BatchRocket Center
Our proposal focuses on the issue of deforestation in Nepal. The country, once heavily forested, has gone through an intensive exhaustion of its natural resources due to the high reliance on wood, used for heating and cooking in rural areas. Today, only 30% of its woodlands remain.
In the wake of the earthquake that struck the country in 2015, Rock & Wood adapted the local know-how to seismic risks thanks to the concrete bending and the bracing in timber frame on the second floor.
On this basis, the project’s approach is completed by introducing a new technology: Fire. This new input provides heat as well as a bioclimatic focus, insuring against overheating by a ventilated continuous gap under the roof.
Replacing firewood with a different source of energy is impossible at present. However, it is possible to significantly improve its performance. To this end, the BatchRocket, a contemporary wood-burning stove, fits in the heart of the scheme.
Stemming from basic principles, the BatchRocket is a double-combustion heating which simultaneously burns wood and its own gas.
The fireplace situated at the centre of the space can reach up to 1200°C at it’s core. It is surrounded by a stone skin, warming the spaces by inertia long after burning.
This principle decreases the pollution caused by the traditional combustion of firewood and increases the heat output making the housing less dependant on natural ressources. Furthermore, the BatchRocket releases very small amounts of carbon monoxide (as little as a gas oven), or approximately 800 ppm of CO!
This technology which is at the heart of the project, releases sufficient heat for cooking or heating water, essential tools for day-to-day use.
Moreover, the rooms turn into areas able to fulfil a variety of purposes.
This scheme is shown here as an example. The proposal’s flexibility will allow it to better accommodate to the needs of the village where it will be installed.
Besides the introduction of a new tool, the construction process will be participatory in order to demonstrate the simplicity of the BatchRocket’s installation.
In summary, the proposal carries out the approach of Rock & Wood projects, while adding a new heating source and returning to the simplicity of traditional and communitarian architecture.