TOB Educational Center: A Situational Approach

Project Name: TOB Educational Center

Year: 2023

Client: Teach on the Beach 

Location: Busua, Ghana

Keywords: Learning, Situational, Sustainability

 

To create an innovative, socially impactful, and environmentally friendly design for TOB’s Educational Center, we anchor our approach in five tenants:

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1. Learning as a Social and Situational Activity: Our design approach is rooted in the understanding that learning is not merely a cognitive process, but one that is situated within a social setting. We recognize that good design thoughtfully “reacts” to its context, yet we go beyond a “contextual-reactive” response and propose a “situational-proactive” approach. Therefore, every element of the educational center is conceived as an opportunity to create “learning situations”. These learning situations are planted throughout the center fostering serendipitous encounters among volunteers, teachers, community members, and students of all ages.

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2. Eco-Conscious Architecture as Part of the Curriculum: We regard the "context", or architecture, as "content". To this end, we celebrate design elements like cisterns to use the rainwater for bathrooms and showers, natural ventilation through playing with air pressure, and non-reinforced rammed earth construction to minimize the use of cement. These eco-friendly, multi-purpose architectural solutions are displayed prominently, and serve as teachable moments, allowing the building system to function as a part of the learning curriculum.

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3. Introducing Complexity through Familiarity: Recognizing that the center's construction will be a "co-created" effort involving locals and volunteers, our design language is based on the building techniques and materials used to build the current classroom. This approach simultaneously creates "familiar" and "fresh" design opportunities. Our use of non-reinforced rammed earth, modular column system, thatched roofing, and wood-framed windows will make construction easy and foster a sense of place while also serving as an attraction for non-locals who seek unique architecture around the world.

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4. Anticipating Building System as Strategy for Phasing: Given that the construction of the center will likely occur in phases, we propose an "anticipating building system". The construction of rammed earth walls and modular load bearing columns will occur for the entire center. Yet, the window panels, ceiling structure, and roofing will be added on an as-needed basis and as the center grows. The proposed platform, even without the roof, can be used and occupied leveraging temporary tent fabric. This approach eases the transition towards the completed center.

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5. Community-Centric Zoning, Climate-Based Orientation: We advocate for a zoning approach that encourages community-building, alongside an orientation strategy that harnesses the local climate for natural ventilation. The extroverted indoor-outdoor community alley and introverted residential alley are integral to the design. The garden and orchard serve as an educational and restorative resource for both the communal and private zones. The placement of centralized bathrooms and septic tanks in the north of the site allows for easy access and maintenance from the existing road while ensuring the circulation of clean air.