Jan-Feb 2012

JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2012 

Art - Architecture - INTERIORS - AcceSSORIES 

www.spacesnepal.com 

From interior 

outdoor 

to 

greenery 

An Expression of Novelty; 

CEDA 

story 

Bajra 

- The Symbol of Strength 

Price NRs. 100/- IRs. 65/- 

Traditional Homes 

Swotha

BEST

Abience

Volume 8 Issue 2 January - February 2012 

16 PRODUCTS 

From Interior to Outdoor Greenery 

by Artex Pvt. Ltd. 

Our home is not just a building alone! …. Unlike 

brick, cement, wood and steel, the understanding 

of finishing materials is very less. 

16 INTERIOR 

An Expression of Novelty - The 

CEDA Story 

by Ar. Kalpana Bhandari 

Architecture is based on earth and yet opens 

up to the sky! A literal translation of this is the 

office/ residence of Architect Sher Bahadur KC, 

Kupondole. 

30 INTERIOR 

Traditional Homes Swotha A Fusion 

of Tradition and Innovation 

by Ar. Dikshya Poudyal 

16 HERITAGE 

Bajra - The Symbol of Strength 

by Ar. Swati Pujari 

The traditional architecture of Kathmandu valley 

is mud based…But for a brief period, another 

technology flourished, the decline of which is 

comparable to its whimsical introduction. 

16 ARCHITECTURE 

Building Green - Where is our 

Intelligence and Ingenuity to build a 

‘Green City’… 

by Ar. Sushmita Ranjit Shrestha 

December 2011, was a fruitful time for interaction. 

“Towards Green Building”, was organized 

by Department of Architecture, Institute of 

Engineering, in collaboration with VSBK/ CESEF 

program Nepal. 

16 ARCHITECTURE 

Can we build our own sustainable 

‘Green’ Building? 

by Ar. Kalpana Bhandari 

“The term ‘GREEN’ is contextual. The concept 

of ‘Green Architecture’ means different in 

different places. For Nepal, Green Building is the 

building which is energy efficient, cost effective, 

structurally stable and sustainable.” -B.L. 

Shrestha 

www.spacesnepal.com 

Cover Photo : Ashesh Rajbansh 

16 ART 

Why Art Education Lags Behind in 

Nepal? 

by Madan Chitrakar 

While pondering on an issue to write about Nepali 

Art, a recent event worked as a startling eye 

opener. I happened to come across an artist of a 

mid- generation…

Volume 8 Issue 2 

January - February 2011 

Contributors 

Madan Chitrakar, a regular 

contributor to SPACES, is an artist, 

art critic, writer, and holds a masters 

degree in History and Culture besides 

a degree in Applied Art from J. J. 

School of Arts in Mumbai, India 

and Iconographic Design from the 

Netherlands. His writings on art 

include the book on his late father Tej 

B. Chitrakar, ‘Icon of a Transition’, published in 2004. He is 

presently associated as visiting faculty in the KU Centre for 

Art & Design. (madanc@ntc.net.np) 

Managing Editor / Editor 

Photography / Production Control 

Public Relations 

Editorial at Large 

Marketing 

Marketing /Correspondence 

Subscription/Marketing Ass. 

Contributing Art Editor 

Contributing Editors 

Contributors 

Accounts / Admin 

Correspondents 

Design / Colour Separation 

Printed at 

Published by 

DISTRIBUTION 

Kathmandu 

East Nepal 

Mid & West Nepal 

Darjeeling 

Kalimpong, Gangtok 

Regd. No 30657/061-62 CDO No. 41 

Uday Sunder Shrestha, B.E, B.Sc. 

Ashesh Rajbansh 

Prakash Bahadur Amatya 

Siddhartha Lama 

Kripa Shrestha 

Kajal Pradhanang 

Anish Shrestha 

Madan Chitrakar 

Kasthamandap Art Studio 

Ar. Sworup G. Koney 

(President - Society of Nepalese Architects) 

Ar. Debesh Raj Bhattarai 

(General Secretary - Society of Nepalese Architects) 

Ar. Jinisha Jain (Delhi) 

Ar. Chetan Raj Shrestha (Sikkim) 

Barun Roy (Darjeeling Hills) 

Madan Chitrakar 

Ar. Bibhuti Raj Pradhan 

Ar. Swati Pujari 

Ar. Dikshya Poudyal 

Ar. Shivendra Patrabansh 

Ar. Sushmita Ranjit 

Dipa Shrestha 

Ar. Bansri Pandey 

Digiscan Pre-Press 

Naxal, Kathmandu. Phone: 4436817 

Format Printing Press 

hadigaon, Kathmandu. Phone: 4010160 

IMPreSSIONS Publishing Pvt.Ltd. 

Kupondole, Lalitpur 

Post Box No. 227, DPO Lalitpur 

Phone: 5544606 

R.B. Newspaper Traders, Kathmandu 

Ph: 4232784 / 4215652 / 4216658 

Parbati Shrestha 

Naya Bazar, Dharan - 05 

Ph: 025-5-21164/025-525118, 

Cell: 9842054110 

Allied Newspaper Distributor Pvt. Ltd., Kathmandu 

Ph: 4261948 / 4419466 

Sanjana Limbu 

The Digital Den 

Top Floor, New Super Market, Darjeeling - 734101 

Cell: 99323 - 85772 eMail:subbaangel@yahoo.com 

ADVERTISING & SUBSCRIPTIONS 

Kathmandu 

Birgunj 

Dharan 

IMPRESSIONS Publishing Pvt.Ltd. 

Ph: 5544606 

email: market@spacesnepal.com 

Kishore Shrestha, Hotel Kailash, Adarsha Nagar. 

Ph: 522384, 529984. email: hotelkailash@wlink.com.np 

Parbati Shrestha 

Itahari Naya Bazar, Dharan - 05 

Biratnagar Ph: 025-5-21164/025-525118, Cell: 9842054110 

SPACES is published six times a year at the 

address above. All rights are reserved in 

respect of articles, illustrations, photographs, 

etc. published in S P A C E S . The contents 

of this publication may not be reproduced 

in whole or in part in any form without the 

written consent of the publisher. The opinions 

expressed by contributors are not necessarily 

those of the publisher and the publisher 

cannot accept responsiblility for any errors 

or omissions. 

Those submitting manuscripts, photographs, 

artwork or other materials to SPACES for 

consideration should not send originals 

unless specifically requested to do so by 

SPACES in writing. Unsolicited manuscripts, 

photographs and other submitted material 

must be accompanied by a self addressed 

return envelope, postage prepaid. However, 

SPACES is not responsible for unsolicited 

submissions. All editorial inquiries and 

submissions to SPACES must be addressed 

to editor@spacesnepal.com or sent to the 

address mentioned above.

I AM 

SLEEK’S 

KITCHEN 

SPECIALIST 

Master Chef Sanjeev Kapoor 

As a specialist chef, Sanjeev Kapoor knows what it takes 

to make a great kitchen. So when he saw a Sleek 

Kitchen, he knew it is the best there can be. No wonder, 

he chose to be Sleek's Kitchen Specialist. 

“Sleek has everything that the modern homemaker 

needs. Aesthetic designs, efficient functionality and 

smart storage ideas… all of it at an affordable price. 

Kitchen solutions for every need and budget. 

KITCHEN CONCEPTS PVT. LTD. 

GPO Box N. 8975, EPC 2700, Teku Road, Kathmandu (Next to Bakery Café), 

Tel.: (01) 422 1858, 421 2097 Fax: (01) 421 6112. 

Email : nepalkitchen@wlink.com.np, Visit : wwwsleekworld.com 

Sleek Kitchen Concepts : Srijan Chowk, Pokhara, Tel: (061) 62 1863 

"Opening shortly at Koteswor, Kumaripati & Chitwan".

from the editor 

What is building green? It’s not just another overly used phrase but in recent 

times, green buildings, sustainable architecture and energy conservation 

have become social, or rather existential, responsibilities. Gone are the 

days of low fuel efficiency - it is neither affordable nor appropriate. And it 

is not just about mechanics either. In this issue of SPACES, we focus on the 

matter of green buildings. Our writer, Kalpana Bhandari, mentions how 40% 

of the total energy consumed in the world is consumed by buildings, thus 

highlighting the responsibility of the building sector towards sustainability, 

energy consumption - and about green architecture. 

The term ‘Green’ and its multiple façades were discussed in a recent 

seminar ‘Towards Green Building’, organized by the Department of 

Architecture, Institute of Engineering, Pulchowk Campus and VSBK/ CESEF 

program Nepal. Sushmita Ranjit Shrestha takes a look at this four day 

seminar, the key issues addressed, and what the key speakers had to say in 

her article ‘Building Green’. 

So what is Building Green? Is it about the use of materials, technology or 

energy? Is it even affordable to build a green building, or is the price of 

saving the planet too high for the limited budgets of the general public? 

The key points made at the seminar try to answer these questions, and their 

answer is that a green building can have different meanings in different 

places and different contexts. To quote Ar. B.L. Shrestha of Shelter and 

Local Technology Development Center, “The term ‘GREEN’ is contextual. 

The concept of ‘Green Architecture’ means different things in different 

places. For Nepal, Green Building is a building which is energy efficient, 

cost effective, structurally stable and sustainable.” One must understand 

that bigger is not always better- the bigger your building, the more energy 

it uses in lighting, heating, cooling etc. Also, more expensive is not always 

better. If the materials you use are very expensive, they either consumed a 

lot of labour, time, and energy in their production, or they were transported 

from a distance, increasing their energy consumption during transportation. 

Our writers bring to you issues, features and ramifications of building (and 

also not building), green. 

In this issue we also focus on building technologies, both old and new. Our 

writer Swati Pujari writes about a once popular building trend using lime 

mortar/plaster called Bajra, while Artex Pvt. Ltd. shares with us information 

about their tiles and pavements - a new way of finishing indoor as well as 

outdoor spaces. And for all our readers who love flipping through SPACES 

to see the architectural beauty of our buildings, outdoor spaces, palaces 

and courtyards, we bring to you ‘Traditional Homes, Swotha’. This primarily 

photographic feature of a recently opened Bed and Breakfast at Swotha, 

Patan, shows us the conversion and renovation of an old residence into a 

modern, well equipped building - a place where the old blends with the 

new. 

It is interesting to note how in architecture, like in many other fields, things 

come full circle. Our traditional buildings, which are already energy efficient, 

are renovated and reused by adding modern features. Meanwhile our 

modern builders borrow the ideas of traditional construction to make new 

buildings ‘Green’.

P R O D U C T 

From interior 

outdoor 

to 

greenery 

Text and Image: Artex Pvt. Ltd. 

OOur home is not just a building alone! It 

encompasses the integrated space from interior to 

outdoor greenery. This is an understanding and the 

desire for a perfect house has become a necessity 

but of course, wisely not neglecting our outdoors 

today. There are unlimited products that can be used 

for building or construction, and likewise the options 

for landscape and outdoor spaces too. Unlike the 

high compatibility of brick, cement, wood and steel, 

the understanding of finishing materials for indoor as 

well as outdoor is very less. It is therefore essential 

to have good product knowledge before one steps 

in for construction. Nevertheless, there is a steady 

growth that has encouraged many entrepreneurs to 

introduce wide range of building materials. 

One such product is the concrete tiles and 

interlocks manufactured by Artex Pvt. Ltd. 

The technology used for the production of this 

homogenous product was developed in 

European countries and widely popular 

around the world. The use of this product is 

not new but the technology it has transferred 

differentiates its products from the rest and 

makes it a pioneer for such and has introduced 

a new breed of concrete products to the 

market of this country. 

These tiles and interlocks are introduced as 

cement based finishing material and used 

for both outdoor and indoor by designers 

and individuals as well. Introduction of these 

sorts of product reflects the growing need of 

different options for outdoor attire immaculately 

blending with the greenery. These products 

can be an alternative for traditional brick laid 

drive ways or flagstone maintaining economic 

point of view. 

spacesnepal.com 16 

January - February 2012

P R O D U C T 

“NEW”: Artex has conducted 

different researche on such products 

and has come up with a noble 

idea that can improve the ground 

water recharge of the city. It plans 

to introduce a water permeable 

interlocks or Permeable Pavers, the 

“Eco-Paver” it says. The difference 

is that the product has apermeable 

surface, where you could allow the 

water to filter through the ground 

until it is fully discharged to the deep 

water table. This is in contrary to 

what is happening where most of the 

water is drained through the sewage. 

The population of the cities is soaring 

and so is the demand for water. But 

until the long dreamt “Melamchi” is 

at the doors we definitely need to 

find ways to take care of our scare 

water and even after that. If only it 

could be implemented in a wide 

range of area the water retention 

capacity of the implied area could 

be increased by 100%. This idea is 

widely used in developed nations 

but is equally practical here as well. 

Imagine a sidewalk of the roads or 

your patio and driveway that are 

now actually green, it is not only the 

ground water we are talking about, 

it actually beautifies the surrounding 

and adds greenery to absolutely 

impossible areas like roads and 

sidewalks. Because these permeable 

pavers introduce water back into 

the soil it can help communities that 

rely on ground water for drinking 

purpose. It allows various advantage 

to designers, allowing them to 

play with land level by minimizing 

mechanical retaining structures to 

create more green space. and also 

support easy maintenance. 

Layout: Apart from these, Artex 

is a brand that comes with quality 

assurance. It specializes in concrete 

tiles and comes in different color, 

sizes and thickness. The combination 

of each tile forms a dozen of design 

laying options that can be laid with 

the combination of different patterns 

available.For non vehicular purpose, 

it can simply have a compacted 

soil sub-gradeand the tiles can be 

laid on without any mortar joint 

Whereas for the vehicular uses, it 

needs a concrete base and it also 

requires a mortar joint. The case 

is again different for the interlock 

paver whose thickness ranges 

from 55mm to 80mm depending to 

design. Its uniformity in thickness, 

size and modular expansion 

makes the laying task quicker and 

easier compared to other surface 

materials. 

January - February 2012 

17 

spacesnepal.com

A R C H I T E C T U R E 

Product & Application: The 

product on the first hand looks 

exceptional from the use of world 

best color pigments and hence is 

available in the most pleasing shades 

to apply on the surface. Interesting of 

all is also its pattern and shapes that 

keeps the product one step ahead 

in the market comparison. Where 

the life of the color is so impressive 

it never ever needs to be repainted. 

This purposeful surface treatment 

are widely used in patio, driveways, 

landscape, outdoor as well as indoor 

steps and lobby, also in terrace and 

exceptional indoor flooring, and 

pools. 

Technicality: The conclusive lab 

tests of this product also reveals it 

quality with, compressive strength 

of 35N/mm2, Flexural strength 0.5N/ 

mm2 and water absorption



19 

spacesnepal.com

I N T E R I O R 

Traditional Homes 

Swotha 

A fusion of tradition and innovation 

Text: Ar. Dikshya Poudyal 

Amidst tradition and temples dwells ‘Traditional Homes - Swotha’, a facility introduced 

as a Bed and Breakfast in Patan. The specialty of this project is the renovation that 

has been done with much interest and care respecting the historicity of the house. Its 

leading concept is to preserve the tradition, yet provide a contemporary hotel facility. 

T 

The four and a half storey (originally) 

residence consists of a central 

circulation system and spacious 

rooms alongside. It is not only the 

wooden structure that give you the 

flavor of Newari tradition, but the 

elements too have been designed 

accordingly. The exquisite Nepalese 

linen fabric used, the terracotta 

pots and hay mats are the elements 

that have maintained the essence of 

Newari interior. Small details have 

been contrived and although the 

use of materials like iron rods and 

concrete set a contradiction to the 

native local materials, it does blend 

with the original ambience equally. 

A total of seven units of rooms have 

been built with contemporary 

materials like concrete floor, 




Minimalist interior design 

reflecting the contemporary style. 


21 

spacesnepal.com


Suave interiors comprehending the purpose of Bed and Breakfast! 




The purposeful use of CGI roof to reduce 

weight to the old building, however 

contradicting the jhigati roof below. 

The exquisite Nepalese linen fabric used the terracotta 

pots and hay mats are the elements that have 

maintained the essence of Newari interior. 


23 

spacesnepal.com





use of modern materials like concrete flooring, steel fixtures and modern 

lighting gives that caliber of five star hotel rooms. When you enter Swotha 

you find a traditional reception to die for, while a modern restaurant is 

inventing itself on the other side of the house opening to enclosed garden. 

The steel traditional fixtures and Newari minimalist architecture lighting has concept been maintained gives a cozy in atmosphere. the façade and To 

overall enhance outlook. the spatial The quality, slope roof, a purposeful projected entry wooden with balconies a pleasing and reception traditional 

brick welcomes dressing the guest makes towards it no different a trendy to restaurant a typical Newari amidst house. the enclosed The terrace 

has garden. been The designed terrace especially has a provision and it of accommodates outdoor seating a outdoor that complements seating. The the 

view traditional from terrace vista of Patan is spectacular, Durbar Square particularly and the during old Patan the evenings city. when you 

can enjoy the vista of Patan Durbar Square and the old city itself. 


25 

spacesnepal.com






27 

spacesnepal.com


The classic elements such as hipped roof, wooden 

balcony, and the typical brick façade, display a nice 

art of traditional Newari architecture. Altogether, 

the renovation project is a wise decision to blend 

the past with the contextual property value, which 

is a logical interpretation into a adaptive reuse of 

the space. This Bread and Breakfast is the perfect 

canvas of opportunity for the owner and to the 

developing identity of Nepalese architecture. • 




29 

spacesnepal.com

H E R I T A G E 

Bajra 

- The Symbol of Strength 

Text: : Ar. Swati Pujari 



Ongoing Renovation at 

Pratappur, Swayambhu, using 

lime mortar and plaster - Bajra

H E R I E T A G E 

Composition and Use: 

Although the use of lime gained popularity 

during the Rana reign, one cannot assume 

that lime was not used in Kathmandu prior 

to this era. The use of lime to plaster Stupas 

is a well recorded phenomenon -the dome 

of Swayambhu and Bouddha, as well as the 

pinnacle stupas at Ashokan Thurs in Patan, are 

finished with lime plaster. The lime at these 

stupas were however added periodically, thus 

making the plaster a multi layered entity in itself, 

the composition consistency and construction 

of which can easily be assumed as different 

from that of lime mortar and plaster used in 

buildings. 

T 

The traditional architecture of 

Kathmandu valley is often cited as a 

mud based construction technology, 

where sun dried or kiln burnt bricks, 

made of the abundantly available 

clay, are joined together using 

mud mortar and (especially the 

internal) surfaces are finished with 

a layer of mud plaster. The external 

walls however are usually made of 

Daachi Appa (wedge shaped telia 

bricks), or bricks that are specially 

treated during manufacture so that 

an extra layer of finishing is not 

required. The architecture of many 

traditional buildings portray a fine 

brick façade with delicately carved 

timber elements in the form of posts, 

beams, doors and windows on the 

outside. The insides however unfold 

in multiple surfaces of coloured mud, 

including the walls and floor, and the 

ceilings reveal timber beams (dalin) 

and planks that make up the surface 

for mud flooring on the floor above. 

The use of timber brick and mud 

was, for the most part in Nepal’s 

architectural history, the prevalent 

construction technology for both 

kings and the people alike. From 

temples and palaces, to residences 

and rest houses, all were built this 

Singha Durbar, the pinnacle of the use of Bajra, 

both as a mortar joint as well as plaster. 

way. But for a brief period, yet 

another technology flourished. 

It can be said that the decline of 

this technology was as easy as 

its whimsical introduction. Even 

though the end result was much 

stronger than a brick wall in mud 

mortar, the materials were not 

abundantly available, and the cost 

of construction was not easily 

affordable for the common people. 

This trend often thought of as 

an effect of Prime Minister Jung 

Bahadur Rana’s visit to England, 

resulted in a fascination with the 

Victorian style of architecture. This 

form is locally referred to as the 

‘Rana Style Architecture’ and calls for 

the use of a lime based construction. 

Surfaces of white lime plaster with 

arches, cornices and decorative 

motifs were highly sought after, 

but the availability and cost of lime 

and its additive materials made this 

technology unaffordable for most 

of the population. It is interesting 

to note that although many of the 

palaces of affluent Rana families are 

constructed with lime plaster, not 

every lime plastered palace can 

boast of the use of lime mortar and 

very few, if any, of the houses of non 

royal families were finished in lime. 

Lime plaster, or Bajra, is currently being used 

in the conservation of Pratappur at Swayambhu. 

The Bajra used in this renovation is composed 

of one part each of lime, Sand and Surkhi (brick 

powder), mixed in a base of water. According 

to Mr. Jagat Lal Awale, who is involved in the 

renovation of Pratappur, this mixture originally 

consisted of many other local additives such as 

black lentil, chaku, ghee etc. However, the use 

of these additives has only been mentioned in 

hearsay, their proportions, application methods 

or effects are not properly recorded. 

Lime is the principal material in Bajra, and is 

derived from limestone. The use of unprocessed 

limestone for the purpose of making Bajra is 

more effective than using powdered or bag 

lime. Dr. Rohit Ranjitkar from Kathmandu Valley 

Preservation Trust (KVPT) reveals that the 

strength of Bajra made using powdered lime is 

extremely low as compared to that made using 

limestone. If compared to cement mortar or 

plaster, Bajra is still the stronger material. But 

it takes a very long time to set (3-4 weeks), 

unlike cement whose initial setting time is 

as low as 30 minutes. Also, cement can be 

chemically processed for quick setting, but this 

phenomenon is not applicable to limestone. 

After proper setting powdered lime mortar 

starts getting weaker whereas mortar or plaster 

of limestone gets stronger. 

The use of Bajra plaster can be seen 

predominantly in buildings constructed during 

the Rana reign, and most notable amongst these 

buildings are the Singha Durbar, Bagh Durbar 

and Gaddhi Baithak. It is also noteworthy that 

Singha Durbar is not only constructed using 

lime plaster, but also uses lime mortar to join 

the bricks. 


31 

spacesnepal.com

H E R I T A G E 

Mixing: 

Bajra takes a very long time to set; it 

also takes a long time in preparation. 

For mixing Bajra, especially in 

conservation works, it is important to 

use limestone. When water is added 

to limestone a huge amount of heat 

is produced, making the added 

water boil, and the preferable way 

to prepare the mix is to dig a pit on 

site and allow this reaction to take 

place. After the mixture, which is 

now in a paste form, cools down, it 

should be stirred using a timber rod. 

The mixture thus produced should 

be checked daily and appropriate 

amounts of water may be added 

and the mixture stirred, for at least a 

month prior to use. 

Other additives such as lentils, chaku 

etc. can be added, but this process 

proves to be very expensive. In some 

cases milk products, egg white, 

animal blood etc. are also added, but 

this is not mentioned in the traditional 

methods used in Nepal. A common 

additive to be used in Bajra is finely 

threaded jute fibers which increase 

the tensile strength and reduce 

shrinkage. Jute fibers are mixed only 

prior to application, as weeks long 

soaking in a water based paste can 

weaken the fibers. 

Use of lime plaster in 

CONSERVATION: 

The conservation of Pratappur, 

a shikhara style temple in the 

Swayambhu hillock, is being carried 

out using Bajra mortar as well as 

plaster. Similarly the Bhandarkhal tank 

in Patan Durbar Square was recently 

renovated with the use of lime mortar. 

The Tusa Hiti at Sundari Chowk 

of Patan Durbar Square was also 

renovated using lime to set sculptures 

around the water spout. 

The use of lime in conservation can 

be seen for two different purposes; 

firstly to maintain the original fabric 

of the monument in question, and 

secondly to protect the monument, 

or parts of the monument, from 

water damage. Pratappur, recently 

struck by lightning, was demolished 

from its pinnacle to about one meter 

over the plinth. For its restoration, 

the monument was lime plastered 

and even the bricks on the inside 

were joined using lime mortar. The 

authentic materials of the monument 

are kept intact as far as possible 

using reusable old bricks (with 

an introduction of new bricks to 

compensate for the destroyed old 

bricks) and the use of lime based 

mortar and plaster. The use of 

lime in Bhandarkhal tank and Tusa 

Hiti, however was to check water 

damage to the historic materials 

and sculptures. Hardened or well set 

lime mortar allows water absorption 

to a very limited extent, unlike mud 

mortar, and then harmlessly lets the 

water evaporate from the mortar or 

plaster itself, without causing seepage 

or any kind of water related damage 

to the adjoining material. A lime 

based construction also contracts and 

expands according to the changes 

in temperature unlike the rigid 

construction of cement concrete. 

Despite all its stated benefits lime is 

not a popular building material. There 

Immaculate mouldings using lime mortar, 

a fashionable way of decoration in the 

‘Rana Style Architecture’. 

are many factors that contribute to this. 

Firstly, lime is not an indigenous material 

to Nepal and though one might argue that 

neither is cement, the availability and the 

local production of cement far surpasses 

that of lime. A lime mine is located at Jogi 

Mara near Muglin, and lime was also 

supplied by the now closed Chobar Chun 

(Lime) Udhyog, but currently, limestone 

used for conservation is brought to 

Nepal all the way from Jaipur, India. This 

unavailability in itself makes lime a costly 

material, and on top of that, the additives 

used in lime are even more unaffordable. 

Use of Lentils, Chaku etc. for construction 

is currently unimaginable due to the cost 

factor itself. 

The other reason lime construction is not 

popular is due to the time required in 

preparation. The preparation and setting 

time of lime, as well as the spaces and 

labour required for its preparation, makes 

the technology unattractive. Especially in 

modern buildings where quick and dry 

construction are gaining popularity, the 

time consuming, costly construction on 

lime is definitely not turning heads. 

The use of lime is mostly limited to 

conservation, but even this sector is 

facing difficulties due to the lack of 

material and manufacturing records, and 

the costly nature of the technology. The 

use of most traditional building materials 

and technology in Nepal are faced with 

this problem. Records of manufacture of 

such materials, and their proper use, are 

not properly maintained, thus making 

the materials and technologies used now 

inferior in comparison. In the context of 

lime, its proper mixing technique and 

the proportions of additives used are not 

recorded, causing conservationists to 

work with the most basic methods. 

Lime is a strong, durable, flexible 

construction material, efficient also 

in the control of moisture content in 

construction. It is currently however 

neither popular, nor show any signs of 

gaining popularity as a construction 

material, due to its expensive time 

consuming nature, and the lack of 

records in the area governing its original 

composition and use. • 




33 

spacesnepal.com


An Expression of Novelty; 

the 

CEDA 

story 

Text: : Ar. Kalpana Bhandari 




Architecture is based on earth and yet opens up 

to the sky! A literal translation of this concept can 

be seen in the office combined with residence 

of Architect Sher Bahadur KC, Creative Design 

Architects Pvt Ltd (CEDA), in Kupondole. At a 

distance of approximately 150 meters west from 

Bagmati Bridge, the CEDA building has unique 

conical façade finished with glass panels. A 

planning in split levels, a well executed terrace 

garden and view of city from the 7 storey rooftop, 

the CEDA building has it all to signify the 

architects’ office inside as well as the comfort of a 

residence, in the same building. 

The Architect believes in having a small office as a 

home office, which is why CEDA was materialized. 

He also expresses his fondness in the form and 

elevation of CEDA, a cone. He vividly recalls 

people enjoying ice creams all over the world, 

irrespective of season or place, which is why 

CEDA building gives impression of an ice cream 

cone. Also, he had to express his responsibility as 

an architect, and come up with something unique, 

something people had not seen before in Nepal. 

The Office Space 

Elevated at 3 feet from the road, as one 

approaches the office from east, a huge mezzanine 

space welcomes the visitor. From this level, 

21 inches down is the semi basement where 

architects and engineers are at work. A straight 

stairway leads to basement that serves as kitchen 

for the office, and parking space, adjacent to this 

kitchen. An open riser glass staircase leads to the 

architects’ office, just above the semi basement 

area. The reception, just right of entrance of 

building, the mezzanine space, visually connects 

the main architects’ office with the semi basement 

area. 

The Architects’ Den 

The architecture is a nice building block of work 

and home. Having its private entry from the 

north side, the two major function in the building 


35 

spacesnepal.com


is spread along different level s. It second 

floor opens to the chief architects’ office and 

the third floor is the residence of the architect 

himself, a duplex apartment by nature. The 

split planning, continued to this level, carefully 

defines the usage of each space. To the right of 

the entrance is the dining and to the left, 2 steps 

down, is a well planned living room. Kitchen 

occupies the space to the east of building, and 

is equally close to both dining and living. A 

series of open riser staircase, like those in the 

office, runs from the dining area and opens to a 

semi private functional area in the upper floor. 

From this space, the entrance and dining are 

visually connected and it exhibits a function of a 

family room. On either sides of this room are the 

bedrooms, master bedroom on the right and the 

children’s room on the left. The conical façade 

is kept continuing from living room to upper 

family room as well as the master bedroom. 

This creates the ambience of traditional Newari 

homes where sanjhya facilitates the view of the 

street. The open rise staircase is discontinued at 

this level and the upper floors are approached 

through an open well staircase continuing from 

ground floor. The fifth floor is designed to have 

a multipurpose hall that serves as a gym, puja 

and other functions, and has a well equipped 

bathroom as well. The fifth floor also hosts a 

terrace garden emanating the view of the valley, 

an expression of architectural luxury as well as 

technologically sound thermal insulation. 

The Building Technology 

and CEDA 

The CEDA building, suiting the function that 

it is meant for, is equally precise on material 

selection, the structural safety and the lavish 

interiors. The form of building is the cone 

injected to cube, and an expression comparable 

to Novelty Architecture (Novelty architecture is a 

type of architecture in which buildings and other 

structures are given unusual shapes as a novelty, 

such as advertising, notoriety as a landmark, or 

simple eccentricity of the owner or architect 1 ). 

The conical volume is embedded by 12mm thick 

glass panels throughout, which are firmly clad 

to aluminum frame to ensure structural integrity. 




These panels hide the horizontal beams and 

vertical columns running through the floors, 

armoring the interior spaces at the same time. 

Another interesting injection is the open rise 

staircase of glass treads, 12 mm thick, with steel 

bars railing. The niches on the wall of office 

space, especially southern walls, are variably 

shaped as simple recessed impressions that 

continue the split level on the walls too. 

The Fill Ups and the Ambience 

Most of the furniture has been custom designed 

by the architect himself and built on site. 

The colors painted on the walls and ceilings 

corresponds to the ethics of colors, suiting the 

mood of space and complimenting it. The walls 

are kept yellow while the ceiling is fading white 

and blue, which creates charm and brightens 

up the working space. The colors of office space 

are in compliment to its logo. On the other hand, 

the semi private and private spaces are treated 

with cool colors like green and blue to lighten 

up the mood and create refreshing ambience, 

just what one wishes while entering his home. 

The Architect has wisely planned thermal 

comfort by installing low UV glasses, that control 

the amount of heat entering or leaving the 

building mass. The glass paneled finishing is 

used to maintain air-tight interior to avoid the 

foul smell of the river, and enhances natural 

lighting in the building. Also, the northern and 

eastern facades are glass finished such that 

extreme heat of the summer sun is controlled. 

The false ceilings and the acoustic gypsum 

boards further enhance the energy efficiency in 

the building. 

The Creative Design Architects’ (CEDA) is 

an architectural experimentation of Ar. Sher 

Bahadur KC, built 5 years back, in quest 

of fulfilling an architects’ chore as well as 

harmonize his personal life. • 

1 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novelty_architecture 


37 

spacesnepal.com

A R T 

Why Art 

Education lags behind in Nepal? 

WWhile pondering on an issue to write 

about Nepali Art, a recent event 

worked as a startling eye opener. I 

happened to come across an artist 

of a mid- generation - more relevant 

to add - an academically qualified 

graduate in Fine Art (B.F.A.) from T.U. 

a long back: he was busy painting 

in open an architectural content 

in a busy through-fare of inner 

Kathmandu. As the common wisdom 

dictated, as a qualified graduate I 

expected him to be fully in verse 

with all the basic fundamentals of 

painting at his stage. But as I watched 

him work, it unknowingly led me to 

compare and liked to epitomize his 

work with the Art-Education of the 

present day Nepal which it seemed 

much is desired to be done. In 

short, his landscape painting was a 

disaster. Not because it did not meet 

an international standard of a good 

landscape or I’ve a personal dislike 

for him or this genre. But for the fact 

that he had also appeared in many 

occasions with unconventional - read 

modern works as an artist. 

So we’ve natural and valid reasons 

to expect a better work from him 

as an academically qualified artist. 

But when he sought and needed 

to display the academic skills 

Text: Madan Chitrakar 

and the knowledge inherent in an 

Art-Education – he failed. And he 

failed miserably - exposing all the 

weaknesses unashamedly. He failed 

to display even the rudimentary 

tenets of a painting- like sense of 

perspective, workings of chiaroscuro 

- forget more complex issues of 

space management. His failings to 

me, I found, is an end result of the 

collective failure of the entire system. 

The failings, although primarily lay 

on the competence of the concerned 

artist himself but it also did question 

the very validity of the institutions 

which awarded him the academic 

credentials. Moreover, the fact 

remains that all the ingredients 

mentioned above have remained the 

integral parts of the curricula in Art- 

Education for a long time. So then 

what and where did we go wrong in 

imparting the academic duties? 

But today when we seek to think 

of Art- Education in a broader 

spectrum, to provide efficient ways 

of teaching in par with international 

standard- i.e. an up-to-date 

curriculum, teaching methods and 

the modern teaching materials, have 

become only one out of many other 

issues that needs to be addressed 

sooner the better. 

But before going deeper in these 

issues, in addition to the poor academic 

quality as described above, one must 

also take note of some other lapses 

which characterize the general state 

of Art-Education: and have remained 

accumulated for some time. First of all, 

a fact that ‘Art Education’ has always 

remained a classic example of an 

absolute negligence and disrespect 

on the part of not only the concerned 

authorities but also the entire stake 

holders concerned. A simple example 

that today when any info are at one’s 

finger tips, only a very negligible 

fraction of aspiring youth group 

from Nepali society knows about 

the existence of institutions that offer 

academic Degree in Fine Arts. A huge 

segment of population is denied from 

the opportunities to pursue a career 

in Art, thanks to the perpetual lack 

of needed information in a national 

level. To an aspiring art student from 

a remote part of the country, it would 

be a near impossible task to discover, 

locate and get into the right place at 

the right time – except when one is 

dead committed to do it. The argument 

bears more significance today because 

we talk of an all equal utopia or an all 

inclusive society – regardless of for 

whom or where one resides. 

Thus a need to take ‘Art-Education’ 

beyond the existing confines has never 

been more relevant than today, for in 

the long run we need to tap this broad 

pool of talents if one is to envision an 

artistically rich society tomorrow. But 

sadly enough, in the entire history of 

Art-Education, there have never been 



A R T 

any promotional efforts to popularize 

this ‘Education’-its existence and its 

importance. This is precisely so when 

education in many of other social or 

technical fields have mushroomed 

and multiplied by leaps and bounds 

within a very short period of time, 

‘Art- Education’ on the other hand, left 

languished in a most pathetic condition 

as if to let it die a natural death. 

Secondly, an earlier notion of Art- 

Education has seen phenomenal 

changes in the recent times. Many 

new facets of Art have appeared in full 

force elsewhere. Dramatic economic 

changes and the political upheavals 

have greatly contributed to widen the 

scope of art and its meaning. But the 

thoughts of Art-Education here are 

stuck and remain frozen in time since 

its inception: and the entire concerned 

stake-holders- not only the governing 

authorities- apparently, have never felt a 

need to adjust with the changing times. 

Instead, always found stuck in long outdated 

sheets of earlier modules of Art- 

Education. Obviously, it never occurred 

to them the time has come to revise and 

expand its scope and the contents as 

needed with the changing needs. So 

no wonder that the present mechanism 

and thoughts behind it would in no way 

be able to stay relevant for a longer 

time to come. 

So all the arguments made above 

unquestionably lead and converge to a 

set of conclusions – the quality of Nepali 

Art Education is poor, efforts are never 

made to make it a popular subject in 

a national level and most importantly, 

timely revision and expansion of scope 

is never given due consideration. In 

other words, as a result today it is 

indeed in a very poor state of health 

and is thus, lagging far behind the 

others. But the question persists-why? 

It has a longer history than many of 

the other younger educations which 

have continued to prosper, yet Art- 

Education has to suffer in spite of its 

early appearance? What contributed 

to the present unhappy state or what 

is the real malaise behind it? In a 

seminar or a discussion programs, 

the faculty or the leaders from the 

students’ community usually keep 

hands off from all the blames by citing 

all the counts like -lack of needed 

will - power, enough resources and 

insufficient man power or so on to the 

central authority. And the next day, 

they quietly forget and do not bother 

to give it a second thought –including 

self-soul searching. But honestly 

speaking, there exists many ‘buts’. 

A careful observer would not fail to 

take note that the malaise goes much 

deeper than spoken in a speech. A 

simple truth is that in the recent past 

many factors are seen and have come 

to play strong in our context and has 

proven to be the real hurdles. 

There is no denying that a central 

authority must be held responsible 

for the progress or decline of any 

educational institutions under it. 

Art-Education in Nepal remains 

no exception. Here too, adequate 

budget provision or a provision of 

qualified man-power does remain the 

constraints and hence is the primary 

responsibility. But meanwhile, what 

has been mostly ignored is the 

important roles the other stake 

holders like the concerned faculty 

and the students’ community needed 

to play in the process. As for example, 

the funds do matter and undoubtedly 

remains the crux of all the needseither 

in terms of expansion of 

physical infrastructures or the manpower. 

But the allocation of funds is 

made only when the authorities are 

convinced that certain tasks are really 

important task hence more budget 

is needed. Sometimes a regular or 

ritual way of making requests may not 

suffice-especially when an education 

system has unique characteristics. 

Art-Education remains one of them. 

Very akin to other technical fields like 

medicine and engineering sciences, 

Art-Education asks for students with 

special aptitudes towards the studies. 

Similarly, the teachers and teaching 

methods remain too complex and 

different for a general administrator 

to understand easily. Here lies the 

primary role of the concerned faculty. 

They are expected to function as the 

catalytic agents for every possible 

desired change by convincing the 

authorities with valid reasons. And 

thus, only they should be able to 

change the very ‘Attitude’ of the 

decision- makers to bring about a 

positive attitude. But before doing 

that the faculty members - they too 

must possess a right ‘Attitude’ first. 

Unfortunately, if one is to go by the 

past experiences, a right ‘Attitude’ 

has remain a primary constraint 

since its inception. In Nepal, when it 

first begun as an institution of Higher 

Learning it was defined and limited 

to imparting ‘skills and knowledge’ 

to make artistic expressions either 

in Painting or in Sculptural forms.- 

with the basic components like Still 

Life, Head Studies, Life Studies, and 

Pictorial Human Compositions. So 

teach these tasks, teachers from 

diverse educational institutions were 

hired- with varied mind-set in art. 

Some remained intolerant with the 

contemporary forms. But those with 

newer thoughts never assimilated 

honestly with those whose knowledge 

remained limited to academic forms. 

Thus a common attitude to Art always 

remained missing. But at the same 

time, both these groups remained 

collectively resistant to other forms 

of visual Arts- applied in human use 

like product development, design for 

print and many other facets of modern 

visual communication. To them it 

always remained an inferior art and 

albeit in a position to do so, never 

made a point to see that these modes 

of education are ever introduced in 

Nepal. An attitude of a salary man 

rather than a pro-active mind has 

remained a typical character of the 

faculty which have literally contributed 

today’s fate. Thanks to such lackasidical 

attitudes, in terms of wider scope and 

diversity of Art-Education elsewhere, 

Nepali has miles to go to be able to 

meet them in a level. 

And the state of poor education exists 

also because a culture of meritocracy 

has been virtually missing in our 


39 

spacesnepal.com

A R T 

staffing system. Nepotism plays rampant 

and as a result, people with questionable 

academic Degree rule the roost. And 

it is ultimately the Education system 

which suffers. Precisely so, we’ve 

seen earlier how a qualified artist fails 

to display an academic ability. And 

moreover today, the extent of nepotism 

and the evil influences of muscle-power 

have become so pervasive, hiring of 

incompetent staff has become a rule 

rather than exception. 

It may sound unpleasant but a truth 

remains that ‘Politics’ has come to play 

an ugly game in the Education system. 

Initially, it was not the politicians who 

wished to meddle in the system but 

the students’ community volunteered to 

be the part of politics so that it may in 

the long run, may help them go upper 

rungs of the political ladders and the 

society in general. To reach these ends, 

the betterment of education remained 

limited to slogans. It least mattered to 

them if the education goes to the dogs. It 

reminds of an incident when the unions 

forced the administration of Fine Art 

Campus to admit some four hundred 

students in Certificate level and some 

one hundred fifty students to enroll in 

the Master’s course. These remain the 

classic examples to what extent people 

become irrational and politics can play 

havoc in an education system. 

What all these not so pleasant episodes 

show that funds or the resources 

remain only a part of the complex 

problem. What is really needed is 

the right ‘Attitude’ to think and act 

positively- that is to contemplate 

seriously for future in terms of plan, 

program and the projection of all the 

needs for some considerable time 

to come. And with the help of all 

the pressure groups like the artists’ 

fraternity and the students’ community 

collectively go forward to create and 

address all our short comings. A best 

solution and to begin with, a central 

authority it may be a line ministry or 

an university regulatory body or even 

an Art institution may contemplate of 

creating a common platform and make 

a ‘Brainstorming’ session so that every 

stakeholder has a say and space. May 

be then it may result in a long run 

solution. Or there is also a possibility of 

creating a semi- permanent advisory 

entity possibly, within the line ministry 

or the central University- in the form of 

a ‘Commission’ to advise in the future 

course of action to proceed in Art- 

Education. The ‘Commission ‘should 

comprise people with unquestionable 

abilities who can tangibly contribute 

in terms of vision the needs and 

challenges of the future but also should 

be able to provide practical solutions 

to pursue. But a catch remains it should 

not remain yet another place to make 

quotas for incompetent sycophants and 

party-flag bearers. • 

September 11, 2011, madanc@ntc.net.np 

(Courtesy ‘Sirjana- the Creation’ – Sirjana College 

of Fine Arts, Kathmandu.) 



A R T 


41 

spacesnepal.com


Green 

Building 

Where is our intelligence and ingenuity to build a ‘green city’ … 

Text: Ar. Sushmita Ranjit Shrestha 

Think City 

Think Life 

The sooner the better it is said, but 

what should individuals do, how 

should the government act, and is that 

enough to make a green city? These 

questions shouldn’t be ambiguous 

topics anymore. Our country needs 

to act on serious matters like building 

design and construction, fossil fuel 

consumption and water management, 

trade, and food for a better future of 

our cities. However, dialogues are 

being made at the professional level 

which they need proper collaborations 

and partnerships to materialize into 

something more concrete. To think 

and discuss about the emerging 

issue on green building, December 

2011 marked a fruitful time for 

the interaction of interdisciplinary 

professional. The seminar, “Towards 

Green Building”, was organized by the 

Architecture Department of the Institute 

of Engineering, Pulchowk Campus, 

in collaboration with VSBK/ CESEF 

program Nepal. This four daylong 

seminar focused on sustainability 

and efficiency of building in terms 

of energy consumption. Such an 

effort to come together in a platform, 

and discuss where we are heading 

is indeed a better way to start. The 

following are some aspects of what 

emerged during the seminar. 

1 

Think Architecture, 

Think Design: 

Buildings alone are not architecture. Streets with many 

elements like dabalis, pattis, dhunge dharas and hitis, 

courtyards also form an integral part of architecture. This 

definition becomes even more meaningful when it is woven 

into the different activities of people that live and work there, 

along with their culture and traditions. The growing issue of 

green building should consider all these aspects in order 

to think locally, to react regionally and then act globally. Our 

attempts should think beyond our wants, and delve into 

needs, if we want to make our life easier through design and 

architecture. Proper planning will definitely incur some initial 

design fees and expenses for architects and engineers to 

work on these aspects, but will definitely have long term cost 

benefits. The point to emphasize here is to consider very 

local climatic contexts and locations for planning, orientation, 

materials selection, execution, maintenance and operation of 




1. Life of Architecture… 

Playing instruments as a part 

of ritual in Bisket Jatra at 

Bhaktapur. 

The importance of courtyards, 

its design, form, materials 

used as an integrated 

and environment friendly 

architecture. 

2. Life of Architecture… 

Locals gather in Taumadhi 

Tole, Bhaktapur to participate 

in Bisket Jatra. The 

importance of open space 

2 

‘green building’ architecture, rather than merely fulfilling 

criterion created for green building councils in other 

parts of the world. 

Illustrating this was one of the key speakers at the event, 

Mr. Sanjaya Prakash, (Managing Director of SHiFT 

Studio for Habitat Futures). For an example, he noted 

the development of sustainable neighborhood with an 

intensive case study of a local town in Ladhak in India. 

Ladhak being a cold desert, the community has houses 

built close together. But lacking technical knowledge and 

assistance, the neighborhood is not so effective in the use 

of solar heating. They often use space heater and have no 

mechanical heating system which lead to indoor pollution. 

They have no running water, no electricity, and used dry 

and inefficient toilet. Regardless the poor infrastructure, 

the typical character of the community architecture has 

open space along the street for interaction, which is 

to some extent a pleasant character to the built form. 

Considering all this, a new solar township is being 

developed in Choglamsar. Since the Ladhak region 

has about 300 days of sunshine, maximum solar power 

could be used to reduce energy requirement for the 

town and for individual households. Development of 

infrastructure for electricity had first priority through 

solar lighting system or solar lanterns and a PV system 

in a common building distributed by girds. A secondary 

backup from diesel generators or through microhydroelectricity 

generation from the Indus River was 

planned. Whereas water provision were planned from 

snow melt storage, or pumped by solar pumps from the 

river. Waste management on the other hand would be 

collected after decomposition from the dry toilet and 

taken for manure use for farming. This entire system 

Proper planning will definitely incur 

some initial design fees and expenses 

for architects and engineers to work on 

these aspects, but will definitely have 

long term cost benefits. 

evolved after brainstorming on design principles from 

the very scratch, will make the town a self sustainable 

and efficient neighborhood with comfortable living 

conditions. 

Another key speaker Mr. Sushil Bahadur Bajracharya 

(PhD candidate and lecturer in Architecture Department, 

Institute of Engineering) made a presentation on indoor 

–outdoor temperature difference in all the four seasons 

for both traditional and contemporary framed structure 

house around the Kathmandu valley. He came up with 

the conclusion that the traditional house built of mud, 

sundried bricks, wood, bajra (instead of cement mortar 

construction) has a temperature difference of 5 degrees 

less and more during summer and winter season 

respectively, compared to outdoor temperature. A house 

of concrete frame structure made with brick, cement 

mortar, wooden or aluminum door/windows has around 

2 degrees temperature difference less during winter 

and more during summer in contrary. This compels 

the dweller of such houses to use different heating and 

cooling appliances, making the house inefficient in 

terms of energy. This study indicates that the technology 

from our past (from the 12th to the 18th Century) can be 

considered for present and future construction, but with 

some improvisation made genuinely 

September - October 2011 

43 

spacesnepal.com


Think Energy, 

Think Conservation: 

The world was hit by an energy crisis 

in 1970 when there was more demand 

for fuel in America and the supply was 

being monopolized by the Middle 

East. Industries were closed down 

and people were unemployed, which 

resulted in a slackening of the US 

economy. This however, didn’t have 

much effect on Nepal as the country 

hardly had an industry sector and 

petroleum energy consumption was just 

over 3% in 1989. But the fact remains 

that fossil fuel is getting more expensive 

as well as depleting in supply and 

it makes sense now to start thinking 

about alternative options to fossil fuel 

to supply our energy requirements. 

The following paragraphs raise issues 

and facts about defunct systems and 

some recent initiatives that can instigate 

efforts in alternative energy solution. 

• Battery operated electric cars 

are already in the market as an 

alternative to petroleum vehicles. 

But they work out expensive 

because of high taxation on its 

import, making them no cheaper 

than other vehicles. There should 

ideally have been subsidized to 

make it more accessible to the 

middle and low income group. 

Conveniently, these vehicles can be 

charged up by the spilled electricity 

during night time so that there is 

a phenomenal change in the life 

style that can give some relief to the 

petroleum crisis at the moment. 

• Another option for electric vehicle 

called was the ‘Trolley Bus’ which 

had been initiated through a grant 

aid from the Chinese Government 

in 1975 AD. This system helped 

thousands of passengers daily 

to commute from Thapathali 

to Suryabinayak in Bhaktapur. 

This genuine gift should have 

encouraged more of such vehicles 

as mainstream transportation 

in the country and this could 

have brought at least some 

relief to Nepal Oil Corporation 

by reducing some demand for 

fossil fuel. Unfortunately, through 

mismanagement and lack of 

maintenance this trolley bus 

service went defunct in 2008 AD. 

• Apart from developing ways to 

move people without using fossil 

fuel, there should also be ways to 

heat and cool homes without using 

such energy sources. Adapting 

principles of passive solar heating 

and cooling system in a building 

has big advantages and some of 

these techniques can be listed as 

follows; 

• Properly orienting the house 

within 30 degrees of due south. 

• Properly designing the size of 

south facing glazing to meet the 

heat loss of the house. 

• Designing thermal mass for 

effective solar heat gain. 

• Designing an appropriate 

overhang for all south facing 

windows. 

• Limiting west and north opening 

while providing good cross 

ventilation. 

• Designing appropriate shading 

strategies for east and west facing 

glass. 

• Calculating the backup heating 

and cooling required. 

• Using design software tools to 

optimize passive solar heating. 

Learning from tradition is the first 

step towards innovation. Traditional 

building technology should be the 

inspiration to develop new ideas 

that make life easier and happier 

and healthier. Traditional design 

and principals are interrelated to 

nature, which has both advantages 

and disadvantages, but living in 

harmony with nature is always 

a better way to live. Some of 

the points Dr. Sudarsan Raj 

Tiwari (Professor, Department of 

Architecture, Institute of Engineering, 

Kathmandu) emphasized on his 

presentation were as follows; 

• The term ‘Green’ is derived from 

the nature, green being the most 

common color in the form of leaves 

surrounding us. So the name Green 

Building should not only sound like a 

green leaf but also function like one. 

• Green Architecture is not just about 

the building, but the life style also. 

How we choose to build, what we 

choose to wear and what we choose 

to eat and drink is encompassed by 

this term. 

• The building should have zero waste 

at the end of its life span, meaning 

that the waste of building materials 

should be used for construction 

again or reused in some other form. 

This emphasizes that this form of 

architecture is all about proper 

planning, design, construction, 

maintenance, demolition, removal 

and finally reuse – in order to be 

called Green Building. 

• The materials used should be less 

dependent on energy, or it should 

be made from clean energy or even 

zero energy if possible. Building 

materials produced from advanced 

technology hold heat and generate 

heat from the environment resulting 

in urban desertification, hence 

making our city hot, dry and grey, 

while lacking freshness and coolness. 

So, the effort to find such materials 

that do not hold heat can be a better 

solution. We explore and develop 

materials that last for over thousands 

of years, but the usefulness of the 

materials in the present context 

without being responsible for 

generating waste in future is more 

important, rather than boosting the 

material for its longevity. Strong 

materials are good materials, but 

more important is the life span and 

efficiency that really counts, in order 

to be Green. 




Think Water, 

Think Life: 

Water is analogous to life. ‘Save water, don’t even waste a 

drop’ should be a mantra for every household. According 

to KUKL (Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Limited), 

six thousand drinking water taps are added ever year. 

But water supply is low as storage capacity is yet to be 

improved as per the demand. Piped water is distribution 

around the city once every three to four days, while the 

process of fetching this water by pumps and boosters is 

further obstructed by the schedule of power cuts. People 

have also opted for shallow and deep boring tube wells, 

but the lack of monitoring from the government has led 

to a haphazard trend of boring, resulting quick dry up of 

ground water table. Lack of proper and sustainable ideas 

and good monitoring from the government has forced all 

city dwellers to face water shortage today. The followings 

however are the self initiated plans and ideas developed 

by locals, some property developers and organizations to 

conserve water: 

• Ground water recharge by using interlocking pavers, 

porous pavers rather than black topped roads. 

• Collecting monsoon water in a shallow tube well 

primarily for ground water recharge and for 

gardening, washing, flushing, etc 

• Being aware of designing separate pipe system for 

flushing water for cistern, so that drinkable water is 

conserved from washing and cleaning activities. For 

this purpose a separate water tank is required for 

collecting water from deep boring or shallow tube 

well. 

• Introducing water treatment plant (WTP) to process 

grey water before letting it run off into rivers. 

• Professor Tiwari in his presentation at the seminar 

Towards Green Building talked about rain waster 

harvesting systems. He stressed on the point that man 

should not be greedy to collect rain water during 

the monsoon season. Rather it should be allowed to 

drain off into the soil. He pointed out that ‘the earth 

has the first right for rain; so don’t harvest when it 

falls from sky - that is not being green rather it is 

being grey.’ To elaborate, he meant that only when the 

earth has enough of water, living beings will benefit 

from ample water in return for various activities 

naturally. Therefore, harvesting rain water is not to get 

something in return directly, but to live in harmony 

without interrupting the ecology. 

Think Trade, 

Think Carbon Emission 

REDUCTION 

Trade is an important activity that 

can develop a country’s economy. 

The important thing is to choose 

ways to travel goods that are least 

harmful to environment. Either being 

conscious to environment or mainly 

for hauling goods conveniently and 

cost efficiently, the 42 km rope way 

built in 1980s with the support from 

American government, connecting 

Hetuda to Kalanki (National Trading 

Concern) was indeed a smart way 

of trading. Whatever the reason was, 

the initiation was good enough to 

cater many things like cutting off 

transportation cost, saving time and 

even to avail the facility during the 

monsoon time. But the dismay of 

corruption and mismanagement 

closed down the facility of cargo 

system completely after 1994. 

If such mode of transportation were 

under operation, we wouldn’t have 

been a part of fuel crisis today. We 

wouldn’t be complaining about 

hiking price on everything; from 

consuming a bunch of spinach 

to a hair cut in a salon. Therefore, 

this alarming situation demands a 

solution like a rope way that not only 

makes life easier in our country but 

also comprehends the world green 

motto of less carbon emission to our 

environment at large. 


45 

spacesnepal.com


Think Food, 

Think Health: 

It might sound a bit 

bizarre when someone 

tells you to consume 

homemade curd rather 

than a readymade 

cup-curd in the market. 

But the point is, cup 

curd and other can 

foods available in the 

market have high percentage of energy consumption. 

Generally canned food are not locally produced, 

they get imported from our neighboring countries 

like China and India, so these imported food reach 

our hometown through extensive travelling by air, 

land or sea, which in all of the cases require energy. 

Therefore all imported products have a lot of energy 

consumed for transport. By knowing this, and 

allowing oneself to change their eating habit and 

ultimately bringing a little change to our life style, 

consuming local food and products actually make 

some sense to reduce carbon emission. 

Conclusion: 

Little things we do matter a lot. From 

consumption of locally available food, to being 

aware of using solar power for heating-cooling 

and lighting of building, to planning a solar 

township like in Ladhak, all are a matter of 

initiation, robust collaboration and management 

that can bring a phenomenal change to our city 

for better living standards for all. Better city, 

better life is just a step away if we really want to 

feel the change! • 

References: 

“Towards Green Building” Seminar organized by 

Architecture Department of Institute of Engineering, 

Pulchowk Campus in collaboration with VSBK/ CESEF 

program Nepal, a four day seminar starting 11th Nov 

2011 to 2nd Dec 2011. 




47 

spacesnepal.com




Can we build our own 

sustainable 

‘Green’ Building? 

Text: Ar. Kalpana Bhandari 

Introduction 

“The term ‘GREEN’ is contextual. The concept of ‘Green Architecture’ means different in different 

places. For Nepal, Green Building is the building which is energy efficient, cost effective, structurally 

stable and sustainable.” -B.L. Shrestha. 

The dependence on non-renewable energy for survival has increased over time. Non-renewable 

energy is obtained from organic matters that take hundreds of years to form. These energy sources 

are limited; therefore, the need of alternative source of energy has become a priority, or rather - 

an emergency. Because 40% of total energy consumed is actually used by households/buildings, 

incorporating Green Technology in architecture minimises this consumption. In addition to that, in case 

of Nepal, the use of local resources in construction can become a reference for Green Technology. 

The contemporary building materials recognised in Nepal are brick, cement, concrete and timber. 

These materials and their technology have been practiced for many decades and there have been 

negligible adaptation of innovations in these technologies. But one such technology that is simple and 

that fits the context of Green in Nepal is to use vernacular materials, in the form of stabilized earthen 

blocks, hollow concrete blocks and bamboo structures. The advantages of using these materials are 

that they are locally available, convenient, structurally incorporable and economic to use. 

STABILIzED COMPRESSED EARTHEN BLOCKS (SCEB) 

INTRODUCTION 

The basic material is, as its name 

suggests, soil or earth! Soil is one 

of the most primitive materials, 

besides stone, used in buildings all 

over the world. Soil as its primary 

raw material with small quantities 

of cement, coarse sand or stone 

dust can be added depending upon 

the quality of soil. The SCEB is a 

masonry unit of cuboidal shape in 

solid, hollow or interlocking format. 

The shape and size of a block is 

defined by the equipment used in its 

manufacture. 

PhySICAL PROPERTIES 

The cost of a block depends upon a 

variety of factors including quality 

and price of available soil, amount 

of stabilisation, labour productivity 

equipment and overhead costs. 

However, the degree of stabilization 

has the maximum influence on the 

cost of the product. Using inserts 

in the press during manufacture 

can allow one to transform the 

rectangular volume of the block 

for specific purposes, i.e. holes for 

reinforcing, patterns for decoration, 

grooves for adhesion, a hollow 

interior to reduce material volume 

and weight, etc. 

Even today, many houses in 

urban and especially in rural 

areas are made of mud. However, 

interjection of some technology 

in this indigenous material can 

make it more advanced than 

the contemporary construction 

practice in Nepal. SCEBs can be 

used for load bearing construction 

up to 3 storeys. 

APPLICATION 

These blocks can be used in flooring, 

roof cover, wall partition etc. And 

can take compressive load of the 

structure well. SCEB can be used in 

different forms with: 

• Cement coating on the side of the 

block for walling 

• Coating at the top layer of the 

block for floor paving 

• Making the block slightly thinner 

(about 2-3 inches) for roof paving 

ADVANTAGES 

SCEBs are advantageous than the 

practice of burnt bricks in various 

ways. In comparison, SCEBs are 

cost effective, environment friendly, 

provide better thermal insulation, 

use local resources, and disseminate 

appealing aesthetics with elegant 

profile and uniform size. 


49 

spacesnepal.com


SOLID/HOLLOW CONCRETE BLOCKS 

INTRODUCTION 

The Concrete Block Technology 

involves a mixture of lean concrete to 

obtain a uniform and regular shaped 

masonry. This flexible technology 

can be used in different forms by 

modifying the design parameters 

like proportion of mixtures, water/ 

cement ratio and type of production 

system. This technology can be 

fortuitous in terms of using waste 

material from stone quarrying and 

other stone operating mechanisms. 

Hollow concrete blocks, on the other 

hand, use cement, fine and coarse 

aggregate and small amount of 

water as their basic ingredients. 

These blocks are lighter in weight, 

easier in handling and facilitate for 

reinforcement through the hollows 

in comparison to solid concrete 

blocks. The reinforcements can be 

placed conveniently and the entire 

building can function as a structural 

member to resist vertical and lateral 

forces. 

PhySICAL PROPERTIES 

The size of a concrete block is about 

4-5 times larger than burnt bricks 

and they thus require lesser quantity 

of mortar for joints. Also the 

strength of concrete blocks can be 

engineered as per requirement thus 

making them relatively stronger than 

brick masonry by approximately 

15-20%. However, their strength 

and characteristic features are 

dependent on the machine operated 

for their manufacture. 

These blocks are efficient exhibitors 

of thermal comfort in comparison 

to other masonry blocks. They also 

eliminate the requirement of internal 

and external plastering. They also 

provide acceptable degree of sound 

insulation. Besides, the concrete 

blocks also are incombustible and, 




thus, readily used in fire resistant 

construction. In addition, it has 

no problems of vermin attacks or 

infestation. The blocks are cured 

for a minimum period of 14 days, 

before they are ready to use. The 

embodied energy (the energy used 

in their manufacture) in concrete 

blocks masonry is 270 MJ/Sqm 

as compared to 640 MJ/Sqm for 

brick walls, thus making them more 

energy efficient. 

ADVANTAGES AND APPLICATION 

Concrete blocks are very popular 

as a long lasting, low maintenance 

masonry unit, with good 

compressive strength. They have a 

general life span of about 60 years 

although it may extend up to 80yrs 

or more and they save 8-9% energy 

per sq m of masonry as compared to 

burnt bricks. 

The application of concrete blocks 

can be broadly divided to be used in: 

• Load bearing structures for 

low rise residential and office 

buildings, warehouses, godowns, 

etc 

• Walkways, pathways, exhibition 

grounds, etc. 

• In landscape as a material for tree 

guard blocks for roadside and 

garden tree plantations 

BAMBOO 

INTRODUCTION 

Bamboo has been a very popular, 

indigenous construction material, 

associated with construction and 

cultural practice all over the world. A 

timely harvested bamboo, six years 

at minimum, claims to be around 

three times harder than Oak. 

BASIC/PhySICAL PROPERTIES 

Besides being an alternative of 

timber, bamboo can be used as a 

tensile member of the structure. 

However, bamboo has durability 

issues as it is an organic material, 

prone to termites and decomposable. 

Various treatments can be done 

at different levels to enhance its 

efficiency. The most common 

solution for this purpose is to use 

a mixture of borax and boric acid. 

Another process involves boiling 

cut bamboo to remove the starches 

that attract insects. In Nepal, at 

local levels, bamboo is soaked in 

water for several days. This reduces 

termite attack as the starch/sugar 

in bamboo gets dissolved in water 

which is food for the termites, and 

thus reduces termite attack. Also, 

traditionally bamboo was exposed 

to smoke to make it more durable. 

But the most efficient method is 

chemical treatment. The common 

chemicals used in bamboo treatment 

are Copper Sulphate (known as 

Niltuti), Sodium Dichromate and 

Acetic Acid. Moreover, cement 

coating on bamboo can decelerate 

its natural cycle of decomposition. 

This method has been used in 

Department of Education building at 

Thimi. 

APPLICATION AND ADVANTAGES 

Other than mundane use, bamboo 

has long been used as scaffolding, 

as decorative element in buildings 

such as fencing, fountains, gutters, 

and laminated to bamboo flooring 

by converting them into sheets 

and planks, etc. Bamboos are 

advantageous materials to use 

as they can be substitute for 

cyclones and earthquake resistant 

construction when incorporated with 

proper technology. 

Bamboo structures have been 

scaled to extreme heights, one 

such demonstration was seen at 

the Indian Pavilion at Expo 2011, 

Shanghai. The pavilion is the world’s 

largest bamboo dome; about 34 m 

in diameter, with bamboo beams/ 

members overlaid with a ferrocement 

slab, water proofing, copper 

plate, solar PV panels, a small 

windmill and live plants. A total of 30 

km of bamboo was used. The dome 

is supported on 18-m-long steel piles 

and a series of steel ring beams. The 

bamboo was treated with borax and 

boric acid as a fire retardant and 

insecticide and bent in the required 

shape. The bamboo sections are 

joined with reinforcement bars 

and concrete mortar to achieve 

necessary lengths. 


51 

spacesnepal.com


A comparative table of embodied energy and its cost in hollow concrete blocks and brickwork is illustrated in Table I. 

Comparison between Embodied Energy and Cost per 100 sft 

Hollow Cement Block 

S.N Materials Cement Sand Bricks Blocks Mason Coolie Total 

Unit) (Cft) (cft) (Nos.) (Nos.) (Nos.) (Nos.) 

Hollow C Block 

1 masonry 0.91 5.46 112.50 2.00 4.00 

Cost in Rupees 436.80 245.70 6,300.00 1,200.00 1,600.00 9,782.50 

Energy in M.J. 212.94 13.65 1,687.50 1,914.09 

Brick Work 

2 Brick masonry 4.50 27.00 1,200.00 3.00 6.00 

Cost in Rupees 2,160.00 1,215.00 7,200.00 1,800.00 2,400.00 13,425.00 

Energy in M.J. 810.00 67.50 5,100.00 5,977.50 

Table I reference from: “Green Building Construction in Nepal”- Shelter and Local Technology Development Center. 

Table II illustrates the comparative study of Load bearing Reinforced Hollow C. Block with partial pre-cast RCC slab 

with RCC frame with brick in-filled wall and Load bearing brick work with Partial Pre-cast RCC slab. 

Table –II 

Embodied Energy & Cost Comparison among various types of Structures 

S.N. 

Type of building 

Built-up Area in 

Sq.M. 

Embodied energy 

(in GJ ) 

Cost of the 

Building in 

Rupees 

Costlier than the 

Hollow C Block 

masonry by: 

1 RCC frame with brick in-filled wall 85.40 270.94 377,197.74 31.75 % 

2 

3 

Load bearing brick work with Partial 

Pre-cast RCC slab 

Load bearing Reinforced Hollow C. 

Block with partial pre-cast RCC slab 

85.40 202.95 308,124.12 16.50 % 

85.40 99.24 257,410.30 0 

Note on Table – II 

1. RCC Pillar system consumes 3 times more energy than that for Hollow C Block structure 

2. Brick Masonry structural system consumes 2 time more energy than that for Hollow C Block structure 

3. Hollow C Block structure is cheaper by 31.75 % than RCC Pillar structural system 

4. Hollow C.Block structure is cheaper by 16.5 % than Brick masonry structural system 

Table II reference and Note: “Green Building Construction in Nepal”- Shelter and Local Technology Development Center. 

Conclusion 

In spite of the fact that Nepal is well availed by engineers 

and technology, there is a sense of hesitation in the use of 

these construction technologies and their awareness. It is 

simple to understand that buildings, typically 2-3 storied 

houses, constructed with compressed earthen blocks 

and hollow concrete blocks are either as structurally 

stable or more than RCC construction. In fact, bricks 

should be discouraged because it eventually decreases 

soil productivity and its manufacturing process pollutes 

the environment. B.L. Shrestha has been promoting 

and using these technology through ‘Shelter and Local 

Technology Development Center’ in Nepal. Some of their 

prestigious projects based on this technology are Pokhara 

Housing Project, Housing at Sitapaila, Residential Housing 

at Gurjudhara, Shopping Arcade at Pokhara and a recent 

project is the Orphanage and Old-Age home at Duwakot, 

presently under construction. 

Nepal’s sustainable scenario requires more usage of local 

resources and lesser dependence on technologies that, 

sooner or later, leave adverse effect on the environment. • 

References 

“Green Building Construction in Nepal”, Shelter & Local 

Technology Development Center 

http://www.daenvis.org/daesat/compressed.htm 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bamboo 




PREFAB 


53 

spacesnepal.com




55 

spacesnepal.com


57 

spacesnepal.com

Jan-Feb 2012

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?