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Sebastian Blommaert: Upgrading Nepalese schools

Transforming standard school buildings into regional, enjoyable learning environments in post-earthquake Nepal.

During the 2015 earthquake, nearly 7000 school buildings in Nepal were destroyed. Not being able to follow education is terrible for the children in one of Asia’s poorest countries. Therefore, the government of Nepal made a plan to build 6000 new schools in 5 years’ time. To make this happen in such a short time, one classic, earthquake-proof school build-ing is being built repeatedly all over Nepal. While this quick reaction is praiseworthy, a single school design for all of Nepal is not ideal. The great diversity in climate, available materials and ethnic groups asks for different kinds of architecture. Apart from environmental conditions, there is the current educational system which is outdated and not functioning well. Modernization is needed and asked for. This thesis explores possibilities to adapt these newly build schools to modern, comfortable, typical Nepalese learning environments using traditional building techniques and prin-ciples of constructivist pedagogy.