Designed by Joel Daniel Pringle and Architectural & Planning Studio, the MATTER Career Readiness Institute (MCRI) in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, was created to train students for remote technology jobs with American (US) and other international companies.  

It is the result of a collaborative partnership between Jamf, a leading technology company, and MATTER, a dedicated non-governmental organisation (NGO). 

Building with purpose 

The core programme takes the next important step for students coming out of the previously established Innovation Hub classrooms: Job creation. This year-long professional development training course will qualify students for internships with Jamf and other US IT companies, with the potential and goal of being hired as remote employees. 

Brick construction was chosen to showcase the local, traditional Hwange face bricks and support the local community.

Inspiring excellence 

Building design needed to inspire excellence in the community as a dedicated space for students. It should exhibit care and quality, beyond a functional envelope with no character.  

The community needed to believe that the partnership truly cared about this project, especially when trying to engage with a fairly unknown field of expertise in the region. 

Core to the success of this would be the consideration of social spaces, connectivity and response to the local climate, as well as creating a sense of identity and belonging.  

Reminiscent of a pixel matrix, the organic texture of rotated bricks across the facades is a subtle connection between nature and technology.

Design orientation 

Taking inspiration from a grove of trees under which a community can gather, the layout and structure of the buildings form a connected series of generous, organic and sheltered spaces. The design intention was to embrace a certain sense of informality and individuality, while still accommodating the rigidity of function. 

The varied nature of the shelter in scale, height and shape allows for many types of formal and informal social interaction, and individual interpretation beyond the basic function of the rooms. 

Passive design elements 

The entire centre was designed to run off the grid with solar panels. It is in an area where electricity supply can be scarce, and the heat and humidity are unbearable. For this reason, natural ventilation was key to the design, along with natural daylight, to reduce electric loads. 

Natural ventilation was achieved through the open-air courtyard, circulation and large roof overhangs. These large overhanging canopies are multi-functional, accommodating social informal spaces and circulation, and protect a generous amount of glass from direct sunlight so that the rooms are well-lit with natural daylight. Each room also has operable windows on opposing walls, allowing for direct cross-ventilation when open. 

Material orientation 

MCRI’s design seeks to showcase the local, traditional Hwange face-brick material by pushing it to its full potential. Inspired by the wild and natural beauty of the surrounding Zambezi National Park, a parametrically driven organic texture of rotated bricks was employed across the facades. Reminiscent of a pixel matrix, it is a subtle connection between nature and technology. 

Natural lighting was achieved with the use of high-level glass brick courses, which also helped to contrast the loadbearing steel structure with the brickwork envelope.  

Community-driven 

Brick construction was purposely chosen over imported products and materials. Being an inexpensive, local and labour-intensive material, this ensured that a higher percentage of construction costs went to local construction workers in the community. 

Raw face brick, by its nature, requires little maintenance over the long term. This is a cost-saving benefit to the community over the long term, while embodying inherent sustainability. 

Project details: 

Name:  MATTER Career Readiness Institute. 

Use: Institute, community. 

Location: Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. 

Area: 290m². 

Year: 2023. 

Architects: Architectural & Planning Studio, Joel Daniel Pringle. 

Project lead, design and management: Joel Daniel Pringle. 

Photographs: Joel Daniel Pringle and Michael Stoebner. 

Full thanks and acknowledgement to www.archdaily.com for the information in this article.