PHOOLNA teachers' flats
A master plan for the small village of Sunderpur had already been created by the students from Linz in the Summer Semester of 2012. The key objectives were to push the independent economic development of the leprosy village, to strengthen education and to improve the precarious housing situation of the populace.
Around 300 children live in the village, all of whom attend the school there and are hoping for a better future. The prerequisites, however, are difficult – it is nearly impossible to find good teachers who want to teach and live in the poor, remote village. Therefore, as an initial measure, the construction of teachers’ apartments was begun.
Self-produced clay bricks and bamboo were the dominant building materials. The moisture and temperature regulating properties of these building materials are vitally important in the prevailing climate.
15 unskilled laborers from the village and around 30 students from the University of Art and Design Linz built the apartments in several stages. Together with the NGO Little Flower and the village administration of Sunderpur, all of the challenges could be mastered and the project successfully completed. In the summer of 2015 the first teachers were already able to move in.
Not only did the project receive coverage in the local press, it was also chosen among the best projects in the “Cooperative Housing” category for the first Terra Award in 2016.
A particular success of the project is the training of the local workers. Young people without (vocational) training acquired a lot of knowledge over the three-year construction period – knowledge that currently gives them the possibility to find work outside the village.
The community can now produce adobe bricks autonomously and also treat the locally growing bamboo so that it is usable for building purposes. This is an important step towards financial independence.
Last but not least: The people in Sunderpur are proud of their new houses!
Images and Plans
Technical Description
The building is a complex of accomodations for teachers in a leprosy village in India.
The six flats and the community hall are placed in a way so that they create a new, secure courtyard. Thanks to the existing trees there will be a lot of shade in the garden, which is very important considering the climate indoor and outdoor in India.
Each flat has got a living room, a bedroom and bathroom as well as ktichen outside of the flats on the covered terrace. The big entry door gives the possibility to enlarge the living space into the terrace with the kitchen.
South of the flats a large community hall with a rooftop is located.
The main construction of the building is conducted out of selfmade Adobes and bamboo.