Digital Oyster
Baghere, Senegal
competition entry, finalist, 2021
size: 200 m²
architecture: Toms Kampars, Magdalena Gorecka
Digital Oyster is conceived as a centre supporting the empowerment of women in Baghere Village and across the wider region. It offers an intimate, robust and flexible environment centred on their needs. Protected by thick shellcrete walls, an inner world of locally sourced bamboo provides privacy and access to digital communities, while harvested rainwater and productive gardens support everyday life. The project connects a rural community to global networks while creating practical value locally.
Both sections of the building incline towards their outer edges to collect rainwater and provide an accessible water resource for the community. The collected water can be used by residents, for building maintenance and to irrigate the garden. Based on an estimated daily requirement of 25 litres per household and current precipitation levels in the Sédhiou region, the roof could collect enough water to supply approximately 44 households each year.
Like its namesake, Digital Oyster turns inward to create a protected inner world, recalling traditional homes organised around a central courtyard. Inside, bamboo dividers create an atmosphere that is warm, open and permeable. Their changing density reveals some spaces while screening others, allowing for different levels of privacy. The partitions can also be opened so that the entire interior becomes one shared space for gatherings and events.
