A “large home” providing security and a school that is open to the community: Matizhai Hope Primary School
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Matizhai Hope Primary School in Yunnan province, China, was designed by a team of professional volunteers from Nikken Sekkei (Shanghai) and two other design offices in Shanghai. A hope primary school is the name given to primary schools constructed through the activities of Project Hope, which provides support to children who are unable to go to school due to financial reasons, and builds and renovates primary schools in impoverished districts.
Impoverished districts have issues such as a harsh climate and topography, and no stable industry. The project team addressed these challenges by not only making a tangible contribution in the form of architecture, but by striving to provide an environment facilitating independent living. As a major part of the routine work in Shanghai involves large-scale development projects in China’s cities, which provides few opportunities to see those who will be using the facility, this was also a project where the team members were all able to go back to the basics by thinking about the people who use the facility and create a design with them in mind.
To make not just simply a school, but a place where various “actions” are born and which can play a central role in life. Here we introduce the Matizhai Hope Primary School project, which is full of such wishes for a rich future.
How the Matizhai Hope Primary School project began
This project was privately financed by HiTime Corporation of Shanghai. Before the participation of Nikken Sekkei, it had already completed a school there in a standard design, but thought that their continuation of support should be directed to creating a richer space. The members from Nikken Sekkei (Shanghai) strongly empathized with this idea and set to work.
Before going to the site, basic research was done by dividing up into teams to: 1) analyze basic documents on the local area, 2) study trends in school architecture in Japan and the world, 3) grasp the history of the educational system, 4) scout out feasible structural and environmental technologies, 5) plan for a 1-year short-term project, and 6) plan for a long-term 5-year project.
Before going to the site, basic research was done by dividing up into teams to: 1) analyze basic documents on the local area, 2) study trends in school architecture in Japan and the world, 3) grasp the history of the educational system, 4) scout out feasible structural and environmental technologies, 5) plan for a 1-year short-term project, and 6) plan for a long-term 5-year project.
Grasping the local situation through on-site study
Xichou County and Funing County of Wenshan Prefecture, Yunnan Province, are located in the mountainous area near the Chinese border with Vietnam. “The setting in the mountains of Yunnan was unfamiliar to us.” Described so by Lau Chuen Chuen Joe, a project member, the local life and environment were certainly unfamiliar territory for the team members who were usually engaged in large-scale development projects in China’s urban areas. With its high elevation, harsh climate and steep terrain, this was an impoverished area with no stable industry. The net annual income of a farmer does not even reach 20,000 yen, so most of the people of working age make their livelihood as migrant workers in urban areas, and as a result, many of the children live in dormitories at school.
On top of this, although this is an earthquake-prone area, most of the schools were aging. There was a pressing need for the local government to rebuild the schools as quickly as possible, making it necessary to proceed efficiently with the project while conducting thorough studies.
On top of this, although this is an earthquake-prone area, most of the schools were aging. There was a pressing need for the local government to rebuild the schools as quickly as possible, making it necessary to proceed efficiently with the project while conducting thorough studies.
Fourmember groups are the norm in the classroom.
The primary schools in the area, both old and new, are generally surrounded by walls and separated from the village or hamlet. Many of the schools were being consolidated in conjunction with improvement of the school facilities. This time’s project, Matizhai Hope Primary School, is slated to eventually have 350 students; this means nearly 10 percent of the village population will be living there. The project members found opportunities for improvement in the situation in which the school is isolated from its surroundings although many children live there.
“We were overwhelmed by the sight of children applying themselves to their studies by using their own ingenuity in a limited environment with scarce resources,” says Lau. It was a great discovery for the team to see the children displaying ingenuity and naturally sharing places and things with each other in an environment where material things were lacking. They were able to sense the enormous vitality and consideration of the children in the resourcefulness they displayed in the use of space, such as using attic space as a storage space and ping-pong tables for dining.
“We were overwhelmed by the sight of children applying themselves to their studies by using their own ingenuity in a limited environment with scarce resources,” says Lau. It was a great discovery for the team to see the children displaying ingenuity and naturally sharing places and things with each other in an environment where material things were lacking. They were able to sense the enormous vitality and consideration of the children in the resourcefulness they displayed in the use of space, such as using attic space as a storage space and ping-pong tables for dining.
Children eating their lunches at the ping-pong tables in the schoolyard.
A “large home” providing security and a school open to the community
Schools in remote villages in harsh mountainous areas are located on precious level land where people can gather, and are the only places that can become a vibrant public space for the village. Thinking that a rich space and a “large home” that can guarantee safety and peace of mind were needed to realize such a space, the design team proposed that building a school in this area should also entail “building the village” as a community and “building human resources” to foster vitality of the villagers both inside and outside the school, and that the process itself, from concept creation to construction of the school, should be “monozukuri (the art and skill of manufacturing)” that rallies the village’s nature and skills.
To realize such proposals, it was indispensable for the local government and Ministry of Education, which are responsible for protecting and educating the children, to take the initiative in rediscovering the potentials of their village, children, and nature. This became the principle shared between those of the local area and the team in promoting this project together.
To realize such proposals, it was indispensable for the local government and Ministry of Education, which are responsible for protecting and educating the children, to take the initiative in rediscovering the potentials of their village, children, and nature. This became the principle shared between those of the local area and the team in promoting this project together.
Making cultivation of aesthetic sensitivity, which tends to be neglected, the core of the school
When considering this project’s themes of “building the village,” “building human resources,” and “monozukuri,” the range of education that the children should receive expands to include not just general studies at school, but life education in the household, cultivation of aesthetic sensitivity by learning about their culture, and learning from the village elders about agriculture and skills to live within nature.
This region is home to a number of ethnic minority groups who have each built their own cultures, and their unique vernacular, dress, and arts such as dance, live on today.
This region is home to a number of ethnic minority groups who have each built their own cultures, and their unique vernacular, dress, and arts such as dance, live on today.
Traditional dress among the Hua, a branch of the Yi minority people.
The local government and Ministry of Education are unable to respond readily to questions such as “Where is the most beautiful scenic spot?” and ”Is there anyone who can play an ethnic musical instrument?”, but the project members believe that if the village and school can discover their respective attractive points and nurture them as a source of pride, a school that is open to the village in the true sense can be realized.
A building that is firmly rooted in the community by following the village system
Project member Lu Zhongxiao explains that “We identified how the children use the facility, and we gave back what we learned from the children in the design of the building. Our goal was to create a structure in accord with the village’s system and which will be deeply ingrained there, achieving this through construction using the values that exist in the village, rather than introducing a uniform set of values from outside.”
To manifest this design of a “school that is both home and village,” the minimum principles of design were determined from the accomplishments of preparatory studies. Attention was given to various details such as building not just a square box, but linking several small buildings with bridges, and installing windows at various heights, in order to expand the imagination of the children. Other than just design, sustainable use of the facility was encouraged by not just giving the children things, but by providing support for their independent living such as teaching them how to clean the facility.
To manifest this design of a “school that is both home and village,” the minimum principles of design were determined from the accomplishments of preparatory studies. Attention was given to various details such as building not just a square box, but linking several small buildings with bridges, and installing windows at various heights, in order to expand the imagination of the children. Other than just design, sustainable use of the facility was encouraged by not just giving the children things, but by providing support for their independent living such as teaching them how to clean the facility.
Lau felt “positive energy” from the children when he conducted the study. The Nikken Sekkei project members are providing ongoing support with the wish that these children, who are living courageously in an environment that is far from privileged, will feel proud of their lives at Matizhai Hope Primary School and grow into strong young adults.
