Children's wing for Phaplu hospital, Nepal

 

The infant wing for the Phaplu hospital in Nepal is conceived as a sustainable construction with six double rooms and a series of additional units that allow the stay of its patients to be as easy as possible with the existence of children's play rooms related to the exterior but protected from the inclemencies of the rainy season.

 

The construction of this much needed provision in this Nepalese population is not only an initiative to cover a shortage caused by the recent natural catastrophes and the economic context that the region suffers, but an opportunity to investigate and show constructive systems that adapt local materials to available labor and seismic stresses. It would be a success if the child becomes a space for children's attention and a prototype hybrid construction (stone and bamboo) that serves as a reference to be reproduced on more occasions.

 

The worst consequence is the personal injury, caused to a greater extent by the collapse of the constructions. To avoid this, monolithic structures that are resistant to tremors can be made and stand up together with seismic shaking, or to make light and flexible structures capable of absorbing the movements without collapsing. Making the first type of structures with guarantees is a very expensive effort and it seems more appropriate to resort to a light and cheap typology. For this purpose it is proposed to construct the entire building up to a meter high of stone, solving the foundation at one time, and protecting it from the soil moisture. This part of the construction would not pose a risk of collapse due to its low height, and even less to cause damage to its inhabitants. Above this level is proposed to make a bamboo structure, which is cheap and affordable for a non-skilled workforce.