African project
Konokono Clinic
Mostly nomadic, the Turkana
only manifest architecture as a
temporary condition, completely
sourced from materials that are
readily available at each particular
site.
The Turkana culture is a very
patriarchal one. The pavilion
is thus directed at the woman
and children, who have a higher
likelihood of malnourishment, and
few resources to education.
Due to completely different
cosmologies, the Turkana live
almost completely in the present,
and as such their language has
no future tense. Everything is
ephemeral and immediate.
The arid context entails a very
specific survival knowledge, which
combined with the reclusion of the
tribe due to English colonialism,
has made the Turkana unaware
of elements that could improve
their lives. MCSPA is now
introducing families in the region
to agricultural methods.
The site exists in the most extreme
emptiness – an arid desert.
What is UnMaterial?
UnMaterial is a studio at MIT where, within a collaborative environment, students
seek to face with real challenges. They understand the ‘unmaterial’ as a reaction
to the material, or lack thereof in the case of this desolate site. Their design work
specifically comes from negotiating material constraints, in particular having scarce
building materials and dealing with no excess and the arduous task of bringing
material to the site.
Team: Jose Selgas + Ignacio Peydro [TA] with Tyler Stevermer, Sixto Cordero, Austin
Smith, Karen Kitayama, Beomki Lee, Tyler Crain, Anastasia Hiller, Suk Lee, Julian
Ocampo and Sayjel Patel
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