Summary: Archstorming is launching a new competition that will look for designs for the future schools of the NGO Abay Ethiopia, an organization founded in Spain in 2009 that operates in Walmara, Ethiopia, with the aim of fighting against poverty and promoting equal opportunities, mainly through the development of Education, Health and Community support projects in general.
Description: One of their most important projects has been the construction of a Polyfunctional Center and Preschool in Gaba Kemisa, a “kebele” (village) located in the district of Walmara, in the Regional State of Oromia.
The center of Abay has a great influence on the rest of the adjacent towns, especially on the kebeles Hiddi and Dillu. The fact that in these kebeles there is no early childhood education service means that children who want to access it have to walk several kilometers a day to Abay’s center, which makes it very difficult for them to stay in school.
Abay wants to support the Hiddi and Dillu primary schools with the construction of two preschools in these villages. This will ensure access to education for the children of these villages and will help the entire community in the area, as happened more than 10 years ago with the creation of the center and school in Gaba Kemisa. The winning proposal will be built.
The main challenge in the current competition is to ensure that the model that is developed can be adapted to the different places where Abay wants to build schools.
As with Dillu and Hiddi, each terrain is different, so a flexible model will be needed to adapt to each space.
The new schools will consist of an initial construction of 4 classrooms, latrines, a covered courtyard and an open courtyard. Also, the proposals should include the option to add additional spaces such as a multifunctional space, kitchen, dining room or a corral. See more detailed information in the briefing of the competition.
Watch the competition presentation video and read in details about the competition here.