Onsite
Can materials constantly re-invent themselves to become the building blocks of benchmarks in design? This section brings to fore the success stories of how materials, across categories, have surpassed expectations to create an exemplary experience!
The new school building in Gando is a part of a larger complex which includes teachers’ housing, a well, allotments and a sports field. The building and materials are adapted to both local climate and economic conditions. The roof shades the facades and protects the rammed earth from rain. Cooling air is allowed to flow between the roof and the classroom ceilings. The floor is made of beaten earth. Metal shutters can be opened in various configurations to admit light and air through large windows. Timber, difficult to obtain and subject to termite attack, was hardly used.
In the small town of Dano in Burkina Faso, Kéré has designed an addition to an existing school complex. The L-shaped structure consists of three classrooms, offices and a computer room. In addition to this, a sit-out area covered by a tilted cantilevering roof has also been added. This area, open to the exterior, is extensively used during breaks. In keeping with Kéré’s philosophy, the design takes into account the climatic conditions through the use of locally available materials and climatic specific sustainability features.
This project consists of three halls, of different capacities (2800, 1200 and 700 seats) and characteristics (principally in their flexibility of use), as well as an open-air amphitheatre for 3,000 people. The auditorium is a multi-functional complex, dedicated to music that enriches the already vast cultural heritage of the city. The project is characterised by the three ‘music boxes’ that appear to be flying above a sea of vegetation.
As part of the urban development scheme for the abandoned military campus ‘Chassée’ in Breda, designed by the Office of Metropolitan Architecture, the former officers’ mess hall was converted into a venue for Breda’s many lovers of pop music. The extension, placed on the other side of the old mess hall, accommodates the concert hall and foyer. The extension is shaped like a voluptuous seashell adjoining the existing structure. Where the old and new buildings join, an opening is created.
