Early Childhood Development Centres in Rwanda. ASA studio.

“Together. Visions from Contemporary African Architecture”, organised at SpazioFMG for architecture, Milan during the Milan Design Week, included amongst its various works, early childhood centres designed by ASA for UNICEF in Rwanda.



Active Social Architecture (ASA) is based in Kigali, Rwanda. Established by Nerea Amorós Elorduy and Tomà Berlanda, its purpose is to foster and promote communities, using architecture as the drive for social change.





One of its flagship projects in this vocation is the design of the Early Childhood Development & Family (ECD&F) Centres for UNICEF. The idea behind this building concept is to strengthen the mother-child relationship as the basic unit of Rwandan social organisation. 





The participatory design approach used for these centres is a process that considers the physical and cultural landscape of the country. Their modular structure reflects the traditional settlement pattern with a large central space that fosters community gathering, and units organised around the central space that can adapt to different terrains and situations. A large wraparound porch allows children to play and learn outdoors while protecting them from weather, and the compound also includes a dedicated area for kitchen gardens, irrigated by an underground tank storing harvested rainwater.





The locally produced fired bricks used throughout create interesting wall patterns and the various openings contribute to cross ventilation and natural light, all for a community-designed community project.

Project: ASA studio
Location: Rwanda
Client: UNICEF
Year 2013
Photography: ASA studio
Link: Exhibition TOGETHER http://www.floornature.com/architecture-news/news-spaziofmgperl-architettura-together-le-nuove-comunita-in-africa-9408/