Our building design
Moving School for Burmese Refugees in Thailand
Project Description
This project responds to the brief through the development of a precarious architecture that compliment the migrants' nomadic lifestyle. When the Burmese migrants are asked to pack up and leave and to never return by their Thai landlords, these structures will be accompanied in the migrants' slow, nomadic journey; with the loose-fit structures and affordable local materials that will complement and contribute to the nature of the settlements. The flexibility of the joints and the panel connections, allow the structure to be folded and flat packed to be carried and repositioned/reconfigured on a new site. The transient nature of the architecture is responding to the changing of the site conditions, local environment and creating the right spaces for learning and teaching.
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Design Strategy
The proposed building is light weight and flat pack structures which will be dragged by elephants and brought to site to be mounted on concrete base. The raised platform with the flat pack structure will be connected on the concrete base before the power of the elephants will be used to erect the flat pack timber frame. Once the frames are upright, the pulleys will be anchored in the landscape. The rest of the panels will be connected and inserted to the timber columns. The roof is installed last above the columns.
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Environmental Strategy:
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The nature of the architecture responds to the local climate and creates suitable environment for education to suit the climate. The building has flexible openings and partitions, to allow free flow of air. The openings at higher level allow hot air to escape for ventilation. This creates a pleasant atmosphere for learning and teaching and combats the extremes of the local environment. The concept of ‘a room within a room’ has been proposed to delay heat and to avoid direct sunlight.
Each classroom is equipped with a back panel to be turned 90 degrees to reconfigure the classroom spaces to allow the teaching and learning to spill out into the outdoor spaces around the classroom. This creates the right teaching atmosphere for horticulture and learning about the indigenous fauna.
The sloped roof collects rainwater and allows it to trickle down the gutter and through the down pipes. The rainwater travels through a filter to be collected in a tank for the use in toilets and irrigation of plants in the gardens around the school. Local timber, reeds and bamboo are proposed for wall panels. The main frame will be in timber. The roof will be cladded with corrugated tin for the collection of the rainwater. The locally sourced material will keep the cost down.
Flat pack modular design:
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The clever use of hinges and pulleys are designed to give the flat pack structure to enable easy transportation of the school from one site to another.
The standard module size is 4mX4m. The modules are joined together in sequence to meet the required area for the space. For example each module will be the size of one classroom however for the canteen three modules will be connected to meet the required space of approx 40m2.
