My Own House, Kopan

I bought this plot a few years before the earthquake of 2015. It was a difficult time for me and my cousin to find a piece of land when most, if not every, land plot was up for sale in Kathmandu. Our purpose was to build a small house and eventually settle in Kathmandu. We visited more than 20 different plots. "Thang machhe na lho made." Our search was over with our tiredness, and we were almost ready to put an advance payment on the land further down from the current location. Thanks to my cousin's friend, who showed us this beautiful piece of land right below Kopan Monastery where my sister was a nun as well. Since the plot faced northeast, I made numerous visits to this plot at different times of the day and in different seasons, talking to locals about the land's status and the surrounding environment. I wanted to get to know the people who lived there and ensure that the land received sunlight from early morning, especially in the winter. Everything checked out! We then built boundary walls and subdivided it into three plots. I left my plot vacant until 2018. The idea of building a house came to mind due to the increasing rents in the core area of Kathmandu, the need for land tenure security, and the hustle and bustle of haphazard urbanization. I dedicated the entire year of 2017 to research, making sketches, developing floor plans, and visiting many houses. It was by far the most challenging task, perhaps for any architect, to design his or her own house. Thanks to my dedication and support team, the building is finally designed and built with the aim of respecting the rich architectural tradition of the Kathmandu Valley while fulfilling my own spatial requirements.