page_title: Anna Heringer
section_title: Projects
hierarchical_section_title: Anna Heringer / Projects
caption_attribution_description: English: Desi training centre, Haripur, Rajshahi, Bangladesh, designed and completed by German architect Anna Heringer.
context_page_description: Anna Heringer is a German architect. A proponent of sustainable architecture, she has designed a number of notable buildings including the METI Handmade School in Rudrapur, Bangladesh.
context_section_description: Through her projects, Heringer has sought to give local craftsmen and the local community confidence in their use of traditional building methods, preparing them for the future. She also strives to maintain ecological balance, avoiding the detrimental effects of modern architectural methods. Indeed, the Bangladesh projects have been seen as instrumental in opening up a new approach to sustainable building, drawing as they do on local materials and making use of the skills of local workers.
  The METI Handmade School, a primary school for 168 students, relies on regional construction and local materials but introduces new approaches for efficiency and structural integrity. As a result of improvements to the bamboo structures and lashing, it was possible to add a second storey to the building. Brick foundations were used to minimize the effects of moisture on the earthen walls. The bricks were made by local craftsmen while the remaining construction work was a collaborative effort by the architects, teachers, students and locals.
  DESI, a vocational school for electricians, is of interest not only because it is powered by solar energy but as it is the first mud-built structure in Bangladesh to have indoor plumbing. An extension of the METI project, it called on the services of local students and craftsmen in the hope that the skills they learnt would be reapplied in the region. While local materials, mainly mud and bamboo, were used, structural stability and viability were improved with a masonry foundation and damp-proofing. No machinery was used in the construction apart from making use of cows for mixing the earth, water and rice straw. The building houses two classrooms, two apartments for the instructors with bathroom and toilets, and includes a student bathroom with toilets and sinks on the ground floor. Plumbing additions are unusual in mud buildings as they normally require concrete or masonry structures.
  The Training Center for Sustainable Construction in Chwiter, Marrakesh, again draws on local craftsmanship and materials, in this case earth, wood and ceramics. The project has been seen as having the potential to become a model for Morocco and beyond.
caption: Anna Heringer: DESI Vocational School, Rudrapur, Bangladesh (completed 2006)
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