The Sereolopi Elementary School is located in rural Kenya, and LimonLAB was asked to design an outdoor auditorium and clinic space for the school. When assessing the possibilities for the project we knew that we were dealing with very limited resources. Although, one great opportunity was that we had the ability to manufacture any type of concrete block on site. This was a condition given to us by the client, and would really open up the possibilities for the project. Some initial considerations and conceptual notions were that we wanted to develop a set of spaces that folded into one another. The auditorium is located on a site with slopes ranging from 5 to 40deg. Given this condition we decided to use the slope of the landscape to aid in the formation of the auditorium space, also creating, programmatically, an upward vector of motion through the site. The clinic was to counteract that, providing a lateral downward vector. These to programmatic vectors of motion were to mix in the main circulation area, which moves users diagonally up and down the space.

Programmatically the project is very elemental, 3 medical spaces, two alternative classrooms, and an auditorium. Due to the climate and our opportunity to manufacture custom blocks, we designed a perforated block system to allow for the passive cooling of spaces, which can reach extreme temperatures. When considering the roof structure, we consulted with the Director of Fabrication at Columbia University, Philip Anzalone, who at the time was developing a low cost, self sustaining, flexible truss system, called the trusset system along with Cory Clarke. This was incorporated as the main roof structure, which was skinned with tensile fabric. The roof is designed to allow light to penetrate through in areas of circulation, while providing shade for gathering and seating areas.

This project has been featured in Architectural Record and can be viewed here
Disclaimer: All images and models are the property of LimonLab Architecture + Design.