May-June 2012

HERITAGE
than renovated. All external elements including the
exposed brick wall and the carved timber windows
are simply cleaned and re-finished with a fresh
layer of linseed oil. Internal surfaces too have been
simply cleaned and re-finished with either jute mat
or mud flooring and a fresh coat of wall paint.
Interestingly the renovation of the building is
not supervised by any professional designer or
conservationist. The artisans, who have been
trained through generations in their respective
fields and who work with Yala, were given control
over the respective details. The outcome is a
product of their hands-on training and years of
experience. The maintenance and preservation of
all elements in the building is done in traditional
techniques, depending on the traditional know how
of this generation of artisans. And the intervention
is so minimal that no extensive construction is done
in any part of this building, all spaces have been
adapted rather than redesigned.
The top floor of Yala Art Gallery adorned by the products of Yala, not only as display
but also as a part of the very space.
spacesnepal.com 44
May - June 2012