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

South Manimaṇḍapa reconstruction
of ground plan.
Hand-drawn by Bijay Basukala,
April 2016.
Patan, March 2016
The twelve base stones (Nev. lvahā)
mark the ground plan and plinth
of South Manimaṇḍapa in ruins.
The plinth has to be reconstructed.
KVPT proposes the rebuilding
with concealed steel reinforcement
and a concrete slab concealed
underground.
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Onsite Report
Plinth
On April 25, 2015 both mandapas collapsed completely,
leaving only their plinths in place and in poor condition.
As there were no detailed pre-earthquake plans or measurements
of the North Manimaṇḍapa and the South
Manimaṇḍapa, sections and elevations had to be reconstructed
on the basis of the still-existing plinths and the
surviving wooden elements. Detailed measured drawings
of the existing ground plan were hand-drawn in late
2015. At the same time, elevations and a cross-section of
South Manimaṇḍapa were reconstructed. The data was
drawn by Bijay Basukala and transferred into AutoCAD
by architect Renu Maharjan.
An important reason for the total collapse of the two
structures in the earthquake of 2015 concerns the foundations
and plinths, where the foundations and plinths
were not unified and there was almost no connectivity
between the timber columns and the stone blocks of the
plinth supporting them. Among other things, the foundations
of both mandapas need seismic retrofitting and
strengthening to ensure that the sixteen pillars bearing
the load of the heavy upper masonry walls and roofs are
properly connected to the ground. The Trust has proposed
to address this, and other seismic concerns, via a
strengthened foundation and connections which can not
be achieved using the original materials. This design is in
accordance with international preservation norms.