Ten bachelor's degree students from the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts – representing the four construction disciplines Architecture, Interior Architecture, Building Technology and Civil Engineering have constructed a building in Ifakara in partnership with students from Ardhi University, Dar es Salaam. The students were supervised by Annika Seifert and Gunter Klix, two architects working in Dar es Salaam. Both architects will be lecturing on the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts's master's degree programme in Energy that commences in the spring semester 2016.
During their Summer School, the students were accommodated on the campus of the Tanzanian Training Centre for International Health (TTCIH) in Ifakara. The TTCIH has, for decades, enjoyed excellent relations with the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute. "The campus is a very handy location for our workshops and training," says Matthew Howell, an assistant on the bachelor's programme in Architecture at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts.
Students conducted research on local building methods, which are dictated by the local climate. The participants then rolled up their sleeves and erected a small, fully functional building using local resources and built with the tropical climate in mind, it is simple, logical and innovative. Working alongside the students were local workmen, builders and artists. "We were able to broaden our repertoire of technological, planning and sociological skills," says Wolfgang Rossbauer, lecturer in architecture at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts.
