African Leadership University

Our collaboration with African Leadership University created a campus that will train the next generation of African leaders. ALU's students declare missions instead of majors, structuring their studies around urgent needs such as climate change, healthcare, and future models of governance. The campus embodies this pedagogy, creating a replicable modular system for higher education that can expand across the continent.

The Kigali campus translates this vision into architecture through a modular field of circular brick pods that form an interconnected system of learning spaces. Constructed from locally made compressed earth blocks and brick, the design reduces waste, streamlines construction processes, and strengthens local craft. These pods terrace into Rwanda's iconic hills, framing courtyards, plazas, and pathways with panoramic views to the city beyond.

These modules house elevators and building systems, and create spaces tailored to ALU's unique pedagogy. Individual pods are used as quiet rooms for guided individual study and hives for one-on-one collaboration. Grouped together, they frame classrooms and larger collaborative common spaces.

The campus establishes a model that can be replicated on any of Rwanda's iconic thousand hills, creating an expandable framework for higher education that can scale with need. This supports the organization's ambitious mission to train 3 million ethical and entrepreneurial leaders for Africa and the world by 2035—an architectural strategy matched to the scale of a continental vision.

Project Info Year: 2020
Location: Kigali, Rwanda
Size: 6,500 sq. m
Typology: School

ClientAfrican Leadership University

Collaborators MASS Design Group
Arup
The Landscape Studio
MEW Consultants LTD
SUMMA