Wat Prachotikaram School's Community Center and The Multi-purpose Area for Kindergarten
Year
2020
Location
Sing Buri, Thailand
A small school is located in the area of Wat Prachotikaram 4.5 km. from the town of Sing Buri. The community ("บวร" = บ้าน+วัด+โรงเรียน) settle in a peaceful environment along the Chao Phraya River.
This school received the opportunity from a volunteer group, Chulalongkorn Engineering Alumni (วศ.10), which is the mainstay of Wat Prachitikararam school improvement and development to strengthen students to be happy, good, ethical and be able to keep up with globalization, including English, math, and science. Therefore, there should be efficient Facilities-effective learning materials and learning centers.
Sook Architects was assigned to rethink the school design and renovation. The approach of the school improvement is to renovation the classroom to be the community center and the multi-purpose area for kindergarten.
The Multi-purpose Area for Kindergarten
The Thai music room, located on the first floor of a small school building, was renovated to be a multi-purpose area for kindergarten. Formerly, the solid classroom wall was converted into clear glass doors to encourage the connection between indoor and outdoor space. The courtyard was modified to the sandpit and one side of it was designed to be a screen wall for a restroom. By using the ventilation concrete blocks, the screen wall allows airflow and young children to climb playfully. Besides, there are additional specific toilets for young children to let them use on their own, which will help them learn to take care of themselves and be ready to grow up confidently in the future.
The Community Center
The riverside area was chosen as the community center to emphasize the importance of being a traditionally peaceful riverside community. This will encourage the users to be close to the nature of the Chao Phraya River and the neighboring communities that settle along the waterfront.
The second-floor classroom was renovated to be the community center and the technology + innovative center. To support multi-purpose activities, economical and including having a beautiful atmosphere, We replace the original solid wall with a clear glass wall to be able to appreciate the panoramic view of the river. Besides, with the level of the riverside road that is a similar height to the second floor due to filling the waterfront to be an embankment, there is an opportunity to convert the roof of the school restroom into a large terrace where it is a public area for community activities. One side of the terrace has a grandstand connected to the ground, used for school activities such as sports and meetings.