Seven additional classrooms of 40 m2 at this school on two storeys both minimise land use and demonstrate the potential earth and bamboo have for load-bearing constructions. Following earthquake design strategies, the building is divided into two parts, connected by a multipurpose veranda area. The ground floor is built of 60-cm-thick cob walls on a brick foundation without formwork, protected by a horizontal damp-proof course. Glassed southern windows collect solar energy for winter and in summer cross-ventilation cools the interior. Light bamboo-frame structures are mixed in with earth for the first-floor walls. The ceilings and roofs use a system of triple-layer bamboo beams joined with simple knots and steel rods, then covered with a layer of earth.
Source: Aga Khan Trust for Culture
