Archstorming Announces Winning Designs for Mozambique Preschool

Written by Eric Baldwin
Published on January 10, 2020

Archstorming has announced the winning designs for a preschool in Mozambique. Participants were challenged to design a school for disabled children in Xai-Xai. and the winning proposal will be built with the help of the NGO Somos del Mundo and the local initiative Estamos Juntos. Judges selected the five winners and ten honorable mentions.

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Some of the judges included Mariam Kamara from Atelier Masomi and Wes Degreef from BC Architects & Studies (all of them with experience in projects in Africa), among others. First prize was awarded to Xavier Silva, Manuel Villalaín and Hazem Elshafei from The Netherlands. Whereas the second prize was granted to Lucía Ulla, Alejandro Ayala, Cristina Sanchez, Adrián López from Spain and third prize to ADD Architects from Egypt. The two special honorable mentions were awarded to Ou Yang Massimo Hu, Lingshan Zhang from Italy and Liang Hu, Naomi Ng from the USA.

1^st prize - Xavier Silva, Manuel Villalaín and Hazem Elshafei – Groningen, The Netherlands

“The plinth consists of successive platforms placed along the slope, intrinsically shaped by the topography. They limit the majority of the spaces created. Their placement in different heights of the topography minimizes the removal/addition of the earth, creating at the same time a smooth ramp arrangement that binds the sole project in a single loop. Besides its formal amenities, it is affective in constructive and economical aspects. Above this element, clay brick walls will define the limits of the Project.”

2^nd prize - Lucía Ulla, Alejandro Ayala, Cristina Sanchez, Adrián López – Barcelona, Spain

“the project seeks the minimum unit of educational space, providing each classroom with its own appropriable porch and its natural outdoor space. In this band, children are able to develop all their educational activities. A place to learn, to play, to run, to cultivate and to discover the nature.”

3rd prize – ADD Architects – Alexandria, Egypt

“Interwoven Pathways is applied by staggering square units on site and focusing on making their in-between spaces just as interesting. Such spaces are gathering areas for outdoor activities served by circulation paths where children are allowed to move freely with an easy visual connectivity and protection against direct sun and heat.”

Honorable Mentions

Special Honorable Mention: Ou Yang Massimo Hu, Lingshan Zhang – Milan, Italy
Special Honorable Mention: Liang Hu, Naomi Ng – New Haven, CT, USA
Honorable Mention 1: Eliana Ailén Olivera, Leandro Ezequiel Enriquez – Posadas, Argentina
Honorable Mention 2: Haitham Al-Husseiny, Rawan Alnajjar, Mona Abou Fayad, Dalal Alhourani – Dubai, UAE
Honorable Mention 3: Tomás Martínez García, Florian Reisacher – Barcelona, Spain
Honorable Mention 4: NOMAD – Barcelona, Spain
Honorable Mention 5: Livio Ercoli, Roland Winkler, Sebastian Correa, Gabriella Michelle – Shanghai, China
Honorable Mention 6: Dongming He, Qige Qi, Zeyi Yuan, Yi Xie – Wuhan, China
Honorable Mention 7: Linn Stendahl, Antonia Myleus – Stockholm, Sweden
Honorable Mention 8: Izaskun Soto, Henar Merino, Felipe Sancho, Ane Santamaria – Barcelona, Spain
Honorable Mention 9: Edwin Zuñiga – Cucuta, Colombia
Honorable Mention 10: Luciana Baez, Belen Graef – Posadas, Argentina

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