- Primary School
- 1999–2001
- Gando, Burkina Faso
- Diébédo Francis Kéré
- OverviewClose
While studying architecture at the Technische Universität Berlin, Diébédo Francis Kéré learned that the small primary school in his hometown of Gando, Burkina Faso—a village of around 2,500 inhabitants—was in disrepair. In response he started Schulbausteine für Gando e.V. (School building blocks for Gando), an organization dedicated to creating a better school. Kéré designed a building of traditional unbaked mud bricks, an easily available and highly sustainable material in the region, but one that had fallen into disregard. To increase their durability Kéré introduced a human-powered machine to compress the bricks and he designed a large overhanging roof to protect the walls against rain and heat, leaving space between the ceiling and roof to increase air circulation and create a pleasant interior climate. Community members collaborated on the erection of the school, becoming trained in construction in the process. The brick elements were hand assembled on site, and the roof structure was welded without heavy machinery.
Attendance at the school has been extremely high since it opened, in 2001; applications far outnumber available spots. Thanks to the broad international recognition this remote project has received, Kéré and Schulbausteine für Gando e.V. have been able to build an annex to the school and houses for the teachers. There are plans for the erection of a library and women’s center in the immediate future. With this project Kéré has demonstrated that the engagement of one architect can have a lasting positive effect on the welfare of a community in an extremely poor country.
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Architect
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Diébédo Francis Kéré was born in Gando, Burkina Faso. He graduated from the architecture program at Technische Universität Berlin in 2004, and opened his architecture office in Berlin the following year. Kéré had already founded the non-governmental organization Schulbausteine fuer Gando e.V. (school bricks for Gando) in 1998, with the objective of improving traditional building techniques in his home country. He currently teaches at Technische Universität Berlin and works with his office internationally on several projects. His entrance and restaurant buildings in the Parc National du Mali will be finished in fall 2010.
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- CreditsClose
- Architect: Diébédo Francis Kéré
- Landscape design: Diébédo Francis Kéré
- Construction: residents of Gando
- Client: Village of Gando, Burkina Faso; Schulbausteine für Gando e.V.
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- South elevation Image credit: Siméon Duchoud/Aga Khan Trust for Culture Close
Kéré’s design was dictated by the climate and by the desire that the building be constructed by human power only. Earthen bricks, with a small admixture of cement for increased durability, were hand pressed using a simple machine; concrete beams run across the load-bearing brick walls under a ceiling of more earth bricks. It is surmounted by the roof, a sheet of corrugated metal above a lacy steel truss constructed from standard pieces of steel rebar in small sections.
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- West elevation Image credit: Erik-Jan Ouwerkerk Close
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- Section and floor plan Image credit: Diébédo Francis Kéré Close
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- Exploded axonometric Image credit: Diébédo Francis Kéré Close
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- Classroom Image credit: Siméon Duchoud/Aga Khan Trust for Culture Close
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- Classroom Image credit: Siméon Duchoud/Aga Khan Trust for Culture Close
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- Roof construction Image credit: Diébédo Francis Kéré Close
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- Roof construction Image credit: Diébédo Francis Kéré Close
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- Roof construction Image credit: Diébédo Francis Kéré Close
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- Detail of roof Image credit: Diébédo Francis Kéré Close
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- Site plan Image credit: Diébédo Francis Kéré Close
Gando, where Kéré grew up, is a typical West African rural village—a collection of circular adobe dwellings capped with thatched roofs loosely scattered across the savanna. The architect’s goal was to make Primary School (1) the catalyst for future development in the community. He has since designed and built teachers’ housing (2), a school extension (3), and a sports field (5). Currently, about seven hundred students attend classes in the three buildings, meeting a crucial need for education in a country with one of the highest illiteracy rates in the world.
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- Aerial view of Gando Image credit: Diébédo Francis Kéré Close
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- Annotated cross section Image credit: Diébédo Francis Kéré Close
School buildings in Burkina Faso are typically built of cinder block walls and a corrugated iron roof. Heat radiates from the ceiling directly into the poorly ventilated classrooms, resulting in interior temperatures of up to 104 ºF (40 ºC). In his design for Primary School, Kéré lifted the roof and introduced louvered slats in the walls to allow air to circulate freely. The large overhanging eave protects the walls from rain and also shades the building from the sun. The result is a pleasant climate inside the classrooms even in the extreme summer heat.
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- Climatic section Image credit: Diébédo Francis Kéré Close
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- View of exterior Image credit: Siméon Duchoud/Aga Khan Trust for Culture Close
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