Collège Hampaté Bá

By Article 25

Client Private

Award RIBA International Awards for Excellence 2024

College Hampate Ba is a low carbon and passively ventilated school located in Niamey, Niger. 

Located in the north of Niger’s capital city Niamey, College Hampate Ba provides subsidised education to children from lower income families. The project transformed an existing middle school into an extraordinary secondary school by refurbishing existing buildings and introducing new naturally ventilated teaching, latrines and administration blocks.

With an emphasis on locally sourced materials, the school has been designed to reduce solar heat gains and maximise passive natural ventilation to create beautiful spaces with internal environments suitable for teaching without the need for mechanical systems.  

Set within Niger's education context where only a small percentage of the population complete secondary school, College Hampate Ba aspires to be an exemplary institution. A place where their students receive a quality education but also develop a spirit of service for the common good. It is within this vision that the redevelopment of the school was initiated and undertaken.

Students were engaged in briefing workshops, and although it seems almost too obvious, their key concern was for spaces to be created where environmental conditions allow them to be taught comfortably. It was the client’s aspiration that this was achieved using passive techniques and this set the key framework from which the project was developed.  

The layout, form and orientation of the school have all been carefully considered to help achieve the low carbon ambitions. The classroom blocks, set apart from each to help with passive cooling have a lightweight metal roof floating above ground bearing masonry blocks.

The lightweight roof shields the occupied spaces from the suns heat, protect these classrooms from heavy seasonal rains and are orientated to maximise the flow of the prevailing winds to help passively cool the classrooms. This is an approach which has successfully been utilised in other projects in the Sahel region but which has been evolved by the architects to suit the specific conditions of Niamey. 

The masonry teaching blocks shielded below the metal roof are inventively designed and thoughtfully constructed utilising local materials and vernacular techniques. These blocks are simple and beautifully honest structures and act as counter point to the lightweight roof above.

The walls are formed from laterite, which is dug from the ground 10km from site and hardens in the air to create a robust stone like building material and the vaulted roof is constructed from compressed earth bricks. The laterite punctuated by louvered screens is left exposed and gives the facades a distinct richness and creates an elegant, place specific grounded piece of architecture. 

The project has been undertaken to positively contribute to the education of the local community. The project not only creates exemplary low carbon education facilities but also the journey to deliver this building has been utilised as an education opportunity.

This includes reinvesting, testing and promoting the use of local skills including exploring the possibilities of laterite and by training women in construction techniques.

The ongoing monitoring of the internal environments is also contributing positively to the community’s collective knowledge. The classrooms spaces are reportedly 7-8 degrees cooler than outside and can therefore demonstrate the benefit of a considered sustainable approach to design. The college grounds, although still in development are also envisaged to become a green ecologically diverse haven for students to enjoy and also help mitigate the intense summer temperatures.  

Overall, this is a beautifully simple, elegant set of buildings which can no doubt help inspire a new generation to work for the common good.  

Location: Niamey, Niger

Date of completion: 20/02/2022

Cost: Confidential

Gross internal area: 799 m²

Contractor: Afrique Univers Sarl

Structural Engineer: Michael Hadi Associates

Environmental / M&E Engineer: Max Fordham