The project is located in Baghere, in a region called Casamansa, in southern Senegal, one of the countries of West Africa. Located south of The Gambia and north of Guinea-Bissau, it is divided into three administrative areas: Ziguinchor, Sedhiou, and Kolda, with a population of 1.5 million people. It is situated in the central region of Sedhiou, in a valley called Tanaff, consisting mainly of a hydraulic basin of 480 km² that includes four other municipalities: Tanaff, Dioudoubou, Simbandi Brassou, and Niagha. The area is characterized by a rural environment with one of the lowest qualities of life in the region, with a lack of access to essential public services. Climate change has caused the valley to be affected by desertification and salinization phenomena, resulting in the loss of more than 10,000 hectares of cultivable land and affecting aquifers, whose contamination accounts for an average of 60% of infections and diseases. At a micro-location scale, the Intergenerational Center will be located in the village of Baghere, with a climate similar to that of the city of Cuiabá (MT). The land is located in front of one of the main roads, favoring its enjoyment and is mostly flat, with a partially sandy and partially laterite background, surrounded by mango and acacia trees that reach a maximum height of 15 meters. The project aims to go beyond its materiality, integrating the building with the landscape, people, and local habits in a harmonious and coherent way with the culture and climate of the region. The curved volumetry facilitates accommodation to the terrain while referring to the lightness, strength, and transformative power of the Casamance River, the main means of fertilizing the land and traffic of ideas and technologies. Considering the importance of the natural environment for the socioeconomic development of the village, the design configured to the project prioritizes the association with the extreme climate of Baghere. Thus, the project develops through studies of solar incidence, wind orientation, thermal and lighting comfort. In addition, a module is extended from its volumetry, which allows for project expansion with the economic growth of the area, optimizing its space and functions. This module consists of the segmented volumetry itself, which allows for the use of the architectural program and ease in the realm of self-construction, with already acquired and specialized technology.

The layout of the Intergenerational Center in Africa was developed in the same way as the building design, using parametric studies to achieve thermal comfort and a sustainable project. The project focuses on a daycare center with spacious classrooms, allowing for ventilation and natural light, as well as an area for assistance, with changing tables protected from direct sunlight, as well as in the kitchen. The temporary lodging for the elderly has zoned rooms with suitable environments for achieving thermal comfort, with shading (using bamboo to create a kind of latticework), cross ventilation (optimized with the study of wind incidence according to the compass rose, dynamic openings that allow ventilation and protect from solar incidence), and chimney effect (through a high ceiling and large openings filled with a bamboo mat produced locally). Although in the same building, the two proposals have their individualities strongly reinforced by the bamboo lattices used in front of areas 2,3,4,5, and bathrooms, to maintain thermal comfort through solar protection. The proposal aims to promote the vitality of the elderly guests, with direct contact with the children in the daycare center, if desirable, and their integration into administrative and auxiliary activities of the daycare or temporary lodging. Access to the building has been optimized for pre-existing paths, with main access to the daycare area and secondary access to the temporary lodging, allowing not only for thermal comfort but also for sound comfort in the environments. The expansion of the building was designed to maintain a balanced zoning of the spaces, directing the elderly guests of the temporary shelter to areas with the ideal thermal comfort for this typology.

Thermal Performance Using the EnergyPlus simulation algorithm, an optimization of adaptive thermal comfort was carried out according to ASHRAE 55. The optimization was based on a sensitivity analysis for 5 design changes from the base model (I): change of earth brick walls to rammed earth walls, in favor of thermal inertia (II); replacement of common windows with brick perforated frames, reducing thermal load from direct radiation (III); rotation of the building azimuth from 200° to 255°, reducing solar exposure on the main facades (IV); insertion of bamboo (V) and vegetation (VI) on the hottest facades. As a result, all environments presented less than 65% discomfort due to heat, the expected value for the local climate. Solar radiation The solar exposure was examined by the solar radiation incident on the building envelope for four different situations: base model (I); rotation of the azimuth from 200° to 255° (II); insertion of bamboo (III) and vegetation (IV). Therefore, there was a significant reduction in solar exposure on the main facades, as evidenced by the cooler envelope (blue) of the final model (IV) compared to the warmer envelope (yellow/red) of the initial model (I). Luminous performance By using the Radiance simulation mechanism, the natural lighting performance of the building was evaluated based on the Daylight Autonomy parameter for 300 lux. Three scenarios were simulated: with the doors always open (i); always closed (ii) and open for 50% of the time (iii).

The construction system is simple to execute and uses techniques widely used in the region. To ensure support and protection against weather conditions, the building is supported on foundation beams, whose concrete is composed of water, cement, sand, laterite rock, and river shells, in a ratio of 1:1:2:2.5:0.5. Self-supporting walls in rammed earth are raised on the foundations. The construction process involves the compaction, every 10cm, of dry laterite soil layers without organic matter, within curved wooden board forms. Above the wall, a 10cm concrete belt is placed to support the roof structure, which is thatched and tied to the battens using wooden needles. A supporting structure made of Jacaranda is provided exclusively for the elevated wooden floor. The main beams of this structure are supported on pillars, while the floor joists are spaced 50cm apart to prevent excessive deflection of the floorboards. The doors of the house, as well as some sections between the wall and the roof, are sealed with woven bamboo, while the openings in the most exposed facades are constructed with perforated laterite bricks. Materiality and Costs The material selection was based on sustainability aspects, plasticity, resource availability, local experience, and environmental comfort. Laterite soil is one of the elemental materials of the house. In the form of perforated bricks, it favors natural ventilation and lighting. In addition, it composes the rammed earth walls, which provide cooler and more ventilated environments due to their high thermal inertia. The laterite rock complements the use of river shells as aggregate for concrete, which is limited to foundations and ramps. The floor is composed of white wooden boards, which rest on a Jacaranda structure, a wood that also integrates the structure of the roofs. Bamboo performs the function of shading in outdoor areas, as well as functioning as a seal for doors and walls, benefiting the chimney effect. Another fundamental plant resource for the project is thatch, used on the roof of the house. In summary, the use of soil and wood was prioritized because they are widely used resources in Senegal's vernacular architecture, have low embodied energy, and produce little waste. The adopted system facilitates the execution of the project, which was designed in two phases. Integrated Design In order to make decisions based on computational simulations in the early stages of the project, the architectural model of the building, developed in the Rhinoceros tool, was parameterized in the visual programming tool Grasshopper. Thus, the geometric information was complemented and explored for the generation of an analytical model, adapted for the performance of thermal and lighting simulations using simulation tools made available by the Ladybug Tools plugin. Therefore, changes in the architectural model, such as geometry, shading and orientation, were automatically translated into the analytical model, which provided feedback on thermal and lighting performance. The development of an integrated design favored the dynamism and flexibility of design choices, resulting in a project that was both aesthetically and environmentally appropriate.

Rain gardens and hydrological cycle Rain gardens were central to the landscaping project. To assist in the collection of rainwater and the preservation of the hydrological cycle, the allocation of rain gardens of approximately 100m2 was planned, which can be expanded as the project expands. These elements contribute to the maintenance of the water cycle on the land and were strategically located at the lowest points of the land and with the highest flooding, to facilitate the drainage of water to the groundwater table. The project has a social commitment as it anchors the bioclimatic dimension to the dimension of urban resilience, seeking to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).