Top 20 - Dewan Award 2021 - Girls Sanctuary Competition
CREATIVITY IN HEALING
" Small feet will tickle
The giant feet of the Tigris "
The design is motivated by traditional house of Iraq; It can be said by the first sight of the building. After studying the culture, climate, people and architecture, we saw that using color and sound of the nature to cure the children is better than using other methods. By leading the water into the spot, planting more trees and vines, we create a small nature environment in the sanctuary. Walls are built around the edge of the site to create safe feeling for children. In here the girls is treated carefully and receive a good upbringing. The compound is arranged like a village, with separated blocks connected by the main street and several paths. The changing in the shape of buildings is inspired by the changing of children’s emotion. At first, they came here with broken heart and soul, however when time goes, they complete themselves, heal the wound and overcome the pain of war; from separated pieces become one. The space changes from private area to public area, starts in the housing and ends in the exhibition. The exhibition connects the inside and the outside of the sanctuary by showing people outside the life and the product of the girls, while creating opportunities for people inside to meet up with visitors, donors, etc. The flexibility of space make interaction and activities in the sanctuary more comfortable and convenient. With the spaces and walls, the girls can design and decorate freely, reveal their thinking and emotion.
NHẬN XÉT CỦA BAN GIÁM KHẢO
Good Evening, We hope this email finds you well and congratulation on making it to the Top 20 Finalists Thank you for your submission to the Dewan Award for Architecture 2021.
Striking imagery, interesting use of colour and form. Maximum utilization of the Tigris River. Narrative of healing aligns with the transformational nature of the architectural forms.
The conditions set to define the arrangement and zoning of the project are clear. Referencing the traditional Iraqi house within the residences creates a contextual tie to the surrounding context, creating a thread of familiarity. The potential of the river is explored in real depth within the project. The re-routing of the river to surround the entire sanctuary as a protective (moat?) and symbol of embrace is powerful and original. The modularity of the residences is an efficient way to address future changes in the sanctuary – the materiality of the modules is questionable (considering some of the unrealistic cantilevers in the images).
The transformational nature of the buildings to resonate with the girls’ internal psychosocial and emotional transformations is quite a powerful idea. The creation of a range of thresholds solid (physical wall) and soft (canal) around the sanctuary provide depth to the proposal, safety, healing and belonging are not only enforced by physical boundaries but through making the site itself and naturally present elements work hard. The design process is clear in its core intentions. The utilization of water for energy, storage, a source of calm and healing and protection. The transition of spaces and building and the central ‘street’ that connects everything together.
There is a story to the linear progression through out the site from private to public. The reference to Babylon or the puzzle is evident in parts of the masterplan, creating an organized chaos through the intentional modular system. The communal buildings have varying architectural languages depending on their internal programme, focusing on the workshop and exhibition spaces on being the more monumental buildings within the sanctuary. There is a nice interplay between landscape, building and final product in the narrative, the movement through the site and the internal images of the independent buildings themselves. This proposal has been very successful in openly exploring the many potentials of the Tigris River. Something to be mentioned is the palimpsest narrative within the educational programme, giving the girls control over their space by allowing them to define it yearly through creation – this is a small touch within a larger, more significant whole but is a moment where a building can form a girl’s memories of her education and healing.
