In terms of the design characteristics, a central spine organizes the campus, supporting social movement, daily circulation, and programmatic cohesion. Along this corridor, academic, agricultural, and residential functions are linked to creating an intuitive and walkable environment. RICA’s research goals require a wide range of livestock, such as dairy cattle, goats, and poultry,to correspond with the diversity of crop systems and irrigation types. The landscape architecture team therefore established spatial and ecological parameters for campus enterprises, including barn sitting and biosecurity buffers, circulation and feed routes, manure and compost management, and rotational grazing pastures. The campus is tailored to Bugesera’s hot, arid climate, using passive strategy (natural ventilation, daylight, shading, and thermal mass) to maintain comfort without mechanical cooling. Building orientations, roof forms, and shaded façades help reduce heat while keeping indoor spaces bright and airy. Sustainability shapes the project more broadly: landscape restoration and careful material choices support the goal of net-zero carbon. A 1.5-MW solar array provides all operational energy and powers the campus’ water and irrigation systems. With 96 percent of materials sourced within Rwanda and 90 percent of the budget spent locally, RICA’s embodied carbon is estimated to be 58 percent below the global institutional average, positioning the campus to become carbon-positive by 2044. Water and waste systems are one of the key structures of the campus. A treatment plant processes human wastewater for reuse in forage irrigation, while animal waste is collected and composted through a coordinated, bio secure landscape network. with on-site energy and agricultural systems, these visible infrastructures function as educational elements and demonstrate RICA’s commitment to regenerative and conservation-based development. In short, RICA’s philosophy is grounded in Conservation Agriculture and the One Health framework, which recognizes the interdependent well-being of people, animals, and ecosystems. The curriculum is built around experiential learning, where students study soils, crops, and livestock while managing farms as functioning enterprises and developing value-added products.