House of imagination and growth for labor children

Azad Islamic University of Tehran Markaz

Project idea

In Iran, we face the social issue of "labor children".These children are usually between the ages of 5 to 18. These children are often forced to work in difficult conditions for example in streets to earn money for basic needs. Some of them don't have parents.Some of them are homeless or have sick parents who cannot work, so they must work to survive. I believe that by addressing this issue and supporting these children, they can become valuable members of society and contribute to its improvement. To achieve this, we need a facility that nurtures their creativity and provides education and practical skills training to help them lead better lives in their communities. Playing games, learning skills and socializing are ways to foster creativity.In designing this facility, I think of life as a puzzle which for labor children , one of its pieces is missing which is "childhood". I incorporated the concept of Tetris, a popular puzzle game, into the building's design. The exterior features Tetris-like blocks. I extracted central part of my building that is shaped like one of the Tetris blocks and symbolizes the missing piece in these children's lives.This vacancy is filled with the existence of the children and act as an interactive space that children will probably like it.

Project description

This complex consists of two main buildings.One building dedicated to labor children and the other one is for other children.This building is designed in order to generate revenue for this complex so it includes small restaurant , a mutipurpose space for hosting creativity workshops , child-friendly events and selling labor children's handicrafts. It also has a waiting room for parents.The main building that is specifically for labor children consists of some game rooms such as board game space, multifunctional maze, ball pool space ,sand pool space, and etc. Also it consists of rooms for teaching practical skills such as woodcraft , English ,music or showroom ,painting and pottery and computer classes. Other spaces include bedrooms , lockers, dining hall and a library .
One of my primary objectives in designing this building was to recreate childhood experiences for child laborers who might have missed out on them. To achieve this, we have included a storytelling area and numerous game spaces.
One thing that I did in desinging was defining new connection patterns between spaces and use the old pattern less. Usually ,spaces connect to each other through a corridor. However I tried to connect spaces using Tunnels(colored bridges) which could be appealing for children to walk or crawl through them. Another way to connect spaces is through multifunctional maze on the first floor which consisits of lego space , sitting area and a small tunnel. Another way is to seperate two spaces using height differences in order to have a good visual connection. Lastly, a slide was added to link the first floor to the interactive area on the ground floor.

Technical information

The main structure of this complex is steel. The main ceiling is metal deck.
Incorporating environmentally-friendly practices was a key consideration during the design process such as using recycled steel/metal , recycable facade material like fibrecement , sustainable showerheads, sustainable materials like low-voc paint and green tiles. Lastly I tend to utilize greywater to water plants and also in toilets to reduce water consumption in this complex.
To enhance the overall spatial quality and provide better natural light, various semi-open spaces have been incorporated into the design.