
Roche Health Center
The Roche Health Center Clinic was the first-ever primary health care facility in Roche, Tanzania and provides health care to more than 20,000 people who benefit from access to preventative medicine and basic health care. In addition, the Health Center provides a hub for community development, allowing residents and community leaders to address pressing needs in the village and surrounding region. Beginning in 2017, the Roche Health Center will serve as Village Life’s base of operations for student, faculty and community volunteers.
Phase one was the clinic which was completed on April 1, 2011. Phase two began in 2014 and included extensive infrastructure additions and a duplex housing unit for doctors and nurses to live on-site. The housing was completed in spring 2016.
Perhaps the most unique aspect of the Roche Health Center is its design. Village Life Outreach Project is pleased to partner with the University of Cincinnati College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning (DAAP) to create a “zero-energy” building. All construction utilizes local materials, tools and construction techniques using natural energy flows to achieve comfortable interior conditions year-round. The space is designed to maximize natural lighting and ventilation to create a comfortable and energy-efficient environment. The buildings utilize design and construction technology that ensure long-term durability and safety, even in the setting of natural disasters like earthquakes. Training villagers in these construction techniques is revolutionizing local building practices, and Roche Health Center has become a nucleus of innovation for safer, more durable structures in the entire region.
Roche Health Center Goals:
- Design for all by providing a Health Center that addresses the needs of all members of the community
- Design for education by incorporating teaching and learning into every area of the health center
- Design for reproducibility by creating buildings using locally available materials and construction techniques
- Design for sustainability by minimizing energy usage, natural resources and material usage
- Design for permanence by producing safe, durable, repairable buildings
- Design for the future by incorporating flexibility and adaptability
Technical Description
The Roche Health Center buildings are all built of local materials and skills. Most construction is done by local contractors and laborers under the direction of Village Life design team leaders in collaboration with our non-profit partner, the Shirati Health, Education and Development Foundation in Tanzania.
There was no electricity on-site until spring 2016, so the first and second phase buildings were all built solely with hand tools. The materials are concrete frame and interlocking stabilized soil block (ISSB). The trusses are built of wood and the roof in galvanized sheet metal.