Vulnerable Children-Implementation of SP

Abstract:
Most of us are lucky enough to spend our childhood at home. Many remember
those years warmly. And even those of us with decidedly fierce memories about
growing up still usually manage to gradate to reasonable productive adult
lives.
McKenzie, R., B., 2009, Home Away From Home: The Forgotten History of
Orphanages, Encounter Books, United Stated of America.
Within a family there are good but also bad moments, and even if one had the
opportunity to relive their childhood, again would not have change a thing
because family support is a significant component for a human. This thesis is
centered on children, who do not have the good fortune of having a family
member caring for them. Hundreds thousands of children all over the world are
growing up under dreadful conditions. Most of the time they are children that
have lost one or even both of their parents and in some cases the children have
been neglected, physically or psychologically, abused by their parents or their
legal guardians. The objective of this thesis is to question how architecture can
affect the life of an orphan by creating better living conditions for them until
they find a permanent home. Through architecture the environment would be
shaped in order to become a home for these children, that helps them to grow
up without the problems that are normally associated with various institutions,
such as orphanages, and focus on elements that are important for the child
development. With the intention of investigating the perfect milieu for children
there are some parameters that should be taken in account. Three of those
parameters are, domesticity, playing and day-dreaming, which play an
important role in the mental and physical development of a child. As a result of
observing different orphanages, such as the SOS Children Villages, the
Amsterdam Orphanage, and other kinds of childrens centers, positive as well
negative outcomes will be subtracted that will help in the development of an
ideal orphanage.
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Introduction
Orphan is a child who has lost one or even both of his parents. With the
parents death the child becomes ward of the community. The responsibility
of the child is forced upon the other parent or grandparents by almost every
law system, but there is no obligation upon any other relative. In cases that
the child cannot be supported by another family member or by a legal
guardian; it ends up in different state institutions, depending on the childs
needs, but frequently they are placed in orphanages. An orphanage is a
foundation that is dedicated to the care of orphans who have lost their
parents or they are unable or unwilling to care for them. The orphanage is
meant to provide care and housing to the orphans. The children are
educated either within or outside the orphanage. An orphanage is devoted to
vulnerable children and it should be dedicated to providing them a better
way of life. 1
The purpose of this study is to investigate the implementations of spatial

properties, on vulnerable children, via the means of imagination and
creativity. In 2009, the United Nations predicted that there were around
eight million children all over the world living in care institutions. There is a
large possibility that this number is going to be increased due to the
disasters that are happening, in view of the fact that the climate is constantly
changing and the rise of HIV/AIDS incidences in third world
countries.2During the beginning of the 20th century, the organization Save
the Children and other psychologists pointed out that orphanages especially
those with a large numbers of children were not good enough for the
childrens care. One of the reasons was due to the fact that most orphanages
were understaffed, which lead to children growing up without the proper
care that they needed in order to develop properly. Nevertheless, in 2009,
there was an article in the Wall Street Journal, by Richard McKenzie, which
was contradicting the above statements, and declaring that children who
grow up in orphanages they have a better childhood than children who grow
1McKenna, Charles. "Orphans and Orphanages." CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA. Robert Appleton

Company, 1 Feb. 1911. Web. 15 Aug. 2011. P.1
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11322b.htm
2Csaky,Corinna. Keeping Children Out of Harmful Institutions Why We Should Be Investing in
Family-based Care. London: Save the Children, 2009. Save the Children. Save the
Children.org.uk,Nov.2009.Web.Nov.2011.P.3
<http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/resources/online-library/keeping-children-out-of-
harmful-institutions-why-we-should-be-investing-in-family-based-care>
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up in foster home. As long as orphans exist in this world orphanages cannot
vanish, as a result this thesis is based on the dilemma of institutionalization
and trying to propose a new method on how to approach orphans and how
an ideal orphanage should be.
The new approach is based on domesticity, daydreaming and game. With

this new method children will be able to have a playful childhood, a normal
mental and physical development and at the same time to create new
memories that will help them to overcome their fears and bad memories
that are related with their past. All this can happen due to the fact that
domesticity will help them to enhance the sense of belonging and at the
same time playing and daydreaming will help them to develop their
imagination and creativity and learn how to interact with other people.
Slowly this new approach will help the children feel that for the first time
they have a home, and not just a house, where at the end of the day they can
return to, and that for the first time they have something that belongs to
them and can be proud about it.
It is important to state the proposals above could offer a strong basis for the
implementation of spatial properties on vulnerable children. Dealing with
children and especially with orphans is a big chapter and requires further
extensive research of psychological, sociological aspects, which are subject
matter to other specialized fields of study and consequently are not the
principle of this thesis.
The aim of chapter one is to analyze the dilemma of institutionalization and

the contradictive opinions that different psychologist have. At the end of
chapter one there is an investigation on the beginning of institutionalization
and under what conditions the first orphanages were created and what their
living conditions were. Chapter two presents three different case studies of
contemporary orphanages. Nowadays, orphanages have adapted to the
needs of modern society which leads to an evolution of orphanages. The
different orphanages that have made a change in orphans lives are
examined such as SOS Childrens Villages and the Amsterdam Orphanage, in
order to understand the evolution of orphanages. Chapter three is dedicated
on the three parameters: domesticity, daydreaming and game, which shape
the new method which is needed in order to make orphans life more
comfortable inside the orphanages. Different examples of childrens centers
will be investigated as well, given that the core of these centers is the child.
For this approach to be successful what needs to be done is to adapt all the
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positive outcomes from the investigation on the past, the contemporary
orphanages and the childrens centers but also to complete what is actually
missing from them in order to create the ideal milieu for the orphans home.
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Chapter one: The Dilemma of Institutionalization
There are around eight million children worldwide, at this moment, living in
orphanages and other kinds of institutions (Figure1). Nowadays, there is a
big debate around orphanages on whether or not children should be living
in them. Different scientist and organizations such as Save the Children3
stated that large orphanages are bad for the childs development due to
understaffing which causes lack of attention, care and individuality. The
organization supports the idea that children are better off living in a house,
even in foster homes rather than spending their childhood in orphanages.
On the other hand, there are people, who object the organization proposal,
such as Richard B. McKenzie4 wrote an article The Best Thing About
Orphanages5 in order to defend and express his grateful feelings about the
orphanage he grow up.
1.1 Orphanages Opposition
In 2009, Save the Children publicly reported that a lot of children who live in
orphanages still have at least one parent alive and because of this, children
are experiencing the trauma of being separated from their parents
(Figure2). Poverty is considered as the main reason why children are left in
orphanages. Once families cannot afford raising their children, except the
cases that the state removes the children from the family when they deem
best for the child, they leave them in institutions especially when their
poverty has been escalated by natural disasters, illness or family breakdown.
In several countries, particularly Africa and Asia, orphanages have become a
3Save the Children is an independent organization for children, where they save childrens
lives, help them to carry out their potential and more importantly fight for their rights. They
work in over 120 countries, and they have 29 members focusing on the poorest and most
marginalized children.
http://www.savethechildren.net
4Richard McKenzie is the Walter B. Gerken Professor Emeritus of Enterprise and Society in
the Paul Merage School of Business at the University of California, Irvine. Professor McKenzie
has written more than thirty books and monographs. In addition, Professor McKenzie has
written several hundred pamphlets, articles, chapters for larger works, and scholarly articles
for a variety of academic journals, including Southern Economics Journal, Antitrust Bulletin,
Public Choice, Journal of Political Economy, and Ethics. His columns and general-interest
articles have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Los Angeles Times,
Washington Post, USA Today, Christian Science Monitor, National Review, Forbes, Reader's
Digest, and most of the country's major regional newspapers.
5Mckenzie, Richard B. "The Best Thing About Orphanages." The Wall Street Journal: Business
News & Financial News :. Wsj.com, 14 Jan. 2010. Web. 15 Nov. 2011.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703510304574626080835477074.html
5|Page
great income, more like a business, for the people who run them since the
government or different donors support them financially. In Liberia, for
example, nowadays, there are eleven times more orphanages than 20 years
ago which can help devious owners who want to secure their funding, by
giving false promises to poor families that their children will have a better
life inside the institution and they will be provided with education and care
in order to achieve childrens recruitment to fill the orphanages.6 Corinna
Csky, the Protection Advisor of Save the Children, in her report stated that:
It is a myth that children in orphanages have no parents. Most are there

because their parents simply can't afford to feed, clothe and educate them.
Mothers and fathers are forced to make the agonizing decision to put their
child in an institution in the hope that they will have a better future.The
reality is that the separation from parents together with the poor quality of
care, violence, abuse and exploitation found in many care institutions is
causing extreme and lasting harm to children and to society." 7
In the beginning of the 20th century, there were different studies on the
negative effects of institutional care on child development, and recently the
Bucharest Early Investigation Program8 published their study based on
childrens development, comparing children who were raised in large-scale
institutions, with their families and in foster homes.9 The study was based
on two hundred and eight children from Romania and after few years of
following their physical and mental development, brain function, and the
relationship with others, they discovered that the institutional care was
causing a lot of harm to childrens development. After long years of
6Csky, Corinna. Keeping Children Out of Harmful Institutions Why We Should Be Investing in
Children.org.uk, Nov. 2009. Web. Nov. 2011. P.1-5
7Ghana: At Least Four out of Five Children in 'orphanages' Still Have Parents, Save the Children
Reveals. Rep. ReliefWeb.int, 23 Nov. 2009. Web. 15 Nov. 2011.P.1

http://reliefweb.int/node/334457
8The Bucharest Early Intervention Project(2000) is the first in the world to examine how
early, severe adversity weaves its way into the structure of the brain to influence behavior
and whether the brain can recover. A team of researchers headed by Charles A. Nelson, PhD,
comprehensively assessed 136 children between the ages of 6 and 31 months
institutionalized in Bucharests 6 institutions for young children.
9Nelson, Charles, Nathan Fox, Charles Zeanah, and Dana Johnson. "Caring for Orphaned,
Abandoned and Maltreated Children." Better Care Network. Better Care Network Discussion
Day, 10 Jan. 2007. Web. 15 Nov. 2011.
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evaluation, the research demonstrated that the institutionalized childrens
childhood were not as good as the childhood of foster home children or
children who were raised with their families. For instance:
An average of 2.6 months that children spend in a Romanian Orphanage

cost them a month of normal growth.
Children that enter the orphanage in a very young age had dramatically
lower IQs and levels of brain activity.
Institutionalized children are more likely to have social, emotional and

behavioral problems, such as aggressive behavior, lack of concentration and
hyperactivity. 10
Kevin Browne11 in the report The Risk of Harm to Young Children in

Institutional Care12 stated that Save the Children made a new research,
worldwide, but this time was focusing on the consequences. The human
interaction, either visual or physical is in fact very important for the child
development, especially for the neurological process but since this
interaction is negligible it means that some parts of the childs brain have
never been triggered and this can easily cause lower IQs. Furthermore, the
lack of toys and playgrounds, where the childrens imagination and
creativity can be intrigued and gain knowledge about their abilities, creates
problems in their motor skills and even language abilities since they are not
used to communicating and playing with other children.13 Moreover, most
orphanages are overcrowded and this can cause children a loss of their
identity, since they are not treated as individuals but rather as a group of
children. In addition, overcrowding except from lack of attention and
affection can cause bad level of hygiene and sometimes not even proper
http://www.crin.org/docs/PPT%20BEIP%20Group.pdf
Children.org.uk, Nov. 2009. Web. Nov. 2011.P.6
11Kevin Browne is the Professor of Forensic Psychology and Child Health at the Institute of
Work, Health & Organizations, in the University of Nottingham, and in the past he was the
Chairman of Forensic and Child Psychology at Liverpool and Birmingham Universities. He
worked and presented, in more than 50 countries all over the world, on the prevention of
child abuse and child health in Russia and Slovakia.
12 Browne, Kevin. The Risk of Harm to Young Children in Institutional Care. Rep. Save the
Children.org.uk, 2009. Web. 15 Nov. 2011.

http://www.crin.org/docs/The_Risk_of_Harm.pdf
13Ibid., P.11-14
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medical care.14 Even though orphanages are based on the childs care, from
the moment that the child is separated from their family, different problems
appear which causes problems with their psychological and behavioral
growth.
Overall, Save the Childrens report insists that in order for a child to have a
normal mental and physical development it has to be raised by his family or
foster parents, since the children of institutions suffer from slow physical
growth, behavior problems and lower IQs. Especially, children at the age of
three are more sensitive when it comes to permanent damage to their brains
and bodies; consequently it is a risk to leave them inside institutions, even
more so with children with disabilities that can easily be abused by other
children.15 The Organization in order to prevent this abandonment of
children by the parents from happening, proposes an idea of supporting the
families economically and this means to increase cash benefits, free health
care, better access to education and child protection services.16 Even though
this proposal seems to be ideal, with the economic crisis that is affecting the
world is hard to be established and especially in third world countries
where the living conditions are unbearable and even impossible.
What follows is a case study of a Chinese Orphanage, where this extreme

case study is used in order to demonstrate that to institutionalize a child is a
crime since children grow up with a lot of problems, either physically,
emotionally or even psychologically, while they lose their willingness to live
due to the fact that the orphanage accommodates a large amount of children
and there is hardly any staff to take care of them. Especially in those
orphanages the individuality of each child is barely visible, and even
sometimes people are unable to identify the childs gender.
Children.org.uk, Nov. 2009. Web. Nov. 2011.P.10
http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/resources/online-library/keeping-children-out-of-
harmful-institutions-why-we-should-be-investing-in-family-based-care
15 Ibid. P.1
16 Ibid. P.17-19
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Figure 1: Estimated numbers of children in institutions in selected countries.
Figure 2: Percentage of children in institutions with one or both parents alive, in selected countries.
9|Page
1.1.1 Chinese Orphanage
Anne F. Thurston17 in the article In a Chinese Orphanage18 describes the

unpleasant experience she gained by her visit to an orphanage in southern
China. With Anne Thurstons arrival in the orphanage, the older children, that
were able to walk, were waiting for her by the door. As soon as they saw
Annie Thurston, a smile lighted their faces, especially when they saw her
oversized bag, since they knew that it was full with delights. Most of the
children in the room were lacking good manners, seeing as there was no one
there willing enough to teach them. A group of children were handicapped
and others seem to be retarded. Various volunteers, especially foreign, were
persuaded that retardation was due to the failure of a normal physical or
mental development, the consequence of inadequate affection and carrying.
The orphanage was accommodating three hundred to three hundred and

fifty children and another three hundred and fifty children who were
disabled. The majority of the children
were girls even though it was hard to
identify them since they were
wearing unisex clothes and they had
their hair too short. Few of those girls
were actually orphans, a good
number of them they were
abandoned, in the police station or in
the train station, due to the Chinese
policy -one child per family and the Figure 3: Cribs in many of the orphanages in
importance of the male child in the China do not have mattresses so babies and
Chinas tradition. Males are children often sleep on boards.
considered to be more important given that they carry on the family lane
and care for their parents when they are old. Most of the boys that were in
the orphanage were partly handicapped and some of them were not even
abandoned, their family was visiting them and they left them in the
orphanage since they were not able to provide them the appropriate help.
17 Anne F. Thurston Ph.D. is the director of the Grassroots China Initiative; Senior Research
Professor of China Studies.
18 Thurston, Annie F. "In a Chinese Orphanage." The Atlantic News and Analysis on Politics,
Business, Culture, Technology, National, International, and Life. The Atlantic.com, Apr. 1996.
Web. Sept. 2011.
http://www.theatlantic.com/past/issues/96apr/orphan/orphan.htm
10 | P a g e
In China, adoption does not happening frequently due to the policy -one
child per family, but when a couple does not have a child, they have the
chance to adopt either from their married siblings or, if they want to adopt
from an orphanage they have to wait until they are thirty-five19. Sometimes,
the infants of the orphanage were adopted especially those without any
health problems. The infants that were not adopted they were moved to
another room called by foreign volunteers, the toddlers room. The staffing in
the orphanage was inadequate; there were not enough people to care for the
infants, not even when the children were crying and spreading their arms
waiting to be held. If a child could not feed themselves, no one would do it
and as a result, the children were left to starve. When the children were too
weak to even cry they were moved to the back of the room, practically left to
die. Anne Thurston in her article stated that: I had expected the dying
children to be crying, begging to be saved. Instead they were silent, withdrawn,
and immobile. They had no expectation of being comforted or saved20
Children were silent and withdrawn, they had given up their will to survive,
and were waiting for death to come and take them away.
In 1995, a documentary called The Dying Rooms21 was filmed by three

reporters that worked undercover in a Chinese Orphanage. The
documentary was about the children that were neglected and left to die by
starvation, and when it was viewed throughout the world the Chinese
Officials denied everything. In 1996, Human Rights Watch/Asia22 published
an extensive report23 declaring that thousands children in Chinese
Orphanages have died due to starvation and medical indifference. In
addition, once more the response of Chinese government was unpersuasive
and refused the existence of such spaces. As a result of this exposure, a
Web. Sept. 2011. P.4
Web. Sept. 2011. P.1
21 The Dying Rooms was directed, in 1995, by Kate Blewett, Peter Woolrich and Brian Woods
and produced by Lauderdale Productions, in U.K.

22 Human Rights Watch is an independent organization, worldwide, dedicated to defending
and protecting human rights.

23 Chinese Orphanages: A Follow-Up. Rep. Human Rights Watch/Asia, Mar. 1996. Web. Sept.
2011
http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/china96.pdf
11 | P a g e
problem was caused in international adoptions. A number of American
couples that were in process of adopting baby girls were told to postpone
their flights to China. In addition, a lot of people were afraid that with all this
situation China may terminate international adoptions for good. Even by the
time that this article was published, the visits of foreign volunteers were
canceled as well.
Although these kinds of orphanages are real, there are still a lot of
orphanages in the world where the children spend their childhood happily
and become young adults with right values. When the case of the Chinese
Orphanage reached the public and Save the Children was strictly against
orphanages, a lot of people felt the need to speak about their childhood in
order to show everyone that there are still good orphanages out in the
world. One of these people was Richard McKenzie who wrote an article in
order to defend the nice childhood he had inside an orphanage.
1.2 Orphanages Supporters
In December 2009, different researchers from the Duke University published

their study about the research they did on three thousand orphaned and
neglected children in Africa and Southeast Asia. Half of those children were
living in, either small or large, orphanage and the other half in foster homes.
The result of this study was contradicting everything that Save the Children
and other scientist proposed. It has been proved that children in orphanages
have the same mental and physical development, emotional and cognitive
functioning, as the children that were raised in foster homes. Furthermore,
there were cases where the children who were raised in orphanages were
coping in life better than the children from foster homes. A lot of children, all
the over the world, are in foster care, but regrettably a great amount of
children spend their entire childhood moving from one foster home to the
other, what is called permanent temporary care, and there even cases
where, people lose count of how many foster homes they have changed by
the time they turned eighteen years old.24
24Mckenzie, Richard B. "The Best Thing About Orphanages." The Wall Street Journal: Business
News & Financial News :. Wsj.com, 14 Jan. 2010. Web. 15 Nov. 2011. P.1
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703510304574626080835477074.html
12 | P a g e
In 1994, when Newt Gingrich suggested that is better for children to live in
an orphanage than foster homes, Hilary Clinton argued against this
statement by saying that it was
unbelievable and absurd. Richard
McKenzie had enough of the
Gingrich-Clinton debate; therefore
he decided to write an article
called The Best Thing about
Orphanages. He felt the need to
defend the orphanage that he grew
up in North Carolina in 1950s. In
the article Richard McKenzie
mentions that: "Most critics would
like the public to believe that those
of us who went through
Figure 4: Children during music class from
orphanages were throttled by the
the Barium Springs Home
experience. No doubt, some were.
However, most have charged on."25 For example the children from the
Barium Springs Home26 may not get the hugs, even though other children
underestimate the value of a hug, but still they have the chance to grow up
in a permanent secure environment. In the past ten years Richard McKenzie
investigated more than two thousand five hundred former students from
fifteen different orphanages in America. Inside his two journals articles he
reported that the alumni from orphanages surpass the general population
in different aspects such as social, economic, educational as well as the
positive way they viewed life. Orphanages had 39% higher rate in children
that succeeded in college than other people of same age who had not lived
in an orphanage, and only around 3% of children had bad memories from
their life in orphanages. During his work, Richard McKenzie received a lot of
emails and letters from people that were supporting his work, and even
competing with him that their orphanage was better.27 The situation made
25 Mckenzie, Richard B. "The Best Thing About Orphanages." The Wall Street Journal: Business
News & Financial News :. Wsj.com, 14 Jan. 2010. Web. 15 Nov. 2011. P.1
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703510304574626080835477074.html .
26 Barium Springs Home is a foundation since 1891, that cares for children in 41 North
Carolina counties. They provide a safe place to live for abused or neglected children,
therapeutic foster care and adoption program. Is one of the orphanages that were featured in
Homecoming (2004).
27"Posted and Emailed Comments from Readers of the Column." WSJ.com. 14 Jan. 2011. Web.
15 Nov. 2011. http://web.merage.uci.edu/~mckenzie/pdf_doc/comments.pdf
13 | P a g e
him wonder if the specialists had actually considered all of this, or even if
they had researched anything about orphanages.
In 1989, George Cawood directed a documentary called Homecoming: The

Forgotten World of Americas Orphanages28. The documentary was based on
four different old orphanages; where people who lived their life in the
specific orphanages, were reunited in order to make merry about their
childhood memories. The crew was amazed by the wonderful memories that
people had gained in the orphanage during their childhood.
Extreme cases such as the Chinese Orphanages are one of the main reasons
why the public is against orphanages. Unfortunately, orphanages cannot
stop existing for the reason that there are still a great number of orphans
that is unprotected and left alone. There is no doubt that in the past and
even today, bad examples of orphanages exist all over the world, but that
does not mean that there are not good examples of orphanages that are
great at their work, and at the same time no one can deny that there are bad
biological and foster families as well. As one can see there are both positive
and negative outcomes regarding conventional orphanages based on
institutionalization. Therefore, what needs to be done is a re-evaluation of
the entire concept of orphanages. Even though a lot of psychologists draw
attention to the best interest of the child is to grow up in a loving and safe
environment with their biological parents, unfortunately, this is not possible
for many children, given that they had to be removed from their home due to
sexual, physical or psychological abuse, and since these children exist,
orphanages cannot be vanished. In order for more successful evaluation to
be achieved we must first briefly mention a historical overview of the
creation of institutionalization.
1.3 Beginning of Institutionalization
The first orphanages were founded in the 1st century and were called
orphanotrophia and in different states had different meanings for
supporting orphans. For example the Athenian law reported it as a duty to
support the orphans whose parents was killed in military services and the
Jewish law supported the orphans and the widows. Throughout history there
are signs of adoption, but the initial motive was not the best interest of the
child but what the child could offer, for example Romes Emperors were
28Homecoming: The Forgotten World of Americas Orphanages was directed, in 2004, by

George Cawood and produced by Adam Hauck and Sheila Moreland, in U.S.A.
14 | P a g e
adopting sons in order to be provided with a male heir to manage estates. On
the other hand in India a parent would adopt in order to have the necessary
funerary rites performed by a son, and in China male boys would be adopted
in order to exclusively accomplish the obligations of ancestor worship.29
Before the asylums, children stayed in places which most of the time were
not suitable for children for instance almshouse jails and workplaces.
Children even had to steal and
beg on the streets in order to
survive.30 Frequently children
were left on the doorstep of
the Church, and under these
circumstances the Church took
the role of the adopter where
the orphans stayed within
monastic institutions and
raised within the monastery.
Figure 5: Religion and moralistic ideals were
This was the first time in part of the childrens education
European history that the
abandoned children had legal, social and moral advantages. The bishop took
care of the orphans and he was responsible for the girls to be given to
Christian husbands when they were ready to get married and for the boys to
learn some art or handcraft and to provide them with the tools and
knowledge in order to survive on their own when they were not longer
under the protection of the Church. 31
29McKenna, Charles. "Orphans and Orphanages." CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA. Robert

Appleton Company, 1 Feb. 1911. Web. 15 Aug. 2011. P.1-2
30Weisman, Mary-Lou. "When Parents Are Not in the Best Interests of the Child." The
Atlantic News and Analysis on Politics, Business, Culture, Technology, National,
International, and Life. TheAtlantic.com, July 1994. Web. Oct. 2011.P3-4
http://www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/issues/96apr/orphan/weisorp.htm

Appleton Company, 1 Feb. 1911. Web. 15 Aug. 2011. P.1
15 | P a g e
This was the beginning of a shift toward institutionalization, which
eventually brought us to the creation of the foundling hospital and
orphanages. The number of
orphanages increased in response to
wars, especially the Civic War, which
left the orphanages and the foundling
homes overcrowded. Children used
to stay in large dorms, referred to as
warehouses and barracks. Inside a
dormitory there were around fifty
children, who were usually separated
into groups by their age and gender.
Children were allowed to attend
school and church and most of their
activities where inside the
orphanage. Most of these Figure 6: Three girls in their orphanage
orphanages provide a feeling of uniform, 1980
institutionalization since there was hardly any interaction between the
children and the outside. The individual contact was hardly possible
between the children and the adults of the orphanage, and the use of religion
and moralist ideals was the standard tool for the childrens education.32
Except for the contact with the outside world, children were restricted in
many ways, for example, they did not have the free time to play and all their
moves were supervised by adults. The individuality of the children was
oppressed in order for the adults of the orphanage to control them. All these
lead to institutionalization which is something bad for the children given
that they lose their spontaneity, imagination, creativity; elements that are
important in order for a child to live a happy childhood.33
Changes in lifestyle, advances in the health field and the rise of progressive
movements led to the orphanage evolving throughout its history, with
changes in the clientele, policies type of staff running the orphanages, and the
32 McKenzie, Richard B. Home Away from Home: The Forgotten History of Orphanages. New
York: Encounter, 2009. Print.P.14,19,41
33 , . :
. Thesis. / ,
2010. Print. P.23-24
16 | P a g e
changes in the approach to child rescue and care.34 Over time, the
orphanages slowly started changing and creating a shift from
institutionalization towards the childs best interest. Nowadays, children
have the chance to live in a more stable and secure environment since
orphanages have changed with the adaptation of the modern societys needs.
The living conditions in orphanages are entirely different of what they used
to be. The children no longer sleep in metal beds but in normal beds and in
each room there are two children and not twenty. Moreover, uniforms and
standardized haircuts are gone. Furthermore the eating habits have
likewise changed; children do not eat corn meals on long wooden tables in a
dark place called the dining area.35
34 Mogasha, Mpho. TIME MEMORY AND PLACE; THE CREATION OF HOME FOR VULNERABLE
SOCIETY How Can the Continuance and Celebration of the Idea of Home Be Expressed through
an Orphanage? Thesis. Canada /Dalhousie University, 2005. Mauritius: VDM House, 2011.
Print. P.8
35 Ibid. P.9
17 | P a g e
Chapter two: Contemporary Orphanages
At the end of 19th Century different progressive welfare reformers, like Jane
Addams36 and Florence Kelly37, start presenting new ideas about the care of
orphans. With these newcomers a lot of orphanages were criticized as being
brutal, conventional, unhygienic and did not give any attention to the
individuality of the children.
In the beginning of the 20th century a lot of orphanages were modified

according to the needs of a more modern society and in this way a new
attitude towards childcare was
introduced. In order to deal
with the overcrowding
orphanages a new system
called was introduced. The
orphanages were running in
the same way as they used to
with the main difference being
that the children were now Figure 7: Cottage System
divided into smaller houses. In
this way the environment that surrounded the children was more close to a
home environment. Children now, were able to attend public school, wear
their own clothes, and interact with people from the community.
Nowadays orphanages vary from country to country, especially the culture

of every country embraces an important part to this variation. Nevertheless,
SOS Children Village is a new kind of orphanage, which is famous worldwide
regardless of cultural difference since the Villages are able to adjust in any
kind of culture.
36Jane Addams was a pioneer settlement worker, founder of Hull House in Chicago, public
philosopher, sociologist, author, and leader in woman suffrage and world peace. she was
trying to help to turn the nation to issues of concern to mothers, such as the needs of
children, public health, and world peace. Addams became a role model for middle-class
women who volunteered to uplift their communities. She is increasingly being recognized as
a member of the American pragmatist school of philosophy, and in 1931 she became the first
American woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
37Florence Kelley was an American social and political reformer who fought to make it illegal
for children under the age of 14 to work and to limit the hours of children under 16. She
sought to give them the right of education, arguing children must be nurtured to be
intelligent people.
18 | P a g e
2.1. SOS Childrens Villages
SOS Childrens Village is an independent non-governments organization,

created in 1949, by Hermann Gmeiner38 in Austria. The organization was
devoted to caring for the helpless children that were in need given that they
lost their home and families due to the World War II. With the help of
countless supporters and donors the organization spread all over the world
and today a lot of homeless children have found a place of safety. 39 SOS
Childrens Village is based on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of
the Child, which makes it international and in this way it can adjust in any
kind of religion or culture. The Organizations idea is based on the creation
of home for the orphaned and abandoned children until they become
eighteen years old.40
Figure 8: SOS Childrens Villages WorldMap.
SOS Childrens Villages endorses a family structure home, by creating an

environment where the children can live as a family with the existence of a
father and mother. Each Village has around fifteen homes, and every home
has a mother who is accountable for the care of the children that are living
inside. The SOS mother is the most important element in the foundation of
the Villages. She has the greatest but at the same time the most pleasurable
responsibility, given that she creates an unbreakable bond with the
children, with the love, security and stability that she provides them. In
order for a woman to become an SOS mother she has to be single and go
38 Dr. Hermann Gmeiner was an Austrian philanthropist and the founder of SOS Children's
Villages.
39 SOS Children's Villages International - A Loving Home for Every Child. SOS Children's
Villages International.org. Web. Dec. 2011.

http://www.sos-childrensvillages.org/
40 SOS Children's Village Association of Jordan. Web. 10 Dec. 2011.
http://www.sosjor.org/
19 | P a g e
through severe training programs to be able to become a mother for ten
children in their homes. She understands and respects each childs
individuality, culture and
religion. In this way the
children are provided with
the family care that they
need and at the same time
the mother is earning her
income. The father figure
most of the time has it the
director of the Village, and
while he is running the
administrative activities of
Figure 9: House Mother
the Village he is the father
role model that the children desires and turn to in times of need. Usually he
lives inside the Village with his own real family. The Villages receive
children from both genders and they have to be younger than ten years old
otherwise if they are older that means that they go along with younger
siblings, and since the principle of the Villages is family, the siblings are
never separated. In general, the children stay in their home with their
mothers until they become eighteen years old.41
Every single house is a family home for those ten children, with its own
distinguishing atmosphere. Under the protection of the home, children for
the first time can really be reassured of a childhood full of joy, love, security
and belonging. Children grow older together with their brothers or sisters,
and they learn how to coexist, and share their responsibilities. Families live
normal everyday lives and all together they create an encouraging
environment for the children to live a happy childhood. Apart from their
own community where they live peacefully and helping each other, another
goal of the Village is to relocate the children back to the society. The children
through their homes and the Village learn how to contribute enthusiastically
in the society. Children are attending public schools and are encouraged to
interact with the society in order to grow up without feeling that they
missed out from life. There are even times were the Villages provide public
41Mogasha, Mpho. TIME MEMORY AND PLACE; THE CREATION OF HOME FOR VULNERABLE
Print. P.14-15
20 | P a g e
facilities, in order to secure the interaction of the children with the people of
the community.
2.1.1 SOS Childrens Village - Jordan
The SOS Childrens Village was built, in 1991, at the boundaries of the
residential area of the city of Aqaba, in Jordan. The whole project has been
described by a lot of people as a sensitive new project and it has won the
Aga Khan Award42 for Architecture. The entire Village except that is an
environmental friendly design, has been planned carefully in order to
present a modern version of the local traditional stone building.
Furthermore, the Village has been designed within an enclosed and friendly
urban landscape, based on the childrens scale. The Village provides
accommodation to seventy-two children and is consisted by eight family
houses, a staff house, an administration building, a guest house and a house
for the Village director.
Each house has three bedrooms, three children per room, bedroom for the
mother, two bathrooms, a dining area, a kitchen, a storage room and a guest
toilet. On the whole, the interior spaces are flexible and until nowadays
there is no single space that has been modified. Usually the bedrooms seem
to be faintly dark, due to the shading devices that normally are closed to
prevent the sun from entering the room and the dust from the desert winds,
which this affects the natural ventilation but since the materiality of the
houses provides good thermal insulation, the spaces have the appropriate
temperature. Overall, the design of the houses and the Village planning are
based on a friendly, secure atmosphere. Different factors played an
important role on the design and construction process such as
environmental, functional and social aspects. In addition, budget was an
important issue and this is another reason why local materials were in favor.
All the buildings are located around a square and they are linked with
different paths and gardens. Throughout the site there are arched pathways
that show the way to the shaded courts, whilst the gardens are enclosing the
building from the inside but also from the outside area of the Village. On the
southern boundaries of the village close to the main road, different facilities
42Aga Khan Award for the Muslim World is very important since it reflects on the social,
cultural and economic issues in the Muslim world. Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN)
does not deal only with architecture but with everything that has to do with the Muslim
world.
21 | P a g e
Figure 10: Site Plan
Figure 11: The main

entrance into the
complex; the scale of
the complex is related
with the scale of the
children themselves in a
contained urban setting.
Figure 12: Connection

of the village with the
rest of the community
with the use of social
points of interaction.
(Supermarket,
pharmacy)
22 | P a g e
Figure 13: different parts of the Village.
Figure 14: Living Room inside a Family Figure 15: Bedroom for three children
House
Figure16: SOS Childrens Village
23 | P a g e
are located such as, a supermarket and pharmacy, sports institution, and a
kindergarten. This creation of network provides different points of social
interaction between the children of the Village and the public. 43
As a general rule, the main idea of SOS Childrens Villages is to provide to

children right moral, excellent edification, values that are related with their
culture, therefore when they reach adulthood, and it is time to leave the
Villages, they will already have learnt how to be independent and stand on
their own feet.44A similar approach with the SOS Childrens Village had the
Orphanage of Amsterdam by Aldo Van Eyck. When he was designing, he was
focused on how to provide a home for the children but at the same time a
small city on the suburbs of Amsterdam.
2.2 Amsterdam Orphanage- .Netherlands
Amsterdam orphanage was design by, Dutch Architect, Aldo Van Eyck, in
1960. The design of the orphanage was concentrate on creating, at the same
time, a home and a small city on the suburbs of Amsterdam city. Van Eyck, in
the essay that was published in 1962,Steps Towards a Configurative
Discipline described the orphanage as a small city and he stated that: a
house must be like a small city if its to be a real house, a city like a large house
if its to be a real city45
Figure 17: Orphanage- Small City
It is a house that provides accommodation to one hundred and twenty five

children between newborn and twenty years old. It is a house for the
unprotected children and provides either temporarily care, for children that
stay for a short period of time in the orphanage, or permanently care, for
43 Damluji, Salma Samar. SOS Children's Village/Jordan. Aga Khan Award for Architecture.
Firas Press, 02 Jan. 2011. Web. 10 Nov. 2011.P.3-5
http://www.akdn.org/architecture/project.asp?id=1805
44 SOS Children's Village Association of Jordan. Web. 10 Dec. 2011.
45 Balters, Sofia. "AD Classics: Amsterdam Orphanage / Aldo Van Eyck." ArchDaily.
ArchDaily.com, 26 Aug. 2011. Web. 15 Nov. 2011.
http://www.archdaily.com/151566/ad-classics-amsterdam-orphanage-aldo-van-eyck/
24 | P a g e
children that stay in the orphanage until they become adults. In the
orphanage there are around thirty with forty staff members and twelve of
them live inside the orphanage with the children. Except from the
accommodation, inside the orphanage there is a kitchen, a laundry room, a
gym, a theater, administrative spaces and other spaces for children to play.
Even through the children stay in the orphanage they are not cut off from
the rest of the society, they attend the same schools with the rest of the
community children; they have the same jobs or go to the same social
clubs.46
The orphanage was laid out in an orthogonal grid, and the functions of the
building were placed in a diagonal path which this way all the spaces were
equal since they were surrounded by the same analogy of interior and
exterior spaces. The orphanage was made out of two different module
volumes, the smaller volume was the residential area and the larger volume
was the public spaces where the children would socialize. The modules were
built with four round columns at the corners, a domed roof made by pre-cast
concrete, and a concrete floor. The facades of the orphanage were made
either by glass or brick wall.
Orphanages design helped Van Eyck to investigate and set up his humanistic
theories since he was against what he believed to be the mechanistic
approach of the older generation of the Modern Movement, so he decided to
design something that would be closer to humans something like an
architecture of community47 . The orphanage was designed in a way that
created a lot of points of interaction and not just one big central point, in
order to have a fluid movement between all spaces, and as it was mentioned
earlier that spaces were treated equally and by this Van Eyck successfully
managed to break down the hierarchy of spaces not like other large
institutions.
46Eyck, ldo Van. ldo Van Eyck, Works. Comp. Vincent Ligtelijn. Basel: Birkhauser Verlag,
1999. Print.P.88
SOCIETY How Can the Continuance and Celebration of the Idea of Home Be Expressed
through an Orphanage? Thesis. Canada /Dalhousie University, 2005. Mauritius: VDM House,
2011. Print. P.17
25 | P a g e
Figure 19: Childrens Scale
Figure 18:
Orthogonal Grid-
Diagonal Path
Figure 20: Corridors- Streets
Figure 21: Water Reflection Figure 21: In Between Spaces Figure 22: Reflection of Materials
Figure 23: Amsterdam Orphanage
26 | P a g e
Claudia Barra De Vincenzo, on her thesis stated that: he has designed the
Amsterdam Municipal Orphanage which makes manifest some of his avant-
gardist ideas on alternatives to the dry functionalism of the modernist city.48
Van Eyck believed that it is important to bring back the poetic spaces of a
city that can provide interaction to people something that is really important
for an orphanage in order to become a home. Amsterdam Orphanage is the
project that furnished Van Eyck with an international recognition and at the
same time it had a great impact on the orphanages that were designed after.
An orphanage that was influenced by the Amsterdam Orphanage was the
Hatziconsta Orphanage in Greece which was built in 1853 but after the
Second World War the orphanage was forced to move out of its premises.
After a lot of bad critics about the living conditions that the children were
facing inside of the orphanage, when it moved to the new location the whole
system, from the way the children were treated to the architecture of the
orphanage, changed completely. Hatziconsta Orphanage was inspired by the
fact that the spaces of Amsterdam Orphanage were providing different
opportunities to children to socialize, play and been inspired without been
watched by the adults, every second, but at the same time being safe.
2.3 Xatziconsta Orphanage - Greece
Hatziconsta orphanage was built in 1853 in Athens, Greece, and in 1856 was
already accommodating orphans. The orphanage was located close to an
industrial area and the reason was not only because it was a donation by the
Hatziconsta family but also because the orphanage was producing
professionally trained people, such as skilled workers and for this reason the
orphanage was a pole of attraction to different industries, where they
located their buildings around the orphanage. 49
The orphanage was built in stages due to the increasing number of children
the orphanage expanded. The orphanage was consisted of the main building,
a wing of lab rooms, a gym and a church. The arrangement of spaces was
creating a courtyard which was allowing natural light to penetrate through
the spaces. The courtyard was used as a pool and also as a space where the
children could play while they were supervised. The wing of the lab rooms
48De Vincenzo, Claudia Barra. "Memory in Architecture: The Topology of the Orphanage."
Thesis. MCGILL SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, 2011. Print. P.4
49, . :
. Thesis. / ,
2010. Print. P. 15
27 | P a g e
was expanded up to the public area of the orphanage where a small church
was located.
Figure 24: Plan Diagram
The blue area is the main

building which is creating an
inner courtyard.
The red area is the wing of

the lab rooms.
The Yellow area is the small

Church.
The Pink building is the gym

which is separated.
As it was mentioned earlier the aim of the orphanage was define by the
location. The aim was to create integrated people that will be useful for
society. In order to achieve this aim, the orphanage was educating the
children with discipline. The orphanages educational methods followed
strict military discipline methods since they consider that discipline will
help them to organize the institution but also to help them provide a proper
upbringing of the children. The techniques and the discipline compliances
that the orphanage was using were the same as the methods of an
institution of correction. The orphanage was running under a rigid schedule
and strict rules of conduct.50
Figure 25:
Classrooms
design in way
that the
teacher could
control the
children.
Figure 26: All the spaces are located

around the courtyard so it was easier for
the teachers to supervise the children.
50Ibid P.23
28 | P a g e
The children were raised with Christian ideas and were attending lessons
inside the orphanage the only time they were allowed to leave the
orphanage was to attend their craft lessons which were in the city but after
the orphanage was expanded and the wing of lab rooms was built then the
children were attending their craft lessons in the orphanage. Crafts were
part of their education in order to provide them with tools for the future
since the children when they reached eighteen years old they had to leave
the orphanage and survive on their own, and the fact that the orphanage was
surrounded by different industries it was easier for the children to find a
future job. 51
Figure 27: Childrens activities
The aim of the orphanage program was for the children to spend their time
beneficially and also for the faculty of the orphanage to control the children.
The children had limited space were they could move or play and this was
easier for the faculty to control and demand discipline from the children
since they were gathered at the same space. The program had to be followed
by the children with reverence and in case of any derogation, disobedience
or misbehavior a punishment was following where the children could be
ether reprimanded or if their crime was bad then the children were
isolated without food into a small dark space.
Except from the program, the architecture of the orphanage was assisting
the faculty to control the children, for example the fact that all the spaces
were facing around the courtyard. Also another reason for the layout of the
51, . :
. Thesis. / ,
2010. Print. P.22
29 | P a g e
orphanage was to avoid any bad influences on children from the outside
world. The internal spaces were large rooms and were designed in a way
that the children could control the children during class. There were only
two classrooms for 200 children and the windows were positioned high in
order to allow light inside the classroom but prevent the visual connection
of the children and the outside. In this way the children did not lose their
attention during lessons by looking outside. Everything in the life of the
orphans was calculated, under the supervision of the faculty and even when
the children left the orphanage, at age 18, were still supervised because it
was believed that they could not deal with the temptations of freedom.
In 1940 when the Second World War started the children were forced to
move out of the orphanage, and temporarily they were located into an
elementary school, and the building was used by the Italian police as a
prison. When Greece was free from the Germans the state took the
orphanage and again made it into a state prison. When the prisoners move
in the architecture of the building did not change, there was some adding,
such as windows handrail. The whole layout of the orphanage did not
change which indicates
that this building was
not adequate for the
children but was meant
from the beginning for
prisoners.52
In 1940 when the

orphanage was moved
it stopped accepting
orphans and was still
running until the
Figure 28: Site Plan
existing children
turned years old and New location where this time there is a connection with
the community and nature
moved out. In 1972
the orphanage started working again but this time was located in a different
place still away from the city but in an area which was full of nature. 53
52 , . :
. Thesis. / ,
2010. Print. P.23-26
53 Ibid. P.27
30 | P a g e
The new orphanage consisted of a central three storey rectangular building
which in certain points was connected with another two buildings. The
spaces were divided according to their privacy, for example offices and
visitors rooms. In general all the spaces that children used less were located
in the front of the building near the public road and all the spaces that were
used by the children were located at the back of the building. Furthermore,
another reason for this layout was the orientation where there was a better
usage of natural light and ventilation. Throughout the whole building there
are different spaces which are used by the children for socializing in
between them. 54
Figure 29: Plan Diagram Figure 30: Plan-Diagram

Purple- Central three storey building, Blue- Childrens spaces, Yellow-
Red- individual buildings connected with Facultys spaces Green- Public spaces.
the central
With the new building the orphanage also change the system, this time the
aim of the orphanage was not how to use discipline in order to control the
children, but was based on the best interest of the child, and for this reason
the children started attending school in the city in order to start socializing
with the community. Furthermore childrens time was filled with activities
that the children spent their time happily and also children were now able to
meet with different counselors or psychologists in order to overcome their
problems and fears and create a better and secure life. From the first day
that the orphanage was running until today there have hardly been any
changes in the architecture of the internal spaces or external, just some
54, . :
. Thesis. / ,
2010. Print. P.28-31
31 | P a g e
additions such a hospital and a passage that connects the central building
with the offices. 55
Fiigure 31: Childrens spaces
There is no doubt that orphanages evolution was for the best interest of
the child, and that children now have more possibilities to have a normal
childhood. Even though when evolution is mentioned it does not mean that
only the system of orphanages needs to change, but also the architecture.
For all fairness the SOS Childrens Villages have been designed on the scale
of a child and the Amsterdam Orphanage creates in-between spaces so that
children can interact through the whole building. Architecture when used
to design spaces for children should intrigue their imagination and
creativity. The next chapter, which is the final chapter, is dedicated on
daydreaming and gaming and how that can influence architecture in order
to create playful and imaginative spaces.
Figure 32: South elevation
55, . :
. Thesis. / ,
2010. Print. P.35
32 | P a g e
Chapter three: Domesticity, Day-Dreaming and Game
Orphans should be placed under the care of public guardians. Men should
have a fear of the loneliness of orphans and of the souls of their departed
parents. A man should love the unfortunate orphan of whom he is guardian as
if he were his own child. He should be as careful and as diligent in the
management of the orphan's property as of his own or even more careful
still.56
It is important for children to be cared and provided for with an

environment that offers them more than their basic needs. The environment
that children are surrounded by, should not only be focused on
accommodation and food, but on providing them a home, where the
children will feel secured and free to be themselves. In this milieu, the
children will go through a journey of slow therapy, where they will be able
to confront their issues and fears related with their orphanhood, and they
will be able to dream, imagine and create their own world as other children
do, and this will lead them to be developed into a self-secure, independent
adult with right morals adult. Furthermore, it is important for the society to
care for the children given that they are considered to be the future, and by
caring for them means that a better future for humankind, is been secured.
As mentioned above, orphanages have been changing in order to adapt to

the needs of modern society. Still, these changes alone have not proved
enough since these days children are called children of rage because they
have become more aggressive; especially children that have been through
abuse and in order to control their emotions they have to take medicine.
Children in young age should not have to be exposed to medicines; they
should be treated in a different way in order to resolve their issues. Children
should be treated with love and respect in order for them to learn good
manners and how to respect each other. An orphanage has to deal with
different children that are coming from different background and are
dealing with different issues, therefore there are a lot of aspects that need to
be considered, aspects that are important for the mental and physical
development of a child. Already there are some changes such as the SOS
Childrens Village where the mother figure is been introduced into the
childrens life, and the Amsterdam Orphanage which has been built in a way

Appleton Company, 1 Feb. 1911. Web. 15 Aug. 2011. P.1
33 | P a g e
that represents a small city rather than just a building that provides
accommodation.
Different aspects such as domesticity, game and day-dreaming, which are

the three elements that will be analyzed in the following paper, play an
important role into the childrens life. These elements help them to
understand themselves, overcome their issues, adjust to an environment
and lastly and more importantly these elements help the children to feel that
they belong somewhere. These aspects in a way will become the substitutes
that will provide them with a better childhood which will offer them tools to
become young decent adults. Sense of belonging is the feeling that keeps
human united, and connects them with their family and community. It is an
important element for a human in order to nurture a healthy physical and
mental development. In 1943, Abraham Maslow wrote a paper, A Theory of
Human Motivation57 where he stated that belonging is the third most
important element for humans survival after psychological and safety
needs. For children, sense of belonging is very important since it defines
who they are and where they coming from, and for orphans who do not have
a family, a sense of belonging is really important and this is the main reason
why the orphanages environment should help them to enhance it.
Architecture and landscape, should provide a feeling of welcoming and
familiarity in order for the children to feel secure, relaxed and pleasant
therefore at the end slowly they can build a feeling of belonging for a healthy
childhood development.
3.1 Domesticity
Domesticity is the familiarity that someone has within his family life and is
an important element for childrens development. Unfortunately this is
difficult in the case of orphans since a lot of children do not have homes and
this is one of the main reasons that an orphanage should not be based only
in providing accommodation but in becoming a home for them. Therefore,
what is needed to be done is to find other ways to provide them with this
kind of domesticity. For instance the way internal spaces are treated or how
can threshold transform spaces from private to public, the interaction
between children and furthermore, the interaction with the society as well.
All these factors are very important for the reason that they provide to
57 Maslowh, Abraham H. "A Theory of Human Motivation." Psychological Review.

Psychological Review, Aug. 2000. Web. 15 Dec. 2011. P.10
http://www.altruists.org/f62
34 | P a g e
children the feeling that they belong in a greater community which this is a
feeling that most orphans do not have to opportunity to enhance.
Mpho Mogasha in his thesis indicated that: Through the performance of the
daily rituals enacted in the home, cleaning, watching TV, sleeping and playing.
The home becomes a stage-set for the domestic actor to play out the drama
that is life, resulting in the memories that define ones sense of home.58 With
this phrase Mpho Mogasha is trying to explain that the sense of home is
being shaped by peoples memories and feelings that they created with their
activities inside a space and due to the individuality ones home defers from
others. Architecture should take in consideration the individuality and
acknowledge the needs of children in order to provide them a space that can
be called home.
Architecture plays an important role in the life of a human especially in a

childs life. Childrens space should reflect a safe, happy environment which
will intrigue their imagination and creativity and with this the child will be
able to have a healthier childhood. Claudia Barra De Vincenzo in her thesis
wrote about the memories that a child can create in a home and how
important they are especially to orphans or children that have been abused.
Claudia B. D. Vincenzos thesis is referring to Merleau Pontys articles The
Childs Relation with Others, on how the experience that children have
during their childhood, shapes the character during their adult life, and in
order for the children to have a normal adult life, they have to go through a
happy, full of imagination childhood. The architecture, the landscape, the
milieu of the orphanage and also the facilities that will take place within the
orphanage will become the place where new memories will be made which
have an influence on adult world view.59
The physical environment that children live in is what helps them perceive
and understand the world. On the other hand, in the cases that children who
have lost their parents or have been abused that physical environment is
been destroyed, so the orphanage becomes the closest alternative to an
actual home. Children, who experience traumatic situations, would gain a
58 Mogasha, Mpho. TIME MEMORY AND PLACE; THE CREATION OF HOME FOR
VULNERABLE SOCIETY How Can the Continuance and Celebration of the Idea of Home Be
Expressed through an Orphanage? Thesis. Canada /Dalhousie University, 2005. Mauritius:
VDM House, 2011. Print. P.22
59 De Vincenzo, Claudia Barra. "Memory in Architecture: The Topology of the Orphanage."
35 | P a g e
Figure 33: Childrens spaces
should be flexible in order
for the children to be able
to manipulate them.
Furthermore, the space
should inspire and intrigue
the imagination and
creativity of the children.
36 | P a g e
lot from an environment that reinforces memorable experiences, and may
help them to cope with bad experiences that are related with their past. 60
Children play different kind of games which sometimes endorses the

presence of monsters or ghosts hiding in the in different recesses of the
home, such as closets, under the bed etc. Most of the time in these games
children manage to succeed in fighting off the scaring presence. These kinds
of games demonstrate how important the inclusion of these environments
within the home. Children need to go through fearful situations in order to
understand their own strength of overcoming their fears, and enhance the
security and protection that a home can provide.61 Ones sense of home is
enhanced by the feelings of privacy, security and belonging that are embodied
within the home. As one moves from public to private space, ones confidence
and comfort level increases due to the increasing familiarity of the
surroundings. 62Furthermore, except the private spaces, what also needs to
be done also is to define the public spaces, since the movement between
private and public spaces helps to distinguish the sense of home.
3.1.1 Private-Public
An orphanage is a building which accommodates children of various ages at

the same time, and it is understable that it needs to provide spaces that are
suitable for the different age groups, but at the same time, space that will
encourage the interaction between the younger and older children. A space
can be considered as private or public depending on various factors such as
the degree of accessibility, form of supervision who use it and who take care
of it. 63Children have the need to have private spaces where they can spend
their time being isolated and think but at the same time their space should
be big enough in order for them to invite their friends into their own space.
When a space is flexible it is easier for children, no matter what age they are,
since it can provide them an isolating space but at the same time enough
space to invite friends. During childhood children grow up some of them

61 Ibid. P.2
Print. P.24
63 Hertzerger, Herman. . :
..., 2002. Print.P.14
37 | P a g e
fast, some of them at a slower pace, which is another reason why children
should be surrounded by spaces that are flexible enough in order to adjust
to these changes. Furthermore, children usually outgrew habits, themes, or
different characters so the use amount of design elements in a space should
be reduced. In other words, a suitable space for children is a space that is
flexible enough in order for a child, no matter age, to adjust perfectly.
Another advantage of a flexible space is that it gives the opportunity to
children to personalize their space and in this way the space will become
part of the childrens life which this will help them to feel comfortable and
secure within the space and slowly to enhance the feeling of belonging. 64
Except the private spaces, an orphanage should accommodate spaces that

encourage interaction such as playing and meal times. Certainly, within an
orphanage there
should be spaces
where they can be
used either as private
or public such as
places to relax, secret
hide-outs, places that
inspire day-dreaming
and imagination. Also
in an orphanage it is Figure 34: Create space where children will be able to

important to have interact no matter what age they are.
spaces which will be
used by children with different ages, for example a study room where the
older children will help the younger with their lessons or an indoor fun
room where again the older children will teach the young how to play chess
or other table games. In this way the children will learn that they are equal
and how to live together. Even though public spaces are used by a lot of
people still is nice for children to be able to have their own spaces-corners
where they can put their stuff and feel that they will be safe. This feeling is
something that is needed in a group of people because only then the children
will feel good enough to co-exist, play with other children and in this way
children slowly will learn how to care and protect space that is for public
64Gains, Sheila. "Designing Spaces for Children." Colorado State University Extension. 2008.
Web. 02 Nov. 2011. P.1
http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/columncc/cc030121.html
38 | P a g e
use. All these factors at the end will help the children feel that they have a
home to return to and that they belong to a greater community.65
In general, it is important to define public from private spaces since through

this definition children will be able to evidently distinguish homes location
and enhance the feeling of privacy and security within the home, and also
encourage movement through public spaces leading towards interaction
with other people. The use of thresholds will help the children to enhance
these with other people. The use of thresholds will help the children to
enhance all these feelings since it help to define the different levels of
privacy.66
Figure 35: Childrens needs according to different age.
3.1.2 Thresholds
To enhance all these feelings the use of thresholds helps to define the variety
of each space which increases the childs feeling of belonging. ll these
movements, between private and public spaces, and being away from home
helps the child to understand what is home which lead them to define of
their personality and regain their confidence. One can enhance the idea of
threshold by offering a multitude of transition spaces in order to enrich the
experience of users and create a stronger bond between the building and its
65Hertzerger, Herman. . :
..., 2002. Print. P.28
Print. P.24
39 | P a g e
physical and sociological context.67 Threshold or otherwise transition is the
space that someone can reach before entering a building which works as an
introduction of the building which
lets people understand the nature
of the building. Thresholds, most
of the times, in order to be
successful are based on the
humans five senses and can be
created by changing views, light,
sound, direction, surface, level or
even gateways that will create
different situations of enclosure68.
Though when it comes to children

thresholds should be more creative for example in Montessori School in Delft,
on the outside area of the classrooms there is a show case where the
children, with their teachers help, decide the theme they want and decorate
the show case. In this way the children feel that they participate in the
image that they want to present to the rest of the school and that at the
same time they also participate in the decoration of their school which helps
them to feel that they belong to that space. The show case in this situation
becomes the transitional space between the private classroom and the
public corridor.69
67 Bhonsle, Kirti D. "Thresholds in Architecturej." Design Thought. June 2010. Web. Dec.
2011. P.31
http://www.coa.gov.in/mag/June%202010-Lowres/30-36_Archi-June%202010.pdf
68 Ibid.P.32
69 Hertzerger, Herman. . :
..., 2002. Print. P.30
40 | P a g e
Figure 36: Montessori School
3.1.3 Social Interaction
Points of social interaction are essential elements within any kind of

community which make it crucial that the orphanages design will take into
consideration any
future relationships
that may develop
within the
community that will
make easier the
existence of the
orphanage. Buildings
such as sports center,
shopping malls, or
any other building
that invites the public
or even any physical elements within the community, will encourage the
interaction of the children with the people from the city. On a smaller scale,
other kind of facilities such as street furniture, shaded courtyards or even
walkways can be proposed as public points of interaction. In the case of
orphans by creating public spaces that allow the children to interact with
other people create a feeling that they belong to a greater community.
41 | P a g e
Child psychologists and social scientists, are in concurrence that orphanages
should be placed within a community, even though in the past especially
during Victorian times the orphanages were located in the cities suburbs in
order to keep children away from the social harms that were related with
the cities. Locating orphanages within the city gives the opportunity to build
a sense of enclosure
within the general
public; a feeling that is
needed for orphans or
children who have
suffered from abuse or
rejection, where
children would be able
to identify with the
people and the
community, and to
enhance the feeling of
belonging70. Further
benefit of locating orphanages within a community is to provide the
opportunity to young people who may like to volunteer in the orphanage
and even any potential future parents. The SOS Childrens Village in Jordan
could be considered as an example, as mentioned earlier, has a supermarket
and a pharmacy which not only provide a setting for social interaction of the
children and the community but also provide an essential income to the
orphanage.
Being away from home children will face different situation where they will
be forced to interact with other people, especially adults, which will help
them to understand their own existence and create prospective in social
relations and positions and define what home is.71 In other words
domesticity is very important in order to provide a home for the children
but this is not enough. Children in order to flourish need a strong structure
that will guide them. However, institutionalizing children is not healthy and
there are various methods to deinstitutionalizing different features of the
Print. P.25
71 Ibid. P.27
42 | P a g e
orphanages system. Day-Dreaming and Game are another two elements
that are needed to be considered since children to feel comfortable and
secure and more importantly that they belong in a space which intrigues
their imagination in order for them to create new memories and
experiences.72
3.2 Day Dreaming
According to Dr. Shock daydreaming is a visionary fantasy, where people can

experience happy thoughts, hopes or desires, while they are awake. There
are people, worldwide, that can devote 50% of their awake time, to
daydreaming. People believe that daydreaming is different situations of
consciousness, a different way of dreaming, meditation, or even being under
hypnosis or drugs influence, and usually, is related with hypnotic
vulnerability, creativity, disconnection from the rest of the world, or even
some people believe that it can be related with past trauma or pathology.
Daydreaming decreases while a person grows up which this is confirmation
that daydreaming is a normal thing to happen during childhood and is also
very important in order for a child to have normal healthy brain
development.73
Studies also show that creative and imaginative play can aid in other areas of
development such as memory, attitude, planning, attention and creativity, as
well as help children expand and hone their language and communication
skills.74Imagination is an important ingredient for a healthy childhood, it
helps children to resolve any problems, to socialize with other children and
at the same time to create new memories that will help them overcome
issues that are related with their past. Children during their childhood use
their imagination and create made-up stories which leads them to get
involved in self-dialog which is considered to be an ability that will help
them to learn how to resolve any kind of problems and obstacles they have.
Furthermore it will help them to obtain social skills and be able to control
their emotions. Moreover, self-dialog is a tool that can be used also by adults

73 Dr Shock. "Daydreaming.." Dr Shock MD PhD. 7 Sept. 2010. Web. 04 Dec. 2011. P.1
http://www.shockmd.com/2010/09/07/daydreaming/
74 Goode, Dr. Caron. "The Critical Role of Imagination in Childhood Development." Articles -
Preschool Age - Growth and Development. DaddyBluez.com, 02 July 2008. Web. 30 Oct.
2011.P.1
http://www.daddybluez.com/User_View_Article.aspx?ArticleId=246
43 | P a g e
which helps them to deal with any kind of challenge they may face, by
analyzing problems and creating solutions for them.
Different studies point out that imaginative play, in the past seventy years,
has radically changed and this effects the overall development of the child.
In 2001 there was a study, which was the same with the study that
happened in 1940, in order to compare the results on the capacity of
childrens self-regulation. In 1940, different researchers tested children of
age three, five and seven by asking them to stand still without moving, the
three years olds were not able to stand still for a minute, the five years olds
were able to stay still for three minutes and almost all the seven years olds
could stand still for as long as the test was carried on. In 2001, the same test
was made at the Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning75, but
this time the five year olds were not able to stand still for more time than the
three year olds, compared to the previous test, and the seven year olds were
barely able to stand still the same amount of time as the five year olds from
over a half century ago.
Scientists believe that the advent of technology is affecting childrens

creativity. For example in old days if a boy found a stick on the ground with
his imagination the stick become either a knights sword, a fishing pole
which will provide him with endless hours of game, but nowadays with the
media and the commercialization, the child does not need to use his
imagination to create the sword since he can easily buy the sword from the
stores. Another issue is that children do not have free time for themselves
not even to take part in an imaginative play. There is no doubt that the
children gain a lot of abilities from all the activities, such as soccer, baseball,
piano, karate lessons, that they participate, but all these activities do not
leave any time for the children to leave their imaginations run free. Different
scientist propose that in order for the children to advance their imagination
and their self-regulation, there some steps that adults have to follow, such as
limiting the time the children spend in front of the TV or with the electronic
games, leave some free time for children in order to behave like children. As
it was mentioned earlier for orphans it is really important to interact with
other people especially children of their own age since this will help them to
75Regional Educational Laboratory was founded, since, 1966, as a nonprofit, nonpartisan

education research laboratory where knowledge about what works in education would be
turned into practical guidance for educators.
44 | P a g e
increase their creativity and imagination which will lead them to develop
any social, language, or even learning issues they may have.76
Recently, different social scientists had a disagreement that the increasing

scheduling of childrens activities is creating a different type of
institutionalization, since children now have less time and space to react
spontaneously since most of their time is spent by going from one activity to
another by adults. All these kind of activities tend to be organized and even
supervised by adults, therefore, what needs to be done is that children need
to be provided with space such as playgrounds, courtyards and other
outdoor facilities where they can play more spontaneously without any
adult supervision and restriction, but of course at the same time should be
safe.77
3.3 Game
Playing for children is not just a waste of time, is a time where they learn
about life, about their own strengths and abilities. Children while they are
playing overcome themselves and they learn how to face their fears.
According to O. Fred Donaldson the best learners at whatever age or stage of
development are those that are best prepared to handle a change. As they
explore their world, children's play presents them with the fundamental
relationships with which they acquire the basic feelings, ideas and capacities
to effectively absorb from and adapt to the ever-changing world around them
for the rest of their lives.78 While children playing can endorse different
benefits, some have to do with their emotions or behavior, some of them can
be social benefits, and some of them have to do with their physical or mental
development (Figure III).
76 Goode, Dr. Caron. "The Critical Role of Imagination in Childhood Development." Articles -
Preschool Age - Growth and Development. DaddyBluez.com, 02 July 2008. Web. 30 Oct.
2011.P.1
http://www.daddybluez.com/User_View_Article.aspx?ArticleId=246.
Print. P.27
78 Donaldson, Fred O. "Play and Development." Welcome to Original Play. Original
Play.com. Web. 10 Dec. 2011.P.1
http://www.originalplay.com/develop.htm
45 | P a g e
Figure 37: Childs benefits through Game
Children while they are playing develop universal learning skills, something
that is very useful for children that live in an orphanage since they learn how
to interact with children from a different background. With games children
can develop their creativity and imagination since they have to use them all
the time in order to invent new games to entertain themselves. Moreover, by
doing this their life can be full of joy, something that will help the children to
slowly recover from their wounds from the past, which is important for the
self-esteem and health of the children. Furthermore children by playing the
learn how to be self-sustained since everyday children come across learning
and different other playful engagement of life. Besides, while children are
playing they learn how to love and respect other people and slowly they
create a basic trust in the world which is something that is really needed in
the case of orphans since they are left in the world with no family. All these
qualities are better to be developed while children are in their childhood
since is very hard to re-learn them during adulthood and on the other hand
by learning these qualities in a young age then they built a better ground for
later to learn more sophisticated skills.
Usually orphans, especially orphans that just got into the orphanage, have
problems with their behavior. They can be aggressive or even violent but
through the interaction with other chidren and through the playful
environment their feelings from bad shift towards kindness, caring and
affection. Earlier in this thesis it has been mentioned that it is really
46 | P a g e
important for the orphans to interact with other children and in this way
their creativity and their imagination is influenced. More importantly though
is the interaction with adults since orphans do not have any role models in
their lives, it is important for the adults to approach orphans and in this way
slowly orphans will increase their sense of belonging. A way that adults can
approach children is game and this doesnt mean that adults should take the
role of manager or coach, it means that they have to become an actual
playmate where they can play together with the children, in this way adults
should be able to truly approach the children. Playing with children is the
more straightforward and more valuable approach, children do not come
with a manual, so what adults could do is to actually be patient, pay
attention and simply just stop and listen to children and in this way the
children will feel that they are loved and that they finally belong to a place
where they can start building their life. 79
Children to be able to have a full and healthy life need time to behave like
children, to play and develop social skills away from worries and pain. An
orphanage should not only provide accommodation and education, but more
importantly the space and the time where children will be able to lose
themselves into the delicious and fantastic world of playing and
daydreaming and as a result these activities will affect the psychological
development of the child, but also create new wonderful memories. Playing
and daydreaming is very important for the health of a child, so the
architectural spaces should have a positive effect on the child by stimulating
their imagination and emotions.
3.4 Relation of Spatial Properties and Day Dreaming-Game
Architecture influences the nature of playing and daydreaming, which leads

to the result that architecture is influencing the psychological development
of the children. This means that the architectural spaces should positively
stimulate their imagination and emotions. Daydreaming and playing helps
the children to create new outstanding experiences and these new memories
will help the children to produce new emotional memories that will help
them to move on from their past. As it has been mentioned earlier game has
a great value in a childs life as it helps children to cope with their life and
deal with any issues they may have. Gaston Bachelard in his book, Poetics of
79 Donaldson, Fred O. "Play and Development." Welcome to Original Play. Original

Play.com. Web. 10 Dec. 2011. P.3
47 | P a g e
Space, posted that: it is on the plane of the daydream and not on that of facts
that childhood remains alive and poetically useful within us. Through this
permanent childhood, we maintain the poetry of the past. To inhabit
oneirically the house we were born in means more than to inhabit it in
memory; it means living in this house that is gone, the way we used to dream in
it. 80So what is needed to be done is the orphanage to become the dream
home that will change orphans life and will be contained by the childrens
memory.
An example of how architecture can influence the imagination and

creativeness of children is the kindergarten ship81 where the design helps to
awake childrens imagination
based on nautical legends and
maritime adventure. This
kindergarten helps the
children to have a imaginative
childhood away from adults
world. The inspiring, two story
building is cleverly integrated
into landscape which this
makes it easier for the children
to expand their imagination
into nature as well.
The interior spaces are also

designed in way that refers to
Figure 38: Kindergarten Ship
a ship as well, for example the
walls are slanted, the staircase
is narrow and steep, group rooms are pierced by a tilted mast, and even the
windows that have view towards the allotments are porthole windows. The
public spaces where the children are playing all together are full of light
while the private spaces are darker since they are used for privacy and rest.
Furthermore the material that have been used for the construction of the
building are neutral for the children and also colours could not been missed
since the colors play an important role into creating a nice atmosphere and
make the child feel comfortable in a space.
80Bachelard, Gaston, and M. Jolas. The Poetics of Space. Boston: Beacon, 1994. Print.
81Images Publishing, comp. Kids Spaces: Architecture for Children. Mulgrave, Victoria:
Images, 2004. Print. P.20
48 | P a g e
Figure 39: Kindergarten Ship Design
49 | P a g e
In general the kindergarten is not only based on the imagination of the child
but only on scale since children avoid spaces where the ceiling is high since
they feel scared. The kindergarten is endowing a sense of balance for the
playful and often cheerful architecture which helps the children to endorse
their imagination.
This approach towards creating spaces suitable for children can also be
found in the work of Aldo Van Eyck, except the Amsterdam Orphanage, whom
work gives attention to the importance of playful environment, and also
takes in account the existence of children in the city. Van Eyck has designed
and built around seven hundred playgrounds all over Amsterdam. Except for
the fact that these playgrounds were low in budget, they helped the city to
recover from the effects of the war where a lot of space was left empty and
unused. Now the neighborhoods of Amsterdam were transformed into
playful spaces where children can escape and play. These spaces also are
very attractive towards adults, which leads to an interaction of different
generations which is an advantage for the childrens childhood since they
can gain a lot of knowledge from the contact.82
The expectations that children have, during their childhood, for spaces that
will allow them to safely create their imaginary world, usually are ignored or
even canceled by the indifference of the adults world and the unconscious
mechanism of bureaucracy. Children always have the tendency to dominate
their natural or built environment that is surrounding them, by climbing on
statues, walls, ruins, trees shows the instinctive need for conquering
adventures and a fantastic escape from the world of adults. Neighborhood or
schools courtyards, squares, vacant lots, especially after the rain, provide
children with adventure areas where they can play without any potential
supervision. When childrens spaces are being designed, it is also important
to consider the outdoor spaces where children can occupy and enhance their
experience of these spaces. 83
Print. P.17
83 , , ed. . : ,
2000. Print. P.31

50 | P a g e
3.5 Relation of Nature and Day Dreaming-Game
The relationship that a child has with the landscape is also important in
order for the child to have a complete physical and mental development.
Different outdoor spaces will help the children get in touch with natures
biodiversity such as animals, minerals and plants. Furthermore, with the
different seasons nature provides scenes that will help the children to build
their imaginative scenarios.84 Marianopolis College on Chemin de la cote-des-
neigesis a great example since it is located near the city center and at the
same time inside the Mount Royal Park. The natural landscape is an
important element as a basic playground of imagination for the personal
education of the children.
According to the authors of Design for play: A guide to creating successful

play spaces 85 there are ten principles that a space for children should
guarantee in order to create a pleasant milieu for the children. Even though
the principles are made for the exterior spaces still you can easily apply for
the interior spaces as well. The then principles are:86
re bespoke.
Are well located.
Make use of natural elements.
Meet community needs.
Are accessible to both disabled and non-disabled children.
Allow children of different ages to play together.
Provide a wide range of play experiences.
Build in opportunities to experience risk and challenge.
Allow for change and evolution.
Are sustainable and appropriately maintained.
84De Vincenzo, Claudia Barra. "Memory in Architecture: The Topology of the Orphanage."
Thesis. MCGILL SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, 2011. Print P.6
8585Shackell, A., Butler, N., Doyle, P., 2008, Design for Play: A guide to creating successful play
spaces, Play England, United Kingdom. Has won Highly Commended in the 2009 Landscape
Institute Awards. Web. 31 Oct. 2011.
86 Shackell, Aileen, Nicola Butler, Phil Doyle, and David Ball. Design for Play: A Guide to
Creating Successful Play Spaces. [London]: Dept. for Children, Schools and Families, 2008.
Print. P.13
51 | P a g e
The first four principles talk about the relation that childrens space should
have with the landscape, no matter if its indoor or outdoor space, and also
the relation with the
society. An indoor or
outdoor space should
connect with the
surrounding landscape
and even enrich its
settings, for example
the Balmaha Play
Landscape, near
Stirling where the
design of playground
area has been
influenced from the Figure 40: Balmaha Play Landscape
contours of the hillside.
It uses colors that match the natural landscape and materials from the
surrounding area in order to balance the natural and artificial landscape and
to provide playful times for all ages by creating a pleasurable environment.
Nature has a great influence on the physical and mental health of the child.
Children should be encouraged to come closer to nature and another way of
playing is gardening. Through gardening, children will have the opportunity
to interact with nature. Nature is considered to a fundamental playground
for imagination, via the outdoor spaces that are provided in which children
can play. Furthermore, nature can inspire an architect to create indoor
spaces where the children can be inspired to explore, climb, hide and
chase.87
When a building has been designed close to a community the duty of the
architect is to take into consideration the needs of the community. It should
provide spaces that are attractive to the users but also the community. In
general, points of interaction with a community is an important element for
the reason that a healthy society needs the people to interact in-between
them. Spaces that are open to the public consider being points of interaction
since they allow people to socialize which help them to feel that they
belonging to a greater community. Especially for orphanages is important to
take into consideration any future relationships with the community. Such
87Shackell, Aileen, Nicola Butler, Phil Doyle, and David Ball. Design for Play: A Guide to
Print. P.16
52 | P a g e
characteristics can be buildings or any other physical elements for instance
street furniture, shades courtyards that encourage interaction between the
children and the community. This interaction with people and also moving
in and out from their homes will help the children to grow social skills and
endorse their life towards adulthood.
The next two principles discuss the opportunities that should be given to
children in order to live a happy childhood. Children, as a general rule,
should be treated the same, and in this way children will learn from a young
age that is important to respect themselves and others. Childhood is the
beginning of the life of adults and if the child is growing up with the right
values then there is more chance to become a reasonable adult with true
morals. There are different types of disabilities or special needs, thus a space
should be design to provide safety to the children. Every child should be able
to enter a space without difficulty, and in this way the child will feel that is in
control of their own life. This rule should be applied in the outdoor spaces as
well. A well designed outdoor space should provide opportunities to
children, with different abilities, to play along with others. Children differ
not only in their abilities but also by age and gender and especially in an
orphanage, there are children with a wide range of ages therefore should
have spaces that encourage the interaction between them. In old times the
orphanages were separating the children according to their age and gender,
which could be considered a way of institutionalization. Of course children
in different ages have different needs but that does not mean that they have
to be separate, children should be living together and in this way they will
learn how to respect one another but also their range of experience will get
bigger. 88
The last four principles discuss about the challenges and the experiences
that a healthy space should provide to children. A child has the ability to
translate a space with different ways. A space, either inside or outside,
should inspire children to outstrip themselves. Mark Dudek in his book
Childrens Space he states that: Children are constantly trying out new
things. Their world is a novel experience and investigating and experimenting
with things is their natural way of being. 89It is in the nature of a child to
explore and find new games and it is the responsibility of the architect to
Print. P.18
89 Dudek, Mark. Children's Spaces. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 2005. Print. P.16
53 | P a g e
provide spaces where the child can be liberated to experience having as a
limit only their creativity and imagination. In his book he is asking himself,
if the children are the inventors then what is the role of a designer, and he
answers by saying that the designer is the translator. The designer gives
tangible form to the space by the use of light-shadow, materials - texture,
colours that can inspire the child to play along these spaces.90
Spaces should provide opportunities to the child to challenge themselves in

every possible way. nother characteristic in childs nature is to watch and
listen to older children or even adults, and when their knowledge is
increased, on something that amazes them, they will try to perform it until
they are able to succeed. In this way they are able to acknowledge better
their mental and physical abilities, which will be applied on the rest of their
lives. In other words, this is the method that the children are using while
they are playing, they observe people and they try to adjust to their new
acquaintance into their life. All this is what maks children to be great
inventors, since everyday of their life they learn new things and they
interpret them according to their fondness.91
Despite the fact that children like to experiment and explore, it is crucial that
the surrounding environment provides the basic safety features. Safety is an
important issue that has to be considered by the architects. Children in
order to be able to be themselves
and be creative, their environment
not only needs to inspire them but
it also needs to provide them
safety. Safety can be interpreted
into two meanings. The first
meaning is the emotional safety
where the children in order to
adapt into their environment they
have to feel that the environment
is friendly and is welcoming them. Figure 41: The environment that is
Second is the physical safety surrounding the children should provide
which is not only important for them safety but the same time chances
where they can overcome themselves.
the interior spaces but also the
90 Dudek, Mark. Children's Spaces. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 2005. Print. P.16

Print. P.17
54 | P a g e
exterior. In Europe and in North America there are strict safety specifications
that have to be applied in any kind of playgrounds. On the other hand,
nowadays the playground design has become more spatially complicated
and most of the times the standard specifications of safety do not keep pace
as new concepts come forward, since they been based on what has been
designed until the present day. Therefore when a new design of play
equipment is needed, a
safety specialist should
be involved from the
beginning in the design
process.
Another important issue

in relation to safety is
the risk management.
When it comes to safety
it is about preventing
hazard situations, and
not about preventing Figure 42: Childrens environment should provide them
risk, in view of the fact opportunities where the children will be able to learn
that risk is part of the their abilities and overcome their fears.
childs life. It is
important for every child to have the opportunity to be part of experience
where risk is suitable to their skill levels. Is through this kind of risk that the
children are able to understand their knowledge and strength, even to
estimate and overcome possible hazards as they come along. Part of the
childs development is the prospect of tumbling, falling and even going
through small accidents, which is what will help the child to overcome
themselves and even their own fears and hesitations. It has been
scientifically proven that children, who have been living in an overprotective
environment, grow up to be shy of physical activities or even afraid of
accidents, seeing risk as never being part of their childhood. A great
playground is the place where there is no hazard, but at the same time is the
place where children can test their limits when it comes to physical and
social abilities, and with their new knowledge will be able to conquer any
kind of challenge in the future.92
Print. P.19
55 | P a g e
As it has been mentioned earlier, it is important for a child to be able to
behave as a child without any uncertainties. Through this, the children are
able to acknowledge themselves and shape their personality. During this
development a space should grow as the child does. Meaning that, design
elements should be temporary and easily transformable so that they can be
changed when the child outgrows them. Flexibility is a way to keep
redesigning to a minimum, for example a shelf in the beginning can be used
for toys and later to store books.93 As previously pointed out, different ages
have different needs and even when it comes to the amount of space, the
spaces of interaction could easily be modified according to the childrens
needs for instance, with the use of movable panels. Except the interior
spaces, a design should allow the exterior spaces to evolve as well, for
instance the layout of Dilkes Park, in Thurrock, is flexible and in this way
there is an expansion of the playing area, as a result the children do not
know where the playground begins and ends, which make it more
interesting to be explored.94
An orphanage in order to become a home it doesnt only have to be friendly

and playful, it has to be sustainable as well in order for the children to have a
comfortable and healthy life inside the orphanage. Charles Durrett and Louis
Torelli in their article, they stated that: Sustainability, by definition, is the art
and science of leaving for future generations, opportunities equal or better
than those left us. There is no better place to employ this philosophy of
sustainability than in child care. 95 There are different ways to be
sustainable through the design, and save money at the same time. Definitely,
a sustainable building should cooperate into the design, materials that are
renewable and recycled and different systems that minimize the energy
consumption of the building. A different way is to create the outdoor spaces
with components, for instance covert play areas, gardens etc. In this way
there is an interaction with nature which is an important element when it
comes to childhrens center and fundamental to a sustainable program.
Print. P.20
94 Ibid. P.21
95 Durrett, Charles, and Louis Torelli. "Deconstructing 'green' a Holistic Approach to
Designing Sustainable Child Development Centers." Sustainable Building Design - Exchange

May-June 2009. Web. 04 Dec. 2011. P.20
http://www.spacesforchildren.com/articles/FINAL_Torelli_Durrett.pdf
56 | P a g e
For a design to be sustainable there are other consideration that should
implemented in every moment:
Spaces should be designed to use as much natural ventilation as possible. In

this way during the summer there will be less need of air conditioner.
Natural light should be allowed to penetrate through the building, when

needed to provide warmth and light to the space during the day, rather than
use electricity.
Is better to program the building before the start of the design process in
order to avoid any inadequacies of going back during design, or even
changes after the construction is completed.
Aim towards locating the building close to transportation system, to avoid

the creation of a new one. 96
A building in order to be sustainable, needs to be maintained over time

without wasting non-renewable resources necessary for future existence. A
place in order to be suitable for children except from safe needs to be
properly maintained in order to increase the variety of childrens play
prospects.
Domesticity, game and day-dreaming are the three elements which play an
important role into the childrens development. With these three elements
children will be able to understand their existence, overcome themselves
and more importantly feel that they belong in a place. These aspects will
help them to obtain a better childhood, and have a substitute of a home.
Indoor and outdoor spaces of the orphanage should welcome the children
and make them feel secure in order to be able to behave like children and
create new experiences that will lead them to a better life.
96 Durrett, Charles, and Louis Torelli. "Deconstructing 'green' a Holistic Approach to

Designing Sustainable Child Development Centers." Sustainable Building Design - Exchange
May-June 2009. Web. 04 Dec. 2011. P.23
http://www.spacesforchildren.com/articles/FINAL_Torelli_Durrett.pdf
57 | P a g e
Conclusion
There are eight million children living in orphanages and other institutions,
children who have lost their parents, or even, worse have been abused by
them. Different scientist or psychologists have proved that large orphanages
are not good enough for children since they do not have the same
opportunities to have a normal physical and mental development. The is no
doubt that large orphanages, especially understaffed, are dangerous for
children since they have to grow up without love and affection and where in
the end they lose their individuality which leads to institutionalization. On
the other hand when these accusations came out in public a lot of people did
not hesitated to defend the orphanages they grew up and that they had a
lovely childhood.
There is no doubt that there are good and bad orphanages in the world and
no matter what people believe, orphanages cannot vanish given that there
are a lot of children out in the world left all alone and unprotected. So, what
people need to do rather than fighting is to re-evaluate orphanages so from
a cold accommodation becomes a home. Different case studies such as the
SOS Childrens Village or the Amsterdam Orphanage have shown that it is
possible for orphans to live happy in an orphanage so what should be done
is positive and even the negative outcomes from these cases should be taken
into consideration in order for other orphanages to improve the living
conditions of orphans.
Children in order to live a happy childhood have to be surrounded by an

environment that provides them safety, attention, time and space that will
intrigue their imagination and creativity. Firstly and more importantly
children need to feel that they belong in the society in order to build their
strength and confidence to be able to live a normal childhood that will help
them to develop new memories that will overcome the bad memories from
the past. Furthermore, children need to be inspired by their environment to
be able to have endless hours of game and daydreaming, given that playing
can provide different kinds benefits to the children which can either be
social, physical, or behavior benefits. Through game and daydreaming
children will not only learn about their own strength and abilities but also
will learn how to live and play with other children and this is an important
issue in view of the fact that an orphanage accommodates children from
different background.
58 | P a g e
To conclude, domesticity, game and daydreaming will shape the spatial
properties of the orphanage that will intrigue the childrens imagination and
creativity in order for them to have endless hours of games which will help
them overcome any bad experiences they may have had in the past, creating
a sense of belonging, learning how to live and play with other people and
finally will provide them a home which will help them to lead their
childhood full of new memories toward adulthood.
59 | P a g e
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List of Figures:
Cover Figure: Cmiel, Kenneth. A Home of Another Kind: One

Chicago Orphanage and the Tangle of Child Welfare. Scanned
Image. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1995. Print. P.100
Figure 1: Csky, Corinna. Estimated Numbers of Children in

Institutions in Selected Countries. Digital image. Keeping Children Out
of Harmful Institutions Why We Should Be Investing in Family-based
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one or both parents alive,in selected countries. Digital image. Keeping
Children Out of Harmful Institutions Why We Should Be Investing in
Family-based Care. Save the Children.org.uk, Nov. 2009. Web. Nov.
2011.
http://www.coe.int/t/dg3/children/childrenincare/Keeping%20Chi
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1.09.pdf
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2010. Web. 15 Feb. 2012.
70 | P a g e
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703510304574626
080835477074.html
Figure 5: Cmiel, Kenneth. A Home of Another Kind: One Chicago

Orphanage and the Tangle of Child Welfare. Scanned Image.
Chicago: University of Chicago, 1995. Print. P.96


Figure 8: SOS Children's Villages International - A Loving Home

for Every Child. Digital image. SOS Children's Villages
International.org. Web. Dec. 2011.
Figure 9: SOS Children's Village Association of Jordan. Digital

image. Web. 10 Dec. 2011. http://www.sosjor.org/
Figure 10: Damluji, Salma Samar. SOS Children's Village/Jordan.

Digital image. Aga Khan Award for Architecture. Firas Press, 02
Jan. 2011. Web. 10 Nov. 2011. P.12
.http://www.akdn.org/architecture/project.asp?id=1805
Figure 11: Ibid. P.16
Figure 12 Ibid. P.20
Figure 14Ibid. P.25
71 | P a g e
Figure 17: Balters, Sofia. "AD Classics: Amsterdam Orphanage
/ Aldo Van Eyck." Digital image ArchDaily. ArchDaily.com, 26
Aug. 2011. Web. 15 Nov. 2011.
Figure 18: Garcia, Jose. "Municipal Orphanage: Aldo Van Eyck."

Scanned Image MIMOA Mi Modern Architecture. Mimoa.eu.
Web. 15 Nov. 2011. P.
http://mimoa.eu/projects/Netherlands/Amsterdam/Municipa
l%20Orphanage
Figure 19: Ibid P.89
Figure 23: Balters, Sofia. "AD Classics: Amsterdam Orphanage

/ Aldo Van Eyck." Digital image ArchDaily. ArchDaily.com, 26
Aug. 2011. Web. 15 Nov. 2011.
Figure 24-25: , .
: . Thesis.
Scanned Image. /
, 2010. Print. P.18
Figure 27: Ibid P.22-23
Figure 29-30: Ibid P.32
72 | P a g e
Figure 33: T, Bill. "The Cool Hunter - KOOL KIDS SPACES."
Digital image The Cool Hunter - Welcome. 5 Oct. 2006. Web. 11
Nov. 2011.
http://www.thecoolhunter.net/kids/KOOL-KIDS-SPACES/
Figure 34: Digital image. Education Future Corp. Web. 10 Feb. 2012.
http://www.google.com.cy/imgres?q=children+studying+in+the+librar
y&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=wGS&rls=org.mozilla:en-
US:official&biw=1555&bih=711&tbm=isch&tbnid=_94t_yr_JfvcJM:&im
grefurl=http://www.educationfuturescorp.com/&docid=V8pQLZrAYDr
8HM&imgurl=http://www.educationfuturescorp.com/images/slide_im
age3.jpg&w=510&h=297&ei=iypCT7OAJ4ndsgar8d3dBA&zoom=1&iact
=hc&vpx=179&vpy=366&dur=1&hovh=171&hovw=294&tx=175&ty=74
&sig=114392447907713608728&page=2&tbnh=123&tbnw=212&start
=18&ndsp=24&ved=0CKcBEK0DMBg
Figure 35: Gains, Sheila. "Designing Spaces for Children."

Colorado State University Extension. 29 Aug. 2011. Web. 02
Nov. 2011.
<http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/columncc/cc030121.ht
ml>.
Figure 36: Hertzerger, Herman.
. Scanned image. :
..., 2002. Print. P.30-31
Figure 37: Donaldson, Fred O. "Play and Development."
Welcome to Original Play. Original Play.com. Web. 10 Dec.
2011. http://www.originalplay.com/develop.htm
Figure 38: Images Publishing, comp. Kids Spaces: Architecture

for Children. Scanned image. Mulgrave, Victoria: Images, 2004.
Print. P.20
Figure 39: Ibid. P. 21-23
Figure 40: Shackell, Aileen, Nicola Butler, Phil Doyle, and

David Ball. Design for Play: A Guide to Creating Successful Play
Spaces. [London]: Scanned image. Dept. for Children, Schools
and Families, 2008. Print. P.23.
73 | P a g e

Vulnerable Children-Implementation of SP

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Abstract:

The purpose of this study is to investigate the implementations of spatial

1McKenna, Charles. "Orphans and Orphanages." CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA. Robert Appleton

The new approach is based on domesticity, daydreaming and game. With

The aim of chapter one is to analyze the dilemma of institutionalization and

1.1 Orphanages Opposition

It is a myth that children in orphanages have no parents. Most are there

Reveals. Rep. ReliefWeb.int, 23 Nov. 2009. Web. 15 Nov. 2011.P.1

An average of 2.6 months that children spend in a Romanian Orphanage

Institutionalized children are more likely to have social, emotional and

Kevin Browne11 in the report The Risk of Harm to Young Children in

Children.org.uk, 2009. Web. 15 Nov. 2011.

What follows is a case study of a Chinese Orphanage, where this extreme

Anne F. Thurston17 in the article In a Chinese Orphanage18 describes the

The orphanage was accommodating three hundred to three hundred and

In 1995, a documentary called The Dying Rooms21 was filmed by three

and produced by Lauderdale Productions, in U.K.

and protecting human rights.

1.2 Orphanages Supporters

In December 2009, different researchers from the Duke University published

In 1989, George Cawood directed a documentary called Homecoming: The

1.3 Beginning of Institutionalization

28Homecoming: The Forgotten World of Americas Orphanages was directed, in 2004, by

29McKenna, Charles. "Orphans and Orphanages." CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA. Robert

31McKenna, Charles. "Orphans and Orphanages." CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA. Robert

In the beginning of the 20th century a lot of orphanages were modified

Nowadays orphanages vary from country to country, especially the culture

SOS Childrens Village is an independent non-governments organization,

Figure 8: SOS Childrens Villages WorldMap.

SOS Childrens Villages endorses a family structure home, by creating an

Villages International.org. Web. Dec. 2011.

2.1.1 SOS Childrens Village - Jordan

Figure 11: The main

Figure 12: Connection

Figure16: SOS Childrens Village

As a general rule, the main idea of SOS Childrens Villages is to provide to

2.2 Amsterdam Orphanage- .Netherlands

Figure 17: Orphanage- Small City

It is a house that provides accommodation to one hundred and twenty five

Figure 20: Corridors- Streets

Figure 23: Amsterdam Orphanage

2.3 Xatziconsta Orphanage - Greece

Figure 24: Plan Diagram

The blue area is the main

The red area is the wing of

The Yellow area is the small

The Pink building is the gym

Figure 26: All the spaces are located

Figure 27: Childrens activities

In 1940 when the

Figure 29: Plan Diagram Figure 30: Plan-Diagram

Fiigure 31: Childrens spaces

Figure 32: South elevation

It is important for children to be cared and provided for with an

As mentioned above, orphanages have been changing in order to adapt to

56McKenna, Charles. "Orphans and Orphanages." CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA. Robert

Different aspects such as domesticity, game and day-dreaming, which are

57 Maslowh, Abraham H. "A Theory of Human Motivation." Psychological Review.

Architecture plays an important role in the life of a human especially in a

Thesis. MCGILL SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, 2011. Print. P.3

Children play different kind of games which sometimes endorses the

An orphanage is a building which accommodates children of various ages at

60 De Vincenzo, Claudia Barra. "Memory in Architecture: The Topology of the Orphanage."