Hassell Unveils 3D Printed Earth Design for Hope Village in Tanzania With Australia’s One Heart Foundation

Designs for a community building constructed with 3D-printed earth in Hope Village, One Heart Tanzania, have been revealed by international architecture design studio, Hassell.

In collaboration with Australian-based charity foundation One Heart, the community building forms part of a master plan that aims to provide housing, school, childcare, and skills training to vulnerable young girls in Kibaha, eastern Tanzania.

Open to local residents, the community building will provide a space for fostering connections through communal meals, performances, care, and educational programmes to unite Hope Village residents and local neighbourhoods.

With sustainability central to the design, the project features 3D-printed earth walls and an innovative roof structure made from locally sourced timber sections, developed in collaboration with the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia and international engineering firm, Eckersley O’Callaghan (EOC). All collaborators will work directly with the community, creating increased employment and training opportunities.

Leading international architecture and design studio Hassell reveals the design for a central community building in Hope Village, Tanzania, in collaboration with Australian-based charity foundation One Heart.

The building, which forms part of the Hope Village, One Heart Tanzania master plan, aims to support, care, and educate vulnerable young girls within Kibaha, on the eastern fringes of Dar es Salaam. The overall master plan is a collaboration between Hassell and architectural firm ClarkeHopkinsClarke (CHC).

Hope Village is designed to provide a home for up to 67 children aged 3-18 years old. The master plan for the village provides safe family accommodation, a school servicing 480 students, alongside childcare and skills training to benefit the local community. Framed as the central meeting point, the new community building will bring together residents from Hope Village and the wider neighbourhood.

The community building showcases sustainable innovation via new methods of construction. Hassell’s ambition is to incorporate 3D-printed earth into the design for its numerous environmental benefits; from the use of site-based materials and reduction in energy production to its recycling and afterlife qualities, developed in collaboration with the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC). The community building’s walls aim to be 3D printed out of local earth, a process that was tested earlier this year in a series of full-scale mock-ups at IAAC’s 3dPA Forest Campus in Barcelona, Spain, using 3dWasp Crane Technology. Instead of a solid barrier, the walls are made using a complex pattern of interwoven layers, which allow for increased ventilation and natural light within the building’s interior spaces.

The design brief required a large, open, and uninterrupted area with a limited number of columns to ensure flexible use by as many people as possible. To achieve this, Hassell incorporated a central steel beam that serves as the structural spine of the hall, supporting a tensile roof framework that spans the entire community building.

Hassell, in collaboration with structural engineers EOC, designed an innovative roof structure made from small locally sourced timber sections — since most large locally sourced timber is exported internationally. The roof aims to be created by connecting short pieces of timber to create a large-scale fabric-like material, which will resemble an elegant woven timber ‘blanket’ draped over the central steel spine of the hall. The roof will be supported by cladding made of readily available corrugated metal sheet panels. Inside, the result will provide a warm and generous shared community-focused environment.

Creating a multi-purpose space was essential to the design, enabling the building to be divided into several small areas or one large area to increase capacity. Additional internal facilities include a kitchen, bakery, and communal storage. The building — whose primary use is to act as a school hall for gathering and school meals — will be open to all local residents over weekends, serving as a hub for assembly, performance, connection, and reflection for the entire community. The community building aims to be an identifiable landmark within Hope Village and the surrounding region.

Beyond the primary goal of educating and caring for vulnerable girls, community involvement is at the heart of the project, from conception to construction. Hassell, One Heart, IAAC, and the CHC team will aim to oversee the transportation of vital building equipment needed to 3D-print the building’s walls from local earth. This initiative seeks to create opportunities for local employment, training, and collaboration, fostering a foundational relationship between the community and this new central hub and ensuring active participation in building from the ground up.

“The start of construction [of initial housing projects] at Hope Village is the reality of a dream that I have had for over 20 years,” said Dr. Consola Elia, the lead house parent of the children’s homes at Hope Village.

“Hope Village has been set up as a rescue centre for children from hardship and unsafe environments across various regions in Tanzania, and the entire village design, including the community hall, will offer these children and their community various facilities including, a school, hospital, play areas, and more.”

“The Hope Village community hall design seeks to create a beautiful, functional, safe, and uplifting environment that provides both hope and education for vulnerable girls,” added Mark Loughnan, Principal and Head of Design at Hassell.

“The hall is a welcoming space that creates an innovative central activity hub that also connects with its surrounding environment. The design and building process for the hall aims to engage the community and provide ongoing opportunities for local participation and education throughout construction.”

Sponsorship and donations for Hope Village can be made on the One Heart website: oneheart.co