EcoSteel International Prefab
Africa School Buildings + Housing Project
Paolo Volpis, Head of Design
The project is geared toward a Technology Transfer of building techniques and components to eventually be fabricated and installed on a regional basis. The prototype building design was conceptualized around cost control, climate, local resources, low operation costs, and the possibility to be built in phases minimizing a negative impact on the overall budget and operations. The Prefab System Design can be scaled up to 50,000 Units Annually;
The budget/scope criteria of the project have prescribed minimal finishes and industrial quality. In order to accomplish these goals the following principles were applied:
- The site would be raised above the flood line to prevent the building from disruption of the activities and to be a "safe zone" for the neighborhood to further embrace the population with education and humanitarian causes. In order to obtain the "mass" needed to raise the site zero elevation line, dirt would be removed from other areas to promote the creation of small artificial lakes or to create landfills.
- In addition to the EcoSteel Prefab System we incorporate locally sourced structural elements, retaining walls, and flooring decks will be built using cement block which contain plastics as aggregate; this mixture of ground plastics with OPC will allow to recycle a lot of local disposed plastic and create a system which promotes an out of the box and forward thinking mentality for the indigenous people.
- The volume required to rise the building above flood line would be also obtained by rain and flood water collectors, which would preserve and allow to reuse that water for irrigation during drought or non rainy seasons. The shipping containers needed to transport building materials will be reclaimed into the building envelope.
The youth development center has several main programmatic elements including classrooms, a childcare center, a healthcare center, a gymnasium, and a lecture hall. The purpose of the Development Center is to open to the community and offer education in disciplines such Nutrition, Health and Fitness, Sewing, Technical, Agricultural, Mechanical, and Driving; some of these disciplines will be taught to both adults and children.
Asaba, as a large portion of Nigeria, is characterized by a climate with extreme conditions such as drought and floods, which occur on a regular seasonal basis, and each year they can have a very large impact on the population.
EcoSteel Prefab Building Systems provide a solution.
