Open Architecture Network

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
Making Connections: Nyaya Health Clinic __________________________________________________________________________________________

Our proposal for the Nyaya Health Clinic is about making connections. While Nyaya Health aims to foster links between the local community and larger global health networks, our design strives to express connections between built form and landscape, between materials and context, and between construction methods and environment. __________________________________________________________________________________________

Connections: Medical _______________________________________________________________________
The clinic serves as a focal point for the training and development of local healthcare providers as well as a collective resource for the community at large. On the local scale, the clinic serves the people of Sanfe Bagar both through its medical services and through generous community-oriented spaces. On the regional scale, the clinic serves as a hub for the distribution of supplies and the transportation of health workers. A mobile unit could have its base at the clinic, enabling the delivery of services and education to outlying areas. On the global scale, the telemedicine center and computer lab allow for communication with the global medical community, bringing international expertise to this remote settlement. __________________________________________________________________________________________

Connections: Form and Organization ___________________________________________________________
The form and organization of the clinic promote interaction between the staff and the public, as well as providing generous spaces that go beyond the needs of the medical program. The program is distributed in two buildings which form a courtyard between them. The more private areas—the offices and telemedicine room—are at the back of the L-shaped building, while the more public areas—meeting rooms, library, and computer lab—flank the courtyard. The meeting room combines several separate but similar program elements for the medical staff and for the community into one large room, which can be sub-divided for separate uses. Without permanent walls, the space is more flexible and promotes interaction between healthcare workers and the public. The courtyard and the back garden provide additional spaces for gathering, education, and quiet contemplation; these spaces go beyond the needs of the medical program, providing an additional benefit to the staff of the clinic and to the community. __________________________________________________________________________________________

Connections: Material and Construction _______________________________________________________
Locally available materials and simple techniques reinforce the connection to the landscape and to the vernacular building of Nepal. A heavy, deep wall of rammed earth provides insulation and defines the perimeter of the building, protecting it from the elements. Facing the courtyard, a lighter wall construction of timber frame and wooden louvers allows light and air to filter through the building. The roof is framed in timber, insulated with hay or dry grass, and finished with corrugated metal roofing. The interior finishes range from the raw to the more refined: concrete floors and rammed earth in the public areas; plaster walls and tile floors in the medical areas and office interiors. The buildings are sufficiently versatile for a variety of materials to be substituted depending on local availability. For example, mud-brick could replace rammed earth, bamboo could replace timber, and the wooden louvers could be exchanged for woven fibers or textiles. __________________________________________________________________________________________

Connections: Environment __________________________________________________________________
The building responds in many ways to the forces of the environment: wind, water, earth, and light. The butterfly roof captures rain water, which is collected in a cistern and flows into the garden. The building is oriented to allow the open end of the courtyard to face south, making this the sunniest space throughout the day. In addition, the louvered wall at the meeting room regulates the intense afternoon sun and modulates the amount of light and air. The variation of materials on the ground plane expresses continuity from the landscape to the building; from the grass and soil to the finished interior floor. __________________________________________________________________________________________

Our design for the Nyaya Health Clinic strives to provide the most generous and effective spaces possible by deploying the available resources both creatively and economically. Despite the limitations imposed by building in a remote and impoverished area, this project takes advantage of the resources available locally, regionally, and globally.