Not Vital

"Not Vital
Makaranta School
Agadez, Niger

Not Vital had been working in Niger, building himself a home there (beginning his project to build a home on every continent from which to watch the stars). The home/tower he built there, at four stories tall was the tallest adobe structure in the area. So as he spent time there, he wanted to give back to the community. But 'the Tuaregs - the nomadic people of the region, were very much against a school because they believed if children learned to read and do mathematics, they would not be able to read the stars anymore.' So a school house became reinvented as a staircase/pyramid structure by Not Vital in which the students could continue to learn outdoors, as their nomadic culture called for, but still have a centralized place to encourage education." SoftPyramid