Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Science

News and Events

Novemeber 17, 2011

Team Katebi presents design of Congo medical clinic and kindergarten

Members of Team Katebi presented last night to the Ryerson community the penultimate design of a medical clinic and kindergarten to be built in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Team Katebi is comprised of individuals from Ryerson's Department of Architectural Science, Toronto-based charity Pamoja Tujenge, and the Toronto office of Arup, one of the world's foremost engineering and design services firms. The team has been collaborating to design and build the Katebi Medical Clinic and Kindergarten (KMCK), to be built in the village of Katebi in the Katanga Province, Democratic Republic of Congo.

The KMCK will employ innovative, appropriate, and environmentally sustainable strategies in terms of building materials and methods as well as heating, cooling, and electrical provision. This model, off-the-grid facility will be essentially autonomous, employing solar power to generate light and electricity, and to run its autoclave, oven, and disinfection facilities. The facility has been designed to collect and store its own clean drinking water, as well as sufficient water to serve the drinking needs of the village throughout the dry season. The KMCK will utilize hygienic, environmentally sound and compost latrines. It will be constructed out of indigenous materials - most notably earth, which will be harvested from the site itself.

Anticipated construction of the KMCK will commence in 2013.