Projects

In July 2011, former students and employees of Anhalt University of Applied Sciences initiated the founding of the non-profit organisation ‘Mirador’ together with other committed individuals from the environment of previous projects. The aim of founding the association was to ensure the continuity of student construction projects at Anhalt University of Applied Sciences, to preserve the experience gained in development cooperation and to pass this knowledge on to future generations.

As part of this objective, the ‘Gamma’ project was initiated through personal contact with a school in Chocruz, a mountainous region in the central highlands of Guatemala that is severely disadvantaged in terms of infrastructure. The region is predominantly inhabited by descendants of the Mayan culture, who are excluded from basic development measures due to structural discrimination by state institutions in Guatemala.

A needs analysis on site, carried out by members of the association and students from Anhalt University of Applied Sciences, revealed serious deficits in medical care: There was no medical infrastructure in the immediate vicinity, meaning that the local population had to walk for several hours to access healthcare.

In cooperation with the ‘Aldea Laura’ school in Chocruz and Mirador e.V. in Leipzig, the concept for a health and maternity clinic was then developed. An interdisciplinary team of students from Anhalt University of Applied Sciences took responsibility for the entire project cycle - from needs analysis and design planning to fundraising and realisation on site. The design-build principle was thus transferred to the context of international development cooperation and supplemented by aspects of participatory planning and sustainable impact.

The cooperation with other stakeholders is particularly noteworthy: Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences developed and implemented a sustainable wastewater system for the facility, while the German embassy in Guatemala provided funding for the medical equipment. These partnership-based approaches are in line with the principles of development cooperation in that they address local needs, strengthen capacities and promote sustainable structures.

The realisation of the health and maternity clinic has made a significant contribution to improving basic medical care in Chocruz. In addition, a training centre for medical professionals has been created, which will strengthen local skills in the long term. The Mirador e.V. association continues to support the project, in particular by financing salaries and medicines, thereby contributing to the sustainable provision of healthcare in the region.

Project objective

Planning, financing and construction of a health and obstetric outpatient clinic

Scope of construction

Floor area: 160 m²

Time frame

Planning phase: 12 months
Construction phase: 6 months

Financial Conditions:

Total costs: € 43,165.89
Construction costs: € 35,202.53
Ancillary costs: € 7,963.36

Organisation

Interdisciplinarity: Architecture, Design and Social Business Administration (HS Rhein-Waal)
Participants planning phase: 19 students
Participants construction phase: 22 students

Project supervision

Project management: Prof. Dr. Claus Dießenbacher
Structural engineering, statics: Dipl. Ing. Susanne Herz
Organisation, design, planning, execution: Dipl. -Ing. Carola Rauch, Dipl. -Ing. Sebastian Opp
Planning, execution: Michael Bieler

Networking

Mirador e.V., Aldea Laura, German Embassy Guatemala, Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences

Specialisation Architecture

Dirk Müller, Tino Ahlmann, Martin Frotscher

Marco Vargas Weers, Julian Höll, Janin Moritz

John Lindner, Nine Baumgarten, Johanna Brandl

Marina Jostina, Jens Hader, Achim Kolba

Josephine Tetzner, Christian Stock, Johanna Grau

Michael Bieler, Stefan Kroder

Design specialisation

Margarethe Quaas, Eric Puttrowait

Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences, specialising in Social Business Administration

Paul Naethe, Johannes Papathanasiou, Felix Sohnrey