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<strong>July</strong> <strong>2014</strong> – Vol 10 N o. 07<br />

ART ARCHITECTURE INTERIOR<br />

10 th Year - Anniversary Specials<br />

Price: NRs.100/- IRs.100/- USD 5.95 EURO 5.95 GBP 4.95<br />

Nepali<br />

Art A of Mosaic<br />

Multiple<br />

Melodies<br />

As Long as<br />

the Sun and Moon<br />

Endures<br />

Monsoon<br />

Wet n Wild<br />

Bardia<br />

Earthquake<br />

Risk Reduction and<br />

Preparedness in Nepal<br />

RELICS<br />

ARE HEARD<br />

HISTORY<br />

IS SEEN<br />

june <strong>2014</strong> / 1


2 / SPACESNEPAL.COM


April <strong>2014</strong> / 3


4 / SPACESNEPAL.COM


A smart alternative to Septic Tank<br />

Zero Discharge<br />

April <strong>2014</strong> / 5


April <strong>2014</strong> / 7


Contents<br />

july <strong>2014</strong> Vol 10 N o. 07<br />

SPACESNEPAL.COM<br />

Monsoon Bardia<br />

Bardia National Park is a protected area established in 1988 covering an area of 968 km 2<br />

(374 sq mi), Together with the neighboring Banke National Park, the coherent protected<br />

area of 1,437 km 2 (555 sq mi) represents the Tiger Conservation Unit (TCU) Bardia-Banke<br />

that extends over 2,231 km 2 (861 sq mi) of alluvial grasslands and subtropical moist<br />

deciduous forests.<br />

Interior<br />

44<br />

57<br />

Journey<br />

Personality<br />

Ar. Pratyush Shankar is an Ahmadabad based architect and an author.<br />

Teaching studio basic design, urban history, and subjects of history,<br />

humanities, and architectural research are his subject of interest. The<br />

Associate Professor and Acting Dean of Faculty of Architecture at CEPT<br />

University based in Ahmadabad, India.<br />

48<br />

Lines: creating career pathways<br />

For one struggling interior designer, in Nepali<br />

context, to work in huge spaces is the biggest<br />

challenge itself. Along with different projects<br />

completed in very short period of time, ID<br />

Sushovit Ranjitkar got chance to prove himself as<br />

an innovative when interior design of Mrs. Shailaja<br />

Adhikari’s consultancy was assigned to him.<br />

Mercantile plaza<br />

When it comes to re-designing the existing<br />

Mercantile Plaza, situated at Durbar Marg,<br />

the heart of Kathmandu City and also known<br />

as King’s way (leading to Narayanhiti Palace),<br />

the designers opted for an elegant and a<br />

contemporary composition of glass and<br />

aluminum panels. This building, which now<br />

accommodates almost a dozen of high-end<br />

stores and a roof top restaurant Mezze, is<br />

one of the most popular hubs in the capital.<br />

Architecture<br />

22<br />

Art<br />

58<br />

64<br />

From the shelf<br />

A well researched book<br />

that describes the detail<br />

study of shrines in the<br />

streets of historic Kirtipur,<br />

Kathmandu valley and other<br />

towns that are studded with<br />

shrines dedicated to clan<br />

and family, Gods, the Hindu<br />

deities or to Lord Buddha.<br />

Nepali Art<br />

Observing artworks is<br />

getting inspiration and<br />

encountering the gems<br />

and poetic moments<br />

of Nepali artists. They<br />

are diverse in terms of<br />

themes as representation of<br />

nature, recreating myths,<br />

reintegration of cultural rituals, reformulation of<br />

tradition, raising the voice of the marginalized,<br />

the women, and the ethnic minorities, taking<br />

corrective measures on socio-political evils and<br />

carving identities of individual artists.<br />

Architecture Galleries<br />

You might have been to Patan Durbar Square<br />

for a number of times, but it’s not the whole<br />

what you have seen. You see what is, but you<br />

have to hear to get into the composite whole of<br />

it. As an effort to make the square heard more<br />

and to enliven the history, the Architecture<br />

Gallery, as an extension of Patan Musuem,<br />

has been established. And now it is open to all.<br />

While observing the display of rare and historical<br />

artifacts survived from the neglect, misuse and<br />

inadequate restoration for ages at Architecture<br />

Galleries of Patan Musuem, your despair, if<br />

any, effaces and a sense of new hope and<br />

appreciation occupies your mind.<br />

68 PASSAGE: Search Interdefinite<br />

70 Store watch: Parth International Pvt. Ltd.<br />

72 Open Space<br />

Architecture<br />

30<br />

8 / SPACESNEPAL.COM


june <strong>2014</strong> / 9


Editorial<br />

As the monsoons pick up momentum - Nepal<br />

appears at risk of water borne disasters and<br />

earthquakes. As I write this, the massive landslide<br />

in Jure shows how volatile our landscape can be.<br />

The imminent danger of the landslide-dammed<br />

lake outburst flood could create massive havoc<br />

downstream. The downstream areas are already<br />

declared crisis hit. River activist Megh Ale who is<br />

familar with the Bhote Sunkosi area has pointed out<br />

to the ongoing bulldozer works for the road above<br />

the landslide areas. Journalist Kanak Dixit opines<br />

that in areas where life is lived - environmentally<br />

conscious highways and alignments are appropriate<br />

(though one cannot protect against the ‘act of god’)<br />

and such designs happen when road engineers and<br />

environmentalists and economists act in unison. On<br />

another note the Indian Prime Minister Narendra<br />

Modi is on a state visit to Nepal currently and would<br />

perhaps touch on the contentious issues of sharing<br />

and developing trans-boundary water resources<br />

which we hope will give us all a positive direction.<br />

He is the first foreign Head of Government to<br />

address Nepal’s new parliament. Presently<br />

- water and environment within one’s<br />

space seems to be central and core to<br />

the issues debated globally as well<br />

as locally to sustain life.<br />

Our cover story this month<br />

is about the newly opened<br />

Architecture gallery at Patan<br />

Museum. The galleries showcase<br />

our historical elements such as<br />

windows, columns, struts, and other<br />

artifacts, displayed in a typological<br />

order accompanied by drawings and<br />

captions. Nepal’s first Architectural gallery<br />

is an eye opener depicting the extraordinary<br />

legends amidst the art and architecture. Through the<br />

gallery, we now have access to the Vidhyapith room<br />

(tantrik room) at Mulchowk which was closed for<br />

over 90 years and has an esoteric shrine dating to<br />

the 17th century with a rare example of Malla-period<br />

interior architecture. Rohit Ranjitakar the Country<br />

Director of KVPT (Kathmandu Valley Preservation<br />

Trust) who initiated the project states that Nepal’s<br />

(traditional) Architecture is it’s identity. As you<br />

discover and abosorb the artifacts and elements – it<br />

is natural for one to be inspired by one’s heritage,<br />

but the bigger question as you step out of the<br />

Museum lies on - what do we all do presently with<br />

our Cities and Vilages to improve our natural and<br />

visual environment ?<br />

This month we also interview Architect Pratyush<br />

Shanker - the author of ‘Himalayan Cities,<br />

Settlement Patterns, Public Spaces and<br />

Architecture’ who is also the Associate Professor<br />

and Dean of the Faculty of Architecture at<br />

CEPT (Center for Environmental Planning and<br />

Technology). His journey started when he received<br />

the Commonwealth Grant to study a small town in<br />

Himachal Pradesh and later received The Ford –Asia<br />

Fellowship Award to study Himalayan Architecture.<br />

His views on Nepal are succinct when he states<br />

that - Nepal is a living museum of many distinct<br />

architectural traditions. It is blessed with a lineage in<br />

architectural and urban ideas that are unique. The<br />

question really is of the future and where<br />

it is heading! Nepal has the strength<br />

to show the way to many Asian<br />

countries about questions for new<br />

forms of development and hybrid<br />

conditions between old and new.<br />

We also highlight the 155<br />

feet tall statue of Guru<br />

Padmasambhava in Takela,<br />

Eastern Bhutan which was<br />

designed and built exquistely by<br />

our Nepali sculptor - Raj Kumar<br />

Shakya and his team. The intricate<br />

work on the copper statue that began<br />

nearly 4 years ago was completed this year<br />

and goes on to reflect the export value of traditional<br />

craft and knowledge, keeping the spirit and flame<br />

of Nepal’s first Internationally acclaimed Architect<br />

Araniko. He had visited Tibet and influenced<br />

Chinese Architecture profoundly. Araniko was<br />

initially sent to Tibet to build the Golden Stupa, and<br />

further went on to China to work in the court of<br />

the Mongol emperor Kublai Khan, the founder of<br />

Yuan dynasty (1279–1368) and was credited to have<br />

brought the trans-Himalayan artistic tradition to<br />

influence Chinese art.<br />

Finally on an ending note – I would like to reflect<br />

on an interesting quote of the Dalai Lama who says<br />

that – the planet does not need more successful<br />

people. The Planet desparetly needs more<br />

peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers and<br />

lovers of all kinds.<br />

Namaste !<br />

Sarosh Pradhan / Editor in Chief<br />

10 / SPACESNEPAL.COM


Exterior Interior<br />

june <strong>2014</strong> / 11


Contributors<br />

Volume 10 N O. 06 | June<br />

Jeebesh Rayamajhi, a graduate in English Literature<br />

from TU, is a dramaturge and has worked as a theatre<br />

consultant for pioneering theatre companies including<br />

Aarohan-Gurukul, Theatre Village, Mandala Theatre and<br />

Bardali Kala Samuha in Nepal. In course of working for<br />

leading theatres, he has coordinated different campaigns<br />

and events including Kathmandu International Theatre<br />

Festival, a prestigious theatre festival organized by<br />

Aarohan. He is associated with a number of organizations<br />

like School of Creative Communications, Asian Centre for<br />

Humanities, Oscar College of Film Studies and Theatre<br />

Village. He is a translator and editor for a number of<br />

books and magazines.<br />

CEO<br />

Editor-in-Chief<br />

Creative Manager<br />

Senior Correspondent<br />

Contributing Art Editor<br />

Junior Editor<br />

Contributing Editor<br />

Photographer<br />

Intl. Correspondent<br />

Ashesh Rajbansh<br />

Sarosh Pradhan<br />

Deependra Bajracharya<br />

Pujan Joshi<br />

Madan Chitrakar<br />

Kasthamandap Art Studio<br />

Shristi Pradhan<br />

President - Society of Nepalese Architects<br />

Ar. Jinisha Jain (Delhi)<br />

Ar. Chetan Raj Shrestha (Sikkim)<br />

Barun Roy (Darjeeling Hills)<br />

Pradip Ratna Tuladhar<br />

Hemant Kumar Shrestha<br />

Bansri Panday<br />

Ms. Hima Shrestha is the Director of Earthquake<br />

Engineering Research and Training EERT Division of NSET.<br />

She joined NSET in 2004 as a structural engineer. She<br />

has 20 years of work experience in this field (Structural<br />

engineering). Her main expertise is on earthquake risk<br />

assessment, mitigation and preparedness.<br />

Chief - Administration Anu Rajbansh<br />

Marketing Officer<br />

Debbie Rana Dangol<br />

Admin Officer<br />

Ashma Rauniyar<br />

Office Secretary/Subscription Pramila Shrestha<br />

Accounts<br />

Sunil Man Baniya<br />

Legal Advisor<br />

Yogendra Bhattarai<br />

She has a Masters degree in Structural Engineering<br />

from Institute of Engineering, Pulchowk, Nepal and<br />

a Bachelors degree in Civil Engineering from Punjab<br />

Engineering College, Chandigarh, India.<br />

Published by<br />

IMPRESSIONS Publishing Pvt.Ltd.<br />

Chakupat (near UN Park), Lalitpur<br />

GPO Box No. 7048, Kathmandu, Nepal<br />

Phone: 5260901, 5260902<br />

info@spacesnepal.com<br />

Sushovit Ranjitkar is fresh interior designer in<br />

town who has experience of nearly one and half dozen<br />

interior design projects: some of them completed and<br />

some of them still on-going. He gets his inspiration<br />

from straight lines which have been his key design<br />

element and he likes to use glass often in his design.<br />

A graduate from IEC College of Art and Fashion, he is<br />

currently working as Lecturer at the same college.<br />

Design/Layout &<br />

Processed at<br />

Digiscan Pre-press Pvt. Ltd.<br />

Distribution<br />

Kathmandu Kasthamandap Distributors<br />

Ph: 4247241<br />

Mid & West Nepal<br />

Allied Newspaper Distributor Pvt. Ltd.,<br />

Kathmandu Ph: 4261948 / 4419466<br />

Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Sanjana Limbu, The Digital Den<br />

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Advertising and Subscriptions<br />

Kathmandu<br />

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IMPRESSIONS Publishing Pvt.Ltd.<br />

Ph: 5260901, 5260902<br />

market@spacesnepal.com<br />

Kishore Shrestha, Hotel Kailash,<br />

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hotelkailash@wlink.com.np Itahari<br />

Naya Bazar, Dharan - 05<br />

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Cell: 9842054110<br />

Regd. No 30657/061-62 CDO No. 41<br />

SPACES is published twelve times a year at the address above. All rights are reserved in<br />

respect of articles, illustrations, photographs, etc. published in SPACES. The contents of<br />

this publication may not be reproduced in whole or in part in any form without the written<br />

consent of the publisher. The opinions expressed by contributors are not necessarily those<br />

of the publisher and the publisher cannot accept responsiblility for any errors or omissions.<br />

Those submitting manuscripts, photographs, artwork or other materials to SPACES for consideration should<br />

not send originals unless specifically requested to do so by SPACES in writing. Unsolicited manuscripts,<br />

photographs and other submitted material must be accompanied by a self addressed return envelope,<br />

postage prepaid. However, SPACES is not responsible for unsolicited submissions. All editorial inquiries and<br />

submissions to SPACES must be addressed to editor@spacesnepal.com or sent to the address mentioned<br />

above.<br />

Cover Photo:<br />

Architecture Galleries<br />

at Patan Museum<br />

© Ashesh Rajbansh<br />

facebook.com/spacesnepal<br />

twitter.com/spacesnepal<br />

12 / SPACESNEPAL.COM


june <strong>2014</strong> / 13


NEWS<br />

FURNEX NEPAL EXHiBITION <strong>2014</strong><br />

The exhibition will showcase designs and decorations<br />

of various furniture and furnishing houses. Similarly<br />

it will cater information regarding repair and<br />

maintenance, value of goods and materials. And,<br />

keeping in mind the increasing demand for furniture<br />

and furnishing for homes and offices, it will avail a<br />

single platform for buyers and sellers.<br />

Nepal Furniture and Furnishing<br />

Association (NFFA) are all<br />

geared up to raise the curtains<br />

of the 3rd Furnex Nepal<br />

Exhibitions that is scheduled<br />

to be held on 27 to 31 August<br />

at Bhrikuti Mandap Exhibition<br />

Hall. With the success of the<br />

1st and 2nd Furnex Nepal<br />

Exhibition, even the visitors,<br />

buyers, and businesses<br />

seem to be excited about the<br />

upcoming event.<br />

NFFA association was<br />

established in the year<br />

2056 B.S and is an umbrella<br />

organization of Furniture and<br />

Furnishing Manufacturers,<br />

Product importers,<br />

Distributors, Dealers and<br />

Professionals, bonded<br />

together for raising their<br />

voice and getting protection<br />

in compliance with the<br />

government acts. NFFA is a<br />

non-profit oriented and a nongovernmental<br />

organization<br />

that involves groups of<br />

renowned Furniture &<br />

Furnishing related business<br />

people of Nepal. It focuses<br />

on promoting Furniture<br />

& Furnishing products in<br />

urban as well as rural areas<br />

of Nepal. The association<br />

not only believes in public<br />

private partnership for<br />

assisting the government of<br />

Nepal in related objectives<br />

like National import/export,<br />

manufacture Policy but also<br />

believes in advocacy of<br />

users’ rights regarding the<br />

cases of warranty, guarantee,<br />

counterfeit, fraud issues of<br />

grey channel etc.<br />

Furnex Nepal Exhibition<br />

<strong>2014</strong> is bound to energize<br />

new expertise in furniture,<br />

furnishing and decoration<br />

businesses, brands and<br />

organizations featuring a<br />

prime, easily accessible<br />

location with a wide array of<br />

experts on services and onspot<br />

experience.<br />

Similarly it will avail an<br />

opportunity for local furniture<br />

manufacturers of Nepal<br />

to promote their product<br />

and service. According to<br />

NFFA there will be up to<br />

46 big stalls and 20 small<br />

sized stalls in the exhibition.<br />

The title sponsor for the<br />

event is Shaan Furniture,<br />

Status Group’s Polo and Yeti<br />

Carpet as main sponsors,<br />

Premier Insurance as the<br />

official insurance and Spaces<br />

Magazine as the official<br />

magazine. The Event is<br />

managed by Dr. CS Events,<br />

Pvt. Ltd.<br />

‘Kuch Bhi Ho<br />

Sakta Hai’<br />

Anupam Kher<br />

Live in Nepal<br />

The show avails an opportunity to the<br />

audience to experience Anupam Kher’s<br />

Journey to stardom, uncovering the<br />

hidden chapters from his book of life,<br />

stories of his resilience, heartbreaks,<br />

triumphs and how he turned every<br />

obstacle into a milestone during his 32<br />

years in acting career.<br />

Koseli School Nepal, is presenting one of<br />

the fabulous charity show of the year in<br />

Kathmandu, named as ‘Kuch Bhi Ho Sakta<br />

Hai with Anupam Kher’, a prominent Indian<br />

talk show that share Bollywood’s biggest<br />

celebrities stories of failure and success<br />

which is featured in Colors Chanel, a Hindi<br />

entertainment channel. Koseli School<br />

Nepal’s charity show is inviting one of the<br />

top Bollywood actor/director Anupam Kher<br />

in Nepal to entertain audiences in Nepal<br />

with his live act show and stories of his<br />

life. The Anupam Kher Show – Kuch Bhi<br />

Ho Sakta Hai is a <strong>2014</strong> Indian talk show<br />

hosted by Anupam Kher that features<br />

a new celebrity every week. The show<br />

is renowned to highlight inspirational<br />

stories of Bollywood celebrities, and is still<br />

achieving success since their first aired<br />

show with actor Shah Rukh Khan.<br />

Koseli is synonymous to ‘a Gift’ and the<br />

gift will definitely be life time memorabilia<br />

for the students of Koseli School who<br />

will get a chance to be educated by the<br />

prominent actor of India. Koseli School<br />

is a center for slum and street children<br />

situated in Kathmandu and are running<br />

under a registered NGO. This school is<br />

helping underprivileged children of Nepal<br />

who come to the city for better lives but<br />

due to poverty are often left to fence for<br />

their shelves in harsh conditions. These<br />

children come from the poorest area of the<br />

country and society and almost all of them<br />

end up living in miserable and unimaginable<br />

condition and their biggest need is survival<br />

through any means possible. Koseli School<br />

seeks to integrate the slum and street<br />

children into main stream society by<br />

providing them with a normal childhood<br />

and empowering them back to the society<br />

through education and skills. Currently the<br />

school has 120 students with requests<br />

for more admissions every day while<br />

seeking attention, education and need for<br />

care. Hence the event organized by Koseli<br />

School, and managed by WFS Events and<br />

Services will be a support to the students<br />

and can admit more underprivileged<br />

students as all the incomes from the event<br />

will be a beneficiary to the children admitted<br />

in Koseli School.<br />

The Charity show is being organized at<br />

Army Officer’s club on Friday, 22 August<br />

<strong>2014</strong> where throughout the play; the<br />

audience will get an opportunity to<br />

experience Anupam Kher’s Journey to<br />

stardom, uncovering the hidden chapters<br />

from his book of life, stories of his<br />

resilience, heartbreaks, triumphs and how<br />

he turned every obstacle into a milestone<br />

during his 32 years in acting career. The<br />

tickets are priced as NRs. 8,000- VIP<br />

tickets, NRs 5,000 – Golden tickets, NRs<br />

3,000 – Silver tickets and NRs 1,500 –<br />

Bronze tickets.<br />

14 / SPACESNEPAL.COM


NEWS<br />

Retro-fitting of School<br />

Buildings: An Imperative Need<br />

of Disaster Preparedness<br />

It is reported that 77 percent schools in the valley lack the safety measures in<br />

buildings for earthquake disaster. Hence there is an imperative need of disaster<br />

preparedness in vulnerable schools in Nepal.<br />

Schools in Nepal of the various regions<br />

are particularly exposed to different kinds<br />

of disasters. Disaster awareness and<br />

preparedness at the schools in Nepal is<br />

considered to be very low. School survey<br />

conducted in 1998-1999 shows that<br />

there are about 643 public schools and<br />

909 numbers of buildings. Out of 378<br />

schools surveyed, the study showcases<br />

that collapse grade is of 66 percent<br />

whereas 23 percent school buildings are<br />

in repairable condition and 11 percent<br />

schools are beyond repairable and are<br />

likely to face severe damages.<br />

But, at present there are more than<br />

32,000 public and private schools, and<br />

the challenge is to scale up the process<br />

of enhancing earthquake safety of<br />

schools for which institutionalization of<br />

the concept of School Earthquake Safety<br />

Program SESP is necessary.<br />

Schools are source of education and also<br />

a tool to make people aware about safety<br />

from hazards. Students, teachers, parents<br />

and the members of the management<br />

committee are the active agents who help<br />

widen the outreach of the earthquake<br />

safety measures. The earthquake<br />

resistant school building stands there<br />

as stimulator to change the current<br />

construction practice. School students<br />

are good conveyers of information from<br />

school to individual households. In this<br />

sense, school could be considered<br />

as ignition point to change traditional<br />

practices to seismically safer construction<br />

practice. Apart from its educational usage,<br />

schools are also used as community<br />

meeting places and emergency shelters<br />

during disasters.<br />

Despite the high risk of earthquakes,<br />

school construction in Nepal has largely<br />

ignored issues of structural safety and<br />

they are built very informally just like<br />

common residential buildings. Over 77<br />

percent of the valley’s public schools<br />

are likely to collapse if they were<br />

to experience intensity IX shaking.<br />

Estimated casualty figures for a scenario<br />

earthquake of MMI IX shaking during<br />

school hours in Kathmandu Valley are:<br />

29,000 deaths - including students,<br />

teachers and administrative staff (12<br />

percent), 43,000 seriously injured (18<br />

percent), total collapse of school buildings<br />

(66 percent), partial collapse (11 percent),<br />

and 23 percent buildings will suffer from<br />

minor to moderate damage.<br />

Nepal lies in high earthquake prone zone and<br />

promoting earthquake resistant construction<br />

can appreciably reduce the losses from<br />

the potential threat. Temasek Foundation, a<br />

Singapore based philanthropic organization<br />

that builds a more prosperous and connected<br />

Asia through developing human and social<br />

capital, is supporting training programs on<br />

various subjects like education and disaster<br />

response capability that promotes positive<br />

networks of cooperation in and across<br />

communities in Asia. Similarly Nanyang<br />

Technological University (NTU), a leading<br />

university, which has a vibrant research culture<br />

and has created a name internationally for<br />

its work in state of arts areas like advanced<br />

materials, biomedical engineering, clean<br />

energy and environment, computational<br />

biology, intelligent systems, and<br />

nanotechnology. As a result of joint project,<br />

retro-fitting of the building of Adarsha<br />

Azaad Higher Secondary School was made<br />

possible and the building was inaugurated<br />

recently. The delegates present in the<br />

inauguration ceremony were Mr. Gerald<br />

Yeo, the Director of Temasek Foundation,<br />

and Professor Lee Soo Ying of NTU, NSET<br />

staffs and faculties of Adarsha Azaad<br />

School.<br />

NSET, NTU and Temasek foundation<br />

had also provided construction<br />

supervision. During construction,<br />

the masons and technicians were<br />

provided with the hands-on training<br />

on earthquake resistant construction.<br />

Further the school teachers, students<br />

and the surrounding community<br />

were also oriented on earthquake<br />

safety. Emergency Response Plan<br />

of the school is developed including<br />

training of teachers, parents, children<br />

and the community for the drill to be<br />

performed based on the plan.<br />

NSET started providing on-the-job<br />

training and classroom lectures for the<br />

masons during the School Earthquake<br />

Safety Program (SESP) in 1999, it<br />

was observed that the mason training<br />

was very effective and the impact<br />

was remarkable with high replication<br />

potential. Mason training became<br />

the integral part of the school safety<br />

program. The masons trained during<br />

the program are now spreading the<br />

technology of earthquake-resistant<br />

construction in their communities<br />

and replicating the technology while<br />

constructing new buildings. They are also<br />

training other masons. Thus the process<br />

of replication is expected to create a<br />

multiplying effect in future to set a new<br />

technological culture in construction.<br />

june <strong>2014</strong> / 15


NEWS<br />

Spaces Magazine and NFFA Announce<br />

First Interior Design Competition<br />

IDC’s objectives are to uplift the scenario of forgotten richness of interior design<br />

in Nepal; to help create career opportunities in the market; and to encourage<br />

new generation to produce new innovative ideas and changes in designing<br />

concept with the changing lifestyle of these days.<br />

Spaces Magazine and Nepal Furniture<br />

and Furnishing Association (NFFA)<br />

has jointly announced the 1st Interior<br />

Design Competition (IDC) – <strong>2014</strong> on<br />

the occasion of Furnex Nepal Exhibition<br />

- <strong>2014</strong>, which is scheduled to be held<br />

on 27 to 31 August at Bhrikuti Mandap<br />

Exhibition Hall, Kathmandu. The IDC<br />

-<strong>2014</strong> is the first competition held in the<br />

yearly exhibition of Furnex for students<br />

of Interior designing background which<br />

was conceptualized and formulated by<br />

Spaces Magazine and NFFA after a long<br />

brainstorming session.<br />

Interior design comprises the<br />

arrangement of living spaces to<br />

accomplish greater functionality makes<br />

use of diverse aspects of other disciplines<br />

such as architecture, product design,<br />

environmental psychology, ergonomics<br />

and decoration. Spaces Magazine along<br />

with NFFA has sensed its significance and<br />

intends to promote interest in students<br />

for Interior designing careers.<br />

Approximately fifty students from various<br />

interior designing colleges and institutions<br />

will take part in the exhibition. IDC’s<br />

objectives are to uplift the scenario of<br />

forgotten richness of interior design in<br />

Nepal; to help create career opportunities<br />

in the market; and to encourage new<br />

generation to produce new innovative<br />

ideas and changes in designing concept<br />

with the changing lifestyle of these days.<br />

Spaces Magazine, as official magazine<br />

for the Furnex Nepal has prepared<br />

conscientiously to manage the upcoming<br />

Interior Design Competition during<br />

the exhibition. The Interior Design<br />

Competition (IDC) - <strong>2014</strong> scheme<br />

includes project on residential design<br />

with cultural inspiration in a contemporary<br />

arrangement while the concept includes<br />

Internal Space Utilization. The criteria is<br />

to prepare a 2D drawing that will include<br />

the assuming floor plan, zoning and<br />

partition layout, furniture layout plan, floor<br />

finish plan, reflected ceiling plan, cross<br />

section and furniture details. While<br />

the other criteria include a 3D layout<br />

by computer rendering or using any<br />

computer aided design software.<br />

After the total submission of these<br />

2D/3D illustrations, the jury panel<br />

will select the best ten projects<br />

before the exhibition commences.<br />

These ten models will be displayed<br />

during the Furnex Nepal Exhibition.<br />

Jury panel members include an<br />

architect, academician, interior<br />

designer, artist, and a home maker<br />

and will have 75 percent voting stake<br />

while the remaining 25 percent<br />

remains open for public voting. On<br />

the closing ceremony of Furnex<br />

Nepal Exhibition, three winners will<br />

be announced that comprises to 1st,<br />

2nd and 3rd positions. The winners<br />

will receive a trophy, certificate and<br />

a cash prize and an exposure to<br />

the market. Winners will be judged<br />

for suitability of the design to the<br />

project, originality of the design<br />

solution and the fine successful<br />

integration of interior finishes and<br />

furnishing.<br />

Lasting Protection for All<br />

New Multi-brand Paint Showroom in Bhaktapur<br />

Apurva International Pvt. Ltd., a company renowned for their<br />

multi-brand paint showroom and UPVC Roofing Sheet in<br />

Kathmandu, have recently opened a new multi brand showroom<br />

in Gatthaghar, Bhaktapur. The Managing Director (MD) of<br />

Apurva India Ltd, Mumbai Mr. Ashok Kumar Kate inaugurated<br />

the showroom on 6 <strong>July</strong> <strong>2014</strong>. Mr. A.K. Kate along with MD.<br />

Raju Gupta, Apurva International and team organized a two<br />

day workshop on Product Briefing and Presentation. Similarly<br />

a Workshop for Fabricators and painters was also organized.<br />

According to the company, the new multi-brand showroom<br />

offers varieties of paints for commercial, industrial and residential<br />

use and top brands like Sunrise’s brand product of UPVC<br />

Roofing Sheet, Asian Paints, Kansai Nerolac, Pashupati Paints,<br />

Lewis Berger Paints, and Dulux Paints and eminent brand from<br />

Akzonobel are presently on their product portfolio. The company<br />

also stated that on the occasion of the inauguration of the new<br />

showroom Rs 1,000 cash discount vouchers will also be offered<br />

to its customers for a year.<br />

16 / SPACESNEPAL.COM


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Email : nepalkitchen@wlink.com.np, Visit : www.kitchenconcepts.com.np<br />

june <strong>2014</strong> / 17


NEWS<br />

Completion of 155ft tall Repousse Statute of<br />

Guru Padmasambhava in Bhutan<br />

Guru Padmasambhava is believed to have meditated in a sacred cave of<br />

ancient Village of Pharping, the south of the Kathmandu Valley, and attained<br />

enlightenment. Presently as a homage, Bhutan has the tallest statue of Guru<br />

Padmasambhava and it was made possible with the art and craftsmanship of<br />

the Nepalese artists.<br />

Guru Padmasambhava is often referred<br />

to as the second Buddha in Bhutan<br />

where the official state religion is Drukpa<br />

Kagyu Buddhism. A great master of<br />

Buddhist Tantra, he is said to have<br />

emerged in Bhutan around eighth<br />

century and established the teachings<br />

of the Buddha all over the country. He<br />

is also credited in bringing Vajrayana to<br />

Tibet and Bhutan and he is<br />

revered today as one of the<br />

great patriarchs of Tibetan<br />

Buddhism and the founder<br />

of the Nyinmapa School.<br />

The project of the 155<br />

feet tall repousse statue<br />

of Guru Padmasambhava<br />

was assigned to Raj Kumar<br />

Shakya and his team.<br />

They were assigned to<br />

design and built the 155<br />

feet tall statue of Guru<br />

Padmasambhava in Takela,<br />

Eastern Bhutan. The<br />

intricate work on the copper<br />

repousse statue began<br />

on 20 June 2010 and after<br />

working diligently for three<br />

years and nine months, the<br />

statue was completed on<br />

20 March <strong>2014</strong>.<br />

As Nepal’s is renowned for its metal<br />

works and artifacts, the practice is<br />

believed to be very ancient as it traces<br />

far back to the 11 th century. This art has<br />

been practiced and passed down to<br />

generations and the historic monuments<br />

created by the generations of artists<br />

are strewn throughout Nepal and all<br />

over the world. Hence Nepalese artists<br />

were requested for the project in<br />

Bhutan whereby the project itself<br />

was a complex task undertaken by<br />

Raj Kumar Shakya and his team. The<br />

project started with many models and<br />

under the direction of Shakya, a total<br />

number of 57 people worked on the<br />

project. The concrete base that was<br />

constructed is 40 feet tall. In fact, the<br />

actual size of the copper repousse<br />

figure is 115 ft tall and the face alone<br />

measures 15 ft.<br />

To mark the successful completion of<br />

the 155 feet tall repousse statute of<br />

Guru Padmasambhava in Bhutan and to<br />

felicitate the involved artists, a program<br />

was carried out in Patan on 12 <strong>July</strong> <strong>2014</strong>.<br />

In the program, Mr.R.J. Shakya, Architect<br />

Anil Shakya and his team from Sumeru<br />

Art Village were honoured. Senior scholar<br />

and culture expert Mr.<br />

Satya Mohan Joshi and Ani<br />

Maya Shakya presented<br />

tokens of appreciation to<br />

all the team members<br />

who were involved in the<br />

project in Bhutan. The<br />

Event at Yala Maya Kendra<br />

was a kind of celebration<br />

of Nepal’s craftsmanship<br />

that will present a good<br />

and optimistic outlook from<br />

abroad. The contributions<br />

of Raj Kumar Shakya and<br />

team, Ar. Anil Shakya and<br />

Sumeru Art Village are<br />

greatly acknowledged.<br />

Apart from Nepal and<br />

Bhutan, Shakya’s work<br />

has also reached China,<br />

Germany, USA, Korea,<br />

France, India and Japan.<br />

18 / SPACESNEPAL.COM


june <strong>2014</strong> / 19


NEWS<br />

Amalgam <strong>2014</strong><br />

An Exhibition of Paintings and Prints<br />

Many paintings in the exhibition explore the unconsciousness as a source<br />

of inspiration. The visions were based on more personal experiences and<br />

thought process that have been evoked by the urban surroundings of<br />

Kathmandu where the artist’s works involve a lot of line-works which<br />

metamorph into different forms of human expressions that are composed<br />

with varying forms of patterns.<br />

In some point in our life we realize that<br />

every moment we experience teaches<br />

us something new about ourselves,<br />

our creativity, the society, the world<br />

around us, and the responsibilities<br />

we hold for every phase that pass<br />

us by. It’s absurd sometimes we feel<br />

in course of events that takes an<br />

unexpected turn and stamp its mark<br />

permanently in us; more often we<br />

find it challenging while dealing with it<br />

optimistically and artistically, but in the<br />

end, it definitely turns to be rewarding.<br />

Everything around us is bound to<br />

change and accepting and coping<br />

with changes is an art itself. Life is<br />

always about changes and choices.<br />

Though some choices are out of our<br />

control, whatever the choice we may<br />

have that eventually shapes our days,<br />

shapes our experiences, shapes our<br />

views, shapes our thoughts and thus<br />

transforms our lives and the people around<br />

us completely. If we could adapt the<br />

changes in life positively then there is no<br />

doubt that it adds courage to our thought<br />

patterns and only then we would have<br />

a chance for ourselves to blossom and<br />

progress meaningfully. ‘Amalgam- <strong>2014</strong>’,<br />

the exhibition of paintings and prints by<br />

26 Nepali artists, proved to shape the<br />

perception of the visitors in an inspirational<br />

and constructive way. As art in itself should<br />

never be taken in a competitive way,<br />

where you have to excel in all fields or<br />

expects to be perfect but rather focusing<br />

on simpler things can sometimes matter<br />

the most.<br />

Another artist finds inspiration in his<br />

heritage, social and political roots and is a<br />

direct reflection of his cultural background<br />

such as costumes, rituals, myths and<br />

aesthetics. Most of these arts displayed<br />

show the contemporary reflection of<br />

the artist’s personal, socio-cultural and<br />

political surroundings influenced by<br />

the progression into urban life and the<br />

merger of ancient traditional times with<br />

the new and contemporary one. Other<br />

works of art illustrate the awareness<br />

of climate change, using the medium<br />

of art to link to the community. Many<br />

of the displayed works in the exhibition<br />

are deeply inspired by the culture and<br />

tradition of our country and some are<br />

based on socio-political issues that<br />

address the current situation of Nepal<br />

through the use of distinct characters<br />

and icons which are imbued with a<br />

sense of humorous and satire while<br />

others display the inner state of the<br />

human mind that deals with the direct<br />

and indirect social and cultural impact on<br />

the human psyche.<br />

Amalgam – <strong>2014</strong> was successful with<br />

the group effort of 26 Nepali artists,<br />

whose paintings and prints were<br />

displayed vividly at Siddhartha Art<br />

Gallery from 27 June to 28 <strong>July</strong> <strong>2014</strong>.<br />

These 26 artists include Aditya Aryal,<br />

Arjun Bhandari, Arjun Khaling ,Hitman<br />

Gurung, Jasmine Rajbhandari Pant,<br />

Rajan Pant, Kailash K Shrestha, Lavkant<br />

Chudhary, Mukesh Shrestha, Mekh<br />

Limbu, Muna Badel, Manish Harijan,<br />

Narayan Prasad Bohaju, Prabin Shrestha,<br />

Prithvi Shrestha , Ram Maharjan,<br />

Sagar Manandhar, Saurganga<br />

Darshandhari, Sanjeev Maharjan,<br />

Sheelasha Rajbhandari,<br />

Shraddha Shrestha, Sudeep<br />

Balla, Sunil Sigdel, Surendra<br />

Maharjan, Sushma Shakya, and<br />

Suvas Tamang. The art exhibition<br />

‘Amalgam’ was inaugurated by<br />

His Excellency. Mr. Ranjit Rae,<br />

the Ambassador of India to<br />

Nepal After the inauguration he<br />

stated that he was incredibly<br />

impressed by the work of the<br />

artist and he congratulated the<br />

artists individually.<br />

During the month long<br />

exhibition, Siddhartha Art<br />

Gallery also hosted a series of<br />

talks titled ‘Amalgam Art Talk<br />

Series’ every Sundays. In the<br />

talks, different issues related<br />

with the challenges of arts and<br />

artists were addressed and<br />

discussed on.<br />

20 / SPACESNEPAL.COM


june <strong>2014</strong> / 21


Architecture<br />

Mercantile Plaza<br />

text Drishti Manandhar<br />

photo A. Rajbansh<br />

This complex conveys the story of a successful transition<br />

of a residential complex into a modern commercial centre.<br />

A modern picturesque that stands on its old glory with all<br />

its splendor and subtlety!<br />

Durbar Marg, also<br />

known as King’s<br />

way (leading to<br />

Narayanhiti Palace) is<br />

situated at the heart<br />

of Kathmandu City.<br />

It is one of the most<br />

famous and posh area<br />

of Kathmandu with<br />

luxury hotels, restaurants<br />

serving international<br />

cuisines, fine<br />

boutiques, galleries,<br />

travel agencies and<br />

airline offices.<br />

And when it came to<br />

re-designing the existing<br />

Mercantile Plaza,<br />

situated at Durbar<br />

Marg the designers<br />

opted for an elegant<br />

and a contemporary<br />

composition of glass<br />

and aluminum panels.<br />

This building, which<br />

now accommodates<br />

almost a dozen of<br />

high-end stores and<br />

a roof top restaurant<br />

Mezze, is one of the<br />

most popular hubs<br />

in the capital. The<br />

Mercantile Building<br />

has been a one sure<br />

shot destination for<br />

the shopping mongers<br />

as well as the foodies<br />

of the valley.<br />

22 / SPACESNEPAL.COM


Architecture<br />

june <strong>2014</strong> / 23


Architecture<br />

complex was to keep the courtyard concept<br />

intact,” said Rupak Maharjan of Decor<br />

and Design,“resulting in a central atrium<br />

that guides the planning of the whole<br />

space.” The central core of the complex<br />

has regulated in the overall planning of<br />

the complex. Shops are carefully planned<br />

alongside the well-lighted atrium that<br />

gives you an essence of guided openness<br />

generously exposing lights in the interiors.<br />

One can view the entire complex from the<br />

atrium itself. And this is definitely of the<br />

highlights of this plaza.<br />

Architecture<br />

Although this building was reconstructed<br />

over the existing building, special considerations<br />

for the retrofitting of the structure<br />

were taken. Previously, it was a one storied<br />

residential building built with a concept of<br />

an inward looking courtyard. There were<br />

two complexes sharing the common<br />

courtyard. “The main concept behind the<br />

The side elevation is a sensitively wrought<br />

composition of grey aluminium panels<br />

and glass entirely facing the street. The<br />

complex is divided into two parts by the<br />

atrium. The anterior part of the atrium<br />

being the street side, which is two storied<br />

with 12’ floor height and the posterior<br />

part which is three storied with 8’ floor<br />

height. Hence the front façade manages<br />

to conceal the spatial consideration of the<br />

complex.<br />

The complex is largely solid on the street<br />

side with glass walls used for displaying<br />

various products and their hoarding<br />

boards. Strategic openings are provided<br />

at the southern face in order to admit daylight<br />

to the complex. Integration of pergolas<br />

on the front façade gives the complex<br />

a powerful sense of restraint.<br />

24 / SPACESNEPAL.COM


Architecture<br />

june <strong>2014</strong> / 25


Architecture<br />

26 / SPACESNEPAL.COM


Architecture<br />

Interiors<br />

The entrance lobby opens up to<br />

the airy atrium spacewith a large<br />

metal staircase extending unto the<br />

top floor, an elegant configuration<br />

of lines and shapes that is complemented<br />

by a larger than life artistic<br />

lampshade. The amalgamation of<br />

metal and glass evidently brings out<br />

the serene character of the place.<br />

According to the designers, “The<br />

main reason behind using materials<br />

like metal, glass and ACP panels in<br />

the exterior was to give it a contemporary<br />

character.”<br />

All the interior walls are painted<br />

white, and these walls along with<br />

the expanses of glasses give a<br />

character to its interior spaces. The<br />

partially higher floor levels make the<br />

complex interpret as two instead<br />

of three stories high. The planning<br />

of the shops around the atrium<br />

space makes navigation easier and<br />

effective. The atrium space has resulted<br />

in various pockets like spaces<br />

between the shops encouraging<br />

gatherings and interaction.<br />

Hence, the major concern of the design<br />

was how to merge the existing<br />

circumstances and get a transitional<br />

connection with the functions that<br />

were proposed.The outlets of brands<br />

like Nike, Polo, Pocket, No Exit,<br />

Roadhouse Café and many other<br />

names speak for the effective rendition<br />

of this building. This complex<br />

conveys the story of a successful<br />

transition of a residential complex<br />

into a modern commercial centre. A<br />

modern picturesque that stands on<br />

its old glory with all its splendor and<br />

subtlety!<br />

june <strong>2014</strong> / 27


28 / SPACESNEPAL.COM


june <strong>2014</strong> / 29


Architecture<br />

30 / SPACESNEPAL.COM


Architecture<br />

RELICS<br />

HISTORY<br />

ARE HEARD<br />

IS SEEN<br />

The display of rare and historical surviving<br />

artifacts at the Architectural Galleries of Patan<br />

Mueseum gives Kathmandu a new sense of<br />

appreciation for its history.<br />

june <strong>2014</strong> / 31


Architecture<br />

You might have been to Patan Durbar<br />

Square for a number of times, but it’s not<br />

the whole what you have seen. You see<br />

what is, but you have to hear to get into<br />

the composite whole of it. As an effort<br />

to make the square heard more and to<br />

enliven the history, Architecture Gallery, as<br />

an extension of Patan Musuem, has been<br />

established. And now it is open to all.<br />

Like in many other sites, Patan Durbar was<br />

devastated massively by the earthquake<br />

of 1934. Whatever the monuments<br />

the resources and skills of the time<br />

made possible were restored after the<br />

earthquake but some of them were not<br />

restored adequately - and many are yet to<br />

be restored.<br />

Rohit K Ranjitkar, The Country Director of<br />

The Kathmandu Valley Preservation Trust<br />

(KVPT ) says, “Shrine of Taleju, for example,<br />

seems to have been slightly taller and<br />

another shrine called ‘Bhai Dega’ was the<br />

biggest one in the premises. There were<br />

other three shrines made of stone, and<br />

they are not in scene at present.”<br />

32 / SPACESNEPAL.COM


Architecture<br />

Vidhyapeeth Room at Mulchowk<br />

Mr Ranjitkar took an initiation to open a room called Vidhyapith at Mulchowk which<br />

was closed for about 90 years. It is believed to have been a tantric room, and any<br />

entrance to the room without proper ritual performance is supposed to be harmful.<br />

Having no idea about the proper rituals, no one had taken an initiation to enter the<br />

room after the overseeing priest left his duties years before.<br />

He had entered the room with a team of 7/8 people. They were surprised to see a<br />

very thick layer of dust and a few idols and uniquely carved altars. Vidyapith, one<br />

of the esoteric shrine rooms of the former palace, contains uniquely carved three<br />

altars: complete with an architectural framing of base, colonnettes, roof-molding and<br />

tympanum. The large cabinet has nine niches which likely housed the Navadurga<br />

deities. And two smaller cabinets have four divisions portioned by colonnettes which<br />

might have housed other subsidiary deities.<br />

june <strong>2014</strong> / 33


Architecture<br />

34 / SPACESNEPAL.COM


Architecture<br />

‘THE FIRST AND<br />

THE ONLY ONE<br />

ARCHITECTURE<br />

GALLERY IN NEPAL’<br />

Rohit K Ranjitkar, The Country<br />

Director of KVPT<br />

How KVPT initiated the establishment of the Architectural<br />

Galleries?<br />

The monuments started falling and decaying with the smack<br />

of the great earthquake of 1934. It is obvious that the rescue<br />

of living beings is given the first priority in the time of<br />

crisis and the arts and heritages are left out-of-the-way. The<br />

devastated major monuments were hastily reconstructed<br />

during a period of material scarcity after the earthquake,<br />

leaving many buildings in a fragile condition.<br />

KVPT, in association with The Department of<br />

Archaeology of The Government of Nepal, has been<br />

working to safeguard the historic architecture of the<br />

Kathmandu Valley. Over the past two decades KVPT<br />

has restored over 50 buildings throughout the valley<br />

including palaces, temples, monasteries, and homes.<br />

Since 2006 KVPT has been working primarily on<br />

the complete restoration and adaptive re-use of the<br />

historical palace complex adjacent to Patan Durbar<br />

square. A number of organizations and individuals<br />

including The Department of Archaeology of The<br />

Government of Nepal, US Ambassadors Fund for<br />

Cultural Preservation, The Government of The Federal<br />

Republic of Germany, Prince Claus Fund for Culture<br />

And Development, The Prince’s Charities, Sumitomo<br />

Foundation, Nepal Investment Bank, Lamu Amatya,<br />

Ludwig Kuttner & Beatrix Ost, Prithivi B. Pande &<br />

Pratima Pande, University of Applied Arts in Vienna have<br />

supported to make the restoration project a success.<br />

Patan Palace Restoration Project is KVPT’s largest<br />

program of works to date, encompassing the<br />

restoration and conservation of 2 major palace<br />

courtyards, 3 tiered temples, 2 Shah-period public<br />

buildings, a water tank, a step-well, a rest-house, and<br />

a large urban garden. The oldest inscription in the<br />

area dates back to a Licchavi monastery from the 8th<br />

century, but most of the existing structures were built<br />

by the Malla kings in the 17th century. The palace was<br />

abandoned by royalty in 1769 when the Shah dynasty<br />

captured the Malla kingdoms and shifted the seat of<br />

power to Kathmandu.<br />

Over the course of the 20th century the monuments of<br />

the Patan Palace were encroached by various government<br />

offices for other purposes leaving it suffer from neglect and<br />

decay. Sundari Chowk, for example, housed police station<br />

at the time when a documentation project started in 1993.<br />

Similarly, the negative impact of today’s development<br />

pressures has been another threat for the monuments in<br />

this square. With the mission of safeguarding the threatened<br />

architectural heritage, KVPT launched The Patan Palace<br />

Restoration Project. Though the Architecture Gallery was<br />

not in original plan, with an objective of preserving the<br />

monuments and making the palace self sustaining, we<br />

established architecture gallery. This is the first and the only<br />

one architecture gallery in Nepal.<br />

How far is the dream to come true?<br />

Besides the complete restoration of the Patan durbar<br />

complex, the gallery is under development and there are a<br />

lot of things to do. We are focused on the elements of the<br />

architecture like tundals and pillars and we have been able to<br />

exhibit only a few things. We have only been able to give the<br />

captions but the sub captions for individual exhibit are yet to<br />

be given.<br />

Now we are working on the north wing. We are thinking<br />

about the possibility of establishing a proper audio-visual<br />

exhibition area with an objective of contributing for the<br />

proper documentation and archiving. We have not been<br />

able to make the proper use of the rooms at Mulchowk yet.<br />

We are thinking of allocating a space for the temporary<br />

exhibition of rescued monuments, too. Mulchowk Gallery<br />

exhibits objects whereas we are planning to make Sundari<br />

Chowk, which is under restoration, a gallery of drawings and<br />

facsimiles of historic paintings.<br />

Your dream as a conservation architect?<br />

Nepal’s identity is its architecture. There is only ours<br />

in our architecture; our architecture is originally ours. I<br />

wish all the monuments were preserved - It can be one<br />

of the main resources for our prosperity. There seems<br />

to be a misconception about the monuments: only the<br />

temples, palaces and idol are not monuments; surrounding<br />

atmosphere including private houses are also monuments.<br />

It should be taken as a composite whole and, thus, the<br />

development or other construction should go well with<br />

the surrounding atmosphere of the space. I wish the<br />

owners of the private house as well would step ahead for<br />

the preservation of monuments. May every individual be<br />

conscious of its importance and start preserving monuments<br />

right from individual level!<br />

june <strong>2014</strong> / 35


Architecture<br />

Window of the House of Gayahbajya<br />

According to Ranjitkar, Gayahbajya’s window is one<br />

of the most valuable assets the gallery showcases.<br />

This small carved window from a historic house<br />

of Sulima Square dates to the 10-11th centuries<br />

according to its radio-carbon analysis, making it<br />

oldest yet found in Nepal. The window was rescued<br />

during the repair project when it was replaced by<br />

a modern window. The window is made of Sal<br />

(Shorea Robusta) wood. A large multi-bayed window<br />

framed by two smaller ones is perhaps the most<br />

characteristic motif of Nepali façades.<br />

Aside from its age and artistic qualities, this window<br />

figures prominently in local history as a piece of<br />

the house of Gayahbajya, a tantric priest who was<br />

famous in the 17th century for his tantric powers<br />

including the ability to bring dead back to life. The<br />

legends say Gayahbajya’s spirit is maintained until<br />

today in the ground floor of this house and can’t be<br />

opened without threat of major calamity.<br />

Architecture Galleries<br />

The interior of the first floor of Mulchowk<br />

(main courtyard originally established<br />

by Srinivasha Malla in 1666) houses<br />

Architecture Galleries. As you enter<br />

you will be amazed to see the rare<br />

and historical artifacts survived from<br />

the neglect, misuse and inadequate<br />

restoration for ages. While observing<br />

the exhibits your despair, if any, effaces<br />

and you feel pride for the extraordinary<br />

legends, arts and architecture you own,<br />

your county owns. A sense of new hope<br />

36 / SPACESNEPAL.COM


Architecture<br />

and appreciation occupies your mind<br />

while observing the efforts made to<br />

conserve the endangered artifacts and<br />

to enliven the history.<br />

The galleries showcase historical<br />

windows, columns, struts, tympana,<br />

and other artifacts which are displayed<br />

in a typological order accompanied by<br />

drawings and captions. The Vidhyapith,<br />

an esoteric shrine dating to the<br />

17th century and a rare example of<br />

Malla-period interior architecture can<br />

be accessed through the galleries.<br />

Window of the House of Gayahbajya<br />

that dates back to 10-11th century and<br />

uniquely carved altars of the Vidhyapith<br />

room, amongst other, are the valuable<br />

treasures in the galleries.<br />

The artifacts themselves are enough<br />

to tell you about the aesthetics and<br />

the course of time they suffered for.<br />

Moreover, the aptly placed captions<br />

based on extensive research and<br />

authentic sources are enough to<br />

quench your immediate curiosity<br />

and to generate new passions for<br />

arts and history.<br />

The gallery at the Mulchowk<br />

suffices you for this time and<br />

Sundari Chowk Gallery, which is<br />

currently under restoration, invites<br />

you for the next time.<br />

june <strong>2014</strong> / 37


Architecture<br />

Earthquake<br />

Risk Reduction and<br />

Preparedness in Nepal<br />

text Ms. Hima Shrestha<br />

An earthquake does not cause death or injury by itself. People are<br />

hurt by falling objects and collapsing walls. Collapsing buildings<br />

and vibrations can cause short circuits and electric fires. Lighted<br />

gas or stoves may also cause fires. All this leads to panic and<br />

confusion. With precaution it is possible to avoid such confusion.<br />

Introduction<br />

Disasters disrupt hundreds of thousands<br />

of lives every year which has lasting effects,<br />

both to people and property. Most<br />

of the losses of lives in past earthquakes<br />

have occurred due to the collapse of<br />

buildings. Those buildings are generally<br />

non-engineered which are constructed<br />

informally in the traditional manner without<br />

any or little intervention by engineers<br />

or built without following building standard.<br />

The safety of the non-engineered<br />

buildings from the fury of earthquakes<br />

is a subject of highest priority in view of<br />

the fact that in the moderate to severe<br />

seismic zones of the world more than<br />

90 percent of the population is still living<br />

and working in such buildings, and that<br />

most losses of lives during earthquakes<br />

have occurred due to their collapse. The<br />

risk to life is further increasing due to rising<br />

population particularly in the developing<br />

countries.<br />

On average about 1,000 earthquakes<br />

with intensities of 5.0 or greater are<br />

recorded each year. Great earthquakes<br />

(intensity 8.0 or higher) occur once<br />

a year. Damage and loss of life sustained<br />

during an earthquake result from<br />

falling structures and flying glass and<br />

objects. Hence every individual should<br />

be involved in disaster risk reduction activities<br />

to mitigate human and property<br />

loss. The effort should be made at right<br />

time well before disaster strikes so that<br />

we can save life and property considerably<br />

which is well proven by two recent<br />

earthquakes in Haiti and Chile.<br />

Damage due to Recent<br />

Earthquakes<br />

The information on the behavior of nonengineered<br />

or substandard designed<br />

existing structures under seismic loads<br />

has been further emphasized by the catastrophic<br />

effects of recent earthquake<br />

events (Turkey 1999, India 2001, Iran<br />

2003, Pakistan 2005,China 2008, Haiti<br />

2010).The recent event in Haiti reminds<br />

us about the colossal death and destruction<br />

that earthquakes can bring to a<br />

community which lagged behind in its<br />

preparations to avert the likely disaster.<br />

The January 12, 2010 earthquake in<br />

Haiti caused a massive loss of life and<br />

a great number of injuries occurred.<br />

According to official estimates, 222,570<br />

people killed, 300,000 injured, 1.3 million<br />

displaced, 97,294 houses destroyed<br />

and 188,383 damaged in the Port-au-<br />

Prince area and in much of southern<br />

Haiti. Most of Port-au-Prince’s major<br />

landmarks were significantly damaged<br />

or destroyed in the earthquake, including<br />

the Presidential Palace, the National<br />

Assembly building, the Port-au-Prince<br />

Cathedral, and the main jail. It measured<br />

<strong>7.</strong>0 in magnitude.<br />

On the afternoon of May 12, 2008, a<br />

<strong>7.</strong>9-magnitude earthquake hit Sichuan<br />

Province, a mountainous region in<br />

Western China, killing about 70,000<br />

people and leaving over 18,000 missing.<br />

Many school buildings collapsed killing<br />

more than 5300 students. Almost 7,000<br />

classrooms crumbled because of slipshod<br />

construction methods or because<br />

building codes were ignored.<br />

A powerful <strong>7.</strong>6 magnitude earthquake<br />

struck in Pakistan-administered Kashmir<br />

known as Azad Kashmir, near the city of<br />

38 / SPACESNEPAL.COM


Architecture<br />

Muzaffarabad, affecting Gilgit-Baltistan<br />

and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province<br />

of Pakistan. It occurred at 08:52:37<br />

Pakistan Standard Time (03:52:37 UTC)<br />

on 8 October 2005. This destructive<br />

earthquake followed with more than 140<br />

aftershocks, causing extensive damage<br />

in Pakistan, India and Afghanistan.<br />

Reports indicate more than 82,000<br />

people have been killed, and more than<br />

3.3 million people have been left injured<br />

or homeless with more than 1,000 hospitals<br />

destroyed. Extensive damage occurred<br />

in northern Pakistan. The heaviest<br />

damage occurred in the Muzaffarabad<br />

area, Kashmir where entire villages were<br />

destroyed.<br />

Impact of earthquake and<br />

preparedness (An example<br />

of Haiti and Chile)<br />

In the first two months of the year 2010<br />

the world experienced two devastating<br />

earthquakes: one in Haiti and one in<br />

Chile, letting a comparison between the<br />

two incidents. The magnitude <strong>7.</strong>0 quake<br />

centered right near the Haitian capital<br />

swept through several urban areas leveling<br />

nearly everything. Communications<br />

were completely knocked out. Even the<br />

National Palace was destroyed, leaving<br />

the prime minister in the same dire<br />

straits as other citizens. In contrast, the<br />

magnitude 8.8 quake in Chile a month<br />

later caused considerably less damage<br />

and loss of life, with death tolls under<br />

a thousand rather than over 200,000<br />

as in Haiti. What allowed Chile to be so<br />

prepared when Haiti was clearly not?<br />

One reason Chile was less damaged<br />

was the location of the actual quake.<br />

The Chilean earthquake, while over 500<br />

times stronger than the one in Haiti, was<br />

about twice as deep and four miles offshore<br />

rather than onshore. It was even<br />

further from the nearest urban area,<br />

Concepción, about 70 miles from the<br />

epicenter, while Port-Au-Prince is located<br />

less than 20 miles from the epicenter in<br />

Haiti. Beyond the actual shaking caused<br />

by the quakes, however, Chile was<br />

better prepared overall to endure high<br />

magnitude seismic activity. This is due<br />

to an organized government and building<br />

regulations, which Haiti has historically<br />

lacked.<br />

Similarly the recent more violent<br />

earthquakes in developed cities like<br />

Christchurch (February 2011 Christchurch<br />

earthquake) and Japan (March 2011<br />

Japan earthquake) clearly demonstrated<br />

that preparedness makes a lot of difference.<br />

Had it occurred in developing<br />

country like Nepal, it would have claimed<br />

massive number of dead and significant<br />

loss. Magnitude 6.3 earthquake<br />

of Feb 2011 Christchurch earthquake<br />

resulted in peak ground acceleration<br />

exceeding 1.8g with highest recording<br />

2.2g at Heathcote Valley Primary<br />

School, a shaking intensity equivalent<br />

to MM X+. A PGA is one of the greatest<br />

ever recorded in the world. This<br />

PGA was greater than many modern<br />

buildings were designed to withstand.<br />

The acceleration experienced would<br />

“totally flatten” most world cities causing<br />

massive loss of life; in Christchurch<br />

New Zealand’s stringent building codes<br />

limited the damage causing only about<br />

180 dead. Similarly, a 9 magnitude<br />

mega thrust earthquake, off the coast<br />

of Japan that occurred on 11th march<br />

2011, triggered extremely destructive<br />

tsunami waves up to 10 m and travelling<br />

up to 10m inland destructing many<br />

buildings. The buildings in tsunami hit<br />

areas sustained severe ground shaking<br />

due to earthquake but were destroyed<br />

later by massive tsunami which was<br />

beyond imagination of the nation.<br />

Seismicity of Nepal<br />

Nepal is situated along southern slope<br />

of Himalayan mountain range, which<br />

is susceptible to great earthquakes.<br />

There is a record of many large earthquakes<br />

that have occurred in the past.<br />

Kathmandu has suffered damage due to<br />

earthquakes several times since 1833.<br />

june <strong>2014</strong> / 39


Architecture<br />

The assessment of Seismic Hazard<br />

of Kathmandu valley done by UNDP /<br />

UNCHS, 1994 and Nippon Koei and Oyo,<br />

2001, identifies several faults in the<br />

Kathmandu Valley. Different fault models<br />

are liable to produce earthquakes of<br />

intensity IX in many parts of the country.<br />

It is pointed out that there is a high possibility<br />

that a huge earthquake will occur<br />

around the Himalayan region based on<br />

the difference between energy accumulation<br />

in this region and historic earthquake<br />

occurrence (“Himalayan Seismic<br />

Hazard” by R. Blham, V.K. Gaur and P.<br />

Molnar).<br />

Various earthquake zoning studies assign<br />

Kathmandu Valley peak ground accelerations<br />

ranging from 0.3g to 0.45g,<br />

which corresponding to a Modified<br />

Mercalli Intensity MMI = VII – X. From<br />

the Munich Re Group database it can<br />

be concluded that MMI IX is the maximum<br />

intensity that can be expected on<br />

Kathmandu Valley fluvio-lacustrine deposits<br />

and MMI VII should be assumed<br />

on bedrock surrounding the Kathmandu<br />

metropolitan area.<br />

Seismic Risk of Nepal<br />

Earthquake scenario for Nepal poses<br />

grave concern as most of the buildings<br />

are unsafe in the urban areas of Nepal.<br />

The main factors creating this situation<br />

are lack of knowledge, awareness and<br />

technology dissemination mechanism.<br />

Kathmandu Valley Earthquake Risk<br />

Management Project (KVERMP), implemented<br />

by NSET, has shown that there<br />

is possibility of 60 percent damage to<br />

total building stock of Kathmandu Valley<br />

if there would be the repetition of 1934<br />

earthquake again. Scenario is not different<br />

for buildings constructed of modern<br />

material and system. The tendency of<br />

neglecting in the construction practice,<br />

minimum seismic design recommendations<br />

provided by codes and guidelines,<br />

dramatically increases the percentage of<br />

high vulnerable structures within the existing<br />

stock. These vulnerable buildings<br />

in high seismic hazard have created significant<br />

risk. Hence majority of Nepalese<br />

population is under high seismic risk.<br />

Seismic Risk Reduction<br />

Strategies<br />

From the safety view point , the safety<br />

of human lives is the primary concern<br />

and the functioning of the buildings<br />

has lower priority except the buildings<br />

required for community activities such<br />

as schools, assembly halls, cinema halls<br />

etc. and those required for the emergency,<br />

such as hospitals, telephone and<br />

telegraph, fire fighting. Structural safety<br />

can be achieved by adopting appropriate<br />

design and construction details involving<br />

only small extra expenditure which<br />

should be within the economic means<br />

of people in most countries. These rules<br />

will not prevent all damage in moderate<br />

or large earthquakes, but life threatening<br />

collapses should be prevented and damage<br />

limited to repairable proportions.<br />

Experience from recent earthquake has<br />

demonstrated that structures which are<br />

properly designed and constructed are<br />

able to withstand severe earthquake<br />

without collapse. However, these<br />

same earthquakes have shown that old<br />

buildings as well as buildings of recent<br />

construction can be seriously damaged<br />

or can collapse causing loss of life to<br />

the occupants. Studies of the structural<br />

performance during these recent earthquakes<br />

have clearly demonstrated that<br />

structural system must have sufficient<br />

ductility, or the ability to maintain their<br />

integrity when stressed beyond their<br />

yield point in order to protect human life.<br />

Seismic risk can be significantly reduced<br />

by the following actions that are also<br />

considered as strategy for earthquake<br />

risk reduction.<br />

1) Do not increase the risk:<br />

2) Decrease existing risk:<br />

3) Prepare for possible consequences<br />

Do not increase the risk<br />

We can avoid increased risk by constructing<br />

buildings and non building<br />

structures seismic safe. Use of codes<br />

and guidelines helps to protect public<br />

health, safety and general welfare.<br />

Standard norms shall be followed to<br />

all types of structures. Nepal National<br />

Building Code is to be enforced practically<br />

to virtually reduce the seismic risk.<br />

Further, the following things should be<br />

kept into consideration when building<br />

new structures.<br />

The factors that pose less vulnerability<br />

to the building during earthquake shaking<br />

are listed below:<br />

- Building should be regular in plan,<br />

elevation and structural system<br />

- Building should have sufficient<br />

redundancy<br />

- Demand Capacity Ratio (DCR) of<br />

each structural elements as well as<br />

the whole structure should be less<br />

than 1<br />

- The building shall contain one complete<br />

load path<br />

- Building shall have no damage and<br />

deterioration of structural elements<br />

and materials itself<br />

- There shall be no hammering between<br />

adjacent buildings<br />

- There shall be no diaphragm<br />

discontinuity<br />

- Structural elements and the building<br />

shall not be slender<br />

- There shall be proper connection<br />

between each structural elements<br />

and between structural and nonstructural<br />

elements<br />

- Building shall have sufficient ductility<br />

- Building shall have sufficient<br />

strength<br />

40 / SPACESNEPAL.COM


Architecture<br />

- Building should not be situated on<br />

liquefaction susceptible soil, steep<br />

and rock fall areas, fault rupture<br />

surfaces and soil filled areas<br />

- Non-structural elements should be<br />

restraint properly<br />

The key factor to survive the building is<br />

symmetry, ductility and redundancy.<br />

Decrease Existing Risk<br />

The main seismic vulnerability is due<br />

to the present building stock. Hence<br />

reducing the heightened risk is a main<br />

challenging task and is utmost important<br />

at the present context of Nepal.<br />

Various alternatives have been developed<br />

for retrofitting of the buildings.<br />

Retrofit strategy refers to any option<br />

of increasing the strength, stiffness<br />

and ductility of the members or of the<br />

whole building. The possible intervention<br />

options need to be selected based on<br />

the building typology and the expected<br />

performance of the building after retrofitting.<br />

Following considerations ought to<br />

be additionally made while selecting<br />

probable intervention options:<br />

(i). Requirements to complies to the<br />

Building Code for design, materials<br />

and construction<br />

(ii). Compatibility of the solution with<br />

the functional requirements of the<br />

structure<br />

(iii). Possible cost implication<br />

(iv). Indirect cost of retrofitting such as<br />

relocation cost<br />

(v). Availability of construction technique<br />

(materials, equipments and workmanship)<br />

in construction industry<br />

(vi). Enhancement of the safety of the<br />

building after intervention of the<br />

selected option<br />

(vii). Aesthetic view of the building<br />

Once these considerations are made,<br />

different options of modifying the building<br />

to reduce the risk of damage should be<br />

studied. The corrective measures include<br />

stiffening or strengthening the structure,<br />

adding local elements to eliminate irregularities<br />

or tie the structure together,<br />

reducing the demand on the structure<br />

through the use of seismic isolation or<br />

energy dissipation devices, and reducing<br />

the height or mass of the structure.<br />

Prepare for Possible<br />

consequences<br />

Preparedness can reduce the impact<br />

of disaster and sometimes avoid the<br />

danger completely. The citizens should<br />

learn how to protect themselves<br />

and their families against all types of<br />

hazards. Various manuals are available<br />

on this issue. The focus is on how to<br />

develop, practice, and maintain emergency<br />

plans that reflect what must be<br />

done before, during, and after a disaster<br />

to protect people and their property.<br />

Also included is information on how to<br />

assemble a disaster supplies kit that<br />

contains the food, water, and other supplies<br />

in sufficient quantity for individuals<br />

and their families to survive following a<br />

disaster in the event they must rely on<br />

their own resources.<br />

Preparation before an<br />

Earthquake Strikes<br />

Prepare your family by creating a family<br />

disaster plan. You can begin this process<br />

by gathering family members and<br />

reviewing the information such as hazards,<br />

evacuation routes and community<br />

and other plans) and discussing with<br />

them what you would do. Additionally,<br />

your family plan should address the<br />

following:<br />

• Escape routes.<br />

• Family communications.<br />

• Utility shut-off and safety.<br />

• Vital records.<br />

• Special needs.<br />

• Caring for animals.<br />

Safety skills<br />

It is important that family members<br />

know how to administer first aid and<br />

CPR and how to use a fire extinguisher.<br />

Prepare Emergency Kit - go<br />

bag<br />

You may need to survive on your own<br />

after a disaster. This means having your<br />

own food, water, and other supplies<br />

in sufficient quantity to last for at least<br />

three days. Local officials and relief<br />

workers will be on the scene after a<br />

disaster, but they cannot reach everyone<br />

immediately. You could get help<br />

in hours, or it might take days. Basic<br />

services such as electricity, gas, water,<br />

sewage treatment, and telephones may<br />

be cut off for days, or even a week or<br />

longer. Or, you may have to evacuate at<br />

a moment’s notice and take essentials<br />

with you. You probably will not have the<br />

opportunity to search for the supplies<br />

you need.<br />

A disaster supplies kit is a collection of<br />

basic items that members of a household<br />

may need in the event of a disaster.<br />

Coping with an earthquake<br />

An earthquake does not cause death or<br />

injury by itself. People are hurt by falling<br />

objects and collapsing walls. Collapsing<br />

buildings and vibrations can cause short<br />

circuits and electric fires. Lighted gas<br />

or stoves may also cause fires. All this<br />

leads to panic and confusion. With some<br />

precautions it is possible to avoid such<br />

confusion.<br />

If you are caught indoors at the time of<br />

an earthquake,<br />

• Keep calm.<br />

• Move to pre-identified safe areas<br />

inside the building.<br />

• Stay away from glass windows,<br />

june <strong>2014</strong> / 41


Architecture<br />

doors, almirahs, mirrors etc.<br />

• Stay away from falling plaster, bricks<br />

or stones.<br />

• Get under a table or a sturdy cot so<br />

that you are not hurt by falling objects.<br />

• Do not rush towards the doors or<br />

staircase. They may be broken or<br />

jammed.<br />

If you are outdoors at the time of<br />

earthquake,<br />

• If open space is available nearby, go<br />

there.<br />

• Keep away from tall chimneys, buildings,<br />

balconies and other projections.<br />

• Do not run through streets; hoardings<br />

or lamps may fall on you.<br />

After an earthquake<br />

• Check if you or anyone else is hurt.<br />

Use first aid at least on the cuts and<br />

bruises.<br />

• Keep the streets clear for emergency<br />

services.<br />

• Switch off all appliances like the refrigerator,<br />

TV or radio. Turn off the gas.<br />

• Wear shoes to protect your feet from<br />

debris.<br />

• A battery operated radio will help you<br />

to get important messages.<br />

• Be prepared for more shocks.<br />

These aftershocks always follow an<br />

earthquake.<br />

Avoid the following in an earthquake<br />

• Do not crowd around damaged areas<br />

or buildings.<br />

• Do not waste water. It will be needed<br />

for fire fighting.<br />

• Do not move the seriously hurt<br />

people.<br />

• Wait for medical help to arrive.<br />

• Do not spread rumors. They lead to<br />

panic and worsen the situation<br />

Philosophy of Earthquake<br />

Resistant Design<br />

Engineers do not attempt to make<br />

earthquake proof buildings that will not<br />

get damaged even during the rare but<br />

strong earthquake; such buildings will<br />

be too robust and also too expensive.<br />

Instead the engineering intention is to<br />

make buildings earthquake-resistant;<br />

such buildings resist the effects of<br />

ground shaking, although they may<br />

get damaged severely but would not<br />

collapse during the strong earthquake.<br />

Thus, safety of people and contents is<br />

assured in earthquake-resistant buildings,<br />

and thereby a disaster is avoided.<br />

This is a major objective of seismic<br />

design codes throughout the world.<br />

Design Philosophy<br />

a) Under minor but frequent shaking,<br />

the main members of the buildings<br />

that carry vertical and horizontal forces<br />

should not be damaged; however<br />

buildings parts that do not carry load<br />

may sustain repairable damage.<br />

b) Under moderate but occasional<br />

shaking, the main members may<br />

sustain repairable damage, while<br />

the other parts that do not carry load<br />

may sustain repairable damage.<br />

c) Under strong but rare shaking, the<br />

main members may sustain severe<br />

damage, but the building should not<br />

collapse.<br />

Earthquake resistant design is therefore<br />

concerned about ensuring that the<br />

damages in buildings during earthquakes<br />

are of acceptable variety, and also that<br />

they occur at the right places and in right<br />

amounts. This approach of earthquake<br />

resistant design is much like the use of<br />

electrical fuses in houses: to protect the<br />

entire electrical wiring and appliances in<br />

the house, you sacrifice some small parts<br />

of electrical circuit, called fuses; these<br />

fuses are easily replaced after the electrical<br />

over-current. Likewise to save the<br />

building from collapsing you need to allow<br />

some pre-determined parts to undergo<br />

the acceptable type and level of damage.<br />

Earthquake resistant buildings, particularly<br />

their main elements, need to be built<br />

with ductility in them. Such buildings<br />

have the ability to sway back-and-forth<br />

during an earthquake, and to withstand<br />

the earthquake effects with some damage,<br />

but without collapse.<br />

1. Structure should remain essentially<br />

elastic in frequent minor ground<br />

shaking<br />

2. Structure should be able to resist<br />

occasional moderate ground shaking<br />

without significant damage<br />

3. Structure should be able to resist<br />

major earthquakes without collapse<br />

Difference between Normal Load and<br />

Lateral Load Design<br />

1. In Ordinary Load (dead/ Imposed,<br />

wind etc), it is expected that structure<br />

will essentially remain elastic even<br />

during severe most design loading<br />

2. Where as in earthquake resistant<br />

design it is expected that structure<br />

could go in inelastic regime and suffer<br />

severe damage during a major<br />

earthquake<br />

We thrive for Earthquake resistant design<br />

& construction not Earthquake proof<br />

1. Buildings and other structures are<br />

designed for much lesser load than<br />

imparted by large earthquakes for affordability<br />

and also large earthquakes<br />

are rare.<br />

2. Properly designed Buildings has<br />

Ductility, Redundancy.<br />

3. Building has over strength due to<br />

considered safety factors in loads and<br />

materials.<br />

Ductility: It is the capacity of an element<br />

or structure to undergo large inelastic<br />

deformation without significant loss of<br />

strength and stiffness. Ductility depends<br />

upon:<br />

• Construction material<br />

• Quality of detailing<br />

• Form of structure<br />

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june <strong>2014</strong> / 43


Interior<br />

LINES<br />

Creating<br />

Career<br />

Pathways<br />

text Sushovit Ranjitkar<br />

Along with different projects completed in<br />

very short period of time, ID Sushovit Ranjitkar<br />

got chance to prove himself as an innovative<br />

when interior design of Mrs. Shailaja Adhikari’s<br />

consultancy was assigned to him. This success<br />

has completely transformed the complexion of<br />

Interior Design in Kathmandu. The consultancy is<br />

in the busiest street of old Bhatbhateni, Tangal,<br />

and now that offers a state-of-the-art amenity no<br />

other consultancy interior in the city can match.<br />

Wow design factor of the reception with use of<br />

warm lights at the entry made possible occupants<br />

and their interest pull them directly at the door<br />

of consultancy. Add enticing features like space<br />

planning, partition design; wall design has made it<br />

easy to understand why the address has become<br />

so desirable.<br />

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Interior<br />

In Interior Design for Interior Designers,<br />

FIRST IMPRESSIONS are everything.<br />

The main concept behind these few projects, which we<br />

have had a chance to be involved with were mainly based on<br />

nature. We emphasized all design elements: such as furniture<br />

design, space planning, accessories and design elements<br />

based mainly on the concepts received from the client.<br />

june <strong>2014</strong> / 45


Interior<br />

For one struggling interior designer in<br />

Nepali context, to work in huge spaces<br />

is the biggest challenge itself. He says,<br />

“It was in my 3rd year of B.Sc. Interior<br />

Design when I got this opportunity to<br />

work with Mrs. Adhikari in such a big<br />

project and it was challenging, too. As a<br />

student it was like dream come true.”<br />

When it came to the decor, Sushovit<br />

selected a variety of statement<br />

pieces, among them were use of<br />

green color that represents fresh and<br />

new beginning; the stripes and use<br />

of slanting lines in the partitions tries<br />

to speak about the career path of<br />

students who are trying to go abroad<br />

and also represent the opportunities<br />

and guideline for them who are in<br />

dilemma. The library and classroom<br />

has two green strips on the wall which<br />

creates a fresh and calm atmosphere.<br />

He says, “She asked me to design the<br />

3000+ sq. ft. area in such a way that it<br />

can stand out best and I tried to make<br />

it as simple as it could be. Design is<br />

what you link with the scenario that<br />

can be creative and simple. Design<br />

has no limit.” As the natural lights<br />

enter only through one direction, glass<br />

partitions are created to make the<br />

optimal use of natural lights. With lots<br />

of excitement, little difficulties, challenge<br />

and hard work, he completed this<br />

elegant looking modern design.<br />

With approximately 3000 sq. ft. space,<br />

the consultancy has got a reception<br />

area, 2 counseling rooms, 1 in-charge<br />

room, 1 library, 3 classes, 1 computer<br />

lab, 1 MD office along with 1 big training<br />

hall for teachers. The Red and black color<br />

combination gives warm and welcoming<br />

environment to the reception whereas<br />

the design made on the back part of<br />

reception acts as the emphasized zone.<br />

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june <strong>2014</strong> / 47


Journey<br />

Monsoon<br />

Wet n Wild<br />

Bardia<br />

text and photo Ashesh Rajbansh<br />

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Journey<br />

About 70 percent of the park is covered with forest,<br />

with the balance of a mixture of grassland, savannah<br />

and riverine forest. The flora recorded in the park<br />

comprises 839 species including 173 vascular plants<br />

comprising 140 dicots, 26 monocots, six fern, and one<br />

gymnosperm species.<br />

The good recent news about the<br />

success in wildlife conservation<br />

in Nepal has a grass root<br />

connection with the largest and most<br />

undisturbed national park in Nepal.<br />

No poaching of tigers reported for<br />

three consecutive years. Together<br />

with the neighboring Banke National<br />

Park, the coherent protected area of<br />

1,437 km2 (555 sq mi) represents the<br />

Tiger Conservation Unit (TCU) Bardia-<br />

Banke that extends over 2,231 km2<br />

(861 sq mi) of alluvial grasslands and<br />

subtropical moist deciduous forests.<br />

Bardia National Park is a protected<br />

area established in 1988 covering an<br />

area of 968 km2 (374 sq mi), adjoining<br />

the eastern bank of the Karnali River<br />

and bisected by the Babai River in the<br />

Bardiya District.<br />

About 70% of the park is covered<br />

with forest, with the balance a mixture<br />

of grassland, savannah and riverine<br />

forest. The flora recorded in the<br />

park comprises 839 species of flora,<br />

including 173 vascular plant species<br />

comprising 140 dicots, 26 monocots,<br />

six fern, and one gymnosperm<br />

species.<br />

Esteemed as the most undisturbed<br />

and largest national part in Nepal, it<br />

has abundance of nature including<br />

mammals like rhinoceros, wild<br />

elephant, Bengal tiger, swamp deer,<br />

Gangetic dolphin and around 407<br />

species of birds. This is good enough<br />

to tempt a travel in there but many<br />

planning went unsuccessful due to<br />

some responsibilities here and there.<br />

Suddenly there was an opportunity<br />

for a trip to the same place, but in mid<br />

monsoon. Without thinking twice and<br />

many any adjustments I went ahead<br />

with one on my dream trip.<br />

june <strong>2014</strong> / 49


Journey<br />

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Journey<br />

Special ingredients pan<br />

cake being prepared for<br />

elephants.<br />

Food pack for elephants,<br />

includes rice,<br />

lentils and salt. They’ll<br />

remember you for long<br />

time if you feed them<br />

for a week, daily.<br />

june <strong>2014</strong> / 51


Journey<br />

Started the journey with a flight from Kathmandu to Nepalgunj in early<br />

morning, for further road transport to Bardia National Park. It took us around<br />

two and half hour in SUV to reach Tiger Tops Karnali Lodge situated within<br />

several feet from the border of the park. It was already very exciting trip that<br />

we drove though jungle trails crossing several rivers, luckily the effect of the<br />

monsoon was still not that strong to swell the rivers.<br />

Monsoon flood and<br />

karnali chisapani<br />

bridge, unique and<br />

famous for it’s asymetrical<br />

design.<br />

The lodge had the legendary touch of perfection to meet the standard set by<br />

Tiger Tops both in accommodation and service. The rest at night went well<br />

with sound sleep. Next morning we started the much anticipated jungle trail<br />

on elephant back. The entire area was covered in lush greenery everywhere,<br />

rives had enough water but not to overpower by its strength. Since there was<br />

light shower now and then and breeze of fresh air prevented the build the<br />

heat of terai thus making the journey very pleasant.<br />

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Journey<br />

We spotted many waterholes, favorite amongst the animals of neighboring<br />

jungle, taking pictures of the activities of rhinos and wild elephants. During<br />

next four days, we covered a vast area of the jungle and even rafted on<br />

mighty Karnali river starting from Karnali Chisapani bridge. Though the river<br />

was not on its full might, the swirl, depth at certain places and current<br />

seemed scary many times. It was a surprise and delight to see a wild<br />

elephant couple in an island in the river itself prompting us to assure the<br />

strength, courage and will of that mighty beast.<br />

Mesmerized completely with the sights, views and thanking god for giving<br />

so much to this area and for providing me the opportunity to experience the<br />

nature at its fullest, all went fine except for few instances when we really had<br />

to plan and make use of every bit of knowledge that we have.<br />

The elephant is almost swimming while crossing the river, on our way back the<br />

rives rose by almost a feet, it was very scary while crossing the river.<br />

Mother and baby rhino submerged in water to escape escalating heat.<br />

june <strong>2014</strong> / 53


Journey<br />

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Journey<br />

A smiling Tharu<br />

woman wearing<br />

unique hat to prepare<br />

her from sun and rain<br />

while working on filed<br />

and walking as well.<br />

While returning back on last day of<br />

jungle trail, there was sudden and<br />

extremely heavy downpour of rain that<br />

caused the river, that we had to cross<br />

back home, swell so dangerously that<br />

forced everyone there to stop, bang<br />

their heads, come up with the genuine<br />

idea and implement swiftly. The elephant<br />

that we rode was almost floating, a<br />

serious affair. At last we managed to<br />

come back safely to enjoy the rest of the<br />

evening together with wonderful staff<br />

and others present at the lodge.<br />

Terai has very fertile land,<br />

farming is main source of<br />

income for local residents.<br />

A herd of spotted deer deep<br />

in Bardia National park.<br />

Why go abroad, why spend foreign<br />

currency, why worry about difference<br />

in language and lifestyle, why you take<br />

a chance to upset your stomach with<br />

the food that you have never knew,<br />

why spend long time in travel to and fro<br />

of destination, why prepare passport<br />

and do unpleasing formalities at the<br />

immigration, you can find everything in<br />

our Nepal so wealthy with diverse but<br />

pleasing nature.<br />

june <strong>2014</strong> / 55


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personality<br />

On Himalayan Architecture<br />

Nepal is a living museum of many distinct architectural traditions.<br />

It is blessed with a lineage in architectural and urban ideas that are<br />

unique. The question really is of the future and where it is going<br />

to go! Nepal has the strength to show the way to many Asian<br />

countries about questions of new forms for development and<br />

hybrid conditions between old and new.<br />

What have you come to comprehend<br />

regarding Himalayan<br />

architecture?<br />

I see similarities between the architecture<br />

and settlement pattern in the Himalayas<br />

which I have tried to cover in my book.<br />

With regards to settlement pattern, I see<br />

a strong correlation between landscape<br />

conditions and material culture. In the<br />

case of Himalayan cities two attitudes to<br />

landscape exist: one where landscape is<br />

followed and revered; and other where<br />

it is defied through one time man-made<br />

acts. I think great cities are a result of both<br />

following and defying landscape. I find<br />

similarities in the way city centers are conceived<br />

and produced in most Himalayan<br />

cities. This is very evident in cities of the<br />

valley here. And, Himalaya has also been<br />

the place of immense innovation and the<br />

development of new typologies including<br />

high density housing like in the valley, that<br />

were not possible in the plains. This was<br />

perhaps possible due to its unique geographical<br />

location and accepting cultures<br />

from both north and the south.<br />

It sounds like your book covers<br />

many regions in the Himalayas. Is<br />

that so?<br />

Yes, exactly. Actually it marks the conclusion<br />

of long research on the cities and<br />

architecture of the Himalayas. It surveys<br />

the ideas of settlements in diverse areas<br />

of the Himalayan region, cutting across national<br />

boundaries from Kashmir via Nepal<br />

to the north – eastern parts of the Indian<br />

Subcontinent and their relationship with<br />

the landscape. Even the cultural landscape<br />

of myths and rituals, perception of nature,<br />

spatial construction and the nature of<br />

landscape plays a significant function in<br />

settlement. These connections between<br />

natural systems and human inventiveness<br />

are predicted through its built tradition and<br />

this underlies the subject matter of the<br />

book.<br />

Could you brief us about your<br />

years of research for the book?<br />

This book is a result of my last 20 years<br />

of work in the Indian and Nepalese<br />

Himalayas. This book is illustrated with<br />

some 120 drawings: some of my own<br />

and some by my students who I have<br />

supervised. This publication makes a case<br />

for settlement in the Himalayas and tries<br />

to decipher the code of their settlement<br />

pattern, public places and Architecture.<br />

In terms of its scope, it includes Ladakh,<br />

Himachal, Gharwhal, Kumaon, Sikkim,<br />

Nepal and Bhutan. This is for the first<br />

time that an analytical study on the spatial<br />

construct of the Himalayas has been attempted<br />

at this scale. It tries to not only<br />

describe the Himalayan cities through<br />

documentation but tries to derive useful<br />

lessons for urban designer and planners<br />

while they deal with contemporary problem<br />

of development in landscapes such as<br />

Himalayas.<br />

How as an architect do you see<br />

the relation between and among<br />

Internet, Society and Spaces in the<br />

cities?<br />

Yes the monograph on Internet, Society<br />

and Space in Indian Cities, is an entry into<br />

debates around making of IT Cities and<br />

public planning policies that regulates and<br />

restructures the city spaces in India with<br />

the emergence of internet technologies.<br />

Placing the inquiry in the built form, it<br />

maneuvers discourse from architecture,<br />

design, cultural studies and urban geography<br />

to look at the notions of cyber-publics,<br />

digital spaces, and planning policy in India.<br />

The findings shows that the relationship<br />

between cities and cyberspaces need to<br />

be seen as located in a dynamic set of negotiations<br />

and not as a mere infrastructure<br />

question. It dismantles the presumptions<br />

that have informed public and city planning<br />

in the country by producing alternative<br />

futures of users’ interaction and mapping<br />

of the emerging city spaces.<br />

What is your viewpoint on the<br />

blending of architecture, public<br />

spaces and culture of Nepal?<br />

Nepal is one of my favorite places and a<br />

living museum of many distinct architectural<br />

traditions. It is blessed with a lineage<br />

in architectural and urban ideas that are<br />

unique. The question really is of the future<br />

and where it is going to go. Nepal has the<br />

strength to show the way to many Asian<br />

countries about questions of new forms<br />

for development and hybrid conditions<br />

between old and new. I feel Kathmandu<br />

Ar. Pratyush Shankar is an Ahmadabad based<br />

architect and an author. Teaching studio basic<br />

design, urban history, and subjects of history,<br />

humanities, and architectural research are his<br />

subject of interest. The Associate Professor<br />

and Acting Dean of Faculty of Architecture<br />

at CEPT University based in Ahmadabad,<br />

India, he is an avid hiker, photographer and<br />

a researcher. His journey started when he<br />

received the Commonwealth Grant to study<br />

a small town in Himachal Pradesh and later<br />

received The Ford –Asia Fellowship Award to<br />

study Himalayan Architecture. Since then, he<br />

has published several writings in the form of<br />

book chapters, papers and articles in prestigious<br />

journals. His years of work in the Indian and<br />

Nepalese Himalayas is now scheduled to be<br />

launched by <strong>July</strong> <strong>2014</strong> in a forthcoming book<br />

titled ‘Himalayan Cities, Settlement Patterns,<br />

Public Spaces and Architecture.’ Spaces had an<br />

opportunity to talk to Ar. Pratyush Shankar on<br />

the subject of Himalayan architecture, space and<br />

urban geography planning.<br />

valley has the potential to create new<br />

spaces that are of urban importance much<br />

like the bold public squares that were<br />

created during the Malla period, that are<br />

still relevant. The good thing about Nepal<br />

is an active civil society and a natural use<br />

of public spaces for social purposes like<br />

performances and even protests. This is a<br />

good sign and augers well for its future.<br />

Could you brief us about the<br />

recent projects you had in<br />

Kathmandu?<br />

I have recently completed one. It was<br />

a house in Kathmandu wherein I have<br />

used skylights at an angle and position so<br />

as to get the light in during the winters<br />

and block the same during the summer<br />

months. It is a house that reinterprets the<br />

traditional Newari house into a modern<br />

idiom.<br />

What advice would you like to give<br />

to the new generation of architects<br />

in Nepal?<br />

It will be nice if architects begin to write<br />

more and generally raise more awareness<br />

about not only architecture but also the city<br />

and questions of public places. They should<br />

be active participants in questions of development<br />

and public policy beyond being<br />

only reduced to connoisseur of arts.<br />

june <strong>2014</strong> / 57


art<br />

Nepali<br />

Art A of Mosaic<br />

Multiple<br />

Melodies<br />

text Dr. Yam Prasad Sharma<br />

photo a. rajbahsh<br />

58 / SPACESNEPAL.COM


art<br />

In some of the artworks, the opposing images have been<br />

juxtaposed. One image is melting into another; the images have<br />

been displaced and condensed in metonymy and metaphor.<br />

Nepali art represents the diverse<br />

voices, themes and styles. Observing<br />

artworks is getting inspiration and<br />

encountering the gems and poetic<br />

moments of Nepali artists.The artworks<br />

range from traditional to modern, and<br />

even to post modern. They are inclusive<br />

in terms of art genres as sculpture,<br />

painting, architecture, installation,<br />

performance, video arts, new media arts<br />

and alternative arts. They are diverse in<br />

terms of themes as representation of<br />

nature, recreating myths, reintegration<br />

of cultural rituals, reformulation of<br />

tradition, raising the voice of the<br />

marginalized, the women, and the ethnic<br />

minorities, taking corrective measures<br />

on socio-political evils and carving<br />

identities of individual artists. Multiple<br />

images have been carved; multiple<br />

melodies have been composed and<br />

multiple colours are in harmony as in the<br />

rainbow. Thus, Nepali art is a mosaic of<br />

multiple voices. All the individual artists<br />

have their own unique identities as their<br />

artworks, yet, they have been connected<br />

to each other as in the carnival.<br />

The traditional paintings and sculptures<br />

make the viewer aware about our<br />

cultures, myths, rituals and our tradition.<br />

The traditional paintings include<br />

manuscript illumination, miniature<br />

painting, paubha, mandala, patta chitra,<br />

Fresco in Bhaktapur palace.<br />

Photo Hemanta Shrestha<br />

june <strong>2014</strong> / 59


art<br />

didactic aspects. Use of mythical and<br />

supernatural elements makes the<br />

works strange and unusual.The images<br />

suggest something beyond themselves.<br />

The sculptures are in various mediums<br />

as woodcarving, stone carving, clay<br />

modeling, bronze, metal casting and<br />

assembled sculptures.<br />

The contemporary sculptures and<br />

paintings are more subjective than<br />

the traditional ones, for they express<br />

the inner feelings and emotions of<br />

the artists rather than representing<br />

the external objects realistically.<br />

Contemporary arts do not reproduce the<br />

reality rather they respond to their own<br />

context. There is the distance between<br />

the objects in the world and images in<br />

Modern Painting<br />

by Asha Dangol<br />

wall paintings and representation of<br />

mythical divinities in realistic forms.<br />

Manuscript illumination includes<br />

both visual and verbal elements. The<br />

texts and paintings coexist together.<br />

Paubhas and mandalas can be taken<br />

as the instrument of meditation and<br />

concentration for the achievement of<br />

enlightenment and nirvana. The principal<br />

divinity is located at the center and<br />

subsidiary deities are in the periphery<br />

around the central figure. As we<br />

observe the mandalas, our eyes move<br />

from periphery toward center and<br />

become stable at the central divinity.<br />

The individual viewer is supposed to<br />

be united with the almighty dissolving<br />

the duality between the self and the<br />

other. Moreover, some paubhas also<br />

reconcile sacred and profane elements,<br />

for the images of divinities are in sexual<br />

union suggesting the union of Prakriti<br />

and Purusa, male and female principles,<br />

the individual sadhaka and the almighty.<br />

Traditional sculptures and paintings<br />

have magical, mystical, symbolic and<br />

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art<br />

Wall Painting<br />

from Lumbini<br />

the paintings. The images and colours<br />

are distorted and altered to express<br />

inner feelings. The figures have been<br />

simplified using geometric shapes.<br />

The unlimited numbers of shapes have<br />

been represented in limited numbers.<br />

The abstracts arts are free from external<br />

reality. The form is its own content.<br />

Such artworks attempt to address the<br />

intangible aspects of the human beings.<br />

As the artworks are subjective, the<br />

meanings of the works seem to be<br />

multiple. In some of the artworks, the<br />

opposing images have been juxtaposed<br />

with free association as in dream.<br />

One image is melting into another;<br />

the images have been displaced<br />

and condensed as in metonymy and<br />

metaphor.<br />

Contemporary artworks seem to be<br />

interconnected with various genres of<br />

arts as paintings, literature, sculpture,<br />

drama, architecture and music. The<br />

boundaries between various art genres<br />

have been blurred. Thus, they have intertextuality<br />

and inter-art relationship. Some<br />

of the artworks seem to be unfinished<br />

and on the process of becoming,<br />

thus, they are open-ended and plural.<br />

Their meanings are not fixed, certain<br />

and monolithic but always contingent,<br />

uncertain, provisional and ever shifting.<br />

These works carve multiple identities.<br />

The meanings are relative to time, place<br />

and person.<br />

The handicrafts and folk arts make our<br />

collective unconscious visible t. Our<br />

june <strong>2014</strong> / 61


art<br />

cultures, rituals, myths and manners have<br />

been expressed through these artworks. The<br />

simple folk forms remind us of our childhood.<br />

The artworks related to architecture present<br />

the model of our office, residence and<br />

shrines giving insights to the contemporary<br />

architects and designer.<br />

The experimental and alternative artworks<br />

do not follow the convention and established<br />

rules. Being avant-garde, they break away<br />

from the mainstream. They attempt to invent<br />

their own rules for expression. They are<br />

alternative in terms of media, subject matter<br />

and style. Nevertheless, all the artworks<br />

are alternative arts of their time. Nepali<br />

art houses multiple voices, identities and<br />

melodies. Nepali art is the beautiful mosaic<br />

of diverse voices, forms and traditions.<br />

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june <strong>2014</strong> / 63


from the shelf<br />

As Long as<br />

the Sun and Moon<br />

Endures<br />

As Long as the sun and moon endures,<br />

is a well researched book that describes<br />

the detail study of shrines in the streets<br />

of historic Kirtipur, Kathmandu valley<br />

and other towns that are studded with<br />

shrines dedicated to clan and family,<br />

Gods, the Hindu deities or to Lord<br />

Buddha. Apart from their religious and<br />

social significance, these street shrines<br />

also contribute to the individuality of<br />

character and the disposition of each<br />

street or neighborhood. The study<br />

focuses on the shrines chronology from<br />

the earliest specimens to the end of<br />

the twentieth century, the reasons for<br />

their erection, typology and iconography<br />

with the aim of providing a broad<br />

understanding in a wider perspective for<br />

all Newar settlements.<br />

Most of these shrines are reinforced<br />

by a general similarity between various<br />

types of Hindu shrine and Buddhist<br />

shrines. Nevertheless, not only does<br />

each shrine bear the marks of its own<br />

relationship with its immediate urban<br />

space, but together the shrines reflect<br />

the history and the social life of the<br />

town. Furthermore no two shrines are<br />

exactly the same; each offers certain<br />

individual characteristics and most are<br />

of intrinsic artistic value. Such shrines<br />

are witness to the continuation of the<br />

traditional life among the indigenous<br />

population. As with other towns of the<br />

valley, the Kirtipur population comprises<br />

a Buddhist and a Hindu community who<br />

have lived in peace and harmony side<br />

by side for many centuries. Although<br />

64 / SPACESNEPAL.COM


from the shelf<br />

the two communities have their separate identity<br />

they respect each other’s belief and share many<br />

traditions.<br />

It is not certain how far the tradition of building<br />

small shrines goes back in the history of the valley.<br />

A possible ancient example is the fragment of the<br />

dome of a chaitya of the form used in the Licchavi<br />

period (4th – 8th Century AD) set outside the<br />

city walls of Báhirigáon. In many of these shrines<br />

emblems of the sun and a half or full moon allude<br />

to last as long as the sun and moon remain in the<br />

sky. In the Malla period other emblems such as the<br />

trident or radish indicate the shrine being dedicated<br />

to either Shiva or Ganesh. Deer, fish, the lotus ,<br />

thunderbolt or bull are to be found carved on earlier<br />

inscriptions of the Lichhavi period symbols of<br />

Buddhism, Vaishnavism and Shaivism.<br />

Although the tradition is still alive and new shrines<br />

have been erected in the recent years it remains<br />

to be seen whether in the future fresh shrines<br />

would be set up in the new modern life in the<br />

valley. In spite of such changes in the physical<br />

environment and social habits the street shrines<br />

are still part of the daily life of town and together<br />

with larger temples bind the social and cultural<br />

identity of the townspeople together. There are<br />

various reasons for setting up a street shrine. The<br />

most important are, of course, piety, reli¬gious<br />

duty and a sense of paying the ultimate respect to<br />

the divinity, which is hoped to help pave the way<br />

for an improved life in the next reincarnation. Other<br />

reasons would be simply to perform a dharma,<br />

june <strong>2014</strong> / 65


from the shelf<br />

as a commemorative monument, good<br />

deeds, a desire to make a permanent<br />

record on stone of personal or family<br />

names with inscriptions that usually<br />

follow a fairly set formula which includes<br />

the names of the donors followed by<br />

their genealogy and often the date. Such<br />

records bring respect and fame to the<br />

family within the community. Almost all<br />

inscriptions on the shrines emphasize<br />

the wish of the founders for a better<br />

life in the next reincarnation. It is also<br />

customary to mention in the texts of<br />

the inscriptions that the act done by the<br />

donor should continue and last as long<br />

as the sun and moon remain in the sky.<br />

These street shrines that were made by<br />

individuals or members of one or several<br />

families or groups associated , provides<br />

a direct link between the townspeople,<br />

their ancestors and their neighborhood<br />

community and are set up to last as long<br />

as the sun and moon endures.<br />

The book was kindly provided by<br />

Mandala Book Point,<br />

Katnipath, Kathmandu<br />

Tel: 4227711<br />

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june <strong>2014</strong> / 67


artspace<br />

PASSAGE<br />

SEARCH INTERDEFINITE<br />

performance ASHMINA RANJIT text ASHA DANGOL<br />

Influenced by the time she lives in, her works question the being in the passage: about the<br />

female identity raising questions about women’s cultural roles, social gendering, physical<br />

experiences and sexuality.<br />

This work is about her ephemeral that occupies the liminal space that has been experienced<br />

but never talked about or expressed about. Her performance yarns for the manifestation<br />

and reclaiming of the women’s experiences between defined roles, between nostalgias and<br />

aspirations. It gives voices to their political concerns as well as to their most for making political<br />

and their intimate expressions of desire, joy and fulfillment.<br />

ASHMINA RANJIT<br />

Ashmina Ranjit is an interdisciplinary visual artist and well known name in the contemporary<br />

Nepali arts. She received her MFA from Columbia University Graduate School of Art, New York,<br />

USA and also holds BFA from University of Tasmania, Australia as well as Lalit Kala Campus,<br />

Kathmandu.<br />

She has traveled and exhibited widely in Asia, Europe, Australia and the USA including Dhaka<br />

Biennale and Fukuoka Triennial. Honored by several scholarships and fellowships such as<br />

Fulbright (USA), Aus-aid (Australia), Honorable Mentioned-Dhaka Biennale, she is well known<br />

for her installation and live performance along with painting, drawing, sound and video<br />

installation as well. She has organized and performed a number of art events and she is one of<br />

the founders of Lasanaa and the Founder Chair of Sutra Art Center.<br />

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june <strong>2014</strong> / 69


store watch<br />

Parth International Pvt. Ltd.<br />

COMFORT HAS A NEW<br />

DESTINATION<br />

This is the first wing of Featherlite<br />

outside India and through Parth<br />

International they are committed<br />

to provide ergonomic office<br />

furniture and make people aware<br />

on the health issues that come<br />

with sitting in shoddily chairs and<br />

desks which can have a serious<br />

effect on their back.<br />

Parth International Pvt. Ltd, based at<br />

Babarmahal Kathmandu, which by now<br />

runs the franchise of several international<br />

brands, has introduced Featherlite<br />

group into Nepal by launching a wide<br />

range of office furniture. Comfort has<br />

a new destination and through Parth<br />

International Pvt. Ltd, Featherlite is<br />

committed to deliver the best furniture<br />

products in Nepal. Its core expertise lies<br />

in manufacturing and marketing exceptionally<br />

innovative and cost effective<br />

office furniture such as modular work<br />

stations, chairs, partitions, desks, conference<br />

tables, educational laboratory,<br />

retail furniture and fixtures. Featherlite<br />

is further acknowledged for establishing<br />

implementation of mega and multiple<br />

location projects without compromising<br />

on requirements of the customers.<br />

70 / SPACESNEPAL.COM


store watch<br />

Presently, Featherlite is one of the leading<br />

furniture manufacturing and marketing<br />

organizations in India. It provides<br />

complete office furniture solutions for all<br />

sectors of market. This is the first wing<br />

of Featherlite outside India and through<br />

Parth International they are committed<br />

to provide ergonomic office furniture and<br />

make people aware on the health issues<br />

that come with sitting in shoddily chairs<br />

and desks which can have a serious effect<br />

on their back. The store now has an<br />

answer to this problem as ergonomics<br />

chairs will diminish such health concerns<br />

and at the same time a comfort level for<br />

more effective result for any individual<br />

working in offices.<br />

Their design capabilities include large<br />

in-house design studio; integrated<br />

design solutions that provides solutions<br />

in the areas of seating and furniture<br />

systems; and ergonomic design that<br />

combine technology and aesthetics to<br />

suit different working environments.<br />

Parth International Pvt. Ltd now provides<br />

limitless extendibility of work space<br />

allowing scalability and multiplicity of<br />

the workspace. It neutralizes the rigid<br />

hierarchies and promotes collaboration<br />

at the workspace. Some products<br />

like chairs are designed differently for<br />

men and women. While some tables<br />

can be adjusted to different levels of<br />

height for various kinds of works, this<br />

allows adjustability of accessories which<br />

enables workspaces to be personalized<br />

for oneself. Even the wire management<br />

is conceived to address the most<br />

advanced and demanding technology<br />

requirements. Privacy screens are also<br />

unique in construction, these screens<br />

also could be supported on connectors<br />

which could slide on the track or could<br />

be permanently fixed to the surface.<br />

Through such innovative office furniture<br />

products, Parth International provides<br />

great workplaces supporting their<br />

people and their business goals.<br />

june <strong>2014</strong> / 71


OPEN Spaces<br />

This photograph was shot on 17 <strong>July</strong> 2013 at<br />

Ghabahal, Lalitpur during Rato Macchindranath<br />

Jatra, a week long festival to welcome rain<br />

and harvest at the beginning of summer. Rato<br />

Macchindranath Jatra is mainly celebrated by<br />

Newars (indigenous people of the Kathmandu<br />

Valley) but people from different walks of life<br />

come together to celebrate this festival regardless<br />

of their social status, race, religion and genders<br />

which I think is a step towards peace and<br />

harmony. People look at the chariot from their<br />

houses, come out onto the street, have feasts<br />

and celebrate with family and friends in the<br />

community. Festivals like this, reflects unity and<br />

the harmony.<br />

The Photographer<br />

Siddhartha Man Shakya, a local inhabitant of Patan,<br />

is currently studying in Virginia Commonwealth<br />

University in Qatar majoring Art History. An art<br />

lover and passionate photographer, he is an SCC<br />

alumnus.<br />

The School of Creative Communications is a unique<br />

blend of creativity and communication. We provide<br />

a platform for those who dream of nurturing one’s<br />

creativity through communication. We offer training<br />

programs on art, photography, writing and languages.<br />

We have been conducting SCC Explore Photography<br />

workshops since its establishment in 2009. We have<br />

been organizing SCC Blue Bag,sharing program<br />

with scholar once a month. It is located at Kupondol,<br />

Lalitpur, Nepal. (Link road to Bagmati river)<br />

www.scc.org.np<br />

facebook.com/scc.kathmandu<br />

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june <strong>2014</strong> / 75


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june <strong>2014</strong> / 77


connects<br />

02 JK White Cement<br />

14 Kuleshwor, Naya Basti, Kathmandu<br />

Ph: 977-9851050650<br />

prashant.chaturvedi@jkcement.com<br />

www.jkcement.com<br />

03 Furniture Land<br />

Blue Star Complex<br />

Tripureshwor, Kathmandu<br />

Ph: 977-1-4224797<br />

sales@furnitureland.com.np<br />

www.furnitureland.com.np<br />

04 Beko<br />

Putalisadak, Kathmandu<br />

Ph: 977-1- 4422190<br />

www.beko.com.np<br />

05 Technical Associates Services Pvt. Ltd.<br />

Thapathali, Kathmandu<br />

Ph: 977-1-4219999<br />

ta@ta.com.np<br />

www.tas.com.np<br />

06 Subisu Cablenet Pvt. Ltd.<br />

148 Thirbum Sadak, Baluwatar<br />

Ph: 977-1-4429616<br />

info@subisu.net.np<br />

www.subisu.net.np<br />

07 Index Furniture<br />

Metro Park Building, 1st Floor, Lazimpat<br />

Ph: 4415181<br />

info@indexfurniture.com.np<br />

www.indexfurniture.com.np<br />

09...........<br />

11 Exterior Interior<br />

Hattisar & Bhatbhteni Supermarket, 2nd Floor<br />

Tangal, Kathmandu<br />

Ph: 4435419 / 4436876<br />

extint@wlink.com.np<br />

13...........<br />

17 Kitchen Concepts Pvt. Ltd.<br />

Teku Road (Near to Bakery Café)<br />

Ph: 977-1-4221858<br />

nepalkitchen@wlink.com.np<br />

19 Kapilvastu Glassfiber Industries<br />

Milanchowk, Butwal, Nepal<br />

Ph: 071-549406<br />

info@kapilvastuglassfiber.com<br />

www.kapilvastuglassfiber.com<br />

19 Aditya Hardware Enterprises<br />

Bluestar Complex, Room # 522, Thapathali<br />

Ph: 9851007818<br />

sanjay_kyal@yahoo.com<br />

21 MD Furniture<br />

Maharajgunj (Opp. U.S. Embassy)<br />

Ph: 977-1-4721484<br />

mdfurniture@snet.com.np<br />

www.mdfurniturenepal.com<br />

21 Poonam Parquet & Furnishers<br />

Maharajgunj, Chakrapath, Kathmandu<br />

Ph: 9841278558 / 4721264<br />

parquet.poonam@gmail.com<br />

28 Worldlink Communication Pvt. Ltd.<br />

Jawalakhel, Lalitpur<br />

Ph: 977-1-5523050<br />

sales@wlink.com.np<br />

www.worldlink.com.np<br />

29 Best Interior Furniture Industry<br />

GPO Box: 1949, New Baneshwor, Kathmandu<br />

Ph: 4782864 / 9851025858<br />

hkajimaharjan@gmail.com<br />

43 International Electronic Concern (P) Ltd.<br />

Harati Bhawan, Putalisadak<br />

Ph:977-1-4421991<br />

Market_iec@wlink.com.np<br />

www.iec.com.np<br />

47 Balterio - Navin Distributors Pvt. Ltd.<br />

1st Floor, A.T. Complex, New Plaza, Kathmandu<br />

Ph: 977-1-4430785<br />

balterio@navindistributors.com<br />

www.balterio.com<br />

56 Yeti Airlines<br />

Tilganga, Kathmandu<br />

Ph: 977-1- 4464878<br />

reservations@yetiairlines.com<br />

www.yetiairlines.com<br />

62 Halesi Décor Pvt. Ltd.<br />

Chabahil, Kathmandu<br />

Ph: 977-1-4464888 / 9851050798<br />

63 Pyramid Vaastu Consultant<br />

244 Rudra Marga, Ratopool, Kathmandu<br />

Mobile: 9851151618 / 9815717618<br />

mundharanp618@gmail.com<br />

66 Bestbuy Nepal Pvt. Ltd.<br />

Kupondole, L.P.<br />

Ph: 977-1-5523289 / 5545481<br />

info@bestbuynepal.com<br />

www.bestbuynepal.com<br />

67/69 ATC<br />

............<br />

67 Bricks Café<br />

Kupondole, Lalitpur<br />

Ph: 977-1-5521756<br />

info@brickscafee.com.np<br />

www.brickscafe.com.np<br />

67 Chaitanya Spa<br />

Wellness Healing Spa Pvt. Ltd.<br />

Bakhundole, Sanepa<br />

Ph: 977-1-5547774<br />

info@chaitanyaspa.org<br />

www.chaitanyaspa.com<br />

69 Skylight Pvt. Ltd.<br />

Naxal (Opp to Police HQ), Kathmandu<br />

Ph: 977-1-4423851<br />

info@skylight.com.np<br />

www.skylight.com.np<br />

73 Foto Hollywood<br />

Civil Bank Building, Kamladi<br />

Ph: 977-1-4169060<br />

www.fotohollywood.com.np<br />

74 Nagarik - Nepal Republic Media Pvt. Ltd.<br />

JDA Complex, Bagh Durbar<br />

Ph: 977-1-4265100 / 4261808<br />

circulation@nagariknews.com<br />

75 Yeti Polychem Pvt. Ltd.<br />

Dillibazar, Kathmandu<br />

Ph:977-1- 4421501 / 9851004448<br />

76 Starnet Enterprises Pvt. Ltd.<br />

Shankhamul, Pragatimarga, Kathmandu<br />

Ph: 977-1-4781945<br />

info@starnetenterprises.com<br />

www.starnetenterprises.com<br />

77 Buddha Air<br />

Jawalakhel, Lalitpur<br />

Ph: 977-1-5542494<br />

www.buddhaair.com<br />

77 Communication Corner Pvt. Ltd.<br />

(Ujyaalo 90 Network)<br />

Ujyaalo Ghar (Behind Central Zoo)<br />

Jawalakhel, Lalitpur<br />

Ph: 977-1-5000171<br />

info@unn.com.np<br />

www.unn.com.np<br />

79 Marvel Technoplast Pvt. Ltd.<br />

Heritage Plaza - II, 2nd Floor, Kamladi<br />

Ph: 977-1-4169122<br />

info@marvel.com.np<br />

www.marvel.com.np<br />

80 Berger Jenson & Nicholson (Nepal) Pvt. Ltd.<br />

Berger House - 492, Tinkune, Kathmandu<br />

Ph: 977-1-4466038<br />

info@bergernepal.com<br />

www.bergernepal.com<br />

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june <strong>2014</strong> / 79


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