about

Stakeholders in Ichok, Nepal discuss the Helambu Hospital design with Building Bureau co-founder Anna Leshnick, January 2024.

Buildings are the fabric of our built environment. In addition to serving an organization’s specific needs, buildings are used and seen by many; they impact our streets and skylines; they outlast the owners and architects who built them, becoming part of the human-made legacy inherited by future generations. Building codes across the world are a tacit acknowledgement of the public importance of the built environment: poorly designed structures can harm us, so buildings are subject to oversight. Our codes and regulations show we take a collective interest in the design of each and every building that is added to our common world.

Architecture has an outsized impact on the natural environment too: more than a third of all greenhouse gas emissions globally are linked to the construction and operation of buildings. Each new energy inefficient and carbon intensive building – no matter its ownership or use – degrades the environment, meaning the impact of a single building, regardless of its scale or occupancy, is planetary and ecological.

Due to the measurable effects that buildings have on our societies, the process of their design – and who has access to design services – is of public concern. Formed in February 2022 in response to demand by public institutions for mission-driven architectural services, Building Bureau Inc is registered as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization in the United States. The organization is eligible for grants and tax-exempt donations in support of its mission: to further the social impact of public organizations and civic institutions through architecture, while promoting stewardship of the built environment through research and educational programs. ■

हाम्रो बारेमा

निर्माण अर्थात् संरचना भन्ने बित्तिकै हाम्रो वातावरणमा भएका घर, पर्खाल, छानो जस्ता कुराहरू भन्ने बुझिन्छ।  अझ भन्नु पर्दा, कुनै संस्थाको खास आवश्यकता पूरा गर्नका निर्माण कार्य सम्पन्न गरिन्छ। यी निर्माण अर्थात् संरचनाहरु कहिले बाटघाटाका रूपमा त कहिले जमिनमाथि गगनचुम्बी भवनका रुपमा प्रस्तुत हुन्छन् र जसले भविष्यका सन्ततिका लागि मानब निर्मित इतिहास भएर त्यसको निर्माता र मालिकलाई पनि जीवन्त राखिरहेका हुन्छन्। भवन निर्माणको दुनियाँमा भवननिर्माणको नियम-कानुन स्वतःरुपमा स्वीकार गरिनु पर्दछ, कमसल योजना र निर्माणले हामीलाई नोक्सान गर्दछ, त्यसकारण भवन निर्माण कार्य राम्रो अनुगमनमा सम्पन्न गर्नु पर्दछ।कुनै पनि भवन निर्माण गर्ने भन्ने सन्दर्भमा भवन निमार्णसम्बन्धि हाम्रा नियम कानुनहरूले हामी सम्पूर्ण समितीको सरसल्लाह र सहमतीमा तथा अभिरुचिका आधारमा निर्णय गर्छौं भन्ने देखाउँछ।    

हाम्रो प्राकृतिक वाताबरणलाई पनि निर्माणकलाले  बाह्यरुपमा असर गर्दछ। संसारमा चारभागको तीन भाग भन्दा बढी हरितगृह ग्याँस प्रदुषण निर्माण तथा भवन संचालनसँग सम्बन्धित रहेको छ।  उर्जाको कमि भएको कार्बनमय हरेक नयाँ संरचना, अपनत्वको हिसाबले होस् वा प्रयोगको हिसाबले होस्, वातावरणलाई प्रदुषित गर्छ अनि समग्र जलबायुलाई समस्याग्रस्त बनाउँदछ। यसरी, एउटा भवन जसको आयातन र स्वरुप ठूलो होस् वा सानो होस् जसले समस्त ग्रहनक्षत्रादी एवं जैविक वातावारणमा असर गर्दछ। 

हाम्रो समाजम मानब निर्मित संरचनाहरूको नाप्नसकिने खालको असर हुन्छ, जस्तै निर्माणको योजना, त्यो योजनालाई कसले प्रयोग गर्छ भन्ने कुरा सार्बजनिक चासोको बिषय हो।  सार्बजनिक संस्थाहरुको आवश्यकतालाई मध्यनजर गरी एउटा उद्देश्यपूर्ण निर्माण-सेवाको रुपमा २०२२ सालको फेब्रुवरी महिनामामा बिल्डिंग ब्यूरो गठन गरियो। यो संस्था एउटा ५०३(c)(३) मा दर्ता भई एउटा परोपकारी संस्थाको रूपमा गठन गरिएको छ।  यो संस्थाले कसैले सहयोग वा दानपुण्यका लागि प्राप्त रकमको कर तिर्नु पर्दैन। यसबाट निर्माणको मध्यमले सेवा सद्भाव, अनुसन्धान र शैक्षिक कार्यक्रमहरूलाई उजागर गर्दै, सामाजिक लक्ष्य र उद्देश्य प्राप्त गर्न सहायता मिल्दछ भन्ने हाम्रो बिश्वास रहेको छ। ■

scholarship

  • “Pedological Pedagogy,” 2024 International Conference, Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA), Querétaro, México, June 28, 2024.

  • Visiting Scholar Advanced Architectural Studio, Montana State University School of Architecture, Spring 2024.

  • “Ephemeral Habitats” lecture, Tecnológico de Monterrey, Puebla, Mexico, September 19, 2023.

  • “Unmaking Capital: Alternative Practices in the Global South,” with Dr. Yutaka Sho, ABC School 2023 (sponsored by the Architecture Lobby), September 2023.

  • “The Transformative Power of Design: Comfort, Carbon, Craft,” Tecnológico de Monterrey, Puebla, Mexico, July 10-12, 2023.

  • “Here and There: Practice in the Global South,” Montana State University School of Architecture, September 26, 2022.

  • “Nature-based Solutions for Conservation and Sustainable Development,” International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), August 26, 2022.

  • “Sustainable Building Practice,” Gaatha/Sustainable Future Nepal, June 10, 2022.

press & citations

awards

  • Winner: Tatopani Hospital, Conceptual category, Architecture Masterprize, 2022.

  • Finalist: Tatopani Hospital, Unbuilt Sustainable Non-Residential Project, A+ Awards, 2023.

  • Finalist: Bethany Home for Children, Unbuilt Sustainable Residential Project, A+ Awards, 2023.

mary hubbard, PhD

Bozeman, MT | Board member

Mary Hubbard is a recently retired professor of Earth Sciences at Montana State University (MSU). She has studied mountain belt formation around the world, with a particular focus on the structural geology and tectonics of the Himalayas. She served as a Fulbright Specialist in Nepal in 2017 and a Fulbright Scholar in Nepal in 2022.

Mary has previously held faculty positions at Utah State University, the University of Maine, and Kansas State University, and has served as head of the Department of Earth Sciences at MSU and the Department of Geology at Kansas State. At Utah State University, she served as Dean of the College of Science from 2007 to 2009 and as the Vice Provost for Global Engagement from 2009 to 2013. Mary is an active Rotarian in the Bozeman Sunrise Rotary Club and leads annual visits to support community-based projects in Nepal. ■

anna leshnick, PHCC

Brooklyn, NY | Executive staff + Board member

Anna is a designer and co-founder of Building Bureau. A certified Passive House Consultant with the North American Passive House Network in cooperation with the Passive House Academy, Anna is trained in energy-efficient design principles, thermal comfort, and indoor air quality. Originally from Moscow, she earned a degree in architecture from the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem before relocating to the United States in 2018.

Prior to Building Bureau, Anna worked on the preservation of Tel Aviv’s White City, a UNESCO World Heritage site noted for its regionalist adaptation of Bauhaus “International Style” architecture to the cultural and climatic context of the Mediterranean. She also worked with an office in New York noted for its humanitarian work around the world. ■

zena mengesha, RA

Kigali, Rwanda | Staff member

Zena is an architect and contributor to Building Bureau projects. Currently based in Kigali, Rwanda, she focuses on East African housing and natural material construction with EarthEnable, a US-based nonprofit with operations in Rwanda and Uganda advancing market-based building solutions for healthy and sustainable living.

Prior to her current nonprofit work, Zena held positions at several prominent for-profit architecture firms on the east and west coasts of the United States, including Foster + Partners in San Francisco and Selldorf Architects in New York City. Zena holds degrees from Harvard College and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP). She is a licensed architect in the state of New York. ■

arun rimal, PE

New York, NY + Kathmandu, Nepal | Board member

Arun is a founding board member of Building Bureau. A licensed structural engineer in New York and New Jersey, Arun is the principal of the New York-based Office of Structural Design (OSD) and co-founder of Sustainable Future Nepal, a green construction company based in Kathmandu. Arun received a graduate degree in civil and structural engineering from Columbia University, where he later served as an adjunct professor at Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP) from 1990 to 2010.

Arun has been involved in a wide range of projects in his 28 years of practice. In addition to his commercial work in the United States, he has served as structural engineer for many award-winning humanitarian projects in the global South, including the reconstruction of several schools in rural Nepal destroyed by the earthquakes of 2015. ■

tyler survant, AIA NCARB

Bozeman, MT | Executive staff + Board member

Tyler is an architect and co-founder of Building Bureau. Currently an instructor of architecture and Visiting Scholar at Montana State University, he has previously taught at Columbia GSAPP and the City College of New York.

Concerned with the social impact of the built environment, Tyler’s professional work has focused on projects abroad. Most notably, for SHoP Architects he relocated to Gaborone, Botswana for on-site construction administration of the Botswana Innovation Hub, a tech incubator for the country’s Ministry of Tertiary Education, Research, Science and Technology. He started working in Nepal in 2017 as project manager for a 75-bed hospital for Nepal’s Ministry of Health and Population. Tyler holds degrees in architecture from Washington University in St. Louis and Yale University and he is a licensed architect in the states of Montana and New York. ■

gaurav tiwari

Boston, MA + Kathmandu, Nepal | Advisor

Gaurav is a program manager with over a decade of experience in social impact strategy, operational design, team development, governance systems, and fundraising for social impact organizations. As a consultant for the World Bank from 2013-2015, Gaurav focused on education in Africa. As Director of Operations at Possible Health from 2015-2019, he managed large infrastructure projects including an award-winning 50-bed government-owned hospital in rural Achham, Nepal. As a Development Fellow at Firetree Philanthropy from 2020-2021, he designed and implemented a pilot program to address systemic issues within the National Health Insurance Program, a Government of Nepal social protection initiative.

Born and raised in Nepal, Gaurav is currently based in Boston, where he consults for the SeedTree Foundation and supports Building Bureau on healthcare strategy in rural Nepal. ■

hanna wells

Kathmandu, Nepal | Staff member

Hanna is a creative researcher and recent graduate from Brown University. Based in Kathmandu, she is a recipient of a Fulbright research grant studying the impact of national road building projects on traditional livelihood and handicraft in the Makalu region of Nepal.

During her undergraduate studies, Hanna concentrated in Urban Studies, a field that allowed her to combine her interests in anthropology, landscape architecture, and planning. She is deeply committed to ethical research methods and seeks to merge such research practices with the formation of culturally responsible and environmentally sustainable landscapes and development. Prior to living in Nepal, Hanna worked in the planning office for the City of East Providence and at the Institute for Human Centered Design. ■

model squad

viviana alatorre | New York, NY

ezra bush | New York, NY

sam maletic | Bozeman, MT

max smyth | New York, NY

research

andrew lodmell | Bozeman, MT

Contact

anna at buildingbureau.org | tyler at buildingbureau.org