Kaira Looro 2023

CONCEPT

Children are influenced by their environment and look for models to inspire them. Designed in the south of Senegal, the school was created to be a source of inspiration for children and a public space for local residents. Based on the principle of controlling the effects of the community on children's life, the approach aims to bring local people and children together in a friendly environment. `MODULES`, which is the dream of a school in which the local people are involved, tries to improve the colorful world of children within the framework of tolerance. Design idea, which basically comes from the unidirectional plan principle, becomes a rich complex with the feeding of circulation routes. Vertical spaces were combined through a long horizontal circulation and the flow inside the space was designed to be in all directions. The modules were raised from ground by widening their borders and were transformed into natural sitting or resting areas for users. Roof structure, which covers each module, enables the effective use of rain water thanks to its inclined structure. The space left between the wall and the roof plays an important role for natural ventilation. Transformation of light into a sacred meaning gains in value when the light strikes through the roof to the local African fabrics on the ceiling and becomes colorful. Design, which creates transparent spaces for the stories inside, pushes users to naturally flow through the space and experience every function. The freedom of the kitchen and canteen area, which includes the local people, gives the distribution of food to the poor children as a duty to the society. The fact that the toilets belong to both the school and the region contributes to the basic needs of the settlement. The offices, sickroom and storage work effectively with each other. Laboratory area, which allows children to organize joint activities, offers a fun experience for children with easy transitions to each other. Classrooms complete the school by turning the design into a center of attention with their colorful windows. The circulation route between the other modules and the classrooms offers users who spend time at school an opportunity to blink at an activity at every point.