Size

Site: 0.9 ha
Built: 6,027 sq. ft. / 560 sq. m.

Year

2018

Status

Completed

Client

M2 Foundation

Partners

Musanze District

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 Theophile Uwayezu
Theophile Uwayezu
Design Director
Theophile Uwayezu

Theophile Uwayezu

Design Director — Kigali

"I believe that everyone has the right to good Architecture, and by that I feel a responsibility to address social consciousness through innovative design."

Theo joined MASS in July of 2014 as a Global Health Corps design fellow and has since become an Associate on the architectural design team. Theo is currently working on the design of the Ellen DeGeneres Campus for the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund in Musanze, Rwanda as well as the design and construction administration for the headquarters for One Acre Fund in Kakamega Kenya. Previously, he has worked on the design and construction documentation for the 300-bed Munini District Hospital in Southern Province, Rwanda and construction administration for Mubuga Primary School that serves over 850 students in the Northern Province, Rwanda. Additionally, Theo was an integral part of the construction training for the African Design Centre fellows for their capstone design-build project at Ruhehe Primary School in Northern Province, Rwanda.

Prior to joining MASS, Theo received a Bachelor of Architecture from the University Of Rwanda School Of Architecture and interned at General Architecture Collaborative on design, project management, and participatory workshops for projects such as Masoro Earthbag construction. Theo is passionate about spending time on site and ensuring that construction processes have maximal impact on surrounding communities.

Theo is a member of the MASS.Build Team, helping MASS invest in local construction capacity in Rwanda and assist our partners in delivering projects that maximize value throughout the supply chain. Read more about MASS.Build.

Design Team

Christian Benimana, Sarah Mohland, Sierra Bainbridge, Michael Murphy, Alberto Cumerlato, Rosie Goldrick, Harriet Kirk, Theophile Uwayezu

African Design Centre Fellows

Jeremiah Oonyu, Lydia Kanakulya, Maame Prempeh, Mtamu Kililo, Yemi Kacoutie, Victor Iyakaremye, Tshepo Mokholo, Thandizo Kachiza, Mawa Moses, Zani Gichuki

Collaborators

Architectural Design: MASS Design Group with ADC Fellows
Landscape Design: MASS Design Group
Engineering Design: MASS Design Group
Electrical Engineer: GM Electrics CO.
Structural Peer Reviewer: Nous Engineering
Civil Peer Reviewer: Oak Consulting Group
Structural Review of Existing Buildings: Ubatsi
General Contractor: MASS Design Group & ADA Company Ltd.
Environmental Engineering Advisor: Transsolar

Ruhehe Primary School is a public school that serves 1,120 students from pre-primary to grade six, with the help of 20 teachers and maintenance staff. Through partnership with M2 Foundation and the District of Musanze, the inaugural cohort of African Design Centre (ADC) fellows led the reconstruction of Ruhehe as the cornerstone of their design-build curriculum. The redesign of Ruhehe offers the first proof of concept for design interventions piloted by MASS Design Group at Mubuga Primary School in 2015. Together, Mubuga and Ruhehe present new standards in school design throughout Rwanda’s Musanze District.

Entrance to Ruhehe Primary School, Copyright Iwan Baan

© Iwan Baan

To MASS and the ADC fellows, Ruhehe offers opportunities far beyond the construction of a building. This project aims to prove that design interventions across a school campus can improve learner outcomes, increase satisfaction among students and teachers, and increase student retention rates. Through an extensive Immersion process, ADC fellows were able to produce a community-centered design concept that emphasizes capacity building at all project stages. By partnering with the local community and designing contextually, these factors not only enhance learning and development of the whole child, but also continue to support the scalability and replicability of the Mubuga model as a standard of school design across the country.

Classroom block, copyright Iwan Baan

© Iwan Baan

Breezeway at Ruhehe Primary School, Copyright Iwan Baan

© Iwan Baan

Inside of Classroom, copyright Iwan Baan

© Iwan Baan

The new Ruhehe campus is laid out as a necklace, with the classrooms as pendants along the chain. These pendants are surrounded by a perimeter wall that protects students and reduces distraction from their studies.

The school campus is adjacent to a heavily visited sector office, a position that presents both opportunities and challenges to integrating school activity with community happenings.

Outside of Classroom, copyright Iwan Baan

© Iwan Baan

Inside of Classroom, copyright Iwan Baan

© Iwan Baan

Aerial of the Ruhehe camps

© Iwan Baan

The fellows decided to demolish two out of the four existing classrooms and build an additional five classrooms, library, and headmaster’s office. The two remaining classrooms have been renovated for optimal use.

Aerial of the Ruhehe Campus

Ruhehe Primary School. © Iwan Baan

Each design element of Ruhehe was a product of the 10 fellows’ collective decision-making and aligns with the project mission. The redesign of Ruhehe strategically fits within a budget relative to that of school reconstruction in the area, so the process, materials, and staffing can be scaled across the country.

Ruhehe’s completion marks the culmination of the ADC fellowship, and sets a precedent for educational infrastructure in Rwanda.

Read more about the Ruhehe Primary School in the Architectural Record