Project History
The Burere Schoolhouse project was obtained by the UC chapter in 2009. The project was granted to UC so that we could work in conjunction with Village Life Outreach Project (VLOP), a non-profit organization based in Cincinnati that works in the Rorya District of Tanzania.
Brainstorming began in the fall of 2009, with Mark Schutte, a second-year civil engineering major, leading the project. Mark made a preliminary assessment trip to Burere in October 2009, taking soil samples and performing a preliminary survey of the proposed location of the school. Dr. Mark Bowers, a professor at UC, performed a soil analysis for the group, and these results would be used in the design.
The first design for the schoolhouse began to take shape in late 2010. The schoolhouse was proposed to be a four room building, measuring 24' by 96'. This design went to the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) for review in the spring of 2011. This design was rejected by the TAC review, so the project team began to reevaluate the design options for the school.
In the fall of 2011, the project team obtained a major boost with the help of Jay Chamberlain and Avdhesh Gaur, two graduate students in structural engineering. Jay performed the structural design, and Avdhesh designed the roofing system. One of the main components of the building is the use of Interlocking Stabilized Soil Blocks (ISSB) in the construction of the walls of the school. This was one area where we ran into trouble with getting the original design approved. Little research has been done into ISSBs, so EWB-USA was hesitant in their use in the school design.
At this stage in the design, the team got another boost by working with Emily Roush and Dr. Tom Bible. Emily and Dr. Bible designed the health center operated by VLOP in Tanzania, and have worked with ISSBs in the design of the health center. ISSBs have very little strength on their own, so the idea of using them in the construction of the walls to be load bearing was a major point of concern. The solution was to use the ISSBs in the construction of the walls, but to also design the walls to be non-load bearing, allowing the ISSBs to be used. All of the structural designs were reviewed with a local structural engineering firm, THP Limited.
The new design was a two room schoolhouse, measuring 24' by 48', and was designed to be a confined masonry building using reinforced concrete in the foundation, columns, and beams. The truss was to be constructed of wood with corrugated metal roofing. This design was submitted for TAC review in March 2012, and was approved for construction in April 2012.
Construction of the school began in June 2012, with the of implementation of the foundation. The construction crew worked for eight days straight, mixing and pouring 65,000 lbs of concrete on the final day to complete the foundation. Jim Moyer, the former President of UC EWB, spent his summer working in the area with VLOP and SHED (Shirati Health, Education and Development) foundation. While he was in Tanzania for the summer, he taught the villagers in Burere how to use the ISSB press, making all of the blocks required for the construction of the walls of the school.
In August 2012, the second implementation team made their way to Burere. The main goal of the second team was the construction of the concrete columns, as well as beginning the construction of the walls of the building. The trip was successful, with all nineteen columns being poured, as well as the first few rows of blocks being put into position. The villagers, under the guidance of Julius, our contractor in the region, finished the walls after the team left.
The third team left for Burere in December 2012. The third trip was focused on the construction of the concrete ring beam, which was designed to transfer the load from the roof to the columns. The trip went smoothly, with the team finishing construction a day early.
The final construction team departed for Tanzania in April 2013 to construct the roof of the building. The team managed to get all thirteen trusses in place, and about two-thirds of the roof on the building. Over the summer villagers completed the roof of the school, and the school officially opened up for classes in August 2013.
Brainstorming began in the fall of 2009, with Mark Schutte, a second-year civil engineering major, leading the project. Mark made a preliminary assessment trip to Burere in October 2009, taking soil samples and performing a preliminary survey of the proposed location of the school. Dr. Mark Bowers, a professor at UC, performed a soil analysis for the group, and these results would be used in the design.
The first design for the schoolhouse began to take shape in late 2010. The schoolhouse was proposed to be a four room building, measuring 24' by 96'. This design went to the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) for review in the spring of 2011. This design was rejected by the TAC review, so the project team began to reevaluate the design options for the school.
In the fall of 2011, the project team obtained a major boost with the help of Jay Chamberlain and Avdhesh Gaur, two graduate students in structural engineering. Jay performed the structural design, and Avdhesh designed the roofing system. One of the main components of the building is the use of Interlocking Stabilized Soil Blocks (ISSB) in the construction of the walls of the school. This was one area where we ran into trouble with getting the original design approved. Little research has been done into ISSBs, so EWB-USA was hesitant in their use in the school design.
At this stage in the design, the team got another boost by working with Emily Roush and Dr. Tom Bible. Emily and Dr. Bible designed the health center operated by VLOP in Tanzania, and have worked with ISSBs in the design of the health center. ISSBs have very little strength on their own, so the idea of using them in the construction of the walls to be load bearing was a major point of concern. The solution was to use the ISSBs in the construction of the walls, but to also design the walls to be non-load bearing, allowing the ISSBs to be used. All of the structural designs were reviewed with a local structural engineering firm, THP Limited.
The new design was a two room schoolhouse, measuring 24' by 48', and was designed to be a confined masonry building using reinforced concrete in the foundation, columns, and beams. The truss was to be constructed of wood with corrugated metal roofing. This design was submitted for TAC review in March 2012, and was approved for construction in April 2012.
Construction of the school began in June 2012, with the of implementation of the foundation. The construction crew worked for eight days straight, mixing and pouring 65,000 lbs of concrete on the final day to complete the foundation. Jim Moyer, the former President of UC EWB, spent his summer working in the area with VLOP and SHED (Shirati Health, Education and Development) foundation. While he was in Tanzania for the summer, he taught the villagers in Burere how to use the ISSB press, making all of the blocks required for the construction of the walls of the school.
In August 2012, the second implementation team made their way to Burere. The main goal of the second team was the construction of the concrete columns, as well as beginning the construction of the walls of the building. The trip was successful, with all nineteen columns being poured, as well as the first few rows of blocks being put into position. The villagers, under the guidance of Julius, our contractor in the region, finished the walls after the team left.
The third team left for Burere in December 2012. The third trip was focused on the construction of the concrete ring beam, which was designed to transfer the load from the roof to the columns. The trip went smoothly, with the team finishing construction a day early.
The final construction team departed for Tanzania in April 2013 to construct the roof of the building. The team managed to get all thirteen trusses in place, and about two-thirds of the roof on the building. Over the summer villagers completed the roof of the school, and the school officially opened up for classes in August 2013.