Senegal Elementary School, Building Stories: The Language of Making
Honor Award // Unbuilt Architectural Design
Emerging Professionals Team:
Ally Rugg // Market Square Architects, NH
Aly Mancuso // SWBR, NY
Kyle Kinz // The Richmond Group, MA
Philip McGovern // MA
Sherese Rogers // MA
Sienna Flynn // Eck MacNeely Architects, MA
Description
Griots are West African storytellers. They are the keepers of history and tell their stories, often accompanied by the Kora, under the shade and protection of a tree. The design intention of this school goes beyond the education of schoolchildren; it aims to teach the people of Marsassoum about building techniques, local materials, sustainable systems and architectural methods to deal with climate. The importance of the existing fig tree is respected by the center courtyard. It provides a unique, shaded space between water collection systems and classrooms. The fig tree will become the center of the new school both physically and metaphorically as it guides the making of the new complex. Its composition, organization, and tectonics will serve the children, and be a training ground for the community as they contribute to its making. The story of the new school will be woven into the narrative of the Marsassoum community.
Jury Comments
Built around the concept of storytelling and its role in sustaining & enhancing culture: the concepts are clear, the construction simple, the organization of spaces elegant and scale of indoor and outdoor space wonderfully appropriate. The graphics communicated its story very well. We all hope that it can be built.
