This project for the village of Xīnzhài (新寨), located in the middle of ricefields in the North of Guǎngxī province (广西), aimed to rebuild an old school made of wood that was slowly collapsing and threatened its inhabitants.
Wood is the main material in the area, but it is usually not treated against parasites, so it tends to rot little by little. The children and teachers got relocated in an older house while the school was rebuilt.
The site lies in the middle of the mountains; two hours of 4WD car are needed to get there (4 hours with the public bus). Once on the spot, we met locals who showed us a boundless patience and generosity.
We stayed there for two days to know better the villagers and converse with the priceless help of Wáng Xiǎowén (王晓雯) and the schoolmaster who was the only one speaking Mandarin, since the Miao dialect is mainly used in this area. We have thus been able to understand the needs and expectations of teachers better, in addition to the constraints and local resources at our disposal.
The project evolved following a change in the budget. From an unknown budget, it became a very narrow one; it was therefore necessary to deliver a new version of the drafts, putting aside many elements of the program that we set out with the villagers.
We therefore changed the two buildings to one that brings together the main functions of the school, namely classrooms and a dormitory that can shelters enough students in case of weather problems that could cripple the routes leading to the school (snow, landslide...).
Initially, the central courtyard between the two buildings remained, to offer a glass roof sheltered activities area. This roofing made of a transparent glass surface allowed to add light and ventilation to shelter, and a kind of dynamism resulting of its non uniform shaped surface.
This street disappears in favour of a garden protected by a wall made of local red stones. Despite a request to construct on one floor to avoid the prevailing wind, it was not economically feasible to pay for two roofs; hence the two levels solution to be kept.
The outdoor wall has several functions, including protecting the classrooms from noise generated by the sport area. It clearly separates the school from the rest of the village, while keeping the appearance of local materials. It has a role of isolation and protection from the surroundings.
From a pedagogical point of view, it also allows the use of greenhouses for biologies courses taught to children.
This project is one of the reasons why my professional stay in Guìlín (桂林) became a rewarding journey.
We left this institute, not having the chance to achieve this project, but we went back on site in July 2008, to check how the project has evolved.
Few of the initially planed elements were kept, as the garden and its red stones wall which gave place to a concrete slab.
The new building was already marked with cracks, which doesn’t suggest the building will last as long as expected by the inhabitants. The wood heater planed was cancelled by the new team, leading to no heater at all.
Some bitterness due to the lack of consideration given to those people, but the children can now study without fearing the collapse of their school.
