IN DESIGN. design and architecture S$8

Transcription

1 $ 8 M A L A Y S I A R M 1 8 H O N G K O N G H K D 9 0 N AT U R E IN DESIGN S I N G A P O R E design and architecture S$8 A U S T R A L I A A U S $ O T H E R S U S $ 1 2

2 120 NATURE IN DESIGN he tiny African country of Rwanda has seen its share of turmoil. The 1994 genocide that resulted in the deaths of T upwards to a million people yielded a landscape equally devastated. In the remote town of Rwinkwavu, the local hospital played a vital role in the district s resurrection over the past two decades. It was from the hub of this 110-bed facility that Partners in Health began to re-establish a community. New York City s Sharon Davis Design has worked with local developer Rwanda Village Enterprises (RVE) since 2012 on a master plan for Rwinkwavu that included facilities such as her design for a women s opportunity centre. In 2015, she completed a twin set of low-cost houses that function as semi- permanent dormitories for the medical staff of Partners in Health (PIH) and Rwanda s Ministry of Health. The houses are sited on a hill in between the community of Rwinkwavu and the hospital. All the bedrooms and common spaces orient themselves towards beautiful views overlooking a cultivated valley and afternoon sunsets, says Davis. The land belongs to the Ministry of Health and was being leased to farmers for rotating crops up until construction began. In 2012, our firm teamed with RVE to design an affordable housing complex. The process began with a Community Design Workshop in which we heard from and worked with more than 200 community members, who helped us to understand the community s needs. It was during this workshop that PIH approached us for 16 to 20 rooms to be built for about half the location Rwinkwavu, Rwanda architect Sharon Davis Design, New York City scope 16 to 20 dormitory rooms and communal areas completed 2015 RWANDAN SHARED HOUSES text Rebecca Lo // photography Bruce Engel Sharon Davis Design uses indigenous materials while involving the local community to give medical professionals a place to call home in a remote corner of Rwanda, Africa

3 RWANDAN SHARED HOUSES 122 cost they were typically building for. The project was designed and built in partnership with RVE on budget and within a one-year time frame. The two single-storey dormitories are situated on a sloping hill, directly adjacent to the hospital. Each house consists of eight bedrooms, one kitchen, one dining room, one living room, two shared bathrooms, one staff service area and an exterior shared veranda space. The medical staff s major critique of existing dorms was the lack of communal space; they had no place to socialise and interact with other co-workers. We therefore approached the design to feel more like a home. Along with the communal spaces such as the living, dining and kitchen, individual rooms provide private social space in the form of covered outdoor balconies to accommodate more intimate gatherings while at the same time providing deep overhangs to protect the westfacing rooms from unwanted solar gain.

4 RWANDAN SHARED HOUSES 124 All the circulation spaces are open-air covered walkways screened with locally grown eucalyptus to provide enclosure and privacy. Two shared bathrooms feature a perforated ceiling and vented roof cavity to expel humidity and odour, as well as a full wall of frosted glass louvres to modulate ventilation, views and privacy. Although there is staff for laundry and cooking dinners, many expats like to cook for themselves. The kitchens are also designed for the social activity of cooking. Horizontal bands of red brick act as a counterpoint to the vertical organic waves of the eucalyptus screens; both instil a sense of place to the ground hugging buildings with their red clay roof tiles. Inside the common spaces, a full wall of small openings allow in a playful pattern of natural light reminiscent of Le Corbusier s Notre Dame du Haute in Ronchamps. Designed with

5 RWANDAN SHARED HOUSES 126 the kitchen at the back and highest level, the common areas step down to a generous dining area and down further to a living room; both are furnished with locally sourced timbers fashioned into tables, chairs and built in sofas. The dorm rooms, while sparsely furnished, are outfitted with bright and cheerful splashes of red, orange and yellow textiles on chair backs and headboards. Sustainability is a priority for us, though we still had to treat the client s demands to make comfortable and affordable housing as the top priorities, notes Davis. We were able to include sustainable features because we demonstrated that we could do so on budget, and that they would make a difference over the long term. These include our selection of building materials, employment and trade skills taught, and the design of an energy efficient and comfortable structure. All the construction materials were sourced from Rwanda, with most coming from the neighbouring areas. Local stone was quarried for all the foundations and walkways. A neighbourhood women s cooperative was employed to make all north elevation section through communal space site plan

6 section through bedroom RWANDAN SHARED HOUSES 128 section detail the handmade bricks for wall construction. The well-proportioned and truer brick-shaped they made allowed us to build seismic-performing, English bond, load-bearing walls reinforced with rebar instead of the typical concrete frame and infill method. This reduced cost and lowered our carbon footprint by removing all concrete columns and beams from the project, as well as the need to plaster all the walls. A ventilated roof cavity draws cool air in from the eaves, is clad with clay tiles for thermal and acoustic performance, and is topped off with a vented ridge cap to allow hot air to escape. To help support the local economy, approximately 90 percent of the labour was local to Rwinkwavu and women represented one third of the staff during construction. Due to Rwinkwavu s housing shortage, much of the hospital staff travels to and from the small town every day. As a result, the neighbourhood is drained of much needed commerce and quality social structure. More than a dorm, this project means that staff members not only live closer to the hospital, saving time and money, but quality housing near the hospital will boost morale and enhance connections between staff. We hope that it will create a village within the village. 01 Brickmaking 02 Construction 03 Eucalyptus screens, a vernacular material