Title of project : Happy Children Home Building.

Location (village/town/city & State) : Kitini, Lalitpur, Nepal

Built-up area (in sqm) : 1773 m2

Project Description: Happy Children Home

Happy Children Home is a residential care facility designed to provide a nurturing, dignified environment for abandoned and orphaned children. Beyond offering a mere shelter, the architectural intent was to create a space where children feel protected, proud, and inspired to become responsible members of society. While the project needed to remain economically efficient, it also had to embody warmth, character, and symbolic meaning—transforming a necessity into a place of hope and belonging.

Given the seismic sensitivity of the region and the importance of fire safety, the design adheres to a two-storey maximum building height to ensure ease of evacuation during emergencies. The program needed to accommodate approximately 100 children along with essential staff members, making spatial efficiency a key consideration. Instead of creating a monolithic block, the building mass was thoughtfully segmented into two elongated structures. Each of these is further articulated into three volumes, angled at twenty degrees. This deliberate fragmentation helps visually break the scale of the building and integrates it more harmoniously into the human experience of the site.
The volume differentiation is further expressed through architectural elements such as tall windows, water tank covers, and roofline flower boxes. The water tank covers, typically utilitarian elements, serve a dual purpose—doubling as sheltered spaces for drying clothes during the monsoon season.

The overarching design concept draws inspiration from the metaphor of parental care. The two buildings, when viewed from above, resemble a pair of protective hands gently cupping the life within. This gesture serves as a physical and emotional metaphor for the role of the home—offering safety, warmth, and support. These “arms” embrace a central courtyard, which becomes the heart of the project. It is here that the children’s daily activities take place, allowing caregivers to maintain a watchful yet non-intrusive presence.

The courtyard is designed to foster community and interaction. A semi-circular seating area is carefully calculated to accommodate all the children and staff comfortably, reinforcing a sense of unity and inclusiveness. At the center of the courtyard, two carefully chosen trees provide natural shade and symbolic resonance. The Rudraksha tree, representing Lord Shiva, stands tall and upright as a metaphor for the protective and guiding father figure. In contrast, the Mango tree, with its generous foliage and seasonal fruits, symbolizes the nurturing and affectionate qualities of a mother. These trees are also practical choices, as they shed very few leaves, minimizing the need for regular courtyard maintenance.

Durability and ease of maintenance were critical design drivers. The choice of materials and detailing reflect a low-maintenance strategy while maintaining aesthetic quality. The plinth is constructed of fairface stone, which resists salts and acids from the ground and ages gracefully, even with splashes of mud or water. The lower walls, frequently touched and exposed to the elements, are made from fairface machine-made bricks with cement pointing. These surfaces are resilient to both weather and frequent human contact. Above the children’s reach, at half the cost hand made bricks are used. These bricks are protected under wide, double-pitched roofs—an essential feature that provides an additional layer of defense against the heavy Godavari monsoon rains.

Rather than concealing the local bricks under plaster and paint, as is traditionally done, the design celebrates their raw character. This choice carries a deeper symbolic message: just like the children of the street, these modest materials, when cared for, can reveal an intrinsic beauty. This approach to material honesty is echoed throughout the project. Concrete surfaces are left fairface, achieved through carefully executed formwork, eliminating the need for plastering and painting. Wooden doors and windows are finished with linseed oil, showcasing the natural grain and reinforcing the philosophy of authenticity and integrity.