CAA 2024 Awards Showcase: The Environmental Impact Award – The Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture

31 October 2024. In this session, we explore the design philosophy behind the Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture (RICA) designed by MASS Design Group and overall winner of the 2024 CAA Environmental Impact Award.

Session Objective & Outline

Acknowledging that the building and construction sector accounts for over 34% of global energy demand, the need to think critically about designing with climate-sensitive approaches in mind has never been more important. The Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture (RICA) is an innovative case study which serves as an alternative model for sustainable agriculture, land use, and construction. Designed to be the first climate-positive campus of its kind, the buildings of this new campus have been designed with the lowest carbon footprint possible, aiming for a regenerative impact by 2040 and removing more carbon from the environment than will be produced by the campus’ creation and ongoing operations.

 

Outline 

  • Setting the Scene:
    Steven Oundo, CAA President and Hugo Chan, CAA Youth Representative provide an introduction to the event, outlining the United Nation’s and Commonwealth’s projected world population, and the importance of ecologically sustainable design to house these people in the coming decades.
  • Design Philosophy:
    Anton Larsen, Design Director at MASS Design Group in Kigali, introduces the practice’s overarching ethos of ‘A Model of Architecture Serving Society,’ highlighting their critical engagement with understanding climate, context and community behind the development of their project.
  • Construction and Methodologies:
    Taking us on a journey through the Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture, Anton highlights key design aspects, construction methods and integrated systems in the project to demonstrate how a carbon-positive approach to architecture can be delivered.
  • Questions & Answers:
    Following the presentation, Anton responds to a series of audience questions ranging from design implementation to the potential for future applications.

Learning Outcomes

Learning Outcomes

The sessions learning outcomes were:

  • Understand how to work within a design framework and mindset of achieving the aims of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through a real-world exemplar case study.
  • Understand how to make informed decisions about integration of various strategies to deliver a climate-positive outcome through a whole-of-systems approach to architectural design.
  • Understand how a critically informed understanding of context, involving climate, material availability, existing construction techniques and socio-cultural practices can be an important factor in shaping the design process and outcome of a project.
  • Be introduced to a range of different construction methods, technologies and techniques which integrate the contextual architectural language of a place with climate-positive design in mind.
  • Be introduced to examples of a ‘whole-of-system’ approach including understanding how we can trace sources of carbon emissions for the entire manufacturing process of construction materials.
  • Be introduced to examples of how local customs, technologies and embedded knowledges can help support and inform design to achieve better outcomes for communities to meet their needs and aspirations.

 

Core Curriculum Topics

  • Design, Construction & Technology
  • Inclusive Environments
  • Places, Planning & Community
  • Sustainable Architecture

 

SDG Learning Outcomes

  • SDG11 – Sustainable Cities & Communities
  • SDG12 – Responsible Consumption & Production
  • SDG13 – Climate Action

 

CPD Learning Questions

To test your learning and understanding from this session, we encourage participants to respond to the following CPD reflection questions:

  1. What was the key takeaway message you learnt from this session?
  2. Following this CPD Session, what does the term ‘Environmental Impact’ mean for you in the context of architecture and design? Has this CPD session changed your idea of what this term means?
  3. What is a key idea, construction technique or design method that you learned from this CPD session that you feel you could apply to a project you are working on or developing?
  4. What do you see as a key challenge in your home country or practice environment which is preventing further progress towards ecologically sustainable development and achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals?

Presenters

Anton Larsen Payá

Anton Larsen Payá is a Principal at MASS Design Group’s Africa Studio based in Kigali, Rwanda. Since joining MASS in 2017, he has curated an extensive portfolio of transformative projects in education, civic development, workspace, and affordable housing domains, including the revitalization of a historic site into Norrsken Kigali House, Africa’s largest hub for entrepreneurs, which won the prestigious 2023 Monocle Design Award for Best Business Campus.

As an accredited EDGE Expert and AIA International Associate, Anton advocates for sustainable design and has shaped sustainable urban development practices through his thought leadership as the Green Gicumbi Climate Resilient Settlements Expert and his involvement with the Strategic Environmental Assessment of the Rwanda Urbanization Policy. His research focuses on climate positive design, contributing to seminal projects like the Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture and developing viable opportunities for affordable housing in East Africa, while advancing MASS’s organisational sustainability goals by implementing carbon targets and measurement tools across project teams

Anton Larsen
Hugo Chan

Hugo Chan (Session Moderator)

Hugo Chan is the Director and Chartered Architect of StudioHC, combining expertise in architecture (B.ArchSt. 2013, M.Arch 2015 UNSW) and environmental law (DipGradEnvLaws 2020 USyd) to drive research focused on ecological and cultural sustainability in urban environments. Since 2016, he has served as a sessional academic at UNSW Built Environment and the University of Sydney, teaching history, theory, and urban renewal while supervising Honours theses. His research practice has earned significant recognition through prestigious grants including the 2017 Byera Hadley Travelling Scholarship and the Alastair Swayn Foundation’s Strategic Research Grant, resulting in published works such as “Hope in High-Rise” and “Architecture & Belonging.” Beyond academia, Hugo is actively engaged with the Australian Institute of Architects as the EmAGN representative on the National Heritage Committee and serves as Youth Representative on the Council of the Commonwealth Association of Architects (2024-2026). His multifaceted contributions across practice, research, teaching, and community activism led to his recognition by Australian Design Review as one of the 30Under30 Architects and Innovators of the Built Environment for 2023-24.

Hugo Chan

Additional Resources

To discover more about this project, please feel free to visit:

 

 

Post-Event Feedback & Report