Here is an attempt to render Dogon architecture in modern light for Habitat for Humanity.
The concept of this building is based on the eternal struggle to find shade. Shade is gold in places like Mali. So SDO tried to have this project rooted in traditional Malian architecture by borrowing from the Dogon’s “Togu Na”. The “Togu Na”, a thatch shelter supported by carved wooden and stonepillars, provides a deep and dark shade in which one can disappear from the light of the day. Here in the Football for Hope project the idea is
used to allow the functional spaces to be sheltered from the sun. The use of this shelter is achieved by creating a minimalistic outer shell that allows the “inner buildings” to disappear until one approaches the entry
• gatherings
• meetings
• studying
• farmer’s market, and simply
• places to escape the harsh sun of the desert like climate.
These broad, insulating terraces also contribute greatly to ventilation in combination with the planted inner courtyard. The courtyard facilitates a siphoning process (i.e. the heat escaping through the central yard/atrium pulls in cooler air thereby creating a continuous air circulation).
So this project is composed of:
• The outer shell
• The insulating/terrace spaces
• Three inner buildings which are composed of:
o The administrative wing (multipurpose room, manager’s office, secretary’s office/waiting, related accessory functions)
o The boys’ and girls’ restrooms,
o The kitchen directly connected to the courtyard for outdoor cooking
o The office/dorm and counseling room
• The soccer /football pitch will be oriented true North ‐South
• The tower /storage (made with the shipping containers)
• The stands and the changing rooms at each end of the stands
• The planted roof becomes a garden