Hope Dental Centre Architecture Competition
Shortlisted - Rwanda

This was a fun competition in the early years of our office, which we completed with our friends at Hooper Architecture and Lind&Co. The brief called for a dental clinic, conference centre, accommodation block and warehouse on a hilly site in verdant Kigali, Rwanda. We didn’t want to play into the (often wrong) stereotypes of Africa - but instead, we proposed a simple, quietly confident series of contemporary buildings that are grounded and breezy.

We arrayed buildings down the site, created interesting terraces and gardens in between, and let the Chapel be an open “court” - always opening, the sounds resonating throughout the entry foyer, where visitors can come and quietly participate in services.

For us as Architects, competitions are an opportunity to sharpen our skills and take on new project types. Winning was never the motivation - only that as we work we would be challenged to grow, and in effect the graphic skills and languages would later translate into our own, real-world projects.