KWIECO Shelter House / Hollmén Reuter Sandman Architects

Architects: Hollmén Reuter Sandman Architects
Location: Moshi, Tanzania
Architect In Charge: Saija Hollmén, Jenni Reuter and Helena Sandman. Hollmén Reuter Sandman
Area: 423.0 sqm
Year: 2015
Photographs: Juha Ilonen

Structural Engineer: Larissa and Mike Leach, GMP Engineers
Contractor: Prajesh Chauhan, Rocktronic Ltd

From the architect. Kilimanjaro Women Information Exchange and Consultancy Organization (KWIECO) was founded in 1987. It provides advice on legal, health, social and economic issues to women. Just as in the rest of Africa, women in Kilimanjaro are highly vulnerable to violations of their rights to life, liberty and security. Violence against women is permitted by social and cultural attitudes; the law has failed to provide adequate safeguards against violence, nor has it been able to promote attitudes conducive to women’s enjoyment of their fundamental rights.

KWIECO has outlined a project to develop the concept of, and eventually found, a Shelter House. Together with Ukumbi NGO, KWIECO introduced the project to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, and was awarded funds for setting up the necessary operations and infrastructure for the first phase. The completion time for the construction of the first phase is May 2015. Ukumbi and KWIECO are currently trying to raise funds for the second and final phase.

The architecture of the Shelter House respects local culture and spatial hierarchy. Local materials, renewable energies, local manpower and know-how are used, as well as participatory planning. to ensure that users have a sense of mental ownership in the shelter.