The main purpose of the project is to boosts the creation of a resilient, agricolture-oriented and self-sufficient rural community, placed on the outskirt of Lusaka, in Zambia.

The design is carried out on three levels: each one requires dedicated analyses and has specific goals.

Territory scale. To develope and promote the great agricultural vocation of the area.
Settlement scale. To shape the built enviroment, realizing new building, spaces and relations.

Building scale. To trigger a wider requalification process through smaller and urgent interventions.

What is now the center of the Koinonia community, around the Mthunzi Center, will become the headquarters of Amani, thanks to the retrofitting of the Muthunzi Center itself, the new accommodation for the Moba boys and the Guesthouse for visitors and volunteers. Buildings are included in a system of meeting and open spaces designed for the socialization of children with the whole community.

In order to make this place a local pole of education, research and training, facilities as a school, a library, a market, a seed bank and a greenhouses are provided.

Design and techniques

Asbestos-cement panels on the roof are replaced by metal and polycarbonate panels, reusing the existing structure below. An adequate ventilation against the hot humid climate is achieved by a double ceiling whose inner layer is made of bamboo. The suspended roof depth creates a transition space and protects walls from solar radiation. In colder periods, lower rays charge the thermal mass of walls.

Rain is collected from the roof and conveyed through columns into underground tanks. In this sense, the wavy roof design wants to recall Victoria Falls. The roof angle is optimized to capture solar radiation with hidden solar panels.

The existing blockwork on outer walls is replaced by an open brickwork pattern to promote lighting and ventilation. For security reasons, wider openings on walls are not exploited: most of the light comes from above, like a clerestory.