PRIMARY SCHOOL SENEGAL | SIKOMO

The project for the elementary school was conceived as a place where safety, connections, a sense of belonging, and community become the guiding principles for the natural process of development and learning of children in rural areas of Senegal. The school, designed as a village, functions as a social infrastructure that guarantees education for young students and improves their quality of life. It is a place of gathering and unity, a living space for the entire community to benefit from. It was conceived following criteria of environmental sustainability and proposing technical solutions that reinterpret the local culture and identity.

The design concept is developed starting from the volume of a rectangle, which, when divided, extended, and rotated, leads to the adopted solution. The plan develops by giving life to two inner courtyards that, together with the school buildings, symbolize aggregation, places for collective experimentation and community events. The school becomes a flexible space. The misalignment of one of the blocks breaks the regularity of the complex, allowing those who experience the place to be directed towards the internal public spaces, places for communal living.

The entrance to the school overlooks the main inner courtyard, embraced by classrooms and the canteen. Meanwhile, the second courtyard becomes an agora for ceremonies, public events, exhibitions of children's works created in the school's workshops, or simply a sheltered place surrounded by secure walls. The classrooms are conceived individually, while the canteen, laboratories, offices, and infirmary are united in two separate architectural bodies. Inside, the environments are free of overlays, coverings, or paints to give strength and character to the chosen materials. The finishes present themselves with the natural color of red earth. The roofs are formed by vaults that refer to vernacular constructions, recalling their lightness and essentiality but at the same time avoiding a sense of poverty and achieving a particularly functional design with a low technological level.

The curved elements introduced on the exterior reinterpret the vernacular language of Senegalese architecture and create dynamic yet tranquil areas where outdoor educational and recreational activities can take place.

The entire project is conceived with five fundamental points in mind:

·       Ventilation

·       Lighting

·       Visual enjoyment

·       Safety

·       Evaporative cooling

The role of natural ventilation and lighting has been a fundamental aspect of the design. Openings are created on all four sides of the classrooms, and the incoming light creates nurturing and unique spaces for those who use them. For the canteen laboratories, and offices, openings on at least two sides are provided, ensuring well- lit, harmonious, and unique spaces.

The large openings made of filiform wooden structures convey a sense of lightness when inside. They provide visual continuity between the interior spaces and the outdoor areas. Thus, the interior space becomes an extension of the exterior space and vice versa.

In contrast to the lightness defined by the openings, there is the structural solidity of the walls that instill a sense of security and familial warmth, thanks to the aesthetic nature of the red clay used for wall finishes.

Evaporative cooling is generated with water basins present along the window openings of the different modules, which, in some cases, transform into outdoor seating. The high temperatures in Africa allow the water to evaporate, and subsequently, through natural ventilation, they cool the interior spaces, making them more comfortable.

These five concepts give life to natural architecture that blends with the environment using sustainable materials and techniques. It is an energetically efficient and harmonious structure with the earth, easily adaptable to any context. A beautiful balance of form and function.