Secondary School at Djilakh

Competition · Thiès region, Senegal

A school for Djilakh, in Senegal, roofed by one bamboo arch, repeated.

Djilakh is a village of more than four thousand people in Senegal. It has two primary schools, and no secondary school. When primary ends, many children, especially girls, have to stop learning.

The client's brief, from Let's Build My School, asked for a school that is flexible, sustainable and easy to repeat, for around a hundred and sixty students.

Our design starts from one shape: the catenary arch. It is the curve of a hanging chain, turned upside down, and it carries its weight in compression, so it can be slender and light. Repeated again and again, that single curve roofs the whole school. The result is not far from the huts of the region, but its roof changes from flat to arched, giving the community a new form to explore.

The arches are made of bamboo, the species that grows naturally there, tied in bundles and bent at the top. Bamboo is only as good as its protection, so the roof is built in layers, each treated differently against water, termites and weather: soaking in crude lake salt, pressure treatment, and used motor oil on the outer layer. Together they should last ten to fifteen years. Woven textiles from local craftspeople hang beneath, trapping air to keep the classrooms cool.

Classrooms are staggered, so air moves through them without machines. Narrow, winding paths take children from the shared entrance into the school, so the walk becomes a game. Here too psychology shaped the plan: loose, informal spaces and paths that children choose for themselves are linked to more creativity and empathy. The multipurpose hall stays apart, so the community can use it while school goes on.

Outside, the playground is made of bamboo, discarded tyres, local timber and reclaimed plastic, and orchards of native trees, like baobab and shea, surround it.

Client: Let's Build My School (competition run by Archstorming, 2025). Design: Mu.S.Ex.