Sustainable Education Ghana | Sogakope, Ghana
Design and master plan of a primary and secondary school complex including six classrooms, community health center, library, covered patio, courtyard, and soccer pitch to be used by students of the new secondary school, existing primary school, and larger Sogakope community. Environmental features incorporated in this proposal include rainwater collection and filtering, cooling towers, operable shading, and solar collection. In an effort to root this project in its Ghanian context and preserve affordability, the material palette includes corrugated metal, mud brick, coconut husk, timber, and local textiles - chosen to be locally sourced, affordable, and easily maintainable by the community. The larger ambition of this project is to serve as a model for best practices in the design and construction of future schools in the region, and activation of the local community and economy.
Alongside Voices of African Mothers & Cornell University Sustainable Design, our design group traveled to Ghana for a one month research trip to conduct research into vernacular precedents, sustainable strategies, and cultural practices to further develop the design of the school campus. We also developed relationships with architects, engineers, and material suppliers who will execute the project locally, with the intent to begin construction January 2017.
Press & Awards
From an ocean away, students design a girls’ school in Ghana
Architecture Students Help Design a Girls' School in Ghana
Architecture Graduate Student Presents at U.N. Commission on the Status of Women
Team
Project Managers: Anamika Goyal & Dan Preston
Design Team: Alex Zink, Sisi Yu, Isa Hubsch, Greg Keller
Design Advisor: Whitney VanHouten
Sustainability Team: Ana Moura-Cook, Jenna Levine
Partners: Cornell University Sustainable Design (CUSD) & Voices of African Mothers (VAM)
CUSD Directors: Claudia Nielsen & Arielle Tannin