Located in Kasungu, Malawi, the Maternity Waiting Village aims to improve the conditions of mothers before, during, and after giving birth. Most importantly, the design aims to prevent evitable causes of maternal death by providing solutions, that promote HEALTH AND WELLBEING. Most of Malawi’s population lives in rural areas, affecting their ability to access professional care during childbirth. Local public authorities have decided to act by building 130 maternity waiting facilities across the country in places close to healthcare centres. The facility should be able to accommodate expectant mothers and their relatives, starting from the 36th week of pregnancy until delivery. The previous prototype for the facility failed in multiple aspects, so the initiative partnered with MASS Design Group. MASS collaborated with public authorities, researchers at the University of North Carolina, doctors, nurses, and expectant mothers in Malawi to design a holistic prototype that can be used as a model for other maternity waiting villages. 

Paimio was designed as a tuberculosis sanatorium in the homonymous Finnish town of Paimio. It combined the principles of healing architecture of the late 19th and early 20th century with the novel ideas of the modernist movement and with Alvar and Aino Aalto’s (then unusual) sensitivity to users’ lived experiences.