AIA Committee on the Environment (COTE) Top 10 Award Winner: The Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund

May 20, 2024

The Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund has won an American Institute of Architects (AIA) Committee on the Environment (COTE) Top Ten Award, which recognizes sustainable design excellence!

Born from a unique partnership between the design team and the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, both of which are deeply committed to Rwanda’s conservation goals, this project provides the Fossey Fund with a purpose-built campus to fulfill its mission. The five-hectare campus includes a conservation gallery that elevates the celebrated gorilla conservationist’s legacy, education and research centers, and housing for students, staff, and researchers. The project has enhanced the region’s biodiversity, reintroducing 250,000 native plants across 120 species, while an on-site nursery supports researchers as they test reforestation methods for planned expansions of the surrounding Volcanoes National Park. In addition, the project injected more than $12 million into Rwanda’s economy and employed 2,400 during construction, 98% of whom hailed from a neighboring town. Working closely with 120 skilled craftspeople, the team’s in-house furniture group created more than 1,600 furniture items, including tables, desks, chairs, stools, benches, shelves, credenzas, and beds. 

Client: The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund

Team: TEN x TEN, MASS Design Group, Transsolar KlimaEngineering, Buro Happold, Oak Consulting Group, Aegis Development, TECHNO Engineering Company, Local Projects, formula D_, Habitat XR, Sherwood Design Engineers, Jacques Nsengiyumva, Sheffield