sra pou vocational school by architects rudanko + kankkunen. sra pou, cambodia.
sra pou vocational school is a vocational training center and community building in sra pou village, cambodia designed by architects rudanko + kankkunen from finland. the purpose of the vocational training center is to encourage & teach poor families to earn their own living. the sra pou community is one of the unprivileged communities in cambodia who have been evicted from their homes in the city to the surrounding countryside. they lack basic infrastructure & secure income. the new vocational school provides professional training & helps the people to start sustainable businesses together. it is also a place for public gathering & democratic decision making for the whole community. a local NGO organizes the teaching.
the school building is made out of local materials with local workforce. the aim was to teach people how to make the most out of the materials that are easily available so that they can apply the same construction techniques for their own houses in the future. as the materials are scarce, the red soil was utilized to make sundried soil blocks. the whole school is hand-made: no machines or prefabricated parts were used in the building work. this allowed employing many people from the community & it kept all techniques simple & transferable.