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Kathmandu Edgelands Kathmandu Valley, Nepal Field Trip Semester 1, Weeks 5-10 70
About half the population of Nepal live in the Katmandu Valley. Urban migrants settle on the river banks. Elsewhere peri-urban villages become absorbed into the city as the centre expands.
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Peri-Urban Villages: Kathmandu Valley - Lalitpur - Bungamati The struggle between tradition and modernity is progressively more apparent in the fringes of the valley, where peri-urban settlements watch and wait as the conglomerate mass of the city, brewing and expanding from the heart of the valley, threatens to engulf them. Khokana and Bungamati are such peri-urban settlements located in the Lalitpur district, the southernmost of three districts within the valley, named after the three historic cities of Kantipur (known now as Kathmandu), Bhaktapur and Lalitpur. The two settlements can be classified as ‘urban villages’. This is due first to their proximity to the city proper but peripheral physical position within the landscape of the valley, and then to the juxtaposition of urban
Map of the Kathmandu Valley showing the urban footprint
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architectural orders of dense multi-storeyed buildings and narrow alleys, within the context of a society largely reliant on annual agricultural harvesting as a means of living. The modernisation of Kathmandu in general, and growing accessibility to amenities, higher education and job opportunities has had a significant social impact on these villages. Whereas many of the older generations of these communities continue to hold traditional occupations such as wood-carving or weaving, younger generations, fixated on Kathmandu’s position in a growing global network made visible through the Internet, look for opportunities out of Bungamati and out of Nepal.
Map of Khokana & Bungamati
Bungamati and Khokana, prior to the earthquake, were hailed as ‘living museums’, traditional Newari villages whose medieval aesthetics and activities were frequently appreciated by tourists. Along with the threat of a generational loss of crafting skills, the significant damage following the earthquake to buildings hailed important both to the local community and to the draw of tourist-generated income - such as the collapsed Machhendranath Temple in Bungamati - has thrown the historically
Map of Bungamati
accepted way in which these villages have managed and sustained themselves out of balance. The sudden shift in the way and standards of living, post-earthquake, also raises questions about how the communites will want to rebuild, where they will want to rebuild, and crucially, in what way it will be different from before?
*maps taken from ARCSR research publication ‘Kathmandu Edgelands’
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The plinth of the collapsed Machhendranath Temple in the Bahal of Bungamati
Brief
In order to develop a brief for your major project you will choose a geographical area, to investigate, both physically and culturally, within the field trip study area. These investigations will become the primary resource for your major project. You will explore the area to find places of trade and exchange: cultural as well as economic. Students should develop the themes uncovered during their field trip investigation to begin fitting together diverse found elements at different scales not only within the three spatial dimensions but also within the elusive fourth dimension: time; a dimension to which architects pay lip service but as a rule, mostly neglect. Rather than planning a route to the achievement of predetermined outcomes the architectural imagination will be employed in recognising dynamic and unpredictable but nevertheless continuing urban patterns. Intended interventions will not aim to simulate what already exists but rather to enable inhabitants to exploit its latent potential. Through a process of iterative endeavour and performative practice students should adapt and fine tune these intentions to the changing topography so as to support residents in their desire to resolutely move forwards in the process of city making. Students should adopt a strategy of architectural tuning. Avoid demolition, removal and replacement. Seek rather to add, transform and re-use. Our interventions will not aim to simulate what already exists but rather to enable inhabitants to exploit its latent potential. In deciding what to erase and what to reveal we will be aware of our chosen site’s engagement with the changing city metabolism. Our relationship to context will be performative rather than formal. This strategy will allow us to be generous with the craftspeople, materials, spatial resources and city infrastructure we employ. Objectives: > investigate and record cultural & physical topographies > observe existing crafts, professions and ways of living > start to develop an idea for a proposal that fits within the context and culture observed
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Methodology
Approach
Physical Surveys
The unit examines and extends knowledge of the physical and cultural influences on the built environment, focusing on situations where resources are scarce and where both culture and technology are in a state of rapid change, encouraging us to work outwards from the observed fragment of lived experience. The studio aims to explore how the urban landscape is inhabited, made and remade through personal and collective acts, events, memories and experiences; understanding that strategic and large-scale policy planning can often distil out rich but fragile local interactions.
Drawings are used to record the experiences of place through measuring, narrative encounters and exploratory adventures.
This is practised by attempting to understand the cultural and physical factors which underlie the current city fabric, and use the observations to propose and validate a range of schemes that find a fit between the two. Using a narrative approach to harness moments from the everyday to use as building blocks for our imagined proposals, our aspiration is to show how an untidy mix of the old and the new in a spirit of experiment and curiosity, can give unique identity to place.
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To understand the topography of the landscape, as well as other physical factors which affect the city fabric, mapping exercises and physical surveys are carried out whilst on site. This is key to understanding the physical build up of a place. Formal methods of mapping such as producing measured surveys are encouraged alongside informal methods of mapping, such as transit walks, sketches and memory maps, to notate spatial experiences that can be blighted by the ‘masterplan’ view.
Cultural Surveys
Learning Through Making
As well as analysing the physical landscape, intensive investigatory work into the cultural topography of places is carried out in attempt to understand the social, cultural, economic and political layers that constitute the everyday, which directly and indirectly influence the urban fabric These findings form a primary resource for major projects, giving our proposals a deeper, more meaningful grounding in their location.
The studio promotes learning through the act of making, as a means of provoking cultural exchange and giving an insight into the relationship between people and space. The very act of measuring is a performance and can provide an entertainment to residents and a key to open the door to a range of cultural exchanges which give insights into the relationship between people and place. Sometimes sporting, drawing or language exchange events can be organised which lead to conversations. Sometimes the construction of a small temporary structure, the painting of a wall or even the clean-up of a disused place and its temporary re-inhabitation can also reveal these insights.
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Passing the RIng Road to go South: Nepali Fuel Queues At the time of our visit, Nepal was suffering from a fuel crisis caused by border disputes with India. Trucks were being stopped at the border and stopped from moving goods in and out of the country. This caused a massive scarcity of fuel resources. Cars and bikes queued for hours to pick up fuel rations, spiked in price, but there was a a noticeable decline in road traffic in the city.
Photos of cars queueing for fuel rations on the ring road
The Terai border region highlighted
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News article from the Financial Times
Meeting Sukha of Bungamati Foundation, Nepal
02.11.15
We started our first day on site by meeting with Sukha of the Bungamati Foundation, a charity working in child education and rehabilitation projects in Bungamati. Sukha will help orchestrate our live project research work for the final two weeks of the trip. Discussed: Outcomes:
Post-earthquake efforts in Bungamati, construction of office post-earthquake from concrete blockwork and recycled building elements, intentions to set precedents for residents Meeting set for 04.11.15, think about ways in which we could collaborate
LP Memory map of the meeting with Sukha at the BFN Office
Sukha Ratna Bhramacharya, BFN
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Chimneys & Terraces: Visting a Brick Kiln The culture of brick-making is tied inherently in the geography of the valley which, as the bed of a former lake, is clay-rich and fertile. There are several brick cimnkeys scattered across the southern valley. This particualr brick factory is located a short walk away from Bungamati.
Sketch showing the journey to the brick factory and photo of the chimney set within the valley landscape
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Brick Making in the Valley Brick making is one of the oldest crafts in the Kathmandu Valley, and there is a rich tradition of using it as a building material. There are over 100 brick kilns in the valley and the industry contributes to 40% of the pollution in the productive winter season. Despite being grounded in the rich cultural history of the place, the environmental effects of increasing demand fuelled by rapid urbanisation needs to be considered in the future of the valley. This particular brick kiln we visited is a Fixed Chimney Bull’s Trench kiln - a kiln widely used in Asia due to its relative low cost of construction and comparatively low energy consumption. 4
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FACTSHEETS ABOUT BRICK KILNS IN SOUTH AND SOUTH-EAST ASIA
DECEMBER 2013
F I X E D C H I M N E Y B U L L’ S T R E N C H K I L N (FCBTK)
CONCLUSION ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Facts about FCBTK, the most commonly used kiln. PARAMETERS
COMMENTS
CO2
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Black Carbon
0.13
Incomplete combustion in FCBTK results in high value of emissions. The average value of PM emission lie within the notified limit, however, some of the kilns emit higher PM.
PM
1.18
CO
2.0
FUEL & ENERGY
SEC (MJ/kg fired brick)
1.30
Incomplete combustion and heat losses result in increase in the fuel consumption in FCBTK. compared to FCBTK
FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE
Capital Cost (USD)
50,000-80,000
Production Capacity
3-8 million bricks/year
Low capital investment and high return is one of the main reasons for popularity of FCBTK technology among brick makers.
Simple Payback
0.4 – 1.1 years
Types of product
All types of product
Good Quality Product
60 %
AIR EMISSION (g/kg FIRED BRICK)
PRODUCT QUALITY
OHS
Note: In the initial stage of this initiative of developing factsheets on brick kiln technologies, factsheets are developed for South and South-East Asia and Latin America regions. Factsheets on brick kiln technologies of other regions will be developed over time. Disclaimer: The country borders indicated on the map do not necessarily reflect the FDFA’s official position. The red dotted line represents approximately the Line of actual Control in Jammu and Kashmir agreed upon by India and Pakistan. The final status of Jammu and Kashmir has not yet been agreed upon by the parties. Factsheet prepared by Greentech Knowledge Solutions Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi (Dr Sameer Maithel, Sonal Kumar and Dheeraj Lalchandani)
Unloading of fired bricks
Design & Illustration Shoili Kanungo
CONTACT Greentech Knowledge Solutions Pvt Ltd. New Delhi, India
Non-uniform temperature distribution across the kiln cross-section results in variation in product quality.
Exposure to dust
TeleFax: +91 11 45535574 E-mail: mailbox@gkspl.in Web: www.gkspl.in
FCBTK has poor OHS conditions and it is a major shortcoming of this technology.
Exposure to Thermal 2
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The project team would like to acknowledge the financial support received from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation for preparation of the fact-sheets.
FCBTK
FACTSHEETS ABOUT BRICK KILNS IN SOUTH AND SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Risk of accidents
Stacking of green brocks
FOR MORE INFORMATION: www.gkspl.in/whats_new.html www.ecobrick.in
F I X E D C H I M N E Y B U L L’ S T R E N C H K I L N (FCBTK) REFERENCES
1 Report on ‘Small-scale brick making’ published by International Labour Office, Switzerland, 1984. http://www.pssurvival.com/ps/bricks/Small-Scale_Brickmaking_1984.pdf 2 Report on ‘Evaluating Energy Conservation Potential of Brick Production in India’ prepared by Greentech Knowledge Solutions Pvt Ltd for SAARC Energy Centre, 2012.
DESCRIPTION AND WORKING
3 Pritpal Singh: Presentation at the seminar on cleaner brick production held at Patna on 06th December 2012 organised by Bihar Pollution Control Board and Development Alternatives. 4 Report on ‘Evaluating Energy Conservation Potential of Brick Production in Pakistan’ prepared by Techno Green Associates for SAARC Energy Centre, 2012. 5 Report on ‘Introducing Energy-efficient Clean Technologies in the Brick Sector of Bangladesh’ prepared by World Bank, 2011 available at https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/2797/601550ESW0P1110e00201100Color0FINAL.pdf 6 Report on ‘Evaluating Energy Conservation Potential of Brick Production in Nepal’ prepared by MinErgy Initiatives for SAARC Energy Centre, 2013.
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7 Report on ‘Brick Kiln Performance Assessment’ available at http://www.unep.org/ccac/Portals/24183/docs/Brick_Kilns_Performance_Assessment.pdf 8 Ibid. 9 Report on ‘Occupational health and safety study (OHSS) of brick industry in the Kathmandu valley’ by Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering (DESE), Kathmandu University, Nepal
The kiln does not have a10permanent roof and Ibid. bricks stacked in the kiln11 are covered withStandards a International Labour are instruments drawn up by ILO in the form of conventions (the basic principles to be implemented) and recommendations (more detailed guidelines). Details on the standards for OHS can found at http://www.ilo.org/global/%20standards/subjects-covered-by-international-labour-standards/occupational-safety-and-health/lang--en/index.htm. A list of all such instruments on OHS with their status is available at layer of ash & brick dust,bewhich acts as a HYPERLINK “http://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12030:0::NO:::” \l “Occupational_safety_and_health”http://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12030:0::NO:::#Occupational_safety_and_health temporary roof and inhibits the heat loss as well as seals the kiln from leakages.
1 In FCBTK the fire moves in a closed circular or oval circuit (central perimeter 180-220 m) through the bricks stacked in the annular space between the outer and the inner wall of the kiln.
2
It operates under the natural draught provided by the chimney (20 – 38 m high) located at the center of the kiln.
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4
Solid fuels like coal, firewood, agriculture residue etc are fed from the feed holes provided at the top of the kiln by the two firemen standing on the top of the kiln.
There are 3 distinct zones in an operating FCBTK: 4.1 Brick firing zone where the fuel is fed and combustion is happening, 4.2 Brick preheating zone (in front of the firing zone) where green bricks are stacked and being pre heated by the flue gases and 4.3 Brick cooling zone (behind the firing zone) where fired bricks are cooled by the cold air flowing into the kiln.
2
4.3
3
1
Fuel is fed at an interval of every 15-20 minutes and each fuel feeding last for 5-10 minutes.
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The fire travels a distance of 6-10 m in 24 hours and fires 20,000 to 50,000 bricks. Daily, fired bricks are unloaded from the front of the brick cooling zone (7.1) and an equivalent batch of green bricks is loaded ahead of the brick preheating zone (7.2).
4.1
Fired red bricks
7.2 Cool air inlet
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4.2
5.1
7.1 Seal
5.2
5 5.1 Air Inlet: Air enters into the kiln from back end of the cooling zone which is kept open to allow air entrance. 5.2 Seal to guide flue gas: Front end of the preheating zone is sealed to guide the flue gas to chimney through the flue gas duct system.
XRAY VIEW OF KILN INTERIOR
Cooling zone Firing zone Preheating zone Fuel feed holes
The kiln, and diagrams from Greentech Knowledge Solutions PVT’s factsheet ‘Fixed Chimney Bull’s Trench Kiln’
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Bungamati: Home of the Rain God Machhendranath Bungamati is a town that is steeped in mythological and religious history. It is the abiding place of one of the most treasured deities of the valley - Rato Machhendranath - a god known in legend for bringing the monsoon rains to a drought-ridden valley. The god lives for half the year in Bungamati, and the other half in the city of Patan. An annual chariot procession during April-May (just before the monsoon season) sees the god move between the two places, drawing pilgrims from around the valley to participate in various processions and rituals. Every twelfth year, the festival is held with particular pomp and the chariot is drawn all the way to Bungamati. At the time of our visit this festival had just finished, having been delayed by the earthquake. The 20 ft high chariot was parked in the town’s bus park, alongside otherwise mundance vehicles.
Image of the chariot en-route to Bungamati (the temple is visible in the distance) (Source: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/photo/2015-04/25/c_134184033_2.htm)
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The statue of the god Machhendranath shown adorned and ready for rituals
Chariot in the Bus Park
The chariot - made of timber, rope and reeds - shown in the bus park, the transport hub of Bungamati
02.11.15
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Piling & Clearing: Slow Steps to Reconstruction From first impressions, it seemed that the town were still recovering from the rammifications of the earthquake, and slowly. The extent of the damage was significantly vast and households had either cleared and sorted materials for potential re-use, or had not known where to begin so left buildings in their damaged state.
A truck in the main temple square being used to transport rubble away
Bricks stacked into piles for re-use
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Craft & Tourism
02.11.15
Bungamati is renowned for being the hub for wood-carving in the valley - one of many craft professions within the town that has been preserved through generational passing down of the trade. Bungati, prior to the earthquake, was esteemed for being a living ‘medieval’ town, where the majority of households still undertook rural activties and lived in traditional mud and brick houses. Tourism and craft were the main economies. The earthquake has had a significant impact on both.
Handicraft objexts on display outside a shop
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03.11.15
Familial Rituals: Rice Harvesting & Ancestral Shrines By the Dyo Pukhu pond, we met Niroj who lives in one of the flanking buildings. They had just had a puja at their ancestral shrine, and a parasol that had been suspended over it caught my eye. Niroj works in Kathmandu as a casino manager, but was on leave because of the festival season and was therefore helping out with the family’s rice crop. The ideas of family and rituals, religious and agricutural, is integral to the culture of the valley.
The ancestral shrine before and after approproation by rice mats
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Tutorial with MM Discussed: Outcomes:
03.11.15
Existing methods of building, urban typologies such as courtyards and terraces, reinterpreting damaged heritage - restore or change? Observe building typologies - emerging and existing, form an opnion on how to approach the loss of heritage architecture, produce a dilapidation survey, plans and elevations of the square
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Machhendranath Bahal: The Temple Square The Bahal is the heart of the community and the site of three temples - the most being the Rato Machhendranath Temple - as well numerous shrines and small pavilions. The square is the largest open space in the town and therefore, the site of numerous community events and festivals. The houses lining the square are mainly residential with a handful of shops.
Houses & Shops
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Looking North: The temple square, its buildings and intense occupation by rice mats and material stock
Dyo Chhen
Small Pavilion Temple
03.11.15
Washing Pavilion for Machhendranath
Gatehouse & Sattal
Collapsed Machhendranath Temple
Houses & Shops
Public Toilets
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Machhendranath Bahal: Before & After the Earthquake A ‘Bahal’ is a courtyard typically found in Newari communities. The characteristics of a Bahal are: a square or rectangular space bounded by buildings in all sides; surrounding buildings built on a raised platform called falcha; ground paved with brick or stone; generally centrally placed chaitya; often with the presence of a well. The Bahal and its buildings were significantly affected by the earthquake. All three major temples collapsed, and most of the formerly 4-storey buildings lining the courtyard were reduced to 2 or less.
Photos showing a view of the Bahal taken before and after the earthquake (given to me by a local resident)
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Religious Activity in the Bahal
03.11.15
Due to the spiritual and cultural significance of the buildings in the Bahal, rituals associated with Hindu, Buddhist and quasi-Hindu-Buddhist Newari religious practices are carried out here. The flagstones of the square are laden with stone mandalas around which these rituals occur. Following the collapse of the main temple, a temporary temple to Machhendranath was erected on a former stage.
Photos showing pujas happening by the gatehouse (top) and by the temporary shrine for Machhendranath (below)
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Intense Occupation of the Square: Rice Mats Due to its large generous space and exposure to the sun, the square is used by several households to dry rice. Mats covered every possible inch of the square.
Sketch mapping of rice mats in the square
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Rice Livelihood
03.11.15
Many Bungamati residents are reliant on agriculture as a source of food and livelihood. Most families own a rice field, and harvest the crop from OctoberDecember. This is why there were so many rice mats around the town - families were prioritising reaping the harvest over reconstruction.
Rice mats in the Bahal between damaged buildings and brick piles
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Rice over Reconstruction
Photo of women drying rice in amongst collapsed buildings in the Bahal
03.11.15
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My Site: Backstage to the Bahal I grew particularly interested in the temples steps, and the area behind the Bahal. It was a mixture of concrete towers and collapsed or standing brick buildings. There is potential for re-instating lost forms and introducing a building that mediates between what happens in the Bahal and this ‘backstage’ area.
See sketch opposite
Sketch plan of the steps leading up to the gatehouse and the buildings flanking the route
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The Temple Steps: Northern Entrance to the Bahal
03.11.15
Sketch elevation AA of the steps
A
A
Sketch plan of the steps
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Ascension The temple steps is an iconic route to the Bahal, and the one used by tourists, pilgrims and locals alike. Though not on the highest part of Bungamati, the ascent up the steps with the tower looming over the gatehouse would have given the impression of a fortified hill top temple. There are spiritual connotations to the idea of ascent, but this effect has been diminished by the earthquake.
Photos of the steps in 1967, with traditional buildings and the temple in tact, and the same view now
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Sketch of the threshold and one of the lion statues guarding the entrance to the temple
Meeting with Sukha Discussed: Outcomes:
04.11.15
Formal introduction of live project team and work of ARCSR, presentation of summer booklet to Sukha, potential to formalise the temporary learning centres - adapt them to make them better quality, brick factories and migrant workers associated with them Better understanding of socio-political and economic context of the village, to inform an idea for a live project based on discussion
Meeting :
Bungamati Foundation Nepal, Meeting with Sukha Ratna Bramhacharya (SRB) 04.11.2015
Present:
Isobel Chapman (IC), Nikki McFarland (NM), Tanya Stagnetto (TS), Pradeepa Sivasanthiran (PS), Maurice Mitchell (MM)
Location:
New BFN Office, Bungamati
Agenda:
Presentation of Kathmandu Edgelands research booklet, introduction of Live Project Team and MM to SRB and general discussion.
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Key Contact Information Sukha Ratna Bramhacharya (Chairperson) 977-01-5591930 info@bungamati.org
2.0
General Discussion
2.1
Sukha was present at a meeting on the 03.11.15 with the government and more than 20 organisations.
2.2
There was discussion about how the Temporary Learning Centres (TLCs) could become semi-permanent/permanent.
2.3
For instance, the UNICEF TLC is cold in the winter, the weight of rain and the sun on the plastic roof is not good and the school is underused. Children from the brick factory attend this school.
2.4
Another brick factory is being planned near Bungamati (closer than the existing one we visited) to supply the demand in (re)building material.
2.5
There are 3 existing brick factories in Bungamati.
2.6
SRB stated brick factories bring pollution and crowds.
2.7
The workers come from different environments and there is sometimes differences in language.
2.8
The children of the workers have a disrupted education because of this and their seasonal migration every 6 months.
2.9
Some children of the workers work for food and don't go to school. They play with the donkeys that are used to carry bricks from the factory.
2.10
The brick factory settlements are cold, have mould, parents drink, and the children support their parents with work and don't go to school.
2.11
Even though BFN provides books and opportunities for education, the children come for a while and then stop.
ARCSR Publications on Nepal
Meeting minutes 2.12 The workers come from the western part of the valley.
LP
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View from Above: Ashok’s Roof Ashok and his daughter, who live in the house next to the temple gatehouse invited us up to the roof terrace to get a better look around the site. Ashok had built his house from concrete in a wide and rectangular form and so it survived the earthquake. The retail spaces on the GF are rented out.
View of increasingly common concrete towers, and the Bahal gatehouse and collapsed neighbouring buildings of
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Concrete Flat Roofs & Water Tanks
04.11.15
For the increasingly common concrete tower houses, water comes from a tank located on the roof of the building. In addition to serving as a storage device, the tank creates water pressure through gravity which brings water where needed in rooms below. These tanks are a common sight in the roofscape of Bungamati.
Roofs with water tanks
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Meeting Chaithya: Jeweller Renting from Ashok Chaithya lives by the monastery right at the end of the temple steps route. She rents this ground floor retail space from Ashok for her jewellery and souvenir business. It’s proximity to the temple - right by the entrance - is a prime location for business, though footfall has decreased since the earthquake. To pass her time, Chaithya also sings and plays the harmonium, to my joy as her musical accompaniment, and chat, was welcome when I was sitting around the steps surveying and sketching.
Chaithya playing the harmonium inside the workshop/shop
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Activity Along the Steps
04.11.15
Ashok’s house is by the entrance to the temple. This route, as well as being a significant processional route used for festivals, is never idle of footfall. Rice workers carry their sacks down the steps, as people sit and chat in the shade, including myself. Taiwanese monks pose for photos whilst shopowners eagerly watch from their stalls.
Rice workers carrying sacks (photo by Mike Hill)
Tourists & souvenirs
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Animating Sketches of the Steps
Rice drying
Tourists
Music and dance processions coming down from the temple
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Sitting and chatting
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Processiona with dance and music
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Processions: Ritual Enactments Processions are common in Newari culture, and are seen as being ritual enactments that periodically mark out and affirm spatial hierarchies. We were given these maps of various processions that happen in Bungamati. Most processions go through the temple square and past the steps, seemingly ritualistically important routes.
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Meeting Raj Bhai & Jyoti: Wood Carver & His Enterprising Daughter Raj Bhai saw me drawing out in the Bahal and invited me inside his wood-carving workshop to look at some images he had of the square before the earthquake. Raj Bhai is one of numerous wood carvers within the town, but has the added luck of being located right in the Bahal and therefore frequented by international tourists. He showed me a piece he was working on for an international client. His daughter Jyoti is 17 and is learning French to enable herself to communicate with tourists and potential clients. She’s been trained by her father in woodcarving, but wishes to study business so that she can take over management from her father. Their house was damaged by the earthquake, despite being constructed from reinforced masonry.
Raj Bhai’s workshop in the ground floor of his house, and images of the temples before the earthquake
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House & Wood-Workshop
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Raj Bhai and Jyoti standing in front of their house and workshop
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Bahal Dilapidation Elevations: Drawing & Annotating with Jyoti
05.11.15
EAST
WEST
SOUTH
I showed Jyoti the elevations I had been drawing and if she could tell me anything more about the sqaure. She was enthusiastic to help, naming the inhabitant of each house and their profession, and pointing out the public, temple associated buildings. She told me how the square is extensively used for festivals, concerts, games, discos and even bingo!
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Northern Elevation
05.11.15
I’m particularly interested in the buildings that flank the northern elevation of the square - they form the edge of my chosen site, and are all publically related buildings: a sattal (resthouse), gatehouse pati, youth club building and Dyo Chhen (house of god). Jyoti is part of this particular youth club, participating in events ranging from cultural programs to sweeping the Baha; every Saturday.
NORTH
See photo elevation below
DYO CHHEN
YOUTH CLUB
GROUND FLOOR PATIS
GATEHOUSE
Photos of the various community buildings on the northern elevation of the Bahal
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Exploring the Dyo Chhen Ruins The Dyo Chhen is perhaps the biggest traditional brick and timber building in the Bahal. It functions as the ‘House of God’, where the trinkets and objects belonging to the god Machhendranath are kept. The ground floor, consisting front and back elevation patis are used by the community. The building was reduced to 2-storeys after the earthquake.
A View A, Back Elevation
View B, Front Elevation
B
Sketch plan survey of the damaged Dyo Chhen with front and back views
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Dyo Chhen Activities
05.11.15
Jyoti told me about the activities that happen in this building. These photos are from one particular community group, of which her father is a member. They organise events in the square, using this building as a place to prepare food and eat in the shade of the pati.
Pr. Preparing vegetables inside the Dyo Chhen pati, and cleaning pots outside
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Mapping the Heart of Bungamati: Following the Flagstones
06.11.15
Tracing over google satellite imagery of the town, we used this as a basis to start mapping the settlement. Not sure where to begin, we decided to use the paved flagstone routes as a way of steering ourselves around the settlement (shown in grey). By Corina, Mike, Tanya & myself
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Dense, Pedestrian, Urban Build-up The mapping exercise helped us understand the architectural and spatial order of the settlement: terraced and courtyard houses in between large distinctive forms such as the square, monastery and ponds. We noticed that plots were relatively small and people tended to build high - this was probably to preserve the fertile land for horticultural purposes.
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Surveying my Site
06.11.15
Individually, I took to drawing my site and exploring the alleys and courtyards that define the space between the steps and the Bahal. The houses are a mixture of traditional brick and timber, and concrete buildings.
COURTYARD
HILLSIDE
STEPS
COURTYARD
BAHAL
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Corner Windows & Habitable Roofs: Concrete Frame Benefits
A view of the rooftop of a concrete frame house with large windows and usable roof terrace
06.11.15
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Staggered Steps & Views Whilst mapping, we came across this interesting configuration of stairs, leading off a street. I was particularly drawn to the staggering of the steps, which ends in an elevated entrance with views out to the hills.
Plan of the steps and views
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Photos showing the staggered steps in this narrow passage
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Group Seminar
06.11.15
In the evening, we held a seminar in which each group presented their research work so far. Our group presented our mapping as well as initial ideas about our chosen sites and observations about the culture and customs of Bungamati. Outcomes:
Think about how communities can facilitate projects, how capital can be used to orchestrate people to build things instead of getting the thing built, think about the competition for land between the city and agriculture and how to accommodate that
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07.11.15
Meeting Kabita & Family We befriended Kabita the day before; after she offered to cook us something to eat for lunch when she saw us desperately trying to find food in Bungamati during the fuel-crisis-stricken holiday season. She invited us back to her house to meet her family and show us around. She went to India to train as a nurse and just arrived back in Nepal. Although her family currently live in a reinforced masonry house, they have two other houses made of brick and timber - one next door to the concrete house, and the other within the main settlement.
Having a tour from her father of the two houses
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Kabita’s Old House
07.11.15
Kabita took us to her old family house within the historic town - a typical Newari house of fired and unfired brick and timber, with ornate windows and traditional details. The house had been abadoned since the earthquake.
Photos of the traditional brick and timber house
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07.11.15
Community Centre Under Construction Kabita’s father, a a sub-community leader of sorts, was orchestrating the construction of a community centre building on the edges of the village. The house, made of traditional construction, was reconfigured with the support of visiting Japanese students. They’d opened the top floor to have large openings supported by recycled timber struts. The building was nearly finished.
Photos of the building showing traditional construction with new openings supported by recycled timber pieces
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Watching Rice Harvesting
07.11.15
We were lucky that Kabita’s family were going to thresh rice, and invited us to come along to see it. Their paddy field is a just a short walk away from their house. Both Kabita’s mother and father were helping to pick the crop and thresh it, with the help of some workers. Kabita helped by serving food onto leaf plates for the workers.
Photos of the process - shearing, threshing and eating
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07.11.15
Approaching Sukha About Building a Shelter for Rest Corina, Mike, Tanya and I, having noticed the abundance of possible recycled building material, were keen to see if there was a way of making something from it. We noticed that the road that lead from the bus park to the temple square, having walked it often, was extremely exposed to the sun; and although this was good for drying rice, we often saw women and men sitting down and taking a break from working in the extreme heat. We thought it would be a good idea to build some kind of shelter along this route. We decided to take this idea to Sukha who could help us see if this was possible. Discussed:
Initial ideas for a shelter, the use of recycled timber, sites for the project, the ease to which local people could get involved in the building
Outcomes:
Sukha was eager to help start the project, he would co-ordinate volunteers and carpenters,the advised against using timber as people might be saving these for rebuilding houses, he said he would find out if they could source bamboo, project to start on Monday and we will meet then
BP Initial design sketches and the exposed hillside road
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Drystone & Dams: Trek to Chisapani
08.11.15
On our day off we took a trek to a nearby hill town called Chisapani in the Shivapuri Hills, north of Kathmandu. It was a good opportunity to see what was happening in terms of post-earthquake reconstruction outside of the city. We were lucky to see a dry-stone building under construction.
Images from the trek: dam, views over the valley and isolated buildings
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09.11.15
Acquiring Permission to Build from the Municipality Office Sukha took us to the municipality office as we had to get permission before starting to build. Seemingly wellversed with the practicalities of getitng a project started, Sukha took the lead in talking to Mina, the secretary in charge (and a former student of his). A chat was all that was needed to get confirmation to build. Sukha told us it was public land he had in mind for the shelter, and so official permission was needed.
Sukha, BFN
Mina Maharjan, Secretary Municpality Office
BP Proposed new municipality joining previously seperately managed VDCs
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Visting the Site ‘Khandra’ & Assigning Roles
09.11.15
Sukha then took us to the site he had in mind - an existing plinth with a Pipal tree on the route down to the paddy fields. This site had become a dumping ground and there was an official plan to make it into a garden. Sukha thought the shelter could play a part in that. A temporary housing shelter had been constructed on levelled land following the earthquake, which had also formalised the site. He introduced us to two local carpenters and volunteers who would be around to help us with the project. The first step was to assign roles and divide tasks. I took on the role of the project manager, having conceived the idea and been in discussion with Sukha. Further roles, such as managing our exoenses, were assigned. The first move was to divide ourselves into two groups: one who would stay and come up with design ideas, and the other to source and bring bamboo to site.
1.
Assigning Roles
2.
Setting Parallel Tasks
Team:
Pradeepa Project Manager Mike Sub-team Manager Sam Accounts Lucy Health & Safety Nikki Photographer Tanya Izzy Corina Fran Tom
Clearing weeds nad rubbish from site (all)
Provision of tools (local volunteers)
Staying on site and drawing up ideas (half the team)
Acquiring Bamboo (half the team)
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09.11.15
Working out Base Design & Quantities Our initial reactions to the site prompted designs like that shown to the left. We were advised against doing the shelter like that - the tree was a sacred Pipal tree and people tended to perform rites around it; the shelter would get in the way. They advised us to think about bringing it away from the tree, leaving the platform free for workers to leave their rice bags and come and sit inside the shelter. We then worked out a simple frame structure with the local carpenters so that the other team could go off and buy the bamboo.
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The carpenters drawing and details working out the quantities of materials
Clearing the Site & Acquiring Materials
09.11.15
After collectively clearing the site and preparing it for the shelter, one group went off with a local carpenter and Sukha to buy bamboo from a tradeshop located closeby on the road to Patan.
Deweeding and levelling the site with rocks
BP Sukha helping negotiate the price of the bamboo, and weighing the weight of nails
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09.11.15
Transporting the Bamboo The bamboo was brought back to site on the back of a lorry. As there is no vehicular access to the site, the lorry had to stop off on the dirt road above the site, and the bamboo had to be carried down.
Loading the bamboo onto a truck
BP Carrying the bamboo down to site from the dirt road
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Working Out Details
09.11.15
The drafting team remained on site to talk through details (such as footings, bamboo connections etc) with the carpenters and refine the design in relation to the dimensions of the site.
BP
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09.11.15
Marking Out & Putting in Posts We started by marking out the dimensions of the structure, and then dug holes (2-4ft deep) for the bamboo posts, of which we managed to get the four corners in by the end of the day.
Preparing holes for columns
Placing the bamboo poles
Sketch showing processes and tools used
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Getting the four corner posts up
Visualising the Shelter
09.11.15
As designated draughtsmen, Tom, Fran and myself began to sketch visualisations of the discussed pati in place at the request of Sukha.
The visualisers: draughtsmen at work by the temporary housing shelter
BP
The object of visualisation: the site with columns in place
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09.11.15
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Using my Drawing to 1) Imagine 2) Communicate Intent 3) Initiate Construction
09.11.15
Despite its crudity, my visualisation of the pati turned out to be sucessfull in communicating the intent of the project, in terms of construction and design, to a variety of people - Sukha, the local tradesmen, ourselves and the internet. It taught me a lesson about how constructive and reactive an architect’s drawing can be in communicating ideas to people, particularly if verbal language is a barrier.
(above) The drawing being examined by the local carpenters (left) Sukha shared the image on the BFN’s facebook page to get the word across on social media
BP
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10.11.15
Meeting with Sukha Discussed:
Live project intentions and tasks for team after MM leaves, the issue of reconstruction in the village and how that could be accommodated, technicalities of building back, what will happen to shelters? Build back on new land or old land?
Outcomes:
Live project team to particularly explore the processes of reconstruction, proposal with small cost long term benefits, small step development encouraged by community response
Meeting :
Bungamati Foundation Nepal, Meeting with Sukha Ratna Bramhacharya (SRB) 10.11.2015
Present:
Isobel Chapman (IC), Pradeepa Sivasanthiran (PS), Maurice Mitchell (MM)
Location:
Under the Pipal tree, Khandre Hillside, Bungamati
Agenda:
Discussion with SRB about the intentions of ARCSR and the live project.
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Key Contact Information Sukha Ratna Bramhacharya (Chairperson) 977-01-5591930 info@bungamati.org
2.0
General Discussion
2.1
MM started by explaining our intentions to develop a project with BFN which we can contribute to for 2-3 years, and explained past projects in India.
2.2
SRB stated that his values in a project consist of: – small cost, long term benefits – exchange of skills – teaming together – small step by step development influenced/encouraged by community response
2.3
It was agreed that there are mutual interests.
3.0
Rebuilding
3.1
There are two potential routes for families in temporary shelters. To 1) become more permanent, or 2) to rebuild their old houses and relocate back.
3.2
Is the middle of Bungamati now empty, and the edge the more populated?
3.3
Do people want to stay in the edges of the village or want to settle back in the interior?
3.4
Who wants to move back? And how can that be accommodated?
3.5
A potential process could be one of: 1) clearing rubble from a damaged house and agreeing where it goes (forest/field), 2) putting a shelter on the cleared land/the basic infrastructure of a buildings. 3) The build up the house incrementally as more money becomes available.
3.6
An agreement will need to be made with who wants to rebuild.
Potential Project Ideas:
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Shelter for Rest: The ‘Pati’
10.11.15
The word Pati generated from the Sanskrit word ‘pattika’ which is a resting place for travellers. It serves the Newari society living in its neighborhood, as a meeting place in public places for games or social and religious gatherings, or strategically placed at junctions for weary travellers. The Pati consist of the raised platform that is covered with the sloped roof. Some of the Patis are free standing and some are incorporated into a residential house or attached to an existing building like a lean-to and named dupat (two corner Pati). The layout of each Pati is practically identical and consists of a rectangular brick platform raised about 60cm and covered with wooden floorboards. As it is sited to overlook roads, ponds and streams, the front is always of a post and lintel construction.
Sketch of the pati columns
Pr. Two patis in the Bahal being used for pilgrims and for shade
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10.11.15
Adding Posts & Beams Once the posts were all put in place, beams were added across the four sides. The bamboo posts were either noched to recieve the beams, or two pieces of timber were nailed to the post to make a slot for the bamboo to slide in.
Putting the posts in
Fixing the beam and temporary bracing with string
BP
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Making the Roof Structure
10.11.15
Once the posts and beams went in, we used split bamboo lengths to make the structure to which we would affix the roof. Because of the varying sizes, the pieces were cut to size in place, and the structure used as a climbing frame to make joints.
Putting on the bamboo lengths
BP Climbing on the frame to fix joints
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10.11.15
Learning a New Skill: Splitting Bamboo The art of splitting bamboo with a machete was taught to us by the carpenters, though it seemed that even the smaller kids that were hanging around the site knew how to do this.
BP Photos showing the process of splitting bamboo with a machete (by Corina Tuna)
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Making & Testing a Bench
10.11.15
We had a debate about approaching cladding for the bench - whether to do it with long pieces of bamboo across the seat, or to use short pieces going perpendicular.
BP Testing the bench, and team photo
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10.11.15
The Pati in the Landscape
Panorama showing the landscape within which the bamboo pati is set, with rice paddies down the path and the temporary shelter to the left
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10.11.15
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11.11.15
Finishing Details & Adding the Roof There were just a few details to add before the pati could be finished. This included finishing the bench cladding, and adding the roof. Although we have lobbied for straw, the carpenters knew that there was tin they could get for free from the temple, so tin was used instead.
BP Photos showing the bench being finished, and the tin roof being installed
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Inside the Pati
11.11.15
BP Junina sitting inside the finished pati
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11.11.15
Making a Swing with Excess Bamboo We decided to build a swing with the excess bamboo on the levelled land beside the temporary housing shelter, much to the encouragement of the children living there. We built it using the same prinicples as the shelter, digging down to insert he bamboo posts for stability. Joints were then made with nails and wire, and the swing seat from recycled timber and rope.
BP The swing beside the temporary shelter
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Locals Build a Bench
12.11.15
We arrived in the morning to find that a few of the people living in the Buddhist housing shelter had started to build a bench from bamboo off-cuts. They said it was for ‘parents to sit and watch as they children swang’. It was good to see that the project had sparked other making projects.
BP Building a bench into the hillside
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The Landscape of Khandra
12.11.15
River
Rice Fields
Bamboo Pati
Panorama of Khandra with the new bamboo shelter and swing
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Pipal Tree Plinth
12.11.15
Swing
Well
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12.11.15
Celebrating Tihar with Sukha Our visit happened to coincide with a 5-day festival called Tihar celebrated extensively throughout the valley by the native Newari people. Sukha invited us to experience the fourth day of Tihar with a puja held in his house. His wife had drawn mandalas on the floor of one of their rooms, and prepared fruits and traditional snacks associated with the rituals. On this night, people perform the Maha Puja, also known as self-puja, which is conducted to purify the body.
Photo of the puja conducted by Sukha’s wife Sangita, centred around individual mndalas
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Mandalas at Thresholds
12.11.15
The five-day festival is considered to be of great importance as it shows reverence to gods, fellow humans and animals. People celebrate by drawing mandalas on the floor of living rooms or courtyards using materials such as colored rice, dry flour, colored sand or flower petals outside of their house. Street spaces were transformed by the appearance of these beautifully crafted mandalas at thresholds and entrances; spiritual symbols manifested in physical space.
A collection of mandalas around the entrances of shops in Thamel
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13.11.15
Handover Meeting with MM & RB Discussed:
Live project intentions, handover of information from MM to RB, observed issues affecting the village, tasks for the live project team
Outcomes:
Meeting minutes, draft MOU with Sukha & the BFN
Meeting :
Meeting with Maurice Mitchell (MM) Robert Barnes (RB) and Live Project Team 13.11.2015
Present:
Isobel Chapman (IC), Nikki McFarland (NM), Tanya Stagnetto (TS), Pradeepa Sivasanthiran (PS), Maurice Mitchell (MM), Robert Barnes (RB)
Location:
Yellow House, Sanepa
Agenda:
Briefing discussion with MM and handover to RB.
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General discussion
1.1
MM started by explaining the development of a live project with the example of Sierra Leone.
1,2
Is Bungamati a shrinking village? Are youth travelling abroad/out of Bungamati for work and education?
1.3
Or is Kathmandu city expanding into the village?
1.4
Is it still plausible for Bungamati to be a tourist village?
1.5
Conduct a material survey of damage and how materials reacted to the earthquake e.g. the difference between reinforced concrete structures and brick and timber structures.
1.6
Which buildings were badly damaged or partially damaged or undamaged, and how can they be cleared and rebuilt and made better?
1.7
Consider sanitation in rebuilding, and how things are shared in a street. Is a street rehoused?
1.8
Money can be raised in collaboration between London and Bungamati.
1.9
Produce beautiful drawings that can explain a phenomena. A small thing can raise the profile of the city and pull people's optimism together.
2.0
Tasks for Team
2.1
Develop a draft proposal with Sukha and refine with subsequent meetings.
2.2
Draft a memorandum of understanding explaining what we expect of Sukha and the BFN and what he expects of us. Access for drawings etc.
2.3
Think about costing as incremental.
2.4
Consider the educational opportunities of the live project – the surveys, information, drawings etc. that you produce and how they can be used.
2.5
Think about conceptual ideas that undergraduates can feed into and help with. Get them to assist in making drawings.
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Meeting minutes stating things discussed and subsequent tasks
Consolidating Drawings
13.11.15
We were lucky enough to acquire cad drawings of the valley from a young collective called ‘Needleweave’, consisting of local architecture and engineering students. A seredipituous meeting with two Danish architects, who had come and surveyed Bungamati in 1968, gave us access to a welath of historical surveyed drawings and information about the village before the current context of urbanisation and post earthquake recovery. We began to consolidate our drawings using a mixture of these resources, as well as Google satellite images.
Bungmati 1968 A Survey by Danish Architect Students
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14.11.15
Fuel Crisis Clay Ovens As a result of the severe shortage of fuel in Nepal, households were starting to construct wood-burning clay ovens, reverting to the traditional methods of fashioning a stove and cooking from it. The photos below show Kabita’s family making ovens.
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Kabita’s mum and aunt shown fashioning an oven from clay having used bricks asa foundation
Temples & HIlltops: Beacons in the Landscape
14.11.15
Wherever you stand in Bungamati, you are guranteed a view of a prominent pagoda temple on the hillside opposite. It illustrates the significance of hilltops for places of worship and communal gathering, a phenomenon observed throughout the world. Prior to the collapse of the Machhendranath temple, it’s bulky white tower was also visible from vantage points around the valley.
Conceptual section through the valley showing the relationship between the landscape and these towering beacons
Sketch of the monastery on the hillside opposite
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15.11.15
Pipal Tree Pati
BP
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Photo of the pati by the holy Pipal tree at the junction en-route to the paddy fields
15.11.15
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15.11.15
Drawing up the Pati Since the details of the pati were worked out alongside the process of construction, there were multiple ways the local carpenters advised us on making joints and connections with timber, nails and wire.
2
3
4
1
BP 1 Photos showing particular details of joints
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2
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Framing the Landscape
15.11.15
The local method of building with bamboo regards the use of horizontal bracing over that of triangulation. The resultant structure consisted thereby of vertical and horizontal pieces. ‘Limiting, controlling and defining the field of vision, the frame turned the landscape into a picture’.
BP Views from inside the pati, looking out one way to the paddy fields, and the other to the Pipal tree
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24.10.15
Making Places
BP
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View of the area next to the Buddhist shelter with the new swing and bench
24.10.15
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15.11.15
The Taragaon Museum, Kathmandu, Carl Pruscha Located within the Hyatt Regency Hotel premises, the building was originally the Taragaon Hotel until it closed in the 1990s. It was designed in the 1970s by Austrian architect Carl Pruscha, who was also involved in Kathmandu’s urban planning. The Taragaon complex includes seven unique arch vaulted brick buildings separated by brick-paved quadrangles. Before it was turned into the hotel, the complex served primarily as a hostel for foreign visitors, scientists and artists who were interested in the cultural wealth of the country. The building was recently restored and converted into a museum for art and culture.
Pr. A view taken within the complex showing monolithic brick structures with delicate glass and frames
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Bungamati, 1968: Lecture & Exhibition
15.11.15
The museum focuses primarily on conserving and documenting the research undertaken by expatriate artists, architects, photographers, and scholars who have taken to Nepal since the late 1960s. The Danish architects we met in Bungamati, Jørgen Rahbek Thomsen and Jens WÌrum, were there to give a lecture about their experience coming to Nepal in 1968, staying in and surveying Bungamati. The work was presented in the gallery complex. There were a mixture of visitors, including the chiarman of the Bungamati Committee, as well as local architects from the town.
Photos of the exhibition and lecture in the courtyard of the museum
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15.11.15
Courtyard Furniture
Pr.
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Photo showing the potential of inhabitation in and around the steps that line the courtyard
Celebrating Water Architecturally
15.11.15
Pr.
Photo showing a common detail around the complex of massive monolithic gutters pouring into wells
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16.11.15
Initiating a Live Project: Terms of Reference with BFN Dhana Raj Tuladhar
Druba Raj Tuladhar
Gopilal Maharjan
This terms of reference was drafted by Sukha so that we established a clear understanding of our relationship, the objectives, and preliminary potential projects. Hira Shakya
Keshari Shakya
Manshyam Tuladhar
Bungamati Foundation Nepal
ARCSR Narayan Shrestha Prem Raj Shakya Ram Bhakta Mali London Metropolitan University London, UK Architecture of Rapid Change And Scarce Resources
- - - - - -
Support technically and financially to manage project Send students of architecture Plan together Ratman Tuladhar Santi Shrestha Shova Shakya Monitor regularly the project Evaluate the project involving the target communities and groups Capacity building BFN team
Ashok Bajracharya Premila Tuladhar
Binita Maharjan Prem Lal Mali
Buddhi Deshar
Bungamati Foundation Nepal ‘Learning Together, Growing Together’ Bungamati, Nepal
Bungamati Foundation Nepal
- - - - - - - -
Dhana Raj Tuladhar
Druba Raj Tuladhar
Gopilal Maharjan
Narayan Shrestha
Prem Raj Shakya
Ram Bhakta Mali
Ratman Tuladhar
Santi Shrestha
Shova Shakya
Collect data on target communities, groups, schools Analysis the data and information Prepare plan and proposal with ARCSR Select the communities, groups and schools Coordinate and cooperate with the government, local people, communities, groups, schools Implement the project actively involvement of the Hira Shakya Keshari Shakya Manshyam Tuladhar students LMU, communities, government, groups Monitor regularly with the government, target communities Review and evaluate the project participating target communities, government, media person
LP Architecture of Rapid Change And Scarce Resources
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16.11.15
Rebuilding Bungamati - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Cleaning the existing house – destroyed and damaged bricks, mud, stone, window, door and timber Support technical and financial to prepare plan, design the house. Design and cost analysis. Support to rebuild house with safety and earthquake proof Monitor regularly and comment and feedback, the own and the mason and the carpenter Review after completion of the rebuilding of the houses Prepare plan and proposal/ strategy Disseminate to the local government and local community to collect feedback and comments Community talk on rebuilding and rules and regulations as well as responsibilities sharing Collect interest and wish from the families/ prioritise Select the family for clearing and rebuilding Make agreement with the family Empower on roles and responsibilities Prepare report and submit to concerned offices and organisations
Water & Sanitation - - - - - - - - -
Collect information and data how they use water, source of water Purification and filter of the water Prepare plan and programme to improve the water using cisterns Prepare brochure and leaflet purification of the water Give empower the facilities how to purification of the water and use Support the manage water supply in the communities and schools Organise training/ workshop to the community and children how to clean/ purification water. Collective information and data of sanitation situation of the families and communities Prepare plan and programme
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09.10.15
Preface to the Live Project Research Work Following the earthquake, Nepal received a large administration of financial, material and voluntary support from both international and local aid agencies and charities. Bungamati was in a better position than other peri-urban and rural settlements to receive this aid, due to its relative accessibility from Kathmandu, and was subject to an influx of help and support in the months that followed the earthquake. Formal temporary shelters were distributed to families who met the eligibility to receive a ‘victim card’ issued by the municipality office and so were given priority by intervening agencies such as the Danish People’s Aid Mission and the Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation. Unfair distribution of resources, and the destabilisation of the socio-cultural activities of the community, occurred because there was no established method of dealing with the aftermath of the earthquake. Processes obvious to recovery and rehabilitation were laden with questions about the uncertainty of facilitation - we can clear damaged sites, but where will rubble be moved, and with whose help, and what tools? Although apparent in the settlement, obvious attempts to rehabilitate have been slow. Pressure onset by the necessity of agricultural activity as livelihood for the majority of families in Bungamati, means that people are more keen to continue relying on aid agency donation and support than to rebuild for the near future. In the cases where families have cleared sites, attempts to rebuild permanently have been postponed until the government good practice guides on how to reconstruct with earthquake resistant technology. This was beginning to happen during our time there. Our interest for the two weeks is to work closely with Sukha Ratna Brahmacharya of the Bungamati Foundation Nepal (BFN), with whom a relationship had been established following the summer scoping trip. Eager and enthusiastic to empower the community following the earthquake, and promote collective action and initiatives within the community, and between ARCSR and Bungamati, Sukha will be able to provide us with local access, perspective and knowledge about post-earthquake rehabilitation efforts, and lack of. Our mutual interest will be in identifying families who had received no official aid, cataloguing their living situation, and formulating ways in which they could benefit from our collaboration. A scoping walk will be conducted through Bungamati to identify such families, led by Sukha, and secondary research work about existing methods of building will be conducted.
Objectives:
Identifying potential collaborators for ARCSR Live Project, primary research work about methods of building, gauging interest from the community, work to be presented/ exhibited
LP Photos of various shelters, makeshift and official, around Bungamati
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Surveying the BFN Office Building
16.11.15
Sukha’s original office, a traditionally constructure tall terraced building located in the historic heart of Bungamati, was damaged and rendered unoccupiable after the earthquake. Needing to restablish the offices so that his work could continue, Sukha acquired some farm-land on the edges of the settlement and constructed a one storey ‘semi-permanent’ building out of concrete blockwork and recycled timber elements.
LP Photo and sketch elevations of Sukha’s new office building
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16.11.15
BFN Office Toilet The toilet is connected to septic tank built next to it. Water for flushing and washing is stored in a tank at the top of the toilet, to which water is pumped. When there’s no mainline water, a well is used.
LP Sketches of the toilet outhouse and the water tank on the roof
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Public & Private Water Resources
16.11.15
Sukha’s brother-in-law led Tanya and myself around the town to explain a bit about water management. He told us that traditionally. households were reliant on well water for use, but since the provisions of a mains supply, these have been falling out of use. The Bahal has a public water tank on its southern side, and this is one of several public water points around the town. Smaller courtyards may have a private mains water supply.
LP Photos of the water taps in the Bahal, and then in the private courtyard
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16.11.15
Spiritual & Ritual Use of Water The water tank at the Bahal (pictured on the previous page), adorned with idols, is representative of the deep cultural significance of water has in the ritual and spiritual culture of the Newari inhabitants. Each idol around this particular water tank has been meaningfully placed. A trough is also there for mixing paint for the various festivals associated with the square, including a historic stone stele.
LP Sketch of the water tank at the Bahal and its assemblage of various shrines and objects
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Courtyards & Domestic Management of Water
16.11.15
This particular courtyard lies of a pathleading from the bottom of the temple steps. Mians water supply was introduced to this area 40 years ago, and work to the surface water drainage system was done 10 years ago. The courtyard is a architectural device in the management of water supply and drainage. The mains water is supplied to a pipe here, so that the facing households can benefit from it. Rainwater from the houses is directed through gutters and pipes, collected, and then led to the mains drainge system.
LP Sketch showing the courtyard and relationship to the main route
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16.11.15
Meeting Sukha’s Father-in-Law: Gindi Raj Shakya, Mason Sukha’s father-in-law is a mason who helped to construct the new BFN office. He is currently working on builidng similar concrete blockwork buildings on farmland neighbouring the office, using similar techniques of reusing door and window elements. He talked us through the construction details, including building up foundations in rubble and brick. He told us that concrete blockwork is a semi-permanent, earthquake resistant method of building which is fast and easy to construct. For the time being, this is what people need as the government is restricting development before it issues official construction guidelines.
Talking to Sukha’s father-in-law
LP Sketching the construction details
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The house under construction
Developing on Farmland: Necessary or Destructive?
16.11.15
We were told that a welathy business from Patan had bought this land and divided it up into 16 plots, after the earthquake. A new road has been put in, linking it to the main road into Bungamati. This project intoduces an important debate about the future of development in Bungamati. Farmland is really the only space left to construct new homes, but it takes away the potential for agriculture, which is the main livelihood for many families in the town.
Plots ready for development
LP The new road connecting to the main road
Drainage infrastructure in place
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18.11.15
Surveying Kabita’s New House: Reinforced Masonry Kabita’s father built this house around 15 years ago on peripheral land in Bungamati. The house was buitl next to a former house they had constructed from brick and timber, as well as a carpet factory they rented out on the same land. Due to metal reinforcement in the construction, the house managed to withstand the earthquake.
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Sketch survey of the house with dimensions
A ‘Modern’ House
18.11.15
The house is four storeys with a roof terrace. The kitchen is on the topmost floor, which is typical of many houses both traditional and modern. The other floors consist of bedrooms and living rooms. Rooms are light and airy - a possibility brought about by the modern construction.
Front elevation of the house facing the yard, carpet factory to the left, and the old house to the right
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Construciton detail sketches
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18.11.15
Surveying Kabita’s Ancestral House: Mud Brick & Timber Kabita took us back to her ancestral home in the centre of Bungamati. She told us how the original house had been divided into two so that two ancestral families could live in it. Her family had occupied the right hand side. Although Kabita and her family had moved when she was young, her relatives ahd occupied the house until the earthquake. The house didn’t collapse, but cracks had formed. They now share rooms in her current house.
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Sketch of the gruond floor plan, which leads off a courtyard
The ‘Traditional Newari’ Courtyard House
18.11.15
The house is of traditional construction, with ornaste wood elements. The ground floor, leading off a courtyard, comprises of a toilet and store room. The habitable rooms are on the higher floors, and the kitchen right at the top. The house is defined by low rooms, lit by small windows and therefore quite cool within. Internally, the house has been plastered and painted the typical blue found in Newari homes.
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Photos from inside the house
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18.11.15
Scoping Walk: Identifying Households As Tanya and I were surveying houses and attempting to understand existing ways of building etc, Nikki and Izzy went on a scoping walk through Bungamati to identify families that had been bereft from official support. Led by Sukha, the intention was to identify families who had received no official aid, cataloguing their living situation, and formulating ways in which they could benefit from our collaboration.
LP Photos showing the scoping walk and the resultant mapping produced
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18.11.15
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18.11.15
17 Families Following the walk, 17 families were selected who fulfiled the criteria of having been bereft of official support, and who were also willing to engage with us and become potential partners for future live projects. These families are dispersed around the town, and live either in makeshift shelters or in their damaged homes.
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Map showing the selected 17 properties and their position in the town
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Ashok Bajracharya
Binita Maharjan
Buddhi Deshar
Dhana Raj Tuladhar
Druba Raj Tuladhar
Gopilal Maharjan
Hira Shakya
Keshari Shakya
Manshyam Tuladhar
Narayan Shrestha
Prem Raj Shakya
Ram Bhakta Mali
Ratman Tuladhar
Santi Shrestha
Shova Shakya
Premila Tuladhar
Prem Lal Mali
Bungamati Foundation Nepal
Architecture of Rapid Change And Scarce Resources
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09.10.15
Inviting the 17 Sukha thought it would be a good idea to hold a meeting with the selected 17 families so that they become both familiar with us and our intentions, as well as giving them a chance to explain their situation. Discussed: Outcomes:
Meeting timings and topics, work to produce Sukha to call and invite the representatives of the families, prepare room with chairs and projector, students to produce a presentation of photos and drawings to initiate discussion
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Notes for the order of the presentation
Preparing the Presentation: Cartoon Diagrams
19.11.15
In preparation for the meeting, and suggested by Sukha, we prepared smalll cartoon diagrams about ways of rehabilitation so that we could present them and gather a response from the families. The cartoons included ideas about recycling, training youth and improving infrastructure.
rebuilding with recycled materials
training and teaching
earthquake resistant technology
recycled door frame
septic tank
repairing partially damaged buildings
repairing brickwork
do not dump on the road
make neat piles
involving youth in clearing
making piles of material clearing rubble
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A few of the cartoons produced: clearing, repairing and rebuilding
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20.11.15
Meeting with the 17, BFN Office, 10am The purpose of this meeting was twofold - first for our benefit in getting to know the individual situation of each of the families and to introduce ourselves, and second, for the encouragement of the selected families to collectively discuss their situation and position as part of the larger community. Presented with photos of their properties, and simple cartoon strategies about stages of rehabilitation, they were asked to respond critically and constructively about their personal circumstances and how they could see themselves facilitating rebuilding, incorporating improved methods of building and infrastructure, and recycling. Outcomes: becoming familiar with the families and vice versa, clearer understanding of each familial situation and their enthusiasm, commitment and ability towards reconstruction.
LP Photos from the meeting, including introductions, presentation of images, and Sukha translating into Nepali what we had to say
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UN Habitat Community Meeting, Child Care Centre Hall, 3pm
20.11.15
We were invited to a community meeting UN-Habitat was hosting about their ‘Bungamati Revitalisation’ plans. The meeting, unfortunately, was held in Nepali, but we understood that they were presenting a scheme for the Dyo Pukhu pond area; insinuating that they would build back in a traditional aesthetic but with larger floor to ceiling heights etc. The space was small, but around 30+ people attended. Outcomes:
People were impressed by the graphics but felt it was unrealistic, the existing library is planned to turn back into a pati and the priority of that was questioned
Plan of Bungamati with meeting place shown with a blue dot
UN Habitat’s proposals for the pond area
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21.11.15
Surveying the Houses (8/17) Splitting the 17 houses between the four of us, we spent the day visiting and drawing the plan and elevations of each house. It was good to be able to assess the earthquake damage that had occured and look at the situation of each family house - some had cleared, whereas others were unable to because of neighbouring properties.
Photo and elevations of Druba Raj Tuladhar’s house, reduced from 4-storeys to 1-storey
LP Photo and sketch of Ratman Tuladhar’s house which was damaged but then cleared, awaiting support for rebuilding
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Visting Prathamapaur Mahabihar Monastery: Exhibition Space?
21.11.15
Although closed unless in use, Sukha managed to get us get us entry into the Prathamapur Mahabihar Monastery, a traditional Newari courtyard style monastery building, which is mainly used by the priest caste families in Bungamati. Discussed: Outcomes:
Potential to use the space for the exhibition, accessibility and the layout of the exhibition Decided it would not be possible to stick things to the wall, but the columns presented an opportunity to string work between them, decided the monastery was well known enough to attract people to visit despite being in the corner of the town
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23.11.15
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Finishing Site Elevations Drawings
23.11.15
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24.11.15
Bungamati Lecture from Anil Tuladhar, Young Local Architect Anil is a local architect we came to know, and is working on the behalf of UN-Habitat for major reconstruction projects around the town. He invited to Amarapur Buddhist Monastery to give us a talk about the history and development of Bungamati - how it formed around the god Machhendranath and was first settled by three groups from the three cities of Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur (priests, farmers and merchants respectively) to support the house of the god.
Anil’s whiteboard explanations
Notes from the talk
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Putting Posters Up Around the Village
24.11.15
Sukha had prepared a poster for the exhibiton in Nepali which we went posting around town. With Pramila to guide us, it was interesting to find out where the critical points around the town were where people would look at such notices, including around the bus park, in the Bahal and other major and minor junctions.
Gluing the posters up, and immediately getting curious passes-by
LP The poster advertising the exhibition in Nepali
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24.11.15
Prayers & Parties: the Sacred & Secular Bahal The Bahal transformed for the Sakimapunhi festival - a festival with music, food and celebration. I was particularly struck by the amalgation of activities both religious and secular in nature, signified by an elder culture and a youth culture.
Photos illustrating reliigious activity such as puja, and lighting of lamps
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24.11.15
Taken from the same view, and facing the Bahal elevation of my chosen site, the two photos below show the appropriation of space for these two distinct activities - a puja, and a music concert.
Photos illustrating secular activities such as music and feasting
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25.11.15
17 Families We decided that for the exhibition it would be good to present each family, with a photo of an individual and plan and elevation of their house, on idividual pages. In this way, people could recognise their fellow community members and be able to talk each case study inidividually. Phoning up print shops around Kathmandu, we discovered the biggest paper size was A2, so adjusted our layout accordingly.
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26.11.15
Setting up the Exhibition The morning of the exhibition, we had an early start to ensure all the work was up before the 8am opening. Unable to attach things to the walls of the monastery, we decided to use string to display our work. We presented the sketches and photographs the Unit had created in the weeks previous, as well as large A1 sheets illustrating the condition of the properties belonging to the 17 families.
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Stringing our work to the columns and walls of the monastery
The Exhibition
26.11.15
The exhibition opened at 8am at Prathampur Mahabihar Monastery and had a heavy turnout of people who came by before heading off to work and school. This included school children, young adults, women, elderly, local architects, craftspeople and representatives from each of the 17 families. Over 150 people attended.
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The local community viewing the work
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26.11.15
Encouraging Bungamati Youth
LP School children and members of a local youth club at the exhibition
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Youth for Rebuilding: Expressions of Interest & Social Media Groups
26.11.15
Sign-up sheets were also displayed for people to register their interest in volunteering in rebuilding, as well as sheets documenting a tally under various actions such as ‘I will recycle’ and ‘I will clean’. Sukha subsequently created social media groups for the interested to join and debate and hold meetings about the future of Bungamati.
Sign up sheets at the exhibition for youth volunteers, as well as tally charts to gauge what acctions people would take
LP Post-exhibition Facebook groups for ‘Rebuilding Bungamati’ and subsequent meetings and discussions
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26.11.15
Earthquake Safety Guideline Posters Just as we were leaving, posters, such as the one below pinned outside the Bungamati Museum, began to emerge as well as leaflets highlighting construction recommendations for earthquake risk reduction.
Poster and leaflet distributed by ERRRP
Organisations involved in the creation of best practise guidelines for earthquake resistant architecture
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Evaluation The field trip consisting of research for our design projects, the small making project, as well as the live project research work was incredibly valuable. Our observations and encounters alluded to underlying issues including: the dilemmas faced by traditionally rural socities exposed to rapid urbanisation; the effect earthquakes have on society and its infrastructure, and how it consequently affects issues ranging from reconstruction to more abstract ideas about identity and change; and the way collaboration (with local carpenters for the pati project) or with an NGO (Sukha and BFN) can be a fruitful dialogue of exchange that can have positive impacts on all participants.
Cultural Context & Communication
Professional Context
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Bungamati was a fantastically rich place to observe traditional religious and agricultural customs of the native Newari culture. Mythology is strongly tied to the architectural fabric and frequent processions ritually affirm these stories and hierarchies. We were lucky to be there to witness several such festivals
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The role I assumed in the bamboo pati project was revelatory of the role of an architect, particularly in the cases of design for the 99%’, as a mediator between all involved parties, using drawings as a tool to explain, test and imagine propositions
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The pati making project was a great exercise in facilitating and carrying out a project in an unfamiliar context, exchanging local knowledge with our architectural abilities to realise a project. The drawing I made for the pati was a good example of how ideas can be communicated across to all people, and the need for ideas to be accessible (i.e. the cartoon was more relatable than a section)
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Gaining permission to build the pati from the municipality office was also revelatory of the processes needed to gain consent for building in the Nepali context
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Working with Sukha was an interesting insight into how architects can work alongside NGOs for a mutual cause - Sukha was able to provide us access to practise the type of social impact design we wished to be doing
Environment & Sustainability
Construction, Materials & Structures
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Kathmandu is a highly polluted city, and brick production accounts for a significant proportion of it. Thinking about ways of reducing brick/recycling is necessary for sustainable development and reconstruction of the many damaged heritage sites and buildings
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The climate of Kathmandu is fairly mild, with warm days and cold nights, and a monsoon season between may and august. Whatever we have to design has to be able to utilise these conditions to produce the best thermal comfort. Passive design should be vital, as fuel is a precious and expensive commodity in the valley
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Particularly in the context of post- earthquake reconstruction, ways of building is an important issue to critique and assess. Brick buildings both failed and survived in the earthquake, whereas the majority of reinforced concrete frame structures survived. Seeing the NSET poster highlighting best practise guidelines, it is vitally important for the Nepali to build structures back to reduce the risk of collapse in earthquake
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The pati project enabled us to learn about local methods of fashioning structures with bamboo, a new set of skills we were fortunate to learn
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Visting a brick factory gave us and insight to the production of local building materials
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