A Place to meet

This thesis project for creating an informal eduation centre was done through the Sustainable Urban Design programme (SUDes) at Lund University in collaboration with a Swedish-Guatemalan NGO. In Guatemala many people don’t have access to education even when schools are available. This project aims to address their need for an informal education facility where children and grownups who do not have access to school can improve their learning. The idea is not to create a substitute for formal education via a classroom in a school but rather to create a complement where more people will get the chance to improve their knowledge in different fields.

The NGO’s primary focus is children. Research has shown that play is important in childrens’ learning processes and therefore spaces for play became an important part of the project. A design, based on workshops with school children in the area, was built on site together with local carpenters and children. The aim was to initiate the future centre and at the same time help the children appropriate the area. 

During the workshop and construction process for the play-structure a method for the NGOs future work with the playground was created. The method is based on the combination of research and the workshops carried out on site but is non-site specific and therefore can be used in other settings and for other projects.