2. Sept -Oct 2011

SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2011 

ART - ARCHITECTURE - INTERIORS - ACCESSORIES 

www.spacesnepal.com 

ABOVE THE 

Clouds 

CONSERVING THE MONASTERY OF UPPER MUSTANG, NEPAL 

SHELTER 

on the moving 

MOUNTAINS 

TheGeometric 

Orchid 

Price NRs. 100/- IRs. 65/- 

Facing the Facts of Conservation 

Niels Gutschow

Volume 7 Issue 3 September - October 2011 

24 

INTERIOR 

The Geometric Orchid 

by Shristi Shrestha 

Designed and implemented by Creative Design 

Architects (P) Ltd, the apartment’s interior at 

Orchid Tower at Ravi Bhawan is spacious with 

clean geometrical lines. 

30 ARCHITECTURE 

Why to Build 

by Ar. Bansri Pandey 

The ‘Spirit of Place - Spirit of Design, 

Inc.(SPSD)’, is a quest to build a 

meaningful architecture that binds 

together nature, culture and future. 

38 HIMALAYAN TRAILS 

Shelter on the Moving Mountains 

by Ar. Kai Weise 

Starting with the Tectonic Plate Theory, this 

series of articles attempts to trace and analyse 

the evolution of shelter to its present form in the 

Himalayan belt. 

48 HERITAGE 

Above the Clouds – Conserving the 

Thubchen Gompa in Upper Mustang, 

Nepal 

by John Sanday, OBE 

Under the American Himalayan Foundation and 

the King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation, 

Project Director, John Sanday led a team of 

experts to restore and revive the dying practices 

of a fading tradition in Upper Mustang, Nepal. 

56 INTERNATIONAL 

In Pursuit of Excellence 

by Uday S. Shrestha with Archiplan. 

ARCHIPLAN, from Kathmandu, Nepal, was 

adjudged the winner of the Master Plan & 

Urban Design Competition for the South Asian 

University Campus to be developed at New Delhi. 

62 ART 

Re-enlightenment – Conserving the 

Temples of Upper Mustang 

by Luigi Fieni 

Luigi Fieni and his team of restorers faced an 

uphill task to restore the magnificent mural wall 

paintings in the temples of Jampa and Thupchen 

in Upper Mustang. 

www.spacesnepal.com 

ON THE COVER 

A view of the Interior of an apartment at Orchid Tower, Rabi Bhawan. 

PHOTOGRAPHY: Ashesh Rajbansh 

IN FOCUS 44 

FACING THE FACTS OF CONSERVATION - AN 

AFTERNOON WITH NIELS GUTSCHOW 

by Ar. Swati Pujari 

Niels Gutschow’s first visit to Nepal was a two week stay 

in 1962 as he was travelling through Burma and Japan. 

He returned as an architect in September 1970 to 

inspect the Pujahari Math in Bhaktapur, and made this 

city of gods his home. 

SOLUTIONS 

7 ASPECTS OF HOME 

AUTOMATION SYSTEM 20 

ACCESSORIES 

FOR THE UNORTHODOX – 

CASA 18

Volume 7 Issue 3 

September - October 2011 

INBOX 

Sustainability of “Kathmandu Sustainable 

Urban Transport Project” 

I hope to live to the day the plans are implemented! 

Had public transport comprised 71% of the operational 

vehicles, and consumed only 1.4% of total energy and 

contributed to 53% travel demand, the city would have 

been relatively sustainable. Why not replace micro buses 

with bigger buses and start safer and more comfortable 

travel? Many will rethink if they are planning to purchase 

motorcycle or car, after all oil prices are increasing... 

Divine Dip (on www.spacesnepal.com) 

No doubt capacity building is indeed the roots in order to 

grow into sustainable management of the whole system, 

but the question is who is feeding?? Unless and until 

the participation of pedestrian, commuters, drivers and 

moreover the people of the city are excluded from the 

project, the question can again be raised in its vision!! 

Sacheen Maharjan (on www.spacesnepal.com) 

Managing Editor / Editor 

Photography / Production Control 

Marketing & Sales Executive 

Contributing Art Editor 

Contributing Editors 

Contributors 

Accounts / Admin 

Correspondents 

Design / Colour Separation 

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

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

Ashesh Rajbansh 

Nijima 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) 

John Sanday OBE, FSA 

Kai Weise 

Luigi Fieni 

Dikshya Poudyal 

Shristi Shrestha 

Dipa Shrestha 

Ar. Bansri Pandey 

Ar. Swati Pujari 

Digiscan Pre-Press 

Naxal, Kathmandu. Phone: 4436817 

Heaven Here on Earth 

- Lodge Thasang Village 

It’s pretty interesting to know such use of modern science 

and lifestyles have been incorporated into the rural areas 

of the country. There was a time, and I could be right that 

still today, you tend to see rural amenities and houses. But 

this changed my perspective completely. Now, next time 

i do not need to frown up when I plan a trip down there. 

Awesome to read it. 

Anita Shrestha (on www.spacesnepal.com) 

A synopsis on Sustainable Architecture 

From the map it is clear that US because of its crazy 

consumerism, contributes to 1/3 of global warming. 

While reading this article, I was questioning myself to 

how far I have been able to contribute in sustanability of 

my once beautiful Kathmandu Valley.Not at all ? 

Prakash C Joshi (on www.spacesnepal.com) 

7 Secrets to Sustainable Architecture 

A very good article to illustrate energy efficiency and 

environmental sustainability. But from what I have 

studied and learned, sustainability also incorporates 

inclusiveness (social sustainability) and economy 

(economic sustainability) in architecture/ planning. 

May be this aspect has not been explored in the article. 

Anyway keep up the good work. 

Manish Joshi (on www.spacesnepal.com) 

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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 

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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 

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from the editor 

NOTHING IS PERMANENT IN THIS WORLD 

– Buddhist philosophy 

They say that in every person’s life, there are times when one is 

overwhelmed by unforeseen circumstances and events powerful 

enough to sweep everything in its destructive path. The fall in such 

unprepared situations can no doubt be devastating, unless one’s self 

confidence can be revived to rise up and move ahead once again. 

On a similar set of circumstances these past few months, SPACES 

stood on a razor’s edge, with only a glimmer of hope, carried through 

on the support of well wishers. As we slowly worked to bring this 

issue out, it was karma that articles like ‘Above the Clouds’ by John 

Sanday touched on the Buddhist philosophy, elucidated further by 

Charlie Chaplin as, ‘Nothing is permanent in this wicked world - not 

even our troubles’. Yes, everything does come to a pass, and life must 

go on. .. 

And life in SPACES, as before, will always be to inform and promote 

Art, Architecture & Design. The only difference now is that henceforth 

it will be with a stronger resolve and determination. Besides 

interacting in SPACES through a wider range of articles, we will be 

building on the strength of our established professional network to 

bring together through public events, professionals, academicians, 

researchers, and all those related to our field. Hence we will be 

holding interactions and presentations on a regular basis on issues 

and controversies which will work towards building a stronger future 

for our fraternity as well as the society. 

Coming back to this issue- read about Niels Gutschow, a researcher, 

whose ‘experience of people and places in Nepal was more than 

interesting - it was life’. Read also about John Sanday’s and Luigi 

Fieni’s unrelenting dedication on the restoration works in Upper 

Mustang. Besides these, a special mention must be made here on 

Archiplan’s achievement as the winner of the Master Plan & Urban 

Design Competition for the South Asian University Campus to be 

constructed in New Delhi. Another important information, dear 

Readers, is that this issue carries the first of a series of articles by Kai 

Weise on Himalayan Architecture and its development. 

Read on.....and until the next issue... 



Editor's Note: 

If you are Looking For A Platform: 

• To publish your Architectural / Interior Design / Research Works. 

• To explore your writing abilities on Architecture and Interior Design. 

• To voice your opinion on Planning, Environment and Design Issues. 

Write to editor@spacesnepal.com

Contributors 

John Sanday OBE, FSA, a 

British architect specialising 

in historic monuments and 

sites in Asia, has spent 40 

years working in Nepal, initially 

with UNESCO. Recently he set 

up John Sanday Associates, 

a Nepalese architectural 

practice and spent 12 years 

working on monasteries in Mustang. In 2004 John 

was awarded the Order of the British Empire for 

his contribution to heritage conservation in Nepal 

and Cambodia. John is also Global Heritage Fund’s 

Regional Director in Asia. 

Kai Weise is a Nepali national 

of Swiss origin. He completed 

his Masters in Architecture 

from the Swiss Federal 

Institute of Technology, Zurich 

in 1992 and has been working 

as a Planner and Architect in 

the Himalayan Region. Weise 

has been working in various 

capacities as a UNESCO consultant and advisor to 

the UNESCO office in Kathmandu since 2004. 

Luigi Fieni has been a 

scientific consultant for 

conservation and restoration 

at John Sanday Associates. 

At present he holds the same 

position for the American 

Himalayan Foundation, whose 

most relevant restoration 

projects in which he has been 

involved, is the one carried out in Mustang at the 

Monastries of Thupcen and Jampa, directed by him 

since 2004. 

Dikshya Poudyal received 

her B.Arch degree from IOE 

Pulchowk campus in 2010. 

She carries a passion for 

writing and believes that 

architecture has always been 

something that carries with 

it the essence of time and 

culture. 

Shristi Shrestha is a final 

year architecture student at 

Nepal Engineering College, 

Bhaktapur. She has worked 

as a trainee architect with 

John Sanday Associates in 

Kathmandu, and along with 

architecture journalism Shristi 

is also interested in interior 

design and energy efficient 

design. 

from SONA 

SONA gets a new office 

Every small write-up may 

unknowingly get delayed at 

times with very important 

reasons, but this one may 

have an everlasting reason 

to cherish too. In my context 

the reason could have been 

an enlightenment of knowing 

an architect in the throne 

in a very difficult political 

quagmire. I on behalf of 

everyone in our fraternity 

of architects should take 

the pride to congratulate 

an architect Dr. Baburam 

Bhattarai for taking the responsibility of the chair as the prime minister 

of the country. We should all wish him a big success. 

The other reasons for the delay could be the polite withdrawal of Steve 

Jobs from Apple as an active CEO, my small encounters with musicians 

and professors from Academia of Norway and Australia on a small tour 

for music education promotion in Nepal, my interaction with SPACES 

on bringing about resources for continuous professional development 

(CPD) for its fellow members and fraternity, or my brief encounter 

with enthusiast and Urban Planners at DUDBC. Or it may be because of 

my attendance at RUPSONS AGM and the interaction on the proposal 

for the future city byelaws and regulation of the Kathmandu Valley - a 

big mess with rampant mushroom growth of all the so called habitable 

spaces, or the participation in Arc-Asia 2011 in Danang, Veitnam by 

our President and International Committee Chairman and their efforts 

on getting Arc-Asia 2013 in Kathmandu. With the never ending list of 

attendance and assimilation of knowledge the big reason surely should 

unfold. 

Which sometimes compel me to think if the world is only for 

Entrepreneurs in their small cocoon? Steve may have written codes 

running in miles in length, but always fitting smartly in his heavenly 

attire of Apple jigsaws with millions of followers. The musical academia 

and their disciples may always fit in their intangible attire of sonatas, 

notes and chords. A venue like Arcasia 2011 Vietnam or probable Arc- 

Asia 2013 in Kathmandu can be a big platform for deliberation of yet 

another big intellectual episode! 

In the end, the big dilemma gets even bigger for a city like Kathmandu 

with the history of more than 2000 years if we architects and planners 

stop giving a bit. Then I start wondering about the Malla Kingship who 

even used to peek through their Aankhi Jhya and terraces to confirm 

the smoke in the public chimneys to pacify their souls. After almost 

five centuries preceding Malla Dynasty we do have a very big moral 

responsibility to preserve the glory of the city that the world cherishes 

as a cultural heritage. 

Lastly, I am pretty sure the Society of Nepalese architects is better 

equipped now to take a larger responsibility with its newly acquired 

premises and a permanent office space at Churchill Complex, 

Sundhara. We in the Executive committee and the fraternity are 

highly indebted for the generous support and contribution from the 

members and also from all the friends of architects. Definitely a big 

responsibility towards the destination ahead! 

Debesh Raj Bhattarai, 

General Secretary, Society of Nepalese Architects 


September - October 2011

A C C E S S O R I E S 

FOR THE 

UNORTHODOX – CASA 

Text: Ar. Dikshya Poudyal 

Every mind is a room packed with archaic 

furniture - Dee Hock 

Don’t know so much about the mind, but the Casa Home Accessories 

store in Anamnagar is packed with some unconventional and 

contemporary pieces which are definitely not day-to-day clichés. 

Probably Casa wants to provide us with more than fashion because 

the accessories and furniture gives us a hint of that arduous passion 

for interiors along with a prepossessing appearance and function. If 

you are the kind of person who wants to furnish that flawless look 

to your interior spaces incorporating clean lines and elegance then 

Casa is certainly the place you should visit. The diversity of the store 

is such that it represents a small world within itself and fascinates 

you as to how the store could manage to glean those exclusive pieces 

which ranges from large elegant beds to smallest perfumed candles 

to cutting edge lighting equipments. Unquestionably, the pieces are 

personally handpicked from all over the world and they just reflect the 

hands of very meticulous designers. 

You walk inside the satiny interior of the store and just a few glances 

will be enough to tempt you to take those contemporary chics 

home and if that does not do it, then I assure you that you cannot 

help falling for those fresh wooden tables made from Austrian pine. 

The accessories offered range from rugs, sequined cushions, lamps, 

mirrors, vase, carpets and artistic bedspreads, sofas and dining 

sets. It even has a wooden kitchen sink in display that covers your 



A C C E S S O R I E S 

entire kitchen need. From heavy 

purchases of over a lakh rupees 

master bed to inexpensive little 

baubles made from hay, each item 

will serve to give your interior an 

exquisite look. The store has its 

wings on two floors - the ground 

floor and the fourth floor – offering 

varieties of home furniture and 

accessories. The store would have 

definitely invited more customers if 

there were more varieties of office 

accessories as there are for homes. 

Nonetheless, the store provides 

expert professional services for decorating the 

office interiors too according to the needs of 

the client. 

Run by interior designer Rishi and his wife, 

Sunaina Saraf, they always ask themselves one 

question when choosing pieces from all over 

the world for Casa, “Would I buy this for my 

own home?” Well, my answer would certainly be 

a ‘Yes’, because they have succeeded in giving 

us that uniqueness through their preference 

which we search within ourselves. Casa is 

a must visit for those who are passionate 

about contemporary designs and functional 

aesthetics. For those who follow an orthodox 

path to decorate their interiors, I still 

recommend Casa before deciding on what 

to do because Casa might just be the place 

that changes your mind. • 


19 

spacesnepal.com

S O L U T I O N S 

Internet 

Telephones 

Outdoor Lighting 

Environmental 

Pool & Spa 

Motion Detection 

Vehicle Detection 

Irrigation 

Security 

Audio / Video 

Lighting 

Welcome 

Home 

7 aspects of Home Automation System 

Text: Ar. Bansri Pandey 

Will it not be surprising if your house says “Welcome 

Home” when you arrive at the gate? 

While on vacation, how secure will you feel if your house 

gives you a call if there is a mishap? 

How efficient will it be if your house switches off the 

desired lights when you say ‘good night’? 

1. REMOTE ACCESS 

Home automation design involves 

one centralized system to control the 

lights, temperature, music, security 

cameras, etc in a home. The system is 

also designed for remote internet-based 

operation through which you can access 

and control your system from anywhere 

in the world. It is easy to operate the 

entire installation with user-friendly 

interface. This means, that even when 

you are away from home, you can switch 

off lthe ights of your house and water 

your garden in one click! For those who 

live a hectic lifestyle and spend a lot 

of time away from their home, a smart 

home system is a major benefit. 

Thanks to home automation system that has made all this and 

more possible. As technology has become cheaper and more 

accessible than ever, home automation systems are no more 

the technology of the future. They are now readily available in 

Nepal. 

For some, home automation may be something as simple as 

remote or automatic control of a few lights. For others, security 

may be the central application. Still others may choose to 

install advanced controllers. As a very basic definition, we 

tend to refer to home automation (popularly know as smart 

home system) as anything that gives you an automated control 

of things around your home. 

Let us understand this new technology by analyzing its 7 

aspects: 



S O L U T I O N S 

2. ENERGY SAVING 

Smart home automation systems 

can allow you to control your home 

energy usage. By giving the system 

a responsibility of regulating the 

operation of lights, air conditioners, 

water heaters, appliances and irrigation 

systems so that these devices are ON 

only when needed, it saves you a lot of 

money on energy bills. These systems 

are gradually becoming synonyms 

of sustainability as much they are 

synonyms to convenience. 

3. LIGHTING CONTROL – A TOOL 

FOR INTERIOR DESIGNERS 

Lighting control is more than just 

mood-lighting. With home automation 

system, interior designers can explore 

lighting design in a smarter way. Now 

designers can propose lighting scene 

for one person to read a book or for 

the entire family to celebrate a party. 

Safety at staircases and hallways can 

be strengthened by proposing lights 

at appropriate levels and controlling 

them with automated lighting control 

system. 

6. MULTI ROOM AUDIO 

Music is another way to lighten up your 

mood. When combined with lighting, it 

gives your house a dramatic touch. Just 

like different lighting scenes, you may have 

different music combinations, being played for 

different purposes. For example, the system 

can be programmed to automatically play a 

soothing fusion track in the morning, while an 

instrumental track during dinner time and a 

pop song if you are having a party. Also you 

can play a maximum of six different songs in 

six different areas of the house at the same 

time. A change in the playlist of one area will 

not disturb the rest. 

7. COST FOR INTELLIGENCE 

The big barrier to the acceptance of the home 

automation technology is its initial cost. It is 

also true that you do not have to install the 

entire system at the beginning. Gradually, as 

per your affordability and need, you can add 

more features to your system later. • 

4. INSTALLATION IN EXISTING HOMES 

Home automation can be accomplished 

using various types of connectivity. 

What’s great is that many of today’s home 

automation products are wireless and 

hence need no new wiring - so they are 

perfect to retrofit into an existing home. 

Although, if you are building new or doing 

a major remodel, please consider adding 

networking, audio, video and control 

wiring while it is easy and relatively 

inexpensive. Later on you’ll be happy you 

did. 

Home Automation also features a 

security system as a major aspect. 

Security systems increase the chances of 

protection to your families from burglary, 

fire and gas leaks. Security alarm 

systems have for decades successfully 

saved valuable property and life. Many 

burglars are scared away just by the 

presence of a loud siren that can alert 

family, neighbors and friends. Generally, 

installation of this system involves 

running a large network of wires and 

cables. The latest technology also offer 

wireless security system that trigger 

alarm upon sensing motion in the house 

when the system is on. Window and door 

sensors will trigger the alarm when there 

is break-in. This makes the whole system 

easy to install and manage. 


5. ONE-TOUCH LIGHTING CONTROL 

A lighting control system enables one-touch 

control of lights throughout the house. 

Mood-based scenes can be created resulting 

in convenience and elegance. With the touch 

of a button, you can turn lights on or off, 

dim lights, control fans from anywhere in 

the house. 

The lighting system can be programmed 

easily based on time of day, motion, 

security, mood and many other factors. 

For example, you can program your lights 

to automatically turn on when you enter 

or turn off when you go off to sleep. You 

can set various lighting scenes for relaxing 

evening, a late night party, a holiday dinner 

,etc and operate it with one-touch button. 

Although the lighting control systems are 

automated, it doesn’t limit your ability to 

control individual lights the way you have 

always done. 

“You are not buying just the system, but also your peace of mind. It makes your life more 

convenient, safer and enjoyable. The customer should not only see the initial cost but 

should analyze the long term benefits too,” says Mr. Keyur Shrestha, MD of Bipassana 

International who has introduced home automation in Nepal. 

With a broad selection of home automation products, our imagination is the limit 

as to how much digital we can be. While our obsession for technology has already 

converted a shake hand into a hello on chat; the day is not far when our homes 

welcome us smartly, saying ‘Welcome Home’. 


ABOUT BIPASSANA 

INTERNATIONAL 

Bipassana International is a company 

founded with a vision of applying 

technology to make people’s lives 

better. In partnership with Eloka, it has 

introduced Home automation for the 

first time in Nepal. The company not 

only offers high quality products, it also 

offers design and support services. It 

is globally affiliated with organizations 

like Home automation inc., Creston, 

Epson, Commax, Bean, Yale, Somfy 

and Denon. It has an office and an 

experience center at in Kathmandu. 

Contact person: 

Mr. Keyur Krishna Shrestha 

(keyur@eloka.net)

I N T E R I O R 

The 

Geometric 

OrchidText: Shristi Shrestha 




Home – a place where you belong, a place, you can call your own. 

Cosy, spacious and definitely homely, these are some adjectives 

appropriate to describe the apartments in Orchid Tower at Ravi Bhawan. 


25 

spacesnepal.com





The apartment’s interior, designed and executed by 

Creative Design Architects (P) Ltd, is spacious with 

clean geometrical lines and just the right amount of 

detailing on the walls. It houses 3 bedrooms- a master’s 

bedroom including attached bathroom with a balcony, a 

guest room and a cute kids room, a kitchen, a living cum 

dining area and a common toilet, a laundry room and a 

terrace garden. 

The entry to the apartment opens up to a warm and 

beautifully lit up living cum dining area. The eye 

catching cream coloured sofa with floral patterned 

cushions blends harmoniously with the warm ambience 

of the room. The colours used are like the sprinkle of 

just the right amount of spices- neither too loud and 

nor too bland. Off white on the walls are spiced up 

with an occasional use of orange and caramel on wood 

that is harmonious with the parquet on the floor and 

accessorized with beautiful oil paintings. The lighting 

done through the false ceiling adds a dimension and 

sense of drama in the living room. 


27 

spacesnepal.com





A spacious kitchen with ample storage room is provided to 

the left of the dining area. Planned in a triangular manner, it 

provides plenty of space for free movement while working. 

A small laundry room is adjacent to the main living area with 

three openings one leading to entry area, one to the kitchen 

and the other to terrace garden, which could also be used as a 

side entry. 

Three bedrooms are provided in the apartment - two with 

attached bathrooms, and one pretty in pink kid’s room. The kid’s 

room is right next to the dining area with a single bed, a study 

table and book storing cabinet. It consists of really “cute” eye 

catchers like the teddy bear and sun shaped lighting fixtures. 

The dining area for six is close to the kitchen, 

separated from the living area by few caramel 

coloured false wooden columns, creating a 

visual obstruction, yet providing ample space 

for circulation and giving an open feeling. The 

use off-white tone used on tiles for flooring 

brightens up the space and draws an undefined 

territory of the dining area from the living area. 

All the furniture used in the room are of uniform colour, 

awakening a feeling of unity and harmony in the room and 

stacking of the furniture along the recess of the walls gives the 

place an uncluttered feeling. The monotony of the wall has been 

broken by the use of contrasting orange colour and providing 

space for storage and to display artefacts. The contemporary 

designed bathrooms with modern accessories, have bathing 

space provided and storage beneath the sinks. 

The designers have successfully created a space, that is 

perfect for a family realizing the needs of a modern Nepali 

family. Made in Nepal, and yet of an international feel and 

sophistication, this is a place that you will definitely like to go 

home to. • 


29 

spacesnepal.com

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

WHY TO 

Build? 

‘Nature doesn’t care whether we live or die.’ Do we? 

Text: Ar. Bansri Pandey 

Images: Spirit of Place - Spirit of Design 

© Uday S. Shrestha 




Led by Travis Price, the design process of Spirit 

of Place - Spirit of Design takes over a period 

of a semester at the Catholic University of 

America in Washington D.C. 

DO WE CARE WHETHER A PART OF NATURE DIES AS LONG 

AS WE LIVE ON IN COMFORT? 

While the forests on our hills are being wiped out, the oceans 

are being swept clean of fish, our vehicles spread more 

pollution in one day than one green building can save in a 

year; we live peacefully in our comforts holding onto our 

ignorance and our selfishness. Culturally, we know that out 

of 6000 languages spoken today, half are not taught to the 

next generation. And to our disgrace, in the race of modernity, 

we build on the sacred land of our country, these worthless 

structures that do nothing to inspire the future. 

Why? 

Is architecture only about how to and how much 

to build? Have we stopped asking ourselves the 

question, ‘why to build’? 

Thus, today along with ‘Spirit of Place - Spirit of 

Design, Inc.(SPSD)’, we take you on a quest to 

build a meaningful architecture that binds together 

nature, culture and future. 

‘Spirit of Place’ is a design-build expedition 

program for undergraduate and graduate 

architecture students of the Catholic University of 

America in Washington D.C. 

CULTURE 

FUTURE 

Under the leadership of Travis Price - an American 

architect, author, teacher, philosopher, SPSD has 

designed and built creative architectural symbols 

at Nepal, Italy, Ireland, Amazon and in many other 

places where traditional values and modernity 

are at conflict. The design process of the program 

takes place over the period of a semester, while 

the team of students, faculty, local artisans and 

non-profit sponsors come together on the site 

to construct the design within 9 days. To find the 

answers to our quest, let’s walk on some of the 

expeditions with SPSD today. 

NATURE 

View of Namje & Thumki Village, Bhedetar VDC, Nepal. 

The ‘Memorial to the Ancestors’ Expedition is sited on 

the top of the wooded hill (foreground right), originally a 

burial ground and now turned into an organic agriculture 

demonstration area through Learning Grounds. 


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Expedition 1999: 

‘FLOATING IN TEN THOUSAND SENSES’ 

Location: Yacumama Eco Lodge, Amazon River, Peru 

A home for 2.5 million insect species, tens of thousands of plants 

and 2000 birds and mammals is the mightiest river on earth – 

Amazon. Analyzing the biodiversity around the river, experts 

estimate that one square kilometer of Amazon rainforest may 

contain over 75,000 types of trees, 150,000 species of plants and 

about 90,000 tons of living plants. 

Located 120km north of Iquitos in Peru, is an eco-tourist retreat 

named ‘Yacumama Lodge’ built on the Amazon River with the 

intention of lodging travelers and researchers while preserving 

thousands of acres of ecologically rich land. The lodge had built 

a full array of photovoltaic collectors and the world’s first ecofriendly 

septic system. The Lodge invited Spirit of Place team to 

build a floating eco-friendly houseboat as a part of their retreat. 

After a semester of research, the team of students and faculties 

came down to the site to build for 9 days inside a distant 

landscape with an unknown culture. The floating base of the 

structure made of 4-feet diameter Balsa tree, was made ready 

before their arrival. 

The indigenous Yarapa people live a primitive life along the river 

edges and live in family huts – bohias, with strong vertically 




pitched roofs covered with woven palm branches called 

Thachos. Thus, the design of the structure not only 

reflects local architecture, but intentionally uses various 

thacho techniques which were taught by the Yarapa 

people to the students on site. 

The design of the roof also had to make sure that the heat 

could rise and escape but at the same time should shed 

the heavy rains. Thus, the peak of the roof was separated 

at the ridge to let the air out. To cover the open gap, 

cascading metal curved roof pieces were installed. This 

helped the light to come in and the heat to go out without 

rain pouring in. 

The local people were observed to copy this technique 

later in their homes. Smallest of the details were 

designed and constructed on site specially to protect the 

inhabitants from deadly Amazon mosquitoes. The project 

was completed having no detail undone right down 

to the benches, tables and even a wonderful swinging 

hammock bed. 

With this project, SPSD succeeded in developing a 

unique solution to bring the essence of the place into a 

built form. 


‘THE NAGA SHRINE’ 

Location: Nagarjun Mountain, KTM, Nepal 

“‘Man does not live by bread alone, but by the 

Spirit’. To create the sacred temples of worship 

in every culture is as essential as feeding the 

masses.” - Travis Price 

While discussing the proposal for an Ayurvedic 

Yoga retreat to be built in Nepal, Travis Price and his 

team wanted to rise above the Nepali architecture 

and introduce a style which keeps an authentic spirit 

alive while introducing high tech advantages of the 

modern world. As an experiment to this idea, in 2001, 

he summoned his Spirit of Place team to build a shrine 

at the base of Nagarjun Mountain. After a semester of 

research about Nepal’s history, culture and spiritual 

ideologies, the team came on site for 9 days to build 

their vision. 

The structure is a cantilevered platform over a 100-foot 

drop, where one could sit on a glass Mandala elated 

with spirit. The undulating cantilevered walkway which 

is covered by rippling bamboo pattern representing 

the snake walk, shoots off the cliff on a steel beam and 

ends with a built platform. The platform is a steel cube 

having a glass floor shaped into a geometric mandala. 

As one sits on this platform, its gentle shaking slowly 

settles down and so does one’s nerves to hopefully settle 

the inner self. Sitting in this modernist snake temple, 

you suddenly catch sight of Nagarjun Mountain. Being 

afloat, unafraid and meditating with Buddha, the shrine 

dedicated to Sukhavati (the place of bliss) and Nagamani 

(the snake of knowledge) awe-inspires the visitor. 


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‘THIN PLACES’ 

Location: Anagh Head, County Mayo, Ireland 

“What is a Thin Place?”asked architect Travis Price to 

Seamus Caulfield, Ireland’s premier archeologist, in his 

search to understand Irish culture. With a mystified and 

mischievous smile, Caulfield answered, “In Irish life, Thin 

Places are the places where time past, future and present 

merge. They are real places in the landscape, a matrix 

of moment, where people find themselves falling into 

timelessness or eternity…the world where things outlive 

the physical.” 

With curiosity, Price went around County Mayo to find 

a place that felt like that. It seemed impossible to find 

such a place till he went to Anagh Head, an exotic rock 

peninsula. He explored a thing called ‘Tir saile’ – where 

the earth (Tir) meets salted air (Saile). Salty air kills 

organic matter such as coastal moss; the moss then dies 

and new moss grows on top of the dead, on and on for 

centuries, thus creating a bouncy covering of 2 to 10 feet 

thick. Anagh Head is a huge landmass right at the line 

where storms can’t reach, right where the rocks ends 

and the moss begins. This was a place where one would 

expereince a very thin divide between past, present and 

future times. 

For a semester, Price and his team of faculties and 25 

students explored what a thin place is and how could it 

be expressed in architectural form; finally constructing it 

on site within 9 days. 

The structure was built as a semi-beehive, as if a wave of 

stones is rising from the sea. The pathway to the structure 

has accelerating steel arches merging the open sky with 

the sharp edge of the sea. The structure has a thin divide 

between an expression of solid as well as void, joy as well 

as sadness, freedom as well as confinement. 

The success of this project was measured when people 

came from all over to experience this ‘Thin Place’. They 

came to pray, celebrate, remember the lost loved ones 

and feel the eternal escape of time in this mysterious 

landscape. The architectural built form became part 

of the nature as a symbol of their culture to inspire the 

future. 




2003 

1992 

2004 

1998 

SOME OF THE OTHER EXPEDITIONS 

1992 – ‘A Sacred Cache and the Crow’ – A temple. 

Location: Yukon Border, British Columbia. 

1998 – ‘The Fullness of the Void’ – A Bridge. 

Location: Vargas Island, British Columbia. 

2003 – ‘Where the Daughter Winds of Islam Caress the Mirror of 

Venus’ – A Temple to Venus. 

Location: Pantelleria, Italy. 

2004 – ‘Vault of Heaven’ – A Shrine Processional dedicated to the 

children of Erris. 

Location: Scotts Port, County Mayo, Ireland. 

2005 - ‘The Children of Lir’ - A tale of 900 years told in sculpted 

land. 

Location: Caraigh Taigh, Ireland. 

2007 - ‘Temple of the Tides’ - Small reflection chapel dedicated 

to the “Emerging Irish”. 

Location: Bellmullet, Ireland. 

2008 - ‘National Memorial to 

James Hoban - Architect 

of the White House’ 

-A memorial 

Location: Desart , Ireland. 

2010 – ‘Kalevalakehto’ 

- Shaman’s Haven of 

the Kalevala 

– A Meeting Place 

Location: Helsinki, Finland 

2005 

2007 

2010 

2008 


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Expedition 2011: 

‘MEMORIAL TO THE ANCESTORS’ 

Location: Namje & Thumki Village, Bhedetar VDC, Nepal 

Front Row from left: Kathleen Lane, Travis Price, Karna Magar (the local chief 

mason) and Rajeev Goyal with the author (blue jacket) and the SPSD team. 

“When I looked inside the glass tomb, I was 

reminded of my friends and loved ones whom I 

have lost. It was a powerful feeling of honour that 

a built form can generate in one’s mind. This is 

truly a structure of this village community, for this 

village community and by this village community,” 

says Rajeev Goyal, founder of Learning Grounds. 

Thumki which means ‘hill’ in nepali and Namje 

which seems to have come from the name ‘mamja’ 

meaning cloth bag; are two villages largely 

dominated by Magar community in Bhedetar VDC at 

Dhankuta district of Eastern Nepal. 

Even though a majority of Magars accepted 

Hindusm, some still worship Buddhist gods and their 

dead ancestors. They believe in Shamanism and 

their Dhami. They have adopted their own practice 

of worship. They bury their dead and they have their 

own belief system regarding life after death. 

In 2009, a plot of land was purchased for the high 

school to build an organic agriculture demonstration 

area. At the center of the plot was a burial ground 

which later was put to agriculture use after removing 

some of its tombstones. Located on the highest hill 

of the Thumki village, and visible from miles around, 

today this ancient burial ground is surrounded by 

the organic farm fields of Learning Grounds’ (an 

organization established by Ar. Priyanka Bista and 

Rajeev Goyal, volunteers who have worked in Namje 

and Thumki over the last several years) agricultural 

education center. In 2011, this site was chosen by 

Learning Grounds to build an architectural icon 

which may inspire and impart cultural spirit in the 

community. SPSD decided to involve its team of 

graduate and undergraduate students of the Catholic 




University at Washington DC, to explore the culture, 

history and ecology of the site for developing the 

design of a monument which was called the ‘Memorial 

to the Ancestors’. 

based on its sacred past. Villagers have worked side 

by side with an emerging generation of American 

architects. Both groups learnt from each other during 

the experience. • 

After a semester of research, the team came up with a 

design which was constructed within 9 days at site by 

SPSD students, faculties, local artisans and villagers with 

the help of Learning Grounds and Spaces. There are 8 

exterior walls surrounding the 9m x 9m plinth base and 

8 interior walls surrounding the grave in the center. The 

visitor walks over the path of black slate tiles bordered 

by 7 feet tall stone walls. The slit openings in the wall 

allow breathtaking views of the natural surroundings 

as well as surprising views of the glass grave inside. 

Walking around this pathway increases the feeling of a 

mysterious prayer that moves around till you get to the 

center. 

At the center, a rocky bed protects a grave made of 

glass with the intent that you can look inside to see a 

dark pit to remember the ancestors who have been 

buried there, yet also reflect into the sky to look forward 

to the future. The glass tomb reminds of the sacred 

metaphor amongst Magars that ancestors symbolically 

watch over the community. 

The project at its core has been about developing an 

innovative modern architectural language for Nepal 


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H I M A L A Y A N T R A I L S 

SHELTER 

on the moving 

© Ashesh Rajbansh 

MOUNTAINS 

Text & Images: Ar. Kai Weise 

The Himalayan region is characterized by a mosaic of diverse landscapes, climates, 

ethnicities and cultures. The story of the creation of this fascinating landscape began 

some 90 million years ago. A thin piece of the ancient Gondwana continent broke away 

and sped north travelling a couple of thousand kilometres over the next 50 million 

years or so and collided with the Eurasian plate. There are still many aspects of the 

Plate Tectonic theory that are contested, however it provides a graphic picture of the 

events that have led to the spectacular geological formations along the Himalayas. 




As the mountains 

were formed, a 

climatic barrier was 

created. Thus, the high 

precipitation towards 

the south resulted in 

deep valleys and mighty 

rivers cutting through 

the mountain range. 

THE CREATION OF A NEW 

LANDSCAPE 

The effect of the collision is a rather 

complex study on the behaviour of the 

two plates as they rammed into each 

other. The Indian Plate was shorted by 

about 2500 km with most of this crust 

being subducted under the Tibetan 

plateau, deforming and raising the 

Tibetan block. The floor of the Tethys 

Ocean was lifted and folded upwards 

creating the first range of relatively low 

mountains. In the next phase the edge 

of the Indo-Australian Plate was further 

thrust up and folded backwards to the 

south. The final thrust which might have 

taken place as late as 600,000 years ago, 

squeezed up great masses of rock to 

create the present massifs with peaks 

over 8000 meter high. 

As the mountains were formed, a 

climatic barrier was created and the 

northern areas dried up. During the 

summer months the great landmass of 

the Tibetan plateau heated up and the 

warmer air rose, sucking in air from 

the south. The resulting strong winds, 

the Monsoons, carried warm humid 

air towards the mountains and as it was 

forced to rise, there was condensation. 

The gradient and high precipitation 

towards the south led to greater 

erosion, deep valleys being cut into 

the soft layers of the newly formed 

landscape. 

The effect of the 

collision of the Indian 

with the Tibetan 

Plate is a rather 

complex study, further 

developing finally into 

the creation of the 

present 8000 meter 

high massifs. 


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While structures in the cold and dry climate 

of the Tibetan plateau (below) are responsive 

with thick rammed earth walls and flat roofs 

covered with earth, buildings in the foothills 

(top) with cool, wet climate are built with 

sloping roofs, shingles and thatch. Those in 

the hot, wet climate of the plains are light 

constructions. 

The river systems developed with 

the area behind the main mountain 

range being drained by the two 

mighty rivers: the Brahmaputra to 

the east and the Indus to the west. 

The precipitation on the southern 

flanks drained into the Ganges. 

Interesting to note is that some major 

rivers actually cut through the main 

mountain range which would have 

only been possible if they were able 

to erode away the valleys faster than 

the final uplift. 

Then again, when the great mass 

of rocks was piled up, the weight 

was so great that it settled and tilted 

back to regain equilibrium, shearing 

from the surrounding landmass. This 

blocked the rivers and created lakes 

along the whole range. The mighty 

rivers flowed perpendicular to the 

mountain range, converging and at 

some point breaking through the 

hills, spilling out into the plains of the 

Terai. For example the Koshi river 

system breaks through at Chatra 

near Dharan and the Gandaki flows 

out near Narayanghat. Some lakes 

continued existing in the valleys such 

as Srinagar and Kathmandu. The lake 

of the Kathmandu Valley is believed to 

have drained out over the past thirty 

thousand years and possibly for the 

last time around eighteen thousand 

years ago. Sediments were gradually 

deposited at the bottom of the lake 

providing fluvio-lacustrine clay 

and sand. The black clay contained 

decayed organic matter from the 

lake which made it extremely fertile. 

Bands of peat and coal were also 

present which show that the valley was 

swampy and dry alternatively. 

MIGRATING INTO THE NEW 

LANDSCAPE 

Neolithic tools have been found along 

the Himalayas and in the Kathmandu 

Valley indicating that people lived 

here at least since the past nine 

thousand years. People came and 

interpreted their surroundings, 

bestowing their landscape with divine 

significance. The mountains were 

given titles such as “Mother Goddess 

of the Land” (Chomolongma) and 

“Dispenser of Food” (Annapurna). 




The Kathmandu Valley was 

strategically located between the 

seven holy rivers of the Kosi to the 

west and the seven holy rivers of the 

Gandaki to the east. The Swayambhu 

Purana describes the geological 

formation of the legendary lake 

Nagavasahrada. Legend has it that 

after Manjushri cut through the hills to 

drain the valley, the infuriated water 

serpents whose habitat had been 

destroyed brought about alternate 

periods of floods and droughts. 

This shows how closely the people 

understood their environment and 

geological processes were attributed 

to the creative energy of the gods. 

Over centuries people migrated to 

this fringe area between the ancient 

cultural spheres of South Asia and 

East Asia. They came either to flee 

from persecution or in search of new 

prospects. They brought with them 

their religion, their language, their 

craftsmanship and enterprise. They 

came to graze their livestock, to farm, 

to hunt and to gather. They settled in a 

landscape with the highest mountains 

and the deepest gorges as well as the 

highest rate of uplift and the highest 

rate of erosion. The Continental Plates 

are still moving and the Himalayas are 

rising at an approximately rate of 5 

mm per year, causing energy to build 

up along the fault lines which is then 

released through earthquakes. 

RESPONDING TO THE 

LANDSCAPE 

Shelters were built in the diverse 

contexts of this relatively new 

landscape. Although no extensive study 

has been done of all the various forms 

of shelter along the Himalayas, there 

is however clear evidence that where 

there is limited economic resource, 

the forms are primarily based on the 

availability of materials that are most 

appropriate for the given climate. 

The extreme topographic gradient 

in the north-south direction has 

an obvious impact on the form of 

the shelters. The cold, dry climate 

towards the Tibetan plateau allows for 

structures with thick rammed earth 

walls and flat roofs covered with earth. 

The buildings in the cool, wet climate 

along the foothills are most often built 

of stone with sloping roofs of slate, 

shingles or thatch. In the hot, wet 

climate of the plains the structures are 

usually light constructions of wood or 

bamboo with sloping thatch or shingle 

roofs. 

There is a more subtle gradient in 

the climate and topography when 

observed along the 2,400 km length of 

the Himalayas. This subtle difference 

allows for variations based on cultural 

parameters. Structurally the houses 

of the Limbus, the Tamangs and 

the Gurungs who all live along the 

foothills are very similar. However 

the craftsmanship, the finishes, the 

ornamentation and the symbolic value 

given to the various parts of the house 

would be different based on their 

individual ethnic cultures. 


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Where economy allowed, highly evolved 

forms of architecture became the 

identity of the community. 




For those constantly on the move, like the 

pastoral tribes along the Tibetan Plateau, 

a different set of rules apply – yak hair 

tents and carved out cave dwellings. 

CULTURAL EVOLUTION 

Where the economy allowed, the 

forms of settlement and shelter 

developed to express the more 

complex character of a civilization. 

This development generally 

consisted of elaborate religious 

and community structures and 

intricate settlement patterns. The 

ornamentation, workmanship and an 

elaborate choice of materials used 

for the more significant buildings 

began to be employed in the 

construction of the dwellings. 

This process can be observed in the 

Kathmandu Valley where economic 

surplus was achieved through 

intensive farming of the fertile land 

and the trans-Himalayan trade. 

The compact urban structure was 

defined by the trade routes and the 

courtyard units which originated 

from the Buddhist Viharas. As little 

as possible of the fertile agricultural 

land was occupied. In contrast to 

the predominantly stone structures 

along the foothills, the Newars of 

the Kathmandu Valley used the 

readily available clay to burn 

bricks. A highly developed form 

of architecture developed using 

elaborate decorative bricks and tiles 

with carved wooden posts, struts and 

windows. In addition to the highly 

developed ornamentation, the Newari 

craftsmen also engaged themselves 

with ingenious methods of seismic 

design, a highly complex task which 

modern engineering is still struggling 

with. 

Such highly evolved forms of 

architecture became the identity of 

the community. Though developed 

in a particular place under specific 

conditions, the community used 

this form of architecture even when 

establishing settlements in a different 

environment. This can be observed 

in the Newari settlements that are 

located outside the Kathmandu 

Valley. In a place like Bandipur, 

where one would have expected 

stone structures, the Newari 

tradesmen built brick houses - a 

symbolic value of identity becoming 

predominant. This is even more 

pronounced with religious structures. 

The “Nepali” temple on the ghats 

of Benares was built in the form of 

a Newari tiered temple. Similarly, 

Buddhist Monasteries retained their 

architecture language whether built 

in the mountainous, foothills or the 

plains. 

ARCHAIC SHELTERS 

A totally different set of rules applied 

for those people who were constantly 

on the move. The pastoral tribes along 

the Tibetan Plateau followed a seasonal 

migration pattern and lived in yak-hair 

tents which could be easily dismantled 

and transported. In Mizoram, Jhum or 

shifting cultivation was traditionally 

practiced and every few years the 

shelter needed to be moved to a newly 

cleared plot of land. This did not require 

for any permanent houses to be built 

and therefore simple light bamboo 

structures on stilts were constructed. 

The earliest form of shelter used 

by humans was the cave. Over the 

centuries elaborate cave dwellings were 

developed, carving out specialized 

rooms with interlinking passages and 

steps such as the ones discovered 

in Upper Mustang. These have been 

abandoned, but certain tribes in eastern 

Arunachal Pradesh are even today found 

to be living in caves. 

SHELTERS AS FORMS OF 

EXPRESSION 

By constructing shelters people have 

been able to settle in extreme conditions 

and protect themselves from their 

surroundings. The response to the 

environment is the basic condition that 

is addressed through the form of the 

traditional houses. This can however 

not be the only factor that defines 

these buildings, for there are too many 

variations in the forms, materials and 

finishes within similar environments. It is 

the genius of human creativity and the 

importance of symbols and the divine 

that allow communities to express their 

unique identity in their form of shelter. • 

EDITORIAL NOTE 

The Himalayan Trail will be a series of articles by 

Ar. Kai Weise, tracing and analysing the evolution of 

shelter to its present form in the Himalayan belt of 

this part of Asia touching India, China and Pakistan. 


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I N F O C U S 

Facing the Facts of Conservation 

an afternoon with Niels Gutschow 

Areal view of PujahariMath c. 1970 

Text: Ar. Swati Pujari 

Images: Niels Gutschow 

Most people define their lives in two aspects - their work and their passion. But if you are lucky, 

there is just a fine line between your work and your passion. And if you are luckier, your work is 

your passion. It is perhaps not entirely possible to define whether Niels Gutschow is a lucky man or 

if he is luckier still, but rest assured, he has definitely found his passion in his work. 



I N F O C U S 

In July 1962, Niels first entered Nepal as he was 

travelling through Burma and Japan, and in his two 

weeks of stay, he witnessed the Jatra of Bungadyah. 

Within these two weeks he vowed to return to Nepal. 

He kept his promise, when in September 1970, after 

graduating architecture from Germany, he came back 

to inspect the PujariMath in Bhaktapur. 

The restoration of the Pujahari Math, the first bilateral 

restoration project in Nepal, was a unique approach 

by Heinrich Seemann from the German Embassy. 

The restoration was gifted to the then crown prince 

Birendra Shah, and a few young enthusiastic architects 

from Germany, including Gutschow, volunteered to 

work in the project. Gutschow remembers how he and 

his friends were all “young people who were willing 

to go anyplace and do something, without any formal 

remuneration, we simply came because we liked to 

be here.” 

The times and places from 40 years back are fresh in 

the mind of Gutschow. Talking about Bhaktapur, his 

words turn from admiration to passion. The place was 

more than a home to him; it was a dreamland, where 

he was living together with all the gods. The lives of 

the people here captured his mind, and the fact that 

their lives were outside in the squares and the streets 

was more than just interesting to him. He compares 

this to the life in the western part of the world where 

“first of all you don’t see anybody, and then you don’t 

see anything. Except for driving a car and shopping, 

there is no human life.” But that was not the same here. 

Here his experience of people and places was more 

than interesting, it was life. 

Niels Gutschow is primarily a researcher. He has 

been traveling around Asia for decades and has 

published multiple books on spaces, rituals and 

architecture of different places including India, Nepal 

and Japan both in English and German. And research 

is what brought him to Nepal. He remembers how, 

although he was one of the initial people to have 

‘invented’ the Bhaktapur Development Project, by 

persuading the organizations in Germany and by 

preparing the first basic outlines for the project in 

1973, he was never formally involved in the project as 

he was doing his own research, and while doing 

his research he could be his own ‘hakim’ (boss). 

The Bhaktapur Development Project, in itself was 

a good project since, according to Gutschow, 

Bhaktapur has emerged with a strong identity. 

At a time when Kathmandu is a ruin and Patan 

is on the verge of becoming a ruin, especially 

due to the lack of implementation of restrictions, 

Bhaktapur, incidentally has a strong political 

control, resulting in the enforcement of byelaws by 

the municipalities. 

Although conservation is not his primary 

occupation, Gutschow has been involved in 

preservation throughout his stay in Nepal. One 

of the most challenging as well as interesting 

aspects of conservation that he discusses is the 

conservation of private houses. The Bhaktapur 

Development Project was dreaming of preserving 

private houses, and he calls it a dream as you 

cannot force people to preserve an old house, 

especially in a context where people enjoy living 

in a new house. When asked about the challenges 

and guidelines of preserving a private house, 

Gutschow answers that “you cannot guide the 

preservation of a private house”; people need to 

be persuaded and convinced and the best way 

to convince people is monetarily. Unfortunately 

in Nepal, these practices have not been entirely 

applicable as firstly there is no record or list 

of privately owned monuments and secondly 

the government has neither the interest nor the 

ability to finance the maintenance of these private 

monuments. Even more unfortunate is the fact 

that a tax rebate, which is a common practice 

elsewhere, is also not such a lucrative option 

here. So how do you preserve a house? “The best 

way to preserve a house is to buy a house.” Many 

organizations in Europe, buy old houses, preserve 

them and then rent them out. It is a good practice, 

and it can be applied in Nepal too, especially 

in core areas like Patan, a place where forming 

foundations and running them would not be a 

problem as “Patan is full of money,” but it currently 

lacks the interest of the people. 


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I N F O C U S 

Detailed sketch of Bhagirath at the Sundhara at Bhaktapur Durbar Square. Niels believes 

that making drawings recording what is there is also an act of conservation. 

Illustration by: Bijay Basukala 



I N F O C U S 

Work in Progress in the renovation of 

PujahariMath, Bhaktapur 

Gutschow also stresses that talking about laws and norms is 

not good enough. When asked about the conservation 

practices in many of his works where missing details are 

reproduced, Gutschow replies that he is very proud of 

not following the allegedly internationally valid norms and 

charters but rather asks to respond to the local situation. 

“These norms were made in Europe, they are imported so 

what do they mean here? Not much, why should we import 

these norms instead of answering to the local situation and 

listening to the carpenters?” As Niels puts forward these 

questions, he also has his own answers to them. For him, 

propagating these international norms is not the answer; 

for him, understanding the monument and answering to 

the prevalent problems does not come from preconceived 

norms, it comes from living with the monument, knowing 

it and loving it. “It comes out of love, and the love for the 

monument is the key point, and it is this love that gets one 

through all the criticism. Conservation is criticized, that is 

just the way it is, and there is nothing one can do about it – 

“you have to bear it” - but if you have loved your monument 

and, along with the living society, if you have answered to its 

needs, then the criticism from the objective visitor is not a 

problem, in fact it is quite expected.” 

When asked if he agrees with the decided definition of 

conservation, he replies that conservation cannot be defined 

- it should not be defined. Sure there are declarations and 

charters and norms, but what good are they if they are not 

invented in the place where they are practiced? “I once, in 

1993, advised to withdraw the entire Ancient Monument 

Preservation Act and put it in the rubbish, and then think of 

a new law.” Nobody in Nepal has tried to find any definitions 

for conservational practices in Nepal, and Gutschow does 

not want to come up with any definitions, “because it should 

come from our Nepali friends - people like Sudharshan Raj 

Tiwari, Surya Bhakta Sangachee, Deepak Pant, Biresh Shah, 

Mohan Pant - they should come together regularly and 

engage in active discussions and maybe come up with a 

philosophy of conservation in Nepal.” And the philosophy 

does not necessarily have to concur with the international 

norms, because more than norms, quality is important. 

parties who can stress on conservation or who can define quality, 

we professionals should do that.” 

Conservation in Nepal is also tricky since the involved 

organization is the Department of Archaeology. What does 

archaeology have to do with conserving a living monument? 

Archaeology and architecture are two entirely different things and 

there should clearly be a different department for this purpose. 

Also the laws in Nepal talk about a monument defined as a 

building more than a hundred years old, which firstly is too long a 

time, and do these organizations even have trained eyes that can 

identify buildings that are more than a hundred years old? 

A discussion with Dr. Niels Gutschow ends with many questions - 

questions regarding the interest of people to conserve, regarding 

the philosophies, norms and practices, questions regarding 

quality, and the crucial question about where you can find 

these answers. Perhaps you can find it in the pages of a book, 

in the words of a conservationist, in the discussions of wise and 

experienced men, or maybe, just maybe you can find the answers 

right in front of you, in the monument, in the people living with the 

monument, in the life that the monument feeds on, and perhaps 

you just have to look closely. • 

Gutschow recalls his involvement in preparing the 

measured drawings of Swayambhu, initially for his 

own research, but he also worked on the Swayambhu 

Conservation Masterplan, financed by GTZ, where 

they wanted to preserve the entire hill as a natural site. 

Unfortunately later there were fences built around the hill 

and the huge images at the Buddha Park were established. 

“There were two different approaches, and the idea of 

conservation is never on the winning side, perhaps much 

like the idea of quality. There are different parties involved 

- tourists, common people, politics, but these are not the 

Born in 1941 in Hamburg as the son 

of an architect, Gutschow stdudied 

architecture at the University of 

Darmstadt, where he also completed 

his PhD on the Japanese Castle 

Towns in 1973. In the late 1970s he established the department of 

conservation at the municipality at Münster and for two decades he 

was a member of the National Kommittee for Conservation of the 

Federal Republic of Germany. Besides doing carrying out research in 

Nepal he specializes in 20th century history of architecture 

and planning of Europe. Gutschow is honorary professor of the 

Heidelberg University, South-Asia Institute. At present he works 

on an extensive documentation (three volumes with almost 2000 

illustrations), titled “Architecture of the Newars”. 


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H E R I T A G E 

ABOVE THE 

Clouds 

CONSERVING THE MONASTERY OF UPPER MUSTANG, NEPAL 

Text & Images: John Sanday 

Editing: Bansri Pandey 

‘‘ 

“The day we crested the last pass before reaching 

Lomanthang, was a moment of great fulfilment – 

we were close to our destination, and there in the 

distance we could see the unique walled city and 

knowingly pick out the red smudge in the middle of 

the town which was the Thubchen Gompa,” 

John Sanday. 




The roof structure over the main altar inside Thubchen 

Lhakhang (the prayer hall), where 3 meter high seated 

Buddhist divinities were placed, was about to fall. Two 

principal rafters had fractured under duress and any 

unskilled interference would likely cause the immense 1 

metre thick earthen flat roof to crash down causing severe 

damage to the divinities beneath. Thanks to the American 

Himalayan Foundation (AHF) from San Francisco and the 

King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation (KMTNC), a 

project was initiated to conserve this Buddhist Monastery 

in Upper Mustang. 

As the Project Director, John Sanday carefully selected his 

team and led a group of his three most trusted carpenters 

from Kirtipur, Dr. Corneille Jest, a Tibetan specialist from 

France and staff from John Sanday Associates to check out 

the structural failures in Thubchen. Walking up through 

the Kali Gandaki, passing through the deepest canyons 

in the world, experiencing the altitude and never ending 

hill-trails, the team made their first trip in 1996 to what was 

then known as ‘the Forbidden Kingdom’. 


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“Thubchen Gompa - over to you 

John!” John Sanday, nostalgically 

remembers these words 

announced, addressing his team, 

as a transfer of responsibilities 

to conserve Thubchen Gompa of 

Lomanthang in 1998. 

The 3 metre tall Sakyamuni 

Buddha in the monastery with 

its roof sagging precariously. 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS 

Thubchen Gompa with its burnt umber 

colour welcomes the visitor with the 

large entrance of double wooden doors. 

Further inside, passing through the 

red painted doors leading to the main 

Lhakhang (the prayer hall), you are 

enveloped by a deep and spiritual world. 

Lofty 22 feet high columns rise to support 

the skylights as shafts of sunlight pierce 

the darkened prayer hall. The eyes of the 

three metre tall beaten copper image of 

the Sakyamuni Buddha surveys all who 

enter and the accompanying divinities are 

there to receive all visitors. 

The walls of the Lhakhang, covered 

in layers of centuries old soot, reveal 

paintings of divinities having the odd 

glint of gold and a sense of brilliant 

but restrained decoration. Alas, the 

lower two metres of these 15th Century 

masterpieces have long disappeared due 

to dampness and salt action. In several 

instances, rain and snow-melt has cut 

5cm deep channels into the wall, severely 

disfiguring this priceless artwork. 

The roof above the front altar was sagging 

precariously. It was indeed impossible to 

give sound support to the fragile roof as it 

was located immediately above the heads 

of the divinities. However, by building a 

structural bridge over one of the divinity’s 

laps, the team could provide sound 

temporary support which would hold 

the fractured beams in place and, should 

the structure fail, the temporary structure 

would act as a supporting pillar until the 

team returned two years later. 

CONSERVATION WORK BEGINS 

In 1998 with the bureaucracy complete, 

the first of nine annual working missions 

set off on the long trail to Lomanthang. 

Transporting the AHF team, all its food, 

materials and equipment from Kathmandu 

to Lomanthang was in itself a daunting 

prospect, and as the years went by, the 

team perfected the task. Before starting 

the conservation work, the team needed 

the consent of Lo Manthang’s community 

for this unique and spectacular building. 

In the presence of the Raja (King) of 

Mustang – Jigme Palbar Bista and the 

religious leader of the Sakyapa – His 

Holiness Khenpo Tashi Tenzin Rinpoche, 

a Gompa Restoration Committee was 

formed and the community agreed to 

assist with this unique conservation 

programme. 

Soon, under the direction of conservation 

architect John Sanday and his team of 

Nepali apprentices, the skilled Newari 

carpenters from Kirtipur, the maestros in 

wall paintings conservation from Italy and 

with support from the local craftsmen and 

labour, the repair and conservation work 

began in Thubchen Gompa. 




In order to protect the 500 years old clay divinities 

in the Gompa, the repair of the damaged roof was 

the first task of the structural repair team. 


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As the available timber was too short to 

span the roof, the Raja negotiated them to 

be carried from the Tibetan border, a six 

hours walk away - four pieces a day. 

8 

1 

2 

8 

1. One of the carpenters / 

wood carver from Kirtipur 

repairing the snarling 

snow lion heads in the 

skylight over the prayer 

hall. Following original 

examples, they replaced 

few lost teeth, missing 

ears and in some cases 

complete heads of the 

lions. 

2. About 3 hours walk 

from Thubchen lived a 

remarkable 70 year old 

craftsman – a specialist 

in mud plastering. He 

joined the project and 

worked diligently with 

a team of students 

teaching them about 

the different clays to be 

found in the mountains 

around Lomanthang 

– the special mixes for 

the base layers and 

the perfect finishes of 

honed white clay on 

which the wall paintings 

would be created. He 

died during the last year 

of the project, having 

completed his wish 

to pay homage to the 

Sakyamuni Buddha by 

working in Thubchen. 

THE CHALLENGES 

More than the technique of conservation, 

the real challenge was to train up this local 

team in the technology and philosophy of 

conservation of these unique structures 

and works of art. 

The first task of the structural repair team was 

to protect the 500 years old divinities beneath 

the damaged roof of the altar from weather, 

falling debris and all the likely mishaps of a 

construction program. These divinities are 

sculpted in clay and should they get wet, they 

would just melt away. 

The skills of the carpenters from Kirtipur were 

essential to achieve the complicated repairs 

required in the roof structure and to train the 

carpenters of Mustang in the techniques of 

structural repair and conservation. It was an 

uphill task, as the local carpenters had hardly 

used measuring tapes or right angle squares 

to set out their work. They worked on human 

dimensions - a hand span, a forearm … or a 

calculated guess! 

A bigger challenge for the local community 

was to find timber. There was a large pile of 

timber collected for use in the temples but 

they were too short to span the roof space. 

The Raja and the senior members of the 

community accepted the responsibility and 

rode to the Tibetan border to negotiate for 

the required lengths of timber. Three months 

later timber appeared on the horizon as four 

teams of eight Lhobas struggled over the 

mountainous terrain carrying the required 

timber. 

Four timber pieces a day were carried from 

the border – a six hour walk away. They 

appeared like centipedes struggling through 

large sand dunes on the side of the mountain 

and when the first timbers, 6 metre in length 

arrived on the backs of the four teams of 

Lhobas, the entire community was out to cheer 

them on as they struggled up the path from 

the river and passed through the gate into 

Lomanthang. The delay in bringing the timber 

on site enabled the carpenters to prepare the 

massive composite timber beams in time to 

receive the rafters. The composite beams 

were made up of eleven sections of timber, 

which were held together with iron stirrups 

to form a hollow beam, about 75cms wide 

and 75cms deep. Over the centuries, these 

beams had twisted and racked as a result of 

seismic movement. Rather than trying to put 

them in straight lines, it was decided to repair 

them and to leave them in their twisted state 

retaining their patina of age. The beams were 

cleaned to expose their original colours and 

the lacunae were an authentic match. 8 




8 

John Sanday realised it was essential 

to seek the skills of an Italian team of 

conservators with knowledge and experience 

in consolidating, cleaning, restoring and even 

temporarily removing such priceless works 

of art from the walls. During the twelve 

years working in Lomanthang, six different 

specialists joined the team and imparted 

their knowledge and different talents to 

a group of over 30 trainees. Two young 

women of the group enabled the team to 

break the taboo of allowing women to work 

in the temple as trainees and, by the end of 

the project the women, outnumbered the 

men! This group excelled themselves as 

conservators and were classed as some of 

the best trainees to have worked with the 

Italian specialists. 

8 

Due to centuries of neglect, lack of 

maintenance and excessive dampness, the 

paintings became damaged, disintegrated 

and peeled from the wall surfaces. 



8 

FORMING THE DEFORMED DIVINITIES 

The wall paintings in Thubchen for the most 

part are the original 15th Century paintings and 

are attributed to the Newari craftsmen from the 

Kathmandu Valley. Locally, however, the paintings 

are thought to be the work of Tibetan artists. 

The paintings are dominated by magnificent 

Sakyamuni Buddhas who in their seated, posture 

are approximately 3.75 metres high and 2 metres 

wide. The Italians describe the painting technique 

as “Secco” or the “Dry” method; that is to say the 

high quality mineral paints are painted onto a dry 

backing plaster which is made of very fine white 

clay, burnished to an almost glossy finish. The 

original colours are made from minerals such as 

cinnabar and ground semi-precious stones such as 

malachite and turquoise. 

“How can we worship deformed Divinities?” was a 

statement that set John Sanday and his team thinking 

as they stood marvelling at the priceless and unique 

paintings that adorned the walls of the Thubchen 

Gompa. This was a very pertinent question from 

a devout Buddhist in the team assisting the Italian 

specialists whom had been asked to join the 

conservation team to work on and train members of 

the local community in conserving and repairing the 

unique wall paintings in Thubchen. Due to centuries 

of neglect, lack of maintenance and the effects of 

excessive dampness caused by a build-up of earth 

around the base of the rammed earth walls where 

cattle were bedded down for the winter, up to two 

metres of the interior plaster work and the paintings 

themselves became damaged, disintegrated and 

over the years peeled from the wall surfaces. 

Herein lies a dilemma that haunts any true 

conservator facing a crumbling and age distorted 

painting whose history could be changed and 


intrinsic value diminished by a well meaning artist 

wishing to gain merit by repainting the missing 

sections of the wall paintings. 

In Lomanthang the debate has raged over time 

and, as foreign conservators were undertaking 

the project, it was strongly recommended that 

repainting was not an option as there is NO evidence 

of what was originally there. The task that faced the 

conservators was therefore to undertake a true and 

faithful `state of the art’ conservation and restoration 

programme of this priceless artwork. 

During the twelve years of working in several 

Gompas in Mustang, it became clear that the 

decision not to repaint the missing lower sections 

of the paintings was the correct one as the intensive 

cleaning of the painted surfaces and the retouching 

of the lacunae magnified the exceptional artistry 

and technique that had gone into the creation of 

these masterpieces, the likes of which could never 

be matched. 

In answer to the question of worshipping 

handicapped divinities, noted scholars, of Tibetan 

art and the Italian conservators themselves agreed 

that it was best to outline the missing parts of 

the figures, depicting this new work by using a 

single colour and that a lacuna or “divide” should 

separate the new from the old. 

After an eclectic combination of various traditional 

and modern conservation techniques during 

the 12 years long conservation programme, the 

monks returned the spirits of the gods back to their 

statues and paintings and the first religious zeal, a 

fast disappearing art form and a scorned building 

tradition was rekindled in the religious and local 

community. • 

AUTHOR’S END NOTES 

At the time of writing this article (4th August, 2011), information received from visitors to Lomanthang 

and the local community reveal that, contrary to the previous conservation ethics, a combination of 

local politics and misguided enthusiasm has resulted in a change of philosophy. Whereas other great 

masterpieces of Tibetan art and architecture in the region are languishing through lack of funds and 

expertise, the wall paintings of Thubchen are being “Restored” replacing the missing sections using 

mineral colours and the guess work of an artist with little experience in the art form that is being replaced. 

Recent heavy and continuous monsoon rains have played havoc to the structures of Lomanthang, 

especially the Palace, which is the oldest inhabited structure of its kind and a significant landmark in 

the history of Mustang. During the Mustang Gompa Project and after, proposals were tabled to develop 

a repair and rehabilitation project for the palace to not only provide accommodation for the former Raja 

and his family, but also to put the extensive historic accommodation to its full use for both the local 

religious body and community activities The Palace could also provide space for vocational training as 

well as spaces which could be used to provide a revenue thus ensuring the proper maintenance of this 

significant historic monument. The Palace’s present precarious condition could have been averted if 

again politics and proprietary attitudes had not interfered with a wish to save this important structure. 

Emergency repairs and structural stabilisation was proposed prior to developing a detailed conservation 

management plan. Today a state of emergency is being called to save the Palace and now there is no 

time for discussion. In contrast we are proud to hear that Thubchen and Champa Gompas have reportedly 

weathered the storms without damage or leakage, which goes to show that sound conservation and 

repair techniques pay dividends by ensuring the structures can withstand the severest of weather 

conditions. 


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I N T E R N A T I O N A L 

IN PURSUIT OF 

Excellence 

“I think we won the competition mainly because we had a clear central idea 

for the project and all our components of the project remained consistent 

with and faithful with this idea. We also were able to demonstrate our 

capability to handle scale and complexity by completing successfully the 

full submission requirement of the competition,” Biresh Shah, seen here 

with Sanjay Bahadur Thapa, principal architects of Archiplan. 

The Master Plan & Urban Design 

Text: Uday S. Shrestha with Biresh Shah 

Images: Archiplan 

For the South Asian University Campus 

During the SAARC Summit held in 

Dhaka in 2005, the Prime Minister of 

India, Dr. Manmohan Singh, stated 

that, “The people of our subcontinent 

are at the cutting edge of scientific 

and technological research and in 

the front ranks of the knowledge 

society across the world. Wherever 

an enabling environment and worldclass 

facilities are made available 

to our talented people, they excel. ” 

Dr. Singh further concluded that to 

boost cooperation and understanding 

among the SAARC citizens, a South 

Asian University (SAU) be established, 

“Let this become a forum where our 

academicians, scholars, researchers 

and gifted students can work together 

in the service of human advancement.” 

The idea was promptly endorsed 

by the SAARC Member States and 

an Inter-governmental Agreement 

towards its establishment was signed 

by the Foreign Ministers of all the 

SAARC countries on 4 April 2007. 

As a result, the SAU commenced its 

academic programmes in August 

2010, operating out of rented premises. 

At the same time, the development 

of a largely residential campus was 

envisaged and consequently, to meet 

the objectives set by the University, 

an invitation for those interested to 

participate in this international design 

competition for the proposed campus 

was called for in 2009. 

ARCHIPLAN, Architecture and Planning 

consultants, from Kathmandu, Nepal, 

was among the 15 architecture 

firms shortlisted and was notified in 

October 2010 to participate in the 

competition for which, the Proposal 

for the competition, was submitted on 

February 15. The final requirement 

for the submission for the competition 

was quite large consisting of a master 

plan for the Campus, its urban design 

scheme, and the concept design of 

five different building types - to be 

submitted within a time span of only 

four months. The ARCHIPLAN team 

consisting of architects Biresh Shah, 

Sanjay Bahadur Thapa, Anupam Bansal 

and Rajesh Dongre, submitted a 

design proposal which was adjudged 

the winner of the first prize by an 

international jury comprising of 

eminent architects, urban designers, 

and academicicans. No other prizes 

were awarded by the Jury. 

What follows are a set of responses 

by ARCHIPLAN to queries posed 

by SPACES regarding the design 

competition of the South Asian 

University: 

SPACES: The design competition was 

at a SAARC level, and Nepal being a 

small country, we always tend to think 

small. Nevertheless, what were your 

initial thoughts and what made you 

make up your mind to compete in the 

design competition? 

ARCHIPLAN: At ARCHIPLAN we have 

always worked with the premise that 




MASTER PLAN 

LEGEND 

PHASE-I 

ACADEMIC BUILDING 

STUDENTS HOSTEL 

TEACHERS RESIDENCE 

SAARC PROMENADE 

SAARC HAAT 

SAARC VANYA 

OTHER BUILDINGS 

PHASE-II 

ACADEMIC BUILDING 

STUDENTS HOSTEL 

TEACHERS RESIDENCE 

pursuit of excellence in architectural 

design is always relative to a place and 

its possibilities/limitations. Working 

in Nepal has its own set of limitations 

and challenges but also offers 

opportunities and potential to explore 

design issues very specifically, which 

we felt could add value to the design. 

Since the competition was mainly 

about preparing a master plan of the 

campus and an urban design scheme, 

the training and experience of the 

principal architects at ARCHIPLAN 

in these fields and our long-term 

familiarity with the city of New Delhi 

enabled us to approach the design of 

the project confidently. 

SPACES: The submission was done 

with a partner company from Delhi. 

How did you implement the design 

according to the requirement of 

the competition and what were the 

responsibilities of each firm? 

ARCHIPLAN: In October 2010, the 

South Asian University shortlisted 

ARCHIPLAN to participate in a 

limited competition . However, it 

was decided that ARCHIPLAN will 

participate in this competition with 

Anupam Bansal and Rajesh Dongre 

of ABRD architects of New Delhi. 

It was also a requirement of the 

competition that if a non-Indian firm 

won the competition they would need 

to tie up with a firm in New Delhi and 

set up a local office. 

The initial programming for 

the competition proposal and 

developing the preliminary scheme 

was developed in Kathmandu. 

These schemes were subsequently 

discussed in Delhi with our Partners, 

who brought in more specific local 

inputs into the Design and also the 

inputs of specialist consultants. The 

final drawings and models were 

prepared in New Delhi, since the 

requirement of the final submission 

was quite large from general 

competition standards. 


57 

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1. FACULTY BUILDINGS 

The main faculty buildings are conceived as dense urban 

blocks set on floor high podium deck facing either the main 

road and the main internal loop. The blocks are closely placed 

on the podium, interconnected, and face a common urban 

space consisting of a covered street and amphitheater. The 

general facilities of each faculty building like classrooms, cafes, 

seminar rooms etc. are located around this urban space. The 

main intent is to facilitate and encourage cross-disciplinary 

learning, possibilities for informal meetings, exchanges, 

sharing of facilities, and 24-hour functioning. 

SPACES: As each design has a 

background and needs a germination 

seed, who or what was the inspiration 

behind the project? 

ARCHIPLAN: The initial design 

idea emerged in the background of 

our experiences of having studied, 

worked and lived in New Delhi, our 

observations regarding campus 

planning in Delhi in the past two 

decades, and our experiences of 

major universities in the west. The 

seats of higher learning in India in the 

recent past (like JNU, IIT Delhi) were 

planned on the site planning principles 

that of arranging building blocks on a 

large site, with the building blocks and 

infrastructure being the focus. In our 

scheme, we consciously developed 

an urban campus, where the buildings 

form and engage with distinctive open 

spaces, and urban elements to deliver 

an urban form where a strong modern 

South Asian student community could 

flourish and which would connect 

effectively with the surrounding areas 

as well as the larger city. The buildings 

and the resulting opens spaces form 

a continuum, thereby establishing 

a variety of situations, scale and 

connectivity. The aim was to develop 

an urban campus of higher learning. 

SPACES: What was the main concept 

of the design and why do you think you 

won the competition? 

ARCHIPLAN: Our Urban design 

scheme for the South Asian University 

campus principally aimed at inserting 

a defined City fabric into the Site, 

which responds to the existing 

Structure of metropolitan New Delhi. 

The three Principal strategies to 

achieve this were: 

(i) The three principal zones of the 

site - the Academic Zone, the Faculty 

Housing and the Student’s Housing - 

were organized around a Central green 

area, which connects these three zones 

and also links with the Asola Wildlife 

Sanctuary on the North-east. The 

Academic buildings are zoned along the 

edge of the site parallel to the main city 

road, thus offering a strong architectural 

edge to the main city street. 

(ii) A vehicular loop connecting the 

two principal entrances to the Campus 

and the main city street forms the main 

interface of the city with the Campus. 

This vehicular loop also organises 

several key elements of the scheme 

around it 

(iii) The master plan, which sought to 

develop a matrix of integrations and 




BUILT FORM 

4.TEACHER RESIDENCE 

The Teachers housing 

blocks are planned for 100 

families each. Each blocks 

has courtyard configuration 

formed by two sub blocks. 

The sub-blocks comprise 

of a mix of walk up flats, 

duplex apartments and 

multistored flats topped 

by a two level penthouse. 

While this typology offers 

a range of choices of 

residences types and it also 

creates a visually balanced 

form while allowing for 

views and sun peneteration 

in the courtyard. 

5. STUDENTS HOSTEL 

The student hostels are designed as 

interconnected parallel linear multistoried 

slabs along the east-west axis, 

which allows for north and south 

frontages for the living areas. The 

hostel blocks are connected / structured 

along a pedestrian spine opening onto 

a variety of open spaces. These spaces 

are created in between the blocks which 

interface with the common areas of the 

hostel blocks. The large requirement for 

student housing within the limitations of 

3. SAARC HAAT 

The SAARC Haat and 

the South Asian Nodes 

(landscaped platforms 

along the edge of 

the central Green) 

establish two essential 

characteristics of south 

asian lifestyle on Campus, 

the liner bazzar as a 

meeting/leisure space and 

the points/nodes of repose 

for casual encounters. 

2. ADMINISTRATION AND 

LIBRARY 

The block consisting of the 

Administrative building and 

the Library are typological 

specific to their programs 

and their focal location 

in the Master Plan. The 

forms of the two buildings 

while being different are 

designed to engage in 

an interesting dialogue 

to offer a geographical 

and social center of the 

Campus. 

spatial interfaces to build a 24X7 South 

Asian knowledge community, has been 

conceived to allow for a variety of 

design moves at various scales to be 

incorporated within the main scheme, 

as it evolves into its final shape. 

SPACES: Who were in the Jury and what 

were their main reasons for awarding 

this design to your firm? 

ARCHIPLAN: The International 

Jury to review the competition 

entries consisted of: Mr. J. R. Bhalla – 

Chairman of the Jury, Architect, New 

Delhi; Prof. Syed Imtiaz Gilani - Vice 

Chancellor, NWFP University of Engg. 

& Technology, Peshawar, Pakistan; Prof. 

S. B. S. Abahyakoon - Vice Chancellor, 

University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka; 

Mr. Charles Correa - Architect / Urban 

Planner, Mumbai; Prof. B. V. Doshi - 

Architect / Urban Planner, Ahmedabad, 

Prof. A. G. Krishna Menon, Architect / 

Urban Planner, New Delhi; Prof. AGK 

Menon, architect/planner, New Delhi; 

Prof. G. K. Chaddha, President, South 

Asian University, Prof. M. Shaheer, 

Landscape Architect, New Delhi. 

The Jury in its comments commended 

the Proposal for its well articulated 

zoning and Land-use plan of the 

Campus. It also appreciated the 

linkages that the Proposal establishes 

with the surrounding topography. The 

proposal also envisaged setting up 

a large pavilion, called the SAARC 

Haat to house stores, exhibits, and 

food from the member SAARC 

countries. It also proposed designing 

specific nodes in the landscape 

as representational space for each 

SAARC nation. This too was especially 

appreciated by the Jury. 

SPACES: Who were your other 

competitors? 

ARCHIPLAN: The South Asian 

University had invited fifteen 

architectural firms to submit 

proposals. Among those who 

submitted were Raj Rewal associates, 

Sumit Ghosh Associates, and 

Venkatraman Associates from India, 

Canon-design of the USA, and a few 

entries from Sri Lanka and Pakistan, 

apart from ARCHIPLAN. 

SPACES: What was your feeling 

initially, and then your reaction when 

you heard about your win? 

ARCHIPLAN: We were initially quite 

pleased to have been short-listed 

to participate in this prestigious 

competition and saw it as a big 

opportunity to explore design and 

planning ideas at a larger scale. 


59 

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The experience during the 

competition stage was itself quite 

special, to start from the beginning , 

develop and present a proposal of this 

size satisfactorily was itself a special 

feeling. When we were informed 

in mid-March that we had won the 

competition by the President of the 

University, the initial reaction was 

one of a big surprise and delight . 

That our concept based on our own 

experiences and understanding had 

been recognized by a renowned Jury 

was a vindication of our belief about 

architecture and urban design issues. 

SPACES: What is the size of the project 

in terms of cost and when is the 

construction due to start? 

ARCHIPLAN: The university is to be 

built on a 96 acre site in Maidangarhi 

near the Qutub Minar in South Delhi 

area. It is envisaged as a primarily 

research post-graduate university 

for the SAARC region. The University 

plans to have 12 different Faculties, a 

convention centre, a central library, 

a central administration buildings, 

student hostels for 5000 students, and 

Teacher’s Housing for 400 faculty 

members, besides a variety of other 

support facilities like a guest house, 

faculty club, sports centre, health 

centre etc. Eventually the total built up 

area will be about 500,000 sq. m. 

As the Campus is envisaged to 

be constructed progressively in a 

prioritized manner, Construction is 

due to start in 2012 for the first group 

That our concept based on our own experiences 

and understanding had been recognized by a 

renowned Jury was a vindication of our belief 

about architecture and urban design issues. 

of buildings which will be completed 

by 2014 for the University to move 

in from its temporary premises . 

ARCHIPLAN and ABRD Architects 

have formed a formal association 

known as ARCHIPLAN ABRD JV and 

entered into a contract with South 

Asian University to develop the 

detailed design of the campus further 

and its implementation. 

SPACES: The size and scope of 

the project probably demands an 

array of experts from multiple fields. 

What share of the design, or specific 

fields, will be handled by Nepalese 

professionals? 

ARCHIPLAN: Various Nepalese 

professionals associated with our 

office have contributed to the 

project, who worked in the initial 

development of the concept for the 

design competition. Apart from the two 

principals of Archiplan, Sanjay Thapa 

and Biresh Shah, two other architects 

from our office are working full time 

on the project in New Delhi. At this 

stage of the project, when preliminary 

design stage has to be coordinated 

with services and structural design 

and the submission for approval from 

a multitude of regulatory authorities in 

New Delhi, most of the work is being 

undertaken in New Delhi. However, 

we hope to shift a part of the work 

to our Kathmandu office, once the 

detailed drawings are being made. 

This part of the project we hope will 

be undertaken by professionals in 

Kathmandu. • 



A R T 

Re-enlightenment 

c o n s e r v i n g 

the temples of Upper Mustang 

Text & Images: Luigi Fieni 



A R T 

View of Lomanthang from Amapel fort. 

INTRODUCTION 

13 years have passed since the American Himalayan 

Foundation (AHF) first decided, together with restoration 

architects, John Sanday & Associates, to undertake a 

massive restoration project in Lomanthang, the capital of 

the ancient kingdom of Mustang, Nepal. 

Before any work started, a thorough study of the 

technique of execution of the wall paintings and the 

structures of the monasteries was carried out, as proper 

understanding helps in the development of a better 

restoration plan. It should be emphasized that the 

majority of the wall paintings on the Asian continent are 

not fresco paintings for they are executed not on a wet 

lime based render but on a dry render and painted using 

a binder that is not lime. The mural paintings present in 

the temples of Jampa and Thupchen are among the most 

fascinating examples of fifteen century secco painting 

in Asia. These two buildings were completed, according 

to R. Vitali, in 1448 and 1472 respectively. 

A very important ceremony had to be performed by 

the abbot before any work could take place on the wall 

paintings and the statues. This ceremony, known as arga, 

involved the collection of all the spirits of the divinities 

that were present in the images, be they in the form of 

wall paintings or statues, in a mirror-like metal disc. 

The ritual mirror was subsequently wrapped in a ritual 

scarf so that the spirits could not run away, and hung to 

a pillar of the temple that no one was allowed to touch. 

This ceremony was very important from a religious 

point of view in order to avoid the chemicals and 

syringes harming or disturbing the divinities. 


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A R T 

ABOUT THUPCHEN AND JAMPA 

The red building of the Jampa Lhakhang 

is a construction of three floors with a 

large courtyard at its entrance. Protective 

deities about 4 meters in height, 

surround the ground-floor of the Jampa 

Lhakhang, while its two upper floors 

host 100 detailed mandalas, 54 on the 

first floor and 46 on the second floor, on 

whose northern wall more mandalas, 

perhaps to reach the sacred figure of 

108, may have been painted. 

The ground floor shows evidence 

that it was not completed, as the main 

shrine that houses the base of the 

gigantic clay image of Maitreya which 

dominates the hall of the first floor, 

had not been painted. On the walls, 

traces of construction lines snapped 

with a cord soaked in red color and 

few sketch-lines found randomly prove 

that, for unknown reasons, the pictorial 

cycle in the ground floor had not been 

concluded. Furthermore, around the 

circumambulation corridor surrounding 

the main shrine, parts of the wall 

paintings such as the sky, some figures 

and some gilded refinements are 

missing, and few areas show just the 

priming layer without any trace of color. 

The corridor was meant to be painted 

on both sides but there are only 

paintings on the inner walls and few 

remains on the outer south and west 

walls. Thanks to these clues, it is possible 

to surmise that the wall paintings on 

the first floor were completed before 

those on the ground floor. The shrine 

of a Tibetan temple must be painted 

before any other storey because it has 

to contain the main image to which the 

religious building is devoted to: just like 

in Christian tradition, the apse is the first 

section to be painted. 

Consolidation of 

preparatory layers using 

venous drip bottles. 

Turning to the technique of execution, 

it is to be said that mural paintings are 

generally never painted directly on 

the wall surface but on a sequence 

of overlapping layers, the number of 

which varies according to the period of 

execution and the geographical location. 

Retouching of stucco 

work in the main 

entrance of Jampa 

Lhakhang. 

The pigments used by the artists were 

the traditional ones: cinnabar for red, 

orpiment for yellow, malachite for green 

and azurite or indigo for blue. White was 

obtained from a mixture of calcite and 

gypsum and kaolin. Gold was applied as 

powder together with a binder to create 

intricate jewelry and delicate patterns on 

the garments of the deities as well as the 

ornaments in the mandalas. An impressive 

use of glossy black outlining in varying 

thicknesses enhances the outline of 

mandalas, deities and flowers, thus giving 

the paintings extraordinary elegance. 



A R T 

Trainees cleaning the wall paintings 

in the first floor of Jampa Lhakhang. 

The monastery of Thupchen consists, at 

present, of only a vestibule and one vast 

assembly hall made out of rammed mud 

walls. Gigantic images of the Buddha and of 

the main bodhisattvas dominate the pictorial 

cycle of the temple of Thupchen. During the 

restoration, evidence was found of a second 

storey, which probably collapsed due to an 

earthquake. It is probable that the first floor 

collapsed together with the north wall of the 

ground floor in one of the two earthquakes 

and that the vestibule was added during this 

repair work - an assumption, as there are no 

written documents available for proof. The 

original paintings present in the vestibule 

were heavily over-painted because of the 

damage and it is difficult to attempt any 

dating. 

Examination performed with infrared handycam 

showed details about the way the 

drawings were executed. Presence of dotted 

traces along the outlines of the figures 

showed that the technique of stencil had 

been used only in the upper sections of the 

wall paintings while in the lower areas there 

are just a few lines illustrating the positions 

of the parts of the body to be drawn. It is 

possible to suggest that the masters would 

employ their more skilled students in the 

lower areas and the less skilled in the upper 

areas, because the quality of the painting is 

inferior as it goes upwards. The lower side 

of the paintings would have been executed 

best as they can be seen more readily. The 

drawing was followed by the application of 

relief work, a technique with which all the 

outlines of the jewels and the decorations 

on the robes of the Buddha were embossed 

with a mixture of animal glue and very 

refined clay or flour. 

The colors were subsequently applied 

according to the indicators, letters and 

numbers left by the masters, using a 

palette that was very rich and unusual as 

the blue consisted of azurite and lapis 

lazuli, in some cases mixed together, so 

as to have different hues. For the red and 

orange, hematite and vermillion were 

used alternatively or mixed together. The 

green consisted of the typical malachite 

pigments while the brown was a mixture 

of malachite, azurite and vermillion. The 

refining touch was given by the application 

of lacquer in order to give the appearance 

of glazing and shading to the figures and 

to their Chinese-style brocade draperies 

and garments. The gold was used either in 

gold leaf or in powder form, thus creating 

very elegant aesthetical results. The 

finishing touch of the work in both temples 

was achieved by the application of a thick 

coating of varnish, which became in the 

course of time, one of the major problems 

for the paint layer. 


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A R T 

Trainees while retouching the 

wall paintings in the second floor 

of Jampa Lhakhang. 

condition of flaking of the paint layer 

was producing an unsystematic and 

widespread loss of paintings in both the 

temples. 

THE CONSERVATION WORK 

The first time we stepped into the 

buildings we realized how shocking the 

conditions of the paintings were and how 

difficult the task of restoring them was 

going to be. The original varnish was 

completely darkened through centuries 

of ageing, and smoke deposits from 

butter lamps had turned many areas of 

the pictorial layer entirely black. Over 

a period of six centuries, earthquakes 

had caused several cracks and a random 

separation of the preparatory layers of 

the wall paintings, which in many cases 

provoked the falling of the pictorial layer. 


Serious rain infiltrations from the ceiling 

had washed away several sections of 

the paint layer, as its binder was watersensitive 

and its renders water-soluble. 

Another situation was found on the 

ground floor of Jampa where heavy 

water and clay leakage from the ceiling 

had covered most of the pictorial 

cycle with a thick muddy coating. In a 

particular case in the Thupchen, rising 

damp to a height of nearly three meters 

running all around the temple, caused 

the lower part of the wall paintings to 

be gradually destroyed. An unusual 


Cleaning of 

wall paintings 

through 

the use of 

Japanese 

tissue paper 

and cotton 

swabs soaked 

in organic 

chemicals. 

The first big issue faced was the 

formation of a group of skilled trainees 

among the villagers, the main task being 

to turn people who were previously 

farmers, into proper restorers who could 

safely and carefully fix all the problems 

and the damage present in the temples. 

The teaching of the main techniques of 

restoration was carried out describing 

and showing, step by step, all the 

procedures that needed to be done. The 

training started on some more recent 

paintings in Thupchen so that the trainees 

could develop enough ability and skills 

to work on the 15 th century paintings in 

all safety. 

The first operations to be carried out 

were the fixing of the flaking to the paint 

layer and the fixation of the detached 

preparatory layers. The flakes of painting 

had to be thoroughly dusted off and 

subsequently unrolled back in position 

using specific spatulas and organic 

binders purposely studied and tested for 

restoration.

On the left, a deity after the 

intervention of conservation. 

A R T 

The next challenging step consisted 

in the cleaning of the wall paintings, 

a risky operation, since the use of 

wrong chemicals or their misuse 

would have damaged the pictorial 

layer irreversibly. Tests were 

carried out in situ and with the aid 

of laboratory analysis we managed 

to find the proper way to remove 

the altered varnish and the alien 

deposits from the surface of the wall 

paintings. 

In the Thupchen different chemicals 

were employed to clean different 

colors since the nature of the 

pigments would react differently with 

the same solvent. So azurite, lapis 

lazuli and malachite were cleaned 

with a basic solution while organic 

chemicals were employed to remove 

the varnish from the other colors. As 

for the Maitreya temple, the cleaning 

was more complex because the 

binder of the paint layer was as 

water-soluble as the varnish. All the 

cleaning operations were carried out 

with the aid of a special tissue paper 

applied in-between the paint layer 

and the chemical, so as to prevent 

possible damage. 

In the case of the ground floor of the 

Maitreya temple, the thick coating of 

mud had to be removed using surgical 

scalpels and glass-fiber pencils, a really 

difficult task for it had to be performed 

without harming or abrading the paint 

layer. But by then the wall painting 

conservation team had already enough 

experience, which they increased with 

the plastering of the lacunæ, with the 

retouching of the wall paintings and 

with the reconstruction of few areas of 

missing paint layer. 

An appropriate set of lightproof 

watercolors were used to tone down 

or balance the surface and the 

abrasions of the wall paintings, while 

natural pigments were chosen for the 

reconstructions that took place in the 

few areas where it was possible to 

attempt a reconstruction. All the rest of 

the large lacunæ where reconstruction 

would have risked to be the product 

of imagination were left with a plaster 

imitating the original one, but slightly 

under the level of the paint layer. 

Among all the difficulties encountered 

during the restoration process it was 

breathtaking to see the bright original 

colors slowly coming back to life. I 

still remember the reaction of the King 

of Mustang coming inside Thupchen in 

1999 and watching our first cleaning 

sample: we were congratulated on our 

painting skills. The king stood with his 

mouth gaping after we told him that 

we had not painted anything, but had 

just removed the dirt from the original 

paintings. 

Something more interesting and 

important was to realize, with the 

passing of the years, that local people 

started coming into the temples more 

and more often. It was very moving to 

see a color powder mandala being 

slowly and carefully created by the 

patient work of specialized monks, 

in one of the many rituals that have 

been performed in Thupchen in the 

past years, after many centuries of 

neglect. I was very pleased not only 

with the results achieved by the wall 

painting conservation team, but more 

so with the fact that the community 

saw their deities back in place, as if 

they were reborn. • 


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I N TI NET RE RI I O R

Panchakanya

2. Sept -Oct 2011

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