A traditonal practice in in northern Senegal is to entrust small boys to a Koranic master for the early years of their education. The plan of the Daara School is an adaptation of a typical family compound. The master's house, to the right of the compound entrance, includes a reception courtyard in front of the house, service rooms at the corner, and a private rear courtyard. The classroom block is placed in the centre of the common courtyard, between the children's zone and the master's house. Dormitories are organised as as two separate family houses sharing common services, and toilets. Different blocks within the compound are formed by the repetition of a standard module whose dimensions are dictated by the limited span of the barrel vaulted roofs. It is constructed using loadbearing cement-stabilised earth brick walls and buttresses supporting concrete vaults.

Source: Aga Khan Trust for Culture