indian arch students rebuild destroyed schoolhouse in chhoprak, nepal

the rebuilding of a school in chhoprak, gorkha, nepal was carried out by two graduting architecture students from the birla institute of technology, mesra — dipon bose and samya ghatak, along with a freelance architect based in delhi, rishabh sharma. following the devastating earthquakes in nepal, a rebuilding effort was mobilized to erect structures before the monsoon season hit in full force. as time went on, in rural areas especially, temporary and makeshift tents became commonplace, housing everything from shops to schools.

all images and architectural drawings © dipon bose, samya ghatak and rishabh sharma

the educational centre’s program is focused specifically on the shree sarbodaya lower secondary school in the remote himalayan village of chhoprak, in the gorkha district of nepal. funding and volunteer support was provided by kathmandu based NGO, rescue gorkha. two structures were erected; one completely new and the other a reconstruction of the original schoolhouse destroyed during the earthquakes.

mud plaster interior 

with support from locals and students, four classrooms of the existing structure were rebuilt as well as another full building. this time with steel elements to provide added support should another disaster strike. other materials were largely sourced from the immediate vicinity. the land is densely populated with building quality bamboo, and was used with stones from fallen buildings. construction finished in mid july after six weeks of hard work, and now stands proudly as one of the first permanently rebuilt structures in the rural community. 

children recommencing regular classes 

site plan

rebuilt plan 

new wing plan 

rebuilt wing section 

new wing section 

elevation of rebuilt wing

insulation panel and tie beam details 

construction stages 

project info:

area: 230m²
construction phase: june – july 2015
design team: dipon bose, samya ghatak, rishabh sharma
advisory team: parag rawool, tanya pahwa
volunteer support: rescue gorkha, kathmandu, nepal

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