SAME TANZANIA

Although all my projects are dear to me, my involvement with the Mbesese Initiative of Sustainable Development in Same, Tanzania, Africa is especially telling of the depths of my architecture, construction, and design background. From designing the project in a small dark room with no windows in California, to building a water collection system on Tanzanian soil with my own two hands, a transatlantic project came full circle.

The Same Polytechnic College is a proposed vocational training institution in the United Republic of Tanzania to provide educational opportunities which increase human capital, with the goal of reducing severe levels of poverty. The college is the pilot project for the Mbesese Initiative for Sustainable Design (MISD). MISD has partnered with design firms and universities to develop a framework for campus development. The university team established overarching planning principles for buildings and related infrastructure to support 1,200 students.

In Tanzania, access to clean water for drinking, bathing, and cleaning remains a critical issue. Much of the groundwater is contaminated with fluoride, causing health issues in much of the population. The country has also faced a severe drought in recent years. However, in a typical year, there are two rainy seasons, where rain is expected and can be quite heavy. As such, we aimed to collect the rainwater on the roof of the existing structure and store it in water tanks for use by the local community. The design of the catchment system is quite simple, as the roof already has a slope to one side. Part of the design was to add gutters along the sloped side to guide flow of water onto a secondary roof, where it then flows down into one of two barrels. The barrels are surrounded by seating and covered in a shade structure, providing an area for community engagement and relaxation while also serving as a water distribution center.