Proposal for Tanbok library and kindergarten

Design a library-community space in Tanbok Village, Vanuatu. This design proposal was made during a workshop by Caukin workshop who are doing a live project. The brief was to design a community reading space-kindergarten for a village in Vanuatu which experiences extremely high humidity leading to damage to buildings, books and teaching supplies. Cost effectiveness and sturdiness of the building were other important aspects as the building was located in a disaster prone zone. ​

Building in tropical climates with climatic constraints like high humidity, and high temperatures along with challenges of environmental disasters like earthquakes and tsunami can be a challenging architectural project. While most of the time structural stability and cost effectiveness is prioritised, in this project we address user comfort and environmental sustainability as a prioritised additional objective.

We first analysed the temperature, humidity and wind directions and found out the indoor adaptive comfort temperature. Then, using psychrometric chart we found the best passive design strategies. We established the comfort requirements of the inhabitants-daylight, ventilation, thermal range and humidity levels. The main strategies used were to have an orientation permitting wind and minimising solar gain, using ventilated double roofs, specially designed windows ( Bahama windows) to capture wind, using plants on roofs to decrease solar heat gain on roofs and using dessicant materials like bentonite clay to protect the books.

We brainstormed, came up with a design in single day. We used the theories we learned in our class- adaptive comfort theories and passive design strategies to propose a sustainable design. User comfort, building stability, aesthetics and environmental friendliness were all equally important in our design process. It was quite satisfying to have made that balance with all.