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AXIA Design Associates

AXIA Design Associates

Toronto, ON, CA

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Bamiyan Cultural Centre_Atelier3AM
Bamiyan Cultural Centre_Atelier3AM
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Bamiyan Cultural Centre

Just as caravans navigating the Silk Road were comprised of an aggregate group of independent vessels, each transporting fragments of otherworldly origin, so too is our proposal for the Bamiyan Cultural Center conceived of as an assembly of vessels dedicated to cultural exchange, knowledge, and creativity. Bound together by common purpose and inspired by Afghanistan’s rich and diverse contribution to world heritage, this proposal crosses political, social, and cultural boundaries towards the establishment of common ground. In response to a cascading topography, earthen structures appear as a hilltop settlement, bound together in a mutually responsive arrangement that considers local climate, scale, and materiality.

A considerable drop in level within the site itself provokes a meandering composition. Courtyards define and characterize the in-between spaces, while terraces address the infinite expansion of the Bamiyan Valley, and the dramatic topography of the Hindu Kush. The undeniable drama of this edge condition, and the charged voids of the Bamiyan Buddhas, is what magnetizes the cliff-edge, an expansive view of the regions layered history, agriculture, and geology. This panorama is a major organizational influence on our proposal, and draws the complex to the edges of the escarpment

 
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Status: Competition Entry
Location: Bamiyan, Afghanistan
Firm Role: Atelier3AM (Architecture), Transsolar (Climate Engineering)
Additional Credits: Taymoore Balbaa, Chris Wong (Team Leaders)
Design Team: Ayesha Moghal, Mo Soroor, Ibrahim Miles, Amanda Chan, Nicola Chan, Priscilla Lee, Ulysses Valiente

 
Site Plan
Site Plan
Program Distribution Diagrams
Program Distribution Diagrams
Entry Plaza
Entry Plaza
Ground Floor Plan
Ground Floor Plan
-1 Level Plan
-1 Level Plan
Lobby View
Lobby View
Permanent Exhibition Space
Permanent Exhibition Space
Element Diagrams (Sun/Water/Wind)
Element Diagrams (Sun/Water/Wind)
Axonometric view
Axonometric view
Exhibition Courtyard View
Exhibition Courtyard View
Research Laboratory
Research Laboratory
Museum Visitor/Public Circulation
Museum Visitor/Public Circulation
Sustainable Construction Diagram
Sustainable Construction Diagram
Detail Wall Section
Detail Wall Section
Cross Sections
Cross Sections
Socio/Economic Synergies
Socio/Economic Synergies