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Health care in Uganda is still extremely underdeveloped and inefficient. Due to the high number of HIV infected individuals, special organisations were established to serve the medical, social and psychological needs of these people. TASO — The Aids Support Organisation — is the biggest of these organisations in Uganda. They work to encourage people to live positively with Aids. This diploma project presents a flexible & cost-effective solution for a number of targets. The main focus of the project lies on the establishment of a well organised & attractive child care centre for TASO Tororo.

The buildings of many TASO centres are designed for medical purposes & were cumulatively added to over a long time. This method often results in inadequate design. Especially for the specific requirements of child care units. Children and their overwhelming need for care, love & trust seem to be rather overlooked. The Child-Care-Project focuses on the disadvantages and proposes solutions that will make adequate child care become a reality. The centres are designed to be adaptable, child friendly and flexible in size and equipment.

They offer interesting architecture, psycho-social incentives, but serve medical requirements too. TASO clients are now able to leave their children in a well-designed environment, that provides social and psychological support. That way, the parents are able to concentrate on their treatment and counselling sessions. Thus, the concept is designed to benefit the whole.

The main project site is in Tororo, which requires an additional food-supply storage and a conference room. The adaptability of the design brings us back to the big picture, the improvement of the child support for TASO. The project also tries to accommodate individual features to serve the needs and wishes of both, the clients and the staff. Building rooms is a natural desire for children I believe. I created rooms everywhere, at any time and in all sizes and shapes when I was a child.

Maybe architects are people who just haven't lost that childlike desire and need of creating spaces and rooms. A room can be anything from a blanket hanging over some chairs to castle like structures in the backyard. Creating and shaping, rethinking and redesigning helps children to understand their environment and the world around them. By playing pauper and king in castles and tiny huts, children learn to understand society and social frameworks. Spaces that are provided for children, should therefore inspire to explore, test and reshape — doing it over and over again.

I believe that rooms for young children shouldn't be industrialised. This is how adults think and organise. I can't remember a single hut I built that was shaped rectangular, and why would it? Children experience space in a different way. They test its ability to function, to house their wishes and needs — and these can change over night. Adults often observe the space, think it through and decide if it would fit their needs or not. They assume a certain use for things and rooms.

My friends and I were often attracted to oddly shaped corners, we created spaceships, castles and hiding places for heroes. To explore shapes and spaces we do not fully understand in the beginning, supports the creativity and exploring mind of children. To shape spaces ourselves, to play in them, to build, to invent and rethink the whole setting again and again, allows children to learn to think freely. Children in Africa deal with round shapes in a different way than kids in our Western society. Their traditional homes are often round and they feel secure in that natural, organic shape. I think they do have an advantage over our children in that respect, as most of them are squared and chaired straight from their early lives and have to behave as 'normal' as possible.

I believe that architecture and architects should support these small natural builders in their creativity and learn from their un-straightened thoughts and ideas about space and forms. There are no 4m x 0.60m wardrobes in a child's imagination. Inside or outside, warm or cold and built or un-built are considerations, which need to be examined for each building project. In Africa, and more so in an area close to the equator, this part of any project work is rather difficult for European architects. General solutions and personal philosophies may or may not work in a tropical climate. Ideas considering light, shade, temperatures or personal comfort zones may even be reversed. People in Uganda make no difference between inside and outside spaces.

This refers to the size and the perceived quality of the spaces. The temperatures are above 20°C throughout the year. In Europe - and here especially in Scandinavia - we seek to capture every ray of light. Almost half of the year is dark and grey, so we tend to include huge windows, glazed winter gardens and open terraces into our designs. Ugandans tent to do the complete opposite. They are desperate for shade and dark rooms to get a change from the constantly bright light. I visited villages & looked at the rural buildings and observed the behaviour of people towards space and light.

Well ventilated inside spaces with only little and indirect light and shaded outside areas are what Ugandans seem to be most comfortable with. I used this impression and designed a child-centre that uses these specific areas to an almost equal amount. The physical border between inside and outside is designed rather blurry. The naturally ventilated inside needs to be directly and strongly connected to the outside for a smooth flow of function, light, play and communication. I ceased to speak of inside and outside areas and developed the more appropriate approach of enclosed and open spaces. The feeling of being inside has obviously nothing to do with ultra tight windows and heat insulation. The feeling of shelter seems to be more important. I consequently created a pleasant and enjoyable, well functioning and satisfying child centre in Uganda that can provide exactly that feeling.

So why hammer a ball through a squared hole into a box?