KVPT’s Patan Darbar Earthquake Response Campaign - Work to Date - September 2016

Preservation Trust moved rapidly to coordinate security
and clean-up efforts in Patan in the days after the earthquake.
Remnants of the fallen temples in Patan Darbar
Square, - thousands of carved timber elements as well
as bricks and roof tiles,- were secured with the help of
hundreds of volunteers and the Nepal Army, Armed
Police Force, and Police. All valuable historic building
elements were securely stored in the Patan Museum
and the walled garden of the Royal Palace complex and
were gradually cleaned, documented, and inventoried in
preparation for the restoration and rebuilding which is
now underway.
The loss of this unique architectural heritage has disfigured
and diminished Patan’s townscape and religious
and social life, and left its deities unsheltered. Our campaign
seeks to restore the urban landscape and again
shelter the deities for whom the temples were built.
Pre-earthquake documentation of recent years provides
a good basis for rebuilding and restoring the temples on
the square. There is a lack of detailed documentation of
the mandapas, but a good amount of forensic evidence
survives in the plinths and other recovered building elements.
Using the many salvaged fragments, the temples
and mandapas will be returned as closely as possible to
their original configuration. The projects follow international
norms in using a maximum of historical material
and creating careful and extensive documentation that
will enable future generations to track the design and
construction processes.
The planning and building processes are based on local
expertise, with designs for in situ repairs as well as rebuilding
based on traditional technology and materials.
One of the landmarks in this local collaboration process
is the assembly of master carpenters (Newari Silpakār),
wood carvers (Kijyami), and masons (Avaḥ) from Bhaktapur,
as well as stone carvers (Lvahakahmi) and metal
workers from Patan. These craftsmen from the ethnic
group of Newars bring to bear the experience and skills
handed down through many generations.
The April 28, 2015 earthquake also changed the course
of the Trust. The fact that our Nepal Director Rohit
Ranjitkar and local staff had been active at Patan Darbar
for many years allowed them to hit the ground running
immediately after the earthquake. In the larger context,
Rohit Ranjitkar took on the role of a sort of modern-day
royal architect; the team’s senior advisor Niels Gutschow,
the foremost authority on Newar architecture, advised at
every step; Kanak Mani Dixit stepped ua as preservation
advocate, writer, and KVPT Honorary Chairman; and
KVPT New York helped to coordinate as well as work
on international PR and fundraising. Rohit Ranjitkar
rapidly coordinated the salvage of historic building elements;
began assessing damage to the historic buildings
(only three of KVPT’s more than 55 projects suffered
significantly); shored up unstable structures; and established
the workshop in the palace gardens to store, study,
and repair architectural pieces rescued from the rubble.
With this garden access, existing open permits on restoration
projects, and liquid funds, local KVPT staff were
able in the midst of crisis and earthquake aftershocks to
achieve a great deal in a short time. KVPT received a
worldwide outpouring of offers of help. The Trust announced
plans within a week of the earthquake to reconstruct
the Char Narayan temple, creating a symbol
of hope in a difficult time. The damaged Lion Pillar
was soon restored and reinstalled - a first project already
complete. The new Patan Royal Workshop has now
identified, sorted, cleaned, repaired, and/or replicated
hundreds of historic carved timber and stone pieces and
other salvaged building elements. KVPT has moreover
been essentially the only agency able to make significant
progress since the earthquake.
The campaign takes shape
Over the past year and a half, we have assessed damage
and rescued historic elements for reuse at many of
the important sites in the Kathmandu Valley, and communicated
with potential donors, partners, and imple-
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