Project Details
Name of the project
: Straw Bale School
Location
: Malawi, Africa
Architects
: Nudes, Mumbai
Design team
: Nuru Karim, Dhruval Shah, Salai VV, Aditya Jain, Uttara Rajawat, Anjana Varma, Rohit DJ
Founder and Principal
: Nuru Karim
The Birth of Architectural Genius
The project is a design proposal for a secondary school located in south-east Africa Malawi. It is 60 kilometers south of Nkhotakota Township and 50 kilometers north of Salima Township.
The Straw Bale School architectural concept was created and led by architect Mumbai based architect, Nuru Karim. He created the concept for the Straw Bale School in response to a brief set by architectural competition organiser Archstorming, on behalf of an NGO called Active Africa.
The Competition Brief
The competition brief called for a design that makes use of local materials and construction systems. Other key requirements were sustainability and the need for a modular solution that could be built in phases over several years.
Entrants were also asked to include a variety of spaces including classrooms, offices, computer rooms, libraries, laboratories and residential units for students and teachers, as well as outdoor spaces for animals and agriculture.
Nudes’ proposal is based on a modular timber framework comprising a series of ladder-like wooden A-frames. The frames are arranged linearly to create forms that vary in height and width as the bases of the ladder components fan outwards.
Architectural Framework and Design
The modular structure incorporates horizontal treads that support hay bales used to form the building’s outer shell. Nudes suggests that alternative local infill materials such as earth and terracotta could also be used.
“We were keen to explore the usage of straw bales in the proposal with regard to its pedagogical narrative and exploring ‘out of the classroom’ learning environments manifested in the forms of amphitheatres,” said Karim
The stringers of the ladders transfer the structural load and open up to create spaces that accommodate the school’s various programmatic functions.
Its floor plan offers the potential for multiple units to be arranged in a pattern that would form a series of outdoor spaces for recreational activities.
Openings created by exposing the treads at eye level would offer light and ventilation. The topmost treads would also be left empty to create gaps along the ridge line that facilitate the circulation of fresh air.
Entrances would be incorporated into the ends of each module, where the structure is tallest. Internally, the narrower but taller spaces at the ends could also accommodate stepped seating and shelving, as well as services such as stairs and toilets.
Karim said that thorough research was conducted into the suitability of straw bales for this project, with several papers outlining its capabilities in terms of fire resistance and structural performance.
Although the proposal was not selected by the competition jury, the studio intends to continue developing prototypes to test its potential and is planning a pop-up urban-reading pavilion that would also utilise straw bales in its construction.
The design is built on the cornerstone of “pedagogy”, “deployment” and “sustainability” advocating the role of local materials and community / student participation.
About Nuru Karim
Nuru Karim, Founder & Principal Nudes received his Masters in Architecture and Urban-ism from the Architectural Association [AADRL] London, United Kingdom in 2006. His undergraduate studies include travel and education in the metropolis of Mumbai [KRVIA-gold medallist] and Montreal [McGill University].
He has worked for Zaha Hadid Architects in 2005 on a host of institutional projects both in competition/ schematic design and design development stages.
Nudes operates within the realm of cross-disciplinary cultures of art, architecture and computational design powered by digital “making” tools addressing larger networks of social, cultural and environmental . Nuru Karim has achieved critical recognition both for its built work and in competition in addition to several design awards including a nomination for the Aga Khan Award for Architecture 2013 cycle.
He has also recently won the World Architecture Community Awards, designed category. Nuru Karim is also a TEDx speaker 2019 and has presented his work and research on national and international platforms.
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