Every two years, a group of students from Westmount Charter School travels to Ecuador for humanitarian purposes. This year 21 students attended, accompanied by teachers and aid workers already in the country. Out of the several sites we visited and all the work we did, one of the most profound experiences was working with children in a school in Otonga, located in the cloud forest of Ecuador. Though the school provides education for just over a hundred students in the area, their resources are limited and they have little access to quality information with which to teach, or alternate resources from simple paper and pencils. Aside from textbooks, which are easily damaged by the high humidity in the area, their best alternative is a computer system, which they have not nearly enough money or proper facilities for. To this end, Westmount’s Human Condition 35 class, part of a unique program focusing on human rights and current and past social issues, has designed a computer room to fit into an open space of 6m by 8m on the school property.

The site is, as mentioned, located in an extremely humid part of South America. The site is tucked between the main school building to the east, the bathroom facilities to the north and a steep hill to the west. Despite the rain, it does receive a great deal of sunlight, and the specific area designated for the building – currently unused and filled with boulders – is raised from the rest of the school lot, allowing it greater access to sunlight and allowing us to put solar panels on the roof to supply most if not all of the energy required for the banks of computers.

Though the school only requested 10 computers, our plans allow for 7 more, which includes one for the teacher. The computers are going to be organized in 2 rows of tables. The computer we are going to use is the Aleutia D1 PC. It is an extremely efficient computer, using only 40 watts of energy which is 60% less than most other computers. They are small computers which is perfect for our space constraints. We have chosen to use the extremely energy efficient ViewSonic monitor, which also uses up to 60% less energy than other monitors. These recyclable plastic LCD monitors have a backlight that uses up to 42% less power, while still delivering an excellent, clear image.

This site is not only humid, but hot as well, having daily temperatures of up to 30 degrees Celsius. We have found a way to have windows that allow light into the room without making the room unbearably hot or overheating the computers. As indicated in the accompanying images, we are including a number of laminate glass windows in the walls on the eastern and western sides of the building, which will allow light to enter and help us to avoid the use of light bulbs while also avoiding exposure to the direct sunlight overhead. The windows provide a wash of light, and the highest window on one side as well as the lowest window on the opposite wall, are hinged to open for airflow in the room. This will create a low/high pressure system, which will optimally create a cooler airflow within the room while decreasing the amount of hot air accumulation. Security is an issue in the area and we plan to ensure the safety of our project by using the laminate glass windows, which is extremely durable and will help prevent property damage.

We want to use Nemalux LED lights as they are very efficient and long-lasting. LED lights have the advantage of being low voltage and they are ideal for the solar powered application that we plan to use them for. The lifespan of an LED light is 100,000 hours, and since we have very bright sunlight in the area from 6 am until 6 pm, the lights will most likely only be used after 6 pm.

The materials that we are using for the building are the main construction resources of the area, such as cinderblocks and plaster. We have chosen to use local materials for ease of transportation and to increase the sustainability of our building. We have chosen not to use wood material so as to not promote deforestation in the area, which is a current issue in Ecuador. We are also including a dehumidifier to combat the high humidity, which would otherwise damage the computers. Finally, the roof of our building will be sloped at about a ten degree angle, to allow the rain to slide off the roof and gather in a ditch behind our building. This roof design will keep rain off of the equipment and also keep it from damaging the structure.

This building will hopefully provide this school with a much greater potential to well-educate the impoverished children of the area, and is planned for sustainability and for efficiency. Though our timeline is limited, we do hope to move forward with this project with the assistance of humanitarian workers in the area and local architects willing to assist with our plans.

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