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Architecture for Humanity

Building a HIV/AIDS Clinic

By Jackie Craven, About.com

The lack of adequately equipped medical facilities has made treating AIDS in Africa extremely difficult. To meet this need, Architecture for Humanity challenged architects and health care professionals to submit designs for a mobile HIV/AIDS health clinic.

Designers were given six months to develop schemes for a fully equipped, mobile medical unit and HIV/AIDS treatment center that could not only be used for testing, prevention and treatment of the disease but also for disseminating information regarding the virus and providing basic health care services.

In submitting designs, entrants were asked to consider a number of criteria, including:

  • ease of deployment and maintenance by a small team of medical professionals
  • community acceptance
  • cost
More than 530 teams from 51 countries entered the competition. In November 2002, an international jury of architects and medical professionals met to select the first, second and third place winners, as well as a Founders Award and eight notable entries.

Discussions revolved around issues of mobility, storage, security and community involvement. For example, the jury believed that semi-articulated trucks would not be able to cover the regionfs difficult terrain, particularly during inclement weather. Designs dependent on a specific vehicle type would require maintenance and spare parts unavailable in many areas, a number of jurors agreed, while designs that could be deployed using a range of transportation modes offered greater mobility. Adequate and flexible storage, as well as the need to secure equipment and supplies both during transport and at night, also presented significant concerns. Creating ownership within the community, the jury felt, was another important goal. Recognizing the diversity of the region both in terms of geography and culture, the group favored designs that could be glocalized rather than Africanized.

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