Terracotta-hued towers that reference termite mounds distinguish the Startup Lions Campus, which Burkinabe architect Diébédo Francis Kéré's studio has completed in Kenya.
Located on the banks of Lake Turkana, the 1,416-square-metre campus was built for non-profit organisation Learning Lions to offer young Kenyans free training in information and communication technologies (ICT).
It is hoped to help alleviate youth unemployment in the region and allow young people to "thrive professionally without having to leave their homeland," according to Kéré Architecture.
Above: Kéré Architecture has completed the Startup Lions Campus. Top image: it is marked by three tall ventilation towers
Kéré Architecture's design for the Startup Lions Campus "celebrates the unique morphology" of the site, comprising five linked buildings spanning two levels that follow the natural slope of the terrain. It is built from locally sourced quarry stone finished with a terracotta-hued concrete plaster. This technique was chosen as it is low cost and so that the skills of the local community could be utilised in its construction.
It occupies a sloped site beside Lake Turkana
From afar, the campus is distinguished by three tall ventilation towers that the studio modelled on the tall mounds built by termite colonies found throughout the region.
Each tower helps cool the building's interiors by extracting warm air upwards, as fresh air is brought in through adjustable low-level...