The peculiar geology and climate of the foothills of Nepal make local architecture subject to frequent earthquakes and seasonal danger of flash floods. We have chosen to make this threat an advantage and to raise the building to a height that will make it safe from mudflows.
The school building is a self-bearing steel frame with a 75cm spacing, resting on three hills, man-made out of post flood construction waste.
The concrete foundations, that raise the building to a height of the average local flood water rise level (the FFL is 2800 mm), are hidden inside the hills and they accommodate the technical rooms and the rainwater harvesting storages. The rubber plastic cisterns serve as additional anti earthquake dampers and the harvested water can be used for plants watering and as WC flush water, however with filtration and in emergencies it can be used for other purposes.
The left hill side has a ramp for disabled and is terraced garden, the central hill has stairs and grandstands for the sports grounds with volleyball and badminton field, and dining terrace and gardens are on the right hill.
The school entrance with bike parking is allocated between left and central hills under the building, the right opening is a cov-ered open air playground with sand pits, hills and trampolines.
The bottom of the building is finished with sheets of mirror stain-less steel to visually increase the space and bring more light in.
All the school's interior spaces classrooms, multifunctional hall, toilets and dining room are connected by a front corridor-gallery.
The first phase of construction involves the erection of seven cells of 8700x6000mm each. They accommodate 5 classrooms, a multifunctional hall and the toilets. The second phase expands the building to seven cells, where a dining room with an open dining area, kitchen and office can be placed with a potential to continue the building at an angle of 90 degrees to allocate larger hall or more classrooms.
Structural elements are made of steel and fire protected timber. The walls are insulated, waterproofed and covered with locally sourced slate.
We propose to use the hill slopes of the left and right hills to set up the gardens for the fresh vegetables supply for both students and teachers, and for the case of emergency, when the school becomes a shelter for the local community.
