KYM Field School

CetraRuddy Architecture, Competition

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Location: Tropical Savannah region of central Africa

Size: 15,454 sqft

Program: K-12 Education Facility

Awards: AIA Emerging Professionals 2018

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Design Team: Theresa Genovese,Ruben Cabanillas, Jared Eisenhower, Jacob Gann, Bonny Nichols, & Sean Hsu

 

Africa represents environmental and social scenarios where change and adaptability are infused with survival, thus the design assumptions sought to embrace the precarious nature of this ever-changing continent because they hold immense importance culturally to the survival of the people. Our intention to create a sustainable modular Field School that promotes pollination of knowledge and culture from one generation to the next in order to nourish communal growth among the young minds of the tropical Savanna region. Ideas of adaptability, portability, modularity, sustainable and place making shaped our thought processes on how this Field School will be applied to the varying geographies, typologies and social/economic settings.The vernacular architecture and local building materials of the region are not only sources of inspiration but the “building blocks” of the modularization in a manner that will provide access to on-site resources such as sunlight, wind and water. The modular grid units are intended to be arranged and transposed based on the specific requirements of each and every selected site and village needs.When not in use for the school the design’s flexibility is intended to be utilized for other communal activities serving as a resource for the greater community.