Ecole Primaire Santiguyah Enhances Access to High-Quality Education in Rural Areas of Guinea

 

Ecole Primaire Santiguyah – The project “Ecole Primaire Santäiguyah” is an equal collaboration of three academic institutions – the German PBSA/ University of Applied Sciences DüsseldorfDuesseldorf, the German RWTH Aachen University, and the Guinean ISAU/ Institut Superieur d’Architecture et d’Urbanisme. A few years ago, the German KfW (German state-owned development bank) asked the Universities to research, develop, build and test a new sustainable standard school prototype for the Guinean Ministry of Education. The objective was to enhance access to high-quality education in rural areas of Guinea with sustainable educational buildings, as well as making the use of regional materials and local building traditions more visible; important was the participation in collective social community processes.

Architizer chatted with Judith Reitz & Thomas Schaplik from Social Impact Studio to learn more about this project.

Architizer: What inspired the initial concept for your design?

Judith Reitz & Thomas Schaplik: We are researching topics such as building for the common good, living and working together in community, forms of learning at different ages. In addition to typological themes, our work also focuses on exploring traditional and climate-orientated building methods in combination with reused or recycled materials. We understand architecture as a social practice with its associated cultural implications. This ongoing research was setting the parameters for the design team of the school. Guinea is one of the last countries worldwide, hardly developed touristically and economically. The sustainable primary school is located far from urban civilization in the jungle. The little village has 300 inhabitants who live a simple life in vernacular mud huts; there is no electricity, and water comes from a public well. The design proposes a school campus for children of all surrounding villages.

This project won in the 10th Annual A+Awards! What do you believe are the unique or standout components that made your project win?

Due to the tropical weather conditions in Guinea, natural ventilation and cooling of the building are of great importance. Therefore, a sustainable passive ventilation system was developed using solar radiation and shading. The rectangular buildings are positioned wind-orientated with a double roof. While the upper roof reflects the direct sunlight, the lower roof provides the thermal mass consisting of narrow brick vaults resting on a steel beam structure. Depending on the heat/wind conditions, more or fewer louvers of the windows can be opened so that the resulting draught discharges the warm air that accumulates under the roof. The building materials support the climate concept.

Another essential component is that all classrooms have a large shaded value-added always accessible outdoor area used as a flexible communication and learning space for the school and community.

What was the greatest design challenge you faced during the project, and how did you navigate it?

We have already developed and completes many design-build projects with students. The distance from the urban environment was a significant challenge and eventually an absolute blessing in constructing the elementary school. The village of Santiguyah is so far away from all infrastructures that there is no electricity, running water, supermarket, bank, etc. We had to rethink our building approach. We had to rethink our construction. We had to rethink how we live and work. During the construction, the pandemic’s beginning surprised us, and students and faculty suddenly had to leave the country. The intense cooperation with the Guinean university, the local village community, and our local architect worked sensationally. The village residents completed the collaborative construction of the school with tremendous effort.

How did the context of your project — environmental, social or cultural — influence your design?

In our projects, students develop, plan and construct a building as a team from the initial idea to handing over the keys with all the consequences.
As part of the study of architecture, DesignBuild projects raise research-relevant questions that go far beyond the pure building. We focus on innovative and holistic ideas about materials, construction, program, process, participation, community, and sustainability.
Universities must transform the approach to education along with the world.

We firmly believe that identity and community are no longer static constructs with rigid hierarchies.

In the past, urbanism structured modern social identity – today, it is our very own identity that could structure the world. As architects, we are the catalyst for social processes, appropriateness, and climate-smart building.

What drove the selection of materials used in the project?

When researching material for a project we usually ask us following questions: How can local and/ or traditional regional material be used in a contemporary way and break new ground? how can a local material support our climate concept? How do we develop authentic buildings whose aesthetics respond to location and- culture?

We discuss and test the potential of materials for the ecological and livelihood value to the community and future users. For the Ecole Primaire, we decided using solid, stabilized mud-cement blocks manufactured, air-dried on site. Because the bricks are interlocking, the building was constructed with virtually no mortar. We used the blocks for the construction of the walls and the ceiling.

What is your favorite detail in the project and why?

Our favourite detail are the shaded value-added outdoor areas used as a flexible learning space, for recreation and communication for the students of the school and the community. They work well and give a lot of positive intake to the project.

How important was sustainability as a design criteria as you worked on this project? 

The “Design-Build Program” tries to create awareness for the effects of growing and constantly changing economic, ecological, social, political, and economic polarization. We support new social paradigms based on more sustainable lifestyles, quality of life, social integration, environmental awareness, and active participation.

In what ways did you collaborate with others, and were there any team members or skills that were essential in bringing this Award winning project to life?

The project “ Ecole Primaire Santguyah” is an equal collaboration of three academic institutions – the German RWTH Aachen University, the Guinean ISAU/ Institut Superieur d’Architecture et d’Urbanisme and our University in Duesseldorf. We also collaborated with a local Guinean vocational school and the German Chamber of Crafts in Muenster. There is a tremendous value in collaboration and knowledge exchange between academic and craft students, and it moves students, faculty, and experts forward – personally and professionally.

How have your clients responded to the finished project?

We revisited the project in March 2022 and got only positive feedback. The room composition, the locally manufactured furniture, and the passive climate concept seem to work well; a lot more than expected, primary school kids join the regular school life. We are now running tests for one year on the climatic aspects of the house and will visit the site periodically.

Team Members

Involved faculty + project architects: Bernadette Heiermann, Judith Reitz, Thomas Georg Schaplik, Siné Diakite, Alkaly Traoré, Mohammed Ben Kaba, Sekou Bangoura, Franz Klein-Wiele; Students of the ISAU Conakry + RWTH Aachen University + HSD/ PBSA Duesseldorf

Consultants

Project management: Björn Hartmann; structural engineering: imagine structure Frankfurt/Cologne Arne Künstler; Supervision construction site: Anna Gonzalez

For more on Ecole Primaire Santiguyah, please visit the in-depth project page on Architizer.

Ecole Primaire Santiguyah Gallery