COAF - Child and Family Centre

SUB UMBRA ALARUM TUARUM We won the competition to build a school near Mount Ararat, believed to be Noah’s Ark’s resting place. Later, we were asked to design a nursery for the Campus entrance. We have taken from the book of Psalms this beautiful quote, sub umbra alarum tuarum protegenos, (under the shadow of your wings protect us), because our nursery in Armenia is a shaded place for the protection of children. What we are proposing here is an understated and quiet architecture, perfectly capable of fulfilling the functions we have been asked to provide.

COAF started its work in 2004 to fight poverty in Armenia. It helps communities by improving education, healthcare, social services, the economy, and local infrastructure. Its dedication to empowering children and families has produced transformative results for rural communities, changing the trajectories of entire generations by directing resources to the communities most in need. This project is the result of an international open architecture competition organized by COAF, which works to promote education and development for children in the most disadvantaged rural areas of Armenia and to strengthen social and cultural cohesion among the population. Armavir is an underdeveloped region in western Armenia, lacking infrastructure and relying exclusively on agriculture. Our nursery school is the first phase of a campus that will also include a school, water infrastructure, and areas for cultivation making the campus sustainable.

The nursery, which is only one storey high, must be simple and economical. The solution adopted is a 20x20-metre square lattice structure with equidistant pillars, resembling a large table 3.6 metres high, made entirely of exposed concrete. Underneath this structure lies the required 250 m² space, constructed entirely with white walls using the ETICS (External Thermal Insulation Composite System). The design follows the appropriate construction methods and technologies available in Armenia. A sober and quiet architecture, perfectly suited to the functions requested of us.