Initiative Rising Star – A school for Hopley, Zimbabwe
The Rising Star School is located on the outskirts of Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe. The Hopley district was established in 2005 to resettle families displaced by forced evictions and today has an estimated 200,000 residents, most of them living in informal structures. In the midst of this densely built settlement, the primary school forms a centre for residents, which serves as a common meeting place in addition to the regular school time.
The main features of the completed campus are the round arches built of masonry, which form both the building structure and the enclosure of the rooms. Large arches span the classrooms, small arches span a corridor outside in front of it. After every two classrooms, there is a covered outdoor area for multi-functional purposes. The classrooms are ventilated by a ventilation level between the ceiling and the roof. This ensures ventilation through small openings in the façade for a comfortable room climate.
In Hopley and across Zimbabwe, masonry is a widespread building material that especially finds use in simple constructions of small houses and is therefore only partially appreciated. By referring back to traditional construction methods and incorporating constructive details, this design presents a new approach to contemporary masonry work. This, in turn, gives the primary school a new identity in a neighbourhood characterised by high unemployment and low education.
This school building project was developed by Engineers Without Borders Germany (Ingenieure ohne Grenzen e.V.) and was carried out by a highly motivated project group in Stuttgart.
