Department of Architecture

The Architectural Design studio V focuses on the project of a peri-urban settlement on the north east side of Murama Hill in Kigali. Students work in the same time on an urban scale with the concept of an urban plan, and on an architectural scale with the design of various housing typologies conceived as basic elements of the new settlement’s urban composition. Both on the urban scale and on the architectural scale, the project have to be developed in relation to the morfological context and the built environment existing on this side of the hill. So, the study of the existing territorial and urban patterns will precede the urban concept, and the study of existing groups of housing will precede the design of houses typologies. On the architectural scale, the use of earth as material of construction of buildings is considered a prerequisite of the project. Therefore, in addition to the study of the existing territorial, urban and architectural context, students will study (with drawings and models) some examples of contemporary houses built with earth, in various parts of the world.