Education Above All Tents

Copyright: Photograph by Luke Hayes

In December 2022, Zaha Hadid Architects’ (ZHA) ongoing collaboration with the Education Above All (EAA) Foundation announced that 27 tents designed by ZHA will be manufactured and donated to the International Organisation of Migration (IOM) and the Qatar Red Crescent to support populations displaced by conflict and natural disaster in Yemen, Syria and Turkey. Fifteen tents will be given to IOM, 10 will serve as schools and five as health clinics in Turkey and Yemen. In Syria, Qatar Red Crescent will receive 12 structures that will serve as shelters for displaced communities. Three ZHA-EAA tents have previously been installed in Pakistan (2021) and Turkey (2016) and used as schools for displaced Pakistani and Syrian children. The ZHA-EAA tents allow natural daylight in and are weather-proof, modular structures that can be easily installed, moved and re-assembled, incorporating components that enable simple on-site repairs if damaged. Also resistant to damage from rodents or insects, the components can be upcycled or recycled, making them ideal for displaced populations. The classrooms are designed to create a secure, enriching learning environment to support the emotional well-being of children living in areas where architecture beyond the most basic functionality is rarely possible. Modularity enables the structure to be scaled to specific requirements, determined by one roof module being 11 x 4.5m which can be repeated through multiple bays to create a school. One classroom of two enclosed bays can be extended to include shaded play areas; or doubled to create a large medical centre.