Recently, the formal aid agreement was signed for another “green school” reconstruction project of One Foundation in Sichuan – the Central Primary School of Heihu Town, Mao County. The project proposal was submitted by Green Culture Institute of the International Academy of Chinese Culture (Friends of Nature or FON) to One Foundation in November 2008. After 2 months of on-site review and feasibility study performed jointly by the Project Division of One Foundation and FON staff, the proposal was finally approved by One Foundation. The reconstruction of the school is scheduled to start soon. According to project plan, the main complex building will be completed in August 2009 and be put to use in early September, while the whole project will be finished and put to use by December 2009.
Class break, Heihu elementary school
The Central Primary School of Heihu Town, Mao County was firstly built in 1952. Before the earthquake, the school had a building area of 2, with 324 teachers and students, including 260 boarding students. The earthquake made 2 of its space Class D hazardous building, which has been demolished. The school’s equipments and facilities were severely damaged and can not be used any longer. The total economic loss was 3.443 million Yuan.
The most prominent feature of the reconstruction of Heihu Primary School will be “green and environmental friendly”. First of all, the national GB50378-2006 Green Building Evaluation Standard is to be applied in the design and construction work, so the hardware design can be as green as possible with maximum conservation of land, energy, water and construction material. Secondly, concepts of environmental protection are incorporated into the design of One Foundation green schools, so that domestic water and waste, solar energy, wind power and other resources can be recycled and reused, to reduce cost and promote environmental protection. Thirdly, during the construction, One Foundation, together with FON, will launch the “Green Map” environmental education program for the teachers and students of the school – to clearly mark on the map the ecological and cultural spots that are closely related to one’s daily life, in order to help us identify the green resources that may be neglected in the familiar surroundings, and develop a different view of one's living environment from a higher perspective. In addition, Green Hope will also be a featured activity held by this "green" school of Heihu Town, in which pupils are led by volunteers in environmental education courses that focus on experience and participation, to promote the love and awareness of our environment among the children. Through environmental protection, protection of wild animal, domestic environmental education and other activities, teachers and students can take part in building the green school, so that everyone can learn green concepts by heart.
 
At the corner of a board house, Heihu elementary school Students playing beside the board house
One Foundation has selected Heihu Central Primary School as one of its post-earthquake reconstruction projects in Sichuan. The Foundation follows the principle of “one school for every town” set by Aba Prefecture CCP Committee and Aba Government. The planning is based on Selected Construction Standards related to Post-Disaster Reconstruction Plan issued by the Standard Bureau, Ministry of Housing and Urban/Rural Development, as well as the requirement by Ministry of Education to “achieve reasonable school layout and structure, optimize educational resources and improve scale benefits”. The school’s teaching building, complex building, as well as affiliated buildings and facilities like dormitory and dining hall are to be newly built, while the traditional Qiang culture and unique Qiang customs in Heihu will be preserved as much as possible.
The completed Heihu Green Primary School will occupy a land space of 4498.3m2, with 1,943m2 of newly-built teaching and auxiliary building, 2,452m2 of student dormitory (including temporary housing for teachers), 680m2 of dining hall, 113m2 of toilet, 75m2 of bathhouse, 8m2 of hot water station, and 2,000m2 of stadium. The school will accommodate 8 classes with 324 boarding students and 25 teachers.
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There are 7 administrative villages in Heihu Town, with a total population of 3,000. Heihu Town is located in the dry area of upper-stream Min River, 27km from the county town. Its population consists entirely of Qiang Nationality. The Qiang people in Heihu is a branch of the ancient Qiang tribes. The original Qiang culture has been well preserved here. Yunyun shoes, blue linen dress, “Eternal Piety” scarf… all these are unique raiment of the Qiang people in Heihu. The rebuilt Heihu Primary School will surely become one of Qiang people’s most beautiful scenes sitting among the wandering Sichuan mountains.
Established in 1994, Friends of Nature(www.fon.org.cn) is a Chinese civilian organization dedicated to environmental protection. For years, it has been promoting environmental protection and the development of civil society in China by encouraging public participation, organizing environmental education activities, and supporting NGO cooperation. It has unique strength in environmental teaching, volunteer summoning and training, as well as coordinating collaboration among grass-root organizations.
Design partner – Beijing BCKJ Architectural Design Institute.(www.a-bckj.com/ ) It is the China Office of Swiss Architect Association, with rich experience in architectural design. It is especially good at architectural space creation under complicated conditions, and is devoted to the development of ecological building in local environment. It focuses on the integration of the design process with site characteristics, local climate and culture, as well as the use of material.
General layout, Heihu elementary school |
