EC0251
Flexibility, simplicity and sustainability: those were the key ideas that centred our design. The result is four structures that can be replicated as many times as necessary, assembled and disassembled, connected and then disconnected, allowing a wide range of possibilities that adapts to the needs of Tonle Sap Lake’s community.
We proposed a simple structure that attend separately each of the demands of the brief. The goal was to create the basic support in the different centres while enabling the community to make changes and transform the space if and when necessary. Besides the three main platforms that shelters the health, education and research centre, we also designed an accommodation platform allocated to the staff.
The shape of the barges, inspired by leaves on a pond, were designed to offer little resistance to water and therefore facilitate transportation when towed together or independently. This means each different region of the lake can be assisted according to the needs of that community.
The education centre holds a priority in the design because we believe that there is where the real change will come from. This platform is bigger and can support more activities. It also carries the piazza with it, a space thought as a meeting point, not only for the platforms but for the community itself. Considering the lack of common social areas in the wet season, due to the flooding, this piazza offers a place where children can play and the people can organize small gatherings.
We decided to use bamboo as the main element for the construction. This natural occurring material is ideal for replacing metallic structures in hot and humid regions. It is renewable, light and very resistant. Easy to cut, handle, and maintain, it does not require sophisticated tools or equipment. Beams, columns and the roof are made with bamboo; they also show up on the exterior face of the walls, which are made using natural plasters; doors and windows are made with simple poles arranged in geometric patterns. The simple type of construction makes it easy to be built by local workers and using local techniques.
The same reasoning continues in the selection of materials for the barge. The floating structure consists of concrete drainage pipes filled with polystyrene intercalated with tyres. This whole structure is held firmly together by wood logs that work as a clamp when lashed together by post-tensioned steel cables. All of the materials are easy to buy and can even be acquired used.
Concerned with energy savings, the team proposed sheds on the roof, allowing natural light and ventilation to permeate the built environment. A rainwater collection system was also added to the roof, where gutters conduct clean rainwater to barrels, saving it for whenever necessary.
The team hopes to have achieved a straightforward and versatile design that helps the people move towards the recovery and preservation of Tonle Sap’s Lake environment and community.