Two years after the completion of the Primary School, there was demand from more than 260 children from Gando and the surrounding region to attend the school. It quickly became apparent that an extension was badly needed to service the educational needs of these students. With overwhelming support from surrounding villages, this School Extension was built using local labor and materials.

© Erik-Jan Ouwerkerk

Architects: Kéré Architecture

Location: Burkina Faso

Area: 318.0 sqm

Project Year: 2008

Photographs: Erik-Jan Ouwerkerk

From the architect. Two years after the completion of the Primary School, there was demand from more than 260 children from Gando and the surrounding region to attend the school. It quickly became apparent that an extension was badly needed to service the educational needs of these students. With overwhelming support from surrounding villages, this School Extension was built using local labor and materials.As the Primary School was built in close conjunction with Gando community members, the building became an important identifying landmark in the region. Since the material quality and architectural expression of the building became such a strong symbol for the Gando community itself, the new extension was designed with the same principles and methods. Similarly to the Primary School, the School Extension was also built with hand-made compressed stabilized earth bl...