MARIA GRACIA CUTULI PRIMARY SCHOOL,

AFGHANISTAN

Sreedevi .K

Architects: 2A+P/A, Gianfranco Bombaci, Matteo Costanzo IaN+ – Carmelo Baglivo, Luca Galofaro, Stefania Manna; Ma0 – Massimo Ciuffini, Ketty Di Tardo, Alberto Iacovoni, Luca La Torre with Architect Mario Cutuli

Location: Kush Rod, Injil District, Herat, Afghanistan

Structures: Studio Croci Associati Ing. Federico Croci

Completion: April 2011

Site Area: 2,000 sqm

School Area: 650 sqm

Construction cost is about 150.000 €,

The school was built in honour of Italian journalist Maria Grazia Cutuli, who was murdered in Afghanistan in 2001, and represents an alternative approach to emergency school design for war-torn areas

her brother, Mario Cutuli ,an architect, has created a school to her memory and a new message of hope for the country’s future generation

Design by

2A+P

IAN+

IAN+

MA0Mario Cutuli

The research for an innovative educational space as an alternative to those models related to the after-war reconstruction emergencies has been one of the key points of the project

The design of the outside space as a ‘green classroom’ The attempt to use local technologies and construction materials mainly.

SITE & GROUND PLAN

CLOSED & OPEN SPACE

LANDSCAPE & HARDSCAPE

CIRCULATION

SECTION

APPROCH VIEW

The colours of the structure will help make it a recognizable landmark that is visible from a distance

The site of the school is a dry, dusty, flat piece of land in Kush Rod village, bordered on the north by the dark Hindu Kush Mountains

The structure of the building is a reinforced concrete frame, closed by solid bricks

All the materials and the applied technologies have been defined according to the local uses

All the façades and the border walls will be painted using different tones of blue

This colour is usually used in Afghanistan and the aim of the project is to create a blue landmark visible from the surroundings

Materials

The windows have been designed as iron frames, painted in red to make contrast with the blue of the walls.

The orientation of the classrooms and the design of the façades have been thought to assure the right amount of daylight and natural ventilation

two-storey library rises above blue-painted walls surrounding a cluster of blue-painted single-storey classrooms

The only two-floors volume is the library that acts as a symbolic landmark for the village.

red iron frames the windows of a two storey library that additionally bolsters a program of eight classrooms, secretarial office, staffrooms and a caretaker's house

an articulated layout: a series of linked boxes containing both the classrooms and the connection corridors

The only two-floors volume is the library that acts as a symbolic landmark for the village

The complex is enclosed by an equally bright protective wall, so as to create a space free of distraction

Both external and internal spaces contribute in the definition of the educational environment

Among the classrooms there are small and intimate outdoor spaces where kids can stay, play and relax under the shadow of about fifty trees

The main courtyard, embraced by the building represents the most relational space of the school