The METI Handmade School exemplifies how architecture can improve lives and preserve cultural identity. Located in the rural village of Rudrapur, Bangladesh, the school was designed by architects Anna Heringer and Eike Roswag to be built with local knowledge, local skills, and local materials.
Rudrapur’s vernacular earth and straw buildings are often poorly constructed and unstable, rarely lasting more than 10 years. As result, they’re being replaced by generic buildings made from brick and concrete — expensive materials that require a lot of energy to produce and transport. The METI Handmade School offers a more sustainable solution, illustrating how traditional methods can be adapted to produce larger, more durable buildings.
Comprising an earthen ground floor and a bamboo upper floor, the design by Heringer and Roswag improves historic techniques by adding a brick foundation and building stronger walls using a mud and straw mixture produced with the help of water buffalo that trample the materials together. The walls are built in 65cm layers, stacked by hand without the need for any formwork; each layer is dried and trimmed before the next one is applied.
The upper floor and roof are built primarily from locally harvested bamboo frames and trusses that were designed, tested, and built on site — lashed and pinned together on the ground and then moved into place using only human labor. The open and airy space is wrapped in bamboo slats that bring in diffuse natural light while acting as a passive ventilation system. Inside, the three spacious classrooms feature small, organically shaped “caves” where children can read, meditate, or play once their lessons are done.
The Handmade School was developed in collaboration with Bangladeshi NGO Dipshikha, whose Modern Education and Training Institute (METI) was created to help students realize their full potential in creative and responsible ways. It was built entirely by a team of local builders, laborers, teachers, and even the young students themselves. The building reinforces the school’s mission by expressing the potential of the local materials as well as the local population, and the architect hopes the techniques will be reproduced to further improve the quality of life in the region while preserving its traditions.
As the school shows, architecture is not just about a building, but about building community. For this, it was recognized in 2007 with the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, which celebrates excellence in addressing the needs and aspirations of communities in the Muslim world.
Shule ya METI Handmade ni mfano wa jinsi usanifu unaweza kuboresha maisha na kuhifadhi utambulisho wa kitamaduni. Shule hiyo iliyoko kijijini mwa Rudrapur, Bangladesh, ilibuniwa na wasanifu Anna Hering na Eike Roswag na kujengwa kwa ujuzi wa ndani, ujuzi wa ndani na vifaa vya ndani. Majengo ya udongo na nyasi ya Rudrapur mara nyingi hujengwa vibaya na hayana uthabiti, na mara chache huendelea kwa zaidi ya miaka 10. Matokeo ni kwamba, majengo hayo yanabadilishwa na majengo ya kawaida yaliyojengwa kwa matofali na saruji - vifaa vya bei ghali vinavyohitaji nishati nyingi kutengenezwa na kusafirishwa. Shule ya Handmade ya METI inatoa suluhisho la kudumu zaidi, ikionyesha jinsi mbinu za jadi zinaweza kubadilishwa kutengeneza majengo makubwa zaidi, ya kudumu. Jengo hilo lina sakafu ya chini ya udongo na sakafu ya juu ya mianzi, na linajengwa kwa kutumia mbinu za kale za ujenzi, na lina msingi wa matofali na kuta zenye nguvu zaidi, kwa kutumia mchanganyiko wa matope na nyasi zilizotengenezwa kwa kutumia nyigu wa maji. Kuta zimejengwa katika tabaka za sentimita 65, zilizowekwa kwa mkono bila haja ya fomu yoyote; kila tabaka huoka na kupunguzwa kabla ya moja inayofuata kutumika. Ghorofa ya juu na paa ni kujengwa hasa kutoka kwa kufyatua ndani ya mkusanyiko wa mianzi mifumo na trusses kwamba walikuwa iliyoundwa, majaribio, na kujengwa katika tovuti <unk> lashed na pinned pamoja juu ya ardhi na kisha wakiongozwa katika mahali kutumia tu kazi ya binadamu. Eneo hilo lililo wazi na lenye hewa ni lenye mbao za mianzi ambazo huleta nuru ya asili inayosambaa huku zikitenda kama mfumo wa hewa usio na nguvu. Ndani, madarasa matatu makubwa yana "mapango" madogo yenye umbo la kikaboni ambapo watoto wanaweza kusoma, kutafakari, au kucheza mara tu masomo yao yanapomalizika. Shule ya Handmade ilitengenezwa kwa kushirikiana na shirika lisilo la kiserikali la Bangladesh, Dipshikha, ambalo Taasisi ya Elimu na Mafunzo ya Kisasa (METI) iliundwa kusaidia wanafunzi kutambua uwezo wao kamili kwa njia za ubunifu na wajibu. Jengo hilo lilijengwa na wajenzi wa eneo hilo, wafanyakazi, walimu, na hata wanafunzi wachanga. Jengo hilo linaimarisha utume wa shule kwa kuelezea uwezo wa vifaa vya ndani na watu wa eneo hilo, na mbuni anatumaini mbinu hizo zitazalishwa ili kuboresha zaidi ubora wa maisha katika mkoa huo wakati wa kuhifadhi mila zake. Kama shule inavyoonyesha, usanifu-ujenzi si kuhusu jengo tu, bali kuhusu kujenga jamii. Mnamo mwaka wa 2007, jengo hilo lilitunukiwa tuzo ya Aga Khan Award for Architecture, ambayo ni tuzo ya kihistoria kwa ajili ya kazi ya kujenga majengo ya umma katika nchi za Kiislamu.