We Build

Community Initiative and Exhibition; Sydney, 2017-2018
Huge collaboration with full credits listed here; drawings and photography by myself; models built with Ben Dixon

This project was developed in close collaboration with the local Freswind community in Vanuatu to design, fund, and construct a new school to replace the one destroyed by Cyclone Pam in 2015. Located in a region frequently impacted by natural disasters, the project foregrounds long-term adaptability and affordability. The design prioritizes thermal comfort year-round while minimizing reliance on mechanical systems. Features such as windcatchers, operable windows, and indigenous woven bamboo interior cladding are integrated to enhance natural ventilation and lighting, while embedding local cultural heritage. The school’s spatial configuration supports a range of educational and communal activities, and the modular construction system allows for future expansion. A collaboratively produced construction handbook was also distributed, empowering local residents to replicate and adapt the design according to their own needs and capacities.

1:20 model