C o b o o k

Kumasi . Ghana . 2016

Client  Abetenim Community

Status Project

The composition of the village is a group of rectangular patios (emptiness) overhung by the houses (volume) creating two asymmetric facades : one is blind to the outside and the interior one is open to the courtyard. The life takes place under the gallery, this space between patio and house, where the inhabitants cook, play, speak, share and protect themselves to the sun or to the heavy rain.

This project wants to perpetuate this traditional Ashanti architectural language : emptiness / volume, interior / exterior, rhythm / austerity. It also emphasizes the use of sustainable materials with a stubbornness towards earthen construction techniques such as local Atakpame (cob).

The project’s L-shaped structure is reminiscent of an open book with a monolithic exterior facade, revealing the institutional figure of the building. The interior facade is slender by a rhythm of black steel posts on which the roof rested, like a shelter from the sun and the rain.

The Cobook school is a melting pot from which tradition and future merge to preserve the heritage of Ashanti culture.