Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture (RICA) campus located in Bugesera District is the recipient of the 15th Veronica Rudge Green Prize in Urban Design awarded by Harvard University Graduate School of Design (GSD). This was announced by GSD on July 10. ALSO READ: Rwanda bets on agriculture institute to drive up innovation Established in 1986, the biennial Green Prize recognises projects that make an exemplary contribution to the public realm of a city, improve the quality of life in that context, and demonstrate a humane and worthwhile direction for the design of urban environments. Eligible projects must include more than one building or open space constructed in the last 10 years, according to GSD. MASS Design, the company behind RICA campus architecture, landscape, engineering, furniture design and fabrication, as well as construction for the project, will receive the $50,000 (over Rwf70 million) prize. An exhibition coinciding with the prize will be on display at Druker Design Gallery beginning October 27. A public lecture and reception for the exhibition is scheduled for November 5, in Piper Auditorium at the GSD. “With this award, the GSD acknowledges not just design excellence but also excellence in the process,” said Joan Busquets, chair of the Green Prize jury and Martin Bucksbaum Professor in Practice of Urban Planning and Design at the GSD. “Infused with a commitment to experimentation, realized through constant negotiation between the city officials, motivated designers, and mobilized citizens, and educating other cities about implementation pathways, the RICA project sets a new standard for evaluating innovation in the field of urban design.” Alan Ricks, founding principal and co-executive director of MASS said that they were grateful that the Green Prize is elevating the role of design as a strategy for planetary healing and a catalyst for human potential. “RICA is a powerful reminder that design can be both—a model of abundance not defined by excess, but by balance—where education, conservation, and community thrive together in the face of ecological limits and towards a social foundation where all can flourish.” ALSO READ: Top Rwandan college's architectural design long-listed for Dezeen Awards 2024 The campus features Founded by American philanthropist Howard G. Buffett, RICA educates the next generation of farmers and agricultural leaders in developing healthy, sustainable food systems. As per the statement, promoting biodiversity, ecological conservation, and community participation, the campus design reinforces the experiential approach to learning at the heart of RICA’s curriculum. RICA’s master plan includes more than 20,000 square meters of buildings and 1400 hectares of landscape. The project encompasses housing, academic spaces, barn storage, processing space, stormwater systems, human and animal waste management systems, and off-grid energy infrastructure. Its master plan was guided by the unique theory of One Health, an understanding that human, ecological, and animal health are intertwined. ALSO READ: Kagame, Ruto tour Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture RICA harnesses symbiotic ecological and agricultural relationships, and regenerative principles to achieve greater crop yields, increased biodiversity, utilized waste streams, healthier soils, and cleaner water. The campus is connected by a central spine that supports social movement and cohesion. Connective programming along this corridor spatially links agricultural techniques and supports campus life. The institute’s research goals necessitate a variety of feed options for livestock, which include dairy cattle, goats, sheep, poultry, and swine, to complement the diversity of field and irrigation types inherent to crop management. The landscape architects established spatial parameters for the campus enterprises, including biosecurity vectors for barns, circulation/feed routes, waste management, and pastures. Green goals and addressing carbon emissions RICA is expected to have a net-zero carbon footprint through landscape design, sustainable construction methods, and materials, such as stone, soil, and vegetation, sourced directly from the site. The project is energy-independent, drawing power from renewable, off-grid energy sources built as part of the project. The RICA team developed a supply chain of building materials harvested, crafted, and sourced locally, with 90 per cent of the budget spent within 500 miles of the site and 96 per cent of materials sourced within Rwanda. Taking into account all stages of the building process—material extraction, manufacturing, transportation, and installation—RICA’s embodied carbon will be 58 per cent less than the global average for institutional works. It is estimated to become carbon-positive by 2044, positioning the project as a model for sustainable development. Employment of local workers was also prioritized, with about 90 per cent of the 1300-person workforce from the Bugesera district. RICA is powered by an on-site 1.5MW solar array and battery storage. In addition to the electrical draw of the campus, the array supports a network of lake pumps, filtering stations, and irrigation systems. Wastewater streams became a guiding design factor, and the team implemented a treatment plant for human waste, recycling the byproduct for forage crop irrigation. The master plan orchestrates the collection, distribution, and storage of animal waste to safely support composting and fertilization. RICA is part of multimillion-dollar agriculture initiatives in the country that are funded by Buffett.
