KINDERGARTEN : EDUCATION FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

Abstract

Responding to the unprecedented environmental crisis that the world is now facing, it is paramount for us to relook into the fundamental of what makes today’s society – Education. This thesis argues that the notion of sustainability should be integral with the education system, which is essential to produce individuals who are responsible towards the environment and planet Earth. However, it is crucial to note that imparting values of sustainability is not merely an abstract downloading of information into students, but is in fact to inculcate in them a genuine sense of compassion and respect towards their environment, which could not be achieved unless starting from very young. In this light, the objective of this thesis is to design an alternative kindergarten model with the notion of sustainability as its school’s mission. Having an ambition to pass the message of sustainability to the grassroots of our local community, the new kindergarten model shall co-opt precinct spaces of public housing in Singapore. To perform a pilot demonstration, the architecture of the kindergarten shall be tested on a typical public housing neighbourhood in Woodlands. Stemmed from the notion of sustainability, two main education objectives are defined – to develop a child’s empathy towards environment and to cultivate sustainable habits and attitudes towards utilization of resources. Within this framework, the architecture of the kindergarten takes on an active pedagogical role in demonstrating ways to heighten awareness of a child towards his/her environment, as well as to facilitate the learning process towards understanding the preciousness of our resources – Food, Water and Domestic products. In addition, to spread the idea of sustainability to the public, various architectural strategies are employed to engage the residents of the community spatially and programmatically. Lastly, by living the school’s mission of sustainability, the tectonic expression employs a palette of reuse/recycled materials. The resultant structure allows a certain degree of flexibility which can accommodate potential changes in the future.