Beginning in 2008, MASS partnered with Partners In Health to establish and expand the Butaro Health Campus, providing architectural, landscape, and master planning support to transform a rural hilltop into a global health hub.

Following the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, Rwanda’s Burera District—home to 340,000 people—was one of the last two districts in the country without a public hospital. In response, Partners In Health and the Rwandan Ministry of Health launched a district-wide plan to increase access to care, beginning with the creation of a new hospital in Butaro.

MASS was brought on to design a contextually appropriate facility that could deliver world-class care while responding to local needs. Through extensive research and community engagement, the team developed a design tailored to the local climate and culture, optimized for infection control, and grounded in beauty and dignity. This project established MASS’s foundational belief: that the process of building—when rooted in local materials, labor, and craft—can be a powerful tool for social and economic impact. More than 4,000 community members were trained and employed in the construction process, generating grassroots development and regional economic growth.

What was once a remote hilltop has since evolved into a regional hub for health equity.  Since the hospital opened in 2011, MASS has worked alongside PIH and the MOH to build several more projects. Today, the campus serves more than 20,000 patients each year and draws global health experts and students from across Africa.