tHIs iS sOMthiNG I'd pARTIcularly LOVe tO bE pARt oF sOOn
TYIN travelled to a
small village on the Thai-Burmese border in Thailand in 2008, this was after meeting with Ola
Jorgen Edna to design a project in Noh Bo. Edna was
originally from Levanger Norway, but now
currently resides in Thailand. Edna
opened an orphanage in Noh Bo in 2006 for Karen refugee children. The orphanage
housed around 24 children but needed to expand to accommodate around 50
children. The
intention was to facilitate each and every child with their own private
space.
The architects involved
were Andreas Grontvedt Gjertsen, Yashar Hanstad, Magnus Henricksen, Line
Ramstad, Erlend Bauck Sole and Pasi Aalto.The
project began in November 2008 and was completed in February 2009,
costing $12, 300 (63,000 NOK) in
total. The Soe Ker Tie House comprises six sleeping units, and the Soe Ker Tie
House was dubbed by the workers as “The Butterfly Houses”.
In Noh Bo the Soe Ker
Tie Houses are unique and the designs have never been seen before. The specially
shaped roofs facilitate natural ventilation and rain water collection. The
Butterfly Houses are assembled using a mixture of natural and man-made
materials. This consists of bamboo, concrete, ‘iron’ wood and old
tyres.All the
money spent on the project was used within surrounding villages in Noh Bo,
strengthening the local economy.The combination of traditional and new materials facilitated the mutual exchange
of knowledge between TYIN and the Karen workers.
A number of the new
principles were introduced by TYIN during the construction of the Soe Ker Tie
Houses, like the bracing of timber structures, and the casting of concrete in reused
car tires. All
these reduced the need for large amounts of expensive materials and
time-consuming maintenance. This could not have been achieved by the Karen
workers alone, because of the lack of educational and vocational training
facilities. For this reason these techniques were designed to be copied and
adapted by the Karen workers for any future development.
For the children of Noh
Bo, the butterfly Houses are now their home which would normally consist of poor
and cramped rooms.
