STUDIO ASSIGNMENT CONTENT In a global perspective, around 90% of the world’s population cannot afford an architect, who is trained to design from behind his computer and prescribe mass-produced materials. The preindustrialized concept of a master-builder might just come back. It reflects the idea of an integral approach to architecture, embedded in local context, local materials and local craftsmanship. The contemporary master builder understands the art of building and is a decent craftsman. Besides he also works with the possibilities of contemporary technologies and digital media. Exchanges between cultures and working with local building materials and techniques are starting points for the master-builder in order to achieve site-specific architectural projects. TWO BIO CLIMATIC SCHOOLS IN TIDILI AND TAMGOUNSI The project sites are located in the neighbourhood of Agadir, Morocco. The projects are part of a long-term program of the Goodplanet Foundation called “Bio-climatic Schools”. Within this program he foundation builds schools in rural environmentsbased upon bio-climatic principles using local resources, knowledge and techniques. The Commune of Drarga (Morocco) ordered the construction of 5 of such schools in their region due to the success of the program in Morocco. The design of 2 schools in Tidili and Tamgounsi will therefore be designed as prototypes and will function as examples for the development of the other schools. DESIGN APPROACH The studio works with 2 key principles that are connected to sustainable research and design: ‘sense of place’ and ‘materiality’. On one hand the studio focusses on ‘sense of a place’. Students try to understand and work with the specificity of the context. With this knowledge they develop a siteanchored (spatial + socio-cultural) architectural project for the chosen site. Both in terms of functionality and materialization the project is celebrating the place. On the other hand, this studio looks at the materiality and craftsmanship of architecture. Everything is embedded. As the student is challenged to understand in a holistic way the construction site, he/she develops affinities with local resources, construction techniques, bioclimatic principles and architectural typologies. These explorations will bring students closer to materials and their constructive features. This will bridge the existing gap between architectural education and craftsmanship of architecture. 2
AIM The aim of the design studio is to develop a vision on schools in the rural context of Morocco and to design high-quality architectural projects until executional level. The students will develop their designs as architectural strategies, giving the possibility to adapt their proposals easily to different topographies, different rural morphologies and technical necessities. INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDIO PROJECTS The request for new pre-schools in Tidili and Tamgounsi came from the management of the schools and the higher administration and is supported by the Goodplanet Foundation. Also, the villages expressed the wish to expand their primary school with a kindergarten class. The projects in this booklet for future pre-schools offer one-by-one qualitative spaces, where children will be happy and learn a lot!
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MEET THE DESIGNERS
“ We all come from different backgrounds and cultures yet we used it to strengthen our project. Ensieh has designed a school in her bachelor’s studies, it helped her understand the requirements of educational buildings. While Hana has used her language and culture to better appreciate the context and social requirements for Morocco. Whereas Yuka has used her internship experience in Japan to contribute to the technicalities of the building. We wanted to design a classroom for the future children of Morocco, so we wanted to put ourselves in their shoes. We decided to design from the children’s and teachers’ angle by addressing them as our “clients”. Then by imagining how the experience and use the school. During the making of this book, the world is experiencing the pandemic of COVID-19 that might change the future of education. Perhaps now is a chance for us to redefine the notion of a school and its teaching methods. We believe that architecture has its part to play in reshaping education. “ - Ensieh, Hana and Yuka
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CONTENT INTRODUCTION: - Concept - Clients - Designing From the Interior
P. 6 P. 7 P. 8
TAMGOUNSI: Research Phase:
P. 11
Design Process:
P. 21
Design Proposal:
P. 26
TIDILI: Research Phase:
P. 47
Design Process:
P. 55
Design Proposal:
P. 60
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CLASSROOM OF TOMORROW School, especially for toddlers is one of the first new environments where they are confronted with new phenomena and community. It is one of the very first instances where young children part from their homes and mingle with the outside world. In the book Space and Learning, Herman Hertzberger studies the encounter between school and city. 1 He calls a school a ‘city-in-miniature and thus a potted version of the world’. In the same book, he also mentioned that extensive studies have shown children of school age is considerably influenced by their surroundings and that the first conscious impressions of the environment are decisive for their sense of quality and for what they expect for life. Correspondingly, architecture has always been one of the factors that frames moments in memories. This could be things like the materials, the corridor you meet friends from another class, the space under the stairs, the window you looked out through, and perhaps also the ‘forbidden’ rooms you have only looked from afar. Thus, we would like to make the classrooms as varied and rich as they can be to evoke positive associations and create joyful schooling memories for the children. In the design of these classrooms for pre-schoolers, we focused on the spatial opportunities that might lead to better education. We consider school a question of interior spatial arrangements, and less of the formal aspects of the exterior. The spatial condition of a conventional classroom has always been serving a teacher-centred pedagogy. However, we believe in education that provides room for self-discovery and curiosity. These qualities are parallel to the visions of alternative pedagogies such as Montessori and Reggio Emilia, where peer-to-peer and independent learning are encouraged. The children of the coming generation need the skills to learn and think independently to handle the challenges of tomorrow. While preparing our proposals we explored how architecture might facilitate the implementation of alternative pedagogy through the articulation of spaces within the classroom. This has stimulated us to employ a different approach, where we started the design process from interior spaces, and consequently the exterior becomes merely the containment of spatial needs of the building.
1
Herzberger, H. (2008). Space and Learning, Lessons in architecture 3. Rotterdam, 010 Publichers.
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CLIENTS’ PROFILE
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We started off our design by analyzing the context from various aspects. Then, we developed our preliminary ideas and forming our design by considering the spatial arrangements on one hand and bioclimatic issues on the other.
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Responding to contour of this school is one of our important aspects of design. There are 2 spaces, main learning space and one creative space for children. Also, having connection between outdoor and indoor spaces is considered in our classroom for creating more dynamic space.
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Tamgounsi has a very distinct landscape and typology. We used the slope and the building pattern as the main feature of the design. The form of the classroom follows the rectangular language of other classrooms, and the levels follow the contour of the landscape. The area defined by the columns around the classroom can be used as playing area or outdoor teaching space. These outdoor areas will be shaded for most of the time either by the roof or by the shadow of the classroom. The ramp that connects both levels not only has accessibility function but it is also a playing element for the children.
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School Entrance
Class Entrance
Main Teaching Area
Assembly Area
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29
The center of the school will be leveled to create a smaller court for the younger children. Steps facing the assembly ground can be used as a seating element. The pre-school is an externalized space with columns surrounding the classroom. The series of columns blur the boundary of interior and exterior, and define an outdoor space that is proportionate to the scale of children.
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Private courtyard
of the pre-school. 33
There are 3 spaces in the pre-school, which are the main teaching space, the library, and the outdoor space. Children enter the main teaching space through the higher library space, and walk down a few steps to the main teaching area. This space is connected to the pre-school’s own courtyard by a series of doors. In this courtyard, young children can play freely without needing to be walled off from the rest of the school. On the other hand, the library space can act as a secondary teaching space and allows a class to engage in different activities concurrently.
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Interior of the ma
ain teaching space. 37
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Only locally available materials are used in to create a building with lower environmental impact. Lime stone are used for foundation as they can be found in abundance in Tamgounsi and it has traditionally been used in construction. Abode bricks will be used for walls and column as they can be produced by local craftsmen with simple ingredients, tools and techniques. The walls will be plastered in a blend of ground limestone, clay and water to waterproof and protect the adobe bricks. Beams and ring beams will be made of locally sourced wood like eucalyptus as it has a longer span of around 4m. The main teaching area has an interesting interior space framed by beams arranged in a unique diamond shape. The diamond shape allowed us to use local wooden beam as the span is shorter than regularly arranged beams. Above the wooden beams is a layer of woven reed canes ceiling.
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View of the pre-school from south.
Class entrance and library space. 43
Connection to the
e assembly area. 45
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Since its a dense school, we wanted to create different sub-spaces in the classroom. These sub-spaces can allow for different learning activites, the different spaces can be either in the interior or exterior, on different levels.
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The idea of creating connection between outdoor and indoor learning spaces is considered on different levels. This creates a very dynamic and interesting classroom. On the ground floor the classroom extends from the interior to the exterior to the court and allays. On the mezanine it extends to the treehouse.
59
Tidili’s urban fabric is a mix of old and new clusters. It is highly dense with alleys in between buildings. We wanted to use those alleys to create intimate spaces for the children, as we noticed that younger kids like to be in tight spaces that are proportionate to their sizes. Despite the small area available, we managed to create 3 different spaces in the classroom. There is an open main teaching area, a small library, and a more intimate creative area. The main teaching area has a direct connection to the classroom courtyard. This courtyard provides the possibility to have an outdoor teaching environment and it will be shaded by the classroom most of the time. All of these different elements could allow for different configurations to facilitate a non-traditional teaching methods.
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Approach From The Assembly Area
Class Court
Creative Space
Under The Tree House
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63
The new classroom will be located in it’s original location. There will be alleys surrounding it to continue the language of the school fabric. There will be a new entrance for the pre-school that is located in the classroom’s court.
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Main court of
the pre-school. 67
The proposal is an internalized space with a mezzanine in the classroom. The irregularly shaped classroom plan is a reflection of the immediate environment as the walls are offsets of the surrounding structures. In front of the main teaching space is an outdoor spill-over space. The in-between space around the classroom follows the language of the existing school fabric. The space under the mezzanine creates a more intimate spatial experience for the children, while the mezzanine encourages play and movement within the classroom.
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The mezzanine is a small space for the children to have different activities in smaller groups. From the mezzanine, children can go out to the tree house, which is built around an existing tree.
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Interior of the mia
an teaching space. 73
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Debris from the demolished building will be used in various ways in the new building. The crushed concrete will not only replace the layer of crushed stone under the slab, it can also replace the aggregates in the compressed earth block (CEB). CEB is chosen here as it has a shorter production time and requires less working area compared to adobe bricks. The interior and exterior of the classroom will be plastered to create a more polished look while protecting the bricks. Concrete ring beams are left exposed intentionally to break the otherwise monotonous appearance of the building.
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View from the mezzanine.
Creative space under the mezzanine. 79
Classroom alley
and tree-house. 81