#orkidstudio

New Post has been published on http://scitechnews.co.uk/installation/ken-ya-believe-it-an-eco-friendly-orphanage/

Ken-ya believe it? An Eco-friendly Orphanage!

St Jerome’s orphanage in Kenya has taken eco building to the next level, building a two-storey structure that offers children a safe and warm place to sleep at night (4 to a room) along with areas to allow quiet reading and study time.

Orkidstudio recently completed the work on the orphanage. The project took a total of 8 weeks to finish and was cost effective coming to a total of £50,000, which for such an essential building is relatively inexpensive.

So what makes St Jerome eco-friendly? As they were putting the foundations for the structure in, builders removed a large amount of clay like soil, which they then used to fill over 4000 grain bags. These ‘Earth Bags’ were then used as bricks to build the structure before cladding them in recycled wood.

This system offers little to no lasting damage to the environment in terms of heating furnaces to produce fired-bricks and keeps costs to a minimum along with waste.

Having used earth bricks on the exterior, Orkidstudio then installed a rainwater harvesting system, a critical tool in a drought stricken Kenya. This allows the orphanage to have an independent water supply.

Locally, Orkidstudio has had a brilliant ecological impact. Instead of bringing in people from outside of the community to work on the project, they taught local men and women the skills needed and employed them to complete the structure. This was so effective and local authorities were so enamoured with the end product that they’re now commissioning more buildings of its kind.

Orphanages seem to be leading the way in recycling materials into purposeful up-cycled buildings. Looking at the New Jerusalem Orphanage in Gauteng, South Africa, they have created a beautiful structure out of old shipping containers. Using 28 containers to create a home for orphans, they combined style with practicality and existing buildings in a relatively short time frame to create a much needed home for the children.

New Jerusalem, like St Jerome’s, has the capacity to provide some of its own daily amenities. St Jerome chose not to include solar panels to keep costs down whereas in South Africa photovoltaic and solar thermal systems were installed.

Both of these projects are incredibly exciting and are changing up the way we look at vital buildings like orphanages.

We're very pleased to playing this gig tonight at Buffalo alongside RadStewart and HEHFU to raise money for this amazing charity Orkidstudio

Here's some background to the charity:

Founded in 2008 by James Mitchell, Julissa Kiyenje and Su Mei Tan, Orkidstudio is a non-profit humanitarian design organisation whose focus is to benefit young people and communities worldwide through innovative and sustainable architecture, art and design. We believe that creativity has the power to inspire and instill pride within people regardless of race, nationality or circumstance and our aim is to explore the potential of architecture as a tool for relieving poverty and those affected by conflict or natural disaster.

The most basic of human needs is that of shelter... 

Our work is centered on a culture of 'making' and craftsmanship through collaboration with local communities. Throughout this process we involve a broad range of students and professionals across creative and technical industries.

Following the success of our first venture, The Mukono Project in Uganda, our passion grew to use various skills and to raise awareness about the potential of architecture in humanitarian work. 

Orkidstudio's construction projects are primarily aimed at helping young people, and during our time on site we run workshops in art, music, sport and assist with education. The children we work with are always kept at the heart of our work and, where safe and possible, involved in the development of the project. Often the design will include their artwork or crafts, helping to promote a strong sense of ownership and community spirit.