Sos childrens village Djibouti Urko Sanchez Architects

SOS Children’s Village Located in Hottest Place on Earth

Urko Sanchez Architects built this 15-home village in Djibouti, for the SOS Children’s Organization. The development was located on the Horn of Africa, a mostly French and Arabic-speaking country of dry shrublands, volcanic formations and Red Sea beaches – a site known for one of the hottest temperatures on earth.

With these conditions in mind, Urko Sanchez Architects decided that building the homes in a very local way – creating narrow streets that would shade one another, providing natural ventilation and corridors of wind flow – was the right way to go. In the end, what they did was develop and design a small village with open, pedestrian-only streets and playing fields for children and teenagers, almost an internal playground of gingerbread-house elements and slides. The houses in this village are closed to the outside; they look inwards, protecting residents from the elements, while providing privacy and excellent ventilation.

Sos childrens village Djibouti Urko Sanchez Architects

Sos childrens village Djibouti Urko Sanchez Architects

Sos childrens village Djibouti Urko Sanchez Architects

Sos childrens village Djibouti Urko Sanchez Architects

Sos childrens village Djibouti Urko Sanchez Architects

Sos childrens village Djibouti Urko Sanchez Architects

Sos childrens village Djibouti Urko Sanchez Architects

Sos childrens village Djibouti Urko Sanchez Architects

Sos childrens village Djibouti Urko Sanchez Architects

Sos childrens village Djibouti Urko Sanchez Architects

Sos childrens village Djibouti Urko Sanchez Architects

Sos childrens village Djibouti Urko Sanchez Architects

Photography Javier Callejas

www.urkosanchez.com
www.sos-childrensvillages.org




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