San-Francisco-based architecture firm Studio Mortazavi and nonprofit organization Thinking Huts will build the world’s first 3D-printed school in Madagascar. The construction of the school will take place in the second half of 2021. The project aims to get students into the classroom as soon as the pandemic is no longer a significant threat to public health. The 3D-printed school will be built on a university campus in Fianarantsoa, a city in the island nation’s south-central area. The 3D printer will come from a Finnish company called Hyperion Robotics, specializing in 3D printing solutions for reinforced concrete.
The school’s modular design will look like a honeycomb. Each node in the whole module will consist of a room with two bathrooms, a closet, and a front and rear entrance. There will be just one node in the school initially, but it will then be extended as local technologists participate in the building process. The roof of the building will be equipped with solar panels to provide the school with sustainable power.
Zoom Out: The project born out of the collaboration between Studio Mortazavi and Thinking Huts aims at increasing global access to education through the 3D printing technology that significantly reduces the costs of construction of the physical spaces required for the face to face education. If successful, The pilot school will be the first of many more to come across multiple countries.
