Designing a preschool for children with disabilities and affected by social exclusion in Mozambique

Tabriz Islamic Art University (TIAU), Faculty of Art & Architecture, Tabriz

Project idea

EDUCATE : create a place where kids can start their educational journey. Make them feel like home by designing a space where they feel comfortable. Build kid-friendly spaces that are completely safe for them, a school where they can learn, play, run, and discover.
INTEGRATE : since this school will accommodate disabled children and kids in social exclusion, it is fundamental to work in their integration in society. We can help them through architecture by creating adapted spaces where they don’t feel rejected. A dynamic school where they can interact with each other and the surrounding environment.
BE SUSTAINABLE: the projects will have to use locally sourced materials, easy to build constructive systems, and should be self sufficient in energy terms. They have to be respectful with nature in order to teach the kids the proper way to interact with their natural environment.
 

Project description

Mozambique, is a country where 70% of the population lives below the poverty line. This difficult economic situation, most severely affects the situation of children. Frequently, the lack of financial resources is a significant barrier to the enjoyment of their fundamental rights. They experience many problems; such as the inability to access school, health-care, and housing…
In Mozambique, one child out of five is not educated. Preschool is neither mandatory nor free. For those who go to school, study conditions are very different from the conditions of those in developed countries. The buildings, school equipment and facilities (chairs, tables, desks…) are in bad shape or absent. Moreover, the figures show a discrepancy of the education between boys and girls. The classes have a majority of young boys. This is in part because of the profusion of harassment and sexual violence in schools toward girls.
Besides that, in Mozambique, 14% of children between two and nine years old are disabled. They are often hidden away by their families– in effect rendered invisible – and are vulnerable to discrimination as well as an increased risk of violence. These children need greater support from their families and better access to education, which would enable them to attend school with their peers. But that can only happen if the necessary facilities, equipment and training are provided. According to these, we decided to build a center for children with disabilities and affected by social exclusion.
Children have different abilities. Each of them is more capable and better trained in a subject and skill, but no child is without ability. Children with disabilities are not excluded from that fact. we have to treat children with disabilities like other children so they do not feel that they are different. In our opinion, these children should be accepted in the community like other children.
According these, we decided that the classrooms would be a single set. a set of six classrooms that sit around the Marula tree. a place where children can play, discover, and learn about their abilities while learning. for better access, classrooms are close to bathrooms, dining room, office, gardens main entrance. in the middle of the classrooms’ set and around the tree, there is an open space that children can play and get to know each other.
At the site, we designed stairs and ramps for children to access to other levels. so kids use them to have easier access to other levels.
Classroom has two sides for entry and each of them has five doors due to convenient access, ventilation and lightening. each door is specially designed for children with disabilities. class has enough built-in closets according to needs. benches are designed to allow children to sit together in groups.

Technical information

Six classrooms: where the children will be grouped according to age, going from 0 to 5 years old. Each class will have a minimum of 25 students. They should include two accessible built-in closets where the kids will keep their belongings, and two built-in closets, in a non-accessible height to them, where the teachers will keep the teaching material.
Each class should have a storage space where the teachers will keep bigger materials such as mattresses, pillows, etc.
Bathrooms: 4 toilets for boys, with 2 showers and 2 sinks, and 4 toilets for girls, also with 2 showers and 2 sinks.
Dining room: besides the dining space, it should also include a 8 sinks close to the entrance door where the kids can clean their hands, or one long sink with 8 taps.
Closed kitchen: it will have an industrial cook stove, kitchen appliances and two freezers. A large table (approximately 5m x 0,6m) to facilitate food handling and preparation. Three kitchen sinks with drainer and two built-in shelves (each one measuring 2.5m x 2m approximately).
Open kitchen: in Mozambique it is very typical to cook in an open kitchen with a traditional wood stove. It is very important that the kitchen is open (and also roofed) so it can ventilate. At the same time, it is also crucial that the kids can’t get in, since it could be dangerous for them. A solution for this is to build a low wall around the kitchen to prevent the students from getting in.
Multipurpose space: intended for different educational activities, celebrations or parent meetings. It will also be used for educational staff training sessions.
We also consider a big open space where kids can play and have contact with nature. Part of this space will also include an orchard where kids can learn about care and cultivation of the land and collaborate in the long term with the self-sustainability of the Institution.