'METIschool' Rudrapur, Bangladesh


Anna Heringer

METIschool Rudrapur facade (enlarged view in image gallery)

Photos: Anna Heringer

  • METIschool Rudrapur facade
  • METIschool Rudrapur interior classroom
  • METIschool Rudrapur terrace
  • METIschool Rudrapur laom wall
  • METIschool Rudrapur classroom
  • METIschool Rudrapur facade
  • METIschool Rudrapur building team
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  • Status:

    Realized

  • Education level:

    Primary Education (pre-school + primary)
    Secondary Education

  • Area:

    352 m2

  • Number of classrooms:

    5


A symbiosis of traditional building techniques and architecture

Rudrapur lies in the north of the most densely populated country in the world, Bangladesh. Poverty, inadequate infrastructure, minimal amenities, etc., drive many people from rural areas into the cities. The local NGO Dipshikha has tried to move in new directions in this area with its development programme: it is important to create opportunities for the rural population and make them revalue their village. This also means that Rudrapur needs its own school to educate the children. Self-confidence, independence and a sense of identity are central in this project.

Anna Heringer took up this challenge with her METI-school project. After carrying out a study of the village together with three fellow students from Linz in 2002, she devoted her thesis to designing a school building for Rudrapur. The design was completed in 2005. The villagers, pupils and teachers were closely involved in the project. Traditional building techniques were used and developed further. Loam and bamboo are locally available and cheap building materials which have valuable properties in this subtropical climate. Local workers were used for the building work, but the pupils and teachers also contributed to the construction themselves. Therefore the project had a great deal of support in the village. The techniques for loam and bamboo construction, improved by specialists, were passed on to the local population as the building progressed.

According to Anna Heringer, progress is not a matter of a different use of materials, but of architecture. The design of a rectangular school building is extremely simple, but intelligent. The ground floor is made of heavy loam. The thick loam walls produce a pleasant indoor climate. The classrooms are plain rectangular rooms. Every classroom has an annex, consisting of playful cave-like spaces made of loam where small groups of children can retreat. There is an open bay between the classrooms where a staircase leads up to the first floor, which has a lightweight bamboo structure. One room is the size of a double classroom. The large overhanging green roof provides shade and a cool area and protects the loam walls from the rain. The ventilation is regulated by shutters in the rectangular windows. This extremely sober, but at the same time sophisticated, school building has already won a number of architectural prizes.