Recipient of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 2007.
This village school adapts the traditional materials of earth and bamboo to make them more durable. In terms of the earth construction, the most important technical advances were introducing a damp-proof course, adding a brick foundation and mixing straw into the loam. The potential of bamboo construction is demonstrated by the ceiling (a layering of bamboo sticks, bamboo boards and earth) and the first-floor walls and roof (a frame construction consisting of beams - four layers of joined bamboo sticks - and vertical and diagonal poles). The project was hand-built by local craftsmen, pupils and teachers working in collaboration with European volunteers.
Hedrick, Christian. “Designing Education: The Role of
Architecture in Aga Khan Award Winning Schools
.” Presentation developed for the Aga Khan Trust for Culture
Education Programme, 2018.
Description
From the very first school awarded (the Pondok Pesantren Pabelan in Indonesia), to the most recent (the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs in Beirut), the design and construction of educational facilities within Muslim communities around the world has been a key theme throughout the history of the Award.
As is well known education has been a central tenet in the Aga Khan’s personal philanthropic endeavors so it is most appropriate to begin by highlighting the unique and important role that design has played within the context of recognized educational institutions.
The purpose of this lecture will be to succinctly outline the significant place educational institutions have had throughout the history of the Award. Potential explanations for this will be articulated and the various and diverse reasons why certain schools were chosen as recipients will frame the lecture.
