care of tools.

Gathering
One of the natural interruptions that often occurs in the construction process in Africa is a delay for the rainy season. The Global Playground and Building Tomorrow primary school in Buwasa took nine months to construct with postponement due to weather. With the roofing and water collection already in place, the structure can harvest rainwater during the wet season, to be used in the masonry construction later. During this time, the site becomes a place of community gathering, where work can occur in the large covered space. Landscape growth continues as well, and the school’s site begins to establish itself as a place of community involvement.

Wall Work and Installation
After the rainy season, local mud brick is manufactured for non-load bearing dividing walls. Bricks can be made on or near the site, and the collected rainwater is used to mix cement and mortar. Because the structural frame is already in place, the bricks are used as classroom dividers and exterior seating. The masonry construction is a highly common building technique, and a well known skill. In this stage, lightweight metal framed panels are installed as sliding doors and partitions. The panels are fabricated simply offsite from light gauge metal, with metal bars for security. Without any eucalyptus/bamboo, the panels still provide the classroom with security from prevalent threats.

Operation and Regeneration
After the walls, partitions and sliding panels are in place, the school is operational. Rainwater continues to be collected on site for safe drinking/cleaning water, and trees can continue to grow for later use in maintenance and construction, or harvested. The young eucalyptus that is harvested is woven into the metal panels, for more classroom privacy and variation. As the site and the area develop, the ground can be prepared for expansion of the school, and the process can begin again with the tools and skills already in place.

School and Site

The Classroom Module
Learning, especially at a primary school age, happens not only through the classroom curriculum, but from the environment itself. Exposure to effective building strategies instills knowledge at a young age that can be continued through their lives, and taught to their own families. The classroom is a simple design but puts in place simple ventilation and construction techniques that can be applied to many other types of buildings. Because the corrugated metal roofing gets very hot from the sun, a ventilation space is created by hanging canvas cloth across eucalyptus poles in the ceiling. The softer material also helps dampen the sound in the classroom. The front and back walls of the classrooms are secure, but porous for interior air movement, as well as day lighting. Trees placed along the side of the building with the higher roof line bring cool air and shading to the more exposed side. Classroom management is handled by placing the entry on the same wall as the teacher. Security is often an issue in rural developing areas, so both the classrooms and shared entry room are able to be secured, which would be especially important if technologies like computer and internet equipment are eventually implemented.

The classroom module can work alone, but when placed as a pair, are connected by a shared entry space. This room creates a connection between two sets of students and teachers and is available to store the minimal, shared supplies between classrooms.

Breezeway Exterior Space
By expanding the module of two classrooms into four, or more, and pushing the rooms in and out, covered exterior spaces are created. These spaces are able to relate to the classroom interiors though the opening and closing panel doors along the side of the breezeway. The secondary outdoor covered areas in the front and back of the classrooms are lined with masonry benches, which also create a channel for the panels that act as doors. With the doors completely open, the classroom is transformed and almost completely exposed to the breezeway space.

Water and Sanitation
With the rainwater collection system and the necessary treatment and filtration to stop water contamination, safe drinking water is available. The water is simply collected from the metal roof, with only netting for debris in place. A simple sand filtration system can also easily added, without any complicated technology. The collection tank is raised from the ground, and on higher ground than the latrines to combat contamination from ground water.

Sustained Regeneration and Growth
A school layout that begins with one office/library and two classrooms can easily expand on site into four classrooms, eight and more. The site development can grow from a linear scheme of classrooms into a centralized scheme with a large gathering place in the center, or a variety or other layouts. With the alternating classroom, exterior breezeway spaces make room for teaching areas and performance and play spaces. With the simplicity of the classrooms and the ability to open and close them to the breezeway, the school complex can be used for a variety of necessary functions, such a medical facility or emergency shelter, with all the necessary hygiene and sanitation systems already in place. The site is a place for the community, where materials are harvested and maintained locally, allowing growth and expansion to happen through local means and not foreign efforts.

Location