Building ... A new experience in Africa

This paper presents an interdisciplinary design-build-project for students of Civil Engineering and Architecture. The project consisted of a theoretical design phase at the university and a second, practical stage, during which the participants were given the opportunity to actually build the structure. Thus, as a special teaching method within university education this full scale project linked theoretical information on building materials, construction and sustainable technology to the practical experience of implementing them on site – while simultaneously imparting communication and collaboration skills which are essential for both engineers and architects throughout their professional careers.