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079

079 Children’s House

Four rammed earth walls and an oversized roof.

Location: Baghere, Senegal
Program: Community Center
Floor Area: 120 m2
Project Team: Edgar Rodriguez, Anna Goga.
Status: Concept Design
Year: 2022

  • This proposal for the Children's House in the town of Baghere, in the southern region of Senegal, offers a space for the physical and cultural upbringing of children and their caregivers under one roof. The design takes the roof as the main element of the building, reinterpreting the traditional typology of the impluvium house. We envision the roof functioning as a space activator, shade device, and play infrastructure.

    Inspired by the local tradition of sharing space, meals, and youth care responsibilities, we designed the building as one continuous space. The project blurs the limits between interior and exterior in a diffuse environment between landscape and enclosure. This blurred boundary is achieved through two main features: the way the roof mediates between the ground and the sky and the varying degrees of porosity of the wall. The porous wall encloses a continuous space subdivided by two courtyards and a series of lightweight mobile partitions. In parallel, the roof is transformed from a traditional architectural element into a playground as it slopes toward the ground.

    The interaction of these two elements creates various spatial conditions that facilitate social interaction and appropriation for both children and adults.