We collaborated with the charity The Bateman's Trust and the structural engineers Faber Maunsell to provide St George's Orphanage with new facilities.

The orphanage is in Chennai (formerly Madras) and houses 130 children of Anglo-Indian origin from poor and destitute homes.

The project includes the design and construction of an open air stage, a place where children can perform and also pray and have lessons in the shade and out of the monsoon rains.

The stage is constructed entirely from bamboo. Substantial research was undertaken with Faber Maunsell and Jack Everett to test the suitability of this material and the work led to some useful and innovative findings which were put into practice in this scheme. Particular focus was given to the wide cantilevered canopy, designed to oversail the stage area to define the space and provide shelter, as well as enable rainwater harvesting.

This project was supported by the FCBStudios' charities fund.