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Architects: The Scarcity and Creativity Studio
- Area: 200 m²
- Year: 2017
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Photographs:SCS
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Manufacturers: Softwood
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Structures: AHO, Degrees of Freedom, Felice Allievi, Solveig Sandness
Text description provided by the architects. Eco Moyo is an educational Community Based Organisation located in Ezamoyo in Kilifi county, Kenya, providing free Montessori based education to children from poor families. Eco Moyo have recently bought a 5 hectares site half an hour drive from Kilifi town center. The site has a house, and Eco Moyo is building the infrastructure necessary to make it usable as an education centre.
During 2017 they built living accommodation for 20 pupils and for the teaching staff so that they can move operations to the new site. The development plan for Eco Moyo Education Centre consists of two parts:
The first is Eco Moyo Primary School which is modelled on Green School Principals and the Montessori Education Method, emphasis is on practical approaches to each subject together with ethics, ecology, training in individual thinking and communication skills.
The second part is Eco Moyo Farm which will be based on Permaculture Principals for the cultivation of food crops, timber and animal husbandry. The goal is to meet the consumption needs of students and staff, while functioning as a demonstration site for locals and visitors. Eco Moyo have asked The Scarcity and Creativity Studio, AHO to design and build two classrooms on their new site. The Scarcity and Creativity Studio (SCS) spent 5 weeks in Eco Moyo building two classrooms for 20 students each, with adjoining pergolas which shade outdoor teaching areas.
Materials used were coral stone blocks rendered with 1:12 parts cement and local earth. To the back of each classroom a ‘light wall’, which is built of planed softwood, allows for ventilation and the controlled penetration of natural light. The roof trusses are built with softwood and covered with corrugated metal sheets. The roofs drain all rain water into two large water tanks to the back. A fabric ceiling (not yet installed) hung under the trusses will stop radiation from the metal roof sheets from reaching the occupants.
