Mozambique Preschool - The book

MOZAMBIQUE PRESCHOOL FLOR DA MANHÃ

ARCHITECTURE COMPETITION

a competition by Archstorming

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Š Archstorming S.L. 2020 Photographies: Estamos Juntos and Somos del Mundo Special thanks to: Assa, Augusto, Andreas, Marisol and Pablo.

Thanks to all the participants.

introduction 7 cultural and social context 9 who is Assa Jacinto Mabai 10 who are Estamos Juntos 11 who are Somos del Mundo 11 the location: Xai-Xai 13 climate 15 the challenge 16 the program 17 winners and honorable mentions 19 selected proposals 51

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introduction Archstorming’s new competition takes us to Mozambique, a country where 70% of the population lives below the poverty line. This difficult economic situation, most severely affects the situation of children. Frequently, the lack of financial resources is a significant barrier to the enjoyment of their fundamental rights. They experience many problems; such as the inability to access school, health-care, and housing…

In Mozambique, one child out of five is not educated.

Preschool is neither mandatory nor free.

For those who go to school, study conditions are very different from the conditions of those in developed countries. The buildings, school equipment and facilities (chairs, tables, desks…) are in bad shape or absent.

Moreover, the figures show a discrepancy of the education between boys and girls. The classes have

a majority of young boys. This is in part because of the profusion of harassment and sexual violence in schools toward girls.

Besides that, in Mozambique, 14% of children between two and nine years old are disabled.

They are often hidden away by their families – in effect rendered invisible – and are vulnerable to discrimination as well as an increased risk of violence. These children need greater support from their families and better access to education, which would enable them to attend school with their peers. But that can only happen if the necessary facilities, equipment and training are provided.

With this project we will help Assa, a Mozambican teacher, build a center for children with disabilities and affected by social exclusion, with the help of the Estamos Juntos Initiative and the NGO Somos del Mundo.

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cultural and social context Mozambique borders Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Swaziland. Its long, Indian Ocean coastline of 2,500 kilometers faces east to Madagascar. About 70% of its population of 28 million (2016) live and work in rural areas. It is endowed with ample arable land, water, energy, as well as mineral resources and newly discovered natural gas offshore; three deep seaports; and a relatively large potential pool of labor.

Unfortunately, families in Mozambique are struggling to cover even their most basic needs, such as running water, proper sanitation and regular access to food. Income distribution remains highly unequal in a country where the richest twenty per cent control over half of the national household income.

A few years after peace could be secured in Mozambique, disastrous floods destroyed much of the country’s infrastructure during a time in which it was slowly rebuilding itself. Rural Mozambique is frequently affected by droughts. Famine is widespread and many locals suffer from illnesses that are directly related to it. For the average Mozambican, life expectancy is as low as 58 years.

The country has one of the highest HIV rates in the entire world: 12.3 per cent of the population are HIV-positive, meaning that roughly 3.6 million Mozambicans are living with the disease.

In March 2019, the coastal city of Beira was hit by a tropical cyclone that affected 1.7 million people across Mozambique, including an estimated 260,000 children. Devastating floods damaged bridges and roads, which stopped the delivery of food and other emergency supplies. Public water supplies were unable to be treated, leaving many Mozambicans susceptible to water-borne diseases such as cholera and malaria. Up to an estimated 50 per cent of the annual crop production was destroyed, leaving many without food or means to an income.

Although there have been impressive steps forward in terms of school enrolment, only 40 per cent of children who attend school complete their primary level education. From this, only 16 per cent of children go on to secondary education.

Factors such as lack of safe school spaces and early marriage and pregnancy are major reasons for children to not complete school. Around 40 per cent of girls have given birth before they are 18 years old, and half are already married.

An estimated 1.2 million children do not attend school at all. At least a basic level of education is of considerable importance for growth and development and empowers the child to break the vicious circle of poverty when becoming an adult.

On average, Mozambicans complete only 3.5 years of schooling.

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Assa Jacinto Mabai

who is Assa Jacinto Mabai Create a preschool for vulnerable and disabled children, that is the dream of Assa. In the area they are known as “escolinhas�, and there are only a few that depend on the State and some that depend on private entities, which leaves the vast majority of children without access. In addition, the fact that pre-school education is not compulsory in Mozambique makes this a luxury that very few can enjoy.

Assa dreams of a escolinha where everyone has a space. She studied for several years and became a child educator, and her motivation has always

been to cover the most vulnerable population in the area where she lives, including children with disabilities, something that does not exist in the Gaza Province.

Children who do not have the possibility of entering pre-school enter the first grade with less intellectual and social skills and do not tend to persevere in the education system. School desertion is very high in the province, leaving children exposed to child labor. Assa is a member of an Association that is beginning to support her in thinking about ideas to carry out her project.

Somos del Mundo

Estamos Juntos

who are Estamos Juntos When, back in the year 2000, Andreas and Marisol traveled to Mozambique, they knew that this country had something special and that there was no place they felt as useful as there. He spent two years helping to rebuild the villages devastated by the floods caused by the Limpopo River. She spent four years accompanying the communities to regain hope, empowering women and young people, the great protagonists of the postcatastrophe era.

After that stage, geography separated them a few years, he moved back to Germany and she moved to Argentina, but eventually they came

together again to continue a common project, a vision of life that would lead them to help people in countries like India, Bolivia, Nepal, Argentina, Italy or Germany. Although always hoping they could return someday to the country they felt that special connection with: Mozambique.

Finally, the day arrived, and in January 2018 they returned to Mozambique to work on disaster risk reduction and adaptation of communities to climate change.

They are now helping people like Assa and the children of the region to fulfill their dream: build a school.

who are Somos del Mundo In 2012, a group of friends traveled to Mozambique to do some humanitarian aid work. For that, they prepared for 6 months, learning the official language, the local dialect and the history and cultural context of the country and above all, raising the necessary funds. Without a preestablished course, the fire of a classroom rushed them to help with their constructive knowledge and to work together with the community. That experience wouldn’t be the only one.

This is how SOMOS DEL MUNDO was born, a network of people that promotes skills development programs for social impact, with two

areas of work: 1) Promote the training of change agents through the development of skills.

2) Generate solutions in rural communities.

Nine years later, 86 classrooms have been built in around 50 rural communities in Mozambique, and 205 participants have been involved. Participants live with the rural communities for a month, working side by side and sharing their experiences.

With every action of SOMOS DEL MUNDO, more and more children can go to an actual school and their cassrooms are not under a tree anymore.

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Site pictures

the location: Xai-Xai The preschool will be built in Xai-Xai. Xai-Xai District is a district of Gaza Province in southwestern Mozambique. The administrative center of the district is Chongoene. The district is located in the south of the province, and borders with Chibuto District in the north, Manjacaze District in the east, Bilene Macia District in the southeast, and with Chókwè District in the west. In the south, it is bounded by the Indian Ocean. The area of the district is 1,908 square kilometres (737 sq mi).

The school will be located in a plot between the cities of Xai-Xai and Chongoene, approximately 1 km away of the road that connects them.

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climate Mozambique has a tropical to subtropical climate, with some semi-arid regions in the southwest of the country. The east consists of lowlands while the west is more mountainous.

Mozambique has a coastline of 2,700 km. Average temperatures are highest along the coast as well as in the south of the country (20-26°C) and lower in high inland regions. There are seasonal temperature variations, with a cool dry season from April to September (coolest months are June – August) and a hot humid season from October to March (warmest months are December – February).

Rainfall is highest in the north (1,000 mm/year) and lowest in the southeast (500 mm/year), but

also varies according to topographic features – with most rainfall in higher areas and along the coast (800- 1,200 mm). The driest area of the country is the southern inland area, where some locations receive only 300 mm of rainfall per year.

Rainfall mainly occurs during the hot season, from November to April – with the majority falling between December and February. The north receives 150-300 mm of rainfall per month during this season, while the south receives 50-150 mm per month.

Mozambique is frequently affected by tropical cyclones which mainly occur during the hot, humid season. In January 2012, for example, cyclone Leon-Eline affected 4.5 million of its population.

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the challenge

The goals of this project were:

- INTEGRATE: since this school will accommodate disabled children and kids in social exclusion, it is fundamental to work in their integration in society.

We can help them through architecture by creating adapted spaces where they don’t feel rejected. A dynamic school where they can interact with each other and the surrounding environment.

- EDUCATE: create a place where kids can start their educational journey. Make them feel like home by designing a space where they feel comfortable.

Build kid-friendly spaces that are completely safe for them, a school where they can learn, play, run, and discover.

- BE SUSTAINABLE: the projects had to use locally sourced materials, easy to build constructive systems, and had to be self-sufficient in energy terms. They had to be respectful with nature in order to teach the kids the proper way to interact with their natural environment.

This competition gave the opportunity to work in the creation of a school in an underdeveloped country. But not only that, in this case the school will be designed for disabled and socially excluded children, so the challenge is even bigger.

the program To achieve the objectives set, the following indicative program was proposed: Type of space

number

m2

Total

Classrooms

6

42

252

Boys bathrooms

1

12

12

Girls bathrooms

1

12

12

Storage (cleaning material)

1

8

8

Dining room

1

70

70

Infirmary

1

12

12

Closed kitchen

1

40

40

Pantry

1

30

30

Open kitchen

1

15

15

Multipurpose space

1

100

100

Principal and secretary office

1

20

20

Management and janitor offices

1

20

20

Storage (school material)

1

9

9

Teacher’s room

1

15

15

Adults bathroom

1

20

20

Covered schoolyard

1

100

100

Total

735

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architecture competition: the results winners and honorable mentions

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1ST PLACE

Xavier Silva, Manuel VillalaĂ­n, Hazem Elshafei Groningen, The Netherlands Based on five pillars: Nature, Gathering, Protection, Joy and Inclusion, ‘A Hug’ is a home that embraces multiple cultures, different beliefs and traditions, a space of tolerance, cooperation and happiness. In addition, this proposal follows the character of the natural elements given by the place which dictate how the building integrates within the context .

The first step is directly connected to the ground.

The plinth consists of successive platforms placed along the slope, intrinsically shaped by the topography. They limit the majority of the spaces created. Their placement in different heights of the topography minimizes the removal/addition of the earth, creating at the same time a smooth ramp arrangement that binds the sole project in a single loop. Besides its formal amenities, it is affective in constructive and economical aspects. Above this element, clay brick walls will define the limits of the project.. A clay\mud hybrid construction was primarily used. Clay is abundantly available in the region, and is traditionally used in the construction of housing. The traditional building techniques are modified and modernized in order to create a more

structurally sturdy building in the form of bricks.

Around the main courtyard, a system of folding doors made out oflocal wood defines the interior limits, creating a flexible interior spaces. A wooden structure is designed for the use of traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted andjoined timbers with joints secured by large wooden pegs.

Lying on this structure, a roof of metal sheets will cover the project, collecting ali the run-off water in order to store it in two water tanks for later use.

Among all these components, appears the kids dimension , collective facilities that fully accommodate individual kids desires. A sequence of joyful elements, in between spaces and icons, producing a continuous state of excitement.

Above and in a single gesture these pieces are brought together.

Just like a hug.

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2ND PLACE

Lucía Ulla, Alejandro Ayala, Cristina Sánchez, Adrián López Barcelona, Spain The proposal is framed in a context of educational precariousness, social disintegration and lack of resources. That’s why the project stems from the intention of solving these challenges within a safe, friendly, enriching and collective space.

Starting from the general scheme of any Mozambican school, composed by closed classrooms, covered playground and naturalized free space, the project seeks the minimum unit of educational space, providing each classroom with its own appropriable porch and its natural outdoor space. In this band, children are able to develop all their educational activities. A place to learn, to play, to run, to cultivate and to discover the nature. The combination of the bands in alternate orientation, forming a zipper, generates the transversality and integration so necessary in this environment, setting up a place where children can feel comfortable and safe. The arrangement of the bands matching the covered playground of each classroom originates the great axis of the project. The rest of the program that makes up the escolinha is acceded to it. This axis acts as a great programmatic corridor, promoting inclusion, cohesion and flexibility, structuring the different uses and relating them to each other.

The variation of the topography becomes especially important. That’s why the proposal consider a longitudinal implantation and a development of the building in the direction of the slope, using the

bands to adjust the slope and achieving a large continuous corridor with spot slopes not exceeding 4%. Another element to take into account is the great Marula, which is preserved, generating around it a large open natural space, framed by the main entrance of the building.

This access is limited by the administrative and customers service band and by other services, along with the large tree, the school is divided in two programatic spaces. In one hand, classrooms are disposed to provide privacy and security to the students. In other hand the common spaces allow greater interaction with its surroundings thanks to its permeable configuration. The multipurpose room is able to expand on both sides and the dining room located next to the self-consumption orchards, in the lowest level of the plot, close to the water tank.

Through this succession of modules, the great axis of the building is articulated, encouraging interaction between classrooms, relating the groups of children to each other and generating the different transitions between interior and exterior.

This is how CREMALHEIRA was born, an escolinha with the intention of integrating and uniting at all levels, where children can learn, grow in community and move towards a better future.

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3RD PLACE

ADD Architects Alexandria, Egypt The depiction of such vision is by creating an lnterwoven Pathways for the children to wander throughout the entire site where every spot is a discovery; and the learning process is about playing. lnterwoven Pathways is applied by staggering square units on site and focusing on making their in-between spaces just as interesting. Such spaces are gathering areas for outdoor activities served by circulation paths where children are allowed to move freely with an easy visual connectivity and protection against direct sun and heat.

Spatially; the staggered square units in site provide outdoor spaces that were exploited in various learning and playing spots for infants such as planting areas, fishing lake, petting space, climbing game and pottery craft.

Enlarging the multipurpose hall area to use it as a community hub in addition to its main purpose.

Environmentally; Shading is provided either by cast shadow from the staggered square units, the built sheds with local materials or planted mango trees serving landscape design which in turn provide a wider shadow range, better heat-comfort and thus a more pleasant experience. Double roof helps in wind driven for natural ventilation and CEB random openings are provided to reduce the impact of the environmental changes with random openings to give a natural ventilation gab for cooling. Also rain water collecting system is created through the

whole site by spreading water drainage units to collect rain water to reuse it after passing through natural flltration system.

Structurally; CEB are mainly used in walls to allow spaces to be exposed to the outdoor; that granted by using adaptive shutters that made from local pine wood and are controlled manually to permit the needed heat, light, and accessibility to-andfrom the in-between spaces.

Spaces covered with four layers ceiling; upper layer is corrugated iron sheet then traditional fabrics were installed between wooden beams this beams beard on reinforced beam.

Consequently, it had been enhanced by dividing the school into two ma1n zones, one for 1nfants up to 18 months old and the other for older children up to flve years old. Both zones are connected in the middle through the shared facilities presented in the main entrance, multi-purpose hall, administration, covered court and dining area; in addition to scattered control units on all corners of the school to ensure the children’s safety and supervision.

In conclusion, the wholistic effect of the entanglement is interacting with its elements in harmony, intriguing children to discover and comprehend their surrounding through the entertainment of both physical and mental activity.

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SPECIAL HONORABLE MENTION

Ou Yang Massimo Hu, Lingshan Zhang Milan, Italy The necessity of a new preschool is urgent for the area, therefore, it is proposed a new project for the Xai Xai district which can provide for disadvantaged children. The propose is to build an oval preschool to fit the plot, this form protects within children and gives a quiet and secure space, allowing to reach quickly every place. The possibility to overview all areas and direct contact between each class can enhance the sense of community and belonging. The continuity of the body of the building is divided into four pieces hence the four opened points create open space and are allocated the emergency exits.

The project site is sloped thus the building is adapted to it and creates stepped roofing that allows to gather of the rainwater and leads it to the water tank in the lowest point of area thanks to gravity. There is the septic tank near the water tank but outside the perimeter wall to avoid smell.

The function is divided higher part for classrooms to dominate the view and lower part near the water system kitchen and toilet because of their functional necessity.

available in the local area to be sustainable by the community. So the wall is in brick to protect and obstacle the heat come in, a double roof with waterproof corrugated metal sheet to block the sunray and gather water. The wood is used in columns and horizontal truss to bear the load, even solar panels, and make free space for ventilation.

To make a solid floor that can lay to sloped terrain a layer of concrete forms the base of the building.

The continuing roof forms space for playing where it does not cover the building and, besides, all center is a courtyard which hosts many activities and provides an area for an orchard to make an educative and relaxing space.

The classroom has high windows to facilitate natural ventilation from one side to another and they are made in wood and straw. An important point in the class is quick to transform a space of education in space for nap thanks to the openable closets that become beds. ​ The preschool provides a place for the child where he can learn and play with other children, feeling protected.

The aim is to project a build with easier and known technology system and choose materials

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SPECIAL HONORABLE MENTION

Liang Hu, Naomi Ng New Haven, CT, United States of America Amari is a Mozambique preschool student. In the mornings he could enter from any direction, but always chooses to go through the main entrance by the courtyard (8). Staff in the management office on the left waves him hello before going to class everyday (1).

Once he drops his bag near the classroom door, Amari is ready for class (9). Class is fun, but Amari is always curious what is behind the teacher’s room (10), he heard in it lives lions. Because each classroom faces a courtyard, he likes to look outside the window to look at trees. His favorite is a tree that bends funny in the orchard (17). It reminds him of a tree near home.

vegetable that would eventually be used for lunch tomorrow.

Sometimes it rains, especially in spring. This is good for the orchard and agriculture, but rain also trickle through the multifaceted roof into the gutters that also serve structurally as beams. All rainwater is collected into a single closed system under the lifted deck between the dining hall and the orchard. These water serve toilets (5-6), sinks and kitchens.

It is lunch time. Amari and friends go to the sinks before they eat (8). This is Amari’s favorite spot in summer because there is a fountain screen that cools him down. In the dining room, Amari’s favorite seat is a niche in the wall (15). It makes him feel cozy. He can always smell the food being cooked because the kitchen is just one screen away (14), although it makes him hungry.

Sometimes it is sunny, and PV panels on the roof (350sqm) collect solar energy for the school’s electricity. The rest is shaded by brise-soleil screens, each panel using leftover construction materials or twigs. Along each clay brick wall are operable screens, which Amari can close to assist with shading, especially for the low winter sun. When it’s hot, wind from the coast cools the school down. The roof shape assists the wind flow through and across the school, while vegetation traps particulate matter and is always a good natural shading device.

As he descends into the agriculture court (12), they learn how to farm. Sometimes Amari and friends compete to see who can harvest the largest

Classes are over. His brother usually waits in a hammock in the sheltered court (11). Amari cannot wait to go to school again tomorrow.

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HONORABLE MENTION

Eliana AilĂŠn Olivera, Leandro Ezequiel Enriquez Posadas, Argentina The idea and design of the project are born from the study of the way of life in the region, taking as a starting point their customs and needs.

The project arises in order to achieve the greatest possible accessibility for all children, especially for those with disabilities, in addition to prioritizing the recognition of the site’s topography and the best orientations.

This is how the proposal of buildings in the form of strips that adapt to the topography and are crossed by a large central road that forms the main axis of the project, communicating all the spaces and facilitating mobility within the land, which has been taken as a primary factor in order to achieve social inclusion and respond to the different motor needs of children.

This is how the proposal of buildings in the form of strips that adapt to the topography and are crossed by a large central path that forms the main axis of the project, communicating all the spaces and facilitating mobility in the project, which has been taken as a primary factor in order to achieve social inclusion and respond to the various motor needs of children.

The buildings that make up the proposal are clearly differentiated and grouped by uses and activities (administrative, services and education and recreation sector), trying to provide as much security and privacy as possible to the sectors that need it most, such as the sector of classrooms.

The project was shaped based on the simplicity of the design, with the objective of prioritizing the speed, ease and economy of construction.

In addition, other factors were taken into account, such as the use of a design module, social construction, permeability and integration with the nature and economy of materials.

Design module: modulation is taken as a method of systematization that allows to reduce the waste of materials and the cost of construction, optimizing, in addition, the times of the same.

At the same time, the module gives us great versatility by being able to use it as a base and exchange its enclosures, allowing us, in addition, to standardize the measures of doors and windows.

Social construction: thanks to the simplicity of the design of the construction system that offers simplicity of manufacturing and assembly, it is intended to integrate the community, allowing them to be part of the construction of the school.

Permeability: the maximum integration and contact with nature is sought, in addition to seeking the breadth of spaces in order to make the most of natural lighting and ventilation, generating a sustainable project.

Materiality and economy: local materials such as compreesed earthblocks and wood are used, which gives us ample benefits in terms of energy selfsufficiency, in addition to reducing construction costs.

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HONORABLE MENTION

Dewan Young Leaders Haitham Al-Husseiny, Rawan Alnajjar, Mona Abou Fayad, Dalal Alhourani Dubai, UAE Located in an area between the cities of XaiXai and Chongoene, the new school installation strives to promote a better way of life. The school is a peaceful venue where people of all ages and genders are nourished with expertise and bond with peers to invent formulas for a better life in their surroundings. This is why this design embraced values of openness, inclusion, transparency, and equality. It is a venue that is designed for children, but open for all to find their suitable niche of positive influence on others and self alike.

The design of this tiny settlement is deliberately simple and responsive to its surroundings. It grows among the surroundings to nest a cradle for human interaction that breaths compassion and respect to the environment that hosted countless generations of its natural inhabitants.

The development recruits local volunteers with available raw materials on site, to gradually shape the building blocks of this installation. Accordingly, the proposed design is no more than a road map for the unlimited opportunities this community is going to explore with their self-acclaimed architecture.

The rich environment with shapes, textures,

colors, and sounds will help children of all levels of physical abilities and challenges, to develop their necessary motor skills to be fit for their future and assets for the future of their communities.

While kids are are playing around with dirt and collected rain water, they are actually growing plants and taking care of household animals that contribute to their nutrition and alleviate some of the financial burdens on their families. The transparent door and window free design is meant to provide a level of safety through openness.

While the permeable fencing on the periphery is meant to eliminate the perceived boundaries and enhance the partnership with nature, creating a venue that›s inclusive of all the components of the community, as well as the existing and surrounding nature is further enhanced by a vision of continuous usage of the spaces their original use. This will all be powered by the photovoltaic panels on the canopy of each cluster.

Our project is not limited to a school, it’s obviously opting to be a stage for continuous human experimentation with nature, aiming to create a safe haven for growing the community and breeding its talent for life, while positively shaping the memories of its individuals.

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HONORABLE MENTION

Tomás Martínez García, Florian Reisacher Barcelona, Spain Gathering beneath the protection of a tree to socialise, relax and discuss ideas is an age old practice that carries deep symbolic meanings.

A single tree is placed at the centre of proposed commonplace, acting as the core element of the design.

Bringing people together is, in principle, concentric in nature. The building floor plan abstracts centrality to the shape of a windmill to define a safe and controlled interior environment, that aims to provide the children with an inclusive and comforting retreat from the difficulties and social exclusion some of them endure in their daily lives.

From the exterior, the building appears as an introverted complex. The roofed colonnade accentuates the main entrance, facing north towards the main road connecting Xai-Xai and Chongoene. The dichotomy between the school’s enclosed exterior and the complete openness of the internal rooms towards courtyard enhances the sensation of protectivity. There is a subtle reference to the closed exterior of a traditional clay hut, which offers a familiar and welcoming home to its occupants, while providing privacy and safety from the unfamiliar passerby.

Commonplace both in concept and construction is distinguished in two different systems: a timber

frame construction with a uniting corrugated metal roof and a sequence of rammed earth walls with a movable cloth roofing, that define the space on a more intimate scale. The roof structure, a ring of timber frames, is to be constructed first and subsequently gives shelter for the realisation of the more time consuming and less weatherresistant rammed earth.

The thermal mass of the thick rammed earth walls helps to maintain the room temperature and the roof construction contributes to a more comfortable interior climate. While the upper roof blocks direct sun radiation and heats up, the draft in the air gap between roofs prevents the heat from penetrating into the classrooms. The lower, movable fabric roof can be either used as protection from outside wind and dust or, when opened, to enhance further air circulation into the rooms.

Basic construction techniques facilitate the use of local or community labour and most of the materials used originate from the site or its surroundings. The high clay content of Xai-Xai soil allows for using the soil gained from levelling the terrain as rammed earth without additives and the proposed umbila timber can be obtained from the close surroundings, which is beneficial both for building cost and ecological footprint of the school.

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HONORABLE MENTION

NOMAD Barcelona, Spain Tradition. The proposal finds its origin in the round, traditonal huts found all over the country. This does not only make the user relate to it culturally, but it also makes its construction easier, since the circle is a simple geometrical shape, easy to set on site and self supporting. Such shape does also help against water and wind, since there is never a flat plane those can clash against.

Nature. The round house is split in half to allow nature inside, letting the users participate of their surroundings.

Comfort. The traditional roof is revised and divided into two to create a higher level of comfort inside.

An outer roof stops the sun, heating it. An inner roof creates an air chamber where the hot air can travel through and is dissipated due to convection, keeping the interior fresh.

The walls are also perforated to create air circulation inside the rooms.

Water. Where water is needed, the roof is inverted and a water tank is placed at the center, above

ground. This does not only allow water collection, but also grants access to it without the need of a pump, reducing the energy demand. Four water tanks supply the school with 29.000 litres of water when full.

Space. The original unit is flexible and can be closed and partitioned or not depending on the needs. Such units are placed next to each other around an open space creating a courtyard, safe and easy to watch from every point.

The wall is detached from the structure allowing to group the units and creating a perimeter wall with four exits surrounding the whole school.

To tie everything together, a pergola is added on the inside, connecting all the units with a shaded path around the courtyard.

Crops. Outside the main school wall the crops are found, protected by a stick fence. That way, and since the crops are part of the educational program, every time the kids are taken there, they will ‘leave’ the school, making them feel they are going on a little adventure.

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HONORABLE MENTION

Livio Ercoli, Roland Winkler, Sebastian Correa, Gabriella Michelle Shanghai, China Every child has the right to access safe, quality education. Children with disabilities are most often denied access to education, excluded from their communities or hidden away by their families. To challenge the prejudices behind such practice, we designed a space both for education and for the local community that can bring different people together and close any social and cultural gaps.

Broadening the use of the building is also an effective way to optimize its cost-efficiency without affecting its functionality.

An embrace is a universal sign of love and affection, but sadly it is often what children with disabilities lack the most. We applied this concept to the building’s layout, creating an enclosed space encircled by the volumes along the plot’s boundaries. The courtyard at the heart of the building is the core of our design, hence the name of the project: ‘Core-yard’.

Our ‘Core-yard’ is a multifunctional and flexible semi-outdoor space that allows visual connection within the outdoor courtyard and represents the transition between the space for the adults and the space for the kids. Foldable doors in both rooms directly linked to it allow a much larger space for kids’ activities, performances, community gatherings and celebrations.

The building results both ethically and physically open whilst it maintains children ‘s safety. We decided to avoid any conventional barrier or fence that could separate inside and outside world. The

whole building’s envelope is activated: the exterior walls offer benches for the passers-by and a sequence of canopies to shelter from the rain or the sun; the main entrance of the school becomes an outdoor communal area carefully landscaped to allow visitors to stay close to their children without disrupting the school’s activities.

The building’s layout is generated by the repetition of the modular unit of a classroom (7 x 6m) along the boundaries of the plot. Different rooms are included in half a module or a full module. All the dimensions are multiple of the basic module and all the inclinations of the roofs are kept constant.

A modular system simplifies the structural calculations and the construction materials supply, but most of all, it accelerates the construction itself providing mostly standardized tasks for the workers. All the materials are locally sourced and all the construction techniques in use don’t require specialized labor which allows a participatory construction process with members of the local community. labour and most of the materials used originate from the site or its surroundings. The high clay content of Xai-Xai soil allows for using the soil gained from levelling the terrain as rammed earth without additives and the proposed umbila timber can be obtained from the close surroundings, which is beneficial both for building cost and ecological footprint of the school.

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HONORABLE MENTION

Dongming He, Qige Qi, Zeyi Yuan, Yi Xie Wuhan, China Louis Kahn said that the school starts under a tree, where people discuss and get together. The kindergarten is also a place of care and shelter.

So in the project, we have kept two trees in the base and use this as the starting point for the construction of the place.

Considering that the project is located in the southern region of Mozambique and its climate is perennially hot and humid, we introduce a wind-conducting strategy in the design, and forms continuous ventilation slit boundaries with continuous slit flat arch walls, and an interior around two trees. The enclosed and open space provides a variety of interactivity for the interior space, which provides diverse interactivity for interior space.

During construction, we use continuous flat arch external walls and internal wooden column structures to form a supporting system. Among them, continuous flat arch external walls can fully resist horizontal loads and support vertical support. The roof system is a staggered singleslope roof, which can collect rainwater, lay a solar heat collecting plate over it. The grid enclosed between the roof and the wall can effectively remove indoor hot air and form a continuous ventilation effect.

In terms of material selection, we obtain materials locally, fully consider the economics and convenience of construction, and use traditional masonry and wood processing techniques to provide sufficient protection for public welfare construction.

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HONORABLE MENTION

Linn Stendahl, Antonia Myleus Stockholm, Sweden Looking at the wider area, the typology is often interwoven in a patchwork-like manner. We have decided to continue this typology by having separate buildings interwoven through social spaces which also enables interesting learning and playing spaces to be created in between.

The buildings are organized around a series of courtyards that functions as both playing, learning and interactive areas, thereby creating a circular path which works with the rhythm of one school day. It also features a green learning path as a part of the tactile learning environment.

The circulation is placed along a series of ramps catering for the height difference on site, making them accessible for everyone. In this project the sizes of the buildings are kept according to the brief, but expanding the social areas, serving as the connecting factor throughout the whole site.

As this is a preschool, we have focused on playing and exploration as an integral part of the learning process. The social areas are separated into softplay and hard-play, catering for different ages and disabilities. The soft-playing areas are created mainly for children 0-3 focusing on tactility.

The hard-playing areas encourage curiosity, interactive play as well as self-exploration. All the playing areas are connected by the dining space.

The dining area has the potential to be used by the community on the weekends, creating a social neutral gathering space and multi-functions during the whole week.

We have doubled the amount of learning spaces in order to create private and flexible areas for children with different disabilities. These are placed adjacent to the classrooms and function both as visually calm learning areas for children with hearing impairment for example, or as additional private playing areas for the class.

The buildings with arched roofs have rattan pattern or horizontal shutters, allowing for all the heat to be gathered at the top whilst cross-ventilating it.

In front of each arch, there is room for rainwater harvesting or planting. The buildings themselves work as the perimeter wall, functioning as a long threshold featuring either play, learning, sitting or growing, thereby creating interactive outer walls.

The materiality is primarily local materials, incorporating crafts found in the area. The construction is primarily dried clay bricks and rammed earth, constructed from the excavated earth on the site. All the aiding construction materials will be re-used, creating a material loop with zero waste.

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HONORABLE MENTION

Izaskun Soto, Henar Merino, Felipe Sancho, Ane Santamaría Barcelona, Spain The gloriosa superba is Mozambique’s national flower. A perennial and climbing plant that grows free while colonizing the space it founds. Curved petals of bright colors hang from its long and thin stems.

Like the gloriosa superba, the children of the future escolinha Flor da Manhã must grow up in a pleasant, natural environment and with the freedom and happiness that a child deserves.

Freedom, fluidity and vegetation are the leitmotiv of the project.

Being an adapted and inclusive preschool, continuity and spatial ease are a must, as well as thinking the project from the child’s scale.

The place and its slight inclination are the axis of our flower. The spaces and paths are born from it. On the one hand, walls of CEB (compressed earth blocks) that with their curves and movement enclose the different uses of the school. The game with the rig allows the circulation not only of the children, but also of their restless looks and the breeze that comes from the nearby beach. The walls, going down throughout the school, lead the children from the petals of the classrooms to the

different lower spaces through two courtyards between a covered recreation space. The materiality and fluidity of the walls invite children to play with their texture, openings and corners.

The touch of the different materials and finishes, also present in the pavements, guide and help the child’s learning, offering them a canvas where they can express themselves and play.

On top of the walls of CEB, combined with a small forest of wooden pillars, are placed corrugated metal sheet roofs, all of it expressing the child’s freedom. At the same time, they lead the rainwater to the tank with precision through a canal that accompanies the children from the classrooms to the wet areas, offering them orchards, small bridges and moments of play and joy around them.

The lines of the project, in addition to enclosing their spaces, embrace and care for the children while allowing them to move with innocence and happiness.

To grow free, colorful and with no barriers, like flowers in Mozambique.

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HONORABLE MENTION

Edwin Zúñiga Cucuta, Colombia The architectural proposal is focused on ensuring the stimulation of three senses: vision, touch and smell. Its purpose is for the students to take over and control the space and architecture to help break social barriers through the interaction with the environment.

By stimulating the sense of vision, I have tried to guarantee safety, since children have permanent visual contact with their mates and teachers.

Thus, the school includes three central courtyards surrounded by a circuit of footbridges, which fulfill two functions: connecting classrooms and creating a higher space over the courtyards. The space also extends the field of vision.

According to Juhani Pallasmaa “all the senses, including vision, are extensions of the tactile sense”. This quote sums up much of the project.

Material choices are based on porosity, which facilitates orientation and the recognition of the environment. The recreational areas, made of geometrical shapes, allow collective exploration and encourage integration.

Smell, on the other hand, enables children to measure the distance between places, even in the darkness. It helps them to consolidate a spatial memory. The vegetable gardens and fragrant flora

are placed such a way as to remind students of the geographical context and relative locations of each object.

The concrete platforms on which classrooms and administrative areas are built assure the design is adaptable to a variety of ground conditions. Those platforms are connected by wooden footbridges, which are adapted to all grade levels.

Most of the building materials are made from earth, wood (recycled from pre-existent trees), and stone. All of them can be easily found in the land before starting to build the school, so that the project is sustainable. Also, earth walls generate thermal comfort inside the classrooms.

Furthermore, the project counts on a rainwater harvesting system. The roofs capture rainwater, which the system brings down using gravity and stores in the lower part of the ground. I have designed an additional room to store the batteries full of energy captured by the solar panels.

Flor Da Manha’s large open spaces, fragrant gardens, comforting color scheme, and earthy materials help the students to feel part of the context where they live every day and consequently feel safe and free.

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HONORABLE MENTION

Luciana Baez, Belen Graef Posadas, Argentina The kindergarten project is carried out thinking about the development of a child and the possibilities that can be given to grow and educate in a different environment giving it a solid base so that it can develop in the future generating awareness and criteria on equality of all and for all. Having as main concept the infinite since we believe that the children and their youth will have to be preserved forever in their hearts as a beautiful memory.

The building, intended to house all kinds of educational activities, aims to strengthen society and transform a large space into a place with different initiatives of integration, education and sustainability. Its space is determined by a series of blocks that form a courtyard in the center.

Equipped with different situations, mysterious and entertaining for the child. The materiality responds to an initiative to take advantage of the

materials of the zone, giving a pinch of dynamism and amusement to the walls of rammed earth by painting them. The conditions of sustainability are created starting from the teaching of plant care in the orchards, in water collection, in the use of solar panels and especially in trying to create a green space, bringing part of the African forest to our site.

The project tries to solve the different conditions that were presented at the time of entering in conscience with the guidelines of the contest. It is for this reason that the development and deep thought is created and promoted in each part of the set, either inside the classroom with its furniture and sustainable criteria, as well as in the patio and its different places, everything has an intention behind in order to create with the architectural project a place of development for a happy child.

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architecture competition: the results selected proposals

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FINALIST

Estudio Lucas y Hernández - Gil Colab. Ana Alirangues, Sara Urriza, Vittoria Vicenzi Madrid, Spain UNDER THE CAPULANAS. The project proposes a number of transitional elements between the building and the children.

A “soft architecture” is arranged at the rigid architectural structure, shaping a friendly environment which is more suitable for its function.

Thus, CEB constructed classrooms, pinewood ceiling structures and metal sheet roofs are as significant as palm lattices, cane doors and eaves and specially as the capulana fabrics, arranged as the false ceilings at the classrooms.

AROUND THE PATIO Our proposal for the school follows the same spatial scheme of Mozambique’s traditional architecture, where the community space occupies the centre, surrounded by huts and the protective fence. The school is built occupying the perimeter, following the plot’s boundary with architecture that thus creates a safe and large interior courtyard, which is the heart of the project. The building is at the same time unitary and modular, it adapts itself organically to the ground to facilitate construction and adds in its structure the spaces and mechanisms for future growth, it does not end itself in its form. In construction terms, we seek

clarity and economy of means, which allows the construction by local labour, working with different crafts at the same time. CEB walls, with which arches and lattices are also built. As a structural element for roofs and galleries, pinewood and metal sheets would be used, as their geometry act as troughs that collect water by modules through a gutter to the barrels located in each courtyard.

IN THE SHADE OF THE TREE. Another local tradition, gathering in the shade of a tree, is also a motif in the plan configuration, structuring the different courtyards around various species of fruit trees and shade trees that will allow the learning space of the classrooms to spread to the outside, sheltered from the trees.

Architecture integrated into nature and nature present in architecture. The machamba, the socalled cultivated land in Mozambique, which is the most primary expression of man’s symbiotic relationship with the natural environment, is included in the school through an orchard in the northern zone, next to the kitchen and the pantry.

Nature and human construction in a harmony both suitable and necessary, learned at traditional architecture.

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FINALIST

Anibal Bellomio, Lucia Venditti, Gabriel Wajnerman New Haven, CT, United States of America Our proposal for the Mozambique preschool evolved from a combination of parameters, like cost, sustainability, functionality, climate, resource availability, and construction feasibility.

We envision this building to transcending basic functions to become a community space for gathering and sharing work.

First, we placed the building in the N-S direction perpendicular to the breezes to cool it down.

Second, the ground floor is kept flat on one level, creating a continuous circulation plane, which is essential for the children and handicapped users.

In fact, we made the design to comply with ADA design parameters.

Functionally, there are three well-defined areas: the social space, the classrooms, and the site.

Considering the volunteer workforce that will build this school, we payed particular attention to the means of assembly. The repetition of the module facilitates construction and avoids the manufacture of custom pieces. In addition: - The social area features a patio with trellis to provide shade for everyday activities. The walls are made of compressed earth blocks, which are easy to produce on site and have appropriate thermal properties.

- The classroom area is elevated from the ground on wood pilotis keeping the floor level constant.

- A pitched metallic roof with wood structure covers the whole school, and hosts the systems

to harvest solar energy and collect rainwater. To minimize rain noise and heat transmission, a layer of mineral wool, lays underneath the metal sheet.

We applied passive concepts of bioclimatic architecture and sustainability in every aspect of the design, creating systems and synergies to: 1- Increase human comfort with natural light, external views and ventilation.

2- Reduce the consumption of potable water by collecting rainwater for toilet flushing and irrigation.

3- Generate Electricity from photovoltaic panels to operate the building in full.

4- Provide Hot water from solar thermal collectors for showers and kitchen sinks.

In this way, traditional building techniques alongside modern and simple engineering systems produce the best technical solutions for reducing building maintenance and operation, in line with LEED principles.

We followed the directions on the competition brief to design this be loved escolinha. We are excited to keep collaborating with your team, welcoming your feedback and making any adjustment necessary for construction.

We took pride in contributing to make Assa’s dream a reality, and look forward to joining forces with Estamos Juntos and Somos el Mundo. Thank you for considering our entry and giving us the opportunity to be part of this amazing initiative.

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FINALIST

Open Door Design Studio Karachi, Pakistan The Mozambican context is one characterized by imaginative thinking, the ability to create with little, and to enjoy beauty and colour in craft, in textile and in play, irrespective of one’s means and imposed limitations.

The sensibility this project imbibes is inspired by this resilience. The primitive forms of the Macuti house fuse with the image of children studying and playing under a tree. The project is imagined as a playful, inviting landscape - a free space which gives children comfort and brings them joy.

The program is consolidated into an ensemble of volumes surrounding an inner sensory garden that comprises of places for play, gathering and contemplation. The plan is a simple play on the primordial form of the circular huts, which are experienced through a transgression from the dense outer orchard of tall trees, to a softer garden of beautiful flowers and plants; which then bleeds into a series of verandahs which take us into the learning spaces around an intimate inner courtyard.

The roofscape is inspired by the shade giving canopy of the Acacia trees, and creates a dynamic, fluid experience of form, light and scale. The construction methodology is an adaptation of the local vernacular wood and thatch conical roofs.

Simple architectural elements have been designed to bring a comfortable scale to the children who will be occupying these spaces. The walls made of earth blocks are divided into a four foot base finished with soft mud plaster which invites children to caress it with their hands while running along it, and is detailed with small windows and engravings of colorful folk art which can be used as a learning aid. This is offset by a playful block screen, which brings in filtered wind and light.

The dusty Kalahari winds are filtered by a layer of thick trees toward the north of the site, while the sea breezes are encouraged to flow through each volume.

The architecture of the multipurpose and dining functions is lighter, and the earth base of these becomes a canvas for the display of local art and craft.

The gentle free flowing landscape allows for wheelchairs and prams to move freely through the garden, and tactile elements and scents of different plants lend cues to children with diminished vision.

Small details in the landscape and in the tactility of the architecture act as sensory cues to make this environment welcoming to children with different abilities and temperaments.

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FINALIST

Chen Wen Du. Wang Dong, Louis Liu, Wen Ting Beijing, China In Mozambique, it is often seen that a mother carries her child with a colour piece of fabric. This thin and colourful fabric known as a capulana, not only brings comfort and warmth to toddlers but more importantly, represents the strength of mothers and t he love given to their children.

Eventually, as they begin their journey growing up, they would leave their mothers’ side and enter a preschool. By designing the architecture and landscape so that the environment flows like the capulana, this school seeks to convey the idea that disabled, vulnerable, and healthy children, love is equal among them all. From this, it is hopeful that the children can find the strength to persevere can be found.

Like cells that would grow eventually into a baby, children are individual cells that would grow to become part of society. This sequence of transformation reflects the growth of a family into a village and eventually into a city. The preschool journey of a child starts with a family, and in comfortable and tightknit bo nds, they would learn to communicate and interact with each other before moving onto a bigger community.

Therefore, this project aims to design not just a school but a village composed of flowing walls

and landscapes that would weave into courtyards.

In th ese courtyards, the children would form the families that help each other embark on their passage into the world.

The courtyards that make up the Village School are grouped by similar programs so that children can easily navigate through the school. In b etween the courtyards, open fields outlined by the landscape, playgrounds, and sandpits are used for children to gather, play, and interact with local plants.

The buildings materials are also sourced locally, where the walls are made from CEB, concrete for structure, and wood for roof structure. The construction is designed to be operable by volunteers and local workers. Double sloped roofs of the buildings are angled so that they are not only wind resistant but also simple in construction, and when placed together, give the village a fairytale like quality.

By building a school where vulnerable and disabled children can develop in comfort and happiness, the Village School stands to be the stepping stone for the children of Mozambique on their journey towa rds the future.

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FINALIST

Fiamma Leoncini, Francesco Martella Florence, Italy The project comes from the idea of integrating it into the natural landscape in which it is located.

It adapts to the different heights that characterize the place, first of all leaning on the ground itself and then detaching through a mesh of pillars.

The school develops according to a linear trend, with a preparatory succession of the required functions, a covered central entrance, accessible from a ramp, divides the two functional blocks: the first, closest to the street, contains the offices and the kitchen area, while the second one, farthest from the street, contains the classrooms in order to make them more isolated and distant from the passage way.

There are two different types of classrooms based on the different age groups characterized by colors on the walls and functional furniture for the storage of educational material and objects for the children’s rest.

The project divides the place into two different areas, connected to each other through continuous concrete or grass passages, suitable for the cultivation of vegetables or trees. The project

relates both parts through two different facades: the first one characterized by the flap, which identifies the passage and is also used for water collection; the other one through a series of modular fixtures with adjustable shielding system to shield the light of sun.

The land uses linear terraces on different levels in order to make them accessible to all children, including those with disabilities, so they can feel comfrotable in the school.

The materials used are those present and available in the place such as wood, clay and straw; simplicity in materials characterize the structure in order to integrate them into the landscape. For the floor and the walls that support the roof, the Earthbagging technique was chosen to exploit the sand obtained from the arrangement of the place intended for the project.

The simplicity of the building makes it functional and suitable to the characteristics of the area and presents itself as a meeting place for children where they can take advantage of both external and internal spaces.

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FINALIST

Ana Ricchiardi, Jacopo Donato Torino, Italy Early Childhood educative programmes are proven to be important to improve motor, cognitive and socio emotional skills in kids. This then promotes higher levels of primary school enrolment and in the long term it promotes development. In cases of kids with disabilities, the access to education is restricted or non-existent. Inclusion of disabled kids in any level of school opens many opportunities to community life and destigmatisation of disabilities. Assa, Mozambican teacher, understands this situation and her idea of creating a preschool in Gaza Province is inspiring.

The participation and involvement of the community and the kid’s parents in the project is important for it to be successful. The project takes into consideration this insight by proposing multipurpose spaces to be used by the local community, creating a sense of identity and making the school a new focal point for community practices.

The project rejects the idea of creating a surrounding wall and instead proposes a building that itself works as a permeable perimeter filter.

The project deals with the concept of filtering that controls access in order to create spaces that are for exclusive use of the children and teachers; and spaces that work as a buffer zones where

useful spaces for the community are placed. The “in-between” spaces proposed for the use of the community include spaces for exposition of kid’s works, spaces for meeting with teachers and community gathering spaces.

The project prioritises kid’s necessities by considering the necessary elements to create an inclusive environment for kids with disabilities; current topography of the site is taken into consideration and ramps are proposed, making circulation easy for wheelchairs. Spaces used by adults appear in the outer side of the building creating a protected centre for the spaces to be use by the kids. This gradation of the program creates safe spaces in the centre: orchard, classrooms, dining; the kid-friendly spaces become stimulating in terms of materiality, colour and texture and its form highlights flexibility of use. In this scheme, the orchard and schoolyard become the heart of the project as a space for education to cultivation and integration of concepts of sustainability to the kid’s educational journey.

In terms of materiality, the project proposes locally sourced materials compressed earth walls and long lasting concrete structure.

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Delphine BaldĂŠ, Laura Burgess, Anna Sanna Paris, France Education is a common force to build a more balanced, open, generous and inclusive word. This project is an opportunity to create a place that works as a school-house to welcome, educate and protect while opening itself to the exterior.

The geographic context between Xai Xai and Chongoene allows us to imagine a path between the school and the great landscape.

The child scale is the start point for this project.

Indeed children can enjoy the freedom and comfort that offers the school and play with the close environment. The design of the school presents smooth and continuous spaces. We drew this school with a simple principle that uses a class unit of 45 square meter. The unit, organized by the fibonaccio series, is declined and become other spaces. Furthermore, we used a simple and sustainable constructive frame, so the program can evolve according to the need of the schools.

The durability of the school is today linked with its transformation ability.

This concept of school-house takes its inspiration in the traditional macuti houses, which is reinventing as a discover machine. When entering the school,

we discover a large garden, a magical space by its capacity to be cultivated. Moreover, it’s a place of meeting and exchange. This garden is organized in terraces following the shape of the site, which allows different program. As for the roof, it is made of palm tree leaves, and its form and orientation enables the ventilation and light in the classrooms.

Because the sustainable approach is at the heart of our process, we developed a minimalist architecture using raw, local and vernacular materials. The school limits are defined by a thick envelop wall made of bricks with a wood primary structure. This envelop, thanks to its various small opening has some strong thermal capacity and give a strong identity to the pre-school.

Moreover, this brick wall offers some seats outside the school for parents, family, that are invited to use this place outside the school schedule. The entrance is protected from sun and rain, and opens to the interior patio. This central space has the ability to collect rainwater. It as a federation function and become the heart of the school. It appears as a village place where every class is a house. The ensemble become then a larger house where everyone can learn and live together.

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Nicolås Iza, Nicolås du Plessis Santiago, Chile Location: Certain elements of the location are recognized such as the natural slope of the land, the orientation of the land and the Marula tree. These elements will be parts of the project’s development. First, in order not to generate sudden changes in the terrain, a volume will be placed that favors the inclination of the terrain. Second, the volume will be located around the Marula tree where an internal courtyard will be formed that will have the tree as the main protagonist forming a circulation perimeter around it. Third, the enclosures are distributed in two important areas; the educational zone, located on the north side of the terrain and would be made up of classrooms, management and bathrooms; and the service area on the south side of the land consisting of kitchens, administration, dining room and pantry. By placing the roofed patio to the north and the multipurpose room to the south, visual communication is generated throughout the entire project.

Architecture: The entrance is accessed through a main hall where the program is divided between a service area and an educational area. The central courtyard with its perimetral circulation connects the hall with the classrooms. The exterior facade

maintains the simplicity and privacy of its interior, but this contrasts with a permeable space inside where the central void is the main protagonist.

In order to favor the use of local materials, the proposal uses a construction system of CEB (Compressed Earth Blocks) reinforced with concrete beams, and a roof made up of zinc plating. Using passive design, habitable spaces are created where the roof structure is exposed to create cross ventilation. At the same time, the inclination of the roof slope towards the interior facilitate the capture of rainwater that can be used for consumption and irrigation and the installation of solar panels and solar thermal collectors. An offset is made in the exterior walls leaving a space for the entry of indirect light into the classrooms and improve ventilation. The interior walls facing the central courtyard is windowless with voids that are covered with sliding wooden blinds, filtering the sun and improving ventilation.

Education: The architecture will an active element in the education of the children through two main qualities: The use of color to stimulate the children and to indicate the functionality of each space and its furniture. The interior courtyard will contain and educational orchard.

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Manuel Alejandro Martinez Guajardo, Joshua Schifferle Alva Lucerne, Switzerland Clean water and safe sanitation play a major role in the development of society, it is therefore this project’s goal to achieve an efficient management of water as a key resource for improved living conditions of the children and people forming part of the school’s community.

orchard, where the children can learn by being in direct contact with nature. The project celebrates water as a key resource for the development of society, while simultaneously creating an accessible meeting point for interaction around the main conceptual core of the project.

The whole building program stems radially from the strategically located water tank, where rainwater collection becomes the main goal of the proposal with topography playing a major role in the allocation of space. The proposed roofing system attempts to catch the most amount of rainwater as possible, using all of its surface and channeling it towards the water tank. Dry spaces that do not require water are located at the highest point of the site, where the roofing system conducts rainwater downwards along the slope towards the water tank. Wet areas are organized immediately next to the water tank, where water is directly accessible and immediately within reach.

The local community is furthermore benefitted from the school’s construction by means of the selection of locally produced materials, such as compressed earth blocks, which aid in the integration of the built proposal with its surrounding landscape with a reduced carbon footprint and cost. Bamboo becomes equally important as a sustainable building material due to it being a renewable resource that can avoid the use of imported metals. By using bamboo as the roofing material, overheating can be avoided, construction can remain lightweight and low cost with reduced maintenance expenses without the need of special equipment.

After its use, wastewater is then treated within the septic tank and re-used for irrigation, growing produce that is locally consumed within the school’s facilities and maintaining the school’s

This project attempts to become a classroom itself, where children can learn from nature and water as an important resource for the development of society.

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Amar Mehta, Anatolious Stathiou London, United Kingdom “The work of education is divided between the teacher and the environment.� - Maria Montessori The realm of education and the discipline of architecture has for long been intertwined. From theorists such as Michel Foulcault, to a pioneering architects like Herman Hertzberger; all have ventured to link the role of architecture to that of early social and personal development.

Escolinha Xai Xai is an educational project that looks to disrupt the current institution of early learning and instead tests the possibility of blurring the borders between the classroom and that of the greater learning environment.

Acting as accessible islands within a sheltered yet open floor plan, the various dwellings create a sequence of fluid learning environments oscillating seamlessly between zones of focussed learning [assigned classrooms] to territories for

creative and open play [multi-functional yards].

The articulation and form of the school has been inspired by Mozambique’s rich social and urban vernacular, yet the facility is fundamentally designed to be explored, experienced and finally defined by its youngest users.

The simplicity of construction materials and techniques are complemented by the intricate use of patterns and textures. These ornate details transcend above form and aesthetic, and transform into active tools for navigation and orientation - a visual and textural brail.

When school is not in session, the facility acts as a community centre, offering opportunities for weekend events, music lessons and continuing educational courses for adults and the greater Xai Xai community - an all inclusive approach to early childhood education and life in community.

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TEAMAAATELIER Marco Magliozzi, Maria Terzano Munich, Germany The project comes from the desire to be a place totally accessible to children and people with disabilities. For this reason, our design choice was to combine all the functions indoors through a walkway on a single level. Furthermore, since we do not have complex tools for excavating the site, we chose to use the unused soil to bring the entire project to a higher level, the one of the arriving road to the lot (+63.00 m). The squares, on the other hand, follow the normal slope of the ground and are modelled gently for the people to get down. They have been designed to host vegetation: in the first square there are orchards for environmental and food education, the second square contains a well that serves as a rainwater tank, while the third and last square includes the tree of Marula. The latter is a landmark within the project, symbolising the link between the culture and tradition of the place. The buildings, all made of fired bricks that can be produced on site, have been deliberately designed to be compact closed envelopes in order to ensure a good thermal mass during the hottest period. Natural ventilation is provided by the collaboration of concrete openings in the vertical walls and the chimney at the top of the roofs.

The slope of the roofs offers resistance to heavy rainfall, allowing rainwater to flow along the pitches, until it reaches the drainage gullies. All of them converge in the water tanks located in the public square next to the canteen and in the technical room. In addition, the slope of the pitches allows the installation of solar panels on the entire area of the school.

The project is therefore based on principles of high sustainability, ensuring a 0 km production and the use of passive systems that are easy to implement.

The chimney is closed by two simple sheets of overlapping recycled plexiglass, inclined and slid.

They allow on the one hand the easy flow of hot air from the building, and on the other they ensure the rainwater outflow through a drainage pipe located at the lowest point of the system. The project was designed to be realised in three phases.

All the open spaces are therefore intended for free time and the creation of a community spirit, while the closed spaces are dedicated to learning activities and cultural integration.

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Nohair Elmessalami, Marina Nassif Dubai, United Arab Emirates The earliest years of children’s lives are crucial to the development of their personalities. Therefore, the spaces they grow up in and the experiences they go through during that period are vital to shaping their characters. Preschools and homes are both equally important in orchestrating the early stages of development in children, and they positively do so by allowing them to learn, discover and express themselves. The concept of the preschool of mozambique is centered around the idea of discovery, integration and unity. In order to protect and allow the children of the preschool to explore, the project consists of a protective spatialboundary and a unit that is scattered around the site that playfully defines outdoor spaces. The units house the classrooms which are treated as primary spaces in the project. Challenging the typical classroom configuration in which desks are arranged in rows and create hierarchical differences among students, the classroom in this project is designed to advocate for unity and eliminate hierarchy among students in the classroom. This is achieved by integrating a circle which signifies unity, with a square. By replacing the typical arrangement of desks in classrooms and re-orienting a common study table along the

boundary of the class, a sense of equality, unity and teamwork among the students is nourished.

The central space is used for nap time. Moreover, to eliminate feelings of rejection among the disabled children and kids in social exclusion, the geometry of the classrooms is repeated to create spaces within the boundary of the preschool which bring nature in and give students a sense of integration with the surroundings. The negative spaces also act as thresholds for entry or exit points as well as define indoor spaces within the protective boundary. The boundary is divided into three zones by strategically removing a portion of the built boundary to avoid the manipulation of the site’s terrain. That portion is used as an orchard to teach children the cultivation and care of land, and acts a transitional space between the south and north zones of the boundary. The sloping topography of the site is utilized by allowing gravity to transfer rainwater from the boundaries to the lowest point on site where the water-collector is located. The project also uses passive cooling, cross-ventilation, and locally-available materials and construction methods in its design, constantly exposing students to the care of the environment on day-to-day basis.

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Javier Díaz Bermejo, Álvaro de Diego Díez, Fernando Farias Pascual Madrid, Spain The proposal for the children’s school in Mozambique is born from a look at the traditional form of African settlements, with a radial arrangement around the wells.

In this project two courtyards are proposed that distribute the layout of the program and that respect the existing trees. The first of these courtyards works as an entrance courtyard and distributes the uses of the office, alamcén, infirmary, kitchen and dining room, around the existing tree in the central area of the plot.

The second patio is a larger space that serves as

a playground for the classrooms that are placed around this patio.

The space that makes the transition between the two planes is a covered porch and a multipurpose room for different activities.

All these spaces are covered by a continuous roof inclined to a water and with constant slope.

This roof connects all the transitions and the intermediate spaces of passage and of stay that are arranged in a natural way between the pieces that house the program.

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Charles Browne-Cole London, United Kingdom The Xai-Xai District Inclusive Pre-School is an educational sanctuary for marginalized and vulnerable children on the fringes of society.

Whether wheelchair-bound, visually impaired, albino, living in extreme poverty or with other physical or hidden disabilities, this is a safe space where isolated children can thrive.

The design is arranged around the existing Marula (or proposed Mango) tree. The concept originates from the African tradition of teaching in-the-round and a history in which so many activities take place beneath the shade of a tree. The adaptable pre-school shares everything: the site shares the tree; the classrooms share the building; the children share their storage. Across all scales, the concept of sharing in-the-round prevails to exclude exclusion.

The pre-school is an educational playground where children are immersed in and engaged by their environment. The scheme, fully protected from the elements beneath connecting roofs, works with the existing topography to seamlessly weave the inside into the natural environment and adopts sustainable technologies throughout—including stack ventilation in the pantry, kitchen and toilets.

Aqueducts and water tanks reveal the cycle and movement of potable water, while a ramped paddling pool doubles-up to irrigate the orchard.

Here, pupils will learn about food and agriculture,

waterconservation, energy and taking care of the planet in accessible and sensory adapted spaces.

Positioned close to the entrance, the centrally located offices will welcome everyone in whilst having a view of every class. The retention of the central tree speaks to the plight of deforestation while allowing pupils to connect with the cultural significance of the tree in Africa.

The project incorporates local, accessible materials such as clay, wood, raffia, rebar, and stone. Its design champions accessible and standardized construction techniques so that from the traditional compressed clay floor to CEB and raffia elements, everyone, particularly women, can be involved in its realization.

The project seeks empowerment both for the pupils and the community so that everybody— without discrimination of age, sex or background— can be involved in delivering what could be viewed as a prototypical, inclusive pre-school that not only Xai- Xai but Mozambique can be proud of.

The pre-school is a place where every child has a safe space to discover, learn and grow; where whatever disadvantage they are born with is supported and their abilities are fully recognized.

Every child has the right to education, not only for themselves but for the future of humanity.

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Gerrit Schilder Jr., Hill Scholte, Yibin Li, Dick van Gemerden Rotterdam, The Netherlands #WHY WE DO IT. We aim to include a strong social engagement in all our projects. This method of human embedded design is close to our heart. The involvement of the community in the realisation process creates a sense of belonging among users and thus creates ownership.

biomimicry aspect the interior walls are painted in light blue colour which keeps flies away. The splays of the windows are painted yellow, a hue that mosquitoes dislike. Our school-design built in Bangladesh has proven that these lowtech features reduce the use of insecticides considerably.

#FOR THE CHILDREN. The form of the building provides a space for children to play, to learn and to feel secure.

#MOSTLY LOCAL. Our strategy is to combine vernacular and modern building systems using local resources plus the inclusion of local labor. All the proposed building techniques are either locally know or easy to learn and pass on. To involve local artisans in the realisation of the building ensures the maintenance of the building for years to come.

Making use of local sea kelp, hand-shaped brick, thatch, mud and mango wood, will minimise ecologic and cost impact. Although widely available in the oceans, kelp is rarely used as a building material. It has great insulating and interior climate qualities, it’s self-impregnating as it has a salt content that prevents bacterial growth- and above all non-flammable.

#HOW TO DO IT. In the design process we focused on local available commodities and weather conditions. The drive is to fuel the basic principles of sustainability and durable building concepts locally. Achieving climate comfort through the use of integrated passive ventilation, solar energy and water management are pivotal to the project. #HOW IT WILL LOOK LIKE. The circular volumes, housed under a large eightshaped roof, provides shade and shelter. The classrooms are clustered around the covered schoolyard, the other facilities embrace an open courtyard. In the center an oval volume includes the kitchen and dining area.

The funnel-shaped roof is suspended not only to provide shade, but also to protect the openings against rain and to collect rainwater. From a

#OUR PRICE TAG. Seen from social entrepreneurship we state -when winning this competition- we will refund the prize money into the construction costs and help to realise the building on basis of bed and meal.

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Maria Roszczyk, Pauline Macaigne Toulouse, France We wish for children to enjoy learning at this school as much as we enjoyed designing it.

We would like to propose a set of buildings layed out to create a central courtyard.The secure setting will make the children feel safe and encourage them to develop their social skills.

To improve recognition and usage, the buildings have been grouped into four blocs according to their function: classrooms, multipurpose space, administration and refectory. The layout makes it easier for children to work out where they are among the buildings during their daily routine.

Optional future extension has been anticipated, in case additional classes are required: the covered schoolyard will in future become the roof of the extension.

The positioning of the buildings preserves free spaces between them for natural ventilation, while maintaining necessary accesses to the school (including emergency exits). Even with external circulation between the buildings, walkways are on the same level and are covered.

While the walkways are arranged around the school main courtyard, each classroom has also a private courtyard. This allows the children to integrate with one another at their own pace and

move on from small groups to larger collective spaces.

We suggest using soil as the main building material: CEB for walls and compacted soil for the slabs. In addition to its thermal properties, its capacity to regulate humidity and its low cost, the soil texture will contribute to creating a warm atmosphere. Besides, adaptations of the CEB bricklaying will ensure good ventilation and acoustics.

We keep the brick-laying plan at your disposal. The concrete foundations and metal roofs will protect the buildings from sun and rain, and joineries will be made of wood.

To ensure a self-sufficiency of the building, we suggest different network systems: a stand-alone photovoltaic system for the power supply and a rainwater collection system reinforced by a solar pump for the water supply. Additionally, the North part of the parcel has been freed up to plant an orchard. A smaller one will be planted in the main courtyard for educational purposes.

This school project is knowingly complete: we have made sure it fulfills all of your requirements (program, technique, climate) in order to facilitate its execution.

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Christina Malterer Regensburg, Germany The preschool Mozambique is as colourful as the diversity of its students!

The design focusses on its uses and economic materials. These uses are zoned according to their functions.

The classrooms are located on the higher ground plateau. The colors of the construction, the color design in the classrooms and the color of the windows, and other structural elements help the orientation in the building and children with visual impairments.

Adjacent is a large sheltered courtyard for playing, learning and meeting. This courtyard is particularly protected by the massive walls. A sunshade design defines the space.

The structure of the classrooms continues in the building. The administration is a connection between the classrooms and the multipurpose space. The administration can oversee

and coordinate everything from here. The administrative building part is supported by two large supports and thus creates an access portal in the lower terrain.

The dining room adjoins the lower courtyard and garden. There meeting and vitality take place.

The garden and main access to the property is controlled by a filigree wire fence. It allows contact to the surrounding nature and view.

A large access ramp in north-west leads with the terrain barrier-free to the upper court and to the classrooms.

The kitchen, sanitary facilities and accessory rooms are located to the east. Due to the gradient of the terrain, the food storage is deepened in the ground. The water supply and disposal is integrated here. Rain cistern and solar panels are intended. The natural air circulation of the offices and classrooms work with stack-effect.

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Chirag Khurana, Prapan Jain, Nishant Jain Minneapolis, MN, United States of America The loop is a project that is focused on building a community rather than just a school. It is a neutral place for everyone in society to gather and be a part of something valuable.

A school is a place of endless laughter, friendships, learning, and infinite memories. The school corridors have played a pivotal role in our overall development. They have moulded our lives, inducing within us the physical and mental strength through infinite movements without any barriers, they have given us lifelong friends without any discrimination. Corridors have taught us equality. We tried to embed our similar childhood experience in our project, hence the loop. However, this loop is not just referred to a physical loop but also used in a metaphorical way of representing strong connections within a community.

The loop is referred to as either a series of events that has its ending connected to the beginning. We planned our blocks around the loop that connects them in a hassle-free and infinite movement.

Loop around the court provides immense visual connectivity that assures a safe and inclusive environment. Everybody feels equal. To enhance the feeling of ownership we made sure that academic block is at different levels to that of admin and services block. This also helps us do

justice to the site.

Classrooms are planned in two blocks with three classrooms each. These classrooms can be separated using foldable bamboo/ wood partition, can be used as a huge hall for kids to play or for a community during natural disasters. Each classroom opens up in a private small court to encourage different fun educational exterior activities.

To make sure that children and locals learn about the forgotten and new farming techniques, we provided a farming area near the entrance.

We encourage the use of the farming area to be extended to the locals. This will provide an opportunity to spread awareness of agriculture as a source of income for locals. Apart from creating a sustainable community, we encourage the use of solar panels and biogas as a renewable source of energy. We also promote the use of groundwater recharge techniques at community level to retain rainwater.

We designed the premises in such a way that it can be easily built by volunteers with minimum required tools. All the materials proposed can be procured locally to ensure sustainability and provide a cost-effective solution.

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KZ Architecture Miami, FL, United States of America The proposed building for a Preschool in Mozambique aspires to give young children a safe, inclusive, dignified and welcoming environment where to learn, grow, and feel nurtured. Through constant exposure to the natural surroundings, the children can appreciate the wonders of nature while embraced by a building that evokes it in form and spirit.

The school is entered at the highest point of the site and is elevated in piers, preventing floods and allowing the site and rain runoff to flow naturally underneath. The Compass Entry Pavilion provides direction and offers a small welcoming amphitheater--a place to gather in anticipation of a new day of learning. Steps and ramps provide access to the main level around the amphitheater.

The circular roof above the entry is oriented North to optimize placement of solar panels above.

Sustainable strategies include photovoltaic energy, ample natural light and natural cooling assisted by a double roof and cross ventilation throughout. Rainwater collection and retention on site will be managed for both roof and site runoff.

Rain collectors at both ends of the building direct rainwater from gutters to a cistern located on grade in the heart of the building below the open space. In addition, there is a water reservoir at the lowest point of the property. All the main areas,

including classrooms, open space, multipurpose and dining rooms are oriented North for optimal light and views of the gardens.

Most materials are locally sourced and follow vernacular standards. A wood structure is supported by concrete piers and foundationbeams. Wood columns, beams and trusses follow the curves of the building, providing a modular structure and ease of assemblage. Exterior wall composition includes glazing, clay brick walls and wood jalousie screens. These can be closed or opened for ventilation and open site views depending on the weather conditions. The zinccorrugated roof panels provide large overhangs for shading and overall protection.

Garden interventions feature local plant materials and allow children to immerse in sensory learning.

These include fragrance, touching and tasting gardens. The herb and vegetable garden will provide opportunities for planting and harvesting on site and enhance the school’s food supply.

Most importantly, a butterfly garden will greet the children as they journey down the nature trail ramp to the gardens. Flowing from building to landscape through balconies, terraces, loggias and ramps, the children can feel the comfort of being one with and embraced by Mother Nature.

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Helmer Junco, Juan Felipe Suarez, Gabriel Pardo Bogotá, Colombia The challenge, Assa need a preschool building design for vulnerable population in Xai-Xai district in Mozambique. Our approach is creating a kind building for the people, a small icon that be part of the community and promote integration moments.

This building will be FUN for children education, it will have a reunion spaces for parents and teachers, and it will be sustainable, not only with the integration of different types of systems also with the formal aspect. There was our first step in the design process, make a MODULE that combine our design criteria: 1. Bioclimate-sustainable, 2.

Self-constructive, 3. Flexible program.

The result form was a square with a truncated pyramid at the top. We faced the high temperature of the zone with the Stack Effect when the warmer indoor air rises up through the building and escapes at the holes in the ceiling, this rising warm air reduces the pressure in the base of the building, drawing cold air in through either open doors and windows. Additionally, the sloping roof will help to rainwater collection system. The walls of this modules will be doubles brick walls with a spacer full of soil, with this basic structure we can guarantee the reduction of indoor temperature.

Choose BRICK as a principal and almost unique material is one of our strategies to make easier the construction process. Brick is a local material, is cheaper because don’t need any additional finish, it’s structural and we should use the local labor to build the project generating connections between school and community.

Architectural program will be flexible, allow us to develop the construction process by phases, using the resources in a smart way. For instance, build a couple of modules at the beginning and start the school operation, this is one way to solve the main objective in a short time. Also, if the numbers of students are increase the project will be increase too, according with the requirements.

As gathering space, the covered courtyard is surrounded by the classrooms, generating the feeling of a “save-space” for the kids. This idea is powered by the MULTICOLOR FABRIC on the courtyard roof, bringing to the project a small piece of traditional heritage.

This will be a “School for Everyone”.

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Rebeca Morgado Moreno, Miguel Rosón Mozos Madrid, Spain The courtyard as a generator of relationships, that connects spaces and people. The courtyard as the center of the school’s activity, around which the spaces are articulated. The courtyard as the project idea, a place of integration and learning.

The courtyard as the nucleus of a community, beyond the walls of the school.

Around the courtyard there are four principal areas, that accommodate the school space requirements: classrooms, multipurpose space, common and service areas and administration of the center. All these spaces are open onto the courtyard and are connected by a covered corridor.

In order to adapt the project to the plot, three platforms will be built, connected by ramps that guarantee accessibility to the whole complex.

These platforms are located at 61.5, 62 and 62,5 elevations, following the natural topography of the plot.

The project is closed to the outside, connecting with it in four points, which divide the four volumes that house the school’s spaces. Each one of these volumes has a unitary cover, which with the facade ceramic lattices forms the exterior image of the proposal.

place, taking advantage of the material resources, and adapting to Xai-Xai climate. For that reason, it was decided to build it with compressed earth blocks (CEB), which mark the modulation of the whole proposal. These make easier the construction to the volunteers who will carry it out. The understanding of the materials and their dimensions allows to improve the construction system. The rotation of the blocks allows to create the facade lattice, that facilitate ventilation and lighting of the interior spaces, as well as providing a dynamic image to the building. The modulation is also applied to the roof, which is executed with five different types of metal trusses, on which the roofing material is placed. An air chamber is created between the interior spaces and the roof, which facilitates adequate ventilation, prevents direct sunlight and protects against rainwater.

Everyone’s courtyard is a sustainable proposal, energy self-sufficient, respectful of nature and its environment. A place where children can grow, learn, play, enjoy and discover. A place of integration, dynamic, friendly and adapted, with space for everyone, whether children or adults, which will become a reference space in the community. adults, which will become a reference space in the community.

The building looks for the connection with the

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DEZER ARQUITECTURA ElĂ­as Decer, Paola Becerra, Sergio MejĂ­a, Marissa Castellanos Mexico City, Mexico This project is located at Xai- Xai District, a province of Gaza in south-western Mozambique, specifically, between the cities of Xai-Xai and Chongoene.

The site has a rhomboid shape whit a perimetral rock wall to protect all the children inside. The measures of the both longest sides are 82,58m and 76,96m which is the main one. The measures of the shorter sides are: 34,41m and 37,83m.

The main wall of the building is located at the northeast side, it has four emergency exits, and in front of it is situated the school road.

This place has been planed to be a sanctuary that provides protection for all the children in need. The principal goal is to bring wellness in a safe place that allow them to feel motivated, that permit

them to learn while they are in connection with the environment and with others.

The positioning of our building has been solved and based on natural topography of the terrain, optimizing all level changes to create synergy between the gravity of the water and its function feeding our garden areas and playgrounds, as a result this would bring the interest and curiosity of our children around vegetation plans.

Trying to learn with an empty stomach its, its a hard reality around the world. There is our focus at the top plan, whit one longest infirmary and orchards.

The naturality of the materials, express all the nobility of a human at equilibrium.

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Kurt Cheang, Marcus Malesh, Farid Zerbo Chicago, IL, United States Situated in Mozambique’s Xai Xai district, this preschool proposal seeks to address educational issues within the country. Existing schools show a lack of accessibility, discrepancy between boy and girl education, and social exclusion between children that are affected by disabilities. The agenda for the preschool is originally derived from the existing marula, which is located at the center of the site. The preservation of the tree symbolizes a gathering, for the children, teachers, and architecture that will be built. Learning under a tree has long been a tradition, and by protecting the tree, it allows for children to learn under both natural and man-made architecture, while learning the values of conservation of nature.

As the marula became the heart of this proposal, the programs followed, and are sequenced based on the needs of the children and constructability.

At one end, six classrooms are modularized around the tree in order to expand the use of the natural gathering space, and on the other end are the programs that mainly addressed teachers and staff. The inbetween space of the two ends became the primary gathering and activity spaces, including the closed schoolyard, multipurpose space and dining room. With this organization of

programs, combined with the pergola corridor that connects them all, these interventions will enable for further use of the central gathering space.

In order to maximize the use of the site, low walls are placed to fence off each end of it, where one side is used for the orchard, and the other is used as an uncovered schoolyard. The orchard acts as a catalyst for the children’s interest in preservation, but also provides sustainability for the project.

By incorporating solar panels on the roofs, and installing a water collection system and cistern tank in the orchard, it enables the children and teachers to learn, preserve and grow plants, but also generate a sustainable source of food. To address other sustainability issues, the roofs are raised, and combined with louvers installed on the facades of the buildings, this will allow for cross ventilation through the interiors, but protect the children from other natural hazards. As for the materials used, considering the advantages of local sourcing for the economy, CEB’s were chosen. Other materials include concrete for the slab, columns and primary beams, and wood for secondary support, as they are used for trusses and pergola beams.

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Studio Blaetterwerk Graz, Austria The call for new teaching forms is getting louderthe focus is being set on self-determined learning and not on the frontal class anymore. The new parameters in education require new structural solutions to react on demands & changes in the syllabus. Based on the pedagogical concept of “dynamic school”, the focused and movement phase are alternating during the teaching methodspreviously known as “lesson”. The contemporary school should offer spacial diversity and flexibility, different learning areas but also retreat and silent areas to stimulate spontaneous communication.

The trend is getting away from the “traditional” classroom. Not only the way of education should be sustainable, also the materials. To respect the local construction mode and the envirement, clay, pine, bamboo and textile were used for different grades of transparency and/or mobility.

From the outside, the school gives a picture of a very homogeneuos and solid building, but in floorplan it is conceived as a village. The concept should represent a future viable possibility of an “open school”. To break the hierarcy of the “untouchable dean” this office is being placed in the entrance plaza, which should support the communication in the whole school. From the entrance plaza following the ramp, children reach the heart of

the building - the central square. The new library, which is also one of two multifunctional rooms, includes lockers for every child. The courtyard, or atrium is a centerpiece, a space which allows the extension and overlapping of different functionsmultifunctional space, kitchen, dinning room and library in order to enable a constant connection to the nature. This space can also used by the local community for meetings, as a market place or just to celebrate.

After the children reached the lockers, they choose the proper “alley” to their “hoods”. One “hood” represents two or four “houses” and a communal shared “forecourt”, in other words- one cluster includes two or four classrooms with two shared space. Every house has an identity- a connection to an animal: in an interesting way should children be assigned into learning groups. The third „hood“ belongs to the teachers, the stuff and the dean. To encourage the curious children in their genesis into confident adults, in a always more complicated and complex world, the strong need of transformation of the curriculum is greather than ever. To support this change, this proposual talk in the same contemporary language as the education.

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Jaliya Fonseka Toronto, Canada The design for Assa’s Escolinha started with an aspiration to create a safe, dynamic, and playful space for the children in Mozambique using three unique building blocks organized around the large tree on site. Each building block rests carefully on the site at a unique angle with the furthest north oriented to take advantage of northern sunlight. The program spaces are carefully scattered between each building block in order to ensure movement between them, yet shared space like bathrooms are central. The rotating of each building block creates a large courtyard—the heart of the school, sheltered by a large tree, pulsating as children move from one space to another. Although the building blocks are rectilinear, a curved internal pathway gently wraps the courtyard, creating playful movement and allowing for accessibility throughout. The life of the school is inward but ample openings within the design make it feel porous. The plan is anchored by three distinct gathering places in each corner: Entering & welcoming, Eating & playing, Gathering & sharing.

The three building blocks are comprised of a uniform-2 meter grid and share equal dimensional proportions to simplify the building process. The roof overhangs all pathways to create continuous shelter from the elements and the buildings follow the natural slope of the site. All elements slope

toward the cistern; located at the lowest point on the site, in order to collect rainwater. Built from local materials, the building is economical and would be feasible for a small team of community members to construct. The building structure and systems, including the water collection gutters and cistern, are completely integrated and open to the school, allowing the children to interact, learn, and play a role in their on-going use and maintenance.

At each intersection of the three building blocks and the fluid walkways, key multi-use spaces will foster ongoing interactions between children, parents, staff, and the community. These include informal teaching and meeting areas, along with smaller more intimate enclosed spaces.

Colour is an incredibly powerful tool, and in the context of a resource constricted project, it offers infinite opportunity. Inspired by the beautiful and unique Mozambican weaving and fabric patterns, certain walls are strategically plastered and painted with vibrant colours. These occur at key moments in the school; whether it is the deep yellow that welcomes children in or the magenta marking the outside of the girl’s bathroom. The colours become very important to the child’s wayfinding within the school. They become markers for classrooms, bathrooms and a way to develop a relationship with a place over time.

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Samah Husain, Kristine Bantugan, Fatema Al Mukhtar, Moe Modara Manama, Bahrain The school is designed to receive children from all backgrounds and to nurture, grow and accommodate to all their needs. With its welcoming design, visitors are led to two main buildings, the students quarter to the right and the teachers and visitors quarter to the left. Both quarters are situated to follow the land’s topography and receive the best of the surrounding environment throughout the year. The setting out of the building is made easy through the use of two reference points that follow the natural curvature of the land.

Emergency exits are located near the kitchen, multipurpose hall, teachers quarter and students quarter. The water tank is located south on the highest point next to the main kitchen, while the septic tank is located in the northern section of the land, allowing gravity to direct the water movement through the designated areas and leading grey water to be reused in the plant nursery.

Linear ceiling openings and high openings in walls keep rooms well lit with indirect sunlight during the day, while breathable bamboo roofing gives cool shelter from the harsh sun and the warm breeze.

Breeze walls are used in all classrooms and rooms

to allow for exchange of air and to cool the interior spaces. Wood, bricks and bamboo form the building, where wood is used for the framing of the structure, bricks for the walls and bamboo for the roof and porches. Together, the three materials provide a strong sustainable non-toxic shelter and respond well to the curves in the design. The bamboo is used to collect rainwater and channel it to the water tank. While the bricks are used to provide fire, insect and mould resistant environment for the children and all users. Earthen floor is used in the teachers and visitors quarter for its low embodied energy and fire resistant quality, providing a safe and durable surface suitable for use in common areas and under the wood stove in the kitchen.

Natural surveillance is applied in the design through the use of different openings and the use of levels. The two quarters overlook a main axis that runs from the east, where the main entrance is, to the west where an emergency exit is located. While the Principal is given a higher view of the children’s quarter, teachers are given a faster access to it.

This maximises visibility and encourages a safer environment around the school.

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Christoph Boesch, Christian Schreinert, Krupskaya Ramirez, Comfort Mosha Hamburg, Germany Concept design reflection With emphasis from the project concept, the school is protected above by an elevated roof made of steel sheets which cover the entire project. This roof is sculpted conceptually accordingly to our prime idea of the Kingfisher, resembling its open winged form and vibrant joyful colours that not only protect the children from the weather but also more profoundly acts as a motherly figure.

The actual site layout has a main central axis that is encircled by the six classes, which are shaped in the form of an egg so as to symbolize the Kingfisher´s offspring’s which carefully protects and prepares for adulthood.

Building resource efficiency concept: The project building structures inclusive of the classes are constructed using locally available materials and resources that incorporate their practical design use and aesthetic advantages.

The construction building method is cast earth for the wall structures, timber horizontal profiles for the door and window openings with operation simplicity integrated for ease of use. This combination relies on the traditional process of shuttering and mold making that allow for organic shapes and forms with repetitive elements for finishes.

The material resource efficiency concept chosen is also coupled with further climate responsive measures. Taking into consideration the tropical climate and human comfort parameters for this

region (Climate Consultant 6.0, 2018) with the project type, we focused on maximizing shading, ventilation patterns and the collection and reuse of water.

Shading is provided by the roof coupled with vegetation and building orientation. Retaining the Amarula tree and integrating it into the project was a key aspect that went beyond aesthetic to formulate the shading concept with the use of vegetation.

Natural ventilation is achieved effectively by implementing cross ventilation principles in each building structure. The buildings each have openings that are located on either side including on its immediate roof structure that has a ribbed design with gaps that can also be covered with timber. This also optimizes the stake effect principle ensuring that the hot air rises from the classrooms and disseminates into the surroundings. This will ensure the internal comfort temperatures are achieved for all users of the classrooms and offices.

Reuse of water is achieved through rainwater collection from the primary roof through the channel leading to the rear next to the outdoor kitchen. There, the water is collected into an overhead tank and provides water for the school, which will be used for greenery, vegetable garden, cleaning and sanitary facilities.

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Aina Coll Torrent Amsterdam, The Netherlands Architectural concept “The learning axis� pre-school in Xai-Xai proposes a continuous building that follows the topography lines and provides a continuous flow both architecturally and educationally. The centre of the building is occupied by a central covered courtyard that allows children to play despite of weather conditions. The axis articulates, on the one hand, the two parts of the building and, on the other hand, two courtyards of different nature. The courtyard which is topographically lower becomes the orchard due to its natural condition to gather rainwater. The higher one becomes a garden with local trees such as red and yellow acacia, mango trees and coconut trees.

The two building parts share the same structural direction: perpendicular to the longest plot limits.

A set of walls separated 5,5 meters organise all the program, gathering the six classrooms in the centre of the plot with the possibility to open them completely to the covered space through its nonstructural boundaries.

Educational concept A clear learning axis connects the entrance of the plot with the central covered courtyard. The different parts and elements of the courtyard are designed to enhance the learning experience, understanding that all the spaces in a school have

learning potential. Thus, along this line, a set of satellite spaces offer a wide range of learning experiences suitable for children with different needs: - the orchard as the hands-on space which connects children to earth and food production - the garden as the fresh space which works as a visual book of plants and species, providing space for inspiration and contemplation - the open kitchen as a masterclass of food handling and cooking, providing a continuation of the courtyard - the rainwater tank which openly celebrates water harvesting between the trees of the garden, generating a natural fountain when rainwater falls from the roof directly inside the tank - the cave, a more intimate space connected to the classrooms to learn in smaller groups, providing a home-base for children to relate to and spaces to learn both individually and in small groups - the learning square, a covered courtyard which becomes the place where both the educational line and the architectural axis meet, a symbolic place for being together - a multifunctional space which can be used for celebrations, special events, parent sessions or staff training, adding an extra layer of flexibility to the project

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Blanca Gómez, Fabiola López, Francisco Torreblanca Herrero, Fausto Santarosa Málaga, Spain A school is much more than just a building. It’s the place where real change happens. If we all agree that education is the only way to a more equal society, why not build a school that reflects the values of self-betterment and empowerment? We can easily do this by using the resources available to us in more efficient ways.

The nubian vault technology is advocated by environmentalists as environmentally friendly and sustainable since it makes use of pure earth without the need of timber.

The classical definition of the contour of the Nubian vault is that obtained when a chain is held up at its two ends. The vault is more or less open or wide depending on how far apart the two chain ends are held.

One of the key advantages of the ancient Nubian vault is that it can be built without any support or shuttering. The earth bricks are laid leaning at a slight slope against the gable walls in a lengthwise vault. This principles have been used in a dwelling programme launched in Zambia in early 2009.

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Giacomo Petri, Lorenzo Spera, Roberto Della Croce Pisa, Italy Project description The school project is composed by a system of volumes connected to each other in a single level around a central void space.

The large rectangular wooden cover has a dual function: to protect and filter the sunlight and collect the rainwater through a present collection system on the underlying covers.

The classrooms volumes are enriched by a local wooden splay arranged to the north-east side which allows the interiors to dialogue with the surrounding garden.

The central part of the school is composed of a large covered courtyard with curtain systems used for common activities, laboratories, playgrounds and one uncovered central green garden with some trees.

In the south-west part of the school the services area includes a closed kitchen, pantry, dining room and a multipurpose space.

The outdoor spaces are equipped with play areas, green areas for educational gardens and an outdoor kitchen.

The external perimeter is composed by learning facilities and a sensory educational path to explore dozens of different essences. The covers characteristics recall the huts of the local African villages.

The school architecture composition allows the permeability and maximum usability of the internal and external spaces, and in the same time, it allows the natural ventilation and cooling of the central courtyard. Eco-compatible natural materials of good local availability and suitable for children have been used.

Technical features The classrooms areas and the services are made entirely of dry wood: the walls are made with wooden frames and pressed straw blocks and then plastered. The wooden floors have a sheet metal covering insulated with natural materials: the large roof consists of a system of beams and inclined wooden pillars with sunshades and fabric curtains.

The school has a photovoltaic system on the roof, covering an area about 50 squares meters.

A cistern located in the north-eastern portion of the lot is used for a rainwater recovery system.

The recovered water going directly to the rinsing boxes of the toilets to reduce water consumption.

All the factors: shape, volumes, coverage, exposure, dimensions, renewable electricity production plant, reuse of raw materials make the school a self-sufficient and ecosustainable building model.

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Chan Sze On, Katt Chung Yap, Yang Zhi Yun Shanghai and Hong Kong, China Every child belongs to the future of our world. We all wish to guide them through a bright leading path. The Farol Pre-School is initiated with this purpose for the vulnerable and disabled children in Xai-Xai of southwestern Mozambique, as an adaptable and flexible home for learning that fulfill the children and teachers need from both functional and environmental perspectives. This is a place created with a strong sense of community that presents itself as a comfortable and safety environment for the children to attend and enjoy every day.

The 737sqm site locates in-between the cities of Xai-Xai and Chongoene, in a rhomboidal shaped plot which has a level drop of approximately 3m. Instead of a traditional school typology with an inherent learning environment, the Farol is community orientated that is inspired by an engaging and participatory approach. The origin comes from a central courtyard that builds around the existing tree and links up the three key zones – classrooms, multi-purpose cluster, and the servicing cluster.

Each of the six classrooms enjoys their own outdoor terrain thus the learning does not limit to the indoor environment, encouraging an intergrowth development of the children. On the

upper end of the site sits the main entrance and the multipurpose cluster, with the dining and servicing cluster on the opppsite lower end. These two clusters with the classrooms in the central region form a long axis that responds to the site’s topography for minimal disruption to the existing landscape while ensuring the least amount of levelling work require. The entirety almost found itself being a village that can sustain on its own with dedicated responsive environmental strategies for water and electricity.

The Farol maximises the site area and balances the use of the building mass itself together with the fence wall as a protective skin for the school. The semi-open plan configuration allows clear orientation, accessibility for all including the disabled, and functional delineation. While generating multi-functional inclusive spaces and encouraging social interactions, it does not possess any hidden space or corner thus avoiding any promotion of abusement and violence on site.

The Farol is about the introduction of a sense of pride with the people who live and work in the surrounding area. Aka the lighthouse, the Farol is an exhibition of a portrayal of promise, strength and hope in the Xai-Xai community.

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Mohamed Diaby Lille - Villeneuve d’Ascq, France Imagine Martin Luther King dreaming of a school for Mrs. Assa JACINTO MABAI: “I have a dream” Yesterday, I went to Mozambique 230 km from Maputo, in the Xai-Xai district, to build a centre for disabled and socially excluded children. In front of a model, the design team explained to us: “This project is structured around five distinct outdoor spaces. A SCHOOL SQUARE similar to the reception squares that can be found in each Mozambican concession. A PLAYGROUND that is perceptible from the entrance and is represented by an existing Marula. A COURTYARD serves as a reading space around a rainwater harvesting basin and a pump well. A PLAYGROUND that is located south/west of the site. And an EDUCATIONAL GARDEN at the extreme north/east of the site, near the borehole. The purpose of this garden is to teach children about Mozambican agricultural crops and plant species.

Pedagogically, after surveys and analyses of classical and alternative systems, “IN DREAM” favours cross-pedagogy. It is based on three principles: awakening the senses, manipulation and interaction. These outdoor spaces promote the cheeks of society, sensory development on nature and transmit Mozambique’s spatial culture.

Architecturally, it is composed of three volumes spaced apart to generate a fresh airflow and

raised by a gallery that serves as an awning at the entrance, a Cloister for the classrooms, a Terrace for the refectory and a Cap above the Well.

The gallery houses the multi-purpose room, the teachers’ room and the director’s office. Beyond the signal effect, and as a rampart to the sun, the gallery offers a viewpoint on the surrounding and distant landscape.

Technically, the project is based on four processes commonly used in Mozambique: 1. Rough Stone foundation; 2. Raw earth block wall with plaster; 3. Joist/heavy slab; 4. Timber frame with a ridge for hot air extraction.

Aware of the implementation challenge, a systematic repetition of the gesture (grid) is established on the different phases of the site, which only requires a punctual technicality.

Environmental management, this contemporary rewriting of so-called traditional materials makes it possible to increase their structural performance while benefiting from thermal inputs. With regard to the floor construction, it reduces the artificial surface area for better water infiltration. As for the doubtful sloping roof, it favours short Timber sections to congratulate the assembly on site “.

After that, Mrs. Assa lays the first stone.

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Marco Rizzi, Giorgio Rizzi, Leonardo Bonesso, Franco Traverso Venice, Italy Mozambique Preschool - Flor Da ManhĂŁ - is a common space designed to educate. The main idea is to transmit to children important values such as dialogue, interaction and socialisation.

The school complex is developed through 7 volumes, which highlights the common multifunctional spaces located in the center of the school; These spaces are extremely important because they represent the heart and core of the school. In addition, they facilitate the school life of children, who can always feel at ease as in a large family, where they can play, run and discover.

This creates a school space whose center is defended by spaces which are elevated thanks to the daily practice of culture inherent in dialogue and the continuous exchange of experiences, thoughts and ideals; A school building respectful of nature thanks to its inclusion in the site of reference, which becomes the theme of the project because it fits the school complex that respects and maintains the present differences in leves.

The school complex will be built with local materials (mud and straw bricks, wood & compressed mud), or easily available as (cement,

iron rods and metal sheets), and with construction systems easy to implement, as well as being selfsufficient in terms of both energy thanks to the presence of photovoltaic and solar panels, and from the water point of view thanks to systems for collecting and recycling rainwater, will also be conceived a natural ventilation system that allows one to achieve the right level of comfort and health of the interior. The outer walls will be plastered with colors that will be taken from the fabrics of local tradition (capulana), which will help the method of learning, because children will be able to recognize in color their personality. The external spaces of the school complex have been designed (given the particular morphology of the area), with a system of ramps that overcome architectural barriers making the entire project area accessible.

The main objective of this project is to create a school that through its spaces is able to build a community where children do not feel rejected,but where they learn to be integrate into society, thus becoming one with their surrounding environment, where the weak is against the powerful, poverty against selfishness and love against indifference.

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Francois Chantier, Chiara Vigneri Berlin, Germany Concept Small buildings are organized in a ring around the existing tree creating a safe space. The volumes are staggered and form a playful child scale atmosphere that encourages the movement and arouses the curiosity of the children.

Between the buildings, community or Activity spaces are created. They are used as extra surfaces to play and relax : hammocks, big table to eat, small furnitures to read and draw, garderobes, etc.

All the buildings follow the natural ground so the impact on it gets minimized. This gives the School a dynamic shape in the landscape.

Organization A Ramp organized in a ring connects all the spaces and gives a barrier-free access. The six classrooms are positioned in the middle. On the two extremities of the site we find the dining room and the multipurpose space.

The smaller programs, the infirmary and the teacher´s room, are placed next to the classrooms.

The offices and the kitchen are organized in the entrance. The pantry is located next to the road to facilitate the delivery.

Construction The buildings have all the same structure. The roofs and the walls are independent, it allows the project to be built in an efficient way.

Locally stored materials are used for the construction: CEB for the walls, wood and bamboo for the roofs structure, windows and doors. Fences between the buildings are integrated in the design and protect the school. Also they shelter the schoolyard from wind.

Playground A play of sun and shadow is created in the exterior spaces. The roofs create many covered areas protected from sun and rain. The Activity spaces, that can also be used as classroom extensions, are shattered with bamboo sticks creating a special atmosphere. The orchard in the middle defines the garden into two green spaces. Fruit trees give shadow to the children.

Comfort On the South West a Water-tank is positioned so the kitchen, pantry and dining room have direct access to water. Another tank is located on the North East side, next to the bathrooms.

A rainwater collector for the garden is installed in the lower point of the site. Solar panels can be positioned next to the pantry and the multipurpose space.

The Pantry windows have a special layer to prevent insects. Their position allows a good air circulation.

The project is an attempt to formulate spaces with child scale through simple and effective tools.

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Mojca Gregorski, Nika Jeromel, Kaja Simičič, Hana Videmšek University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Architecture Ljubljana, Slovenia Preschool is every child’s first interaction with the broader world, nature and the community. It is vital that they are provided a stimulating environment, because children from the early ages of 0 to 6 are most susceptible to knowledge intake by experiencing their surroundings. ’Learning by doing’ is the key idea of the project, which focuses on learners reflecting on their experience to gain conceptual insight along with practical knowledge. Reflecting on an experience, revising, integrating and creating a new experience results in children gaining knowledge while playing without actual studying. Thus, the spaces are designed to be inviting and diverse; here children have a desire to explore and socialise while feeling safe among their peers and teachers.

Various rich experiences are created by forming three atriums between the programme. Nature plays an essential role in Mozambican life therefore it was important to treat it respectfully by leaving parts of the site unchanged and building around them. These small islands of preserved greenery offer different materials, scales and a potential for social gathering. The social atrium, which is intended as a meeting point for all generations, is formed at the entry point around a big tree. On one

side it is an extension of the dining room and on the other a slight slope leads us through a forestlike playground to the orchard atrium. Here the fruit trees provide shade for playing, picking fruit and learning about agriculture. Slightly remote from the others, the calm atrium is the smallest outside space, with lowered terrain here granting a more intimate atmosphere.

The atriums and programmes all connect on to the main path, which offers an exceptional view through the whole building and out to nature.

Placement of brick walls parallel to the main path creates interaction between programmes and gives a feeling of the whole building being connected. Bamboo screens and light perforated brick walls are placed perpendicularly on to these walls, to formally separate spaces. A bamboo roof construction holds the metal sheet roof and the fabric ceiling, which is designed as a gentle acoustic element, while different roof heights contribute to the variety of closed spaces and allow the rooms to naturally ventilate. All the roofs have a slight slope towards the main path, which also takes on the part of collecting water and transporting it to the water tank at the far end by the facilities.

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Filip Bavcon, Mojca Kastelic, Emili Kuzma, Lea JerkoviÄ?

University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Architecture Ljubljana, Slovenia The aim of this project is to provide a better education and care to the youngest citizens of the country by giving them opportunity to play, learn and discover in a decent environment. In Mozambique, one child out of five is not educated.

Preschool is neither mandatory nor free. Moreover, children who do not have the possibility of entering pre-school enter the first grade with less intellectual and social skills and do not tend to persevere in the education system. School desertion is very high in the province, leaving children exposed to child labor. Our goal is to help build a center for children with disabilities and aected by social exclusion.

Given location is placed in Xai-Xai District of Gaza Province in south-western Mozambique. The administrative center of the district is Chongoene.

The school will be located in a plot between the cities of Xai-Xai and Chongoene, approximately 1 km away of the road that connects them.

Strong community plays a big part in the life of locals, therefore our main idea stands on creating two central spaces where everyone can freely move and interact with others. Left with two circles,

we decided to place the floor plan in an S-shaped form that connects our play ground and a multipurpose open space. This way we managed to create an open space for the community, but also provided intimacy into separated parts.

The name Ukomo was inspired by the infinite appearance of the project. It was translated from the Swahili language (language of the locals).

The whole project is constructed on the ground floor and rooted to the spot on the South side, due to the slope in the plot. The building is covered by a single roof that connects two half-circled parts, one with administrational and service spaces in the South, and the other with learning spaces in the North. The entrance is located in the middle of the building, which enables us faster access to both parts.

In conclusion, by connecting two circles, we managed to blur the gap between these two generation and also keep the intimacy of spaces.

We tried to get as close as possible to their culture, but also to showcase something new.

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Mojca Gregorski, Nejc Fajfar, Monika Golob, Aljaž Tumpej University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Architecture Ljubljana, Slovenia OPEN PLAN FOR OPEN PRE-SCHOOL Inspiration for the project is drawn from the way children perceive open space. In children’s mind, a flowing space offers immense possibilites of interaction. Space can simultaneously be used for play, rest, exploration or education and it is up to the children’s imagination to decide what its function will be. Instead of separate groups of pupils, the goal of this project is to bring everyone together into a tight-knit community and in doing so offer disadvantaged kids the possibility to be social.

WIND BASED DESIGN The main challenge that the design has to overcome, is its suitability to the harsh climatic conditions of high heat and humidity. The building’s form harnesses the prevailing summer breeze, by using the wall, roof and facade as devices for passive ventilation. Wall has a function of a wind catcher which forces air to circulate through atrial openings in the roof. The buildings orientation follows such flow, with roofs being elevated in order to afford space for unperturbed wind currents. Instead of a conventional closed facade, the project employs open and flexible facades, which give the pre-school plenty of light,

air and provide protection from the sun. Open plan and permeable architecture guarantee that the building will be efficiently ventilated and in turn be able to sustain lower and cooler environments.

SPATIAL ORGANISATION Main guiding principle in terms of organisation of this project is, to create a democratic space, where everyone is a part in its functioning and where everyone has its place in it. Open school tries to achieve that with a concept of one classroom for all. The core object is organized as a series of spaces that are continuous from one another, offering a free environment for kid’s daily activities.

There are silent corners for learning, small spaces for one or big and expansive spaces that offer a view to the outside. Such variety combined with individuals ability to choose, creates a lively school.

Administration is placed in front of the access route as a first contact with the school. Service space is set at the end of the school. That way it can function separately without a disturbance from the rest of the program. Orchard together with greenery is established on the leeward side of the school to provide shade and space for kids to play in and explore.

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Marjeta Javornik, Tamara Hostnik, Spela Knez University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Architecture Ljubljana, Slovenia Inspiration for the preschool is drawn from African culture of forests as a location for social, cultural and religious activities. In many African myths and stories, the tree is portrayed as an ancestral symbol of wisdom, authority and custom. Our design incorporates the idea of gathering spaces underneath trees, which are familiar to the local populace and redefines them through architecture.

As such the children will feel at home in this preschool. These tree-like pillars softly envelop a void, like a mother’s embrace, giving the feeling of safety, acceptance and playfulness. By placing the program at the edge, a courtyard in the middle is created, it also serves as a border between the outside and inside. Here children can play and interact with nature in a controlled environment. If an orchard is grown the trees will easily integrate as part of the building. The building is arranged in a circular manner, allowing for easy movement and orientation. Programs open onto a covered passageway, which also connects the whole building and serves as the main path. Rooms are designed in an open and fluid manner. They can expand onto the pathway and connect with other

rooms.

The construction of the building is modular. The tree-like pillars form a module that can be freely arranged to create the roof. A module consists of a pentagonal shaped roof and it’s supporting body. It is possible to build in stages. There is also room for further growth of the building. Since the roof construction stands by itself, the walls can be placed as needed and can even be replaced without damaging the rest of the building.

The design utilises locally found materials and building techniques. Walls made from compressed earth blocks and bamboo pillars are built upon a concrete foundation. The bricks are laid out in an alternating perforation pattern to allow sunlight to come through. These openings also help with ventilation. The roof is covered with iron sheets, the rest of the construction is made from bamboo.

We excluded the use of wood due to deforestation.

The umbrella roofs open up to collect rainwater and are connected with the underground water collection system.

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Yianna Bouyioukou, Julia Vobiri Athens, Greece THE CONCEPT When children imagine a house, they draw a square with a triangle roof. This archetypal form of housing is the shape that a child is familiar with.

The scale of the archetypal hut makes them feel safe, a very important element of preschool but even more necessary for children with disabilities.

The cube repeats itself on a grid and results in closed and open spaces in a dialog, an idea inspired by the traditional hopscotch game.

Learning and play alternate in the same way that functions alternate in plan, just as learning and play interweave in tic tac toe.

Our wish is for our children to move forward in school with reason and dream…

EDUCATE With an emphasis on the smooth social integration of children through the learning process, we have chosen to design an open school, able to adapt to the needs of students and the curriculum in a flexible manner. Large tables were chosen for the classrooms so that children can work in groups, learn to cooperate and accept each other’s diversity.

INTEGRATE Our goal was to create spaces that enhance the development of children’s social skills. All

interior spaces spill out to the central courtyard as well as the smaller perimeter spaces, allowing the children to be in contact with the natural environment and to be safely supervised. Outdoor courtyards vary in scale so that each child has a corner to be comfortable in.

BE SUSTAINABLE A key element in the design was the sustainability of both the materials and the school complex itself.

The construction consists of natural, local elements - concrete floor, rammed earth walls and wooden panels, and a predominately pine wood roof structure. The assembly is very conventional and can be achieved without the use of heavy machinery - even manually.

The school has autonomy in terms of water and electricity requirements. It is harmoniously positioned in the natural environment, taking into account the slope of the ground by placing ramps that allow for both minimal intervention on the natural terrain and smooth movement of children with mobility problems throughout.

The central tree is preserved and is a reference point, mainly for symbolic purposes.

Through this approach, children are trained to respect the natural environment and conserve its resources.

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Eduardo Delgado Orusco Madrid, Spain In this project we have tried to unite two intentions: firstly, propose the organization of the best possible school according to the indications indicated in the specifications; and secondly, think about its possible future growth.

In order to achieve the first objective, we devised a building unit -a pavilion- which is the sum of a cozy enclosed space and with just the right light, a roof capable of supporting panels for energy production from the sun, and a separate network of clean and dirty water pipelines.

For the second objective, we planned the improvement of the whole, with the aim of maximizing growth, so that, depending on present and future needs, it would not be contradictory.

The result is a set of pavilions whose construction is appreciably similar - if not identical - and designed with the most accessible and economical means possible. These pavilions are arranged parallel to each other, with the best possible orientation - north-south - thus favouring the best light and thermal control with brick lattices and a supported metal cover with an elemental metal structure, studied to minimize its weight, and therefore its price, while its installation is favored with the intervention of the least possible amount

of auxiliary means.

In the distribution the whole is arranged, on one side the teaching area: two classrooms pavilions and multipurpose room, all equipped with the greatest possible flexibility: the metal structure offers the flexibility to suppress internal partitions, so that there would be the possibility of join the classrooms, two by two, so that they would form a larger classroom or a new multi-purpose classroom. But the multipurpose classroom could also be divided into two conventional classrooms.

At the other end of the available plot there is a new pavilion, constructively analogous to the previous ones, which contains the pantry, the kitchen and the dining room, trying to improve the distribution and functionality of the uses of the complex.

Both teaching and feeding areas are connected by a large central courtyard or playground, which contains the cover requested in the program. This cover is once again constructively identical to those of the other pavilions, so that its possible future transformation into a new teaching pavilion.

Finally, there would be the right space to build, with the same means, a fifth roof that could turn into a fifth pavilion.

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Chimene Ayoub, Eliana Demian Beirut, Lebanon Designing a preschool is designing a kid’s life.

Life at a preschool influences the kids, their selfconfidence and their character. It should provide an environment for children to explore, gain a sense of self, pay with peers. Considering Mozambique preschool is dedicated for children with special needs, this requires extra care and attention in the design process.

Architecture should never be determining.

Functions should “communicate, but not control energize and guide, encourage, evoke responses, but not impose” Peter Cook.

We will follow the rhizome architecture principles, where all functions interact with one another, and children have endless possibilities of movement around the school. Following studies led my Ronald Rusler and Deleuze, a guideline was set to create the plan, the liquid architecture.

The design’s three main elements are: The functions, circulation and passage ways, and the third place.

Main functions: materials were chosen out of local products (timber, clay) and we added a new recycled item, colored plastic pallets, as

doors, windows or separators. An affordable and sustainable alternative, helping to spread the light into the rooms and colors into the project and kid’s life. Ventilation has been considered as well, by applying only mosquito nets behind the pallets, and on the roof openings, allowing fresh air into the spaces. Finally, a tilted roof timber structure allowed rain water collection, and served as a surface to install solar panels.

A self-sufficient unit, installed on a self-sufficient land, building a free-spirited preschool, leading to independent children.

Circulation: multiple possibilities of movement.

The functions are accessible by ramp or stairs, and are suitable for children and for special needs.

The third place is the most important one, and it’s present everywhere. Whether in the small corridor around the classroom, the fishnets serving as hammocks on the funnels collecting rain water from all the land, a functional and refreshing element along the way, fishnets on the edge of the project, serving as projection and connection at the same time, the timber covered schoolyard, the open space next to the trees. It’s everywhere. It’s free, it stimulates the sensory system of the kids.

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Ádám Reisz, Krisztián Varga-Koritár, Levente Arató, Janka Juhász Budapest, Hungary The idea behind the concept was to design a building complex that is standardised, flexibly combined and easily installed.

The complex consists of detached buildings and spaces. The building units in the plot are based on 1:2 proportions, resulting in 5.3m wide and 10.6m long buildings, with simple gable roof. Larger areas are created by combining these base units.

Some of the buildings are connected by canopies with similar roof structures and dimensions. The plot layout has a playful, relaxed feel, while also providing an optimal combination of sunny and shaded areas, with effective protection from rain and strong winds. The classrooms and their respective bathrooms are located in the southwestern part of the plot. The main communal spaces (entrance area, offices, large covered courtyard, multipurpose space) are located in the middle section, with easy access to the rest of the plot. The remaining functions (dining room, kitchen, storage rooms, pantry, etc.) are located in the lower, north east-facing part of the plot; the pantry can be accessed from both the road as and from within the plot.

Our layout aims to make the best use of the terrain and sun conditions. In particular, roof ridges run at the same height across the plot, resulting in different-height buildings and covered areas, with external steps and ramps safely linking areas on different levels.

In terms of our visual concept, the aim was to

create building structures with a simple but dominant architectural identity. The façade sections include areas of honeycomb brick walls, which provide a distinctive aesthetic appearance, delightful surfaces combining light and shade, and practical ventilation. Each classroom has a unique architectural identity, consisting of differentcoloured roofs and shapes on the wall, allowing children to identify with their individual group.

MATERIALS The design aims to use local materials and technologies. The building foundations are made of concrete, while the walls are designed from local brick. Roofs are made of simple wooden structures and painted-steel corrugated sheets.

The rainwater drainage systems are made of angled L steel profiles, which direct rainwater into water tanks. Floor finishes are made of concrete and chipped tiles.

ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS - simple building structures - usage of local materials - layout orientation (sun, wind) - rainwater utilisation for bathrooms and plot irrigation - possibility to use roof planes to house photovoltaic panels - passive shading using roofs and trees

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Akanoe Ferreira, Catharina Dias São Paulo, Brazil What is education?

For us is the key, the source of all possible futures.

Nothing functions well without it, and if not taken care, the underlying potential inside each seed, as we see our kids, is lost. Education is responsible for world-changing ideas, a book can inspire, culture can change the ways of societies, and ideas can change the world.

But for that to happen, to have a fertile soil in which ideas can grow, a child must be given some sort of minimum structure, PROTECTION, for the children itself, as for the staff as well. A teacher should be considered some kind of deity, and the school, the church where those ideas spread and are giving form and will to grow.

This competition is special as it aims to help solving the terror of which some kids face in their lives, and because of that, we want to build a place of safety, learning, growing and a place where the kids and teachers can have some fun together, learning from each other.

To build this place we focused on developing the project specifically for that site but can be adapted wherever necessary. The construction is modular, built mainly with concrete or wood, bricks, and other local resources, making it easy to replicate

that in other areas. We payed attention to the sun position to better place the “blocks” of our school, so it is never fully exposed to the sun, getting its main lights from the southern facade, a cooler southern breeze helps to keep the temperature in check, while the thick brick walls are responsible to control de northern heat with its thermal mass.

After studying the site, sun, winds, rains and position, we figured that we wanted to keep those main trees in place as much as we could, and we wanted to build the whole compound around a central plaza, so the kids and other users felt safe and protected from the heat, winds, rains, whilst maintaining the views from the classrooms, dining hall, and administrative services, to the outside area so they no one felt confined.

Also, we organized the blocks in a way that we maximized the plaza space, while we kept the sun orientation, so not a single classroom gets the heat from the sun directly. This central space is the heart of our proposal, a place that can house many different uses, even at the same time, from kids presentations, to art galleries, thru a playground for the kids, all there under the feeling of protection, under the configuration of a village, paying an homage to the saying: “It takes a village to raise a child”.

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Bradford Kelley Los Angeles, CA, United States of America Like the indigenous Makonde Tree of Life sculptures from northern Mozambique, a ‘strength through unity’ of linked elements is intended to reinforce a centralized and compounding logic of building forms. Corresponding figures that bind together and achieve integrity through their shared intention. This Preschool for Disabled Children will be a vibrant, active, and protected heart of the community promoting learning and creative expression.

Learning is a communicative act and organization of this school should respond to reinforce this at times through connectivity focus, but also by remaining open, porous, multi-directional; collectively strengthening paths of our youth.

the and and and the

By raising the building’s form above a central ‘Learning Courtyard’ space for gathering and sharing, a space is defined for exchange both within the school and within the community. Clear protection from dangers such as wild animals and natural disasters are afforded, while also serving as a symbolic and evocative gesture elevating the thoughts, minds, and spirits of its users.

From a distance, appearing like a grove of trees, the elevated structure offers an optimistic view both inwards onto the protected central court as well as outwards over the community and landscape.

This project addresses three critical issues through the common purpose of bettering our shared environment. First, creating a model for learning that can fulfill current needs and also serve as a shining example for future institutions.

Second, closely engaging the local community in the project’s formation (both its end construction and material sourcing/fabrication). Lastly, helping to address the growing environmental concern over waste plastics. CRPP - Composite Recycled Plastic Panels (i.e. NevHouse CRPP Systems), are modular building materials reformed using mixed plastic waste and are proposed as the principal material for walls, roofs, and floors. Implementation of local programs for plastic material collection/recycling not only provide supplemental income, but will involve communities in the actual sourcing of materials (locally available, albeit waste products) that will become their locally built architecture.

By utilizing a systematized, modular method of construction, local community involvement in the assembly and construction of the school is made easy, available and is welcomed. By reinforcing social connectivity and exchange within a community, a higher level of attention, involvement, and care for important programs like this Preschool is hoped for which will strengthen a shared valuing of place, purpose, and investment in the future of these students.

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David Perico, Luz Sรกnchez, Camilo Ladino, Maykol Saldarriaga Bogotรก, Colombia Small Learning Communities: The circle as a binding form helps us to compose a project adapted to the topography, it also helps the circulation for people with physical disabilities and allows to integrate three centralities of diverse dimensions called Small Learning Communities where children, parents and teachers build human relationships.

This location strategy invites active learning that occurs by interacting with other people. In these Small Communities, the Classrooms are grouped instead of being arranged in a row. The Administrative Zone embraces the public square that is open to the community, and the Dining Room, surrounds the open kitchen valuing cultural traditions.

Moreover the Classrooms called Learning Environments continue the traditional, multidirectional and flexible circular form. This form facilitates the visual, light and thermal control of the project. This arrangement invites to interconnect these Environments through additional spaces called Extensions of Learning Environments where children develop different activities.

The respect for the existing vegetation makes Amarulla the natural foyer of the project and from this point it is located the permeable Administrative zone that is organized to serve as the main facade for the public square. The Administrative zone is

also connected with the Multipurpose Space that that allows the integration with the community and the sense of belonging. Close to the Administrative zone it is The Open kitchen, the element around which the Dining room is arranged, valuing the traditional forms of community integration around food preparation.

Integration with the environment and landscape:.

The project integrated natural ventilation and lighting strategies, it was designed using easily obtainable materials, construction and maintenance. The rainwater is reused and the solar collectors and electrical panels located on the roofs not only feed the project but are tools in the teaching and learning process too.

About tectonics: The circular shape and the CEB as the main system, guarantee excellent tectonic behavior. Walls are also proposed in polypropylene canvas filled with sand and covered with clay adobe allowing easy molding of the facades.

Both systems are easily built by the community generating a sense of belonging. This shape reduces the amount of material by 20%, protects against wind, makes better use of solar radiation and improves acoustics. The elevated structures with metal profiles of the roofs allow thermal control, lighten the load on the structural walls and cover wide spaces.

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Kevin Yim, Tin Yau Lee, Chi Yin Lau, Nigel Cheung Hong Kong, China It is very sad for us to hear that many Xia Xia kids could not attend schools, suffer or even die from illness from disease and poor hygiene such as insufficient clean water. We have some wishes… we image about a marine turtle… crawling slowly in the sand and swim freely in the clean water in Indian Ocean along Gaza coastline… as a symbol of happiness and long life. We design with the emphasis on spatial continuity, so kids can crawl/ walk/run freely along the rooftop slope, which connects to corridor space, classrooms, courtyard and outdoor plazas.

Learning through play The pre-school education philosophy changed from learning through books, to learning through play.

Instead of having 6 repetitive box-like classrooms with similar books and teaching material, we propose 7 preschool subject “corners”, flexible open space aiming to accommodate various interior layout to adapt different classes. The corners help to develop the body and mind of kids from different age.

Spatial continuity The main design feature is the gentle slope roof, encouraging kids to crawl, walk or run on it. The central sandy courtyard encourages kids to walk

and run around, play with water pond and sand.

We eliminate the transition between the classroom and corridor space with the same wood flooring, so the wooden flooring so kids can crawl/walk from classroom to sloping track.

Rainwater reuse Rainwater reuse scheme is proposed. The rainwater is collected from the rooftop. Through gutter and downspout, the rainwater goes through the rock/sand filter tank where it is purified. It is then stored at the underground collection tank.

The tank is connected to several places for reuse.

The toilets use the water for flushing. Staff can use it at the kitchen. Kids use it to wash their hands through the water faucet at the courtyard.

Teachers fill up the courtyard pond for kids to play.

On the site, the rainwater is collected in the pond at the “turtle head” through swales on site. Water will be used for plant irrigation.

Roof design The double-curved roof is achieved by the use of one-direction roof planes. Each planes incline gradually at the same interval. The result is to allow the indirect natural lighting filtering in and light up the interior.

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Víctor Manuel Rivera-Sánchez, Alan Javier González-Leyva Durango, Dgo, Mexico We intent to provide a vision of spaces as points of collision where multiple forms of thoughts converge and develop a symbiotic relationship. A model that rescues not colonized aspects of the rational thinking.

This project highlights certain points that contain cultural and expression virtues which permeate thru visual means, there is an interaction between destined to achieve ludicexpressive capabilities and spaces where abstraction increases as a main activity for learning, on the other hand, the educational spaces try to intensify an activity inherent to the child, that is the expression through the drawing, and that is why that the expression classroom is between the logical-abstract and cultural classroom which allows that the logicalabstract knowledge to the cultural and vice versa, this way there is a symbiotic relationship and that is why the access corridor to the classrooms becomes a catalyzer of knowledge thru drawing.

These corridors of expression converge in the most important space of the project that is the outdoors classroom for ancestral stories under the shadow

of a tree, it is the space mythical-magical that all cultures require, that is why other spaces such as the multiple uses playground and the outdoors kitchen converge.

In the project, we point out the difference between the educational spaces and the ones to control and management, these last two are design in an orthogonal form, which makes easier its use, meanwhile educational spaces are no orthogonal which allows a coherent space dynamics with the mythical-magical aspects of the cultures and ancestral knowledge.

In the project, we pose an underlying problem, due the few resources available in violence situations that unleashes the community displacement in search of havens in other places or countries, leaving behind the education. That is why the project seeks to be an always present haven for physical protection that gives the labyrinth and spiritual shelter that drives the child to his own cultural identity through learning of ancestral knowledge and logical-abstract knowledge.

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Syed Arif Shah, Faiza Lalwani Karachi, Pakistan Nothing intrigues a child more than senses, Pouco Mocambique means “Little Mozambique�. The design revolves around the vibrant, rich culture of Mozambique. From rhythmic beats of Balafon to bright, bold aura of their women, it is paying tribute to a country which cherish their history and maintain their cultural integrity with all the zeal, following are the integrations conceived: 1. The use of Capulana, a fabric that signifies woman status gives ode mother’s love just as a mother carries and protects her baby, the Capulana canopy around the school shades the students from harsh sun.

2. Balafon being the oldest instrument is the cultural musical instrument of Mozambique, is used in the bamboo balafon canopy that will create music when it rains, keeping children rooted to the music of the culture.

3. The Farmers and Cassava, Children cherish their ancestral valuable traits therefore a small cassava field is given in an attempt to keep the children aware of agriculture and appreciate its benefits.

4. Football is one game that Mozambique is passionate about. Therefore a small ground is dedicated to it so children too can learn about the game from early age.

5. Rain water harvesting.

6. Scent Geranium is planted inside the school for both resisting mosquitoes and its fragrance.

Frangipani is near Teachers block as it reduces stress and Baobab Tree around the school famous in Mozambique as Tree of Life.

Other than the culture, the design also aims for Passive Design techniques: 1. The arrangement of the programs is in circulation patterns keeping in mind region being prone to natural disasters, making the structure cyclone resistant.

2. The Rocket Heater which works on the phenomenon of Thermosiphon i.e. without any pumps, water can easily circulate, is a sustainable alternative to Geysers.

3.Instead of chairs outdoor eating space has a Recycled Garbage Bags Weaved Rug. 4. Compost Tumblers is provided where food waste can be dumped so with time the compost can be utilize in the landscaped areas.

5. Twin Pit Toilets are provided with heavy lids on it to avoid air and sunlight to seep in, turning solid waste into compost.

6. The Roofs ensures passive cooling, lime improves quality of air, absorbs humidity and absorbs carbon dioxide thus keeping the surrounding clean and healthy.

7. The Foldable Chairs have small mattress attached to them. Allowing children to use during nap time.

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Lourdes Rodríguez, Carlos Murillo, Alejandro Murillo Ciudad de Panamá, Panamá Knowing the importance of spaces in giving us security, comfort and promoting human contact, we have resorted to the “courtyard”, that open space that is intended for recreation, as an imaginary of our project, being this a traditional element of rural communities from Africa where there is an exchange of knowledge, activities, resources and part of everyday life.

Our proposal includes two central courtyards with a gallery, around which a series of rectangular volumes that have different functions have been distributed: kitchen, dining room, administration, medical services and classrooms. These central courtyards serve as a point of social contact and with nature, they have their midpoint marked with a marula tree (traditional Mozambique tree).

Likewise, “secondary courtyards” dedicated to the planting, recreation and maintenance activity, as well as the expansion of classrooms; are opened between the volumes.

The two central courtyards frame the main space or community and multipurpose space, which serves

for the development of community activities, cultural and multi-purpose area of preschool. This space has been covered with umbrella roofs to give it relevance and prominence.

It is proposed that the project be built by local builders and materials and with artisan techniques to stimulate the community to maintain the building.

The volumes or constructions will be built on a foundation of cyclopean concrete, the supporting walls are made of adobe blocks and the roofs of zinc sheets with cane ceiling to lighten the thermal load. The entire project is based on a module that meets the dimensions of a standard classroom and in the search for sustainability, solar panels will be placed on the roofs to provide energy for equipment and water pumps, as well as a rainwater collection system. Likewise, the construction of a warka tower is proposed for the collection of environmental water at a rate of 200 liters per day.

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Leonardo de Jesus dos Santos Beltrรฃo, Tatiana Santos Saraiva, David Richard Sena Macapรก, Brazil The main objective of this project is to provide comfort, protection, warmth and joy in a learning environment for children, using regional constructive processes and materials. At the same time, it seeks to integrate the techniques of the Amazon and African regions, using Vernacular architecture as a starting point.

To optimize thermal and luminous comfort, brise soleils were used in various environments, favoring cross ventilation and natural lighting.

Classrooms, an extended-stay environment, are oriented east, benefiting from the morning sun and prevailing ventilation. The kitchen and pantry are located on the south faรงade, where they receive less sun throughout the year, the windows of these environments are glass, to facilitate cleaning and prevent the entry of animals. Photovoltaic panels are used to reduce the energy cost. Rainwater is reused at strategic locations near the gardens and the cistern. The wetted areas will be lined with white ceramic on the walls and floors.

For the safety of children, all common environments are protected, and the use of brises works to assist in the broad view of all environments. There are no obstacles on the floor, such as steps or unevenness, reducing accidents and facilitating

mobility. Highly hazardous products or objects are located in more restricted locations. Dorms have been added for children whose families live far from school.

Colors are used in the brises, doors and windows, as well as the creation of a large mosaic on the floor of the multipurpose room. The colors bring more joy, as well as portray the happiness existing in the local population. The colors used are those of the national flag, green, yellow and red, in more earthy tones. Elements taken from letter-shaped brises have a triple function: utilitarian, decorative and learning, and were placed at strategic points in the building.

The outer and inner walls are built with clay bricks, a vernacular technique of the place, which can be erected and maintained by the residents themselves. On the floor, clay is also used, with the local construction process (Banko). Lettershaped brises use clay, and can be made in the region using specific moldes. In the windows, the vertical and horizontal brises are made of wood, and are executed according to the existing ones in the Amazon region. The roof is made of steel and its structure is made of wood, facilitating the fixing of fans in all environments.

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Nadia Bakhtafrouz, Silvia Raiano Sassari, Italy The new escolinha is conceived as a miniature village where the kids are free to move from one building to the other through a series of closed and open spaces, within a safe and controlled learning environment.

The entrance will be from the north-east side of the plot, where we will find a block dedicated to teachers and genitors combined with infirmary and storages, as a separate building on the northern part of the built area. The core of the project will be the classrooms, organized around a central courtyard that is thought to be a first immediate place of interaction between kids from different classes and between them and nature, thanks to the presence of an educational garden, around which kids can gather. Apart from the infants, that require a special care and will be grouped in the central classrooms, children from 2 to 5 could form mixed classes, where they are encouraged to help each other through the “mutual teaching” and especially the older could become in a way “teachers of the younger”. Each classroom will have a direct and visual connection to the courtyard and a visual contact to the external garden within the perimeter of the plot, while never stop giving a sense of protection.

The third core, on the southern part of the building, will be dedicated to the common areas end kitchen and kids bathrooms. The multipurpose and dining rooms will be located where they’re better served by the sunlight and opened to the external garden, where playgrounds are located among the natural environment. Here there will be the intermediate space of the covered schoolyard, a place that will allow children to enjoy the outside also under bad weather conditions, where they can play, run, discover, while feeling comfortable and safe.

The choice of the materials for the construction has been driven by the urgency of binding the new architecture to the local territory and of being sustainable, thus local sources will be exploit, rediscovering the millennial constructive tradition of uncooked clay.

The main vision at the basis of the Flor da Manhã Preschool is social inclusion: here children have to feel at home, with no physical or social barriers, and the aim is to educate them around the reciprocal belonging of human being, where difference shouldn’t be exclusion, but integration, disability shouldn’t be a weakness, but a trigger for respect and understanding.

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Edna Bejarano, Ramon Castro, Karen Ceniceros, Mariana Tapia Mexicali, Mexico Designing the Mozambique Preschool project was a challenge due to factors such as its location and space, it is a city on the other side of the world, where it has a different culture than usual, so it took a lot research and a very complete and precise analysis to be able to know the characteristics to be developed and that the site will need to work in the best way.

According to this, it was obtained as a concept to retake the typology of the area according to the people who live there are used to building, the point is to do something with which they are comfortable and design something in what they feel they are part of it . The concept of the project is to capture the materials and forms of construction used in the area, and innovate them to something more current, making a recognition of the infrastructure and means available, efficiently looking for ways to achieve it in a sustainable way.

The project is made up of several parts, first the land is established with an altitude between approximately 60 and 63 meters, and it is leveled

between 61 and 62 meters for its best performance.

The design consists of a building at the entrance where the administrative area is located, six rooms and a building in the kitchen and bathroom area, each of these buildings will consist of a solid base to keep them at a single level, and in circulation only a platform held by piles for the flow of water in rainy weather and avoid flooding. The piles are also part of the buildings and the northwest facade to define the perimeter and protect the garden. On the roof, an analysis of the roof in traditional but inverted housing was devised, leaving the center space for lighting and ventilation to enter.

Within the materiality, it was mainly decided to handle the use of compressed earth in walls, with reinforcements of wood piles for the walls and in the circulation platform between buildings, this in order to make use of the land left over from the leveling of the land, and to use recycled wood, in order to save as much as possible material costs and find a constructive solution suitable for working easily and community members can collaborate on the school project.

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thank you for your interest! you can see more proposals in our web page

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