Design Architect: Ross Langdon
Implementing Architect: Studio FH Architects
Structural Engineer: MBW Consulting
Quantity Surveyor: Dudley Kasibante and Partners
Contractor: CMD Investments
Developer: Cotton On Foundation
Photographs: Will Boase
Location: Mannya, Uganda
Area: 260m²
Project year: 2016
More design details, sections & elevations can be found in articles on archdaily & designboom
Felix Holland of Studio FH Architects writes:
We are happy to report that another of Ross’ designs has been recently completed. The ‘Ross Langdon Health Education Centre’ as it has been named is a small community hall located in the village of Mannya in Rakai, South-western Uganda. It provides space for about 150 people, sitting on simple clay tile steps, and for a speaker, standing on a small elevated platform. Adjacent to the hall is a room for private meetings and a store. At the front is a walkway covered by a pergola providing shade for informal gatherings and relaxation.
As good as we can tell in his absence, Ross envisioned the Health Education Centre as a small pavilion, entirely inward-looking and made of the most basic of building materials available in Southern Uganda: eucalyptus poles as the main structure with clay brick infills and clay tile floors. There are no windows, and instead the building envelop filters light in various ways; perforations in the brickwork, a gap between walls and roof, a high-level roof vent with skylight and the ‘Liters of Light’ that illuminate the stage. The roof cover is made of zinc-al roof sheets supported by Eucalyptus trusses, and the ceiling is made of purpose-designed handmade ‘Mukeka’ reed mats.
Further information about the building and process can be found on the 'news' page.