They say it takes a village to raise a child; and when the whole village (and a team of skilled architects) chips in, the result can benefit the community’s entire population via a hand-built school designed with ‘earth architecture.’ The METI ‘hand-built’ primary school in Rudrapur Dinajpu, Bangladesh, “uses traditional methods and materials of construction but adapts them in new ways.” Austrian architect Anna Heringer and Eike Roswag from Germany led a team of local craftsmen, pupils, parents and teachers in the execution of the project, which took just four months to complete using local materials: bamboo, straw, jute rope, and an earthen mixture for the walls and foundation.
The METI (Modern Education and Training Institute) school building casts a very small carbon shadow by incorporating natural materials and by using an earth building technique called cob-walling in its construction. Cob is a layered mixture of wet earth, rice, straw and jute and cob-walling is a brick-like method historically used in Bangladeshi building construction, which is extremely fast drying and can be adapted to almost any ‘self-building’ project. In constructing the school, local craftsmen also got a chance to refine their processes and “learn new techniques that they could then use to improve the general standard of rural housing.”
The METI philosophy is woven into the very structure of the school as well as being instilled in the education of attendees: “We believe that architecture is more than shelter. It is intimately connected with the creation of identity and self-confidence. And this is the basis of development.”
This school is fantastic. A really great design and a fantastic humanitarian effort. However why is it getting so much press now? It was built at least a few years ago. A professor of mine used it in a presentation in 2006. I realize it just showed up on Arch Daily but still, what are people creating today or at least this year that is making a difference?
Hi Lugray-
Inhabitat covered the METI school in 2007:
http://www.inhabitat.com/2007/09/06/aga-khan-awards-school-in-rudrapur/
And we felt it was worth mentioning again on Inhabitots as an amazing testament to green design and community building in the child realm.
As for what people are doing recently that is making a difference, check out SWIRL!
http://www.inhabitots.com/2010/02/05/swirl-a-washing-machine-laundry-basket-water-barrel-toy-in-one-ball-of-fun/