Our Seminar Week students have come back from a week in Kigali, Rwanda, where discussed conceptual projects for health care centers with their counterparts at the University of Kigali, Department of Architecture and Environmental Studies.

Kigali, the capital of Rwanda has re-designed itself to be Africa`s model gateway city, a global example for implementing environmental cleanliness and leapfrogging future-orientated sectors of innovation. The topography of hills, villages, and wetlands, the dynamics between visible and invisible infrastructures of the formal and informal city, and contrasting realities of central and peripheral areas challenge the implementation of visionary policies projecting a future for a middle- income country by 2035.

We explored urban atmospheres, engage with our local partners, students, architects, planners, and changemakers to discuss questions on resilience and sustainability. We visited vibrant public spaces, agricultural wetland projects, innovation hubs, and prototypical architectures for health and education that promote process, material resourcefulness and design as a tool to positively impact people in complex transient african environments.

Now students will feed back their impressions to the broader Design Studio cohort, to continue developing common themes for health care centers and more as a group.

Have a look at the image carousel for impressions of our experiences, and watch the small video of our time: vimeo.com/766146153/341f2dbb04