INTRODUCTION AND PROCESS

In keeping with the collaborative spirit of the Open Architecture Network, this entry was created by an open and public community of over 40 contributors from around the world representing a wide range of disciplines and backgrounds. To facilitate this effort in design collaboration, we developed a grassroots '3D-Wiki' technology that is built on the virtual reality platfrom: Second Life. With this technology, we were able to focus a very diverse range of ideas into a naturally evolving process ranging from comprehensive text-based research to 2D plan diagrams and on into immersive 3D virtual models designed and built on a replica of the project site.

While our community of contributors was very diverse and multi-disciplinary, one common characteristic is our collective passion for helping Nyaya Health realize its pragmatic goals for actually helping the people of this region. We are fully committed to helping to build, hands on, the most appropriate solution we can collectively assemble. While we are confident in the magnitude and accuracy of our research, this entry is not so much a proposed solution as much as it is an extension of our sincere desire to help, and an invitation to welcome Nyaya Health and the end-users of this facility into the ongoing design evolution. Instead of a 'top down' dictation of a design concept, we are inviting a more collaborative process, whereby many minds can work together, instead of a chosen few.

The virtual replica we have developed will not disappear after this competition is complete, but will live on as an evolving virtual model of the real life site in Nepal, echoing each new development and opportunity as the project comes to life. Though the real life site may be challenging to access, this mirror rendition of the project site will enable many people from around the world to experience the local site and conditions as it evolves, further expanding the outreach, awareness and support for this project to a global audience throughout its entire life cycle. In addition to the virtual counterpart, we have also introduced a web-based 2D portal that communicates with the virtual model. In this way, those who cannot or do not care to access Second Life, will still be able to join the team and lend their specific knowledge and support.

We realize the goals of this challenge have shifted from the original problem statement, but an appropriate analogy to our proposal is the original concept behind the tele-communications facility, which would enable local health workers to communicate with a global network of doctors and professionals. As an optional extension of our entry, we suggest the possibility of considering our team your 'tele-architecture' team, whereby the people who actually build and use this facility will be given access to a brilliant and diverse global community of members who are equally passionate about this cause.

ON-SITE REDESIGN AND COLLABORATION WITH NYAYA HEALTH

We believe that our design should be reviewed and further refined with direct input from Nyaya Health and the end-users of the facility. Our entire design process has been collaborative and fluid, and we have no illusions that we have reached the optimal trade-off among the many practical and aesthetic considerations. We can only achieve excellence by incorporating more local knowledge and experience into the design.

Several of our team members are prepared to travel to Nepal to work directly with Nyaya Health and help realize the most effective facility possible.

LAYOUT CONSIDERATIONS

The design we are submitting is the cumulative result of the team's collaborative research and design process. The landscape design/arrangement of the site is a direct response to existing topographic conditions(we just added retaining walls to provide better support to the site's terraces). In order to limit the amount of regrading that would have to be done, we made an effort to lay out the various buildings to work with the existing topography as much as possible.

The building's actual orientation is determined by site views. For example, the 'work' building, the semi-public area, and the staff-communal building form a 'bar' oriented towards the clinic. The staff sleeping quarters are oriented towards views of the mountain, and the public areas are oriented towards the pedestrian path, with the intentions of creating a welcoming threshold that gradually brings you(and hopefully attracts you)to the community area. We also propose separating the public and private areas with a major outdoor courtyard and an informal amphitheatre for informal gatherings outside the main community hall.

We have located the computer lab and public restroom adjacent to the rest of the community space to enable free movement between the spaces. We also located these facilities across from the "Information Technology" room, so that the staff member who is responsible for keeping the the server equipment operating can also provide technical support to users. The proximity to staff will also play a security role in protecting the computer equipment from theft. We also separated out the individual rooms for the clinic staff rather than bunch them together in a dormitory manner—giving them a little more privacy considering these will be permanent residences for the staff. Also, by breaking the residences out into the 3 ‘bar’ buildings and staggering them from each other, we were able to create smaller informal patios for the individual quarters as well. This staggered approach also enables the individual buildings to have windows on the north and south, allowing cool breezes to filter through the rooms at night.

An upper clerestory of windows allows for the ventilation of hot air during the hot, summer months. The louvers are position in a manner to maintain privacy from the walkways above. The openings in the roof bring natural light and ventilation in along these covered corridors.

PHASED CONSTRUCTION

It might also be useful to actually refrain from building some elements of this design until other components of the facility are completed, so that the remaining elements can react to the new way finding and flow created by the facility. As such, we are proposing a relatively simple site plan, with buildings that are designed to be modular or expandable and adaptable as much as possible - both for ease of construction, and to enable some portions can be built immediately, leaving more time to be dedicated to further on-site research and exploration of the best practices for future expansion.

DESIGN LANGUAGE

We propose the use of a 'new vernacular' that recognizes the architectural achievements of the culture of this region while, at the same time, alleviating its technological defects (becoming more in-tune with the contemporary needs of its inhabitants). We believe it is possible to achieve this new vernacular, and that it may provide a solution to the recent and future catastrophes that may impact this region in years to come.

SEISMIC SAFETY

Nepal is a an area of significant seismic activity. In 2007 Nepal experienced 23 earthquakes of magnitude 4.0 or greater. Historically, Nepal has experienced many large earthquakes that caused widespread destruction and death. However, the average period between these major catastrophes is more than a few generations, and the lessons seem to be forgotten over time, and a large proportion of the existing buildings are prone to collapsing in a large earthquake.

The Nyaya facility will be the backbone of communications for the Achham district. If it does not withstand an earthquake, there will be no way to coordinate rescue and recovery operations in Achham. Thus, it must be designed to a higher standard than the typical building in the area. General strategies for satisfactory seismic performance of vernacular housing
construction are:

1. Construction with ductile materials

• Ductile reinforcement in walls (wood or steel) to avoid out-of-plane collapse

• Proper maintenance to prevent decay of wooden materials

• Selected materials (brick-mortar-wood)

2. Construction with robust architectural forms

• Regular floor plan (shape-distribution of walls)

• Uniform openings (small and well-spaced)

3. Construction with resilient structural configuration

• Efficient connections (wall-wall, floor-wall, wall-foundation, etc.)

• Precisely built wall textures to provide bracing and shear resistance

• Continuous foundation to avoid settlement and cracking from below

• Good workmanship (manufacturers, builders)

4. Construction that reduces seismic forces

• Lightweight roof

• Low-rise houses (one- or two-stories high)

[Source: http://www.world-housing.net/uploads/vernacular_construction.pdf]

For these reasons, we are not proposing a two-story building that would be typical for the area. However, we need to find a balance between seismic safety (best achieved by small, single-story structures with symmetrical shape and thermal management, where a single two-story box conserves heat better in the winter.

THERMAL MANAGEMENT (WINTER)

Our primary method for dealing with the winter low temperatures is the use of thick walls with large thermal mass. This will keep the inside temperature close to the average between the daily high and low. By replanting the area south of the buildings with deciduous trees, the buildings can absorb additional heat from the sun in the winter. Since the design brief suggests that no more than a single energy-efficient wood burning stove be used to heat the building complex, the design accommodates air flow between the various rooms and locates the heater at the lowest level, from which the warm air will rise. If the prospective occupants of the building are concerned that the rooms will become too chilly in winter, we can add insulation to the roof in the form of locally produced hand-baled rice straw.

The electronics in the server closet need special consideration, since the typical temperature operating range for such equipment is 10-35° Centigrade. But even if inside temperatures go below 10° C in the winter, the heat given off by the running electronics should be enough to maintain operating temperature as long is the server closet can be closed off in the winter.

THERMAL MANAGEMENT (SUMMER)

The large thermal mass moderates high summer temperatures just as it does cool winter ones. But in the summer, the deciduous trees that let in the winter sunlight now shade the buildings. The layout of the buildings allows breezes to flow through the rooms.

Keeping the server electronics cool in the summer seems to be a bigger challenge than keeping them warm in winter. Since air temperatures will exceed 35° C, they cannot be adequately cooled by blowing ambient air over them. What we propose is that the ground be excavated below the buildings that house the server and those on the slope above it. Shaded from the sun, the air underneath the buildings will be cooled by the earth, much as in a cave. Underground ducts between the buildings will allow the cool air to naturally sink to the space below the server housing. In the summer, a fan will draw this cool air from under the building and blow it over the electronics. A second fan in the ceiling will vent the warmed air to the outside.

DEMONSTRATION GARDEN

Just outside the staff quarters is a demonstration garden, which can provide fresh produce for the staff. However, the primary purpose of the garden is educational. The economy of the Achham district is largely based on subsistence agriculture, with chronic food shortages having a major detrimental impact on the health of the population. The traditional agricultural practice is to grow just one crop a year. However, climate in the river valleys of Achham can support two or three crops a year.

The practice of growing a single crop seems to stem from the fact that most of the rainfall occurs during the summer monsoon season. For eight months of the year, there is a negative moisture index. (That is, there is less rainfall than evaporative loss.) There is little or no infrastructure for doing irrigation. But with the addition of irrigation infrastructure (the water itself being available year-round from the rivers), the climate will support support year-round agriculture. Average temperatures in the coldest part of the year are similar to San Diego, where winter is the best time of the year to grow many vegetables (beets, broccoli, cabbage, chard, peas, greens, onions and turnips being some examples). Achham is closer to the Equator than San Diego is, so there is at least as much sun. In the study of agricultural possibilities, The Map of Potential Vegetation of Nepal specifically indicates that the climate of the Achham valleys is suitable for growing winter potatoes, which presumably (because they were used as a sample crop in the study) is a crop already familiar to the population.

In addition to the health problems caused by chronic malnutrition, food shortage is indirectly the main cause of HIV in the district. This is because most of the men leave the district to work in India for nine months of the year. They do this not because they can earn much in India, but because it leaves more of the food which they grew in the summer available for their families. However, while in India, many men contract HIV and bring this back to their families when they return.

The major reason the hill dwellers don't make better use of the their agricultural potential is lack of knowledge about the possibilities. This is where the training role of the tele-medicine facility comes into play. Water is available (free) on the site. With Internet access to information on suitable crop varieties and techniques, along with a demonstration garden that they pass on their way to the facility, people would see how they could improve their lives by growing crops year-round, and/or by growing more appropriate varieties of the crops they already grow. This garden is located near the entrance to the building complex, so that as people travel from the foot path to the main entrance, they will pass the demonstration garden.

MATERIALS

We are proposing the possibility of using Gabion walls as part of the construction process. Based on our research, it appears that this technique has already been used in the region. Not only would it be relatively cheap, but unskilled labored could be used in their construction—which in the end could be a great community building exercise. Perhaps this technique would be best suited to landscaping or retaining walls, but in conditions where habitable space are enclosed with these walls, we propose using an insulating layer in the middle of the rock wall to help insulate the space.

However, it could be more appropriate to use adobe bricks for exterior walls. There is much world-wide construction experience with adobe, and unlike Gabion walls, engineering guidelines for the construction of buildings from adobe are well established. Like Gabion walls, adobe walls have a large thermal mass that cools the inside spaces during the days and warms during the nights.

Where it seems desirable to add extra insulation, we propose using local rice straw hand-baled into appropriately sized bales.

We also propose the use of a native vine type of vegetation to grow along the Gabion walls and canopy lattice would be functional and aesthetically pleasing as well.

FUTURE GOALS - THINKING BEYOND THE ARCHITECTURE

By choosing this design as the winner of this challenge, you are notgaining the participation of a single architect, firm or company. You are gaining access to a diverse global team of incredibly passionate individuals who sincerely wish to help realize the goals of Nyaya Health in the completion of this project. Not only are the members of this group prepared to travel to Nepal to help build this facility, but using the collaborative technology platform within Second Life, the Nyaya Health will have instant and ongoing access to a global network of professionals from a wide range of disciplines to provide specialized and specific advice for the myriad of challenges that will inevitably face this facility - not just in construction, but throughout its entire life cycle. The challenges it will face are not just architectural either, we believe that this Second Life technology platform could augment the Open Architecture Network portal as well, as a resource for continued research, brainstorming, and problem solving the facility will face in the future.

Into the future, this collaborative platform also provides a voice to anyone wishing to share new ideas, as new technology and ideas emerge that could help make the facility more efficient and effective. This truly democratized process enables anyone to jump in at any time and use the 3D virtual interface to mock up their proposed solution and submit it for community review. Through the 'wisdom of crowds' paradigm, the best ideas and the best proposed solutions will naturally emerge and find their way to the leadership of Nyaya Health.

Finally, by choosing this entry as the winner, this project will become an important precedent to other communities, and lead the way in understanding how a global network of individuals can work together using new virtual world and collaborative technology to help those who need it most.

Thank you for your consideration. Below is a brief video describing the virtual component of our collaborative process, showing a time-lapse video sampling of some of the design contributions our community made, in addition to the text-based research.

RESOURCES

Design for a hand-powered straw baler (http://texaspinestraw.tamu.edu/baling.html)
Documentary of HIV in Far Western Nepal (http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=-8155873131923192292&hl=e...)
Government of Nepal National Seismological Center (http://www.seismonepal.gov.np)
IAEE Guidelines for Earthquake Resistant Non-Engineered Construction, English Edition (http://www.nicee.org/IAEE_English.php )
The Map of Potential Vegetation of Nepal (http://www.forestrynepal.org/the_map_of_potential_vegetation_of_nepal)
Nepal Agricultural Policy and Strategies for Poverty Alleviation and Food Security (http://www.fao.org/docrep/008/ae898e/ae898e00.htm)
Vernacular Housing Construction (http://www.world-housing.net/uploads/vernacular_construction.pdf)

Location