Architects Without Frontiers | Australia

Summary

The Kianh Foundation is planning to build a Day Care Centre on the outskirts of Hoi An city in central Vietnam. The AWF team visited Hoi An in November 2008 for site visits and consultations with the client. The site is a low-lying paddy field that gets flooded seasonally and the client was advised to carry out a soil test to assess the foundation design and construction options. The client provided a rough schematic plan and a list of requirements for the proposed 3000 sqm centre. This was the basis for AWF’s design proposal. It is envisaged that the centre will be built in two stages; in the first stage the main facilities will be built and depending on availability of funds, in the second stage more classroom and physiotherapy rooms will be added. Some funds for the building the centre has already been raised and the Kianh Foundation is actively working on raising more funds.

Client

The Kianh Foundation is a non-profit UK charity working to improve the health, education and quality of life for disabled and disadvantaged children at the Hoi An Orphanage, Vietnam. The vision of the Kianh Foundation is to make the orphanage a centre of excellence where all children have the opportunity to reach their greatest potential through the mission of improving the health, education and quality of life for the children.

Client Representative

Colin Schroeder

Project Partners

Project Leader

Esther Charlesworth, Executive Director, AWF

Project Team

Ifte Ahmed, RMIT University
Deb Kunda, Architect, Melbourne

Consultant Team

TBC

Commencement Date

November 2008

Background and Description

The Kianh Foundation is planning to build a Day Care Centre on a site in Dien Phuoc commune, Dien Ban, located 20 minutes from Hoi An city. The area was heavily bombed during the war and has the highest proportion of disability in the Province. There are over 800 children with disability who do not have access to essential education and therapy services. In addition to maintaining the orphanage programmes, the foundation is planning to build the centre to address the services gap by providing special education and therapies such as physio and speech. In 2007 the Kianh Foundation became associated with AWF during a design studio in Hoi An for students of RMIT University, Australia and Vietnam. AWF was approached by the foundation for pro-bono services to design the Day Care Centre.

Status

The AWF team visited Hoi An in November 2008 and made site visits, studied characteristics of local construction and design and undertook extensive consultation with the client. The client provided a list of requirements and rough schematic drawings for the proposed day care centre. This was somewhat ambitious in scope and agreement was reached that the design should suggest a phasing plan so that the centre can begin operating at a basic level and expand over time as resources become available gradually. The recently acquired site is on low-lying paddy fields subject to regular inundation. It is necessary to conduct a soil test to understand the bearing capacity of the land so that the most cost-effective and appropriate foundation option can be decided. The client was given instructions for a soil test to be carried out locally. That would allow assessing whether landfill or a building raised on columns would be suitable. A fish pond dug into the site might be a source of soil for raising the land, an option under consideration. Based on the visit, a scoping document with a design proposal has been prepared to be submitted to potential donors for raising funds. The construction is expected to begin during mid-2009 and the first phase is planned to be completed by early 2010 so that the centre can begin functioning.