Mission

“Do you think it is possible for you to build us a ‘good’ school?”

What is a “good” village school?  The poor conditions of China’s Loess Plateau region (north-west China) demand serious re-thinking.  The fragile ecological conditions, coupled with having some extreme climatic conditions poses severe environmental and sustainable challenges to designers.  The poor economy has restricted interventions and solutions.  Villagers needing to leave their village homes to find work in the city further drain the social lineage; they leave their children behind but still hoping that they can be educated and one day make it in the society.  They put their faith in their village schools.  Like many donated schools that have been built in the region, a way they iconize them is as follow:

“The school is very modern with nice white tiles.  We take pictures in front of them when they open.  By the way, if they can also install air conditioners for us in the summer and heaters in the winter, it would be very good as otherwise it can be quite uncomfortable.”

We know for sure that something needs to be done.  The project commenced in 2002.  We wished to build a “demonstration” school that can showcase appropriateness and can address the environmental, social and economical dimensions of sustainability. 

5 top