encouraging students to play creatively and learn, and
building a connection between the school and the wider
community. The design should draw from good practice,
such as child-friendly school guidelines, and adhere to
the minimum standards required in the region. However,
findings from the needs and community assessments in
the Planning Stage should be particularly important in
shaping the form of the school.
• Addressing social conditions. Achieving structural
safety and functionality is constrained in relation to the
particular context of a community, which can put realistic
limits on design options. In particular, the design should
account for findings from the local material and capacity
assessments conducted in the Planning Stage. Using
available construction material from the local market
and minimising the use of foreign material ensures the
design matches local construction practice, available
skill sets and the community’s capacity for maintaining
the building. It also increases the likelihood that the
hazard-resistant techniques used in the design are readily
IN CONTEXT
Building back better
Keywords: Myanmar, cyclone, reconstruction,
compressed earth block, breakaway walls, UNICEF
SECTION III: DESIGN
Following Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar, UNICEF
constructed school buildings ready for the next storm
surge by elevating key portions of the building above
recorded flood levels at each community.
The top of the foundation – the plinth level – was raised,
in some cases, 2m above the surrounding rice fields.
Classrooms were further elevated above cyclone stormsurge levels on a reinforced concrete frame, which was
designed to resist cyclone winds, pounding waves and
seismic shaking in parts of the region.
In the later phase of the reconstruction process,
UNICEF adapted their design even further. They began
adding breakaway walls made of loosely attached
timber to portions of the walls rather than compressed
soil blocks. When floodwaters pushed against the
building the timber portions could break away. This
allowed the water to flow through the building. When
the water was able to flow through, the structural
integrity of the building remained unaffected. Such a
design provided additional educational space on the
lower floor, and upper floors remained functional even
when heavy storm surges struck. Communities were
organized to evacuate all educational materials to the
second floor during flood events.
After flooding, community members knew they
could find and reattach any lost timber wall pieces.
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transferable to other construction projects within the
community. Other constraining factors may include:
• The size and location of the school site.
• Local construction practice.
• The availability of equipment and other technology.
• The capacity of local contractors and skilled labourers.
• Available materials.
• Funding.
The design team should develop a set of design drawings
and construction specifications that meet safety,
functionality and social criteria that is identified by the school
management committee.
All three conditions are necessary for children to have safe,
inviting and engaging spaces for learning. However, safety
should always be prioritised as an essential condition.
Rebuilding with remnants of destroyed structures was
familiar to local community members, who commonly
salvaged materials after disasters.
Now, communities trust the safety of the school
structure. During unusually strong winds in 2009,
almost all villagers took shelter in the upper floors of the
safer school rather than sheltering in the local temple
as they had traditionally done for decades.
In addition, UNICEF provided some school communities
with simple new technology that would enable speedy
construction. UNICEF worked with HABITECH, a
research group from the Asian Institute of Technology in
neighbouring Thailand. HABITECH developed manual
machines that produced interlocking compressed earth
blocks. These blocks could be manufactured on site
using local soil mixed with cement – the interlocking
feature made mortar unnecessary. After the blocks were
made, school walls could be erected in just three weeks.
Although thorough long-term evaluation and monitoring
stopped when UNICEF’s construction team disbanded,
residents in the communities have use the earth-press to
build houses.
A safer school in Myanmar built following Cyclone Nargis.
Photo: Carlos Vasquez/UNICEF.