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Architects: Atelier Kalm
- Area: 4000 m²
- Year: 2021
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Photographs:Angela Sorbaioli
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Manufacturers: AutoDesk, Universal Colors
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Lead Architects: Anne-Laure Moreira Mbaye
Text description provided by the architects. The school construction project for the Ngor campus of the Cité Scolaire Internationale is in the new urban area of Ngor-Ouakam in Senegal. The complex combines primary and secondary establishments and is built on a total area of 6,000 m2.
The building is presented as work turned inwards to preserve the students' privacy while keeping thorough ventilation thanks to openings on both sides overlooking a passageway. The exterior facades are lined with a louvered metal shading system. This creates a buffer space, allowing air and light to enter the classrooms while protecting them from street nuisances and integrating technical devices hidden by perforated sheet panels.
The school's playground is under the multi-purpose sports field, which is straddling the two schools, offering a sheltered and ventilated part. The suspended sports field was created to increase the recreation space. It is thus used both for sport and for recreational activities.
At the heart of the project is a circular building that houses the libraries of each school and allows a transition from primary to secondary. This building is intended to be the center of the project, thus allowing exchanges between students and teachers on this site. It also brings porosity between the two establishments.
The complex includes several indoor circuits that offer an exchange between the two schools, thus promoting communication between playgrounds, playgrounds, green spaces, and the quieter backyard.
All the project slabs remained in raw concrete formwork to limit costs. The walls of the classrooms are lined with mud brick walls and line up along passageways lined with openwork metal railings that let air and light through. All these elements create an airy, bright, and friendly atmosphere within the school and give the building its identity.
