Sustainable Design Option Studion 1/3 Trip – Tan Tay Kindergarten, Vietnam

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.

Students participated in a trip to Ho Chi Minh City during their Recess Week 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.