Cool and plea­sant

Panyaden Inter­na­tional School

Panyaden Inter­na­tional School was founded to deliver a holi­stic educa­tion based on Buddhist prin­ci­ples inte­grated with a modern curri­culum. Students who graduate here “will not only have inter­na­tio­nally compa­tible skills in reading, writing, mathe­ma­tics and science but also prac­tical life skills such as how to grow vege­ta­bles and eat healt­hily, how to over­come diffi­cul­ties and social respon­si­bi­lity.” The campus design, by its layout and non-reli­ance on unneces­sary resources or tech­no­lo­gies, makes the school simple to use and easy to main­tain. 

The brief: a smooth inte­gra­tion

The archi­tects brief was to build a sports hall that should be big enough to house the projected capa­city of 300 students, but still smoothly inte­grates with the previous earthen and bamboo buil­dings of the school as well as the natural hilly land­scape of the area. The hall should provide modern sports faci­li­ties and only use bamboo to main­tain the low carbon foot­print and the “Green School” mission of Panyaden.

Bamboo Sports Hal covers an area of 782 m², and hosts futsal, basket­ball, volley­ball and badminton courts, as well as a stage that can be lifted auto­ma­ti­cally. The back­drop of the stage is the front wall of a storage room for sports and drama equip­ment. On both long sides balco­nies provide space for both parents and other visi­tors to observe sporting events or shows.

Conclu­sion

The design and mate­rial of Bamboo Sports Hal enable a cool and plea­sant climate all year round through natural venti­la­tion and insu­la­tion. At the same time, the exposed bamboo struc­ture is a feast to the eye and an example of masterly handi­craft.

The bamboo was all well selected for age and treated with borax salt. No toxic chemi­cals were involved in the treat­ment process. The life span of the bamboo hall is expected to be at least 50 years.