Sharada Project - A Science Lab
In 2023, the Architecture and Facility Management departments of Anhalt University of Applied Sciences, in partnership with Mirador e.V., launched a design-build project as part of their UNITY program. This initiative focused on planning, funding, and constructing a multifunctional science laboratory for the Shree Sharada Basic School in Shahipur, a remote community in Bardiya District, western Nepal.
The school, one of the few educational options for disadvantaged children and orphans in the region, suffers from overcrowded and dilapidated classrooms, with up to 60 students per room. Although the school recently acquired science teaching materials, a lack of suitable space has prevented their use. The new science lab aims to provide essential facilities to enhance science education, reduce class sizes, and improve learning conditions.
This project addresses ongoing challenges in Nepal’s rural education sector, where infrastructure and access to quality science education remain limited despite national progress in literacy. By delivering a much-needed facility, the project supports educational development and social equity in Bardiya District.
Images and Plans
Technical Description
The Shree Sharada Science Laboratory was designed and built by an interdisciplinary team from Anhalt University of Applied Sciences in 2025 as part of the UNITY program. Responding to the acute need for modern science education facilities in rural Nepal, the project created a multifunctional, earthquake-resistant building that supports physics, chemistry, and biology instruction for the Shree Sharada Basic School in Shahipur, Bardiya District.
The single-story, 150-square-meter building features mobile workstations for flexible teaching, a gallery level for additional activities, integrated library spaces, a quiet study room, and direct access to a school garden for outdoor learning. The structure combines a reinforced concrete skeleton for seismic safety with locally produced brick walls and a hipped roof, ensuring durability and climatic resilience. The design prioritizes local materials, cost-effective construction, and easy maintenance.
Construction was completed in April 2025 through a collaborative process involving 31 students and faculty from Anhalt University, technical colleges in Nepal, and apprentices from Germany, working closely with local craftsmen. Supervised by Prof. Dr. Claus Dießenbacher and coordinated by Michael Bieler and Ian Kenning Moreno, technical and advisory support covered structural engineering, sustainability, public relations, and earthquake education.
International partnerships with local schools, architecture offices, and educational institutions in Nepal, as well as the Goethe Zentrum Kathmandu, enriched the project’s educational and cultural impact. With a total budget of €70,000, the Shree Sharada Science Lab stands as a model for hands-on, socially engaged architectural education and sustainable development in challenging contexts.