Vaibhav Saxena & Josh Wallace

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The Soul of a Community: How a Young Architect Helped Resurrect a Village Longhouse in Borneo

A version of this essay, originally titled "Rumah in the woods: Resurrection of the Nanga Sumpa Longhouse," reached the top 8 in this year's Berkeley Prize. It was shared with ArchDaily by the authors.

These bodies are perishable, but the dwellers in these are indestructible and impenetrable.

This verse from Bhagavad Gita (a Hindu religious scripture) speaks about the human body and soul. For me, even a piece of architecture has a soul which rests in its place. We can feel its presence even when the building is no longer there.

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