The jury commended this project because of its broad approach towards enmeshing discreet sustainable aspects of the program into a comprehensive whole. The Secondary School Gando is constructed by the local community and builds not only a series of structures, but also a sense of identity and enhanced social cohesion. Its “urban design” has the potential to act as an anchor point in the village structure. The project, as one element of a long-term school development, makes use of “high-tech” ideas that are implemented with low-tech means. It intelligently leverages the site’s characteristics and locally-available materials.
Last updated: June 16, 2011 Africa Middle East
The project itself generates positive impacts upon both the social environment by generating opportunities for education, creating jobs and training; and on the natural environment through reforestation. People learn building skills using clay and other readily available local materials, which strengthens the idea of a mutually-beneficial process since the skills learnt can be applied beyond the confines of the site. The experiences and techniques partially applied to earlier projects realized independently on the same site were integrated, and prove the potential and applicability of the project’s inherent ideas.