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Projects Educational Primary Schools Hway Ka Loke School Sustainability

Sustainability Report

A regenerative school in Thai borders built with local materials by Simple Architecture

Embodied carbon

Low Carbon

The project, Hway Ka Loke School, employs significant strategies to minimize embodied carbon:

  • Local Materials: Emphasizes the use of locally sourced second-hand timber and soil originating from the site for adobe bricks.

  • Self-Produced Earth Bricks (Adobes): Around 4,500 adobe bricks were produced on-site by mixing local soil with rice husk. This eliminates the embodied carbon associated with manufacturing and transporting conventional bricks.

  • Recycled Timber: Solely buying second-hand wood from local wood shops in Mae Sot.

  • Locally Available Eucalyptus and Bamboo: Used in construction, these are easy-grown, tolerant, and renewable resources.

  • Natural Binders/Coatings: A strong and water-repellent external coating for earthen walls was created by boiling locally available tapioca starch and adding it to a mix of fine sand and local soil slag, avoiding synthetic chemicals.

  • Low Carbon Footprint Claim: The architects state that by using recycled timber, self-produced earth bricks made from locally available soil, and local eucalyptus and bamboo, the building's carbon footprint is relatively low compared to other buildings.

Service and maintenance emissions

Efficient

The project minimizes service and maintenance impact through material choices. Adobe bricks (when unstabilized) naturally dissolve in rain, avoiding harmful runoff. The external coating, made from natural ingredients (tapioca starch, sand, and soil slag), reduces the need for chemical maintenance or disposal. The use of traditional earthen building techniques promotes longevity. Architects emphasize using locally familiar and maintainable materials. The walls are plastered with a mix of soil, sand, and tapioca starch, allowing the school community to easily refresh the classroom facade by hiring local workers.

Afterlife

Adaptive Reuse and Flexible Design Considerations

During of the construction of community project we are very often accepting the fact that the use of the building will change. We have seen classrooms are getting converted into office rooms or even sleeping quarters.  It is very easy to adept the buildings to its need by adding new doors or windows into the earthen walls. This is a very simple task.

Disassemblable Elements for Circular Economy

The project is designed for circularity. Earthen walls can naturally disappear after demolishing the house. The wooden columns and roof structure can be taken down and resold. The burned bricks, which have been used for the floor, can be collected and reused. 

  • Fully Reversible Materials: Additional earthen bricks, if not stabilised by adding cement or other aggregates, can be directly given back to the soil. The material will 100% dissolve in the rain. This is a strong circular economy principle.

  • Reusability of Timber and Roof Material: If the building were demolished, all wooden frames and columns could be sold back to the local wood shops. The roof material can be sold to the recycling shops in town. This indicates a design for component-level reuse and recycling.

  • No Manufacturers, Self-Production: The project did not use any manufacturers and produced all building parts themselves, which gives greater control over material composition and ensures their reusability/recyclability.