Map + Build Together at Chafekhol Plateau

This workshop brought together young architects, students, and participants for a hands-on exploration of building with the land. The workshop focused on designing and constructing a temporary bamboo structure, using local materials and site-based observation as the starting point.

The process began with understanding bamboo as a material—its sourcing, properties, and suitability for temporary structures—followed by mapping the site through careful observation.

Participants learned to read the land by identifying natural markers, water flows, and traces of other living beings inhabiting the landscape. These insights directly informed the design and placement of the structure.

Working under changing weather conditions, including steady rain, participants collaboratively designed and built using simple tools, testing ideas in real time and adapting as challenges emerged.

The workshop emphasised critical thinking, spontaneity, and collective problem-solving, demonstrating how structures can emerge from attentive engagement with place rather than predefined plans.

Through mapping, making, and inhabiting the site, participants experienced an alternative approach to learning—one rooted in simplicity, local resources, and respectful coexistence with the land. The Map & Build Together series continues as an ongoing exploration of living, learning, and building in close relationship with ecology and place.