Floating alongside the Nepalese Hills of the Kathmandu Valley, Cloudscape is a superstructure designed to make a difference. Driven by the inherent qualities of the site and responding to the needs of its inhabitants, Cloudscape incorporates sustainable and efficient systems to help improve the quality of life. Inspired by the beauty and functions of clouds, this skyscraper aims to fulfil vital needs of shelter, fresh water and power supply for a community rurally living at an altitude of up to 1500m above sea level.
In the Kathmandu valley, the prevailing winds from the Bay of Bengal carry warm air inland which intercepts the Eastern hills. The warm air rises and cools which results in an abundance of clean cloud fog in the valley. This quality of the site drove the form of this cloud-like design. Landscapes are known to reflect the living synthesis of people, their character and qualities.
We have drawn upon the existing landscape and extended upon the stacked terraces for the design of this skyscraper. By doing so, the Nepalese community can adapt the space in a traditional way, allowing the rituals and living habits to continue. By utilising and responding to the existing land, we have created a sustainable system within a structure that cantilevers out towards the valley, enabling the terraces’ rich clay ground to be kept free for agriculture and farming. With the added element of flexibility, the structure can be built in any area of the Kathmandu Valley. This suggests that more than one community can benefit from Cloudscape.
In the Kathmandu valley, the prevailing winds from the Bay of Bengal carry warm air inland which intercepts the Eastern hills. The warm air rises and cools which results in an abundance of clean cloud fog in the valley. This quality of the site drove the form of this cloud-like design. Landscapes are known to reflect the living synthesis of people, their character and qualities.
We have drawn upon the existing landscape and extended upon the stacked terraces for the design of this skyscraper. By doing so, the Nepalese community can adapt the space in a traditional way, allowing the rituals and living habits to continue. By utilising and responding to the existing land, we have created a sustainable system within a structure that cantilevers out towards the valley, enabling the terraces’ rich clay ground to be kept free for agriculture and farming. With the added element of flexibility, the structure can be built in any area of the Kathmandu Valley. This suggests that more than one community can benefit from Cloudscape.
With a rapidly growing population of 29 million, Nepal faces major health issues related to water pollution and supply. There is a lack of sanitation in rural Nepalese communities that causes the spread of disease and results in early childhood death. The average Nepali family dedicate up to six hours a day retrieving water to supply to their families. For the last 15 years, WaterAid a partner organization of Nepal Water for Health, have introduced fog collectors in different suffering areas of Nepal. This technology is designed to harvest fresh water from the sky as clouds have a natural purification system. The fog collectors gather as much as 5000 litres of fresh water per day giving a sustainable system to improve living conditions.
Linking the land with the sky and the community with nature, Cloudscape is a Utopian structure, self contained and capable of facilitating the needs of the Nepalese community. Cloudscape wishes to provide simple solutions to those living in beautiful rural regions while simultaneously creating a space that can be shared with the rest of the visiting world.
Cloudscape incorporates this technology in the form of molecular form inspired nets, which are placed as a skin on the exterior of the building. The nets collect purified water that is stored and distributed through gutter system to storage tanks that are located at the heart of the buildings. Power supply is also limited at such high altitudes and as a result, a second net addition has been put into place that is constructed of multiple solar panels that convert solar power into electricity to power family homes and factories.
In the Nepalese culture, guests are well appreciated and welcomed. This cultural value is important and is incorporated within the design creating interactive platforms that provide for the local community and tourists through their inhabitation of a shared space.
