WINNER OF A 2015 CANADIAN ARCHITECT AWARD OF EXCELLENCE
Terraced crops climb the slopes of every mountain in northern Rwanda, continental Africa’s most densely populated nation. Nearly every speck of arable land is taken so people push into protected forests — and each other. Land scarcity contributed to Rwanda’s genocide in 1994.
ARCHITECT MASS Design Group
LOCATION Munini, Nyaruguru District, Rwanda
Over the past 20 years, Rwanda has undergone incredible transformation, and its healthcare sector is but one example. The nation currently has plans to build several district hospitals. Working with the Ministry of Health, MASS developed a set of design-driven principles to improve health outcomes that can be adapted to the specific needs of each district?s context, demographics and programmatic requirements. To aid the Ministry?s infrastructure team in sizing, specifying, procuring and evaluating future designs, this included Program and Design Standards and a ?how-to? guide to shape future renovation and construction. In parallel with the development of the National Standards, MASS designed a 300-bed facility in Nyaruguru, one of Rwanda?s poorest districts. The project site, typical of Rwanda?s mountainous topography, is on a hilltop marked by centuries of human history: the terraced hillside is shaped by years of agricultural production, the buildings sit atop a former colonial military control point, and at the hill?s crest, a mass grave and memorial comm...