ASA Journal 15/2023

GREENDWELL
129
10 11
09
พื้นที่่สนามเด็กเล่นของ
Raintree International
School
10
มุมมองของการวางแนว
อาคารเรียนของ Raintree
International School ที่่
สอดรับไปกับกลุ่มต้นไม้
ใหญ่ที่่มีแต่เดิม
11
บริเวณด้านหน้าพื้นที่่
ที่างเข้าสู่อาคารเรียน
Raintree International
School
With the two founders’ conviction in “architecture for a better quality of life” and its ability
to improve the well-being of people and the environment, one can say that for GreenDwell,
architectural design has gone beyond tangible structural components and objects. It impacts
several other aspects, particularly those that affect people’s behaviors and how they use and
interact with architecture. This was brought up during our conversation with them regarding
the ‘prioritization of people’s quality of life in architectural design.’ Raintree International School’s
design embodies such a vision, with sustainable design incorporated from the very beginning
of the project and the school’s interesting incorporation and implementation of the concept in
its curriculum.
Raintree International School’s nursery and kindergarten curricula are developed alongside
the owner’s intention for the school to be a place that brings its learners the best possible
quality of life through an approach and on a premise where children are encouraged to experience
a self-taught process in addition to the knowledge and lessons imparted to them by
parents and instructors. Sirithip underlined that facilitating a positive atmosphere is critical
to the student’s motivation and desire to learn, using a method that places the children at the
center of the learning process. The project’s site is home to many growing trees, something
the architecture team and the owner agreed to do their best to preserve.
Considering the school’s urban location, designing a functional program where children
could run about and through clusters of trees under their verdant canopies was undoubtedly
challenging. Due to the site’s somewhat narrow shape, achieving such a complicated task
required the design team to collaborate with the tree doctors. It also necessitates the design
team to simulate wind directions and other scenarios that might occur if new structures were
to be built in the future. The analytical speculation is integrated into analyzing the locations
of all the large trees growing on the site before the layout and architecture were developed to
correspond with the preexisting natural conditions, natural airflow, and skylights.
“We’ve realized that we can play a role in encouraging certain mindsets in children. Our design never
obstructs children’s access to and interactions with nature. Simply by doing so, architecture can create
a world where children can learn uniquely, develop empathy and compassion for others, and ultimately
be content and happy. They will be able to understand and recognize that their existences are not at the
center of the universe but that many other things, such as nature, are far larger than them. And, as long
as the building does not strive to isolate children from nature, they can appreciate encounters with other
living species, whether an animal or a worm, as fascinating discoveries.” Sirithip added.