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

Left
Vambaha seismic reinforcement
design with a multi-layered timber
beam supporting the walls of the
pinnacle.
Designed by Prayag Joshi,
February 1994
Refurbishing palace and monastery:
Itumbaha and Patan Darbar Complex projects
2006-2015
A number of palace and monastery projects followed
whose building configuration, low center of gravity and
two-story height invited minimal interventions for seismic
strengthening. These types, with their massive and
continuous masonry wall structure, stand in contrast to
the more high risk temple structures sitting atop plinths,
with their huge roof overhangs. Ayuguthi Sattal reconstruction,
Itum Baha, and the quadrangles of the Patan
Royal Palace are examples.
The upgrading of foundations to include damp proof
courses was considered critical not only for occupancy
of the ground floor, but to protect against wet rot on
the structural timber pillars in the ground floor. The
timber pillars of Newar buildings vary in their level of
development as an auxiliary timber framework or timber
lacing. When it came to assessing different options for
a damp proof course, for example, the efficacy and difficulty
of installation and the amount of fabric destruction
were among the factors considered. The low-tech
solution of copper sheets was explored in conversations
with Feilden.
Above
Mahadev Temple North
Vertical up right post completely
rotten due to rising damp, even
sitting on the stone base.
Photograph by Rohit Ranjitkar,
Sept. 2016
73