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The structural concrete of the childrens Ziggurat employs the ubiquitous vernacular
frame system without the typical brick infill and creates a seismically stable shape

A BENEVOLENT MODERN-DAY ZIGGURAT

LALI GURANS | KATHMANDU

Lali Gurans at Kathmandu, Nepal aspires to be a monument built with a balance between
local and advanced construction techniques. It embraces and reconfigures an available
architecture language for the betterment of the community.
Text: Saylee Soundalgekar
Images and Drawings: courtesy MOS Architects

Charity and love are the same -- with charity you give love, so dont
just give money but reach out your hand instead.
- Mother Teresa

lessed by natural beauty, Kathmandu, Nepal resides in the

tranquil laps of the Himalayas. With immense impoverished
human resource, the rural Nepal seems to lack basic infrastructure,
electricity, advanced technology, health and hygiene. Believing in the
power of change and taking up these inconveniences as challenges
to explore sustainable design techniques, Christopher Gish the
Indian Architect & Builder - November 2015

founder of Change of Seeds, MOS architecture and Prakriti ko Ghar

an NGO in Nepal came together to build Lali Gurans, an orphanage
and library in Kathmandu. The site for this noble cause was chosen
in Gagalphedi eight kilometres from Kathmandu. It was selected for
clean air and water, safety in seclusion and economical land value.
With cost reduction, privacy and security as the main objectives,
the centre aims to serve as a home to fifty children and to provide
social services for Nepalese women. The 2325 sqm building is
designed to include a library, a womens clinic and a dormitory. MOS
also intends the space to serve as a hub for teaching about green

construction brief

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Vertical Permaculture
Stair / Stack Ventilation

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Hen House
Fruit Trees / Edible Planting

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Library
Office
Multipurpose Room

Dining / Meeting Hall

Kitchen
Restrooms

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Staff Room
Restroom
Dormitory
Restrooms / Showers
Mechanical / Storage

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Art / Music Room

Classroom
Roof Garden
Rainwater Collection

Sectional perspective explaining various components of the building.

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Second Floor
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Dining / Meeting Hall

Solarium
Staff Room
Kitchen
Pantry
Restrooms
Vertical Permaculture
Stair / Stack Ventilation

Third Floor
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Staff Room
Restrooms
Dormitory
Restrooms / Showers
Vertical Permaculture
Stair / Stack Ventilation

Fourth Floor
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Art / Music Room

Classroom
Mechanical
Roof Garden
Vertical Permaculture
Stair / Stack Ventilation

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First Floor
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Gatehouse
Anaerobic Digester/ Biogas Generator
Aggregate Filter
Well
Play Pump
Covered Slurry Pit
Testing / Overflow Tank
Vermicompost
Hen House
Fruit Trees / Edible Planting

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Main Entrance
Library
Office
Laundry / Mechanical
Multipurpose Room
Restrooms
Vertical Permaculture
Stair / Stack Ventilation

Floor plans explaining various components of the building.

Indian Architect & Builder - November 2015

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Construction photo showing the foundation wall and vernacular concrete frame with brick infill.

building and the environment. Gishs main goal for the institution
is to empower the population and to provide a model institution for
other educational centres and childrens homes.
The design will evolve through a careful involvement of vernacular
building technologies, local artisans and advanced building
technologies. Kathmandu falls in the high seismic zone. The simple
and robust structure is being built as a refuge area for the citizens,
thus complying with the communitys need for an effective shelter.
The in-situ reinforced fly-ash concrete frame with 300 mm bars
set on a solid raft foundation form the basic exo-skeleton of the
structure. The primary circulation promenade ties together the
layers of the exoskeleton while exterior stairs perform structurally
as X-bracing.
Thermal mass will mediate Kathmandus climate of hot days
and cold nights. During winter, the low sun penetrates deeper,
providing warmth. Operable windows will allow inhabitants to
control temperature and air quality. Larger spaces will have crossventilation, and the main stairwell will provide stack ventilation.
Although the orphanage will be well-shaded from direct sunlight
by its brise-soleil and planting, its glazing will allow for plentiful
indirect light that would reduce the electrical use. Window
Indian Architect & Builder - November 2015

frames, built-in furniture and freestanding elements will be made

from durable, locally-sourced teak.
Fifteen 175W solar panels will provide the buildings entire electricity
usage. Lali Gurans will produce its own fuel resources through the
natural process of anaerobic digestion. The two 5m and 6m diameter
solid-dome anaerobic digesters will provide gas for heating, cooking
and lighting. Drinking water will be collected from the ground and
rainwater, made to pass through a UV filtration system, and will be
stored in large tanks.
Organic food will be produced by the two rooftop gardens, 80 fixed
drip-irrigation planters, and more than 300 vertical hanging planters,
fed with bio-slurry and greywater. The concrete frame will create a
zone of circulation hence supporting the plant life that wraps the
structure. Fruit trees in the garden will complement vegetables and
herbs grown in planters lining the exoskeleton, social spaces, exterior
circulation, and roof garden. Together they will provide enough
capacity to fulfill the orphanages needs.
Biogas will be harvested from landscape waste to generate power for
the building and rainwater will be collected in three large cisterns to
support the plant life that would wrap this monument.

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Construction photo showing the library and community meeting area.

The spatial qualities of the structure seek to reflect the minds of

its users the children. The intuitive thoughts of the kids will be
harnessed through spaces like roof top terraces, hanging gardens,
majestic halls and hidden chambers. Thus, Lali Gurans will be the
worlds first seismic proof self-sustainable orphanage and public
library depicting a perfect melange of structural advancement along
with social manifestations. The self-sustainable edifice will strive to
nullify the gap between orphans and locals as it will provide food,
water, electricity and fuel for its fifty residents and will stand as a
warehouse of educational resources. This will have a powerful impact
on the children and the women, and the community as a whole.

FACT FILE:

Construction photo showing the library and community meeting area.

Architects
Location
Client
Area
Year

:
:
:
:
:

MOS Architects
Gagalphedi, Kathmandu, Nepal
Seeds of Change
2325 sqm
Started in 2013

Indian Architect & Builder - November 2015