Maternity Waiting Village / MASS Design Group

City: Kasungu, Malawi

Client: University of North Carolina Project – Malawil Malawi Ministry of Health; The Gates Foundation;
The Autodesk Foundation; Presidential Initiative for Safe Motherhood

Completion: 10/2015

Gross Floor Area: 670 mq

Architects: MASS Design Group

Design team: Michael Murphy, Alan Ricks, Patricia Gruits, Christian Benimana, Jean Paul Sebuhayi Uwase

Consultants: Tim White (Arup), Mazzetti, Built Environs Ltd.

Photo Credits: Iwan Baan

CONTEXT
Malawi suffers from one of the highest rates of maternal and infant mortality in the world.
Over 85% of the country’s population lives in rural settings, with little access to
professional medical care. As part of an effort to address this, the Presidential Initiative
on Maternal Health and Safe Motherhood has committed to building 130 maternity
waiting homes throughout the country.
MASS Design Group worked with the Ministry of Health architect to design a new
prototype maternity waiting home that would address these challenges and propose a
high-performing, replicable solution for the country.

DESIGN SOLUTIONS
MASS Design Group took design cues from the vernacular layout of Malawian villages,
where family compounds are composed of several small buildings housing branches of
an immediate family.
Covered pathways connect the units to one
another and to shared spaces (a kitchen,
medical consultation and screening room, and
classroom), providing shelter from the harsh
sun and heavy seasonal rains, while also
fostering a sense of community
There are three groups, each consisting of three lower buildings which accommodate sleeping -
areas and sanitary facilities and are arranged around small courtyards, the clusters are
completed by communal spaces.

Each room of the Maternity Waiting Village is developed around a simple scheme of
buttressed columns, connected together to form different practical elements: walls,
doors, as well as benches and storage areas.

Their dramatic overhangs protect walls from damage by the rain; in one direction the roof
overhang creates covered circulation areas, and in the other, shaded outdoor areas that
play host to daily activities. 
 The double-layered roof design
encourages air circulation to keep
rooms comfortable in the summer; in
the winter, the butterfly design allows
daytime sun to warm the CSEB walls,
which emit heat at night to maintain
pleasant sleeping temperatures.

courtyards and covered

outdoor spaces- are
used for a variety of
programming, including
workshops around pre-
and post-natal care, and
handicraft trainings to
help mothers earn
income

CONSTRUCTION

the project’s walls are constructed of Compressed

Stabilized Earth Blocks (CSEBs) as an alternative to
traditional fired brick.

Roof overhangs further protects walls from

degradation by the rain after the plaster layer
was eliminated, due to the expense aspect.