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‘Kigali Is Like A Lab’: The Rwandan Design School Upending African Architecture

‘Kigali Is Like A Lab’: The Rwandan Design School Upending African Architecture

Rwandan architect Victor Iyakaremye believes his home country is the ideal location to develop a new generation of African architects and designers.

He is one of a select group of 10 architects who have completed a 20-month fellowship at the Kigali-based African Design Center, according to Massdesign.

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“Kigali is like a lab. You go and test ideas. There is a huge opportunity opening in every area, not only in architecture,” Iyakaremye told CNN.

The Rwandan capital’s innovative nature fits the aims of the African Design Center, which plans to disrupt the architecture industry in Africa.

The institution expects to groom professionals capable of addressing the design and construction challenges that come with Africa’s rapid population growth and urbanization, according to the center.

Africa is expected to account for more than half of the world’s population growth between 2015 and 2050, according to U.N. research.

Its population is projected to double by 2050, and could double again by 2100, the U.N believes.

African architecture
Construction work at the Green Point Soccer stadium in Cape Town. AP Photo – Schalk van Zuydam

A shortage of qualified architects means that many sub-Saharan African countries lack the homegrown architectural talent and sustainable approach needed to build cost-effective infrastructure, according to Intergate.

Africa has only 35,000 designers and architects across the entire continent, while Italy alone has 153,000, according to DesignBoom.

The design school in Kigali plans to overcome these challenges by training more architects, sourcing building materials locally and using ancient craft techniques that globalization has snubbed, according to CNN.

Design school graduates like Iyakaremye are taking what they learned from their 20-month fellowship and sharing it with as many people as they can, ensuring that architecture becomes accessible to more across Africa.