Hygiene Station for Cattlefield Village School (2018 Architectural Review Emerging Architect Award Finalist)

Hygiene is often less valued in a rural context; facilities may be neglected and out of maintenance. Charities and NGO provide vital software programmes to teach children the importance of for better hygiene, but without decent facilities to shape their habit it is not easy for the children to change their way of living.

In KPMG's Fangniucang Hope School, we have redesigned the facilities so that the shower rooms and toilet are united into one architecture. The building will not only tackle the hygiene issues, but also create a sustainable living habit for children to love.

Project Details
Location: Cattlefield Village, Banka Town, Yongde, Lincang, Yunnan, China
Architect: DOMAT 
Team: Maggie Ma, Mark Kingsley, Tanya Tsui, Adeline Chan, Juliette Song
Donor: KPMG Foundation
Supporting Donor: Yongde County Education Bureau
Project Date: Completed on April 2017
Area: 178sqm
Site Area: 308 sqm
Projected Cost: RMB 606,000 (including building, site formation, site landscape, 2 rubbish collection points, interior furniture and solar water heating system)
Local Design Institute: Kunming Zhuozhu Architecture Design Co. Ltd.
Contractor: Yunnan Yong Xin Construction Company Limited

Xiantong Experimental School Library

There is a noticeable trend that schoolchildren are more attracted to new technologies than to books. Teachers wish to encourage students back into libraries, helping them to have a balanced development and learn the benefit of reading books: gaining independence, self-confidence, and the chance to learn and dream.

Xiantong Experimental Primary School is located in a new school building in Shenzhen, China. We designed the library to be a fun and playful place, with areas for students to sit and read quietly, or interact with other students and explore. The layout is loose and open, inviting the students to relax and discover new books.

Utilising high ceiling space, we created an extra level to connect the library with the circulation stairs. The library becomes a welcoming place for students to wander through between classes.

Project Details
Location: Luohu, Shenzhen, China
Architect: DOMAT 
Team: Maggie Ma, Mark Kingsley
Completion Date: August 2014
Area: 415sqm
Project Cost: RMB 430,000
 

Home Modification for low-income families

Since 2013, SoCO's Home Modification project has been helping to improve the living environment of low-income families. The focus of the project is to provide a better study space for their children, helping them to do well at school so that ultimately the family is not stuck in a poverty cycle.

By using the high ceilings of tenemant houses we can free up space for daily activities, and provide a dedicated study area. The furniture was designed with the family in mind; it's construction is both durable and adaptable, so that it can grow with the family.
Early in the project, we understood that improvements to the house itself may benefit the landlord more than the families in the long run. By providing furniture for the family to keep, they can take their furniture with them when they move house, meaning that the benefit of the programme can remain with them for years to come. This idea has proven to be quite successful.

To date, DOMAT has worked with over 230 families in this programme and gain experience in space creation and social understanding of the situation involved. It is not a solution to the housing problem, but hope to provide remedial measure for the transitional situation.

Muping Village School

A Three-classroom primary school for a remote village with no road access, providing space for 60 or more students who otherwise have to walk several hours to the nearest school.

Our design adopts local materials and water conservation, with a roof playground and inner playground for the children.
Design:
- Colonnade corridor provides view of the village and sun shading for the classrooms.
- Corridor with inbuilt seating for gathering between classes.
- Steps outside library connects provide stadium seating for playground.
- Classrooms are designed to have character and a familiar, village feeling.

Project Details
Location: Muping Village, Yanhe, Tongren, Guizhou, China
Architect: DOMAT community & architecture
Team: Maggie Ma, Mark Kingsley, Edmond Lam, Luka Ng
Initiating Organization: Institute for Integrated Rural Development, Hong Kong (IRD)
Donor: China Literacy Foundation Limited
Supporting Donor: The English Schools Foundation - West Island School
HKUGA College
Project Date: September 2013 - August 2015
Area: 250sqm
 

The Overviewing Stage

With the aim of enhancing self-recognition for students, the stage of Taojinshan Primary School is design for both student to perform and school's announcement.

The form of the stage reacts to the site, where the existing school and the sports field do not relate to each other. We tried to redefine the relationship by positioning the stage to face the sports field with a prominent axis, to provide a solemn focus point. At the same time, the back of the stage diverts the circulation space and merge with existing structure to use as stage storage.

Project Details
Location: Taojinshan Primary School, Shenzhen, China
Architect: DOMAT
Team: Maggie Ma, Mark Kingsley
Funding: Shenzhen Municipal Education Bureau
Project Date: September 2015
Area: 85sqm
 

REVEAL exhibition

Families of subdivided homes are living in an ephemeral condition, yet the existence of low-income families and their poor quality housing has always coexisted within the capitalist city. How different is their condition to that of poor workers from 100 years ago? By casting concrete of their homes can we encapsulate the spirit of this condition, which is both transitory and enduring?

Exhibition Details
Exhibition Name: ROOMS into HOME
Architect: DOMAT 
Team: Maggie MA, Mark KINGSLEY
Supported by: Society for Community Organization (SoCO)
Project Date: August 2016
 

The Useless Frame for District Market

The Useless Frame named after Zhongzi's "Uselessness has far-reaching effects".

An independent frame without an obvious use, contains the countless possibility of spacial creation.

Very often, we use the concept of usefulness to define objects. If we only abide by these standards, we are likely to give up those things which are considered as useless.

Yet "useless" itself can have far reaching effects, beyond a single standard. To break away from the idea of "use", is to abandon the prejudice of a "tool"; in doing so, we can achieve a higher realm of far-reaching effect.

Project Details
Location: Blue House, Wan Chai, Hong Kong
Architect: DOMAT
Team: Mark Kingsley, Maggie Ma, Sunny Wu, Vicky Li, Bryony Lau
Collaborators: Hong Kong Council of Social Service, St. James' Settlement
Funding: Citi Foundation
Project Date: May 2017
Project Size: approx 1.73 m3
 

Tokwawan Community Engagement Design

The vibrant district of Hong Kong has not undergone recent urban development. There are many informal public spaces and a special local character. What does the future hold for these areas?

Workshops provide an opportunity for us to talk with local people and understand their community. Focusing on the cultural value of the area, we undertook research with members of To Kwa Wan community to generate ideas for dealing with recycled materials, and to inform a new design for a community gathering point.
An urban furniture is designed for local communities including residents, shop owners and recycler to integrate their relationship in the street. The furniture could be stacked to reduce area and expand when needed for community activities. Area to display for a local supermarket facilitate product display and enhance the communication with their customers, and also initiatives for the shop keeper to look after the furniture. The furniture allow to be used as seating for community gatherings and also act as a recycling point to organize glass bottles and aluminum cans indirectly produced from local supermarket.

Project Details
Location: To Kwa Wan, Hong Kong
Architect: DOMAT
Team: Maggie Ma, Mark Kingsley, Luka Ng, Adeline Chan, Vincent Tse, Brian Kam, Tanya Tsui, Echo Xiang, Calvin Liang, Jo Shen, Jenny Tang, Rosalia Leung, Wanting Yim
Initiating Organization: St. James' Settlement
Donor: Urban Renewal Fund
Project Date: March 2015 - August 2016

Bibo Primary School Library

Bibo Primary School Library is located in Shenzhen, China. The idea is to combine education with reading and playing, provide enjoyable study experience in a green school environment. The library is adapted from an unused covered playground within the school courtyard.

The design provides active and passive zones: the middle open area for activities and education space, outer path is a quiet area for reading, connecting to the quiet garden outside.
- Reading zone: a quiet area with views outside and communicate with the interior through an open book shelf wall
- Fun zone: steps and bridge creative interesting multiple layers of spaces to allow children to sit and relax
- Education zone: Area for education TV and bigger projective screen teaching to facilitate multimedia teaching

Project Details
Location: Luohu, Shenzhen
Architect: DOMAT
Team: Maggie Ma, Mark Kingsley
Completion Date: October 2014
Area: 170sqm
 

Space Frames for Youth

What is youth? Youth is a value that will become our future society. It is moment of transitional quality, visualised in this temporary event. One may feel sadness for its short existence, yet more will come.

The programme is designed for young people to understand social problems and empower them to help people in need. The design starts with a cubical frame, which is an abstract form to describe an amount of space; the simple form is like a seed that may grow into countless potentials of spatial experience.

The resulting design is built into a structural space frame for a public event, before being reused as shelving units for small homes. The youth participants can interact with spectators, explorer their creative imagination, as well as practising environmental awareness.

Project Details
Location: Wong Tai Sin, Hong Kong
Architect: DOMAT
Design: Maggie Ma, Mark Kingsley
Team: Wan Ting Yim, Marco Tai, Jay Ng, Henry Hau, Rosalia Leung, Chris Ho, Echo Xiang
Collaborators: The ABM Hong Kong Swatow Baptist Church Community Service, Hong Kong Playground Association, The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Group, Education for Good
Funding: Wong Tai Sin District Council - iU Youth Social Innovation Project
Project Date: September 2016- January 2017
Project Scale: 1 installation event, 8 sub-divided homes