Mozambique learning centre

The proposed learning center is nestled between the main road towards the Southwest and the village towards the North. The building and its functions are organized around the existing fruit trees on site to form a courtyard; a defensible safe space where children can play and socialize.

A public edge is then created towards the Southwest. Functions such as the kitchen, hairdressers, multi-purpose space and admin facilities of the building create an interface with the street through small openings, windows and doors in the façade. A large opening in the building mass, the setback of the admin functions and the level difference of the plinth announce the main entrance to the center. Timber spruce columns supporting the roof and the public seating further animates this entrance threshold where visitors can gather or trade as vendors.

When passing through the entrance, visitors are greeted by the existing large fruit trees in the courtyard. Here, the plinth is sculpted to announce the arrival space where visitors can orientate themselves towards the various functions or pause to gather and interact on the edges of this space.

Sustainable design principles, materials and local construction techniques were considered during the design process. The existing trees and large overhangs of the roof cool the exterior spaces and surfaces before air is cross ventilated through the interior spaces. The high thermal mass properties of the concrete floors and thick adobe brick walls allows for steady thermal lag to occur, where heat from the sun can be absorbed during the hot summer days and released during the night. The walls also create a rhythm to the façade in the way it is fragmented to create a series of openings and spaces that host functions such as shelving and seating (habitable depth of façade).

The timber roof structure is layered with a series of playful triangulated systems. “Jute” ceilings form an insulation barrier from the excess heat build-up from the metal and polycarbonate roof sheets above. This allows air to circulate between these layers and discharge by means of convection through the openings on the side of the roofs. The separation of the buildings and roofs reduce the overall scale of the building mass and avoids roof junctions and valleys for ease of construction. The roofs slope toward the courtyard to collect rainwater where it is ultimately stored in tanks for irrigation use, cooking and the ablution facilities.