A vast majority of people who have been displaced from Syria are now living informally within their host communities. As a result, they are often without access to social security, sanitation, and educational facilities. With 2/3 of refugee children unable to attend school, supporting local communities is indispensable.
EAHR formed a collaboration Acting for Change Jordan, a local NGO. Working together with the local community, an extension to the existing school in Za’atari was implemented. The aim is to increase the number of students with access to education within the surrounding area. The school is used by children in the morning and by adults during the afternoon, who will use the space to learn reading and writing skills.
The classroom was built using the superadobe technique. The vernacular beehive-shaped structures of Syria originate from Aleppo and Homs, where many of the refugees come from. Construction was inspired by the Great Mosque of Djenné, and the traditional earth architecture from Mali.
Due to the limited choice of building methods and materials, and the harsh environment characterized by hot summers and cold winters, the beehive style is a viable solution for school construction.
Building using techniques that do not require high-tensile strength reinforcements has many advantages. They can be built quickly with unskilled labour. In addition, these buildings perform better than tents, cement blocks, and corrugated metal sheets in terms of thermal insulation. In comparison with a cement block structure of similar dimensions, the costs for construction were halved.
During the construction, EAHR trained local workers on super-adobe construction methods. Passing on this knowledge increases the livelihoods and strengthens the resilience of the local community. This method allows these skills to be re-adopted to build more sustainable, low-cost, and energy-efficient buildings. This is vital within these informal settlements and during Syria’s future reconstruction.
