New Children's Land

ottobre 2015 - dicembre 2017

SHORT DESCRIPTION

The new Children's Land Centre is the new kindergarten for the Um al Nasser community. Our response to local cultural requirements was to design an introverted architectural plan, creating a sheltered oasis, a safe haven. Key element of the project is the Nubian Vault, made of compressed earth blocks. The vault is first found in the porch and characterizes each classroom. Its repetition creates the sense of a series of dunes, like a continuous line, where children can play and socialise in the lower section. The Nubian Vault technique represents an innovative solution for the Gaza Strip, where the difficulty in finding supplies requires the use of local materials and low tech and low cost solutions. Shared and flexible classrooms, a wide courtyard and a small introverted patio offer the right conditions for innovative teaching methods. Beside cost considerations all our technical choices have advantages in terms of the bioclimatic behaviour of the building. The brick walls of compressed earth have a high thermal inertia; the designed green roofs would increase thermal insulation in the winter and help cooling in the summer; cross ventilation in the classrooms increases comfort and small high windows facilitate the extraction of hot air. The white painted vaults reflect incident solar radiation in the summer and create a visual connection to the sky, while sand-plastered outer walls recall the soil.