Situation with hostel, residential and academic buildings
Court yard of academic complex
As in other projects, traditional architectural elements (a combination of stone and timber construction including the use of concrete for lar ge construction beams), construction details such as Kachen, and other features in painted timber mark the character of the buildings. The adaptation to the topology and the placement of the built volumes create attractive meeting places. These spaces have specific characters, generated by the wooden arcades linking inside and outside, and connecting certain buildings together. 3-D drawing of the rammed earth construction: Rammed earth constructions are adequate to support vertical loads but not horizontal movements, which occur during earthquakes. Adding well connected wooden bands, expanded metal sheets or geo textiles improve the lateral stability to a great extent and make traditional structures much more earthquake resilient.
Window inside the rammed earth wall
FOCUS: RAMMED EARTH Another local building method used in Paro is the rammed earth technique. Due to its excellent properties for the regulation of humidity and heat, rammed earth is an attractive building material. On top of a stone base that protects it from excessive water contact, the massive wall is erected with a combination of pressed clay and earth, reinforced with metal mesh. The use of wooden bands at the window sills and at the lintel level as a base for the joists are also very effective for preventing earthquake damages. 20
Rammed earth construction with expanded metal sheet
Rammed earth and wooden window frames