| Dekiling
Urban Design Plan |
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The
approved urban design plan (see attached plan) for Dekiling follows a predominantly
grid iron pattern as the topography is relatively flat. The main street
is oriented north-south to take maximum advantage of natural sunlight as
Bumthang is a cold place for the majority of the year. The 18m Right of
Way of the main street would accommodate 2m wide sidewalks (the width would
be 3.5m once we include the required 1.5m front setback of the buildings)and
1m center median. This should be wide enough to facilitate unhindered pedestrian
movement, provision of street furniture and ornamental street trees. The
sidewalks would be paved in quota stone as dolep is difficult to obtain
in Bumthang. Interesting patterns will be created on the sidewalks as quota
stone can be obtained in different shades. Adequate street furniture will
be provided to create a relaxed downtown core. |
Proposed Streetspace
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Commonwall building
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| As required
by the dzongkhag municipal authorities, the first phase of the township
accommodates 76 commercial plots measuring 15m by 20m each. Assuming a household
size of 5, and 4 residential units per plot, this layout can accommodate
a population of approximately 2800. The modular design concept involving
8 plots per block gives the opportunity for two adjacent plot owners to
construct a common wall building. However, common wall construction will
be limited to not more than two adjacent plots. A service lane at the back
of the plots would ensure that water mains, and service cables are provided
in ducts so as to reduce repetitive digging and filling of roadsides. Considering
the required rear set back of 5m from each building, the space between two
buildings from the rear side would be more than 10m, once the service lane
is also included. This should be adequate space for the hanging of laundry,
stacking of firewood etc. |
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Town Square
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The
center of the town has a town square measuring exactly one modular block.
The buildings facing the square should have rich traditional architectural
features so as to complement this important space. The building edges would
of course define the streets. A children's playground is provided in the
vicinity of the square so that a coherent green area is preserved in the
center of downtown Bumthang. A bus terminal is provided at the entrance
of the town so as to prevent the buses from coming into the core of the
town. A weekly market has been provided which can be accessed from the main
entry into the town .With the provision of kachhens on the street level,
the maximum building height is fixed at 3 storeys. All external facades
of the buildings shall be strictly done in timber and stone to lend an authentic
traditional look. As a tourist town, the preservation of the traditional
elements of the township would be its biggest asset To ensure that the buildings
in the new township are rented out, financial institutions would be required
to rent out premises from private building owners to establish their offices.
As such no institutional area has been earmarked within the first phase
of the township.
Future expansion would be in the immediate periphery of the existing town
with the majority of the development expected to come towards north of the
proposed township. The expansion area is currently under agricultural land
use, with pockets of built up areas, and measures approximately 93 acres.
The owners within these areas would be given the choice of either land poling
or land acquisition as their preferred urban development tool. Presently,
urban development in this particular area is unplanned, and if left untackled,
infrastructure provision in the future will be difficult. Therefore, until
the urban development plan for the extended municipality is in place, a
moratorium on all types of building construction is being placed on the
Bumthang Extended Municipality area with immediate effect.
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Bus Terminal
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