Rural School in Haiti | Alessandro Matta Architettura

This proposal strongly believes in the power of architecture in bringing a social change. The resources made to know the Haitian context brought to the idea of designing a school in which children could develop a sense of respect for the natural environment, thanks to the creation of a system of vegetable gardens. The masterplan, inspired by the traditional Lakou scheme, is made of a central court for social and playing activities, surrounded by gardens and buildings. At its center, strengthening the idea of the project, a big tree reminds the sacredness of the Mapou tree in the traditional settlement, considered a taboo to cut it down.
Every building is divided in two different structures that responds separately to seismic reactions: adobe walls thought to be built in self-construction and a light bamboo roof structure with a corrugated sheet covering. In order to create a natural ventilation, the distance between the structures is occupied by a grid of bamboo sticks. Roofs are also a vehicle to harvesting raining water into an underground tank, that will keep the gardens and the sanitation working. Each classroom has two entries, making it possible to be divided for maximum flexibility with curtains or panels.