The new education center of Advan FC on the island of Madagascar is a prime example of a bottom-up development-aid project based on pragmatism and with the goal of self-empowerment. When Viktor Bänziger, who runs a bar in the heart of Zurich, visited Madagascar as a tourist in 2015, he was struck by the severe poverty and difficult living conditions of the local population and decided to act. In close collaboration with Zurich-based architect Nele Dechmann and the president of Advan FC, Titus Solohery Andriamananjara, the project for a new soccer field and surrounding buildings was developed. The complex, which is soundly based on local building knowledge and construction methods, gives local children the opportunity to develop their soccer skills and, more importantly, to receive minimal reading and writing lessons after training and to have meals together. The remote location in Madagascars mountains and the tight budget suggested a simple typology that conveys a common architectural language despite the different uses of individual buildings. A key part of the entire concept is a simple manual for the actual construction that leaves many decisions and responsibilities to the local community. Documenting the architecture of Advan FCs education center and its construction process in rich detail through photographs and plans, this book tells the story of an extraordinary participative undertaking of people originating from deeply differing cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. It introduces a model of potentially universal usage anywhere in the world in which the continuous exchange of knowledge between a projects participants demonstrates an inspiring alternative to conventional international collaborations.

Nele Dechmann lebt und arbeitet in Zürich als Architektin mit einem Praxis- und Forschungsschwerpunkt auf innovativen Wohnbauten. Daneben ist sie auch als Autorin und Kuratorin an der Schnittstelle von Kunst und Architektur tätig. Atlas Studio wurde 2011 von Martin Andereggen, Claudio Gasser und Jonas Wandeler gegründet. Der Schwerpunkt ihrer Tätigkeit als Grafikdesigner liegt im Bereich Kunst, Kultur und Architektur. Daneben unterrichtet das Kollektiv regelmässig an diversen Kunsthochschulen in der Schweiz und im Ausland. Ihre Arbeiten wurden mehrfach ausgezeichnet, u.a. mit dem Swiss Design Award und dem Preis des internationalen Wettbewerbs Die Schönsten Bücher aus aller Welt.