African Design Magazine December 2014 | Page 50

and light and reducing building energy demands. The building is a hybrid of materials each chosen for a balance of Environmental, social and economic sustainability, but the material must be able to perform in an environment with seismic activity, a rainforest climate and where the limited money used for maintenance could be used by UAC for their operations. The two main materials are timber and concrete. Concrete made in Cameroon by the Cameroonian Goverment Cimencam will be used. Concrete is used for a water impervious foundation and timber for the roof, both being appropriate choices in a seismically active rainforest region. No glass is used/needed. Timber is used as much as possible. Locally sourced sustainable timber was specified from the outset, this however was unavailable and so local timber which is positive for the local socio-economic sustainability will be sourced and there will be onsite mitigation with tree planting. Composting toilets will be used, not just to teach young people that in nature there’s no waste, but also to fertilise the agricultural activities on site. Bird boxes will be designed and built by local school children with the intention to increase site biodiversity, provide educational opportunities and will be incorporated into the centre complex. The building has been design to be passively lit during the day and passively ventilated with 175m2 of openings. Due to an uncertain Municipal Energy supply, Cameroon Football For Hope Centre has been designed with the capability to function off grid for six hours, however, human behaviour will be critical in determining if the centre will have sufficient power to operate equipment from the available Photovoltaic panels, so a ‘building use pamphlet’ will be produced to educate users in energy conservation. AD LOCATION: Besongabang, Cameroon DESIGNER: Nathan Jones CONTRACTOR: Vision International SIZE: 180m² i 50 africandesignmagazine.com