Located in Soa, near Yaoundé, Cameroon, the African Flow School emerges as a spatial manifestation of a pedagogical framework rooted in cultural continuity and low-impact construction. Designed by Vicente Guallart and Daniel Ibáñez of Urbanitree, the project diverges from conventional school typologies by integrating learning within a sequence of experiential environments inspired by African ecological and symbolic landscapes. Developed in collaboration with local artisans and initiated by the Missionary Daughters of the Holy Family of Nazareth, the school invites a reassessment of architectural education facilities in rapidly developing contexts.
African Flow School Technical Information
- Architects1-12: Urbanitree
- Location: Soa, near Yaoundé, Cameroon
- Gross Area: 1,600 m2 | 17,220 Sq. Ft.
- Completion Year: 2024
- Photographs: © Adrià Goula
In this instance, the objective was to not only design and construct a building but also to reinvent the construction process in Cameroon.
– Urbanitree Architects
African Flow School Photographs
Reframing Education Through Spatial Ecosystems
At the core of the project is a critique of imported educational models that often neglect local context, material culture, and vernacular typologies. African Flow is conceived as an architectural response to this disjunction, structuring its program around four thematic ecosystems: Mountain, Village, Savanna, and Forest. Each zone articulates a different mode of learning, tied to a cognitive, emotional, or social function.
The “Mountain” serves as a place of solitude and creation, anchored by a grotto that enables individual introspection. The “Village” functions as a space of communal gathering and exchange, centered around a chapel articulated through filtered light and textural abstraction. The “Savanna” offers a flexible platform for collective activities, adopting the informality of a campfire arrangement to foster open-ended educational encounters. The “Forest” operates as a transitional threshold between interior and exterior, marked by a climbable tree structure that merges symbolic play with physical exploration.
Rather than treating the school as a static object, the design treats space as a pedagogical medium. Movement through the school becomes a curricular act, with transitions between zones paralleling shifts in learning modality. The resulting environment supports a non-linear, experiential approach to education that prioritizes intuition, bodily engagement, and cultural resonance.
Spatial Organization and Experiential Continuity
The school is organized around a central courtyard, a typology familiar across diverse African settlements. This open space not only facilitates climate responsiveness but also becomes a central node of interaction. The four educational ecosystems are arranged around the courtyard and linked by a continuous corridor, allowing both functional connectivity and ceremonial procession.
Spatial thresholds are deliberately soft. Openings in walls and transitions between interior and exterior are treated with porosity rather than opacity. The corridor does not separate but rather weaves through the various ecosystems, enabling fluidity in the children’s daily routines. This mode of organization avoids didactic spatial hierarchies and supports a diversity of scales and interactions, from solitary play to collective assembly.
The school also takes advantage of the natural topography of the site. The gentle slope accommodates a second level, which currently houses the residential quarters for the managing community. This addition is subtly integrated, avoiding imposition while maximizing the use of available terrain. Rather than leveling the site, the project reads the land as a partner in composition.
Material Strategy and Local Construction Logics
Material selection reflects a deliberate resistance to industrialized and extractive construction methods. The building’s structural frame is composed of azobé, a termite-resistant, high-density wood sourced locally. Despite its typical use for export, the material was redirected for on-site construction, enabling the project to support local economies and reduce carbon emissions associated with transportation.
The walls are constructed from unfired rammed earth bricks, produced using minimal technological means. Their perforated configurations allow for natural ventilation and filtered light, creating a dynamic interplay between opacity and translucency. The chromatic and textural continuity between the building and the reddish soil of the site further anchors the architecture in its geographical context.
Internally, the use of iroko, sapele, doussie, and movingui, a palette of local tropical hardwoods, introduces a tactile richness while maintaining fidelity to place. These materials, often commodified globally, are here recontextualized as instruments of local identity and spatial character.
A significant technical innovation is the reinterpretation of the water tower. Rather than defaulting to concrete, the design adopts a timber framework clad in photovoltaic panels. This dual-function infrastructure addresses both energy and water needs in a context marked by frequent service interruptions, while also functioning as a spatial marker within the school.
Architecture as Social Pedagogy
African Flow reframes the act of building as a socially embedded pedagogical tool. The process involved training local workers unfamiliar with timber construction, transforming the site into a space of shared learning. Partnerships with local suppliers not only facilitated the construction but also helped position their materials for broader local use, creating a feedback loop between architecture and economic development.
The design resists the notion of architecture as an imported solution. Instead, it operates as a catalyst for the production of contextual knowledge. The engagement with ancestral building systems, ecological sensitivity, and pedagogical innovation positions the school as both a spatial and ideological prototype.
In the coming years, African Flow will expand to include primary and secondary education facilities. As it grows, it will continue to test and refine a model of architecture that is not simply about sheltering education, but about embodying it through form, material, and process.
African Flow School Plans
African Flow School Image Gallery
About Urbanitree
Urbanitree is a Barcelona-based design and research studio co-founded in 2022 by Vicente Guallart and Daniel Ibáñez, with additional offices in Boston and Shenzhen. The firm applies a circular, decarbonizing methodology across the entire value chain, from forests to built environments, working with a multidisciplinary team of architects, engineers, urban planners, landscape architects, biologists, and digital specialists. Urbanitree’s portfolio ranges from prototypical structures to large-scale urban plans, exemplified by its award-winning projects such as the African Flow School in Cameroon and Spain’s tallest mass-timber social housing development, “Terrazas para la Vida.”
Credits and Additional Notes
- Architecture: Vicente Guallart and Daniel Ibáñez (Urbanitree)
- Project Director: Elisabet Fàbrega
- Collaborating Architects: Ali Basbous (BAD Architects), Daniel Fraile (Arquivio)
- Client / Developer: Community of Nazareth (Missionary Daughters of the Holy Family of Nazareth)
- Project Cost: USD 900,000
- Contractor: GIC Ma’asapkeng
- Carpenters: Alexandre Onguene, Tchawe Fabrice Ronelle, Germain Atang
- Structural Material: Locally sourced azobé wood (high-density, termite-resistant)
- Enclosures: Unfired rammed earth bricks with patterned openings
- Interior Finishes: Iroko, Sapele, Doussie, and Movingui hardwoods
- Sustainability Feature: Wooden water tower integrated with photovoltaic panels
- Communication: Pati Núñez Agency
