Bang Nong Saeng Kindergarten

Requirements governing this project in Dum Yai led to a structure modeled on Thai pavilions, with modular spaces envisaged to grow over time

The materials, technology, and resources available – combined with the idea of self-built architecture that is endemic to the region – determined the construction techniques to use. The roofs reach farther out by means of colorful fabrics, doubling the amount of covered spaces in a tropical climate. The yellow roofs, crowned with a solar chimney, guarantee natural ventilation.

The kindergarten came about through Design Build for the Community workshops. Indeed, the project’s most salient point is its social component. For over two months the designers, the townsfolk, the schoolchildren, and the local workers worked together in a spirit of creative collaboration that was intergenerational and international, learning from one another.