„Several new housing units for the staff at Masanga Hospital in Sierra Leone. The hospital will thus have an easier time recruiting qualified staff. Today the hospital is functioning well and around 150 patients are treated every day. One of the biggest issues, that they are facing, is the lack of decent staff housing. Without decent housing the staff is left to live in primitive huts and attracting qualified staff is difficult.
DEVELOPMENT TARGETS:
- That Masanga Hospital can attract qualified labour by offering decent accommodation.
- That the hospital, through more and better trained staff, can increase its capacity and provide better service to people living within its catchment area.
ARCHITECTURE:
The project contains several new housing units for the staff of the Masanga Hospital. The specific units is a part of a bigger whole, which gradually can develop and be used by locals as a standard model for developing their village. The units have a longer lifespan and offers a better indoor climate for a lower cost. The country is going to operate the hospital by 2016 and the ambition is to construct 250 staff housing units by then. An important aspect is to secure local ownership by including the community in the construction, so they can take over the future constructions.
It has been of high focus to develop housing that took climate, functionality and local materials into consideration. The intention has also been to integrate parameters such as natural ventilation, daylight and cooling. Because of a very limited financial frame low cost solutions have also been of high priority. Each unit is to be inhabited by a family or three nurses.
PROJECT TEAM: Rasmus C. Hamann, Camilla Kragh, Silje Erøy Sollien

„The building provides various possibilities within education and IT, such as an internet café, various courses and humanitarian events. The building is also a community centre that can hold different events for the local community.
development targets:
- To improve the education in Sierra Leone and secure access to information. In Sierra Leone only 0,3% has access to the Internet.
 - Capacity building of local labour through collaborations with local entrepreneurs and craftsmen. The building process has furthermore functioned as training, internship and education through weekly meetings and coaching.
architecture:
The centre relates to the surrounding buildings and local building traditions, but is also shaped by a creative process that makes the building stand out and give it character.
The building furthermore demonstrate environmental sustainability: Solar panels are used as an alternative source of energy and the consumption of electricity is kept visual to keep an eye on the usage. Rain water is collected, there’s access to compost toilets and soil blocks are used for construction (burned ‘bricks’ made from local soil mixed with a bit of cement and pressed in a mechanical press).
Details have been processed on ground using locally available materials.
project team:
Project managers Carina Nissen and Wiebke Engels.