Exploring two overlapping issues that impact the Khumbu region of Nepal - waste management at high altitudes and disaster relief in response to earthquakes and other natural disasters - "Project Next" views the accumulation of waste as an opportunity, rather than purely a problem. This conceptual project - developed in collaboration with Asela and Arun Rodrigo of Prolojik Ltd (a lighting technology firm based in London) - imagines modular disaster relief shelters made from recycled plastic and encased in a mycelium fungi composite grown from and through agricultural refuse to produce rigid insulating shapes with flame-retardant and self-extinguishing attributes.
With this approach, both plastic waste and agricultural waste could become a prospective building material - preventing it from spilling out into the environment and allowing communities to build a bank of modular components from otherwise discarded refuse.
The drawing highlights the immense Himalayan landscape that the shelters would sit within and the juxtaposition in scale between the proposed small structures and the world's highest mountains.
Hamish Angus McAndrew is an Architect currently working across Scotland. In July 2024 Hamish left his previous practice to progress the refurbishment of a listed fishing village cottage, whilst simultaneously preparing for treks to both Everest Base Camp in Nepal and Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. This move soon led Hamish to become a sole practitioner, after being approached by a number of prospective clients and a collaboration with London-based lighting technology firm, Prolojik Ltd, to explore concepts around disaster relief and waste management in the Himalayas.
Hamish's architectural delineations have received success internationally and have been exhibited on both sides of the Atlantic. Notably, he has been both a Winner (2021) and Finalist (2018) at the American Institute of Architect's Ken Roberts Memorial Delineation Competition - the world's longest running architectural drawing contest.
Considering himself fortunate to have displayed at past RSA exhibitions, Hamish's previous works include a saké brewery in Tokyo, a memorial bridge in Hiroshima, floating farms in Cambodia and an illustrative introduction to bamboo as a construction material following his participation in assembling the first heat-bent bamboo structural system on the island of Bali. Hamish was awarded the 2025 RSA Medal for Architecture for his proposals to breathe new life into a listed cottage on the northeast coast of Scotland and is looking forward to presenting his work at a solo show in Glasgow later this year.