Zubabox

Squire and Partners launched Zubabox, a solar energy learning lab in Cazuca, near Bogotà, made by using a recycled shipping container with solar panels on the roof.

As part of a charity campaign, Squire and Partners have launched the first Dell Solar Learning Lab – nicknamed the ‘Zubabox’ – in Colombia. The Zubabox was formally handed over to local youth foundation Tiempo de Juego, which works to creative positive change for young people in Cazuca, near Bogotá – a community marginalised by poverty and violence. The project aims to provide a safe and sustainable environment where local children can develop social and digital skills.

Squire and Partners was initially approached by Computer Aid International in 2014 to design a prototype Solar Learning Lab as a series of mobile units providing internet connectivity to remote communities without access to mains electricity. The basic unit, currently used in ten locations across Africa, is constructed from a recycled shipping container with solar panels on the roof, and utilises refurbished computers donated from the UK. The practice was asked to design a more cost efficient, practical and enjoyable environment for the users.

The architects’ final design presented a simple modular system which can operate individually or as part of a group. Internally, a skin of plywood softens the working space and can be easily personalised by the users. Computer stations can be orientated either around the box perimeter for individual working, or facing inwards to a central bench creating a social and inclusive atmosphere.

Zubabox, Bogotá, Colombia
Architects: Squire and Partners
Charity: Computer Aid, Tiempo de Juego
Computer partner: Dell Giving
Lighting: Atrium
Services: Hoare Lea
Structure: AKTII
Container conversion: All Plast
Main contractor: Saint George
Graffiti artists: Delix, Zhed 1
Completion: 2016

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