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Building sustainability in Uganda

Concordians volunteer to develop sustainable home
February 14, 2011
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By Karen Herland

Source: Concordia Journal

Construction continues in Gulu, Uganda, on a sustainably designed building to shelter the students who travel there through the Concordia University Volunteer Abroad Program. | Photo by Daniel Laviguer
Construction continues in Gulu, Uganda, on a sustainably designed building to shelter the students who travel there through the Concordia University Volunteer Abroad Program. | Photo by Daniel Laviguer

It started with a casual conversation and ended with a permanent, sustainable home for students who travel to Gulu, Uganda, each year with the Concordia Volunteer Abroad Program (CVAP).

While chatting with CVAP Executive Director Jamie Robinson in May 2010, Design and Computation Arts professor pk langshaw learned that the project, developed by students four years ago, was shifting from rented to permanent facilities for the dozens of students who travel to Gulu to work with local community-based organizations each summer. The land had been purchased and construction was being planned.Langshaw immediately saw an opportunity to help design a sustainable facility that would limit the group’s environmental footprint.

Langshaw assembled a team of volunteers, starting with Liam O’Brien, an engineering PhD candidate who had been active in the Concordia-based Solar Buildings Research Network. O’Brien in turn contacted other engineering students who came to the project having worked on research involving wind and solar power. Design master’s student Andrew Dolan rounded out the team. Three months later the plans were finalized. “We had a really short timeline. It was incredible what this group was able to put together,” says Langshaw.

The challenge was to accommodate the needs of about 50 people living and working in Gulu. The students analyzed the water and electricity needs of the group, taking into account local climate and conditions. In the end, a building relying on plentiful solar energy was planned. Wind energy was rejected because of the multitude of moving parts requiring unsustainable maintenance. Similarly, the unreliability of existing electrical grids in Gulu meant limiting dependence on traditional energy sources. A system to harvest rainwater for a variety of (non-potable) purposes was also integrated into the design. “It was a collaboration all round. We developed the plans here but in dialogue with CVAP director Jamie Robinson and Ugandan Director of Operations Jimmy Otim. The project had to be viable for long-term use and expansion in the context of local resources and construction by Gulu workers,” says Langshaw. The facility is under construction and should be operational by the time the next team of students arrives in May 2011.

As a follow-up to the building collaboration, Langshaw agreed to facilitate a course for CVAP volunteers who wish to earn credit towards their degree program. Students receive training to help prepare them for the social, medical, political and cultural conditions they will encounter when they arrive in Gulu.

Langshaw will oversee the grading of student projects while Robinson and CVAP Volunteer Coordinator Thomas Prince will guide the weekly sessions with invited guest lecturers from a variety of fields ranging from health care to development to non-governmental organizations. The students also learn about the building complex they will stay in. “We want the students to think about sustainability in a unified way, which involves socio-cultural, environmental and economic considerations,” says Langshaw.

Langshaw hopes to receive administrative approval to offer the course to undergraduate students across all Faculties, whether they are going to Uganda or whether they simply have an interest in the subject matter. “Imagine the dynamics when design students collaborate with sociology, urban planning, and engineering students on a sustainable project.”

Langshaw has embedded social and sustainable design as a core value in her teaching and research. Her dedication earned her one of the inaugural Sustainability Champion awards in March of 2010.

Related links:

•   Concordia Volunteer Abroad Program
•   pk langshaw
•   Concordia's Department of Design and Computation Arts



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