SENEGAL - Toshiko Mori Architect tops circular school in Senegal with thatch roof

Des poutres en bambou et du chaume pour le toit

New York-based Toshiko Mori Architect has created a circular building topped with a thatch roof for the Fass School and Teachers Residence in the rural village of Fass in eastern Senegal.

Created in collaboration with the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation and Le Korsa not-for-profit organisations, the school was designed by Toshiko Mori Architect for 300 students aged from five to 10.

In total, there are four classrooms of different sizes and two open flexible spaces arranged in a circle around a central courtyard to give the school a variety of spaces for children of different ages.

"The circular shape provides for easy circulation of teachers between classrooms, while variation in the perimeter walls in terms of height and proximity to one another gives each classroom a unique spatial quality," explained Toshiko Mori, founder of Toshiko Mori Architect.

"The inward orientation of the classrooms towards the central courtyard and the continuous roof reinforces the feeling of community fostered by a shared school setting, even across different age groups or class populations," she told Dezeen.

Both the school and the neighbouring teacher's residence have a distinctive circular shape that, along with being practical, references local housing.

The architecture studio hopes that this will make the school relatable, but also distinctive.

"The school's circular design was informed by ancient impluvium family houses, a vernacular typology of the Senegalese region of Ziguinchor and Casamance, which similarly orient rooms in a circle around a central courtyard," said Mori.

Toshiko Mori Architect tops circular school in Senegal with thatch roof

SENEGAL - Toshiko Mori Architect tops circular school in Senegal with thatch roof

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