Architecture, News, Sustainability
Studios build mud and bamboo school for refugees and migrants
The project prioritized low-tech construction systems that can be built by workers and adapted to local materials and techniques.
By Fernanda Drumond
Updated at Feb 18, 2020, 7:53 AM - Submitted at Mar 23, 2018, 4:57 PM
03 min de leitura
(Divulgação/)
Estudio Cavernas and Orbe Architecture have built a new building for Min Tu Won School, a community-led NGO that provides education for Burmese refugees and migrants. The design follows the organization's philosophy of using low-tech construction systems that can be built by all workers and adapted to materials and techniques available in the region. 
The two firms responsible for the project collaborated with the International Design and Architecture (INDA) program to involve beneficiaries in the construction process. Through a course taught at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, twenty students were trained to work on the project. The building is located near the Thai-Burma border as a monolithic structure set amidst the surrounding fields. Two large volumes wrapped in bamboo louvers house adaptable, multi-functional spaces for teaching, studying and interactive learning. 
Bamboo louvers act as a curtain, filtering direct sunlight and rain while allowing natural ventilation. Illuminated by soft, natural light through skylights, the interior spaces form a world of passages and openings for students to explore. Natural, locally sourced materials were used throughout the building to incorporate the structure into its surroundings. 