Architecture students from Rwanda and beyond yesterday completed a three-week international workshop on cultural heritage project of the Boma Village, the current Kandt Museum. The workshop brought students from University of Rwanda School of Architecture, Uganda Martyrs University and Università Iuav di Venezia from Venice, Italy. The workshop was dubbed WAVe 2018. Built at the end of the 19th century, Boma Village is the first German settlement in the then Kingdom of Rwanda. Today, there only remains a fragment of the structure at the Kandt House Museum. The museum which dedicated to Richard Kandt, a German physician and explorer of Africa is located at his former home on Nyarugenge Hill in Kigali city and was turned into Natural History Museum since 2006. Currently, Kandt House is the oldest modern edifice in Kigali. The workshop was aimed at nurturing creativity among students on integrating urban and human scale into architecture. This is with an aim to come up with designs that are relevant to specific regions climate and community. Dr. Manlio Michieletto a senior lecturer and organizer of the workshop said that participating students had a chance to develop creative independence which is key in the competence as future architect. “Architectural workshops are very important for career advancements. Later, students will have a desire to improve their skills continuously. Encouraging collaboration among Rwandan, Ugandan and Italian students will foster creativity unique creativity taking into account aspects such as the environment and local construction materials among others,” he said. At the workshop, students worked in 3 groups and came up with different projects. Their projects will be presented to a team of judges based in Italy to compete with designs from other countries. The winning project will be awarded. Chelsea Asia, a student at Uganda Martyrs University said that the workshop presented her an opportunity to learn about the history of Kigali City and also interact with students from different backgrounds. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
