Keren

Communal and sustainable hub design concept

Location: Keren, Eritrea

Date: 2019

Tools: AutoCAD, Revit, Adobe Photoshop & Illustrator

Honorary Mention - Re-School Volume Zero Architecture Competitions 2022 (view here)

Concept

KEREN is a series of rammed earth structures intended for the inhabitants who reside within the Keren outskirts, as a place for learning, communal interaction and practicing of safe lifestyles. Most importantly the structure uses rain water harvesting techniques for easy access to filtered water for the community to use. KEREN is a community-driven center consisting of a union, bringing together the interior and exterior facades of the building, sustainability of the materials and the people.

INTRO

Eritrea is located in the Horn of East Africa, with its capital city being Asmara and second largest city being Keren. Keren is located around 91km northwest of the capital city, Asmara, it sits at an elevation of 1,390 meters above sea-level. Keren has 146,483 inhabitants currently living within and outside the city, surrounded by mountainous views on all sides.

Eritrea as a nation, is placing importance on sustainable movements that are slowly developing the country into becoming self-sufficient. With Asmara being the capital and major city, Keren is often overlooked but it is a beautiful town with beautiful history and people. I was able to visit this beautiful place twice, as it is my Fathers village and I wanted it to be the home for this project.

The project focuses on creating communal zones that develop the city and the inhabitants well-being while incorporating safe water supplies using rain water harvesting techniques. Some problems were identified before coming up with a concept for the space.

RESEARCH

Very warm to hot temperatures + no shade from sun outside of home
Open desert; dry
In the outskirts of Keren, not many trees and bushes available
Schools, communal interactions and short breaks are taken beneath
Bushes and trees to escape the sun

Problems

Open defecation done in villages due to lack of clean latrines/toilets or none at all
Creates diseases
Sanitation issues
Government adopted CLTS (Community-Led Total Sanitation) in 2007; address issue of rural sanitation
Raising awareness and community agreement

Open wells lead to contamination of water and diseases
Reservoirs/wells are too steep due to topography
Fetching water, women/young girls walk far and carry large
Containers on their backs and heads
Lack of effective resources to get water

Alongside doing research on problems for this area, I also did research analyzing the area, rain, sun, temperature and data and available information I could find to see how I can incorporate the most ideal sustainable rain harvesting technique for this area. I also decided to do soil studies to see how this can enhance the project by incorporating local materials for building purposes.

→ Rain, sun, temperature data

→ Soil data

Data Conclusion:

This data backs up the problems that are key for this project and gives ideas to find ways to solve these problems while also being environmentally sustainable.

Research was further done for a building technique called Rammed Earth, a sustainable building method, as a potential use for this project. It uses a combination of clay, sand and gravel to build foundations, walls, floors and ultimately will reduce costs reduced cost of importing materials, color continuity with the local geology, reduced off-haul costs, and reduced carbon emissions from construction. I took a look at some case studies that included this type of technique to see how I could get inspired to use this building material, and also using it as a way to incorporate rain water harvesting techniques.

Case Studies

ONE

BM Design Studios

Concaved-Roof School, Iran

Outer shell provides additional shade for the domed roof while letting the air freely move and cool both roofs off
Concave roof like this will help make even the smallest quantities of rain flow off the roof and eventually coalesce
This technique could be applied to other areas with similarly parched climates as a means to combatting global
Warming through sustainable water sourcing

TWO

Sharon Davis Design

Urugo Women’s Opportunity Centre, Rwanda

Erected in clay brick, the buildings center on an inviting, publicly accessible plaza where students sell local goods and hand made items to the community
Potable water is collected from the pavilions’ corrugated roofs, while vegetation planted on two of the structures provides their interiors with extra insulation.
Community-based design, maintained and built by the community

THREE

KPRA

HUT Spiritual Centre, Senegal

Community-driven spiritual center for the aforementioned village
It represents the link to a culture, a spirituality and research of interiority
Synergy between the interior and exterior facade of the building and flexibility and sustainability of the structure
Use of local, recycle and handmade materials
Involves inhabitants in the construction process, helping to increase the sense of belonging to the community.

Sketches and Materials

I started to sketch to get a clear idea of my concept and design for this project. I started with understanding the problem, analyzing the data and research, looking into inspirational projects that were similar to what I wanted and also just as importantly, incorporated the main ideas of rain water harvesting. I looked at how to use traditional techniques and modernize plus add functionality to them. I also played around with traditional materials such as a "Meshrefet" which is a hand-woven household object, typically made from reeds, used in every household in Eritrea and can be made in different sizes and patterns and colors. I thought of how to incorporate this item within the project and played around with the weaving process and material.

IDEATION

Using local materials to create the building structure and traditional materials and techniques for exterior/interior furniture, fixtures and equipment (FF&E)
Built for and by the community and maintained by the community; this allows for locals to get jobs, learn and construction and building techniques to then create more spaces like these throughout the Country

Solutions

Learning spaces (classrooms) to spread awareness and information about health, safety and community
Communal spaces for interaction between the individuals in the community and to participate in cultural events
Spaces indoors and outdoors that have shade during peak hours, and comfortable learning spaces indoors with incorporated cooling techniques.

Keeping similar building traditions and local materials to be maintained by the community
Traditional materials and keeping the culture and traditions but adding a modern design solution
A space that has all the needs for a developing community

Diagrams and Plans

The layout/floor plan started off from an idea about rain; and studies of how it drops onto surfaces. I took this study and it became the initial idea of how the space would form. I then looked at how Rammed Earth can be incorporated into the site as a building technique and how we could incorporate rain-water harvesting techniques. I did some 2D sketches, storyboards, circulation, user journey, material and rain-water harvesting diagrams, real-life prototyping of the typical building techniques using representative materials such as clay, wooden sticks and traditional materials and then a final 3D modeled project which allowed me to create perspectives, views, section cuts and renders to showcase the complete project.

The site for this project; a small village on the outer edge of the city, in Keren.

SOLUTION

The Space

Floor Plan

Section through the space

KEREN represents a link to culture and traditions with the synthesis between interior and exterior as well as offering new spaces for interaction and leisure, learning zones and latrines to practice sanitation and progress in becoming Open Defecation Free (ODF) as a community. The main communal gathering space includes rammed earth seating to encourage relaxing interaction between community members and offers shade from the harsh desert sun. The open centre space emphasizes for culture and traditions to take place; which includes, dancing, plays, large communal gatherings and meetings and selling of goods. The two learning zones offer spaces to spread knowledge about health and safety and general information for the community. The latrines provide safe and effective ways to achieve proper sanitation and water recycling. KEREN integrates landscape, culture and sustainability into design and pushes for the development of rural communities within Eritrea.