Design concept

I have been developing a concept for my proposed design...here is an extract from my treatise :)

'The educational resource centre aims to grow a reading culture by creating a place where primary school learners’ can develop their knowledge and skills. The knowledge and skills obtained by learners will enable them to grow positive self-esteems and to feel free to dream their own dreams. Enriching the education of numerous learners will all ultimately aid in growing a nation. The keyword that sprouts from all this is the word ‘grow’.

A tree portrays the grow-process beautifully in nature. Therefore, the heart of the design concept is the tree. Trees are essential to the existence of human beings, just as libraries and books are essential to the education of young learners.

A tree starts off with one small seed. The ‘mobile pods’ that travel to different schools function as the seeds. At whatever school they are planted; they help to develop and grow learners’ knowledge and skills. The ‘mobile pods’ will also implant a culture of reading within primary schools.

A tree is anchored firmly in the ground by means of its roots. The main function of the educational resource centre is to equip learners with library material so that they can build a foundation for their future education. The learners’ roots also narrate the story of their culture and where they come from.

Generally, people gather at trees. They provide shade as well as shelter. The educational resource centre will also be a place where primary school learners gather to develop, grow and share knowledge and skills. Knowledge is usually shared and passed on from generation to generation. These generations are often depicted in family trees. The sharing of knowledge and skills also creates opportunities for interaction between learners from different primary schools. Since the tree is a natural element, it ties in very well with the sustainable design approach. Just as trees produce beautiful fruits and flowers, the educational resource centre will grow educated learners with positive self-esteems.'  

Creating a reading culture

Since the Eastern Cape’s public schools have the fewest functional libraries and computer centres, it is difficult to find a central location where learners from different schools, with no libraries or computer centres, can meet and share library material that include visual and digital media. As mentioned before, transport is another obstacle to overcome. The aim is to allow all learners in the Nelson Mandela Metro access to educational material. Thus, the concept is to make use of a central hub (chosen building) from which mobile ‘pods’ (recycled shipping containers) can be easily transported to several primary schools with no resources, in the Nelson Mandela Metro, and possibly to areas in the Eastern Cape, in order to distribute library material.

The central hub and the mobile ‘pods’ (recycled shipping containers) will be used to create spaces which serve functions such as a library area, computer centre, study/homework area, cafeteria and an integrated playground. The cafeteria will only sell healthy food and drinks to learners to promote healthy eating habits necessary to reach maximal educational potential. The playground will encourage learners to engage in several physical activities. It has been proven that physical activities improve learners’ academic scores.

The functions listed above will together create a secure environment where learners from Grade 1 to 7 will have access to reading material and computers as well as space to do homework or study. Through the sustainable design approach learners will also become aware of their environment and how to take care of it. This resource centre and its mobile ‘pods’ will incorporate valuable environmental lessons and create interactive learning opportunities for learners. 

I truly believe that this reuse proposal will most definitely add value to the education of countless learners in the Nelson Mandela Metro, as well as the Eastern Cape, without access to library material, such as books and computers, as it will provide them with these educational tools at the comfort of their own school. The proposed function will play a critical role in growing our nation. Books open a world of learning for children. The concept of the resource centre and its mobile ‘pods’ are not solely based on the distribution of information in the educational sense, which is important, but also to implant the love of reading, exercising and their environment as well as encourage children to open their imaginations. 

The images below served as inspiration for my B.Tech treatise proposal. The Vissershok container classroom by Tsai Design Studio (top) and the Jerusalem children's home by Four Design and Architecture (bottom). The children's home has been constructed from 28 shipping containers!