Design Impact Laboratory

Teachers have long-since directed the nature of the educational system. Their transmission of predetermined information often encourages passivity within the learning environment, therefore ultimately disengaging a large part of the student body. Student-centered learning has instead risen to the forefront of the educational system as a means of empowering students within the classroom. As a different way forward, such a shift in paradigm affords students both responsibility and respect by allowing them to explore their own interests and desires. As the formative stimulant within which such pursuits take place, architecture is the universal parameter through which such shifts can occur. This research thus explores the functional, spatial, and climatically responsive design strategies that can be employed to create effective, student friendly makeshift educational schools for both locals and refugees across Lebanon. Such strategies have since been applied to many projects in the Bekkaa region of Lebanon through Design Impact Laboratory.

With Lebanon continuing to struggle in providing adequate education for youth across the country, most students are subjected to the discouragingly deplorable conditions of the nation’s public-school system. Thermal discomfort, severe overcrowding, and off-putting design make public schools nearly inhospitable for youth and continue to severely limit the potential of students all over the country. The recent influx of Syrian refugees as well as the limited funding available to support their livelihoods has all but overwhelmed many public schools, causing a significant number of students to turn away from education. With 1.1 million refugees registered with the UNHCR, Lebanon holds the highest number of refugees per capita in the world. Having been created during the refugee crisis, this project is thus very much affected by the harsh realities of migration and mass displacement, all of which continue to overwhelm Lebanon’s public-school system and place youth at risk. Educators continue to face the daunting task of helping youth make up for lost time. Design of flexible educational spaces that can support host and refugee communities has thus become more important than ever in providing students with the sanctuary spaces necessary in creating the opportunities to overcome the adversity of their contexts.

Over half of the Syrian refugees in Lebanon are children and despite both local and international support, there remains today close to 300,000 children and youth out of school. Scaling up the support to youth continues to be a major struggle, especially in that there exists significant disparities in educational levels across different age groups. The DI-Lab team began work through extensive research efforts in the Bekka Valley, which hosts refugee camps and informal tented settlements. Through partnerships with local NGOs such as The Kayany Foundation, the team was able to conduct different community-based data collection initiatives that looked to specifically reveal the most pressing shortcomings of the existing educational facilities and their impact on host communities. Simulations and extensive data collection informed by interviews with the faculty and games conducted with students highlighted user preferences and zones of interest led to the development of a number of facilities including Shams Library and The Barouk School. By placing students at the center of what we do through innovative means of data collection that draw on desires and aspirations of the users through a number of specifically designed games, age and emotional well-being is favored over more impersonal means of aid.

Created by Professor and Architect Karim Najjar at The American University of Beirut, DI-Lab has set a significant precedent for student-centered education within the context of less-privileged communities. With the sincere belief that spatial qualities inform countless aspects of the human experience, DI-Lab’s work in the Bekkaa Valley begins by analyzing the possibility for elevating education in the 21st century through the comprehensive research and design of learning facilities. The rigidity with which traditional Lebanese classroom design continues to define the educational experience severely limits the potential of students and teachers alike. Change thus relies on the translation of student-centered learning and life skills into architectural spaces. The specifically curated design of both indoor and outdoor spaces can transform instructors into facilitators and encourage students to become active agents in the development of their own educations. This is integral to the promotion of informal learning fueled by inquisition and self-expression.

Such strategies have since been applied to a number of projects in the Bekkaa region of Lebanon, most notable of which is The Barouk School. Reconfiguring the layout of the classrooms was key to the achievement of such goals and was first addressed through the clustering of classrooms for each age cycle. Such a design strategy promotes intergenerational dialogue among students and informs a dynamic exchange of both ideas and experiences. Enlarging corridors at the entrance of classrooms was also key in promoting peer to peer information exchange. Designing areas for the arts, labs, and media activity was perhaps most important in improving the livelihoods of students through the development of their artistic and vocational skills.

Design for student centered learning extended well beyond the classroom and into the creation of inclusive playscapes that target youth development through informal learning nurtured by play. An extension of the indoor playground into the outdoor amphitheater at the Barouk School allowed space for creative performances while ensuring accessibility for disabled persons through the design of ramps and promenades. Also designed with sustainability in mind, extensive studies were undertaken throughout the process to ensure optimal climatic conditions.

Improving learning conditions was therefore achieved through a comprehensive restructuring and rehabilitation of the school, which also fulfilled the requirements set by The Ministry of Education in Lebanon. The success of the Barouk School project sets a precedent for possibility within the public-school system and has been exceptionally well received by students and teachers alike.

DI-LAB course is designed to engage a group of young architects and engineers in designing and implementing community-based projects in Lebanon. The lab aims for a participatory process that engages the beneficiaries and users in order to incubate sustainable development. DI-LAB is organized by the American University of Beirut, Department of Architecture.

Within the scope of the lab require participants to innovate and respond rapidly to specific tasks. These tasks incorporate design, execution drawings, calculation and site supervision within a professional setup. A rapid assessment of the actors, fabric, architectural typologies, problems and potential entry points will be presented to the participants. This assessment aims to inform the participants of the Lebanese territories’ particularities which are reflected in their structure and form. Thus appropriate approaches and projects can be proposed. Projects can range from relief structures for refugees to adaptation and revitalization of buildings in urban or rural areas or environmental projects. The laboratory nature of the workshop calls for simultaneously addressing analysis, design and implementation. Participants are also challenged to solve design issues considering various constraints such as budget, availability of materials, time constraints and sustainability.

Through the creation of rapidly deployable, site-specific interventions, DI-Lab is able to quickly respond to the urgency of the ongoing refugee crisis. Making up for lost time in education is especially important in enabling refugees to pull themselves and their family out of adversity.

Design Impact Laboratory is a design/research initiative founded in 2016 through The American University of Beirut by Professor and Architect Karim Najjar.

One full-time and two part-time staff members operate the DI-Lab team of around 20 students and interns.

With over 30 years of experience in the field, DI-Lab founder, Professor Karim Najjar, has the local and international expertise necessary to successfully guide the initiative. Fellow part-time staff members Sarah-Ritta Kattan and Ahmad Noureddine are similarly knowledgeable in a variety of fields that further DI-Lab's community based work. Nourredine's expertise in parametric and tensile design informs the design of deployable structures, while Kattan's extensive research on learning areas encourages site-specific, locally responsive design. Most importantly, DI-Lab involves 3rd and 4th year architecture students every step of the way. Youth supplement the work with increasingly relevant contextual information and collaborative innovation that ultimately informs the success of the projects.