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 forty percent of annual global greenhouse gas emissions 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। ■

conferences

  • “Back to Earth: Advancing Mud Construction in the Himalayas,” African Urbanisms Conference, Session 18: Material Practices That Liberate Self-Builders, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, October 24, 2024.

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

  • “Mountain Construction Ecologies: Case Studies from Montana & Nepal,” Minds on Mountains 2024, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana, April 26, 2024.

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

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

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

lectures

  • "Outside-In: From Montana to Nepal,” Jake Jabs College of Business & Entrepreneurship, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana, February 20, 2025.

  • “Peripheral Practice: Building Bureau in the Critical Zone,” NC State University School of Architecture, Raleigh, North Carolina, February 5, 2025.

  • “Construction Ecologies: Gallery Talk & Discussion,” Foreground Gallery, Imagine Butte Resource Center, Butte, Montana, September 21, 2024.

  • “On a Mission: Building Bureau in Montana and Nepal,” Rotary Club of Sunrise Bozeman, Bozeman, Montana, September 6, 2024.

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

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

workshops

  • “Construction Ecologies: Natural Paint Workshop,” Foreground Gallery, Imagine Butte Resource Center, Butte, Montana, September 21, 2024.

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

exhibitions

  • “Community Engaged Design,” Foreground Gallery, Imagine Butte Resource Center, Butte, Montana, November 15-30, 2024.

  • “Construction Ecologies,” Foreground Gallery, Imagine Butte Resource Center, Butte, Montana, August 1 - October 1, 2024.

  • with Chere LeClair, FAIA, “An Architecture for Veterans,” Cheever Hall Architecture Gallery, Montana State University, November 2023.

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.

LEADERSHIP

tyler survant, AIA

Bozeman, MT | Executive + Board President

Tyler is an architect and co-founder of Building Bureau. Currently an Assistant Teaching Professor at Montana State University’s School of Architecture, he has previously taught architectural studios 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. ■

Contact | tyler at buildingbureau.org

anna leshnick, PHCC

Brooklyn, NY | Executive + Board Vice President

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. Anna served as 2024 Visiting Scholar at Montana State University’s School of Architecture. ■

Contact | anna at buildingbureau.org

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

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. ■

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. ■

STAFF + AFFILIATES

hanna wells

New York, NY | Community Coordinator

Hanna is a graduate from Brown University and recipient of a 2023-2024 Fulbright research grant studying the impact of national road building projects on traditional livelihood and handicraft in the Makalu region of Nepal.

At university, 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. She now works as a user experience researcher and designer and assists Building Bureau with Nepal partnerships and grant acquisition. ■

gaurav tiwari

Boston, MA + Kathmandu, Nepal | Affiliate

Gaurav is a program manager with over twelve years of experience working for the World Bank and other social impact organizations in Nepal, the USA, and several African countries. As Director of Operations at Possible Health, he managed multi-million dollar health projects, including an award-winning 50-bed government-owned hospital in rural Achham, Nepal, and led operations for a 400+ team spread across national and international locations. Gaurav has supported the implementation of Nepal’s National Health Insurance Program and worked as healthcare systems consultant for local governments in Far Western and Eastern regions of Nepal.

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. ■

olivia everett

Butte, MT | Affiliate

For over a decade, Olivia has been a dedicated community organizer, fostering local engagement through art, education, environmental science and preservation. Born and raised in Butte, Montana, Olivia Everett is cofounder of the Imagine Butte Resource Center, a vibrant cultural hub in historic Uptown Butte.  As the curator of numerous community exhibitions at the Foreground Gallery, a key component of the Resource Center, she has championed creative expression and cultural development in her hometown. Olivia has collaborated extensively on the revitalization of the historic Phoenix Block in Uptown Butte, blending her passion for creative community building with a commitment to sustainable restoration methods, preserving Butte’s unique architectural heritage. With her extensive experience as an organizer in the fields of community engaged design, sustainable construction, restoration ecology, and permaculture, Olivia assists Building Bureau with project delivery and grants management. ■

andrew lodmell

Bozeman, MT | Junior Designer

Andrew works as an architectural designer for Building Bureau while completing his studies in both finance and architecture as a senior undergraduate student at Montana State University (MSU). Andrew first engaged with Building Bureau’s practice as a student in Tyler’s Fall 2023 Earth-Work architecture studio at MSU, which considered earth construction from a socio-economic view as both material and technique – physical matter transformed through human labor. As a 2023-2024 grantee of MSU’s Undergraduate Scholar Program, Andrew studied the nonprofit business model in architecture, interviewing mission-driven NGOs around the United States and analyzing public financial data. He extended his research as a recipient of the 2024 Mary Edsall McLaughlin Award, granted by MSU’s College of Arts & Architecture, and in January of 2025 traveled to Nepal where he met with Building Bureau partners and studied the complex economic relations among Western donors and Nepali beneficiaries. ■

amber tamang, RA

Kathmandu, Nepal | Affiliate

Amber is the managing director and senior architect of Creative Design Group (CDG), Building Bureau’s local architect partner in Nepal. He is a veteran architect with more than thirty years of experience in land use and urban planning, construction supervision, and design for major healthcare, commercial, and education projects across Nepal. As Director of East West Engineering Service, he was project manager of the multi-million-dollar, award-winning Bayalpata Hospital in Achham, Nepal.

Amber received his Bachelor of Architecture from Calcutta University in India and a Master of Business Administration from Sikkim Manipal University. He is a registered architect in Nepal and is a member of the Society of Nepalese Architects and the Nepal Engineering Council. ■

Nepali translation provided by Hom Acharya, EdD, Cornell University Department of Asian Studies. Building Bureau alumni include Zena Miriam Mangesha, Viviana Alatorre, Ezra Bush, Mo Espinoza Chaney, Sam Maletic, Max Smyth, and Stephanie Weddle.

Building Bureau is an inclusive organization and an equal opportunity employer. We provide a workplace that respects the dignity each employee and volunteer and is free from all forms of discrimination or harassment due to race, color, sex, gender, age, religion or religious creed, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, physical or mental disability, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.