The school that students built: hands-on learning in Vanuatu
Architecture student聽Juthamas Marsh with children from the Freswind community
Most students who study architecture probably don鈥檛 expect to find themselves wielding angle grinders and digging footings on building sites. But this year, a group of undergraduate architecture students travelled to Vanuatu to build a school for the people of Ohlen Freswind, a community squatting on the outskirts of the capital, Port Vila.
With support from University donors, students have designed the community鈥檚 first school and started building the foundations.
鈥淚t was hard work and the students really got stuck in,鈥� says , senior lecturer and director of the .
Support from crowdfunding
The work was possible thanks to almost 200 donors who contributed more than $30,000 through a . These supporters are part of a community of more than 64,000 people who have given $1 billion over the last decade to support research and education at the University.鈥淲e couldn鈥檛 have done any of this without crowdfunding,鈥� says Muir.
As design students, a lot of our projects are unbuilt and unrealised. It was fantastic to start to understand the construction side of building.
A community in need
For decades, the community of Ohlen Freswind has squatted in the catchment area for Port Vila鈥檚 water supply. Driven by health concerns, Vanuatu鈥檚 government is working to move the group to higher ground. The relocated community will have roads, water, electricity and space to reconstruct their homes, along with land allocations for infrastructure such as schools and churches.
Muir first visited Ohlen Freswind in 2016, with several colleagues from the . They wanted to find a way for students to work with the community, with benefits to both groups.
鈥淭he community put a lot of emphasis on the need for a school because there are none nearby,鈥� says Muir. 鈥淎t the moment, a lot of the kids don鈥檛 go to school at all.鈥�
Students worked with the community to design and build the school.
Design through collaboration
The first group of students travelled to Vanuatu in 2017. They visited the site and consulted with the community and local leaders. The information they gathered helped shape the school鈥檚 design.
The single-room design nods to the high-ceilinged, well ventilated schools commonly built in Sydney at the turn of the 19th century, while catering to the particular needs of the Freswind community.
The building is designed to withstand Vanuatu鈥檚 weather extremes, from cyclones to earthquakes. 鈥淒uring Cyclone Pam in 2015, there were winds of more than 250 kilometres an hour,鈥� says Muir. 鈥淭raditionally, people in Vanuatu have built light and hugged the ground, but once you get to a large building like a school, you have to go to a different level of technology.鈥�
Children of the Freswind community
Hands-on learning
This year, a new group travelled to Vanuatu to start building. They dug footings, made steel cages for the slab, mixed and poured concrete and built low walls.
For third year student, Rachel Liang, 20, it was an exciting experience. 鈥淎s design students, a lot of our projects are unbuilt and unrealised. It was fantastic to start to understand the construction side of building.鈥�
The project has given her a taste for social impact architecture 鈥� an area she hopes to explore further after she graduates.
Muir says the Freswind project gives students a new perspective on what architecture can achieve. 鈥淎rchitecture at university can easily become quite self-indulgent 鈥� it鈥檚 all about me and my ideas,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 extremely important to propose a more ethical approach 鈥� to open students鈥� eyes to a sense of social responsibility.鈥�
There is more to be done. Further donations will be needed to send a new group of students to complete the building. Muir hopes that eventually they will be able to add more classrooms. 鈥淲e could even do a playground,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hat would be a really good student project. We could keep building and keep working closely with the community.鈥�
On 17 September, we celebrated University donors with Thank You Day.聽
