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THE INSIDE TRACK March 2018
Spot Light
T
he Khumjung secondary school, situated at the foothills of the Himalayas, initially built by Mt. Everest’s first climber, was to be reconstructed after the earthquake of 2015. The Doshisha University Alpine Club decided to support the school and create a safe classroom environment for its 300 students. The school has now grown to be known as one of the best government secondary schools in the nation, with high school standardized testing scores well above the nationwide average, a full computer lab, and an art school. The Khumjung secondar y school, situated at the foothills of the Himalayas, initially built by Mt. Everest’s first climber, was to be reconstructed after the earthquake of 2015. The Doshisha University Alpine Club decided to support the school and create a safe classroom environment for its 300 students. The school has now grown to be known as one of the best government secondary schools in the nation, with high
Setting An Example At School Traditional and innovative building techniques are used to build the Khumjung secondary school by Shigeru Ban + (VAN) Architects. BY AVANI PATWARDHAN
The school has now grown to be known as one of the best government secondary schools in the nation
With a view to keep the design as vernacular as possible, the traditional Nepalese window and door frames technique have been used for construction
s c h o o l s t a n d a rd i z e d t e s t i n g scores well above the nationwide average, a full computer lab, and an art school. The Khumjung school also houses a small community ‘Magic Yeti’ librar y, which has been improved upon and has grown to include copious English literature, English magazines, local literature, and many other educational resources for the students and community of Khumjung to access.
With a view to keep the design as vernacular and simple as possible, the traditional Nepalese window and door frames technique have been used for construction. Shigeru Ban + (VAN) architects, have included modular wooden frames as structural members, which are connected to form a wall system, in-filled with brick rubble. This form of construction speeds up the building process, as the wooden frames can be assembled quickly with the use of locally available materials and simple construction methods. Consequently, with faster construction, the school becomes accessible immediately as soon as the roof is secured to the structure. As the project demanded a simple and functional design to sustain the harsh weather conditions, and at the same time prove to be convenient for the students’ use, the same wall system has been repeated to form a row of classrooms. With three class rooms measuring 86 sq. m each, it has now become an adept school for the students. The school is also envisioned to be used as a shelter in the event of a future disaster.
With three class rooms measuring 86 sq. m each, it has now become an adept school for the students