12-14,
Kapalanga School
This school is located in Kapalanga, an informal neighbourhood on the outskirts of Luanda. The project emerged from a prolonged period of community work involving local residents and an NGO.
The project starts from rehabilitating an existing building, comprised of a front porch, two small o ices and three classrooms. One of the dividing walls is replaced with a movable wall, allowing the creation of a single assembly hall, intended for student gatherings and community meetings.
Each of the new classrooms is an independent building, facing the site’s prevailing winds. The arrangement optimises natural ventilation, and the temperature is significantly lower inside the buildings.
The landscaping attempts to consolidate existing uses. The broad shadows of the trees growing in front of the school are used as gathering places. At the back, a flat cement surface provides a good place for children to play games in.
The building is made using local materials and manual labour. Building techniques consist of concrete frame structures, cement blocks, steel structures and corrugated metal sheets. These solutions proved to be suitable for local climate conditions, economic constraints and cultural values. The walls are finished with a type of plaster made from cement mixed with reddish earth from the ground. Its materiality gives the school a textured appearance, creating a strong link between the buildings, the ground and the surrounding context.
