Mpirigiti Rural Training Centre

Mpirigiti Rural Training Centre

Three courtyard buildings on a 13-acre site near Kamuli town in Eastern Uganda provide accommodation, teaching and working space for agricultural students from Iowa State University and Makerere University.

The architecture contrasts a heavily textured clay brick envelop with light-weight timber-glass and coloured render facades facing the courtyards. An undulating roofscape organically embeds the buildings into the surrounding, and the folded metal gutters not only make an architectural statement of the rainwater harvesting that supply the majority of the Centre's water needs, but also act as light reflectors illuminating the underside of the walkway roofs.

The buildings were designed to minimise on the impact of the Centre on the natural environment. Besides a centralised rainwater harvesting system, solar panels generate a substantial proportion of the electricity demands and an anaerobic baffled reactor with constructed wetland ensures an environmentally friendly wastewater treatment system. Passive design principles including ventilated roofs supported by trussed purlins ensure a comfortable indoor climate throughout.

Location

Kamuli, Uganda

Client
Services

Architecture, Civil/Structural Engineering, Mechanical/Electrical Engineering

Team

Allan Semakula, Arthur Baleeta, Edson Agume, Emma Mugisha, Felix Holland, Jeroen Van Roie, Juliana Achi, Marco Cestarolli, Philip Matovu, Sandra Mudondo

Consultants

The Landscape Studio (Landscape), Irene Nyangoma Mugadu (Interiors), Dudley Kasibante and Partners (QS & Project Managers)

Contractor
Photos
Area

1,950m²

Cost per Sqm

$710 (excl. VAT)

Completion

February 2018

Mpirigiti Rural Training Centre