Best Project Award 2012
For The Aga Khan Primary School in Dar es salaam.
From the Jury Report: "This is an extension to an existing educational institution on a limited site, which has been efficiently and sensitively used... The building in the context of its surrounding urban fabric reacts in the juror’s opinion very appropriately...
The building's very strong geometries and formal articulation have impressed all the jurors. The design supports well its functional use - expressed through the arrangement of the tutorial block, the library, the classrooms and the cafeteria.
The organic nature of the external play areas, the irregular shapes of the library and labs and the playfulness of the positions of the window, as well the use of colours and local materials are very successful.
The climatic environment through its cross ventilation throughout the building, especially along the corridors and in the classrooms, having windows on both sides is exemplary. This building doesn't rely on mechanical ventilation and is very simple to maintain, making it a very sustainable development".
The design extended the typology for a school in the tropics by having an undercroft that permits breeze to pass and children to gather and play in the shade or away from rain.