Project:
Aim for the Restoration of Hope (AROH) Early Childhood and Elementary School, Jinja, Uganda, Africa
Owner:
Aim for the Restoration Of Hope (AROH)
Architect:
Ana Escalante, AIA; Escalante Architects
Team Members:
Dicle Bath, Justin Williams, Marco Garcia and Susana Hernandez
Engineer:
Alan Locke, PE; IBE Consulting Engineers
Team Members:
Tony Cocea, Tim Paulson, Dani Eshed, Erica Hauck, Harold Pintes, Bungane Mehlomakulu
Structural:
Chuck Whitaker; John A. Martin and Associates, Inc.
Site Area:
4,378 s.m.
Materials:
Concrete masonry units, structural steel, open web joists
Cost:
Withheld at the owner's request
Status:
Construction documents
Product Description:
A school for children orphaned by the aids epidemic in uganda, this is the product of a grass roots movement in the A/E/C industry to provide educational opportunities and nurturing to children who often are HIV positive themselves through the design and construction of a 9,000 square foot school building for a charity organization in Uganda known as Aim for Restoration of Hope.
The architectural scheme is the by-product of a multi-discipliary approach to design. First, the design team identified the fundamental ingredients needed for an educational setting conducive to learning, play, interaction and supervision for different age groups, rooted on societal dynamics, cultural underpinnings and community building. Then, weather patterns, climatology and local conditions of the area were carefully analyzed. Existing vernacular architecture and other cultural expressions were also considered as a point of departure for site planning strategies. Other factors considered were indoor-putdoor relationships, daylight, natural ventilation and local construction methods. Finally, in an effort to make the physical environment support social and economic values within a community, the design team undertook the task to create places and buildings that add up to a good community - A good place to work and learn.
The school is the first building of a master-planned campus including a future library, dormitories, a place of worship, and other support facilities. The school building was conceived as a modular "u" scheme, based on a 24 foot wide classroom, collected by a circulation spine built out of structural steel and protected by a concrete masonry unit wall on the perimeter of the building. Thus the wall becomes a load bearing element as well as the final project, while the roof is supported by open-web joists and slender structural steel. Operable glazing protected by deep overhangs intends to allow a seamless indoor-outdoor relationships so the children, who at the present time spend a lot of time in a rural setting, may continue to claim the outdoors as part of the learning environment.
The school is modest and restrained in the design and detailing, but great attention is paid to how people feel as they approach, enter and use the building. The design solution focused on creating a community within a safe setting for children to learn and plan. The circulation pattern is understandable and supports the connectivity within two offset rectangular bars housing eight classroom cells and a nursery. As a result, different types of courtyards and playgrounds are created to support a variety of activities and recreation for different age groups. In addition to the classrooms, an administration and reception component has been incorporated in the overall design, as well as a kitchen, a teacher's lounge, restrooms and a multi-purpose room adjacent to the kitchen.
The building with its gracious and child-scaled openings intends to take advantage of sustainable principles (and technologies as they become available) as well as passive solar strategies to achieve comfort, from the site planning, to the placement on the African landscape, use of recycled materials, low-embody energy products as well as photovoltaic panel high performance glass, and natural cross ventilation.