Final class presentation of triangular site design

Site model overview from south

Site model from west

Site model approach from south

Site model view from gardens towards playing field and market

Site model view of courtyard with water-pumping playground equipment

Workshop model overview including merry-go-round water pump

Workshop model from community

Design Statement for Koutiala Center for Artisans

My mission in creating this project was to present not only an architectural solution to the problem, but also to propose new technologies that could benefit both the artisans and the larger community. Some of the considerations that influenced my scheme were: 1) periods of drought and flooding, 2) uncertainty of access to clean drinking water, 3) severe heat and humidity, 4) economic restrictions, 5) children on site, and 6) global climate change leading to scarcity of food. In order to address some of these issues, I incorporated a number of innovations into my design.
The walls of each of the buildings are constructed of wire mesh gabion boxes filled with locally sourced stones, such as have been used in a number of high-profile structures, including the Dominus Winery built in California by Herzog and de Meuron (see Concept page). Some benefits of this type of wall are: low environmental impact, locally available materials and labor, thermal mass which helps keep the building cool (similar to constructions using mud brick), and ease of ventilation. The tensile fabric roof forms were designed with two goals in mind – to allow daylighting of the interior spaces, and to capture rainwater that could be stored in underground cisterns for use throughout the dry season. The cisterns can also be built on site with local labor, using iron rods and concrete, and could be sized to hold up to 200,000 gallons of rainwater altogether (6 cisterns). Depending on the amount of water used on site, this should suffice to supply the artisans’ center with clean water throughout the year, which could also be a valuable tool to draw in more customers. I provided a large area on the eastern half of the site to be used as an open garden space and greenhouses (to protect tender seedlings from the wind and excessive sun) for growing food crops and other useful plants. My intent was to use some of the harvested rainwater for irrigation of the garden and greenhouse plants, as well as native trees and vines planted throughout the site, creating an oasis during the dry season of Koutiala. To make irrigation more effective, I also researched the possibility of using children’s playground equipment, like merry-go-rounds and see-saws, to pump water from the underground cisterns to an elevated water tower. This would provide pressure for irrigation pipes or hoses, and would also allow the children to contribute to the well-being of their families and community. There is also a generous area on the southeast portion of the site that I intended to keep as an open grassy area for children to play football or other games. This playing field is bordered by a tree-shaded open air market area where adults will be able to sell goods while still being able to keep a watchful eye on the childrens’ activities.
As you may notice, my designs have changed considerably since the phone conference that we had in July. It was very important to me to address the desires of the artisans as much as possible, so I relocated a number of functions such as the administrative offices, meeting hall and gallery to the downtown site, and dedicated the triangular site to food and cloth crafts, and the outdoor market. I hope that I have been able to offer some ideas that could be useful in the future planning for this site; although I was not able to post large images of my design, I will be sending the originals of all my drawings to the Peace Corp volunteer who was our main contact for this project. I will also be including some ideas about building designs and uses for the downtown site that I did not have finished in time for our class presentations. I am happy to answer any questions about my designs, materials, or proposed systems – my direct email address is gwynhwyf@uoregon.edu.

The Koutiala Artisan center is designed with two major areas. The first is the section immediately adjacent to the street. This side features a café where the food crafts can sell their work and a market where the other artisans can also

showcase and sell their goods. This addition ensures that the building is capable of having a diverse range of activities occurring within it. The second area consists of the workshops, offices and residences. These are closed to the public and centered around an inner courtyard. This was for security and to respond to cultural values of the area.  Historically, artisans were a mystic group holding much power in society and loathed the idea of the public being able to watch them as they worked. Therefore the workshops were secluded from the street but still open to each other so that a healthy sharing of ideas would occur between the different trades. The residences also are organized around this inner courtyard. The porch is screened to allow privacy while also retaining the connection to the courtyard.

The building’s form is a response to the unique shape of the site. The large roofs try to flow with this geometry. The large pieces break out towards the center of the city and converge on the meeting room and exterior market place. This move puts focus on these two areas depending on which part of the building one is in. The project has minimal environment impact through the use of its materials and energy consumption. The roofs themselves are equipped with a solar array and shade the inner buildings from direct solar gain and also allow stack ventilation to occur in these spaces. This ensures that the workshops and surrounding buildings will remain cool and the intense energy consumption of air conditioning will not be needed. The use of rammed earth and mud brick have an energy savings as  well due to their low energy input during construction. Beyond having minimal energy input, the site actually gives back to the surrounding ecosystems by providing habitat for the endangered Felout Gundi and other species through the habitat creation and planting of native species on the east and west ends of the site.

My idea centered around having very simple rectangular buildings placed at angles to create varying sizes and types of courtyards.  The entire site is tied together by a woven canopy that winds its way through the buildings and their roofs.

The two big ideas I worked with over the summer was how to give the Artisan Center a constructable Architectural expression and a functional base.  One of the ideas was to create a community heart that included the surrounding neighborhoods.  To create this I combined the meeting hall and the gallery functions.  As you can see in the section for the meeting hall the gallery spaces surround the meeting space at the center or heart of the building.  The building is circular in form to allow individuals the ability to circulate around the gallery space and then connect to a meeting or performance in the central stage if they chose.  The meeting hall also helps to define the connections to the other functions on site: the administrative offices, work-spaces, etc.  The functional portions relate to the workspaces with their generous overhangs to provide shade for the artists.  However, not to totally exclude the sun there are thin ribbons of light that add an architectural effect while helping to define the work-spaces.

In summary, I created a site plan that was inward looking where the buildings face a central courtyard, but one that was also outward reaching to the greater surrounding community in an attempt to stimulate interaction between the two.  The act of reaching out entire community will help to increase awareness of the Artisans’ Guild, provide a positive connection to neighbors, and to draw in visitors.

Last I would like to thank you for a wonderful working experience.

The main ideas that drove my project were creating positive outdoor space seeing as most of the artisans work outdoors. The courtyard is the hub of activity and everything built is meant to support it. Since the association supports many artisan trades, the design called for minor courtyards which allow for more privacy and seperation of activity, unified through a major courtyard in the center. The major courtyard in the center has a public counterpart on the exterior wich allows for public markets to form when needed. The building structures are designed with passive cooling strategies in mind since little to no electrical cooling sytems will be used.

Space use

Circulation and inside/outside work areas

Bird's eye sketch from southeast

Scale model viewed from northeast

Sketch model of artisan workspace with gabion stone walls and double roof

My primary design goal for this project is to provide a comfortable and pleasant working environment for the artisans of Koutiala using appropriate local materials and labor. I am concerned with creating spaces that have ample lighting and ventilation, which has been one of the main influences driving the organization of buildings on the site, as well as the form of each building. The floating roof structures have several purposes: 1) to collect rainwater for storage in underground cisterns, 2) to allow natural ventilation throughout the buildings, and 3) to reflect daylight to the underside of the skylight and then into each building. The collected rainwater can be stored in self-constructed ferro-cement tanks below each building to be used by the artisans in their crafts and to irrigate the landscaping on the site. I hope to make this artisans’ center into an oasis with vines and trees providing shade; a greenhouse and garden can be used to grow edible plants and/or plants useful to dye fabrics or for other crafts. Another important feature of my plan is the central building that houses the communal meeting area and an internet cafe. I thought that the internet cafe could increase the success of the artisans, by allowing them access to customers from all over the world, in addition to being a source for supplies and new techniques.

The idea of growth and life forming around a solid mass is very important in this project.  The main meeting space is thought of as the heart, with branches of artisan meeting spaces branching out to form a major and several minor outdoor courtyards.  These artisan spaces are adaptable, so they may be combined or separated as well as opened to the outside or closed off.  The roof will lightly float above the solid foundation to bring in light and ventilation to keep the work spaces comfortable.

Continuation of developing the concept into details.

The building currently has two major areas. The first is an outdoor market along the street edge and the other is an inner courtyard for the artisan studios. The market side also includes a small restaurant for the food crafts to sell and present their skills. The studios  consist of an interior and exterior workspace that all share the large interior courtyard. The organization of the studios is determined by placing similar crafts together and having varying degrees of separation from each other so that workspaces don’t get cluttered by other artists. There are also a few residences in the courtyard that are separated by slotted screens that add privacy while still maintaining connection to the courtyard. At the apex of the courtyard is the gathering space. Its placed outside and is sheltered by a large canopy roof so that meetings can take place in shaded spot and not in a stuffy room.

Bonjour Koutiala!! Comment ça va? The site is organized into 3 major groupings. The market and “industrial crafts” on the west, the offices, meeting rooms and less “industrial crafts” like weavers, tailors, bogolan and jewelry makers in the center courtyard, and finally, transitional housing for widows, housing for apprentices and a caretaker, space for children to be cared for while their mothers are working and a garden on the east. The garden makes use of a space that is hard to fit a building into. The garden can provide income as well as food for the residents (widows and apprentices of the Artisan Center. The market at the threshold of the center gives the artisans a place to sell their products locally, and can be a gathering place for the neighbors in the community.

Questions: Does the area need to connect to the neighborhood to the north? Is it important for the children of the nearby school to use the area? Is the road on the southern perimeter the most important access point to the property. Is it important for the buildings to be completely enclosed by walls, or is it OK for people to be able to pass through the property?

1. Strong adhesion to local regional prototype: alteration of color, design,and workmanship is discouraged.
2. Weaving done by men, and cotton and wool spun by women.
3. Wool blankets employed from Novemberthrough January to keep the mosquitos out.

The third image is a Landal pattern.
The horizontal black lines: transhumant paths followed each year by the mograting nomads and their herds.
The six triangular forms: hillocks. The Puel village build their buildings on hillrocks to remain dry during the high water period.
White stripes with black speckles: difficult paths, black symbolizes obstacles found along the way.

The fourth image is a Landaka pattern, which means one does not wonder. It is the finest quality of khasa weaving

The concept of weaving on architecture. My original idea is to have the artisans center complex be woven together through expression of architectural elements. Also have visitors experience the journey through a series of courtyards of different activities.

I’m still looking for possible ways of incorporating the weaving concept into architectural elements, such as expressive beams and joists, cutting slits on building, and also creating dynamic reading of space through folding of materials.

Interconnections between trades

I am interested in using natural methods to build a comfortable, useful and practical center for Koutiala’s artisans. After researching the climate of the site, I decided to group most of the buildings along the northern boundary of the site to help block the hot dusty wind, while keeping the southern side more open to allow the cooler breezes to flow through the compound. For the structure of the buildings, I propose using compressed mud brick on the outward facing walls, and gabion boxes (wire mesh filled with stones) for the inward facing walls. The gabion boxes have several advantages: they are cheap and easy to create with local materials, they provide thermal mass to keep the building warm on cool nights and cool during hot days, they are better for the environment than most building materials, and they create architectural interest through the play of light and shadow, void and mass.

The organization of the workshops is meant to allow artisans plentiful space to work in, both indoors and outdoors. My intent was to mimic the seasonal ebb and flow of the river, in the artisans use of indoor space during certain times of the year or times of day and outdoor space during other times.

I drew inspiration from this image of a small tree next to a community well in Mali.  The life, durability and delicacy of this small tree that seemed to grow out of solid stone reminded me of the spirit of Malian cities and communities like Koutiala.  The river art piece shows my ideas of this light frame growing out of a solid foundation and supporting life on its many branches.

These ideas began to be transformed into an architectural form in this concept model.  Here branches reach out from the solid mass of the building and spread across the site.  

In these next sketches I was forming more built shapes and creating larger outdoor courtyards.  I was also trying to preserve the current paths through the site so that the artisan center would fit into how the community is already using the space.  

This model began to show a difference between light and heavy as well as a first take at roof forms.  It also shows my idea of keeping the campus open to the public at all times but having the ability to close off the individual shops or buildings.

First are two shots from my initial concept model. I decided early on that the previously chosen site might not be the best location for the new Koutiala Artisan Center. After studying Google Earth images I was attracted to the main axis between the market and the bus stop. It seemed that locating the center next to the main bus depot (at least I’m pretty sure this is the main bus stop) would create  an exciting, iconic greeting for passengers arriving in Koutiala. This site also benefits from being located right next to the bus stop with the transport of goods and materials to and from the artisan center. Its proximity to the market ensures easy transport of goods and a much higher level of foot traffic. It also has the potential to act as a refuge for waiting passengers.

A smaller scale conceptual model exploring the possibilities of earthen walls and light steel frame trusses and corrugated metal roofs that consider daylighting, account for heavy rains, and natural stack ventilation.

Conceptual diagrams of the significance of the diamond shape as a sign of community in bogolan examples and how it may be manifested into the tensile part of the building

I got my first ideas about what the Artisans Center might be like by creating a nametag for my desk.  I started playing with weaving paper scraps to create an organic roof shape over a linear element, helping to unite the site.  As I’ve continued to develop my ideas, the linear element has remained and become the main path of circulation.  Rectangular buildings break off of the circulation, with the woven roof between them to create covered outdoor spaces.

After the morning at the river I went home and pondered the project. Let’s face it besides all of the research we have done regarding Mali and their culture, we really don’t know what it is like to live there, to be there, to be Malian. So I thought of universals concepts that may apply…the idea of light and dark, needing shelter from the sun and wind, the comforting feeling of a human embrace. There it is…the artisan center is about embrace…the embrace between the teacher and pupil, the community and its craftsmen and craftswomen, the past, the present and the future. But now, how can I conjure the feeling of shelter and nurture the realtionship between student and pupil, through providing a comforting, welcoming embrace. What follows are a few explorations in various forms.

I started out by drawing some simple sketches of what I thought some of the interior spaces would look like. I was trying to get at the essence of the feeling these spaces could offer. I then constructed a basic massing model of the overall building. It focused on the roof volumes and overall shape of the layout of the building. At this stage I was playing with the idea of a floating roof that shaded the rooms below it. The angled geometry was my first attempt at responding to the interesting shape of the site.

These sketch ideas begin to look at the Artisan Center site. I was particularly interested in making a module design that could repeat as the building process evolves. As funds are available one or many units based on the same module could fill the site. I made many diagrams of positive and negative space on the site to study the relationship of indoor and outdoor space. Courtyards with shade trees and shaded outdoor corridors are as important to the function of the place as the interiors.

My concept models of ‘interlock’, ’shifting’ and ‘gateways’ informed my first design attempt of the artisan center. The ‘interlock’ conceptual model translated almost directly to the floating roof form. It is also scaled down to the design of the studio spaces and courtyards, where the link between outdoor/exterior, and studio/market spaces are emphasized. The market spaces bring life to the entrance and road edges, and allow permeability between the community and the artisan center. The easternmost corner of the site contains the motorcycle repair/mechanic trades, where it is slightly removed from the more public and communal spaces. The secon level (not shown) contains the living quarters for apprentices, caretaker, widows, and orphans. Street-side on the second floor has internet cafes, patios, and eateries that is distinct from the studio spaces, yet contributes to the life and vibrancy of the place.

Some things to consider in the next iteration are …

- accessibility points from the North (residentials)

- thinking about the focal/scupltural point in the large courtyard

- create a larger, more multi-use meeting space

- play with different sizes and shapes of the studios

- consider door opening sizes and functionality

- keep materiality and daylighting solutions in mind

I am a graduate student heading into my third year of the program. My background is in art history and printmaking. Working in our studio at school has made me appreciate the need for a really functional art space – we need better studios as well! Outside of school I like to play with my three year old daughter, make arts & crafts, paint, ride bikes and spend time outside. This photo is the river art project I made with Barb.

Hello Koutiala! My name is Morgan. This past weekend I went to our local country fair. All kinds of people go and a lot of them get dressed up in every costume you could possibly imagine. It is a celebration of music and craft much like what we hope to create with the artisans of koutiala. Many people would say that our worlds are very different. I hope we can recognize our common interests and goals so we may celebrate what is truly important to us all. Those of us who value  music, art, craft and hard work know that anything is possible.

The cloth is made by sewing together strips of hand-spun and hand-loomed cotton. The cotton is then treated with a plant-based mordant to increase the adhesion of mud-based dyes. The artisans dye the background of the patterns, leaving the patterns undyed. This is different from resist type dyeing like Batik where areas are blocked out from receiving dye. Once the cloth has been dyed and washed several times, the designs are then whitened with a plant-based bleaching agent. Contemporary practice has modified the process so that the mud may be applied over stencils, or applied as the design over a colored background. Some of these adaptations allow for the Bogolan to be made for a mass market.

Traditional bogolan (mudcloth) textile by Nakunte Diarra. Threads of Change – The Transformation of West African Textiles Michigan State University Museum

http://www.climate-charts.com/Locations/m/M161293.php

http://www.climate-charts.com/Locations/m/M161293.php

Here is some climate information gathered from the NOAA station in Koutiala.

The word that people used in response to my project was “progression”. It reflects some of the recurring themes and motifs used in my my conceptual models and collages where I tried to capture a sense of rhythm and movement. It was also mentioned that this sense of progression could reflect the process of moving through a market or the moving along a courtyard where artisans are crafting. In a courtyard this progression is cyclical, much like Malian music is cyclical.

The first thing you may want to know about me is that I’m married and about to have a child. My life is kind of in a whirl wind trying to sort out all the things that are necessary for doing school and being there for my wife. I’m a graduate student starting my second year here at Oregon. My undergraduate degree came from the Calvin College in Grand Rapids MI. I studied Studio Art (painting, drawing, photo) architecture, and film alongside a liberal arts program. I went to highschool just outside a small town in western New Mexico call Gallup, and spent 6 years of my childhood growing up in Quito Ecuador. I had the opportunity to go back in 2007 to work with a team of engineers on a series of water projects for 5 months. I’m excited to work on this project because it is how I would like to spend my life as an architect… living and working in a developing country in an urban context. There are some great opportunities here to get feedback from the people who will use the facility, which is unique so far in my architecture schooling.

Age: 23

I’m in my 4th year of the undergraduate architecture program here at the UO.  I spent all of my first 18 years in the same home just outside of Salem, so it is refreshing to work on a site that is such a departure from what I normally encounter.  When I’m not in Lawrence Hall I like to spend my time on the golf course, on a boat, or in the bowling alley.

Hometown: Los Angeles, California

This is my third year in Architecture School at the University of Oregon. I’m 22 and came to school immediately after High School. I’ve been becoming increasingly interested in sustainable design and I’m excited to work on a project where this will be very important. I’m also excited to work in an area that has a similar climate to the one I grew up in.

Height:  185 cm

Weight: 93 kg

Motto: I am where I am and that is here and now.

Hmm… what to say???

Architecture is about place making.. otherwise you’re just constructing a building.

I enjoy the opportunity to work with the Artisans of Koutiala to create a special place that functions as work spaces while simultaneously representing the culture and beauty of Mali.  Our enlighting  journey to date has provided a rich cultural experience int0 the lives of a wonderful people.

After seeing all the fun cultural of Mali…just thought to share some of ours..  Here is me in a funny frog hat made for Halloween.

I’m a soon to be 3rd year grad student. I grew up in Taiwan, where everything was fit tightly on a 250 x90 mile island with 20 million people. It made me appreciate the vast landscape of Oregon after I moved here. I’m a dog lover, a tea person, and I spend most of my free time painting, making crafts,  biking/hiking, and playing with my dog Roland. My background before I came to grad school was electronics engineering and computer science, and after a few years I decided I don’t want to spend the rest of my life staring at a computer screen designing some sort of circuits that would one day be made into a tiny microchip. I hope to become a product designer or an illustrator one day, where my mind can roam freely. Maybe an architect too, maybe….

I am entering the third year of the Architecture Master’s program here at the University of Oregon. I am interested in historic preservation and low-income and non-profit housing like Habitat for Humanity. Before coming to the U of O, I worked as an agricultural advisor in the dairy industry for the University of California and have done agricultural development work in Bolivia and Kenya. I received my B.S and M.S in Animal Science from U.C. Davis. I hope to work on adaptive re-use of existing building stock. I am interested in rural buildings and communities both here in the U.S. and abroad.