Article source: Robert Hull and UNIVERSITY of WASHINGTON

Located in the center Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan’s fourth largest city, the Gohar Khatoon Girls’ School provides kindergarten through grade twelve classes, serving 3,000 students a day.

Mazar-i-Sharif is home to several universities, and Gohar Khatoon–acting as a gateway to higher education–is positioned to become a key institution for educating several thousand women and girls in an important urban center. Girls’ schools are already considered to be major contributors in Afghanistan’s push toward development and these institutions serve as powerful mechanisms for inclusion within Afghan society. Schools are the setting where women and girls will negotiate this transition, and Gohar Khatoon has been designed to support this process by promoting stability, comfort, and community engagement.

Image Courtesy © Nic Lehoux

• Architects: Robert Hull and UNIVERSITY of WASHINGTON
• Project: Gohar Khatoon Girls’ School
• Location: Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan
• Photography: Nic Lehoux, Farkohnda Rajaby
• Software used: Rhino
• Client: Balkh Province Ministry of Education; Janet W. Ketcham Foundation/Sahar Education
• Construction: Jason Simmons, Sayed Ali Mortazavy, Hussain Ahmady, Farkhonda Rajaby, Airokhsh Faiz Qaisary, Afghanistan American Friendship Foundation
• Structural and Civil Engineering: Solaiman Salahi
• Research: University of Washington Studio Participants – Bryan Brooks, Marcus Crider, Grace Crofoot, Sarah Eddy, Yasaman Esmaili, Christopher Garland, Mariam Kamara, Michelle Kang, Kevin Lang, Carolyn Lecompte, Benjamin Maestas, Jaclyn Merlet, Holly Schwarz, Mazohra Thami, Andrew Thies, Mackenzie Waller, Patricia Wilhelm
• Date of Completion: 2015

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