Harare International School Campus 
Wins Prestigious Environment Award  

by Paul M. Poore, Director

The Harare International School campus and its engineers, Ove Arup & Partners, have won first prize in the prestigious Environment Award for Engineers, an award sponsored by the European Commission and the United Nations Environment Programme. This marks the first time in the history of the program that the award has gone to a site outside Europe ! 

In the eleven years since its inception, the Environment Award for Engineers has changed from a small competition to become one of the most highly thought-of Award schemes in the UK and Europe .  Launched in 1990 by HRH the Duke of Kent, the Award recognizes engineers working with and in the natural environment and the global community. The Award has always looked for best practice in areas now recognized under the heading sustainable development.  Impact on the local and global community, material and energy consumption, financial viability in the long-term and biodiversity are all factors that the judges consider in their deliberations.

HIS has strived to incorporate appropriate sustainable and cost-effective technology elements into the design of its state-of-the-art campus.  The Middle School features twelve classrooms and laboratories that benefit from an unusual passive cooling/ heating system.  Filtered fresh air is supplied to the rooms via chambers of granite rocks located beneath shady verandahs.  These chambers are configured to act as thermal storage batteries.  During summer nights cool air is blown through the building via the rock stores, which absorb the coolness that is a feature of the local highveld climate.

During the warmth of the school day, air is blown sequentially through the rockstores with the effect that entering air temperatures can be up to 10ºC cooler than those outside.  This results in classroom temperatures up to 8ºC cooler than ambient.

The Physical Education Center features a pair of periscope-shaped wind-cowls that turn in opposition to each other, providing passive supply and extract, whilst limiting break-out noise from activities within.  In the Fine Arts Center, passive ventilation is promoted using a specially engineered wind-driven extractor, designed to induce static pressures well beyond that achievable with passive devices reliant on venturi or stack-effect.

In addition, hot water requirements are met by locally manufactured solar panels. 

The environmentally-friendly design has been popular with both staff and students and the same principles are being employed in the current construction of a Performing Arts Centre, featuring a 750-seat auditorium, music and drama classrooms.

The scheme is characterized by its low running costs (in terms of both energy and maintenance) and its emphasis on local resources and skills. Simplicity and effectiveness gives it wide-ranging application potential within the region and beyond.

This award was preceded by last year’s commendation of the school’s architectural firm, Pearce Partnership, by the Institute of the Architects of Zimbabwe for their design of the campus.

For further information on Harare International School , please contact the Director, Mr. Paul Poore at 870514/5 or by email at: ppoore@his.ac.zw

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