“Since 2011, over 4 million Syrians have left their homes to avoid the civil war, with roughly 629,000 going to Jordan. A hundred thousand live in refugee camps there, including at the Middle East’s largest camp, the Za’atari. There, over half of the occupants are children, and it’s difficult to educate or train them, according to the U.N. Refugee Agency.
After three years, many of the camp’s tents have been replaced with prefabricated housing, but it’s also home to a unique school, the product of Re:Build. Architects Cameron Sinclair and Pouya Khazaeli worked with Save the Children, Relief International, and Pilosio Building Peace to construct a building made of scaffolding; gravel, sand, or stones; and a roof that has solar panels.
What makes the structures unique is that they take no construction knowledge, so the refugees can build them on their own. The materials are at their fingertips, because the local rocks or sand provide the insulation. While the Re:Build project has only made two schools thus far, the architects say the structures could also be used as homes and clinics. The modular buildings are designed to break down easily, too, so people can take their houses with them.”