Vietnamese architecture firm KIENTRUC O has built a preschool building with the idea of "a connecting station" on the indefinite mountains and hills of Tú Nang- Yên Châu- Sơn La, Vietnam. 

Named Bo Mon Preschool, the 237-square-metre building features a dark-colored undulating roof that creates a soft appearance and sharp contrast on the rural region. 

The architects built this school with a limited budget, but apart from its linear script, the school was designed as a charity project and built with limited construction materials.

The architects created "the idea of a connecting station" as a public school for children serving for three villages in Tú Nang-Yên Châu, which was developed as a prototype for future community projects by charitable and non-profit organization MT Community. 

"Architecture is not simply a one liner script that subscribed to the moderate range of practical functionality, aesthetic, and sustainability, it must also, in its everyday use, paint up an exciting atmosphere for its inhabitants," said KIENTRUC O.

"Outlining the spatial function for the school came very early," the firm added. 

Through the separation of the classrooms, teacher accommodation and supporting rooms over a common yard, a central layout is formed, making the courtyard as the heart where all activities happen. 

Image © Hoang Le

The courtyard is essentially a multifunctional open area under a shady awning where children play together. When school is in session, the yard is a place where siblings from the school next door gather to wait for each other before going home, an outdoor classroom, and a communal space for local festivals to take place throughout the year.

Image © Hoang Le

The soft shape of the roof creates a shady area that transits slowly from the wall to the floor as the sun changes its course, animating a present that connect the architecture with its natural context, where it sits among the indefinite mountains and hills, and where it blends itself between the cloud and the smog of a highland afternoon. 

Image © Hoang Le

In 2018, Bo Mon Preschool in Tu Nang Commune – Yen Chau District – Son La Provine was constructed as a charity project.

The school is a benefaction to nearly 70 children and a village-stationed teacher. The attending pupils include children of H'Mong ethnic group from three villages Bo Mon, Cay Ton and Co Tong in the vicinity of 2 kilometres.

Image © Hoang Le

Image © Hoang Le

Image © Hoang Le

Image © Hoang Le

Image © Hoang Le

Image © Hoang Le

Image © Hoang Le

Image © Hoang Le

Image © Hoang Le

Image © Hoang Le

Image © Hoang Le

Site location

Pencil drawing elevation

Analysis diagram

Charcoal drawing

Section and plan

Axonometric drawing

Project facts

Project name: Bo Mon Preschool 

Architects: KIENTRUC O

Location: Tú Nang- Yên Châu- Sơn La, Vietnam. 

Size: 237m2

Date: 2019

All images © Trieu Chien unless otherwise stated.

All drawings © KIENTRUC O

> via KIENTRUC O