ABSTRACT
Project background The Ban Patai village school was identified by the Singapore International Foundation (SIF) as one of six needy cases in North Thailand previously visited by the author and SIF representatives in a reconnaissance trip two months before the expedition date. Ban Patai was selected because it offered, in building project terms, a time frame, scope of work and complexity that suited the educational objectives of a hands-on learning vehicle for the architecture students. On site were the basic infrastructural provisions of electric power to operate our portable tools, water, shelter and vehicular access for the delivery of timber and other building material. Most importantly, evacuation was uncomplicated in the event of medical and other emergencies (there were occasional skirmishes between drug syndicates and the Thai army at the Burmese border near the Golden Triangle, but these were more the exception than the norm). The school was located in one of the most beautiful highland sites of the Northern Thai region and this situation provided the team with opportunities for trekking, rafting and outdoor activity within the 18-day expedition. The villagers and school teachers were most hospitable and there was much to be learnt from the culture and environment of the Lahu people.
