Schools from Global South win top design awards

Architecture for Humanity unveiled the winners of its 2009 Open Architecture Challenge this week. The theme of this year’s competition, which is held every two years, was classroom design.

Among the five categories, three schools from the Global South came up on top.

Asia

The Rumi Schools of Excellence in Hyderabad, India won for Best Urban Classroom Upgrade Design. This network of schools approach learning as a “community activity”. They encourage an interactive and flexible learning environment that extends beyond conventional classroom teaching. Rumi schools, like the New Jiha Community School, facilitate community interaction by opening their space to various activities and groups, from festivals to adult craft-training programs to medical NGO’s and entrepreneur training.

The idea behind the Rumi Schools’ philosophy is to embrace learning as a social activity. Here, excellence isn’t about prescriptive rules or acing tests. Rather, it’s about participating with everyone– no more rote, repetitive lessons from teacher to student.

Africa

In Uganda, the Building Tomorrow Academy in Wakiso and Kiboga, won for Best Rural Classroom design. In a country where there is a shortage of qualified teachers, a space large enough to accommodate multiple groups of students is paramount!

The BTA’s architectural mandate is built around the idea of sustainability and requires a flexible, multifaceted approach.

For example, the teacher’s office is at once a work space with a secure window that also converts into a storage facility when class is in session. There are also extending roofs and canopies, built from local materials, which are used to provide shade during the hottest daytime hours and help avoid the need for artificial lighting.

Latin America

The Corporación Educativa y Social Waldorf (Waldorf Educational and Social Corporation) is a local NGO in Bogotá, Colombia who won the top accolade for Best Founder category. The group works with residents living in the poorest part of the capital city, where 51% population live on less than $2 a day and the highest number of internally displaced people live.

The organization provides free educational opportunities for 200 children and youth and run after-school programs integrating art, music, weaving and dancing classes.  As a projected ‘classroom of the future’, CESW wants to integrate information technology with education and community involvement. They are also developing ways to rely on local materials, to reduce the use of concrete and encourage ecological bricks for their envisioned public spaces and garden beds.

For a list of all awards and finalists see the Open Architecture Network website.

~ by Cultural Connections on September 9, 2009.