the circular classrooms are based on the king’s palace in southern rwanda. they are carefully dimensioned to create intimacy allowing 20 women to occupy these spaces at once. there are no windows, offering a sense of security, the space between the bricks allow light inside. the bricks themselves are made by women from clay found onsite. the sustainable approach was refined at a local manufacturing co-op. about half a million hand-pressed bricks will be needed in order to construct the classrooms and other infrastructure.
corrugated metal rooftops will harvest rainwater into a cistern before it evaporates. the shape also deflects sunshine to minimize solar heat gain while promoting natural passive cooling and shade. the direction of the openings are calculated to take advantage of rwanda’s local prevailing breezes.