Participatory Research & Design Project in Kathmandu, Nepal
September to December 2019 | 10 weeks
UX Research and Design
Overview
My connection with Nepal can be traced from my many Nepali friends from my Army days; they have always urged me to explore their beautiful home country. So when the opportunity to study abroad and practice participatory research & design in Kathmandu, Nepal with the UW’s landscape architecture department came, I jumped at it wholeheartedly, applied to the program, and was very fortunately selected as one of the 13 UW students that embarked on the Inter.Action Nepal program in September 2019.
From project inception, ideation, to implementation, as a team of 13 students from a variety of backgrounds — human centered design and engineering, landscape architecture, civil engineering, and film anthropology — we collaborated, interacted with Nepali residents from Bhangal, and iterated designs together for a total duration of 10 weeks.
Participatory workshop process
Once we came to understand the background of the Bhangal community, the UW students were distributed amongst the 13 Nepali households within the community and partner Nepali students who acted as translators and conducted weekly participatory workshops. We asked questions to understand their families, their dreams and goals, and what their desired community looks like.
What’s most unique and rewarding about this project is that, due to the participatory research nature grounded in human centered design, we came in not knowing what would be designed; our “final deliverable“ was revealed as the participatory research process went, as we came to understand the needs of the community. This project was completed in December 2019, and the Bhangal residents have since enjoyed their new road in the community.
Impact
The community road not only serves 13 households, but also helps prevent rainwater from washing off the soil during the yearly monsoon season. The community residents use the road daily to trek to their destinations and interact with each other; the completion of the road brought convenience, a sense of identity, and safety to the entire community.
My Roles
As a researcher to help facilitate the participatory research workshops to understand residents’ needs, synthesize research data, and validate designs with Nepali residents.
As a designer to come up with road concepts and community design elements with Adobe Illustrator, compile material palettes, and create the design process book with Figma (linked as flippable PDFs below).
Collaborators
UW Landscape Architecture students, Kathmandu University students, Local Nepali residents, Local architecture contractors
Problem Space
What do Bhangal residents need the most in their community space, and what landscape architecture features and designs might help integrate their space?
During participatory research workshops
In order to reduce barrier and build rapport with the Nepali residents, we started our conversations with topics such as “My Family”, “My Household”, and “My Community” to gain a deeper understanding of their daily lives, as well as services outside of their community that they interact with on a daily basis, such as the clinic, schools, and grocery stores. This approach gathers information about the families within the community, and indirectly probes into issues that really need addressing.
DESIGN ITERATION 1: Initial Design Concept
Design Rationale
After initial discussions with my group of Nepali residents, we came to prioritize social and recreational spaces within the community, recognizing the need for a space for children and adults alike to connect and interact. This translates to circular nooks designed for separated spaces.
We opted for a stone-paved footpath for the community, as the existing path could not accommodate vehicles; stones are inexpensive and are long-lasting. A bioswale with an added rain garden was proposed to support water drainage issues during the monsoon season that often washes off the slope and causes hazard to the community.
A major component for this design was the use of upcycled materials such as glass and plastic bottles to decorate the space. This is to encourage the concept of use and reuse within the community, and boost collaborations and interactions amongst community members. The use of tarp functions as a portable sun shade and rain shelter.
Site Plan
Overall site plan demonstrating the stone-paved road with circular nooks designed to create social spaces. Concept rendered by landscape architecture student on the team, Rachel Yahn
Perspective View
The rendered view here shows how the foot path may look like from the bottom of the hill. Upcycled materials such as glass and plastic bottles are used to decorate the ground and to brighten the space at night time. Rendered by landscape architecture student on the team, Rachel Yahn
Transverse Section Line
I created this section line to demonstrate the implementation of a bioswale, the seating area from the circular nook, a tarp with detachable poles, and upcycled glass bottles that decorate the ground.
Material Palette
Marigolds, orange trees, and jasmine flowers were proposed to be planted along the road to create shade and a natural fragrance.
A Kit of Parts that I created to illustrate the site elements needed for the community
DESIGN ITERATION 2: SITE ELEMENTS
Once when the initial road design was presented to the residents and validated for refinements, the UW student teams re-organized into different teams: Plants & Water, Site Elements, Site Plan, and Site Context, to accommodate the development of the project.
I was a part of the Site Elements team and was responsible for sourcing appropriate design elements that may best fit the community’s needs. We worked to produce different options for features like house entrances, railings, shade, seating, a community entrance, and lighting options.
We analyzed community members opinions of the element options and worked to produce a kit of parts and perspective view of how these elements would fit in the design. A similar trellis design for a community entrance gate and shade structures were prioritized as elements of the design.
Perspective view from bottom of the road. Rendered by landscape architecture student Alex Burgos
Longitudinal section line demonstrating the slope. Rendered by civil engineering student Henry Lindekugel
Perspective view from top of the road. Rendered by landscape architecture student Alex Burgos
What happened after the design iterations?
After several rounds of design iterations and site plan revisions, the community voted to have a narrow concrete footpath that features a bioswale and gutter to address the rainwater overflow during the monsoon season. The retaining wall that is a part of the road will be built and act as seating benches; this aids in the Nepali culture of sitting outside together with various social activities.
The design concepts were built accordingly, with the help of local contractors. The slope was graded while the UW team was away for a trek in the Himalayas, and the process of filling in the concrete, lining the gutter, and building the retaining walls quickly followed upon our return from the trek. The community came up with working schedules with each household, and worked alongside us to build the road. In a short few weeks’ time, right before our departure from the program, we were able to see the road come to its finished form, and celebrated with the community for this lovely partnership and our friendships.
Flip below and read MORE about the research and design process.
More details on the Bhangal community’s history, research approach, design iterations, and implementations. Best in full screen.
Reflection on this project
It literally takes a village to design and build an actual road for a community! It was most definitely heartwarming to get to know the community members, understand their lives and needs, and actually build something concrete with them — something that will last for years to come, and thrive together with the community; something that helps make their daily treks up and down the slope easier, especially during monsoon seasons.
Similarities in the human centered design approach. What I also found interesting was the human centered methodology and approach taken from the landscape architecture students — same as what I have been practicing for my UX research and design career, just that the deliverables are in different forms — much more in the ‘physical interaction’ realm as opposed to digital interactions that are most prevalent in UX research and design.
Another one of the most interesting insights that I learned from the workshops is to be extra careful about which flowers and plants to plant in the community, as some flowers and plants tend to attract certain insects — something I would have never considered until talking directly with a resident. This helps us select appropriate flowers and plants. This truly shows the strength in a human centered approach.
I am forever grateful for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be living in Kathmandu and working together with some of the kindest people, and would certainly return to visit Kathmandu and the Bhangal community in a heartbeat.