Earth School, Senegal Building Design, West African Architecture, Construction news, Images
Earth School in Senegal
10 Apr 2022
Architects: Jeanne Schultz Design Studio
Location: Senegal, West Africa

Images: Renderings by Deckor Inc and Baked Visuals
Earth School, West Africa
Water is at the center of the Earth School proposal for a secondary school built with and in response to the earth around it. Harnessing the energy and utility of natural earth elements, the design employs various strategies to create a continuous, closed loop of sustainable systems.

A tall earthen brick structure containing a well and fog catcher anchor and identify the site, while also providing a still water pond for all to enjoy. The classroom pods are proposed in clusters of 2, yet the modular footprint yields the possibility for infinite configurations to adapt to the needs of this community and potential future ones like it. Between each of the 2 classrooms are ponds which serve to both collect and feed water into channels which dance along circulation paths. Ultimately these channels function as a steady flow of water throughout the site and supply a pond, septic tank, and landscape irrigation.

Building construction using the method of earthen brick modularity lends itself to easy-to-learn application techniques. By excavating the existing material on site and compacting it to create the brick modules, we create contextualized and performative structures. Stacking, shifting, and pulling the ...