Iwan Baan
  • Photography
  • Books
  • Exhibitions
  • News
  • About
  • Contact
  • Facebook
  • Instagram

Gando Primary School – Francis Kéré

2022

As a native of Burkina Faso, Francis Kere grew up with many challenges and few resources. When he was a child, he travelled nearly 40 kilometers to the next village in order to attend a school with poor lighting and ventilation. The experience of trying to learn in this oppressive environment affected him so much that when he began to study architecture in Europe, he decided to reinvest his knowledge towards building a new school in his home village. With the support of his community and funds raised through his foundation, Schulbausteine fuer Gando (Bricks for Gando,) Francis began construction of the Primary School, his very first building.

The design for the Primary School evolved from a lengthy list of parameters including cost, climate, resource availability, and construction feasibility. The success of the project relied on both embracing and negating these constraints. In order to maximize results with the minimal resources available, a clay/mud hybrid construction was primarily used. Clay is abundantly available in the region, and is traditionally used in the construction of housing. These traditional clay-building techniques were modified and modernized in order to create a more structurally robust construction in the form of bricks. The clay bricks have the added advantage of being cheap, easy to produce, and also providing thermal protection against the hot climate. Despite their durability, however, the walls must still be protected from damaging rains with a large overhanging tin roof. Many houses in Burkina Faso have corrugated metal roofs which absorb the heat from the sun, making the interior living space intolerably hot.

The roof of the Primary School was pulled away from the learning space of the interior though, and a perforated clay ceiling with ample ventilation was introduced. This dry-stacked brick ceiling allows for maximum ventilation, pulling cool air in from the interior windows and releasing hot air out through the perforated ceiling. In turn, the ecological footprint of the school is vastly reduced by alleviating the need for air-conditioning.

Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite

Tags:

  • Africa,
  • Burkina Faso,
  • Francis Kere,
  • and School

Other projects tagged with Africa, Burkina Faso, Francis Kere and School

Inkwenkwezi School, Cape Town South Africa – Noero Wolff

Inkwenkwezi School, Cape Town South Africa – Noero Wolff

School Of Architecture CEPT – BV Doshi

School Of Architecture CEPT – BV Doshi

Umubano Primary School, Girubuntu, Kigali, Rwanda – MASS Group

Umubano Primary School, Girubuntu, Kigali, Rwanda – MASS Group

MOS Studio’s School No. 3 (Petite École) – Biennial of Versailles 2019 – MOS

MOS Studio’s School No. 3 (Petite École) – Biennial of Versailles 2019 – MOS

Usasazo School, Cape Town, South Africa – Noero Wolff

Usasazo School, Cape Town, South Africa – Noero Wolff

Pallikoodam School – Kottayam – Laurie Baker

Pallikoodam School – Kottayam – Laurie Baker

Emerson College Los Angeles – Morphosis

Emerson College Los Angeles – Morphosis

Schorge High School Koudougou – Francis Kere Lycée Schorge

Schorge High School Koudougou – Francis Kere Lycée Schorge

Green School, Bali Indonesia – PT Bamboo Pure

Green School, Bali Indonesia – PT Bamboo Pure

Noomdo Orphanage – Francis Kéré

Noomdo Orphanage – Francis Kéré

Centre For Development Studies – Trivandrum – Laurie Baker

Centre For Development Studies – Trivandrum – Laurie Baker

University of Global Health Equity (UGHE) in Butaro – MASS

University of Global Health Equity (UGHE) in Butaro – MASS

  • Home
  • Portfolio
  • Gando Primary School – Francis Kéré

Iwan Baan Photography, Rozenstraat 145, 1016 NP Amsterdam, The Netherlands, e-mail: studio@iwan.com — all images © Iwan Baan 1996 - 2025