![]() ![]() He stressed the concept of ‘One Health’: a principle that iterates that human, animal, and ecological health are inextricably intertwined. As a global community, the way we have structured aspirations for prosperity is for a lifestyle that cannot be attained without breaking everything.īenimana concluded his presentation by broaching environmental health with respect to the climate crisis, this time citing the Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture (RICA) in Gashora, Rwanda. Whether it is a glass brick symbolising a lost life or suspended steel monuments annunciating racial terror, these environments entail a confrontation with the discomfort of harsh realities yet, they emerge as beacons of hope. The Alabama-based initiative provides a platform for discussions that are often brushed under the carpet-laying bare a tumultuous history of slavery, oppression and injustice. The National Museum for Peace and Justice reiterates a need for spaces of memorial and subsequently, reflection. In lieu of reducing the victims to mere statistics, it provided an opportunity to recognise a collective loss that looms over society-setting in motion a healing process. The Gun Violence Memorial Project is contrived as a space of remembrance and healing for victims of gun violence. Benimana segued into the analysis of two projects that rest on the foundation of these intentions. Ergo, built environments that claim to ‘heal’ ought to address social epidemics and trauma. Unfortunately, for many communities, this agency is not there and we are reluctant to give it to them,” the architect shares with STIR.Ĭhristian Benimana presented a series of projects by MASS Design Group in his keynote Image: Courtesy of UIAīeyond its physical and mental facets, health is social. Each element is crafted specifically for the context-physical, social, and environmental. The modular design that is perched on the 10-hectare site in Kigali is a reflection of a unique learning cycle housing dedicated spaces for self, peer, and facilitated learning-culminating in a campus that promotes discovery. ALU asks the enrolled students to declare a mission as opposed to selecting a major-aiming to create future leaders. With this thought, he moves on to explain the evolution of the Africa Leadership University (ALU), a project by MASS Design Group aiming to encourage education in Sub-saharan Africa where only 8 to 10 per cent of people enroll in universities. For Benimana, architecture that caters to health is free from despair. I don’t know what we can do now to not leave anyone behind without making the people we have left behind catch up first.”Ĭhristian Benimana highlighted how the architecture community can contribute to global health Image: Courtesy of UIA As a global community, the way we have structured aspirations for prosperity is for a lifestyle that cannot be attained without breaking everything.Īrchitecture is never neutral-it heals or it hurts. Contemplating the theme of the congress ‘Sustainable Futures – Leave No One Behind,’ Benimana tells STIR, “I, unfortunately, feel that we have already left many people behind. In tandem, the speakers discussed the capability of carefully designed cities to improve health, especially among the disadvantaged populace. ![]() With the session titled How To Tackle (Climate) Health Inequities, the dialogue elucidated the health effects of climate change that continue to impact different regions of the world, especially the Global South. ![]() One such conversation that concluded the second day of the event was an insightful keynote by Christian Benimana, Co-Executive Director and Senior Principal of MASS Design Group, along with Maria Neira, Director of the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health at the World Health Organization (WHO). The UIA World Congress of Architects 2023 in Copenhagen was vivified with such discourses that called for an honest tête à tête. How To tackle (Climate) Health Inequities: Keynote Dialogue with Christian Benimana and Maria Neira Image: Courtesy of UIA ![]()
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