Article 25 have completed Phase 1 of an ‘off-grid’ Children’s Village in Boma Ng’ombe, Tanzania

Architecture, Sustainability August 17, 2023
Kao La Amani Children’s Village Article 25 Boma Ng’ombe Tanzania Orphanage Wood Brick Contemporary Design
Toby Pear

Kao La Amani Children’s Village

Architect: Article 25
Location: Boma Ng’ombe, Tanzania
Type: Orphanage
Year: 2023
Images: Toby Pear, Paulina-Shari Stanley

The following description is courtesy of the architects. Article 25 have been working with Tanzanian/Irish charity Tír na nÓg to design a new Children’s Village in the Kilimanjaro region of northern Tanzania for 60 children. Phase 1 construction was completed in early 2023 and comprises 3 cottages for groups of children, each with its own live-in ‘Mama’, along with a large social block with dining terrace, kitchen, games room, library and laundry facilities.

The buildings house spaces for all moods and all times of day – cosy spaces for sleep, rest and study, with more expansive and open spaces for play and socialising. The village is designed as a safe place where children of different ages can grow and develop together.

Kao La Amani Children’s Village Article 25 Boma Ng’ombe Tanzania Orphanage Wood Brick Contemporary Design
Toby Pear
Kao La Amani Children’s Village Article 25 Boma Ng’ombe Tanzania Orphanage Wood Brick Contemporary Design
Toby Pear
Kao La Amani Children’s Village Article 25 Boma Ng’ombe Tanzania Orphanage Wood Brick Contemporary Design
Toby Pear
Kao La Amani Children’s Village Article 25 Boma Ng’ombe Tanzania Orphanage Wood Brick Contemporary Design
Toby Pear
Kao La Amani Children’s Village Article 25 Boma Ng’ombe Tanzania Orphanage Wood Brick Contemporary Design
Toby Pear
Kao La Amani Children’s Village Article 25 Boma Ng’ombe Tanzania Orphanage Wood Brick Contemporary Design
Toby Pear

Highly sustainable, off-grid development

The design responds to the climate by providing generous overhangs to protect from sun and heavy rains. Courtyards at the centre of the cottages enable cross ventilation to all the dorms and living space. The butterfly roof of the dining block shades a series of external spaces – dining terrace, laundry area and a gathering porch outside the kitchen – and allows cross ventilation as well as dual or triple aspect internal spaces.

The village is designed to be highly sustainable and is operable entirely ‘off-grid’. All power is generated using solar PV panels, all water is provided by a borehole on site and then heated using solar hot water heaters, the waste is filtered via septic tanks and a constructed wetland. These sustainability features allow the project to run at minimal costs while protecting its natural resources and ensuring the Children’s Village will continue to provide to children in this area for decades to come.

Local materials and construction techniques have been prioritised throughout, with low carbon technologies to the fore. The roof trusses are of timber, as are the doors and windows. Upper walls are clad in locally-sourced sisal poles, and the bricks come from nearby kilns fired using rice husks, an agricultural waste product.

Kao La Amani Children’s Village Article 25 Boma Ng’ombe Tanzania Orphanage Wood Brick Contemporary Design
Toby Pear
Kao La Amani Children’s Village Article 25 Boma Ng’ombe Tanzania Orphanage Wood Brick Contemporary Design
Toby Pear
Kao La Amani Children’s Village Article 25 Boma Ng’ombe Tanzania Orphanage Wood Brick Contemporary Design
Toby Pear
Kao La Amani Children’s Village Article 25 Boma Ng’ombe Tanzania Orphanage Wood Brick Contemporary Design
Toby Pear
Kao La Amani Children’s Village Article 25 Boma Ng’ombe Tanzania Orphanage Wood Brick Contemporary Design
Toby Pear
Kao La Amani Children’s Village Article 25 Boma Ng’ombe Tanzania Orphanage Wood Brick Contemporary Design
Toby Pear
Kao La Amani Children’s Village Article 25 Boma Ng’ombe Tanzania Orphanage Wood Brick Contemporary Design
Toby Pear
Kao La Amani Children’s Village Article 25 Boma Ng’ombe Tanzania Orphanage Wood Brick Contemporary Design
Toby Pear
Kao La Amani Children’s Village Article 25 Boma Ng’ombe Tanzania Orphanage Wood Brick Contemporary Design
Toby Pear
Kao La Amani Children’s Village Article 25 Boma Ng’ombe Tanzania Orphanage Wood Brick Contemporary Design
Toby Pear

More Than a Building

Article 25 worked with a team of Tanzanian and international experts to develop the proposals for the Children’s Village. MHA Structural Design, Hoare Lea and WSP are part of a pool of engineers, architects, developers, and constructers that make up Article 25’s ‘More Than a Building’ network, and have provided pro-bono engineering (structural, MEP and civil, respectively) for the project. Article 25 Managing Director Gemma Holding said ‘the pro-bono input we receive from our More Than a Building partners brings world-leading expertise to projects such as Kao La Amani Children’s Village, and helps to leave a lasting legacy in those communities we serve’.

More than half of Tanzania’s population of 56 million are children. This youthful generation has the potential to be a huge asset to the country if they are given a fair start in life. Kao La Amani Children’s Village is more than a building; it’s a sustainable development that is home to 60 young people and provides a safe and nurturing space to live, to play, to learn and to grow into confident young adults.

Phase 2 of the Children’s Village is now under construction, and will add more living accommodation, an admin building, staff and guest housing and extensive landscaping.

To find out more about Article 25 and their More Than a Building network visit www.article-25.org/mtab

Kao La Amani Children’s Village Article 25 Boma Ng’ombe Tanzania Orphanage Wood Brick Contemporary Design
Toby Pear
Kao La Amani Children’s Village Article 25 Boma Ng’ombe Tanzania Orphanage Wood Brick Contemporary Design
Toby Pear
Kao La Amani Children’s Village Article 25 Boma Ng’ombe Tanzania Orphanage Wood Brick Contemporary Design
Toby Pear
Kao La Amani Children’s Village Article 25 Boma Ng’ombe Tanzania Orphanage Wood Brick Contemporary Design
Toby Pear
Kao La Amani Children’s Village Article 25 Boma Ng’ombe Tanzania Orphanage Wood Brick Contemporary Design
Toby Pear
Kao La Amani Children’s Village Article 25 Boma Ng’ombe Tanzania Orphanage Wood Brick Contemporary Design
Paulina-Shari Stanley

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