Dampong Community Campus, Ghana

An interdisciplinary design team from BDP has been working with Ashanti Akim Community Organisation (AACO) to masterplan and develop an educational community campus in Dampong, Ghana.

The charity is focused on alleviating poverty in Ghana’s Ashanti Akim district, four hours north of the capital Accra, and its vision for the scheme is to improve education and nurture the development of people and communities in the region by developing an attractive 32 acre educational campus.

14 designers from BDP have given their time and expertise to the project and developed a multi-phase masterplan which will eventually provide education and community facilities for up to 540 students from the region.

The masterplan objectives are to provide multi-functional and adaptable buildings, with the involvement of the community, and provide a flexible framework for growth with landscaped open space, infrastructure and buildings planned together to give the campus a strong sense of identity. Self-sufficiency is a key design theme so sustainable thinking is central to the development.

Outlying accommodation and facilities buildings are arranged as small courtyards with the main educational buildings enclosing larger central quadrangles which can also be used to facilitate a range of functions such as meetings, open air teaching classes and games.

To date the project, called Jubilee High School, has provided a teaching building, dining block, toilets and an accommodation block. BDP is currently refining the masterplan for future phases of the development which include a sports pitch and playing field.

AACO is currently seeking urgent funding to develop the facilities and support increased student numbers, which will eventually enable them to make an application for Government support. Funding will be needed to realise the full masterplan, not only in constructing and fitting out the buildings, but also in supporting the rising operating costs as the student and teacher population grows.

The challenges are considerable, but BDP is excited about working with AACO to realise their inspirational vision of a flagship educational campus that will deliver hope and opportunity to the people of the region.

Find out more about the work of AACO.