Our building design
Eco-house for ICIMOD, (International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development), Nepal.
The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) is an intergovernmental knowledge and learning center that develops and shares research, information, and innovations to empower people in its eight member countries - Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan.
Project Description
The Eco-House project will be a catalytic act of inclusive, sustainable design that will set the tone for the LML’s future development. In addition to providing accommodation to guests visiting the Living Mountain Lab (LML).
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Our Building Design Vision: The surface of the earth is a series of interconnected ecosystems, with multiple roles in the ecosystem played by humans, plants, animals, other organisms, rocks, ground, air, weather, climate, landscape etc., working together to form life. The proposal attempts to embrace biological and cultural diversity in the context and by decolonising the methods of building process that are non-extractive methods, that is equitable and just, learning from the indigenous knowledge and cultures for conserving the habitat and ecosystems.
The design of the building proposes a limited intervention on the ground as it lightly touches the ground. The foundation footings are kept to a minimum size and the building is lifted above ground enabling the ground, water and ecologies to remain how they are below the footprint of the
building, without interference. And conserving the existing habitat and the ecosystems.
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Responding to the climate: Nepal’s six seasons; The seasonal variation in the climate patterns experienced even during the same season
due to the proximity to the Himalayan range.
The building is responding to the climate and accommodates seasonal variations. The central courtyard is sunken to hold the Monsoon rain which is then utilised in the dry season. The rain water collected in the sunken courtyard enables the evaporative cooling for the interior spaces.
The orientation of the buildings is such that the central courtyard sits above the existing seasonal stream and collects Monsoon rain during the
rainy season. The existing stream is undisturbed to allow the existing source of water to be collected in the sunken central courtyard in between the two buildings.
