Amazima Secondary School
Founding Principal Evan Verduin partnered with Engineering Ministries International (eMi) and a global team of volunteers to design a new secondary school campus for Amazima in Uganda. With team members ranging from engineers to surveyors and landscape architects, the process began not with solutions but with listening. Entering as outsiders required humility — to observe, to learn, and to shape design through the lens of those who call the place home.
The ministry’s founder envisioned an architecture that was inviting and humble, rooted in the familiar materials and rhythms of rural Uganda. Civil engineers highlighted the pragmatic realities of drainage and site constraints, while the future Head of School spoke of a “rock of stability” in the lives of vulnerable students. The role of the architect was to weave these perspectives into a coherent vision, balancing utility with beauty, context with aspiration.
The resulting masterplan integrated classrooms, administration spaces, dormitories, and a chapel within a landscape designed for connection and growth. Buildings are arranged to create shaded courts and gathering spaces, frame views across the hillside, and open to the outdoors. Porch ceilings and overhangs, crafted from common local materials, become quiet frames for the surrounding environment. Together, the campus offers a setting of peace, dignity, and stability — a place to nurture both learning and community.
Details
- Project
- Trek Architecture™
- Year
- 2015
- Status
- Completed
