kazakhstan uzbekistan
kyrgyzstan china
turkmenistan
afghanistan
tajikistan
iran pakistan
r evitalizi n g b am yan
india
seeking self-sustainability in central afghanistan
Safira Lakhani, University of Waterloo School of Architecture
bamyan province
light taliban / insurgent activity
major rivers
bamyan town
substantial taliban / insurgent activity
major roads
major cities
heavy taliban / insurgent activity
map of afghanistan
bamyan buddhas
buddha destruction, 2001
bamyan valley c. 1960
bamyan valley c. 2010
There is a growing conviction that architecture has a capacity to transform the quality of human existence (Aga Khan IV). This emerges from the notion that architecture is simultaneously a subject of, and responsive to, forces that arise out of a set of existing conditions. Herein, architecture can further foster human potential, capacity building, and empowerment, especially in the rehabilitation of post-war environments. The issue at hand thus becomes one of developing a paradigm of self-sustainability. This is particularly evident in the rural central-Afghan town of Bamyan. Suffering from significant devastation of infrastructure, ethnic discrimination and challenging climate conditions, the people of Bamyan have become increasingly dependent upon the presence of foreign aid and troops which, while contributing significantly to the decrease of Taliban activity in the region, has instigated a move away from local means of income. Revitalizing Bamyan is a research and design proposal that finds its premise within this given set of conditions, and responds accordingly to foster a culture of self-sustainability. Specifically, the project speaks to two principal issues; rebuilding the local agricultural industry to increase self-sufficiency, and secondly, to incorporate within that, the notion of personal safety and security that is achieved through the construct of a home, of dwelling.
bamyan town plan