Rwanda Cricket Stadium

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The stadium adapts ancient Mediterranean techniques of thin-tile vaulting using compressed soil-cement tiles and geogrid reinforcement for seismic stabilization. It is composed of three vaults, the largest spanning 16m with a rise of over 9m. The vaults follow the natural resolution of forces toward the ground, closely mimicking the parabolic geometry of a bouncing ball and evoking the hilly topography of Rwanda. Employing air-dried, hand-pressed soil tiles, produced using local labour, this method of construction has proved to be innovative and cost effective.

Judge's comment:

A beautiful execution of a traditional construction form and methodology. Built by local craftspeople with materials from the region, this low cost and low embodied energy building in a remote location is a good example of how the use of historic building methods can result in a modern solution.