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PAST PROJECTS

Meeting women centre 

2

Bibi's house

Designed in collaboration with Femme International, a humanitarian organisation that teaches workshops about sexual education and personal hygiene to girls and women, the Women’s Centre is intended to be the reference point for all necessities of  women from the village. At the same time it serves as a meeting place where different groups of women can store goods and organise their meetings. The ideas for the project were born out of several meetings with different groups of local people and included a meeting area that is protected from the rain and sun. This can accommodate about 50 women, with simple and comfortable seats made out of stone. From the outside area you have access to a small office, a storage space and a shop which the women can manage themselves and which could generate new labour and economic opportunities.

The family’s living condition was mainly defined by a lack of privacy. That is exactly why the design focuses on the notion of living-together-apart.

The concept consists of three intertwining circles: one for the mother, one for the daughter, and a common area in between.

Building with earthbags lends itself perfectly to the design of circular units, as no lateral support is required. Furniture was incorporated in the structure and glass bottles were used to add light to the interior. 

The labour intensive building method of earthbags wouldn’t have been an option if it wasn’t for the helping hands of 15 students and 4 teachers of a Belgian secondary school (VTI Brugge). This close collaboration between future craftsmen and architects turned design into reality in no time.

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