![The Mwabwindo School / Selldorf Architects - Exterior Photography](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5e7a/633e/b357/65c3/7900/0059/newsletter/2019-08-28_Chosa-Mweemba_Mwabwindo-29.jpg?1585079093)
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Architects: Selldorf Architects
- Area: 39000 ft²
- Year: 2019
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Photographs:Chosa Mweemba, Hikamata Kapatsa, Yak Films, David Bench
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Consultants: Renfro Design Group, Richard Renfro, Jenny Stafford
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Structural Engineering: Silman, Nat Oppenheimer
![The Mwabwindo School / Selldorf Architects - Exterior Photography](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5e7a/6387/b357/6566/5000/01ec/newsletter/2019-08-28_Chosa-Mweemba_Mwabwindo-20.jpg?1585079165)
Text description provided by the architects. The Mwabwindo School serves primary students in southern Zambia, located in a rural area where travel distance to school is one of the biggest impediments to quality education. This is the second school in the region developed by the 14+ Foundation, a non-profit committed to increasing education accessibility for rural African communities.
![The Mwabwindo School / Selldorf Architects - Exterior Photography](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5e7a/6452/b357/6566/5000/01ef/newsletter/2019-08-28_Chosa-Mweemba_Mwabwindo-13.jpg?1585079344)
![The Mwabwindo School / Selldorf Architects - Image 26 of 32](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5e7a/670d/b357/6566/5000/01f5/newsletter/Mwabwindo_Site-Plan.jpg?1585079958)
![The Mwabwindo School / Selldorf Architects - Exterior Photography, Concrete](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5e7a/6583/b357/65c3/7900/0062/medium_jpg/2019-08-28_Chosa-Mweemba_Mwabwindo-05.jpg?1585079659)
The building’s design is inspired by the tall, singular trees on the surrounding savanna that serve as gathering spaces shaded from the sun of the Central African Plateau. A large, corrugated metal roof canopy covers a village of compressed earth brick classrooms arranged around courtyards and an internal street. In addition to the school for 200 students, the program includes a building that provides housing for eight teachers, a community vegetable garden and playing fields.
![The Mwabwindo School / Selldorf Architects - Interior Photography, Brick](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5e7a/6366/b357/6566/5000/01eb/newsletter/2019-08-28_Chosa-Mweemba_Mwabwindo-25.jpg?1585079132)
A covered assembly space is left open to the local road, marking the entrance and welcoming students. In addition to serving as the school lunch hall it is a resource for local civic gatherings.
![The Mwabwindo School / Selldorf Architects - Interior Photography, Brick](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5e7a/65b9/b357/65c3/7900/0063/newsletter/2019-08-15_Hikamata-Kapatsa_02.jpg?1585079690)
The steel structure and roof were assembled on-site by skilled labor and were constructed first, allowing the building process to continue during the three-month rainy system. Compressed earth brick classrooms are comprised of handmade bricks which were fabricated on-site and constructed by local masons to provide employment and training opportunity in the area. Throughout this net-zero project, rainwater is collected for use in the community gardens, solar panels provide energy for the school and teachers’ housing, and a windmill pumps well water to the facilities.
![The Mwabwindo School / Selldorf Architects - Interior Photography](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5e7a/63a5/b357/65c3/7900/005c/newsletter/2019-08-28_Chosa-Mweemba_Mwabwindo-19.jpg?1585079178)
![The Mwabwindo School / Selldorf Architects - Image 28 of 32](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5e7a/668f/b357/6566/5000/01f4/newsletter/Mwabwindo_Section.jpg?1585079810)
![The Mwabwindo School / Selldorf Architects - Interior Photography, Windows](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5e7a/6319/b357/6566/5000/01e8/newsletter/2019-08-28_Chosa-Mweemba_Mwabwindo-26.jpg?1585079019)
The Mwabwindo School provides an inspired place for learning, promotes sustainable resource use, and acts as an economic engine in southern Zambia.
![The Mwabwindo School / Selldorf Architects - Exterior Photography](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5e7a/65d3/b357/6566/5000/01f3/newsletter/MWABWINDO-OVERALL.jpg?1585079742)