Africa Field School
The aim of the design, in addition to functional requirements, is to create a very easy-to-assembly volume, which does not require any specific skills and tools to be built. One of the main sustainable aspects is that the building can be produced in a few weeks, stored on the back of a lorry, delivered to the site, then fully assembled/erecte in a few days and it can also be easily removed according to future needs, leaving a location exactly as it was. The building does not contain concrete nor permanent parts, and it is completely reversible, replaceable and recyclable. The simplicity of the design appears thanks to the use of modular wooden panels 1200×2400 mm, which are used to produce both walls/floors and furnitures. In order to maximize the natural ventilation (south>north) most of the panles can be easily opened, living the net fixed to the frame. The ceiling is realized with semi-transparent polycarbonate panels that are fixed to the plywood structure. Although this is a very light material, it provides a performing insulation reducing the need of artificial lighting. All the elements, made out of milled CNC router plywood plates, are combined together with wooden splines and joint. The numerical control fabrication of finger joints and their own shape, through their interlocking connections, is the main reason for the buildings structural stability.
