Digital Oyster

Baghere, Senegal

competition entry, finalist, 2021
size: 200 m²
archiecture: Toms Kampars, Magdalena Gorecka
visuals: Toms Kampars
drawings: Magdalena Gorecka

Digital Oyster is an important institution for the empowerment of women not only in Baghere Village but also in the entire region of West Africa. It offers an intimate, robust but multidimensional space for the female audience. Protected by the thick shellcrete walls, the inside world made of local bamboo secures privacy, and access to virtual communities as well as provides harvested water and garden products. The designed spatial intervention breaks taboos of black women in rural communities and connects to the global while having life improvement locally.

Both segments of the structure incline towards the outer edge, designed for rainwater harvesting, offering an accessible water infrastructure for local communities. This collected water serves private use, building maintenance, and garden irrigation. Given a village household's need for 25 liters of water daily on average, the roof supplies approximately 44 households with water each year, aligned with current precipitation levels in the Sedhiou region.

The Oyster has been conceived with an inward-focused, enclosed design that offers protection from the outside, reminiscent of traditional residential architecture featuring a central courtyard. Within the structure, vertical dividers crafted from bamboo create an inviting and permeable atmosphere. The arrangement of spaces varies in density, unveiling certain areas while concealing others. These partitions can be opened, allowing the entire interior to function as a unified space during events.

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