Sustainable secondary school for village in Burkina Faso

The German-based firm Kéré Architecture has designed a secondary school for the town of Gando in Burkina Faso, one of the world’s poorest countries. Gando is a small town with a population of 3,000 people and did not previously have a secondary education facility. The project broke ground in May 2011, and its many sustainable features recently earned it the Holcim Awards Gold 2011 Africa Middle East.

Photos© Holcim Foundation
The architects produced a site-specific design that could be built by the community using locally-sourced materials. Clean energy is used both to build and run the school, generated exclusively by the sun and wind. The school is ventilated and cooled naturally by channelling air through underground tubes, landscaping and using double-skin roofs and façades for a 5°C thermal reduction. The newly planted trees will be watered thanks to a rainwater collection system.
The new building comes in addition to an existing primary school and library, and aims to create and environmental both conducive to learning and dedicated to the preservation of our planet. We hope to see this model replicated in other places around the world to allow more children access to education.

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GALLERY