Revitalizing Bamyan

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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


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Revitalizing Bamyan by Safira Lakhani - Issuu