Enko School has a wide range of students ranging in age from 3 to 19. How to make these children of different ages learn and play harmoniously together on the same land, how to effectively use space and spend limited budget on key areas are the issues we want to focus on solving. The Sponge School is our solution to the problems. Sponge has porous, many voids internal. The space like sponge is the combination of solid and void, and save materials to build. We introduced porosity into the building. One kind of the holes, which is largest, is the three atria in the building. These three atriums not only facilitate daylighting, but also make the building transparent and ventilated. The second kind of holes is the hole connecting the three atria to the surrounding space, which area also the places of playground. These holes allow the three atriums to exist independently of the space around the building. The combination of inside and outside makes the space more dynamic. Scattered playgrounds allow each classroom to have one playgound nearby, and organically separates children of different ages. These open spaces also facilitate eye contact between students. Through these open areas, students can see and participate in the activities that are going on in the school. The third kind of holes is the window shape on the building facade. The northern aperture is designed to facilitate daylight, while the southern aperture is designed to shade the building to enhance the efficiency of natural lighting in the building.
The sPONGE SCHOOL
Bamako, Mali