Narrative

Milestones features a variety of spatial experiences that aid young children to stimulate their physical, socio-emotional, and cognitive abilities, which are essential in their growth trajectory. The proposal allows mother nature to penetrate its' interior spaces through light and alternation of ground flooring with grass from outside inside, which intrigues the minds of the young to develop a sense of belonging and integration for nature. Furthermore, part of the education program in Milestones there will be a spacious Orchard that is to be maintained by the young children and their teachers. The latter is not only to help them to raise their own crops for food but also to teach the young children to participate and be part of prepping the meal with elders. The main program is detached into separate blocks to create edges and public spaces in-between. Those public spaces feature free-flowing movements and are defined by dried grass roofing over wooden post and lintel construction system. The density of the dried grass variates according to the function of the space underneath. For instance, over the orchard, the density of the grass is very low in order to allow the sun to penetrate the space for photosynthesis as opposed to the courtyard space where the density of the grass is very high to protect the kids from the sunlight during playtime. The main program (administration zone, classrooms, dining zone) is the "retreat," which covered by sheets of iron to protect it in case of rain.