Lycée Schorge: The Red Laterite Citadel

In Burkina Faso’s third-largest city, Francis Kéré evolves his architectural language by mastering local laterite stone. Lycée Schorge is a radial "fortress of knowledge" where heavy thermal mass meets a lightweight, breathing wooden skin, setting a new benchmark for educational infrastructure in the Sahel.

If Gando was the prototype, Lycée Schorge is the maturation. Here, Kéré moves beyond the single block to create a "village" typology. The brilliance lies in the layering: the building protects itself from the harsh environment not by sealing off, but by creating a permeable buffer zone of eucalyptus wood—a "transparent fabric" that turns a dusty site into a sanctuary of light and air.

The Vision: A Village of Learning

Located in Koudougou, the Lycée Schorge rejects the standard linear school block in favor of a radial configuration that mimics a traditional village. Nine distinct modules are arranged around a central courtyard, turning the school inward to protect the students from the region’s sweeping dust and winds.

This central void is more than just empty space; it is the heart of the campus. A series of integrated steps form a loosely defined amphitheater, creating a civic arena for school assemblies, informal gatherings, and community celebrations. By shaping the architecture around this social core, the design enforces a sense of autonomy and privacy, creating a calm "interior world" separate from the bustling city outside.

Tectonics: Sculpting with Stone and Wood

The project is a dialogue between two contrasting local materials: the heavy earth and the light forest.

The Red Earth (Laterite): The primary walls are constructed from laterite stone, indigenous to the region. This material is unique: when extracted from the earth, it is soft enough to be easily cut and shaped into bricks. Once exposed to the sun, it hardens into a durable masonry unit with a striking deep red hue.
The Wooden Veil: Wrapping around the classrooms is a secondary façade made of local Eucalyptus wood. This fast-growing timber acts as a vertical brise-soleil. It creates a shaded intermediate walkway, a "porch" between the harsh sun and the classroom, where students hang out between classes. The vertical wooden elements create a stunning, rhythmic play of shadows that changes throughout the day.
Zero-Waste Interiors: To minimize costs, the furniture was designed to use the "leftovers" of construction. Desks and chairs are crafted from local hardwoods and steel offcuts remaining from the roof installation.

The Living Building: Towers of Wind

Lycée Schorge is designed to breathe. The climate strategy relies on a combination of thermal mass and the stack effect to lower indoor temperatures without a single watt of electricity.

Wind Towers: The most iconic visual elements of the school are the sculptural wind towers rising from the back of each classroom. These act as thermal chimneys, allowing hot, stagnant air to rise and escape, pulling fresh air in from the side windows.
The Undulating Ceiling: Inside, the ceiling is composed of perforated plaster vaults. This wave-like pattern does two things: it diffuses indirect sunlight to prevent glare on blackboards, and its porosity allows heat to rise into the roof cavity to be vented out.
Thermal Lag: The massive laterite walls absorb the intense daytime heat, storing it within the stone and preventing it from reaching the students. This heat is then slowly radiated back out at night when the air is cooler.

Data Sheet