INTRODUCTION

Children how grow up in a family environment with no love and attachment in

an unsafe environment would be under emotional, ethical, social and metal crises.
Although the crises make same children involved apparently; in deeper concept and
in nature, they make whole society involved in it. One of the difficulties of the society
is the issue of orphans. These are innocent children who have lost their family under
specific conditions and have become orphan forcibly. In fact, orphan children are
victims of the society, a society that has not only deprived them from having warm
family that is their natural right, but also can't accept them and looks them as scoria.
Problems of these children is lack of sense of security and meeting their needs, lack of
self-confidence and lack of expressing problems with right person and lack of being
loved by others are other shortcomings and mental and behavioral problems of these
children. Deprivation of orphans from presence of parents as basic foundations of
family system makes challenge for growth of their positive self-concept more than
before. Deprivation of natural function of family can affect not only self-concept of
orphans, but also it can affect their perception of future. Disappointed child is a child
with negative attitude to him/herself and to future and compared to other children,
the children experience less safe attachment in relation with a caretaker. However,
need to belonging is a comprehensive need. Belonging means that desire to creating
a sustainable social relationship and threatening this need in any manner can cause
sense of loneliness. In fact, loneliness is a cognitive and emotional reaction to this
threat and demonstrates that there is a gap between actual social relationship of
person and desired social relationship. In this study, it has been tried to consider
important factors to create sense of belonging to the environment in children to
design a space for them, so that they can feel to be a member of society and feel
less unsafe and alienation with the environment. (Anahita Khanbabaei, DESIGNING
ORPHANAGE WITH THE APPROACH OF CREATING SENSE OF BELONGING TO THE
ENVIRONMENT retrieved January 2020 from http://tojdac.org/tojdac/VOLUME6-
AGUSPCL_files/tojdac_v060AGSE120.pdf )

ORPHANAGE PHENOMENON AND FACTORS AFFECTING IT

The motivations and reasons for sending children to boarding centers: Factors that
can make children to be sent to boarding centers by family or other authorities can
be divided to 2 general groups as follows:

NATURAL FACTORS: Human societies have faced always natural disasters and events
like flood, earthquake, Drought, hunger and other problems, as a result of which some
children used to lose their parents and relatives and become orphan and as a result,
the society and government were responsible for protecting them in a specific
manner. Although the disasters have abundant bitterness and challenges, the
happiness remains in terms of acceptance of the children and caring after them by
relatives and humanitarian and kind people (e.g. earthquake of June of 1991 in Gilan
and Zanjan).
UNNATURAL FACTORS: These factors are various and are mostly in form of individual,
family and social factors and as a result of lack of proper performance and behavior
of family and society against them and each other. Most cases of reception of
orphans in Welfare Organization are for these unnatural factors:

1- Unknown place of parents

2- Divorce and separation of parents
3- The death of parents or one of them
4- Leaving family by father
5- Addiction of the parents or one of them
6- Moral-social incompetence of parents
7- Incurable disease of Parents
8- The economic poverty of parents
9- Missing parents
10- Disorientation, confusion and incompatibility
11- Betrayal of both parents
12- Religious and class differences between parents
13- The large number of children in the family
14- Stepfather in the family
15- Stepmother in the family
16- Remarried parents
17- The imprisonment of parents or one of them
18- inadequate housing and Location
19- escape of Children from families because of having a violent, tyrannical and
unstable family
20- Ostracized and abandoned children in the community and public places
(San'atinia, 1991).

The mentioned factors are the factors for reception of orphans in welfare
organization centers and clearly, all of them are resulted from unorganized family in
comprehensive aspects that can pave the way for many Prosperity and adversity of
family

WHAT SPACE CHILDREN LIKE?

Children are mostly interested in places where they can play during the day.
Children implement what is in their imagination during playing games. They need an
adequate space to implement the imaginations. Spaces should be designed in such
manner that the imaginations are not limited to children and they can change them
constantly. Training spaces of children should create a part of sense of peace and
attraction of House for Children. in such place, children feel as they are in their own
home and they like to enter such places and are interested in it (Dehghani, 1997;
p.29).
 Division of the space to some sections with different degrees of utilization and
variety of using it is interested by children. Children need open space, so that the
spaces can provide conditions for their mobility and activities, noisy games, child
activities, jumping and running for them. One of the certain useful indices of
educational and training buildings is to have enough space for mobility of children.
Finally, the more the authorities are able to make relationship between children and
sky, green space and nature and open land, the more the desired space is created
for them and this is same environment that can empower creativity and innovation of
children (ibid, p.30).

Through considering designation and materials, a space should be created

with following features:

- Children can feel safe there

- Be adjusted with the natural environment

- Rooms, classrooms and other spaces should be categorized. The

categorization can enhance ability of recognition of children and at the same time,
children can feel themselves as members of a large society.

- Internal spaces should be designed in such manner that they can motivate
sense of curiosity of children. Structural elements like columns, beams, main beams
and walls should demonstrate their duty and children should feel energy and power
of the elements and perceive skeleton of the loading structure through their sense of
curiosity.

- Creating a happy and hopeful space.

Through designation and materials, happy and hopeful space should be

created. Sloped colorful roofs maintained by columns and beams, transparency and
natural lighting in spaces, using colorful elements are good instruments to create a
happy and hopeful space. Colors remind different concepts for children.

Children are accustomed to things in their life automatically and actively.

Hence, it is not surprising if they want participate in forming their daily life and
changing it and don't want to cope with predetermined conditions. Confirmation and
acceptance of change in home for children can clearly reflect identity motivations,
which are introduced by children and are resulted from their perceptions.

Moreover, children should be able to be developed independently regardless

of many limitations on behalf of teachers and authorities. The mentioned issues can
create tendency to enhance selfconfidence and learning, along with innovation and
reaction to challenges, sense of responsibility, learning new skills and sense of being
systematic and valuable. (Anahita Khanbabaei, DESIGNING ORPHANAGE WITH THE
APPROACH OF CREATING SENSE OF BELONGING TO THE ENVIRONMENT retrieved
January 2020 from http://tojdac.org/tojdac/VOLUME6-
AGUSPCL_files/tojdac_v060AGSE120.pdf )
DESIGNING AN ORPHANAGE

Orphan children make up 2.33 per cent of the world’s population. In the
Philippines, of the roughly 34 million children under the age of eighteen, more than 2
million are orphans. (https://www.orphanslifeline.org/the-philippines)

*Orphan - A child who is below 18 years of age and who has lost one or both parents
may be defined as an orphan (George, 2011).

An orphanage is a residential institution dedicated to the care of orphans.

Designing an orphanage is complex as it requires including living, educational and
health facilities in a family environment considering child psychology. (Designing an
Orphanage, retrieved January 2020 from https://thehimalayantimes.com/lifestyle
/home-and-interior/designing-an-orphanage)

LITERATURE REVIEW
PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEMS

According to ”A study of psycho social problems in orphans in Kerala” a Ph.D.

thesis by Benson. N the major psycho-social problems a homeless child faces are:

 Self-esteem  Achievement
 Recognition and approval  Isolation
 Love and Affection  Financial problems
 Security  Dealing with the opposite sex
 Independence  Dealing with Authorities
 Creative expression  Relation with Anxiety
 New Experience  Relation with Emotional
 Dealing with others Maturity

An orphanage for young women in Srinagar was surveyed by psychiatrists using

DSM-IV guidelines to evaluate children for psychopathology. Children were in the
age group of 5 to 12 years

40.62%
25%
PTSD
Major
depressive
disorder (MDD)
12.5%
Conversion
Disorder

(Chan et al. 2006) Psychological problems

 METHODS TO COUNTERACT PSYCHOLOGICAL ISSUES

• COLOR THERAPY

RED
RED ORANGE
ORANGE YELLOW
YELLOW GREEN
GREEN
 Strength  Energising  Stimulate intellect  Harmony, Balance

 Loosen restraints  Warming  Cheering effect  Hope

 Calming effect
 Energy  Lift spirits of  Facilitate digestion
depressed and  Optimism
 Remove lethargy lonely  Not ideal for stress
and depression  Excess may result in
Complacency

RED
BLUE ORANGE
INDIGO YELLOW
VIOLET

 Truth, Nobility and  Stimulate intellect

 Intellect
Serenity.  Cheering effect
 Courage,
 Help for frightened  Facilitate digestion
authority
or flustered  Not ideal for stress
 Inner Calmness
 Sedative

SOURCE: Design Interventions for Orphan Children to Accommodate their Psychological Needs
retrieved January 2020 from https://www.slideshare.net/devvratc/2010barc009-devvrat-44680285
BUILDING FORM, SPACE LAYOUT AND DETAILING

An orphanage generally consists of two major parts: individual units in the form
of cottage with 5-6 children along with a houseparent and a common building for
learning and playing including health care facility. In order to achieve a homely
environment, the bedrooms should have access from a common room rather than
opening to a long corridor. Different units along with landscape elements must be
juxtaposed to create enclosed outdoor spaces for social interaction among children
from different units. Such outdoor spaces should also be equipped with furniture,
plantation and sheds protecting from the sun and rain. Learning spaces can be better
designed using natural materials (wood, living plants, natural lighting and ventilation)
by bringing natural world indoors or by providing learning opportunities outdoors. Daily
access to and use of an outdoor space is necessary for interaction with nature as well
as with friends.

Huge bulky units with longer building façade that creates the feeling of
institutional or industrial environment must be avoided. Instead short blocks with
provisions of balcony and terraces, brick exposed elevation, sloped portion and
geometrical shaped elements with few steeping (up and down) on the gardens must
be given preference. Children love primary colours on their walls, floorings, and
ceilings as well as for beds, tables and outdoor furniture. For child
safety, all counters, shelves, sills, corners, ledges and edges at child height must have
a rounded corner, doors should swing away from the children’s play area and water
taps should be placed at different heights with non-slippery flooring. (Designing an
Orphanage, retrieved January 2020 from https://thehimalayantimes.com/
lifestyle/home-and-interior/designing-an-orphanage/)
CASE STUDY
ORPHANAGE DESIGN BY MANUEL NUNEZ
The orphanage had to be very low cost made, but functional to house 30-40
children, the construction material were concrete blocks and H beams. Security fence
had to be assigned to entire perimeter and was custom design to appear warm and
comforting and not like a prison. The orphanage has Sleeping rooms for the children
and nuns including the reverend, it also has Showers, laundry, cafeteria, food storage,
commons area, garden, a grotto, a chapel and a praying area. The terrain is not
evenly laid out therefore there is a split level in the first floor. The sun in the design is
done in a way where the suns position does not hit directly on the areas with the
largest voids such as the entrance areas.

SOURCE: https://archinect.com/bluebaron/project/orphanage
CASE STUDY

ORGANISING OF SPACE
About an orphanage in Tanzania

Else Abrahamsen Egenes

Interior Architecture & Furniture Design Konstfack
Bachelor 2014

PURPOSE
To continue develop and expand my experience as a interior architect. Participate
in a process to do something good for someone else - to learn how architectural
projects are unfolded in developing countries, different contexts and cultures. Lifting
up a field within our education and profession that gets little attention.
SOURCE: Else Abrahamsen Egenes, “ORGANISING OF SPACE; about an Orphanage
in Tanzania” retrieved January 2020 from http://www.diva-
portal.se/smash/get/diva2:753148/FULLTEXT01.pdf