architects T R radhakrishnan and santiago murcia beltrán unveil the ‘school with goofy gestures’ proposal, situated within rural senegal. embracing the informal local character, the design adopts a playful form to house the young students in an ideal learning environment. the project has been chosen as a finalist entry in archtorming’s senegal elementary school competition.

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street view
all images by missing picture

 

 

the proposal by T R radhakrishnan and santiago murcia beltrán takes shape as a physical structure that rejects conventional borders. the composition works with playfully organized lines with juxtaposed angles, staggered volumes, rotated roofs, and undulating surfaces to create a joyful, inclusive, and contextual space for children. the architects characterize the proposal as a project of ‘spatial goofiness’ and ‘articulated quirkiness’. 

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void

 

 

the programmatic organization is anchored to a central open space, that creates a safe enclosure for the building. a multi-purpose community room marks the threshold, welcoming visitors and extending to lead them to this central open space. the careful arrangement of interior elements allows breakage from a conventional mundane classroom set up and creates an exciting, open learning space. the central court will serve as an adaptive play area that could accommodate other community activities during non-school days.

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threshold

 

 

a formal plinth, undulating surface, and fluid peripheral edges set the content for the base – the subtle goofy component that mediates with the ground and the components above. the staggered rooms create voids and niches that will allow chances for spatial intimacy and accommodate smaller gatherings at the kid’s scale. the sandbag walls with earth sourced from the site become planes of communication between inside and outside with arched openings that become entry, seating, window, and tables; rather than being spatial barriers. 

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classroom

 

 

the brick vaulted roofs have slits for a well-lit interior and the fenestrations on either side allow cross ventilation. the thick mud walls and double roofs act as insulation to protect interiors from the excessive heat. through the components of the plinth, wall, roof, fenestrations, and their composition, the design presents slices of goofy gestures through interaction and modulation with light, shadow, materiality, and water. what the kids would add through play is the spatial bonus.

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library

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courtyard

 

 

project info:

 

name: school with goofy gestures
architects: T R radhakrishnan and santiago murcia beltrán
client: let’s build my school (UK based charity)
location: rural senegal

 

 

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

 

edited by: myrto katsikopoulou | designboom