the p'yan school project in thailand is an initiative created by students for students

the ‘p’yan school project’ is a voluntary initiative formed by international students that have financed, planned and raised a school building for and with the p’yan daung school in mae sot, thailand. the mae sot region is shaped by the massive immigration of refugees fleeing from ethnic persecution and the consequences of the civil war in their home country. the p’yan daung school placed at the thai-burmese border provides shelter and education for migrant children. it receives support from help without frontiers and is therefore able to persist on the long run. since the number of students has increased through the closure of nearby schools, the PYD school has had the urgent need for more classroom facilities.

classrooms are made from sun dried clay bricks

despite the information received from the personnel on site about materials, conditions and school routine, anhalt university‘s participating students’ planning in germany is based on many assumptions. the volunteers’, in cooperation with agora architects, have had to design for somebody without adequate knowledge about the actual context. anyhow, the plan is to design not for, but with the community; within the real context. since the long distance communication with the school’s representatives complicated a proper involvement of the entire school-community, the design team has decided to consider a proposal that is flexible and open towards changes, as well as the feedback and ideas of the future users.

a sandpit was arranged for kids to play, following the school’s construction

the pre-designs have served as a base for further adjustments and ideas created by the whole school-community. during the introduction day, the design team introduced themselves and the design proposals to the community. while discussing over the plans with the teacher staff and local craftsmen, all students of the school teamed up in groups to redesign the new school building as they imagine it best in small scale clay models. the volunteers involved not only gained a vast amount of feedback and insights, but also came to know the teachers and students, raising a sense of identification with the project. it was not longer a volunteer initiative formed by international students, but also by the mae sot locals.

locals helped attach the handcrafted leaf roof made from dried teak leafs and bamboo

considering the locally given social, climatic and cultural circumstances, the design team used only local resources, such as clay, bamboo and second-hand wood to provide a low-cost classroom for up to 60 students including an outside space. due to the advantages of clay in acclimatization and the cross-ventilation through upper wall openings, the building retains a fresh inside climate, despite outside temperatures of up to 40°c. the construction consists of self-made, sun dried mud bricks and three layers of plaster mixed with tapioca starch which improves the qualities of adhesion and water-resistance properties.

the masonry has been covered with three layers of plaster, improving the adhesion and water-resistance properties

during a clay workshop, the children design their new classrooms with small scale models

with the material on site, the brick team learned how to produce from 50 bricks per day up to 300 per day

the children who formed the mud mixer team enjoyed digging and mixing the mud for all the bricks

during another clay workshop, the children experiment with the material and free sculpturing

due to the substructure’s simplicity, the construction was raised within a few days only

the mud bricks, wood structure, and participating team are all ready

introduction day: introducing the team members and the school project, followed by interactive workshops

providing only the small scale substructure, the children design their new classrooms individually

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: apostolos costarangos | designboom