UMUYJI-IBISHANGA
Urban Ecology Studio 2010-2013
This urban-ecology design studio was taught at Rwanda's first School of Architecture - a school initiated by a group of European, American and East African Architects - from 2010 to 2013. Students were asked to critically examine the THINNESS – The superficiality of the City masterplan by surveying and measuring the socio-ecological realities - THICKNESS of Urban Kigali as they experienced it. Many students, coming from informal settlements themselves, aspired to the ‘modern’ masterplan and its generic urbanism. They perceived informal settlements and the use of wetlands as ‘improper and ugly,’ advocating for their clearance. This studio thus became a pedagogical safe space for students to reflect critically about the top-down vision of the masterplan and explore alternative visions to mediate the tensions between the city (umuyji) and wetlands (ibishanga) through grounded research within the informal, wetland and non-western realities on the ground.
Course Organisers: Dr Killian O’ Dochartaigh & Dr Illaria Boniburini
Course Tutors: Dr.Costanza La Mantia, Garrett Ganter and Guillaum Sardin
Course Organisers: Dr Killian O’ Dochartaigh & Dr Illaria Boniburini
Course Tutors: Dr.Costanza La Mantia, Garrett Ganter and Guillaum Sardin