Amy and Melissa

I am partnered with Amy who is currently beginning her fourth year at UM. She completed her third year of education and did not take a break before continuing to now (most UM students take three years of school, break for work experience, and continue onto their fourth and fifth years.)
Our project is focusing on how we can improve the movement around the site through strengthening, or creating a connection between the existing buildings on the site. At the same time we are looking into how our organization of buildings on the site will take best advantage of air flow and natural ventilation, to ultimately improve the classroom conditions. Our classrooms are proposed as being all new additions, which are arranged along double loaded corridors. However the corridors have been widened to allow for sun and air to enter into the space. The corridor becomes an opportunity of interaction to occur on all of the different levels of the classrooms. Technically we only have two levels, but due to offsets vertically our classrooms are on four split levels.

We are constructing our design for the most part out of bamboo, which through research I have found to be a really incredible material. There are so many applications in which it has precedented use - from merely aesthetic to structural. There are also so many cool, sustainable systems which I have found through some web research which would be incredible to integrate into the project. The initial costs would be nearly the same, less in a few instances, but then the maintenance costs would be minimal. We have no electricity or sewage connections on site, so a generator and sewage solution is essential for our designs. I have looked into biogas and solar collector generators which can generate power from animal or human waste and from the sun. Also there are so many different types of composting pit toilets which could be utilized, as well as rain water harvesting systems. I am having a difficult time not getting carried away with looking into all of it as we not only have a budget, but also a timeline.
The hardest obstacle to overcome as we have been developing the project has been communication. I get excited and speak a bit faster without noticing and Amy will lose track of what I am saying. I have tried to be persistent in asking her questions to get her involved, but I think it overwhelms her and renders her silent. We have spoken on the disconnect over our project and (between us) I am hopeful that we have gotten it resolved and will be able to smoothly get through this last week. Today seemed to go well. It is always a challenge to work with another individual when there are always different ideas about what should be done. In this case it is made even more complicated by the divide in background and language skills. However, I think that it is valuable to learn how to balance work with another.
It is really exciting to work on this Cambodian school project, which in itself is a challenge, and I cannot wait to see how mine and all of the other projects turn out!

- Melissa Barry