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2019

THIS IS NOT A SCHOOL

Project: African School Project - archstorming competition

Type: Education, Competition

Location: Benga, Malawi

Duration: 3 weeks

Collaborators: Jonas Swienty

- Honourable Mention -

The project, “This is not a school,” aims to redefine our traditional perceptions of education and re-imagine the archetype of the classroom. Education does not only transpire within the confines of four walls. The opportunity to learn exists in our everyday lives and the spaces that surround us. Our goal is to create a project that can facilitate as many unique learning opportunities and spaces as possible in order to create the best achievable educational conditions.

Each building has a unique footprint, roof structure, and color accent, giving the spaces individuality and identity within the greater school community. While we propose options for potential placements of these buildings on the site - which we believe possess the greatest collaborative synergies - the goal is to involve the community in the planning of the project.  Through this collaboration, we hope to give the users a greater sense of ownership to the project in its planning phases while also providing local involvement in the construction. The given solutions in this proposal accommodates the needs of the school today while anticipating the future demands and growth of an expanding school in a sustainable way.

When combined together the catalogue of unique and playful building types create a sequence of distinct but harmonious educational spaces, that can create something much greater, a community. By introducing woodlots throughout the site we hope to use the woodlots to teach students about the pressing issue of deforestation and its effect on Malawian lives. Eventually as the school grows these same trees will be used in the construction of new buildings.

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