Students returning from the Urban Design Lab in Libreville, Gabon in Africa have learned a whole new meaning of the phrase hands-on.
A group of 13 architecture students, led by Director of the Urban Design Lab Mark Gillem, left for Gabon on Jan. 11 for a week-long design and planning process with students and administration from Universite Omar Bongo, the country’s flagship school.
“Our students became teachers,” Gillem said. “It was a remarkable, life changing experience.”
The trip is part of a partnership with Gabon that the University of Oregon has undertaken to promote sustainable development and growth in the country. Under the Gabon/Oregon Center, students, teachers and policy-makers hope to help the once oil-rich country find outlets of sustainable development. The trip was funded entirely through a grant from Gabon to help promote sustainable growth.
Students in Gabon worked for a week, training and planning for renovations to the Universite Omar Bongo, as well as presenting the plans to a crowd of 1,100 Gabonese students and teachers.
“Our students have said they learned more and accomplished more in a few days in Gabon than they would in an entire term,” Gillem said. The project was part of the student’s capstone project, meaning it was a necessary piece of their graduation requirements.
According to the Gabon/Oregon Center website, “The project has been developed by Global Oregon over the past year, with help from the UO Foundation and many faculty colleagues from UO and partner institutions in the state. It has been approved by the Gabonese National Assembly and is administered on the Gabonese side by the ministry of higher education.”
Later in the year, some UO students will return to help finish planning and in October some Gabonese students will come to the UO to finalize plans. According to Gillem, construction may begin as early as October.
The Gabon/Oregon Center hosted a Gabonese presidential adviser to speak on Jan. 17. There will be an open house for the Gabon Terminal Architecture Studio to showcase student work and future plans on Friday, Jan. 24 in Lawrence Hall 206 from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.