Project Name: METI School

>> The project integrates local building practices with slight modification to achieve efficiency and extends the hands on approach to involve the community and the user<<

Project Type:
1) urban planning design strategy
6) architecture

Project Mission/Goal:
1) improve the human spirit
3) respond to our growing need for clean water, power, shelter, healthcare, education

Project Description:
Volunteer architects Anna Heringer and Eike Roswag developed the design concept by considering local cultural, economic and ecological aspects. The school is based on regional construction and local materials but implemented with modifications that add efficiency and structural integrity, important factors in the densely populated, flood prone region.

To allow for a second story, the designers improved the bamboo structural system and lashing. They also opted for a brick foundation with a damp proof course to overcome the inevitable rising moisture in the earthen walls. The kiln brick detail enlisted craftspeople from a district 20 kilometers away. The rest of the construction was a collaborative effort between the architects, local craftspeople, students, parents and teachers.

The school building embodies many of the guiding principles behind METI (Modern Education and Training Institute) teaching, an initiative of the Bangladeshi sustainable development NGO Dipshikha. Learning with joy, team-based education, and utilization of nature are all elements of this Montessori-like school.

This hands-on connection was central to the architects’ vision. They wanted technical improvements to become part of local knowledge for application in future development. Locally available expertise, skills and materials are all a part of the school’s sustainability goals as an environmentally sound, structurally superior catalyst for the local economy and education system.

At the center of the project are the students themselves, many who helped form the thick walls that keep their classrooms cool and hung the shutters that allow natural daylight and ventilation. Under the shaded garden façade where colorful sari material contrasts the school’s earth tone walls, the students of the METI School leave their shoes along an expansive veranda and enter the handmade structure built to bring out the best in them. It is with intent that the principles guiding their education take form in the building that surrounds them. The structure, like the program within, serves as a wonderful example for a sustainable future.

The METI School in Rudrapur is a recipient of a 2007 Aga Khan Award for Architecture. The project has also been recognized by the 2007 International Bamboo Building Design Competition as a Visionary Design for Ecological Living, received a 2006 AR Award for Emerging Architecture and the 2006-07 Kenneth F. Brown Asia Pacific Culture and Architecture Design Awards.

text from: http://www.inhabitat.com/2007/09/06/aga-khan-awards-school-in-rudrapur/

Links and Captions:
http://www.meti-school.de/
http://www.inhabitat.com/2007/09/06/aga-khan-awards-school-in-rudrapur/
http://currystonedesignprize.com/recipients/2009/handmade_building

Project Details:
LOCATION: Rudrapur, Bangladesh
DATE: 2005
END USER: 168 students
CLIENT: Modern Education and Training Institute
IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS: Dipshikha Bangladesh project in partnership with Shanti Bangladesch e.V. and the Carol Singers Campaign
DESIGN TEAM: Anna Heringer, Eike Roswag
ADDITIONAL CONSULTANTS: Clemens Bernhardt, Michael Bitto, Stefanie Haider, Emmanuel Heringer, Kurt Hörbst (photographer), Christine Karl, Christiane Liebert, Ursula Nikodem–Edlinger–Holzinger, Cornelia Reithofer, Veronika Reithofer, Dipl. ing. Uwe Seiler, Dr. ing. Christof Ziegert MAJOR FUNDERS: Carole Singers Campaign, Partnerschaft Shanti–Bangladesh e.V
COST: €25000/$34723 USD
AREA: 325 sq m/3498 sq ft
RECOGNITION: 2007 Aga Khan Award for Architecture; 2009 Curry Stone Design Prize

Nominated by Cameron Sinclair

Location