Surgical Clinic and Health Centre
Léo, Burkina Faso · 2014
Photo · Francis Kéré
A precedent for passive cooling and modular planning in tropical climates, utilizing compressed earth blocks and elevated corrugated metal roofs to create shaded, naturally ventilated outdoor circulation.
- What we like about this project
- The roofs are completely detached from the ceiling level of the earth volumes to allow hot air to escape freely.
Materials
- compressed-earth-blocks
- corrugated-metal
- steel-trusses
- concrete
- plaster
Visual identifiers
- compressed-earth-blocks
- floating-roof
- corrugated-metal-canopy
- colored-window-boxes
- shaded-corridor
Style tags
- critical-regionalism
- sustainable
- low-tech
- modular
Visual tags
- passive-cooling
- modular-pavilions
- vernacular-adaptation
- earthen-architecture
- tropical-design
- social-infrastructure
- Geometry
- A series of modular, rectangular earthen volumes arranged linearly to form an outdoor pedestrian street. The volumes are capped by angled, overhanging corrugated metal roofs supported by light steel trusses.
- Facade system
- Load-bearing compressed earth block walls with protruding, colorful painted window surrounds.
- Structural guess
- Load-bearing masonry walls with lightweight steel pipe trusses supporting a corrugated metal roof.
- Spatial scale
- Human-scale single-story pavilions with wide, accessible outdoor circulation paths.
- Lighting
- Bright, direct tropical daylight filtered by the high, floating roof structures, casting deep shadows beneath the eaves.
- Atmosphere
- Warm, dry, and protective, characterized by the earthy red tones of the walls and the cooling shade of the canopy.
- Environmental context
- Arid, dusty outdoor setting with a central gravel-filled drainage or planting bed between paved pathways.
- Spatial experience
- An open-air, shaded pedestrian corridor that feels protected yet ventilated, with deep roof overhangs shielding the earth walls from direct sun and rain.
- Composition rhythm
- A repeating sequence of modular brick volumes and angled roof planes flanking a central pedestrian spine.
- Style reading
- Contemporary regionalist earthen architecture
- Program
- Medical clinic or community health center
- Perspective
- Exterior Facade
- Discipline
- architecture
- Materials
- compressed-earth-blocks, corrugated-metal, steel-trusses, concrete, plaster
- Visual identifiers
- compressed-earth-blocks, floating-roof, corrugated-metal-canopy, colored-window-boxes, shaded-corridor
- Style tags
- critical-regionalism, sustainable, low-tech, modular
- Visual tags
- passive-cooling, modular-pavilions, vernacular-adaptation, earthen-architecture, tropical-design, social-infrastructure
- Geometry
- A series of modular, rectangular earthen volumes arranged linearly to form an outdoor pedestrian street. The volumes are capped by angled, overhanging corrugated metal roofs supported by light steel trusses.
- Facade system
- Load-bearing compressed earth block walls with protruding, colorful painted window surrounds.
- Structural guess
- Load-bearing masonry walls with lightweight steel pipe trusses supporting a corrugated metal roof.
- Spatial scale
- Human-scale single-story pavilions with wide, accessible outdoor circulation paths.
- Lighting
- Bright, direct tropical daylight filtered by the high, floating roof structures, casting deep shadows beneath the eaves.
- Atmosphere
- Warm, dry, and protective, characterized by the earthy red tones of the walls and the cooling shade of the canopy.
- Environmental context
- Arid, dusty outdoor setting with a central gravel-filled drainage or planting bed between paved pathways.
- Spatial experience
- An open-air, shaded pedestrian corridor that feels protected yet ventilated, with deep roof overhangs shielding the earth walls from direct sun and rain.
- Composition rhythm
- A repeating sequence of modular brick volumes and angled roof planes flanking a central pedestrian spine.
- Style reading
- Contemporary regionalist earthen architecture
- Program
- Medical clinic or community health center
- Perspective
- Exterior Facade
- Discipline
- architecture