Project Details
- Project Name
- Uganda Women’s and Children’s Clinic
- Architect
- LS3P
- Client/Owner
- GoDesign
- Project Types
- Healthcare
- Project Scope
- New Construction
- Size
- 20,000 sq. feet
- Project Status
- On the Boards/In Progress
- Cost
- $100,000
This project was named an Award winner in the 68th Annual Progressive Architecture Awards, and was featured in the March 2021 issue of ARCHITECT.
"The design is sophisticated, environmentally sensitive, and light on the Earth. It takes away any stigma of going to a health clinic and creates an uplifting place. Think about how many people’s lives this will impact in a positive way." —Juror Jeanne Gang, FAIA, founding principal and partner, Studio Gang
Local materials, traditional construction techniques, passive solar design, and a campuslike plan that encourages community mark the 20,000-square-foot complex for the Uganda Women’s and Children’s Clinic. Located adjacent to an existing school, the rural site just north of the equator in Mityana, Uganda, enjoys cooling breezes from Lake Victoria to the south.
The Southeastern firm LS3P provided pro bono design services for the nonprofit GoDesign to develop a three-phase plan that encompasses 10 single-story structures arrayed along a central path. A sculptural chapel standing nearly twice as tall as the surrounding buildings rises at the center of this axis.
In the first phase, three structures will create a financial anchor for the clinic by providing essential health services, including patient treatment, emergency, and dental. The first two buildings are splayed to provide a sense of entry to the complex.
In phase two, the size of the campus will double with the addition of maternity and laboratory services. The final phase will add four buildings, including a training center and physician housing. The interstitial spaces between buildings along the sloped site create opportunities for informal connections among visitors and staff.
In all, the 10 structures follow a common aesthetic based on construction methods typical of the region: a mix of short-span post-and-beam concrete construction with dry-stacked block walls made of compressed dirt excavated on-site. A layered screen system—a combination of bamboo sticks with mosquito mesh for infill and windows—provides diffused light and airflow. Eucalyptus planks make appearances in doors, screens, and accents throughout the complex. Topped with corrugated metal, shallow shed roofs with wide eaves appear to float high above the structures, creating shade year round. Solar chimneys rise above spaces that require additional ventilation. As a result, the complex does not require mechanical HVAC systems and can achieve net-zero status.
LS3P’s design and material choices aim to facilitate the training of local tradespeople in modular construction, enhancing the transfer of knowledge between generations and extending the project’s positive impact on the community.
Project Credits
Project Name: Uganda Women’s and Children’s Clinic
Location: Mityana, Uganda
Client: GoDesign
Architect/Landscape Architect: LS3P Associates, Wilmington, N.C. · Matt Barnett, AIA (lead designer); Elaine Adams, AIA, Mike Martinez, AIA, Espy Harper, Danny Adams, AIA, Brian Wurst, FAIA, Helen Byce, AIA, Lindsey Stang, AIA, Dean Rains, AIA, Willy Schlein, AIA, James Jung, Joseph Scherer (project design collaborators)
Project Size: 20,000 square feet
Cost: $100,000
This page has been updated since first publication.