Profile: Nqibikan Village Reconstruction, Yogyakarta

Each day for the next couple of weeks, we will profile one project that has been nominated for the 2010 Aga Khan Awards for Architecture.

Today's project is the Nqibikan Village Reconstruction in Yogyakarta:

On May 27, 2006, an earthquake hit Indonesia in the region of Yogyakarta in the southern portion of central Java. The village of Ngibikan, located less than 10 kilometres from the quake’s epicenter was destroyed. More than 5,700 people died and more than 140,000 homes in the immediate region were severely damaged. With financial assistance from a local newspaper, and design input from local architect Eko Prawoto, the villagers of Ngibikan, led by community leader Maryono, reconstructed 65 homes in less than 90 days. The new homes are based on a vernacular building type, the limas an house with innovative modifications to keep the wooden structures lightweight but at the same time resistant to future earthquakes. The community rebuilt the physical fabric of their environment which in turn helped to rebuild the ‘gotong royong’ or togetherness of this agrarian village. As such, the Ngibikan village reconstruction provides an alternative model for a post-disaster reconstruction project that demonstrates the enormous positive impact of a grassroots rebuilding effort.

Click here for more information on the Aga Khan Awards for Architecture.

Aga Khan Award for Architecture  / Ahkamul Hakim

Aga Khan Award for Architecture  / Ahkamul Hakim

Aga Khan Award for Architecture  / Ahkamul Hakim

Profile: The Green School, Badung

Each day for the next couple of weeks, we will profile one project that has been nominated for the 2010 Aga Khan Awards for Architecture.

Today's project is the Green School, in Badung:

Environmentalists and designers John and Cynthia Hardy wanted to motivate communities to live sustainably. Part of that effort was to show people how to build with sustainable materials, namely bamboo. They established the Green School, and its affiliates: the Meranggi Foundation, which develops plantations of bamboo plants through presenting bamboo seedlings to local rice farmers; and PT Bambu, a for-profit design and construction company that promotes the use of bamboo as a primary building material, in an effort to avoid the further depletion of rainforests. The Green School, a giant laboratory built by PT Bambu, is located on a sustainable campus straddling both sides of the Ayung River in Sibang Kaja, Bali, within a lush jungle with native plants and trees growing alongside sustainable organic gardens. The campus is powered by a number of alternative energy sources, including a bamboo sawdust hot water and cooking system, a hydro-powered vortex generator and solar panels. Campus buildings include classrooms, gym, assembly spaces, faculty housing, offices, cafes and bathrooms. A range of architecturally significant spaces from large multi-storey communal gathering places to much smaller classrooms are a feature of the campus. Local bamboo, grown using sustainable methods, is used in innovative and experimental ways that demonstrate its architectural possibilities. The result is a holistic green community with a strong educational mandate that seeks to inspire students to be more curious, more engaged and more passionate about the environment and the planet.

Click here for more information on the Aga Khan Awards for Architecture.

Aga Khan Award for Architecture / PT Bambu

Aga Khan Award for Architecture  / PT Bambu

Profile: Restoration of Rubber Smokehouse, Lunas

Each day for the next couple of weeks, we will profile one project that has been nominated for the 2010 Aga Khan Awards for Architecture.

Today's project is the Restoration of the Rubber Smokehouse in Lunas:

Located in the small town of Lunas, in Kedah district near Penang, the Rubber Smokehouse stands as an example of Malaysia’s industrial heritage and the rubber industry that was of vital importance to Malaysia’s economy for much of the twentieth century. The preservation project brought together the different communities living in the area and created an awareness of their shared history. It also engaged Malaysian schoolchildren, who were charged with mapping and documenting a cultural history of their home. Sponsored by a local telecommunications company, the project was led by the architect Laurence Loh, whose family is originally from Lunas. The Rubber Smokehouse has been transformed from an abandoned and forgotten building into an important part of the town’s landscape and a focus for the rural community. It has combined the physical conservation of the historic fabric with youth engagement, intercultural tolerance and civic pride, a unique approach that shows how architectural interventions can play a role in advancing social cohesion in multicultural societies.

Click here for more information on the Aga Khan Awards for Architecture.

Aga Khan Award for Architecture / Laurence Loh

Aga Khan Award for Architecture / L.L. Loh-Lim

Aga Khan Award for Architecture / Badan Warisan Malaysia

Aga Khan Award for Architecture / L.L. Loh-Lim

2010 Aga Khan Architecture Award Nominees Announced

This year's nominees for the Aga Khan Award for Architecture have been announced.  The nominees include a broad range of buildings, mostly in the third world.  Interestingly, this isn't one of those naval-gazing exercises that the architecture and engineering community so often engages in.  Instead, it rewards architects along with cities, construction firms, and other organizations responsible for turning great ideas into great buildings.

The winner will be announced in Doha in October, 2010.

Over the next couple of weeks, we'll profile one nominee each day here along with pictures of the project.

Click here for more information on the Aga Khan architecture award.

The full press release follows: