Bamiyan Cultural Center

“The cultural landscape and archaeological remains of the Bamiyan Valley represent the artistic and religious developments which from the 1st to the 13th centuries characterized ancient Bakhtria. The area contains numerous Buddhist monastic ensembles and sanctuaries, as well as fortified edifices from the Islamic period. The site is also testimony to the tragic destruction by the Taliban of the two standing Buddha statues, which shook the world in March 2001. “

Our proposal is inspired by the caves on the cliff. Although the Buddha statues is no longer there, the caves and cliff is still inspiring the local people. Our proposal adopted a series of arches to depict the look of the cliff. Brick and concrete block arches is also a very traditional architecture language and construction method in local culture.  The project orients 30 degrees to the north- south to maximize the utilization of the daylight and nature ventilation (also to match the local context). The building itself is consisted of a series of 12mx12mx8m boxes. It has skylight on the majority area. Since there is no stable electricity supply, the building is fully utilizing nature light and ventilation. Above the exhibition area, there are three huge canopies made out of fabric, to diffuse the sunlight. Visitor can also see the buddha’s cliff in the exhibition area.

The project includes three phases:

Phase 1: (Year 1-3) Culture Center. Exhibition, education and research center for visiting scholars and local people.

Phase 2: (Year 3-8) The installation of solar panels on the building roof and on the site. The solar panels can be set on top of a series of arches which is also part of the landscape design. The electricity will supply the culture center. It will also connect to the local grid to help local people’s living. The Return of Investment is 20% and helping local people upgrading to a civilized life if priceless.

Phase 3: (Year 8-20) A visitor center. A new propose building which serve as a tourist attraction place to help the growth of local economic.

We believe that this proposal is feasible and will truly benefit local people, and also help visitor’s life easier in Bamiyan