Modular School for Burmese Refugees

by Atelier MF in collaboration with Stephen Miles Architects & City Building

“School 4 Burma” was a competition hosted by Building Trust International to design a modular school for refugee and migrant communities on the border of Burma and Thailand. The main design challenge was to enable for deconstruction and reassembly due to restrictions on land ownership and the opportunity to one day move the school back over the border into Burma.

This design, by Atelier MF in collaboration with Stephen Miles Architects & City Building, explores the ideas of approachability and openness as well as enclosure and reinterprets the common vernacular architecture of South East Asia while remaining sympathetic to its tropical surroundings. The scheme proposed a modular timber construction, sheeted with locally produced sheet metals and infilled with bamboo and banana leaf insulation. The form represents continuity giving 360 views and an enclosed garden constitutes a private space of sanctuary for the children.

Related posts: Mobile School for Burmese Refugees by in situ studio with Matt Weiss and David Hill

(Source: buildingtrustinternational.org)