Concept painting by Soumitro Ghosh
Concept painting by Soumitro Ghosh © Mathew and Ghosh Architects

The unique project of the Bamiyan Cultural Centre is the culmination of a desire of the people whose time has come to rise and meet the world. This project is about confidence in a rich ancient culture as its people step into reclaiming a new world of peace, happiness and hope.

Site plan
Site plan: 1. Bus bays; 2. Car parking; 3. Drop off & pick up; 4. Entrance and security; 5. Access to administration and research block; 7. Electrical / water / solar cells / UPS / utilities / driver toilets; 8. Service track; 9. Administration and research block; 10. Phase 2 for administration and research block; 11. Administration and research block courtyard; 12. Bridge link (level 2554.6m); 13. Stair (level 2554.6m to level 2550.5m); 14. Ramp from arrival courtyard (level 2555.5m) to public courtyard (level 2550.5m); 15. Public courtyard (level 2550.5m); 16. Ramp from public courtyard (level 2550.5m) to performance / people's courtyard (level 2545.5m); 17. Exhibition (permanent & temporary) / lobby / retail (level 2550.5m); 18. Phase 2 expansion for exhibition areas (level 2550.5m) / workshops & classrooms (level 2545.5m); 19. Open stairway (level 2550.5m to 2545.5m); Open stairway (level 2550.5m to 2545.5); 20. Performance / people's courtyard (level 2545.5m); 21. Open public performance seating space within land contour – paved with stone blocks as seating (level 2550.5m to level 2545.4m); 22. Wide stepped public stair and additional view of performance / people's courtyard (level 2550.5m to level 2545.5m); 23. Newsapaper reading room (level 2545.5m) public library (level 2550.5m) and overhead gravitational water storage tank. © Mathew and Ghosh Architects
© Mathew and Ghosh Architects

The tying up factor is simply the places for people and how the people find their way between / around / to them as they move from one to the other:

  • LANDSCAPE: Letting the landform of the mountainous region and its fertile valley continue its patterns of water flow. This is a strategy to evolve an architecture that will maintain the landform to continue to behave in a natural way since its terrain character precedes the architecture that is proposed.
  • PEOPLE SPACE: It is a place for people. First and foremost for the people of Bamiyan and the larger region / Afghan nation. Secondly for the people of the outside world who are keen to appreciate the efforts of Afghanistan to recover from years of being isolated and are looking forward to making friends with a culture and history so rich and inadequately accessible before. The proposed project integrates with the landscape with the built forms, never attempting to impress by its physical presence but only facilitating the beauty of the place, its experience, simple utility and enriching the experiential social and cultural lives of people. Hence the generosity of open / semi-covered spaces and their seamless integration with the landform/ landscape.
  • CELEBRATION: A place for celebrating history & artefacts of culture and living arts and crafts. A place to enjoy, meet, see, have tea or just enjoy reading in the sun. The path/connections makes the experience of the place and its various activities/elements etc come together.

See also …