African Flow by Urbanitree: an African architecture inspired by ancestral forms and projected towards an autonomous and sustainable future

In a location south of Yaoundé, Cameroon, an early childhood school emerges that reimagines educational spaces following the principles of ancestral African architecture. African Flow is a commitment to an architecture that educates, that is rooted in the land, that embraces the rhythm of childhood and breathes with the community. Designed by Urbanitree, the studio led by Vicente Guallart and Daniel Ibáñez, this kindergarten is a living manifesto of how building can also become a way of imagining another possible future for Africa.

Architecture as an extension of learning

Conceived as a continuous system of ecosystems —mountain, savannah, village and forest— the African Flow school translates the symbolic richness of the African landscape into architectural language. Each of these spaces embodies a dimension of learning, offering a sensory and emotional experience that connects children with their roots and with the world they inhabit.

At the heart of the complex lies a large central courtyard, around which the various interior spaces unfold, all connected by a corridor that facilitates fluid movement throughout the day. The mountain is a place for inspiration and creation, inviting introspection through a grotto where children can retreat for moments of reflection. The village is a space for exchange and community, with a chapel conceived as an abstract realm where light and perforated walls foster silence and collective contemplation. In the savannah, bodies expand, gather and play on the floor and around the stepped seating. And the forest, located next to a small natural woodland, houses a structure shaped like a habitable tree, where architecture becomes play and play becomes home.

Each space is designed to resonate with the children’s daily activities: assemblies, games, explorations, music sessions or hands-on experiments with materials. The architecture thus becomes an extension of learning, in service of a pedagogy that places the body, emotion and relationship with the environment at the centre of the educational experience.

Moreover, the site’s original topography made it possible to create a second level that will initially house the community managing African Flow.

Building with earth, building with community

The construction process of African Flow was, in itself, a lesson: a practice of mutual learning between architects, local workers and the educational community. In contrast to development models based on industrialised processes and imported materials, Urbanitree opted for low-tech architecture with deep social engagement.

It all began with research to identify local suppliers —carpenters, brickmakers, wood artisans— and to generate a self-sufficient construction ecosystem. The building was erected using azobé, a dense local wood resistant to termites, and compressed earth bricks that were not kiln-fired, allowing light to filter through and harmonising chromatically with the reddish soil of Cameroon. Inside, noble woods such as iroko, sapelli, doucier and mouvingui were used—materials often seen as exotic in Europe, but commonly used locally.

A deeply African architecture

African Flow is not a Western import, nor an exercise in philanthropic exoticism. It is a deeply African architecture, inspired by ancestral forms and projected towards an autonomous and sustainable future. A place where knowledge is transmitted not only in classrooms, but also through walls, shadows, paths and materials.

This first building is just the beginning of an educational complex that will eventually include all levels of schooling, from early childhood to secondary education. Its very existence is proof that another way of building — fairer, more humane, more grounded — is possible.

As the Urbanitree studio itself states, this school does not only educate the children who attend it. It also teaches those who design it, build it, visit it and tell its story. In that continuous flow of knowledge, care and matter lies the true strength of African Flow.

The water tower, typically conceived in concrete, was reimagined as a timber structure equipped with photovoltaic panels — a poetic and practical gesture ensuring the continuous supply of water and electricity in an area where outages are frequent. This process gave rise not only to a building, but also to a learning network that empowers workers, showcases local resources and strengthens the social fabric. An architecture that grows with and from the community.

Project: Escuela African Flow.
Location: Soa, Camerún.
Architecture: Vicente Guallart y Daniel Ibáñez . Urbanitree.
Year: 2024.
Built area: 1.600 m².
Photography: Adrià Goula.
Promoted by: Misioneras de Nazaret.

Urbanitree: a laboratory of advanced architecture

Since its foundation, Urbanitree has established itself as a laboratory of advanced architecture committed to the ecological regeneration of cities and the creation of new models of urban life. Its approach lies at the intersection of sustainability, technology and biodiversity, resulting in projects that not only respond to current climate challenges, but also propose new, more conscious, resilient and collaborative ways of inhabiting.

Headquartered in Barcelona, Urbanitree works at multiple scales — from collective housing to urban design — and participates in international research and design networks. Its practice integrates knowledge from architecture, engineering, biology and digital fabrication, reflecting a holistic view of the built environment.

The studio was founded by architects Vicente Guallart (see biography) and Daniel Ibáñez (see biography), two key figures in contemporary thinking on urban ecology and emerging technologies applied to architecture. Together, Guallart and Ibáñez lead Urbanitree as an open, collaborative structure capable of imagining urban futures where architecture becomes a support for life.

Source: Urbanitree y Pati Núñez Agency.

Project by Daniel Ibáñez. Urbanitree