FEICOM

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Yaoundé IV

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“MY DREAM SCHOOL” Project

Origin of “MY DREAM SCHOOL” concept

In a bid to develop and intensify its actions aimed at promoting education for all, FEICOM conducted a reflection to improve the learning environment and conditions for children, with a view to financing the construction of contemporary, sustainable, high quality school infrastructures that are better adapted to the needs of users in order to contribute, alongside the Ministry in charge of basic education, to the creation of an environment conducive to learning and the development of children..

This desire gave birth to the “MY DREAM SCHOOL” project which involved proposing a new architecture for full-cycle Government primary schools, with a view to conferring to its projects in the education sector a strong identity and providing a precise response to user expectations.

Beyond that, this work was also intended to be a real manifesto for equal access to the same level of service regardless of the community concerned. Above all, the project also aimed at contributing to highlighting the relationship between the quality of architectural spaces and the the well-being of users.

The built space is in fact prescriptive. That is why it was necessary for particular attention to be paid to the design of this basic infrastructure, which is the foundation of the development of the Nation.

Other Projects

  • Projet ED-TECH FEICOM-UNICEF

    To reduce imbalances between urban and rural environments and also to improve the results of learning for children and adolescents.

  • FEICOM standard plans

    Design of standard plans and a set of support tools allowing for better supervision from the design to the completion of projects.

  • Garden cities

    Designed to ensure healthy living and working conditions for the population. It is an ecological city that meets the challenges of the 21st century and the satellite of a large city.

  • The Littoral ZAC

    This is a development project implemented on a number of islands located in Douala VI Sub-divisional Council, Littoral region, in the form of a Concerted Development Zone (ZAC).

  • Regional Council Headquarters

    Enables FEICOM to participate in the production of better quality structures likely to give a specific identity to the projects financed by the organization.

Design of “MY DREAM SCHOOL” project

The “MY DREAM SCHOOL” project was initially supervised and validated by a multidisciplinary internal steering committee set up to ensure consistency of the design with user needs and current standards, while complying with the pedagogic guidelines of the Ministry of Basic Education. The second phase of the validation involved integrating into the steering committee senior officials of the Ministry of Basic Education, notably from the Division of Project Planning and Cooperation, the Department of Nursery Education and the National Pedagogic Inspectorate. Their oversight made it possible to align the improvement proposals with the various regulatory requirements. This project was also validated by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) with which the Institution has undertaken to promote this model.

Given that “My Dream School” project is intended to be an inclusive initiative, the institution has decided to place the first users, who are children, at the heart of the design in order to take their expectations into account in redesigning the standard plans of full-cycle primary schools. A national drawing competition was therefore organised on the theme “My dream school”. During this competition, the children were asked to express individually or in groups, their vision of an ideal school through drawing.

The competition was launched on 15 April 2018. This required each FEICOM Regional Agency to approach the Councils in order to disseminate the rules and regulations of the competition and to encourage schools to compete. The competition was open to all schools across the national territory. The drawings were to be made by primary school pupils and participation in this competition was free of charge. Moreover, the competing schools presented by their Council, were expected to submit one drawing each, made by one pupil or a group of at most ten pupils. 226 schools spread across the entire national territory took part in this activity. At the end of the pre-selection stage, 48 designs were selected and sent to the National Jury which deliberated at FEICOM’s Head Office.

Winners were announced in two stages, namely, at regional level giving entitlement to rewards (study scholarships, school equipment and supplies) for the 05 best drawings selected and a final jury responsible for evaluating and selecting the 03 winning schools. The results of this consultation enabled the Architects of the Institution to propose an architecture that closely matches the priorities of users. Given that the pupils have highlighted their desire to benefit from a school environment offering a pleasant, colourful setting, with a canteen, playground, garden, computer room and practice workshops, the proposed projects are intended to be recreational and designed to provide economical responses to these expectations.

The working methodology subsequently consisted of integrating four elements of analysis into the needs of primary school pupils collected through the competition:

  • Analysis of school and classroom projects financed in the Public Investment Budget (PIB), by the Japanese donation and by FEICOM
  • Government and sectoral strategies in the field of education
  • Results of a survey carried out among teaching professionals (teachers and officials of the Ministry of Basic Education) which aimed to collect their opinions on the improvements to be made to school infrastructures, in connection with new teaching approaches that MINEDUB wishes to implement, but also and, above all, measures aimed at improving the teaching and learning conditions
  • Principles validated during the first session of the steering committee which guided the design of the projects towards an architecture in tune with the times and which promotes local building materials and designed to be recreational and durable.

This research work culminated in the adoption of concepts aligning the strategies advocated by the government in the area of education and the improvements to be made in school premises, with the desire for contemporary architecture that meets users’ needs but also the need for equity and respect for standards in terms of school infrastructure.

Seven focus areas were therefore selected to guide the design and overcome the shortcomings identified:

  • Reconfigure the classroom to ensure a setting conducive to awakening while providing comfort in terms of brightness and acoustics
  • Propose spaces for workshops and practical activities
  • A sustainable architecture with the promotion of local building materials and passive ventilation techniques
  • Propose a minimum infrastructure package which will constitute the minimum programme to be respected
  • Think about multifunctional and modular spaces
  • Propose a green external setting
  • Ensure accessibility of premises and respect for gender equality

This resulted in the design of several school projects made up of different classroom blocks and spaces that can be reconfigured as desired.

PRODESV and MY DREAM SCHOOL”

PRODESV offered the opportunity to FEICOM Architects to question the appropriateness and adaptability of the project to different contexts but also to different levels of know-how. Indeed, the programme envisaged the construction of infrastructure using the labour-intensive method as the buildings were to be constructed by local residents and refugees who, more often than not, had no experience. It therefore entailed thinking of the existing classroom blocks as simplified modules that would be easily constructed by the population that was expected to build them. It also entailed working in collaboration with the Technical Assistant and workers to design all the details with a view to facilitating the understanding of the project. This is how the initial classroom blocks of “MY DREAM SCHOOL” project were reconfigured to be built with cement blocks, while preserving the heart of the project, namely:

  • Classrooms with a size of 70 m²;
  • Colourful built-in storage shelves;
  • An open space between the false ceiling and the roof, to allow for natural ventilation;
  • A multifunctional and colourful playground;
  • Green spaces;

“MY DREAM SCHOOL”: an indicator of FEICOM’s identity and label

“MY DREAM SCHOOL” project, like its version adapted within the framework of PRODESV, allowed the Institution to mark the construction landscape by giving a specific and innovative character to its infrastructures.

Within the framework of this project, FEICOM has opted to adopt a passive, recreational, inclusive but durable architecture, with a view to meeting the challenges of our time.

“MY DREAM SCHOOL” Mbalmayo pilot project

“My dream school” Mbockulu, located in the heart of Mbalmayo Council, is the first full-cycle primary school to be constructed based on the standard plans. It was constructed following the drawing competition launched in 2018 on the theme “My dream school” for which the first prize offered the construction of a complete school. The Mbockulu school thus comes to materialise the dream of the winning student, following the reinterpretation of FEICOM’s Architects.

Furthermore, MY DREAM SCHOOL Mbalmayo is the first full-cycle school built entirely using local building materials like stabilised unburnt earth blocks, which is the first of its kind.

In addition to this innovation, it is important to say that the school is designed to translate the words expressed by the children who wanted to receive a colourful, airy and bright school, which offers shaded relaxation and play areas, a school where it is pleasant to teach and learn. The Mbockulu school therefore comprises:

A “teaching” building constructed on two storeys with 12 classrooms each including integrated storage spaces, 2 gender-differentiated toilet blocks as well as two blocks intended for people with reduced mobility, two playgrounds, one of which will serve as a shared multifunctional space for eating, playing or studying in a recreational manner.

An adjacent “administration” building constructed on a raised platform. It includes a reception, offices, archive areas, toilets reserved for adults and management staff as well as a dispensary. The school also has a library and a developed playground.

The architecture of this project takes into account bioclimatic aspects with the reinterpretation of certain local construction techniques which promote passive ventilation, but also ergonomic aspects with the integration of seats along the walls of the playground.

The entire project covers a total surface area of 2831.54m² for a cost of CFA francs 448,650,505.

The Minister of Decentralization and Local Development laid the first brick of this school on 21 September 2022 during a solemn ceremony in the presence of the Resident Representative of UNICEF inCameroon, the Representative of the Ambassador of the European Union and the General Manager of FEICOM. During this occasion, symbolic prizes were also awarded to the winner.

The work, which started on 13 June 2022, required the construction of a temporary school on a site close to the former school. The completion of the school construction works was scheduled for July 2023, to allow students to start the new school year in style in a renewed environment.