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Kahere Eila Poultry Farming School,
2000
Center Avicole Kahere
Architects: Heikkinen-Komonen Architects
Patron: Eila Kivekas
The remarkable story of the Kahere Eila Poultry Farming School began
in the early 1980s, when Alpha Diallo, a Guinean agronomist, and his
uncle Bachir Diallo, a veterinarian, formed the idea of establishing
a poultry farm to help improve the Guinean diet. Both men earned
scholarship to study in Europe and while Alpha was in Hungry, he
developed an interest in the Finnish language, which is related to
Hungarian. As a result he translated the Finnish epic poem The
Kalevala into Fulani, and visited Finland, where he met Eila Kivekas.
When Alpha died suddenly in Finland in 1984, Kivekas arranged for
his body to be returned to his home. Soon afterwards, Bachir, then
in Canada, received a phone call from Kivekas: She proposed that he
return to Koliagbe near Kindia, a town 120 km inland from the coast
of Guinea and create, with her support, the poultry project that
Alpha had discussed with her. The farm was started in 1986, and in
1989 Kivekas founded a development association called
"Indigo", which went into partnership with the poultry
farm. From the farm's inception, education was one of its primary
missions. In 1997, when the facilities could no longer accommodate
the volume of students and trainees, Kivekas proposed to Bachir that
school facilities be provided near the main part of the farm. To
build the school, she commissioned the Finnish firm of architects,
Heikkinen-Komonen, who had worked on earlier Indigo projects,
translating Finnish structural ideas to local craft conditions.
In the areas around Kindia, the oldest form of dwelling is a round
structure with a conical thatched roof. Three variants on this type,
each with a distinct function, are grouped around an open space,
usually with a large tree in the center, which is the site for
household activities such as food preparation and laundry. The most
common material for walls remains earth bricks, fired in local
kilns. The quality of the finished material is poor, and a
considerable amount of wood is required for firing.
For the new complex, three main areas were required: a classroom,
student quarters for up to 12 people and teachers' quarters. In the
tradition of local dwellings, these are organized around the
courtyard, at the center of which is a tree. The plan is based on a
1.2-meter grid, which imparts a simple but formal elegance to the
architecture.
The architects introduced wood-frame technology in combination with
weight-bearing walls made from a double layer of specially
developed, stabilized earth-blocks. These blocks dispense with the
need for firing, helping to conserve resources. They also act as
heat collectors, moderating room temperature, and their hard, smooth
finish means that they do not need rendering. The wider span of the
classroom is covered with the aid of simple metal trusses combined
with the wooden beams. The tallest columns, those of the classroom
porch, are made of four posts fastened by intermediate wooden blocks
and steel bolts, an economical way of overcoming a shortage of long
pieces of hardwood. All primary materials were sourced locally.
The significance of introducing new building techniques is best
illustrated by the example of the school's head mason. After
training in the stabilized earth-block technique, he has gone on to
use the blocks in private houses, small industrial installations and
even a mosque, which has helped boost the area's production of the
blocks.
The Kahare Eila Poultry Farming School is a rare example of
architecture that bridges distinct cultures and building methods,
while maintaining the local characteristics of its context. The
humble yet elegant design combines the timber structures typical of
Finland's native architecture with local materials, improved by
simple technological advances.
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