Hi!
Four weeks of building a therapy room in Guatemala have come to an end! Together with a team of fourteen architecture students from all over the world, work was carried out on the foundation and the main structure of the design. The days were filled with various construction tasks, ranging from woodworking for the frames, preparing metal bases, and even demolishing a small shed on the site.
The construction site was located on the edge of the forest, within the grounds of the Colegio Meso Americano school. The school grounds are divided into two levels, with our site located on the lower level. The therapy room is positioned between classrooms and the forest, making it easily accessible to students and teachers, while at the same time allowing the forest to bring a serene atmosphere into the space.
With the help of several Guatemalan builders, the skeleton of the room was constructed. This consists of a concrete foundation, metal bases, and resting ‘portal frames’. Special attention was given to the sustainability of the building and the use of local construction materials. The school is located in the town of Chimaltenango, where earthquakes and heavy rainstorms are not uncommon. For this reason, underground work was done on rainwater drainage towards the forest as well as on earthquake-resistant structures.
In addition to the construction work, the involved Meso Foundation gave us the opportunity to visit the homes of several students from the school. This confirmed and further motivated the importance and the need for this therapy room.
Following these four weeks, a second phase will begin with a new group of students who will complete the construction. They will focus on creating the roof, the floor, the walls, and eventually the interior.
Looking back, this experience has proven to be valuable in many ways: valuable for working on an architectural project from multiple perspectives, valuable for getting to know a culture so closely, and of course valuable for being able to contribute to the opportunities of the students at this school.
