Sagarmatha Next Centre was simple and efficiently designed and built in an environmentally conscious and sustainable manner, using locally available materials and constructed by a team of local builders
Location & Buildings
Sagarmatha Next is located on the trekking trails in Syangboche, near to Namche Bazaar.
The overall site is spread across 1850 square meters of area, and the centre is composed of four buildings – house, learning centre, workshop & shop, café & gallery – and a landscape that blends with the surrounding nature.
A simple and efficient design
Anne Feenstra and Sustainable Mountain Architecture, a local team of architects with extensive experience working with salvaged material, came up with the design. Taking the movement through the open landscape as a starting point, and the urgent need for a conscious demonstration of the upcycling of waste, the creation of art and architecture from waste form an exquisite balance with the surrounding ecosystem and its rich and vulnerable biodiversity.
Born from sun, landscape, and wind consideration, each building receives the needed natural lighting during the day. The landscape has welcoming walls, blending with the surrounding, and making it fauna friendly.
The Construction Story
The high altitude of the site – 3,775 meters from sea level – and the extreme climate conditions impeded the completion of the work on an ongoing basis. The construction of the site was divided into 4 phases – from September 2017 to May 2021, with a stop during each winter season. The local firm Khumbila Construction, with more than 20 years of experience in various kinds of construction projects in the Khumbu region, allocated a total of 50 local builders for the construction of the centre.
The construction of the centre has solely used locally sourced materials such as steel profile, pinewood, plyboard, gneiss, and granite. Besides, in alignment with Sagarmatha Next purpose, mountaineering waste as ropes and clothes, waste oxygen cylinders, tent, and carabiners were collected and upcycled into artworks and building materials for the centre.
Setting out different building components
September 2017 – December 2017
Building the walls
Mounting the roofs
March 2019 – October 2019
From landscaping to interiors and finishing
March 2021 – May 2022
"But of utmost importance, the Centre created with the local community, the Sherpas!"
Anne Feenstra,
Architect of Sagarmatha Next
“Each building embraces the natural setting of the open juniper-rhododendron landscape. During the construction, the topsoil was locally conserved and placed back around the buildings.
Every window is uniquely designed to let the low-angled morning sun come in. Chamfered walls allow this passive solar heating process to happen even more efficiently. During the day and in the afternoon, sufficient natural light flows into the spaces. Double glazing, thermal roof insulation and thick stone walls ensure the warmth stays inside.
The curved aerodynamics shapes of the workshop and the interpretation centre handle the high wind speeds with ease.
All floor levels subtly follow the original natural contours of the terrain, with the stepped Film Salon being the most visible example of designing in a mountain environment.
The intricate structural framework of horizontal tie beams and vertical micro-concreting makes all buildings earthquake resistant, a must in the young Himalayas as they violently grow higher every year.
Local pine timber and local granite stone, sometimes with tinges of mica and quartz, are used for the walls. Yellow deep soil from the site was mixed with yak, cow dung, eggshell, and mustard oil to create a fine cement-free mortar. While the double-curved stones of the buttresses are highly sculptured, Yak wool in different colors and patterns is used for the robust curtains in the Shop and the Interpretation Space.
But of utmost importance, the Centre was created with the local community, the Sherpas!”