Zaha Hadid Architects Designs Modular Tent Classrooms For Refugee Children

Communities displaced by instability in their countries will now be able to find a safe space to learn and heal under modular tents designed by Zaha Hadid Architects.
 
The tents, dreamed up by the late Zaha Hadid (as one of his last structures) with Patrik Schumacher, were commissioned by the nonprofit organization Education Above All Foundation (EAA).

EAA, Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, and the Generating Amazing Foundation supplied many of the tents to the International Organization of Migration (IOM) and the Qatar Red Crescent to prove that the 2022 Fifa World Cup had lasting positive effects on the community.
 
The tents are modular structures with a concrete foundation and are held up by steel frames. Fabric is stretched over its scaffolding to stand in as walls and roofs.

Each one, measuring 39 feet by 26 feet, can fit about 45 students. The structures take advantage of natural light by letting it in through the roof and other translucent materials used around the classroom. They are also made of upcycled materials and can be easily assembled and taken apart wherever needed.

So far, 27 of these tents have been sent to a variety of communities that have welcomed those who have been displaced. Pakistan and Turkey use theirs as schools, while Yemen plans to use five of the ones sent to them as health clinics.

The Qatar Red Crescent plans to use 12 structures donated to them as shelter in Syria.

Zaha Hadid Architects and EAA have estimated that more than 70 million people have had to flee their homes and countries, many of which are under the age of 18. This has sparked a great need to provide an environment where children and adults alike can learn, recover, and rest.
 
 
 
[via Dezeen and ArchDaily, images via Zaha Hadid Architects]