orient occident atelier designs cambodia school as a climbable and reconfigurable structure

this school has been designed by orient occident atelier (OOA) to be a social environment where children can learn about spatial creativity and basic construction techniques. located in sneung, a village in cambodia, the project has been conceived as a ‘versatile architectural building envelope’ where children can climb the construction as if it was a jungle gym and openings, shelves, and lockers can be reconfigured at will.

all images by magic kwan and kenrick wong

OOA positioned classrooms at ground level, allowing the spaces to engage directly with the school’s immediate context. these rooms are also capable of catering to different events, learning activities, and class sizes. ‘the relation between interior and exterior can thus be customized by the users in the future,’ explain the architects. ‘it’s a welcoming space in which other villagers and students can always see what’s going on and join the classes.’

the school, which is elevated to protect it from potential flooding, uses vernacular methodologies. the design team sourced bricks and wood from the area, while local residents were taught construction techniques. ‘the project preserves the village context with a bottom-up design approach,’ says OOA. ‘the school development triggers various improvements for the rural village.’

‘the school design empowers the teachers and students to constantly engage in design, redesign and utilize the teaching and learning spaces which best suit their interests and curriculum needs,’ continue the architects. ‘after the school was set up, more power supply, tuck shops, and a water filtration system were set up around.’

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project info:

name: adventurous global school
location: sneung, battambang, cambodia
architecture firm: orient occident atelier
lead architects: kenrick wong, magic kwan
gross built area: 400 sqm
design team: kenrick wong, magic kwan, christie yeung, jasmine chan
collaborators: PTD cambodia
client: adventurous global schools
photography: magic kwan, kenrick wong