Material Legacy: Adapting tomorrow from yesterday Part 1 Project 2025 Xindy Ying University of Hong Kong | China Material Legacy reimagines urban infrastructure on Dhulikhel’s periphery, addressing the Kathmandu Valley’s rapid growth, seismic risks, and cultural progression after the 2015 earthquake.It integrates Newari brick and timber craftsmanship with modern structural tectonics, creating a scalable, hybrid ecological research facility. The incremental, cantilevering brick and frame system arrays along the cliffside, stabilizing fragile Himalayan terrain as retaining infrastructure, minimizing impact while ensuring longevity across Nepal’s diverse landscapes.Positioned along the Araniko Highway, part of Nepal’s 3,426 km highway network, the design mediates urban expansion and environmental consciousness and is thus able to adapt to other seismically vulnerable urban edges.Extending from a cliffside platform, it grows into the valley, fostering a deep landscape connection. The facility champions sustainability, using local materials to reduce embodied carbon and material waste. Its incremental growth model boosts cultural, social, and economic relevance, overcoming outdated methods in the Global South. Communal terraces promote social engagement and STEM education for youth, enhancing equity.Material Legacy delivers a seismically robust, replicable prototype, redefining the architect’s role in creating resilient, equitable urban infrastructure for Nepal’s climate-sensitive regions, with potential to transform highway-connected communities. Tutor(s)