KASHITU SECONDARY SCHOOL CAMPUS - INSAKA

Project idea

The project is grounded in the revalorization of vernacular architecture and the integration of local knowledge systems, proposing a spatial language that emerges from collective practices and the rhythms of everyday life. Central to the concept is the Insaka — a communal structure associated with gathering, dialogue, and cooking tasks. Traditionally originating as an informal meeting space beneath the protective canopy of a tree, the Insaka evolved into a built environment of cultural significance, embodying values of cohesion, continuity, and exchange.

Reinterpreted as both an architectural typology and an organizing principle, the Insaka defines the project's spatial logic through a network of shared, community-oriented nodes that articulate the site's structure and use.

Project description

While the program is focused on the development of a secondary school, the proposal extends the scope of intervention to the urban scale, establishing a territorial corridor that links the railway station, the secondary school, and the adjacent primary school. This approach reinforces the educational continuum while strengthening the project's connection with broader infrastructural and social systems.

The site strategy draws inspiration from the irregular settlement patterns found in the surrounding context — arrangements that resemble neural networks in their decentralized yet interconnected configurations. Guided by this reference, the project is structured along a central axis that originates at the railway station, pivots at the intersection of the secondary school and the dining hall, and curves toward the residential sector. This axis acts as a spatial spine, organizing the flow of movement and defining a sequence of transitions between academic, social, and domestic spaces.

The proposal envisions an inclusive, adaptable, and context-sensitive educational environment. It positions architecture as a medium through which territory, tradition, and community are interwoven — a built landscape where learning is not confined, but instead open, rooted, and shared. Guided by the spirit of “Genius Loci”, the project seeks to anchor itself in the identity of the place, allowing architecture to emerge from its landscape, its culture, and its people. Through this, it aspires to bridge ancestral knowledge with contemporary needs, offering a vision for education that is as spatially grounded as it is socially transformative.

Technical information

The use of local materials reinforces the project’s integration with the site. The architecture prioritizes the use of available materials such as bamboo, compressed earth blocks (ICEBs). These blocks, measuring 140×290 mm, are implemented in single-laid mortar walls and in 290 mm-thick double-laid walls, ensuring structural integrity, thermal comfort, and sustainable construction processes through the involvement of local labor and techniques.