Instructor
Chong Keng Hua
The existing dilapidated kindergarten classroom building at Tan Tay, Long An Province,
90-minute drive from Ho Chi Minh City, was demolished in anticipation of the recent powerful
storm Usagi. The school is now in urgent need of a new classroom building to accommodate
more than a hundred children. After the successful school courtyard project near Hanoi in 2018, we are working with CapitaLand again to co-design and build the new school together with the school teachers and the villagers.
This studio is a continuation from an IAP programme held earlier in January 2019 where 5 SUTDstudents, together with 16 students from reputable local universities in Ho Chi Minh City, attended a participatory community design workshop, visited the kindergarten for site analysis, and presented their preliminary design ideas to the stakeholders. In this studio, students will further develop some of these ideas and drive them to one final buildable and sustainable design.
The construction of final design is scheduled to start in May 2019, and will culminate in an
expedition organized by CapitaLand in Oct 2019. This project is a unique and valuable opportunity for students to see their designs come to fruition and make a difference to the community residing in Tan Tay, Long An province, Vietnam.
Issue
Tan Tay has 1,162 families with around 5,200 residents, including around 350 young children
under 6 years old. They are required to attend kindergarten (from 3 to 5 years old) and pre-kindergarten (from 6 months to 3 years old). However, there is only a kindergarten to serve the entire region. This kindergarten is currently serving 170 children out of which only 90 children can attend the main kindergarten, and the remaining 80 have resorted to travelling to other sub-kindergartens in difficult conditions. As such, there is a dire need to expand the main kindergarten campus in order to accomodate the 80 children currently attending the sub-kindergartens, as well as approximately 30 more children under 3 years old.
The site is flanked by trees and gardens that has great potential to be transformed into a lively learning environment for the children, with community garden/farm, play area, sheltered canteen area and even community spaces integrated into the school architecture and landscape design.
Objectives & Expectations
- Develop design concepts individually in response to local site context, stakeholders’
needs, and other data - Work in groups to streamline designs, as part of an international joint studio with local
universities - As a studio, work with local community and stakeholders during the community design workshop, in order to consolidate ideas into one final design and produce relevant drawings and documentation for the local builder.
Overseas Trip
Students will be required to participate in a trip to Ho Chi Minh City during their Recess Week (Week 7, exact dates TBC) to gain a better understanding of the site, and to present their final design concept to Tan Tay Kindergarten principal and teachers, as well as CapitaLand Vietnam, before proceeding with the design development in Weeks 8-14.
The estimated cost of the flight tickets and accomodation should range between S$150-$300 per student. (Amount of subsidy TBC)
