5. September - October 2010

EDITORIAL
“SOCIETY OF
NEPALESE
ARCHITECTS
COLLABORATES
WITH SPACES.”
This September / October 2010
Issue concludes the sixth year of
SPACES. And what a way to end
this sixth volume! We are proud
to announce that the Society
of Nepalese Architects (SONA)
has officially collaborated with
SPACES for a common objective
– promotion of architecture and
its allies! SPACES considers this
collaboration to be a landmark in its history and a recognition
of its relentless efforts to promote, inform and educate all
those involved with ‘Art, Architecture & Design’. Henceforth,
SONA and SPACES will draw on each other’s strengths
towards this common objective, which we believe will benefit
not only the fraternity but the society as a whole.
With this common objective in perspective, we felt that the
first step would be to create a forum where we could gather
on a regular basis and talk. Consequently, the program
‘Meet the Architect’ was formulated and with support from
the Institute of Engineering, Pulchowk Campus, the first
gathering was held at the seminar hall of its Architecture
Block on 27 August 2010. The full house said it all, indicating
CONTRIBUTORS
Ar. Biresh Shah, a
post graduate in
Architecture Studies
from Massachusetts
Institute of Technology,
is the Exe. Director of
the architectural firm,
Archiplan in Kathmandu.
In the past 17 years,
besides teaching at the
Tribhuwan University, he
has worked in New Delhi,
Bombay, Boston, and
Kathmandu, undertaking
a wide range of projects
in architecture, urban
design, conservation and
urban planning.
(biresh.shah@gmail.com)
Sanjog Rai is the chief
designer at Abstract
Studios. A gravely
misguided autodidact,
he's dabbled in many
things, including music
and photography, and
previously even worked
as a columnist and film
critic for The Kathmandu
Post. His taste is gonzo,
sometimes mirroring
the films of the great
surrealist directors, like
Luis Buñuel, who sought
to paint this subjective
world as they saw fit.
(barefootshepherd@
gmail.com)
that we were on the right track. Hence from now on, we
will be holding interactions on a regular basis. If you are
concerned on any relevant issue, or know of architects/
academicians/designers/ artists, who you think could
share his/ her knowledge with us, then please do email
(spacesnepal@gmail.com) or call (01-5544606), as this
forum is for you and for your society.
Another major announcement! We have collaborated with
INSITE (www.insiteindia.in), the official publication of the
Institute of Indian Interior Designers (IIID). Henceforth,
SPACES and INSITE will be exchanging information and
articles which are relevant to their readers, and which we
hope will be a major link in the field of architecture and
design between our two countries.
Coming to the focus of this issue - within the last half
century, Nepal has been exposed to a variety works by
foreign architects. The fact that Nepal opened up to the
outside world only after 1950 compelled the country to be
dependent on the expertise of other developed countries,
having practically no authority on major decisions. However,
Nepal has come a long way since then, and as architect
Biresh Shah writes in his analytical article, ‘The Architecture
of Foreign Architects in Nepal’, it is definitely necessary to
analyze these past works, not only to analyze where we
stand, but also to focus on where we should head towards.
The cover article is a dream project for any architect – The
World Expo. The official website of Shanghai World Expo lists
the first expo to have been held in London in 1851. That is
more than 150 years ago! In terms of Nepal’s participation,
the current one at Shanghai is its third, while the first was at
Hanover, Germany (2000) and the second at Aichi, Japan
(2005). Nepal no doubt has learnt the ropes from the two
earlier participations since this third one seems bigger and
better. Unfortunately, the importance of the participation, at
least in the perspective of design, has been brought down to
a mere money making venture. The Nepal Pavilion, a matter
of such national importance and pride, was initiated through
a tender bid from the government, when it should have been
more of a national design competition. Objecting to this
process, SONA, under the executive board led by its then
President, Ar. Bibhuti Man Singh, made a few attempts to
bring the matter to the authorities notice, but to no avail. The
project went to the highest bidder........
Until the next issue..
September-October 2010
19
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