The Protector of Monuments

It is the early 1970‘s and there is hectic activity in Kathmandu. The Coronation of Crown Prince Birendra is round the corner.  Royalty and Heads of State are expected to attend and His Majesty King Mahendra wishes them to return with a favourable image of the country. The UNDP has graciously agreed to fund the Hanuman Dhoka Conservation Project and this will be important because Hanuman Dhoka will be at the epicentre of festivities.

Architect John Sandy has been commissioned to overlook the project. Working alongside Sandy will be Engineer Hari Ratna Ranjitkar from the Department of Archaeology, a man who has devoted the better part of his life towards conservation.  It is a project close to Ranjitkar’s heart.

As is well recorded, the Coronation is a huge success and the nation has been made proud. And none more so than Engineer Hari Ratna. Today, Hari Ratna, 61, has retired, but not before passing on the torch to his able son, Dr. Rohit K. Ranjitkar. At 39, Dr. Rohit is an inspired man and as the Nepal Program Director of Kathmandu Valley Preservation Trust (KVPT), is in an ideal position to carry on his father’s work. He is at the centre of efforts to ‘safeguard the architectural patrimony of Kathmandu Valley which contains seven unique World Heritage Sites’.

 KVPT was established in 1990 with headquarters in New York and according to Dr. Rohit, is ‘the only international non-government agency registered in the field of cultural heritage in Nepal’. Eduard F. Sekler, architect and Professor at Harvard University, was the Co-Founder and Chairman Emeritus of KPVT. He was at one time the leader of the team for the Master plan for Conservation of the Cultural Heritage in Kathmandu Valley. He is today an Honorary Director as well as the Chief Technical Director of KVPT. The other Co-Founder, Architect Erich G. Theophile started his practice in Nepal in 1987 and is today KVPT’s Executive Director.

Dr. Rohit K. Ranjitkar joined the team in 1991 and it was then that the actual work started in earnest. He earned his Ph.D. in 1997 after finishing his Masters in 1991 from Belarus. His thesis was aptly titled, ‘Analysis of Restoration Work in Kathmandu’. Dr. Rohit, along with Erich G. Theophile, were the consultant architects in many projects; notable among them, the Babar Mahal Revisited, renovation of Fishtail Hotel in Pokhara and two resorts at Namabuddha, 12 kilometres from Dhulikhel.

Dr. Rohit works out of his office in Patan Durbar Square. It was no accident that he chose this particular location and one cannot but admire his selection when looking out at the famous square from his office window. Surely the all the magnificent traditional architecture constantly in his sight must be highly motivating to the young ‘protector of monuments’.

His office encompasses three floors of an old house. From the outside, which is at best nondescript, one will not be able to comprehend the amount of intelligent planning that has gone into the renovations inside. “I have tried to prove that one needn’t destroy traditional structures in order to provide comfortable space for working and living,” is what he stresses.

While the first three floors have been designed for working convenience, a room on the top floor has been converted into a suite, highlighting the use of traditional materials. It is an amazing feat really. Large sliding wooden windows open out onto a small balcony that overlooks the bustling Durbar Square four stories below, providing a bird’s eye view of one of the world’s unique Heritage Sites. A couple of quaint wrought iron chairs along with a similar table complete the picture of ‘a balcony with a view’. Adjoining it is a tiny garden with colourful flowers. The room is quite large and awash in natural light. An alcove, sufficiently wide, has been fitted with wooden cupboards on both sides and has a life size mirror on the wall, providing adequate wardrobe space. The floors have wooden planking and a split level design manages to divide the one room into a bedroom cum living room. The bathroom is what can only be called a ‘great idea’. Among other innovations, the washbasin finished with brass adds to the desired theme.

The furnishings are traditionally chic. Straw ‘sukuls’ carpet the floor and locally made materials have been used extensively. A lot of knick- knacks, wooden as well as metal, are scattered around the room, further highlighting the traditional aspect of the suite. A small closet hides an adequate kitchenette.

“We put up visitors in this room,” informs Dr. Rohit, “mainly donors.” One can imagine that visitors must feel privileged to stay in such a place.

The floor below is the main office. It has two split level open rooms designed in such a way as to make it an excellent work place. Rows of rectangular windows look out into the square and provides adequate light. The ceiling has wooden planks supported on pinewood rafters. Worktables are large in size and there are a couple of computers around. Shelves of books, mostly on art and architecture as well as neatly indexed files containing meticulously collected data stand against one wall. All in all the office seems to be a very cosy place to work in.

The rooms on the lower two floors have well-designed offices, a resource centre and a library. Aesthetics obviously has played a big part in the overall concept. The immediate impression of first time visitors is that of surprise. Surprise at the efficient use of available space and surprise at the aptness of the design that corroborates so appropriately with the ideals of the Kathmandu Valley Preservation Project.

KATHMANDU VALLEY PRESERVATION TRUST HEADQUARTERS

Project Description

Conservation Project's Goal and Objectives

With seven UNESCO World Heritage sites in its relatively tiny domain, the Kathmandu Valley boasts a concentration and quality of architectural monuments and townscapes of significance to all humanity.

The significance of these structures however is not dependent upon its monumentality or grandeur. Even a small votive caitya from 7th century of the Lichhavi period (300-879AD) has equal importance as has a building with intricately carved doors and windows from 15th century of the Malla Era (14th-18th century AD) or a palace, which incorporates Mogul, and European influences from the Rana Rule (1846-1951 AD).

Unfortunately, development pressures are multiplying and have threatened monuments, which far outpace available resources. The result is that the important historical buildings especially historic residences are lost each month. In addition to this, though there have been efforts for conservation of these structures from local as well as international level, the sheer volume of the monuments on the verge of disintegration outnumbers the available manpower and funds.

An international charity, the Kathmandu Valley Preservation Trust was thus established in 1990, with aims to safeguard the extraordinary and threatened architectural heritage of the Valley. Over the last ten years, the Trust has rescued over a dozen significant monuments. Repair and restoration operations have initiated key training, research and public advocacy program.

The Trust has expertise in the adaptive reuse of historic buildings and has recently been commended for its achievements in the field by a high-level UNESCO delegation. In a model effort, Erich Theophile an American architect and preservationist, who is also the founder of the trust, together with a fellow Nepali conservation architect, Dr. Rohit Kumar Ranjitkar developed a project to convert an early twentieth century historical house on the Patan Durbar Square into its headquarters. This was also a significant part of the Trust's program involving public advocacy. Generating public awareness with regards to preservation of the cultural heritage has always been a prime focus of the Trust.

Since many of the historic private residences are being dismantled in favour of the modem concrete buildings, the structure of the historic city cores has drastically changed. But in the other hand, historic residences are the illustrations of the traditional architecture and also of the lifestyles of the people.

Saving these building means preserving our own culture and identity. Adapting historic residences to new functions and uses is an approach to conserve our tradition. Considering this, the Trust, being an only private organization in the Valley rallying for historic preservation, conceived the program to adapt this privately owned building into its office.

A design scheme was developed to include an excellent quality working space required for the Trust and the first floor level to be transformed into a library and a resource centre. This was executed by retaining the historic fabric of the building as much as possible and with careful restoration program applying traditional techniques and materials

Project Cost

Total construction cost: $ 14,560.

Programme and Time Frame for Completion

The Trust acquired the building owned by Mr. P.N. Amatya on lease for 15 years from December 1999. The project was conceived, designed and restored from December 1999 to May 2000. It completed in 4.5 months period.

Project size: 4124.9 sq.ft.

Historical Background

This early twentieth building located at a crucial point in the Patan Durbar Square was a residence of an affluent Newari family. The Newars are the original inhabitants of the historic cities and are also the people responsible for creating the culturally, architecturally and historically significant monuments of the Valley.

This structure is a fine example of the houses built during early twentieth century, influenced by the neoclassical design adopted for their Palaces by the Rana Maharaja who ruled Nepal from 1846-1951. The style, though borrowed from the west, incorporates traditional materials and construction technology in its design.

Being at the periphery of the World Heritage Site, this privately owned house makes a significant part of the historic urban space which otherwise is gradually degrading due to demolition of many historic residences. It was in a rather dreadful condition prior to the restoration program. Some changes to the original structure had already been undertaken with a story added and new partition walls. These factors were the major challenges to be considered.

Articulation of Heritage Values and Significance

The project scheme was conceived so as to create awareness of the artistic value and adaptability of these hybrid Nepalese-European buildings, which were until recently unrecognised and often dismantled. The key elements of the scheme were cost effectiveness, historical accuracy and the urban sensitivity. The historic components such as the inbuilt shelves were used as the design elements in the resource centre to hold the diverse collection books of the Trust. The stylistic motifs and extraordinary woodcarvings salvaged from various monuments are used as design components in the conceived restoration program.

Use of Appropriate Building Materials and Artisan Techniques / Appropriate Adaptation

In order to adapt a residential building for an office and create a good working environment, some significant changes needed to be undertaken. Timber partition walls and also masonry walls were either removed or shifted to accommodate the office space in the first floor level. Use of traditional materials using local craftsmanship has always been a prime focus of the Trust's projects. Lime plaster for the walls has been adopted owing to the period of the building. Traditional floor tiles, an age-old component of a traditional Newari house, have been used as the flooring materials.

The spaces have been accentuated with introduction of contemporary glass partition in the main office room, allowing more illumination required. New lighting systems necessary for the working space were introduced during the restoration phase.

Relationship of Old to New

New elements have been incorporated in the design in order to accommodate the building's new function as an office. They have been consciously planned to extend and amplify the historic styles and technology. On the old thick mud wall in the main office area, sitting space is created borrowing the concept of having a window seat from a traditional house. Later additions have been undertaken using traditional materials such a timber, thus producing a homogenous design.

The Projects Contribution to its Context and Community, its Relevance and Significance

At the present context, when ugly concrete structures are cropping up in the historic urban spaces in replacement of architecturally rich old houses. This restoration project has proved to be a model effort in the community. It has initiated several key projects to preserve old houses in Patan. The success of the project has created new awareness of the richness and adaptability of the traditional residences previously overlooked.

Use of appropriate building, artisan and conservation techniques

Being involved in the field of conservation, the Trust emphasized in restoring the building, using local craftsman and traditional building techniques. The vernacular Newari architecture constitutes of timber frames filled with brick walls. The main structural timber members and the walls were preserved in their original condition. Only when necessary measures were required did we intervene. For example, some of the pine timber beams in the third floor had deteriorated completely due to termite attack threatening the stability of the structure. The beams were carefully removed and replaced with timber members corresponding to the original section. The craftsmen involved in the project had previously worked with the Trust in other restoration projects and had expertise in Newari traditional building technology. Preserving traditional craftsmanship along with conservation of the historic building was a prime focus in our project. In the guest room on the top floor, we have used traditional straw mats for the flooring. This is a significant step towards promoting the traditional craftsmanship, which is a part of Nepal's living cultural heritage.

Unhistorical bright enamel paint was scrapped off from the beams and joists in the first floor. A design 'incorporating the traditional motifs was painted on the cleaned beams. The work was executed by an experienced member from the painter clan (Newar: Chitrakar).

In some areas of design, introduction of modem techniques became essential. In case of the guest room, a rather spacious room was required to be designed, which was not possible with the columns standing in the centre of the room. A steel section was used for supporting the roof structure above instead of the pair of columns.

Use of appropriate materials

Much of the original historic material was retained during the restoration process. The original pine timber members, which were used in the floor, were preserved. To adapt the building to the requirements of an office, new elements were incorporated in the design such as a window seat in the main office area. This was constructed using similar timber materials so that it matches with the original fabric of the building and its historic value is not lost.

In typical Newari construction, floor tiles are laid on a thick bed of mud. The traditional tiles or telia appa were maintained on the floors in order to capture the historic aura of the space. However, in some areas, where maintenance of the tile flooring was a problem, the traditional tiles were removed while the mud flooring was retained and straw mats were placed over it.

The stucco details in the front facade, original to the building had worn out over the period of time due to exposure to the weather. Stucco plaster similar to the original was used for repairing the damaged areas according to traditional techniques. Specially trained plasterers in traditional methods were hired in order to execute this work (Newari: Bajrakami)