Scott Wilson Nepal brings expertise in researching resilient and sustainable green building materials, including assessments, retrofits, and cost-effective resilient housing, particularly in post-disaster contexts. The experience encompasses:
- Seismic Retrofitting: Seismic retrofitting is a technical intervention in the structural system of a building to improve its performance during an earthquake. Retrofitting allows retention of the originality of the building while improving earthquake resilience more cost-effectively. SWN provides technical support in the application of new approaches in retrofitting private homes/shelters. Our pilot works have shown that seismic retrofitting can be a cheaper option with substantial improvement in the seismic resistance capacity of the building. Additionally, it preserves the original external architecture of the building.
- Ecosystem and Life Cycle Cost Analysis: SWN provides technical and social insights into various building construction technologies, including confined masonry, RC framed, stone and brick reinforced and unreinforced masonry, rammed earth, bamboo & timber buildings, and offers recommendations for cost-effective, inclusive, and scalable solutions.
- Design and Development of Green Housing: SWN provides engineering services with designs for green housing with a passive solar design approach, self-sustained energy efficiency, and waste management measures. SWN also supported the pilot of an eco-lodge constructed with hempcrete (chopped hemp stalks and lime as binding material) in infill walls for excellent thermal performance in high altitudes.
- Compressed Stabilized Earth Blocks (CSEB): SWN innovates CSEB as a key construction material to build private shelters for vulnerable households by setting up CSEB production factories and providing training for manufacturing and construction supervision.
- Lime Testing in SWN: SWN prepares lime-stabilized soil samples under the supervision of Bee Rowan, lime expert, to check its stability underwater and determine its strength for use in building construction. The samples were tested for strength, waterproofing, volumetric stability, and resistance to weathering effects in flooded situations.
