/ architecture design thesis 2/
children wonderland
How to make a child healthy and happy while studying in schools?
It requires an architecture that: is “homely”, offering the child safety and security; and nurtures the child’s physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wellbeing.
A ‘healthy and happy child’ is concerned with the physical needs of the child, as well as his or hers spiritual, mental and emotional wellbeing. The pragmatic Margaret McMillian stressed the child’s basic needs for fresh air and sunlight; for good food and exercise. However, there is a lot of the schools that do not cater for these most basic requirements. Healthy environments include fresh air and sunlight, as well as homely or ‘spirited’ environments for the ‘soul’; therefore “providing the essential ingredients for the child’s development and growth” (Ghasempour et al., 2013).
So here’s come the alternative education as a blanket term including a variety of pedagogical approaches that are different from the conventional system of education based on standardized curriculum and tests. A common principle behind these approaches is integrated learning. The aim to develop the whole human being, rather than just one dimension.
The conventional approach that is being followed throughout the country is a teacher-centered learning and this system was designed to produce standardized individual that all aims for high academic result. The early 20th century saw a number of movements against this education system all around the world. While thinkers and educationalists like Maria Montessori and Rudolf Steiner lead these movements in the west, an alternative school can be one that employs non-traditional methods to educate students. The non-traditionality could be in the type of curriculum they offer, teaching and administrative systems they employ or their techniques of evaluation.
-Serial Vision-
A series of spaces will be explained through the pin point part as shown on the plan.
1. The Houses --- The Classrooms
There are three study stages, from pre-primary to secondary is located beside each other. The kindergarten is put in the middle to get rid from the main road and also more exposed in the core so that all bigger one can have their eye on the kids. And they are all tied by the monkey way, up and down to floor above and below, and to the left and right parcel. For each study stages houses, they shared the green pockets. In the central core, there is a performance area tree houses and collaboration stage called tree of learning, encourage all age group mix together and interact, just like a city.
2. Monkey Way & Adventurous Track
The bridges are in a circular form linked the spaces in the core and connected to the pathway to two side parcel on the right and left. Along the monkey way there is rabbit hole and slide for kid to climb up and slide down in a playful way. There is also slide and trellis plant under the bridge.
3. Observation Tower
The observation tower is link to the elevated walkway at parcel beside. Kids can climb up high and ring the bell. And enjoy the scenery of the riverbank view
4. Knowledge Museum
For the knowledge museum, which stand for the reading pavilion, is further extend with a river deck that built with seating area. Under the reading hut there is learning nest which filled with cuboid frames. The reading pavilion aims to remind back the importance of physical book and regain the joy of reading, let the kid sharing the knowledge and stories! In the leaning nest, each small cuboid frame acts as a small pavilion for a few plants, then the superposition of many cuboid frames creates a big pavilion for human scale.
5. Meditation hideout
It opens a void from top of the roof and bringing nature into the central space and venerate the beauty of nature, offering visitors the opportunity to forge a deeper environmental connection. And the yoga room is facing thru the greens, giving a sense of calmness with the nature. Garden gallery is designed at the bottom part and there is vertical gardening structure which can be extended in the future.
--- Collaboration among Parcels ---
6. Garden House
7. Animal World
8. Food Factory (Canteen & Kitchen)
9. Art & Craft Workshop/ Studio
On the collaboration part, the hobby farm, animal house and garden house of the school is collaborated with the healing garden on the left. And collaboration between neighborhood market on the right is art & craft learning workshop and waste management.
10. Water Play
By the river there is a floating hose where people can play with water, fishing and chilling on deck. On the water play part, the rainwater harvesting system is introduced to kid, showing the progress how the rainwater being collect, how it waters the crops and how it combines with water play.
Thesis Report
