| Design and Construction Projects for Community Coordinators: Kerrie Butts and Nilay Mistry Site: Lokalarm Kindergarten, Songkhla Province INDA Summer 2011 Over the course of three weeks, the project team of twenty-four students and two instructors experienced every phase of an architecture project from site selection, design, client negotiation, construction, plumbing and finishing. The rural kindergarten for 181 young students lacked adequate toilet or cooking facilities. The children at the school and the monks living above the classrooms were sharing one poorly ventilated bathroom prior to construction. The small shed used for food preparation was not meeting the health/safety standards of the Thai education system. One of the main design considerations was the separation but natural ventilation and lighting of both spaces. One half of the building opens up to large porch facing a lake so that food preparation and cleanup could extend outside the kitchen area. The sink was located between the toilet and kitchen programs to encourage hand washing for children and accommodate large groups at one time. The monks residing in the adjacent building requested full height mirrors above the outdoor sinks so that they could shave their heads in the early morning hours before the school is active. The orientation of the building and circulation was set up to allow for the future growth of the elementary school campus to include an expansion for additional classrooms. INDA students design and installed murals using donated tiles. The doors and other wood used in the construction were built using reclaimed wood found on the site. Construction cost for the 600 square foot facility was $8,000 US dollars including fixtures and landscaping. |
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