Ashinaga Uganda Dormitory Nansana, Uganda
2019 On Site Review Report by Bekim Ramku 5210.UGA Ashinaga Uganda Dormitory Nansana, Uganda Architect Terrain Architects / Ikko Kobayashi, Fumi Kashimura Client Ashinaga Uganda Design 2011-2014 Completed 2015 Ashinaga Uganda Dormitory Nansana, Uganda I. Introduction The Ashinaga Uganda Dormitory is located in a rapidly urbanising suburban town, 13 kilometres from Kampala, the capital city of Uganda. It stands on the equator but is high above sea level – giving it a comfortable climate, with winds blowing towards and from Lake Victoria, which lies in the south. This is a residential school for orphans – a home for 50 students from different countries in sub-Saharan Africa, where they learn how to live together with people of diverse cultures and where they prepare to enter universities abroad. The building materials were locally sourced – the bricks were made locally and were carefully selected. Through the long process of construction, masons and labourers developed pride in these hand-made bricks, which they had originally thought had no value. II. Contextual information A. Brief historical background Ikko Kobayashi, an architecture student from Japan, visited Uganda in 2003 for his gap year, and volunteered with the Ugandan-Japanese NGO Ashinaga Uganda, then as a visiting student at Makerere University and as the intern for a local architectural office. The NGO, founded in Japan to offer educational support to orphans, launched its international activities as a repayment of the world’s contribution after the 1995 Kobe Earthquake. At that time, Uganda had over two million orphaned children who had lost their parents because of HIV, thus Ashinaga decided to begin their activities here.
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