“Cold Lane Colony” - Tropical Africa Climate Resilient Campus Design

Project idea

This project aims to design an energy-efficient, comfortable and culturally appropriate secondary school for the African savannah climate, combining passive cooling strategies, indigenous settlement spatial organization and ecological planting to create a sustainable campus suitable for learning.
The core of the design draws on the cold alley technology of traditional Lingnan Chinese dwellings and localizes it to the African climate: the campus buildings use long, narrow, ventilated alleys, combined with high sidelights, sun shading deflectors and large roofs, to create a passive cooling system. The width of the alleys is controlled at about 1 meter to promote air flow, while using thermal pressure differences to enhance natural ventilation and reduce mechanical cooling needs. During the rainy season, rainwater is quickly discharged down through the large sloping roof while taking away the high temperatures inside.
In terms of spatial organization, the design draws on the group layout of traditional African settlements, adopting a group courtyard structure that allows the complex to form natural shading and wind channels. Classroom units are arranged around a central courtyard, which conforms to local social habits and optimizes the microclimate. In addition, planted agriculture is widely introduced into the campus, such as campus farms and campus green spaces, which provide shade, regulate humidity, and serve as a practical base for students to promote sustainable education.
Material selection prioritizes the use of local rammed earth, stone and high albedo roofing to reduce heat absorption. Skeletonized block walls are used on the building façade to balance shading and natural lighting. Through this series of strategies, this project not only solves the problem of comfort in the hot climate of Africa, but also strengthens the cultural identity and creates a model of an eco-friendly, energy-efficient educational building.

Project description

This project aims to design an energy-efficient, comfortable and culturally appropriate secondary school for the African savannah climate, combining passive cooling strategies, indigenous settlement spatial organization and ecological planting to create a sustainable campus suitable for learning.
The core of the design draws on the cold alley technology of traditional Lingnan Chinese dwellings and localizes it to the African climate: the campus buildings use long, narrow, ventilated alleys, combined with high sidelights, sun shading deflectors and large roofs, to create a passive cooling system. The width of the alleys is controlled at about 1 meter to promote air flow, while using thermal pressure differences to enhance natural ventilation and reduce mechanical cooling needs. During the rainy season, rainwater is quickly discharged down through the large sloping roof while taking away the high temperatures inside.
In terms of spatial organization, the design draws on the group layout of traditional African settlements, adopting a group courtyard structure that allows the complex to form natural shading and wind channels. Classroom units are arranged around a central courtyard, which conforms to local social habits and optimizes the microclimate. In addition, planted agriculture is widely introduced into the campus, such as campus farms and campus green spaces, which provide shade, regulate humidity, and serve as a practical base for students to promote sustainable education.
Material selection prioritizes the use of local rammed earth, stone and high albedo roofing to reduce heat absorption. Skeletonized block walls are used on the building façade to balance shading and natural lighting. Through this series of strategies, this project not only solves the problem of comfort in the hot climate of Africa, but also strengthens the cultural identity and creates a model of an eco-friendly, energy-efficient educational building.

Technical information

The construction of the building is made of Local wood, ICEB and aluminum plate.

Documentation

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