The Humane School
Abstract: My diploma project is a design proposal for a Rudolf Steiner School in Sirende, a village 12 km outside Kitale Town, Kenya. On Initiative taken by the anthroposophical association Föreningen Sofia in Sweden, a Steiner school opened in Sirende in year 2008. Today the school is in a very bad condition with over crowded classrooms and poor sanitary conditions. The need for a new school building is urgent and this project is my proposal for a new Humane School. My research for the project is focused on the Steiner pedagogy and architecture, building solutions in poor rural areas, and the east African architecture and culture. I have gathered information through literature readings, interviews, observations and study visits. Most part of the process has taken place in Lund, Sweden, and 4 weeks in October have been spent in Kenya for research. There are many challenges with this project. First of all I had to adapt the school design to the, for me, unknown African climate and weather conditions. I also had to translate the western Steiner architecture into the African community without forcing western culture on the people. By doing this project I wanted to investigate how the Steiner architecture can be combined with the African architecture and culture within a very low budget. I hope my work will help to create a viable school that will contribute to the development of Kenya. The Humane School project is a cooperation between ASF Sweden, The Humane School Board of Education in Kenya and the anthroposophical association Föreningen Sofia in Järna, Sweden.
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