The Mubuga Primary School

MASS did extensive research and needs assessments at the outset of the Mubuga Primary School project. Ultimately, the firm renovated some existing classroom buildings, rebuilt others, and added new classrooms, offices, and a library, all united by a landscape that serves both the students—with new play structures and sports fields—and residents of the district at large. “We created one space for community gatherings such as weddings and put lots of flowers there because people love to have flowers at their wedding,” says MASS senior director Sierra Bainbridge. “A school is the center of the community because there are no other municipal buildings. Knowing how big a role it plays pushed us to expand the programming to bring dual uses as much as we can.”

When MASS began working on the renovation at Mubuga, buildings that were 10 years old needed 80 percent of their materials replaced, buildings five years old needed 40 percent. “A ministry of education document articulates infrastructure standards and guidelines, everything that you would want in a school: quality materials, quality lighting, a campus approach with certain facilities,” says Patricia Gruits, MASS director of research. “But they aren’t being built like that. There’s a gap between the aspiration and the implementation. We saw an opportunity to provide a model that says, ‘This is how you can achieve all of your goals in a low-cost way.’”

“We were trying to create a place that was comfortable, that created a better place to learn, a place that was safe and healthy, where students could come and have clean water, and have a clean landscape,” Gruits says. “But it also had to be playful—that’s a huge part of attracting children to school and keeping them in school. Mubuga was one of the lowest performing schools in the district. Out of around 78 schools, it was at the bottom. Since the building was completed, it has risen to 36. They’ve seen some dramatic improvements in just a year.”

ARCHITECT interviewed headmaster Innocent Uruzugundi, who explains how the renovations and additions at this rural primary school campus made a difference in the lives of the students, and serve as a model for other schools in the region:

What were the school buildings like before the renovation and addition?
Innocent Uruzugundi: The school was made of 11 rooms, and those rooms were not sufficient for the number of students, which was around 817. The way the classrooms were oriented, on a sunny day the classrooms were hot, which made them uncomfortable for the children.

What was the process like working with MASS to develop the new buildings for the school?
The idea for the project started in 2011, but the design started in 2013, after I became headmaster. The process involved the donors, clients, and MASS, and consisted of discussion of our needs. There were inadequate facilities for us to work with, so the idea came up to build five more rooms including a library, a staff room, and a head teacher’s office.

Have the new buildings changed how the teachers work and the students learn at the school?
The orientation of the new buildings was changed, and now we do not have any problem of discomfort in the rooms. MASS put vines in front of the old classrooms to shade the buildings, so now even on sunny days, the students are comfortable. The performance of the children has changed because they have an environment where they can see and learn comfortably, and the teachers have facilities where they can prepare the lessons. These facilities are also used to help the teachers to improve their skills in English, and all the teachers in the area come here to learn. Because the children are comfortable and we have more rooms, the number of children has gone up to around 900.

Does the design of the new structures represent the community around the school?
The school increased the pride of the community. Even the people from outside the district are overwhelmed when they pass across the school. Because this is the new school typology, they are overwhelmed by how the schools are designed. It makes them feel like a special design for a school is more expected here in Rwanda. The community uses the playground and landscape for entertainment—even weddings. The local government uses the school for meetings. Also, the materials that they used in the buildings came from the community, they are not the materials which are imported from outside. It is really great for the people who have contributed to the construction—for instance, the woven doors—because these buildings represent their culture and they have received the revenue, which has helped them to develop their income. This is really great for the community.

Project Credits
Project: The Mubuga Primary School, Musanze District, Rwanda
Client: Rwanda Ministry of Education, Funded by the M² Foundation
Architect: MASS Design Group, Boston and Kigali, Rwanda . Kyle Barker, Christian Benimana, Andrew Brose, Patricia Gruits, Michael Murphy, Annie Peyton, Alan Ricks, Theophile Uwayezu
Structural Design: NOUS Engineering
On-Site Structural Oversight: MASS Design Group . Kayihura Nyundo, Christian Uwinkindi
Geotechnical Engineer: Kigali Institute of Science and Technology Soil Mechanics & Geotechnical Engineering Laboratory
General Contractor: Daniel Ahintuje
Landscape Architect: MASS Design Group . Sierra Bainbridge, Martin Pavlinic
Size: 10,500 square feet
Cost: $285,000 (construction materials, labor, and management)