Ecological Development of
Valley View University, Accra, Ghana

Buildings and Installations

The most visible parts of the campus development are the new buildings, all designed ecologically. Depending on the specific use and the number of users for each building, a decentralised ecological sanitation concept is developed. These concepts include water saving installations, which allow the collection of natural matter such as urine, grey water and rainwater for re-use on the farmland.

Church

The VVU sanctuary, the Church, is thought of as the “heart” of the campus. That is the reason for its conspicuous design, besides creating a contrast to the remaining buildings on campus. The idea of the church's roof is a metaphor for an open space area covered by large trees – since trees represent an important aspect of nature in Africa.

The roof is a light steel construction consisting of different roof elements almost looking like butterflies. These elements “hover” above the main auditorium with 1850 seats and provide protection from sun and rain. The exterior walls in the north and the south are created in the shape of concrete “slices”, which provide protection from the sun and at the same time allow the very important cross ventilation. The colorful glazing provides the interior with a very special appearance.
The service areas and offices are located within four “functional boxes” – two of them near the entrance and two near the podium. That allows keeping a clear structure inside.

The large roof-covered space in front of the entrance used as an area for assembling, meeting or as additional seating area takes on the job of connecting the interior with the exterior spaces, especially the ceremonial ground.

 

 

 

 

  

  

  

1-3: Church  

  

  

Clerk Hall - Faculty Building

As the university expands, six department complexes will be built within the central campus area. One department complex consists of four three-storey buildings with a hipped roof .

In each case two buildings are connected by a link corridor that provides the entrance to the buildings. By the arrangement of the four buildings a big central and green courtyard is created, which can be used not only during the breaks, but also for open-air lessons.

The distance of 37 feet between the buildings and facing openings of similar size allow good natural cross ventilation. The buildings are one room deep and open up to a veranda to the courtyard. Main staircases are located in the link corridor and emergency staircases are at the end of each building. On the other end of the buildings next to the link corridor lecture theatres are situated. Altogether there are six lecture theatres, three of them with a capacity of 140 and three with a capacity of 100 students. Department offices, laboratories, seminar rooms and restrooms are accessible from the veranda.

The building is a reinforced concrete skeleton-frame structure. The frame construction is visible from outside by external projecting columns. The facade design takes the function of the rooms into account, which means that lecture halls are characterised by a window strip. Overhanging roofs, horizontal and vertical shading devices on the north-east facades are used to prevent heating-up the rooms. Because of low sun there are no openings planned on north-west and south-east facades.

Guest Houses

There are two guest house complexes, each consisting of six two storey guesthouse duplexes, a warden residence and a central lounge building for dining and conferences. The design of the central courtyard should give an impression of African art, culture and plants to the guests. Here young local artists can present their work. Heart of the courtyard will be a tropical fruit and vegetable garden, which serves as shading and decoration element at the same time. Here guests have the chance to harvest and enjoy fresh tropical fruits and vegetables.

There are two different types of guesthouses – a standard and a luxury type. Whereas the standard type provides two double rooms (each 604 sf) on each floor, the luxury type offers one apartment per floor equipped with kitchen, bathroom, dining area, living room, working area, bedroom and a balcony. Here guests with their families can stay long-term. Apart from some windows the buildings look the same from outside.

 

 

7: Guesthouses   

Student Hostels

On the north and south side of the oval there are two students housing areas. In the northern area about 850 students and in the southern area about 950 students can be accommodated. Central theme of the design is the arrangement of the hostels in a compound that is landscaped with local plants and has different types of squares. To each courtyard belongs a two-storey community building with a common room, a grocery shop and study rooms. Next to the student courtyards sports facilities like table tennis, volleyball, football and basketball pitches are located.

There are three different types of student hostels: s-size (16 students), m-size (48 students) and l-size (72 students).
In all hostels the rooms are the same and provide space for four students. In each case two rooms are connected with each other by a vestibule, where from the sanitary facilities are accessible. The cubicle entrance on the veranda is hidden by a wall made of hollow blocks for better cross ventilation. The wide veranda on the courtyard side in front of the rooms can be used as meeting, learning and chatting area. For easy access to upper floors the staircases are in the middle of the buildings.

 

8: Student Hostels