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.