Creating tomorrow’s classrooms:
sustainable school design for East Africa

This lecture will examine the relationship between structural and architectural design, climate, materials and construction, using built examples to demonstrate how relatively simple design decisions can create better environmental performance, greater adaptability and more appropriate buildings. 

Reasons to attend

At the end of the lecture, you will be able to:

• Understand the scale of Africa’s demographic growth and its implications for the future provision of schools and other essential buildings.

• Recognise how structural systems, materials, passive environmental design and landscape can be integrated to create affordable, low-carbon, climate-responsive and resilient learning environments.

• Apply lessons from school projects in East Africa to think critically about how context, community, adaptability, maintenance and resource availability should influence the way we design buildings.

 Intended for

This lecture is open for all to attend, but may be particularly relevant to:

• Professionals involved in education, international development, low-carbon construction or projects where resources, climate and local skills require a different approach to conventional building practice.

• Structural engineers, architects and other built environment professionals interested in sustainable, climate-responsive and context-led design.

• Students and early-career professionals interested in the relationship between structural engineering, architecture and the wider social and environmental context of design.