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One year after the operational start, Smiling Gecko celebrated the official opening of the Smiling Gecko School together with guests from sponsors, business and administration, and of course the students and their parents. The Village School started operation in November 2017. In the first year, 136 children attended the school. Since November 2018, 252 pupils and students, aged 3 to 9, already benefit from the ideal learning environment and from a modern bilingual school system. Of these children, 124 attend nursery school (nursery, preschool, kindergarten) and 128 first and second grade in primary school. The SGC HISF Education Campus has been realized and is operated with the generous support of Hartmut & Ilse Schneider Foundation and Prof. Dr. med. Franz Waldeck-Stiftung.
One year after the completion of the structures and the operational start, Smiling Gecko celebrated the official opening of the Smiling Gecko School together with guests from sponsors, business and administration, and of course the students and their parents in early December 2018. The celebrations stretched over two days. The first day started with a lunch in the kitchen of the new food processing center, open since November 2018, where students and the invited guests got to know each other better. The aim of the second day was to give the guests an insight into the school life of the children.
The architectural project involves the construction of a new school, consisting of 24 classrooms, 15 group study rooms, 3 workshop rooms, an administrative wing, a library, cafeteria, community laundry, community medical clinic, toilets, staff dormitories, an outdoor assembly space, playgrounds and a lake.
The architectural project was designed by Lisa Devenoge, Oliver Faber, Lorine Grossenbacher, Franziska Matt, Elizabeth Müller, and Alina Wyder with Prof. Dirk E. Hebel under the request of the NGO Smiling Gecko.
The video shows the construction of the first 5 houses of the Cambodia School project within the months of July to October 17. The good progress allows for the first 140 children to start their kindergarden year this November within not only a completely new building, but also a holistic pedagogical concept. Read more here.
In December 2016, the planning of the architecture by the team under the direction of Prof. Dirk E. Hebel was completed with a ready-to-go, realizable project. The adaptation to the local regulations and the approval of the project were also finalized in spring 2017. In April 2017, the earthworks started. First of all, the whole school area had to be raised. The construction site is huge and we will be moving 600’000 m3 of soil. The result is a lake of 110,000m3 which will be used for the irrigation of our agricultural projects in the future. Although the rainy season, which had started too early, leads to delays, we are sure to be able to take up the school operation with the kindergarten and the first school year in November17. More information here.
A team led by five inspirational young women and one young man have taken command to realize a large educational facility in Mea Nork, Cambodia, designed for 1000 students. The architectural project involves the construction of a new school, consisting of 24 classrooms, 15 group study rooms, 3 workshop rooms, an administrative wing, a library, cafeteria, community laundry, community medical clinic, toilets, staff dormitories, an outdoor assembly space, playgrounds and a lake.
The gestation of the project began when the students, Lisa Devenoge, Lorine Grossenbacher, Franziska Matt, Elizabeth Müller, and Alina Wyder met whilst undertaking the ‘Schoolhouse Cambodia’ design studio offered by the Assistant Professorship of Architecture and Construction Dirk E. Hebel under the request of the NGO Smiling Gecko at ETH Zurich. The studio consisted of 34 students who visited Cambodia and worked over the semester in pairs to produce schemes for the then hypothetical architectural project.
The collective efforts of the design studio were so much of a success that the NGO founder, artist, and philanthropist Hannes Schmid was compelled to commit to realizing the project. At the culmination of the semester, the five women agreed to continue the work of the studio as part of an internship programme. They work full time to document the entire construction package and are assisted by a male colleague, Oliver Faber, who helps out one day a week. The process has involved consolidating the strengths of the individual projects proposed during the semester into a singular, unified scheme, able to be realized under the practical constraints of time, budget and resources. To do this they have had to work in a highly collaborative environment and coordinate with consultants in Cambodia.
The team agrees that the greatest sense of achievement has come through the process of establishing themselves up as an independently functioning entity. From practicalities such as setting up their working environment to the systematic particularities such as the delegation of tasks amongst themselves according to perceived individual and collaborative strengths. Their self-motivation and initiative has been rewarded by an autonomous work ethic encouraged by Dirk E. Hebel, who leads the team and the project with his in-depth experience in developing territories. The skills and capabilities the young students have obtained during their internship will be directly applicable to their future lives, no matter what path they choose to take.
The project is due to commence construction in November 2016.
As of March 2016, a project team of ETH students and architects formed to continue the planning process for the Cambodian Schoolhouse project. After a successful design semester in fall 2015, Smiling Gecko Foundation, the initiator and client of the project, decided to coninue the work with the Professorship of Dirk E. Hebel and support the formation of a planning team. Construction work is scheduled to start in November 2016 in the village of Melanork, two hours north of Phnom Penh.
Karlsruher Institut für Technologie
Fakultät für Architektur
Institut Entwerfen und Bautechnik
Klaaßen, Lars. 2022. “Ideen Für Die Zukunft.”Süddeutsche Zeitung, September 17, 2022.
A building material stands in the woods
September 21, 2022
Grossarth, Jan. 2022. “Ein Baustoff Steht Im Walde.”Welt Am Sonntag, September 11, 2022.
RoofKIT – KIT wins Solar Decathlon 2021/22 with climate neutral roof extension
September 16, 2022
Lenz, Daniel, Luciana Alanis, Nicolas Carbonare, Regina Gebauer, Andreas Wagner, and Dirk E. Hebel. 2022. “RoofKIT – KIT Gewinnt Beim Solar Decathlon 2021/22 Mit Klimaneutraler Dachaufstockung.”AIT, no. 9.2022 (September): 36–40. https://ait-xia-dialog.de/ait-magazine/ausgabe-9-2022/.
Students from Karlsruhe win Solar Decathlon Europe
September 12, 2022
Verein Deutscher Ingenieure e.V., (unknown). “Karlsruher gewinnen Solar Decathlon Europe”HLH, July 2022.
University Competition Solar Decathlon Europe: Team RoofKIT from KIT Karlsruhe wins with circular constructed top-up strategy
Kries, Mateo, Jochen Eisenbrand, and Mea Hoffmann, eds. 2022. “Wie steht’s mit dem Recyceln?” In Plastik. Die Welt neu denken, 190–95. Weil am Rhein: Vitra Design Museum.
Event: Solar Decathlon Europe 21/22
May 3, 2022
Team RoofKIT (2022), “Veranstaltung: Solar Decathlon Europe 21/22”, in: polis – Urban Development, January 2022, p. 85
Wood-Veneer-Reinforced Mycelium Composites for Sustainable Building Components
April 11, 2022
Özdemir, Eda, Nazanin Saeidi, Alireza Javadian, Andrea Rossi, Nadja Nolte, Shibo Ren, Albert Dwan, Ivan Acosta, Dirk E. Hebel, Jan Wurm, and Philipp Eversmann (2022), “Wood-Veneer-Reinforced Mycelium Composites for Sustainable Building Components”, in: Biomimetics 7, no. 2: 39, March 2022, https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics7020039, URL: https://www.zukunftbau.de/projekte/forschungsfoerderung
The Real Estate Industry needs a Master Plan for Circular Construction
February 28, 2022
Werth, Hans-Jörg (2022), „Die Immobilienwirtschaft benötigt einen Masterplan für zirkuläres Bauen“, in: Handelsblatt inside REAL ESTATE, 22 February 2022
Innovative biological building materials
February 16, 2022
Hebel, Dirk E. (2022), “Innovative biologische Baumaterialien. Pilze als neuer Baustoff zum Schließen der Ressourcenlücke”, in: BauPortal, Fachmagazin der Berufsgenossenschaft der Bauwirtschaft, February 2022, p. 14-16
Pure towards the Future
January 31, 2022
Hebel, Dirk E. (2021), Sortenrein Richtung Zukunft, in: Materialreport 2022, Raumprobe OHG (ed.), December 2021, p. 6-11
Material/Research
January 31, 2022
Hempel, André, Eva Hermann, Verena Kluth and Helga Kühnhenrich (ed. BBSR) (2022), “Material/Forschung”, in: ZUKUNFT BAU Forschungsförderung, 2022, p. 10-13
Now it’s Round & Old and New Building Materials
January 31, 2022
Braune, Anna (2022), “Jetzt geht’s rund – Circular Economy bei der Planung und im Bauen”, in: Deutsches Architektenblatt, DAB Regional Baden-Württemberg, 02/2022, p. 10-11
Renz, Gabriele (2022), “Alte und neue Baumaterialien: Stroh-Wand Pilz-Ziegel Baum-Decke”, in: Deutsches Architektenblatt, DAB Regional Baden-Württemberg, 02/2022, p. 12-13
Roofkit – How do we build in the future?
January 26, 2022
polis (2022), “ROOFKIT – WIE BAUEN WIR IN ZUKUNFT?”, in: polis online, 26.01.2021, https://polis-magazin.com/events/event/roofkit-wie-bauen-wir-in-zukunft/
Changes in the Building Industry & Harvesting and Seeding Building Material
January 10, 2022
Hebel, Dirk E. (2022), “Wandel im Bauwesen”, in: Deutsche Bauzeitschrift, 01|2022, p. 36
Hebel, Dirk E. and Felix Heisel (2022), “Baumaterial ernten und säen”, in: Deutsche Bauzeitschrift, 01/2022, p. 40-44
Architectural Education for the Age of Circular Construction
Schoof, Jakob (2021), “Eine Zukunft für den Bestand (5): Umbauprojekt RoofKIT für den Solar Decathlon Europe”, in: DETAIL online, 09.12.2021, https://www.detail.de/artikel/eine-zukunft-fuer-den-bestand-5-umbauprojekt-roofkit-fuer-den-solar-decathlon-europe/
Café ADA – Solar Decathlon in Wuppertal: Two Visions for the Renovation
December 10, 2021
Haus-, Wohnungs- und Grundeigentümer-Verein in Wuppertal u. Umgebung e.V. (Hrsg.) (2021), “Café ADA. Solar Decathlon in Wuppertal: Zwei Visionen für die Sanierung”, in: hausundgrund – Magazin für Haus- und Grundstückseigentümer, ed. 10/21, p. 22-27
The Architecture of Waste – Design for a Circular Economy
November 29, 2021
Hebel, Dirk (2021), “Afterword”, in: The Architecture of Waste – Design for a Circular Economy”, 2021, p. 232-233
Myco-Architecture: Building with Mushrooms
November 18, 2021
Sigmund, Bettina (2021), “Myko-Architektur: Bauen mit Pilzen”, in: DETAIL, 6.2021, p. 32-35
Cultivating Cycles
November 18, 2021
Himmelreich, Jørg (2021), Round Table with Dirk E. Hebel, Folke Köbberling and Martin Kaltwasser: “Kreisläufe kultivieren”, in: Das Magazin der SCHWEIZER BAUDOKUMENTATION, 06-2021, p. 18-21
lookKIT – The magazine for research, teaching, innovation
November 2, 2021
Fuchs, Stefan (2021), Interview with Sandra Böhm, Daniela Schneider and Dirk E. Hebel: “Wir müssen einfacher, intelligenter und sortenrein bauen”, in: looKIT, 03/2021, p. 10-14.
Wiebe, Sandra (2021), “The Future City as Resource Supply” (about RoofKIT), in: looKIT, 03/2021, p. 34-37.
Link, Regina (2021), “Das Bauwesen braucht eine radikale Wende”(about Architects for Future Karlsruhe) , in: lookKIT, 03/2021, p. 46-49.
