Size

Build: 750 sq m / 8,073 sq ft

Year

2019

Status

Completed

Client

Partners In Health

Portrait of Sarah Mohland
Sarah Mohland
Principal
Sarah Mohland

Sarah Mohland

Principal — Bozeman

Sarah Mohland joined MASS Design Group in 2011 as a founding member of the Kigali Office. Sarah has since contributed to nearly all of MASS’s built work in Rwanda. She now manages MASS projects in the Northern Rockies and is a faculty member of the School of Architecture at Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana – bringing home the lessons she learned while leading the Kigali office for nine years.

Sarah has led the design and implementation of projects that span the typologies of higher education, primary education, housing, and healthcare. Most notably Sarah contributed to the design and construction of Butaro Doctors’ Housing, the Butaro Cancer Centre of Excellence, the Butaro Cancer Support Centre, and the University of Global Health Equity Student Housing. In all of her projects, she cultivates a deep engagement with local builders, material suppliers, and local agencies, as she seeks to challenge the building industry to improve construction standards and maximize impact during the construction process. With a deep investment in creating equitable opportunities within the design profession, Sarah has led several training initiatives at MASS, including forming the curriculum for the African Design Centre and leading the Design Build of Ruhehe Primary School. She has taught at the University of Rwanda, formerly known as the Kigali Institute of Science and Technology.

Sarah is from Great Falls, Montana, and earned a Master of Architecture from Montana State University and a Bachelor of Environmental Design from Montana State University.

Portrait of Christian Benimana, RA
Christian Benimana, RA
Senior Principal & Managing Director
Christian Benimana

Christian Benimana, RA

Senior Principal & Managing Director — Kigali

Christian Benimana joined MASS Design Group as a Global Health Corps Design Fellow in 2010. Today, Christian works as one of the firm's Senior Principals and Managing Directors, and is Director of the African Design Centre, a field-based apprenticeship that is set to empower leaders who will design a more equitable, just, and sustainable world. At MASS, he has been involved with design/build projects, development initiatives, operational and administration leadership. Christian has been listed among 10 architects and designers that are championing Afrofuturism and 2017 Quartz Africa Innovators. He has authored articles and book chapters including Re-Thinking the Future of African Cities in The African Perspective Magazine and Creating Design Leaders: The African Design Centre in Public Interest Design Education Guidebook.

Christian has taught at the Architecture School of the former Kigali Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) and his goal is to develop the next generation of African designers with socially-focused design principles. Before joining MASS, he worked with LongiLat Architecture and Research in Shanghai assisting with the Porsche Center in Shanghai and the Netherlands Pavilion in the 2010 International Expo. Christian holds a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from the School of Architecture and Urban Planning (CAUP) of Tongji University in Shanghai, China (2008), and has served as the Secretary General of the East Africa Institute of Architects.

Project Team

Sarah Mohland, Christian Benimana, Sierra Bainbridge, Alberto Cumerlato, Greg Dalke, Kelly Doran, Jessi Flynn, Louise Foulkes, Zani Gichuki, Rosie Goldrick, Jenny Kay, Harriet Kirk, Sarah Mohland, Christelle Muhimpundu, Shakira Nyiratuza, Alan Ricks, Amani Rwibasira, Jean Paul Sebuyahi, Obed Sekemana, Aziz Farid Shyaka, Megan Suau, Theophile Uwayezu, Jean Paul Uzabakiriho

Collaborators

Landscape Design: MASS Design Group
Engineering Design: MASS Design Group
Technical Assistance: Arup
MEP Engineer, BOQ: Elie Carter

The Butaro Oncology Support Centre is the first inpatient cancer support facility in Rwanda. The center provides both a home and psychosocial support facilities for patients and families traveling long distances for treatment at the Butaro Cancer Center of Excellence (BCCE).

Since the opening of the Butaro District Hospital in 2011, the region has become a hub for medical excellence. Partners In Health developed the BCCE as part of its efforts to advance the treatment of non-communicable diseases in sub-Saharan Africa. The BCCE administers IV chemotherapy in an outpatient setting; the new Support Center will accommodate the growing demand for inpatient care.

To inform the design of the facility, MASS met with patients, attendants, and clinicians, to identify the unique needs of each user group as well as shared desires for communal spaces.

The design includes outdoor porches and a common area with spaces to sit, to share moments with other patients and families, and to enjoy the view. The structure is designed to maximize natural ventilation to reduce the risk of infection for patients with compromised immune systems and provides dignified sleeping quarters, showers, toilets, dining, and counseling spaces.

The Support Centre’s exterior walls curve with the steep, terraced hillside, which have been planted with alternating short grasses, long grasses, and perennials. The healing landscape and serene spaces all contribute to creating a peaceful and dignified space of recovery for patients, families, attendants, and clinicians.

The Butaro Oncology Support Centre is the fifth MASS-designed project on the campus, following the Butaro District Hospital, Doctors’ Housing, Doctors’ Sharehousing, and the Butaro Cancer Center of Excellence. Today, the campus serves more than 3,000 patients and has attracted global health experts from all over the world.