METI

Handmade School in Rudrapur, Bangladesh by Roswag & Jankowski and Anna F. Heringer

What's in a name? Though officially called the Modern Educational and Training Institute (METI) in Rudrapur, Bangladesh, this project is known as Handmade School, a name that means a lot. With the school's goal "to gain and disseminate knowledge and information for optimizing the use of locally available resources," the building becomes not only an expression but a means of achieving this goal. Through the process of building the school, local craftsmen are able to train other local workers, eventually leading to improved standards of construction, particularly in housing.

The Handmade School is the design of Berlin-based architects Roswag & Jankowski Architekten Partnerschaft and Anna F. Heringer. In plan the building is a simple rectangular bar building. The ground floor is built of mud walls made of local earth mixed with rice, straw, and jute. These classrooms are accessed directly from the outside via openings highlighted by brightly-colored panels that contrast with the dried-earth walls. The character of the ground floor is cave-like, stemming from its construction and recalling OMA's single-family house in Bordeaux.

The upper floor is comprised of two classroom spaces divided by the vertical circulation, allowing for cross-ventilation in the classrooms. Where the lower floor is earth and cave-like, the floor above is made of bamboo and relatively open. The mud construction of the lower floor extends past the top floor to create a sill for operable bamboo screens. Bamboo also structures the top floor and clads the exterior walls; only the corrugated metal roofing strays from this simple though effective material palette.

The character of the school is created by the materials used (mud and bamboo), its construction, and its response to local climate. This last consideration gives the school's external appearance is most over expression, as the roof extends to provide shade and keep water away from the building exterior. This extension is supported by a bamboo armature that gives the exterior a rhythm and depth it might otherwise miss. Combined with the colored panels and playful apertures below, the design takes the vernacular and makes it into something unique. It makes it into something memorable, a building that can sit beside some of the best contemporary architecture.