Farming Kindergarten

Vietnam, historically an agricultural ry, is facing changes as it moves to a manufacturing-based economy, taking its toll on the environment. Increased droughts, floods and salinization jeopardize food supplies. Rapid urbanization with not properly planning quality outdoor spaces deprives Vietnamese children of green playgrounds.
Farming Kindergarten is a project to er these issues. Located next to a big shoe factory, and designed for 500 children of the factory^s workers, the building is conceived as a continuous roof garden, providing organic vegetables and agriculture experience to children, as well as an extensive outdoor playground. 
Five different vegetables are planted on a 200 sqm garden where children can have first-hand experiences with urban farming. 
The kindergarten is a triple-ring shape drawn with a single stroke, encircling three courtyards to be used as shaded playgrounds as well. All functions are accommodated below the roof garden. As the roof lowers to the courtyard it can be accessed through a generous staircase to be used as a sitting place too. 
 
Environmental strategies
The building is made of a continuous strip with windows on two sides that encourage cross ventilation and allows for well-illuminated classrooms. Additionally, energy-saving methods are comprehensively applied but not limited to: green roof as insulation, green facade as shading and solar water heating. These visible architectural interventions shall raise educational awareness of sustainability. Then there are mechanical interventions in case of factory waste water being recycled to irrigate greenery and flush toilets.
As a result, the kindergarten is operated without air conditioners in the classrooms despite being located in a harsh tropical climate. According to post-occupancy record issued ten months after completion, the building saves 25% of energy and 40% of fresh water compared to baseline building performance, reducing its running cost greatly.
 
Cost-efficiency
The building is designed for low-income factory workers^ children, therefore construction budget is quite limited. Therefore, the combination of local materials (ex. bricks, tiles) and low-tech construction methods are applied. That helps minimizing the environmental impact as well as promoting local industry. Thanks to simple rigid frames with economical materials, the construction only costs per one square meter 500 USD including finishes and equipment, which is competitively cheap even within the Vietnamese market.