During the spring quarter of 2023, the UW Department of Landscape Architecture sponsored the InterAction Nepal program in collaboration with the Kathmandu University Department of Development Studies. UW and Nepali students from multiple disciplines worked with community members from Bhangal, Budhanilkantha, an informal urban settlement in the Kathmandu Valley destroyed during Nepal’s 2015 earthquakes. They designed and constructed the Bhangal Community Hall – a multi-functional venue for community meetings, education, income generation and events. The building is constructed using compressed stabilized earth block (CSEB), an alternative to concrete block and kiln-fired brick, with minimal carbon / air pollution footprint. Improvements to site drainage reduce localized flooding and mosquito breeding grounds. The Bhangal Community Hall is the second project the InterAction Nepal program has undertaken in Bhangal as part of a long term collaborative relationship.
