New Multipurpose Hall at St. Bernard’s Secondary School in Uganda

St. Bernard’s Secondary School Receives New Multipurpose Hall from Cotton On Foundation

St. Bernard’s Secondary School in Mannya village, Southern Uganda, recently unveiled its new Multipurpose Hall, thanks to funding from the Cotton On Foundation. The hall, which can accommodate up to 650 students, serves as both an assembly and dining space, and features a covered external auditorium with a simple stage and a school kitchen. The building was designed by Studio FH Architects and constructed by Trust Builders, with the help of other consultants.

Amphitheatre-Style Seating Provides Versatility

The Multipurpose Hall features three curved steps that create an amphitheater-style seating arrangement that can be used for stage performances or communal events. The bench-height steps are also wide enough to accommodate dining tables and benches, making the space versatile enough to serve multiple purposes. The hall's design was intended to create a communal atmosphere in which everyone relates to everyone, fostering a sense of community among the school's students.

Locally Sourced Materials and Appropriate Technologies Used

To build the Multipurpose Hall, the design team utilized a potpourri of locally available materials, including clay bricks, tiles, and stone slates. These materials were stacked in layers to clad the tilted reinforced concrete columns. The hall also features a 21m spanning metal roof, which is designed to allow natural daylight to ingress through narrow triangular strips of vertical translucent roofing sheets. The design team also incorporated a number of appropriate technologies into the building, including concealed rainwater harvesting from 90% of the roof area, solar chimneys in the kitchen to improve natural ventilation, and fuel-efficient firewood stoves with built-in water pre-heating.

Affordable Design Provides Much-Needed Educational Infrastructure

The construction of the Multipurpose Hall is part of the Cotton On Foundation's charitable work in the districts of Rakai and Lwengo. The foundation has been actively investing in the construction of educational infrastructure in the region, including the Ross Langdon Health Education Centre. The affordable design of the Multipurpose Hall provides much-needed educational infrastructure to the region, improving the school's ability to provide quality education to its students.

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