Spaces Vol 1 Is 6

SPACES SEP-OCT 2005 1

2 SEP-OCT 2005 SPACES




SEP-OCT 2005 VOLUME 1 ISSUE 6 

FEATURES 

Starkly Sophisticated- J Bar - Pg. 60 

ARCHITECTURE 

36 SERENE SHANGRI-LA 

Pokhara is one of the loveliest cities in the whole wide 

world. The Shangri-La Village Resort is also ,without doubt, 

one of the loveliest resorts in the country. Architecturally 

speaking, the resort is designed in such a way as to impart 

graceful serenity. 

INTERIOR 

60 STARK SOPHISTICATION 

Night life in Kathmandu has never been better, specially 

with the increasing addition of nightclubs that are as well 

designed as they are well stocked with the choicest of 

premium drinks. Featured here is one of the best as far as 

interiors are concerned. 

65 SONIA 

She is a sight for sore eyes just as her designs are. 

Invigoratingly fresh in her approach, this lady has the style 

and the flair to create refreshingly eye catching 

surroundings. 

76 LUMANTI CHÉN 

In the Newari language, Lumanti Chén means ‘a home to 

be remembered’. This house, situated on the way to 

Sunakothi, certainly has many facéts that makes it 

extreme9ly hard to forget. 

PROFILE 

69 WEISE - THE LIFE THE WORKS 

THE TIMES 

Robert Weise is a name that is recalled often when 

discussing architecture in Nepal. His son Kai, an architect 

himself, goes down memory lane to recapture the life, the 

works and the times of his famous father. 

ART 

20 MOLTEN LAVA 

She describes herself first and foremost, as a humanist. 

Nevertheless, anyone familiar with her work will clearly 

detect a strong streak of rebellious feminism in her 

paintings and in her installation artworks. 



EDITORIAL 

“If you haven’t visited Pokhara then you haven’t visited Nepal” 

- Toni Hagen (1961) 

Just as Kathmandu is the cultural hub of Nepal, Pokhara is considered to be the 

centre of adventure. In this issue, SPACES visits the land of the Fish Tail mountain, 

where hotelier Shyam B Pandey and his team have built a ‘village’ for tourists to 

enjoy this beautiful place in an ethnic environment. Read about this ‘Serene Shangri- 

La’- how a group of young and fresh architects (currently a part of Design Cell) 

have made a point – do not underestimate youth. 

Coming back to Kathmandu - Kathmandu Valley Preservation Trust (KVPT) adds 

another feather to its cap. As Ms. Constance, Counsellor for Public Affairs, American 

Embassy, commented contentedly at the kshama puja, “He has now been freed”. We 

feature in this issue how KVPT has successfully restored the God of Justice, Kal 

Bhairav, to its original grandeur. 

Architecture knows no boundaries. This issue profiles legendary architect, the late 

Robert Weise - a person said to be instrumental in influencing and changing the style 

of architecture in Nepal. Also in this issue, we feature Sonia Gupta, an interior 

designer from India, whose works seem to be making waves in the city. 

Robert Weise -Pg. 69 

We visited the residence of Kewal and Sunita Shrestha. ‘Lumanti Chen’, literally 

meaning ‘house to be remembered’, reflects the couple’s appreciation and love for 

all things beautiful. 

The Outer Ring Road (ORR) project, a much discussed and debated topic among 

us has generated assumptions and speculations. Architects Kishore Thapa, Project 

Chief ORR, and Sarosh Pradhan of Sarosh Pradhan and Associates, write about 

this 3 billion rupees project regarding its necessity and vision. 

Serene Shangri-La- Pg. 36 

If readers will remember, our first editorial (Issue 1 – Nov / Dec 2004) carried a 

sentence, ‘…….SPACES is the beginning of a journey to what we were, what we are and 

what we should aspire to be.’ This issue completes one year of this journey, which we 

hope has ‘informed, educated and helped you to make your space as you want it to be.’ And 

yes, ‘space cannot exist by itself – it affects and involves all those within.’ On the completion 

of this first year’s journey, the SPACES Team wishes to thank all those affected and 

involved for their encouragement, support and belief. 

Take a ‘Journey through SPACES’ this festive season of Dashain and ‘make your 

space a little more aesthetic, a little more comfortable and a little more functional’. 

Happy Dashain 

Molten Lava - Pg. 20 



SEP-OCT 2005 VOLUME 1 ISSUE 6 

CRAFT 

49 DRIFTING TOWARDS FAME 

His is a different calling. He is driven by a 

desire to be actively involved in many fields. 

This desire has led to various degrees of 

success among which drift wood sculpture 

has become his signature brand. 

TRENDS & TIPS 

96 THAT DISTINCTIVE TOUCH 

Elegant presentation could be the be-all of 

any fine artwork. Adding that distinctive touch 

of class to works of art, frames play an 

important role in the creation of a complete 

object d’ art. 

98 COLOUR YOUR DASHAIN 

Colours are integral to the making of any 

festive occasion. Colours are also important 

to the making of a lively environment and to 

keep spirits continously uplifted. 

REPORT 

84 THE OUTER RING ROAD 

PROJECT 

This project could well change the future 

direction of the Capital’s journey towards 

development. That is why it is important that 

it is discussed and debated among all 

concerned before implementation, so that the 

project does not veer off the right track. 

HERITAGE 

28 KAL BHAIRAV-THE 

RESTORATION 

Much of the shrine’s historic fabric and details 

were already either lost or altered when the 

Kathmandu Valley Preservation Trust (KVPT) 

initiated the project in 2003. The restoration 

was completed this month. 

PRODUCTS 

92 SAVING WATER-IFB WAY 

Washing machines are available in a vast 

number of brands. One brand claims to not 

only save energy and costs but also that most 

precious of all resources - water. 

GOOD LIVING 

92 ACCESS 

If efficient & reliable communication is 

your concern, then the Access is the 

answer to your prayers. What’s more, 

the Access is also a very good 

security provider and ideally suited 

for housing projects. 

Lumanti Chén. Pg. 76 

93 CLICK-XPRESS FROM 

BALTERIO 

Laminate Flooring is a really great way to 

enliven any room. With the innovative Click- 

Xpress technology of Balterio, not only 

are they easy to install they are also very 

easy to maintain. Besides, they look great. 



CONTRIBUTORS 

Kishor Thapa, 

Project Director of 

the Outer Ring Road 

Project is a 

Humphrey Fellow 

with degrees in 

B.Arch and Masters 

in Planning. His 

experience includes 

design/ construction supervision of 

international terminal complex in TIA as 

well as preparation of the Master Plan of 

Purbanchal University. 

Dr. Rohit K Ranjitkar, 

Nepal Program 

Director of KVPT has 

very recently had the 

satisfaction of 

completing restoration 

work of Kal Bhairav in 

Basantpur. He and 

KVPT are onto many more equally 

important projects in the coming days. 

Sarosh Pradhan has 

been busy this year and 

involved in quite a 

diverse range of projects 

i n c l u d i n g 

conceptualisation of the 

Outer Ring Road Project 

from an architectural point of view. 

Soumitra Roy is the 

Marketing and Sales 

Manager of Asian 

Paints, a company that 

is active in fulfilling its 

corporate social 

responsibility by 

contributing to the 

beautification of Kathmandu. 

COVER 

Sonia Gupta is a well 

known Interior 

Designer from Delhi 

who is also becoming 

as well known in 

Kathmandu for some 

outstanding works. 

She admits to having 

a special affinity 

towards Nepal and would love to get the 

opportunity to spend more time here. 

Kai Weise studied 

architecture in Zurich 

and has been working 

in Nepal as an 

architect and urban 

planner since 1993. 

Kai is the country 

representative of 

PAHAR (Planners’ Alliance for the 

Himalayan and Allied Regions) and is 

presently working as a UNESCO 

consultant for the Kathmandu Valley 

World Heritage Sites in Danger. 

Niti Joshi Shrestha, 

MBA, is the MD of 

Frame World which 

deals in picture framing 

as well as decorative 

items. Niti has more 

than fifteen years 

experience in the craft. 

Shristi Pradhan is an 

Interior Designer who 

has done B.Sc.I.D from 

Mangalore University. 

She has completed 

many residential and 

commercial projects 

and is busy with projects in and outside 

Kathmandu. 

Verdant greenery and bubbling brooks 

reflect the tender loving care taken to make 

the Shangri-La Village Resort in Pokhara, a 

virtual paradise. No less soul stirring is the 

vibrant architecture of the resort, and in this 

it is obvious that similar care and 

thoughtfulness have been applied. 

Photograph by Ashesh Rajbansh 

Canon EOS 10D SLR 

16 - 35 mm/f2.8 L USM lens 1/20sec@f8.0 

MANAGING EDITOR 

Uday Sunder Shrestha, B.E 

PUBLIC RELATIONS 

Prakash Bahadur Amatya 

ASSOCIATE EDITOR / MARKETING MANAGER 

Amar B. Shrestha 

PHOTOGRAPHY / PRODUCTION CONTROL 

Ashesh Rajbansh 

LAYOUT DESIGN 

Pavitra D. Tuladhar 

MARKETING / SUBSCRIPTIONS EXECUTIVE 

Wimmy Kaur 

ADMINISTRATION / ACCOUNTS 

Sanjay Shrestha 

PUBLISHED BY 

IMPRESSIONS Publishing Pvt.Ltd., 

Kupondole, Lalitpur, P.B. 227, DPO Lalitpur 

Ph: 5544606. 5526040 

(Regd. No 30657/061-62) 

COLOR SEPARATION 

Scan Pro, Pulchowk, Lalitpur 

PRINTED AT 

Variety Press, Kuleswor, Kathmandu 

DISTRIBUTED BY 

bitarak.com 

Ph: 5529726 / 5522472 

email: info@bitarak.com 

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reproduced in whole or in part in any form without the written 

consent of the publisher. The opinions expressed by 

contributors are not necessarily those of the publisher and 

the publisher cannot accept responsiblility for any errors or 

omissions. 

Those submitting manuscripts, photographs, artwork or 

other materials to SPACES for consideration should not send 

originals unless specifically requested to do so by SPACES 

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mentioned above. 

ADVERTISING & SUBSCRIPTIONS 

Kathmandu: IMPRESSIONS Publishing Pvt.Ltd., 

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email: market@spacesnepal.com 

Pokhara: Sachin Udas, Maadhyam, New Road. 

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Chitwan: Rajendra Kumar Shrestha, Saraswoti 

Book Store, Balkumari Kanya Chowk, Narayanghat 

Ph: 526031 

Birgunj: Kishore Shrestha, Hotel Kailash, 

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email: hotelkailash@wlink.com.np 

India: Deepak Sunder Shrestha, Nepal Curio 

House, 16 Nehru Road, Darjeeling-WB . Ph:54973 

United Kingdom: Rajiv Pradhan,South Harrow, 

Middlesex Haz 8HA, London. 

Ph: 85373674. email: rajivpradhan@hotmail.com 

Australia: Leela Krishna Manandhar, Kogarah, 

Sydney, NSW. Ph: 422811704 

email: nimadidi@hotmail.com 

USA: Subarna Joshi, West Palm Beach, Florida 

Ph: 3836207, Email: subarnaj@aol.com 




MASS HOUSING 

Thank you for a very informative issue on mass housing. Since this 

is a subject that is of interest to the public, Spaces needs to be 

commended for giving an in depth look into the subject. Hope to 

read more of such public interest articles. 

LETTERS 

Upendra Mishra 

Purano Baneswar, Kathmandu 

NEW DESIGNER 

I think your features on new designers have been quite good. In 

your last issue (July-August 2005), the Science Museum amd Imax 

Planetarium Theatre article was quite interesting. I do hope such 

nice ideas get implemented. 

Tul B. Gurung 

New Road, Pokhara 

A FAIRER PICTURE 

Although your last issue( July-August 2005) was informative I feel 

that instead of featuring only one housing project you could have 

done a comparative study of different housing projects. In addition 

to giving a more fairer picture, SPACES readers could have been 

allowed to draw their own judgements about different housing 

companies. 

P. K. Ranjit 

Bhaktapur. 

WATER HARVESTING-VERY USEFUL 

The article on water harvesting was interesting. No doubt such 

initiatives can be very helpful to alleviate the chronic water shortage 

problems in Kathmandu. Magazines like Spaces should continue to 

create more awareness. 

Ravi Shrestha 

Bakhundole, Lalitpur 


NEWS & HAPPENINGS 

ASA ARCHITECTURAL EXHIBITION 2005 

The E-Block of the Department of 

Architecture, Pulchowk Campus, was 

venue for the 8 th Annual ASA Architectural 

Exhibition 2005 from 21 st to 23 rd July. 

Organized with a mind to involve as many 

students as possible, the exhibition had on 

display design presentation of students as 

well as professionals. Also included in the 

program was a painting workshop cum 

exhibition that included a creative workshop 

involving water colour, sculpture and wall 

painting; presentation by professionals in 

seminars involving talks and discussion 

programs as well as an inter college design 

and a 3D graphics competition; exhibits of 

conservation research work ( Bhaktapur 

durbar square and traditional water 

conduits), technological research and displays 

(earthquake resistance in building, low-cost 

housing study, thermal efficient designs, rain 

water harvesting), besides case studies and 

thesis presentations. 

Inaugurated by Chief Guest, Architect Purna 

Kadariya, the event was kicked off with 

Asheswar Man Shrestha’s thesis 

presentation, ‘Science Museum and Imax 

Planetarium Cum Theatre’, followed by a 

documentary show titled, ‘Monuments of 

Time’. The day’s events also included Prof. 

Dr. Jib Raj Pokharel’s ‘An Identifiable 

Earthquake Resistant Historic Core’ besides 

the documentary, ‘The Fountainhead’. The 

second day had Subhas Bhattachan 

presenting his thesis, ‘Gurukul’ as well as an 

interaction program with Architect Bibhuti 

Man Singh, a presentation on pest control, 

as well as two documentaries. 

The last day’s highlight was a talk program 

on ‘Application of Vaastu Shastra’ with 

Madhav Mangal Joshi, Architects Deepak 

Pant and Sanjaya Uprety as well as Mathura 

Karki as the guest speakers. 

Spread over three floors displaying the 

various designs and models by students and 

professionals, the exhibition succeeded in 

putting on show diverse talents. The 

organizing committee under the able 

stewardship of Chief Coordinator Bhagawat 

Bhakta Khokhali has also to be credited with 

succeeding in involving a large number of 

students in the annual event. S 

KAL BHAIRAV -RESTORED 

On the completion of the 

restoration works of the 

Kal Bhairav Shrine in 

Kathmandu Durbar 

Square, a kshama puja 

(prayer for forgiveness 

for any mistakes done 

during construction 

process) was held on 1 st 

July 2005. 

Initiated by the American Ambassador to 

Nepal, His Excellency, James F. Moriarty, 

the ceremony was attended by Gautam 

SJB Rana, Development Director as well 

as the Board of Directors of Kathmandu 

Valley Preservation Trust and others who 

had generously supported the culturally 

important project. Although King 

Pratap Malla installed this massive 

image of Kal Bhairav during his reign 

in the 17 th century, it was believed to 

have been accidentally discovered 

next to a water reservoir long before 

that time. 

The statue has now been successfully 

restored to its pre 1934 earthquake 

status with the help of historic 

photographs. 

On the same day, the Counsellor for Public Affairs, 

Embassy of the United States of America, Ms. 

Constance Colding Jones, hosted a party in honour 

of the Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation 

and the Kathmandu Valley Preservation Trust. S 




INAUGURATION OF FISHTAIL RESIDENCY, POKHARA 

FISHTAIL RESIDENCY in Pokhara 

was officially inaugurated on Ashad 28, 

2005. One of the bigger housing 

complexes in the lovely city, the residency 

is situated at an ideal location, Ghari 

Patan, which is close to the airport. 

Consisting of seventy two well designed 

J.K. WHITE CEMENT 

WORKS, a unit of J.K. 

Cements Ltd., organized 

an ‘Architect and Builders 

Meet’ on the 23 rd of‘ 

August 2005 at Hotel Yak 

& Yeti. The meet was well 

attended with over one 

hundred architects and 

builders present on the 

occasion. Arvind Kumar, 

Regional Manager, Patna 

Branch, spoke about the 

company’s history as well 

as its present day activities. D. Nagendra 

Kumar, DGM (Marketing), gave an 

enlightening talk on the company’s 

products with special emphasis on JK 

Wall Putty, a white cement based putty. 

Touted as ‘the perfect putty for exteriors 

and interiors’, the main use of the Wall 

Putty is to fill uneven surface of cement 

plaster and concrete wall and give a 

smooth and strong finish to the walls for 

future application of paints/distemper. 

The company claims superiority of its 

Wall Putty as compared to traditional 

putty along parameters such as binding 

property, durability and coverage area 

as well as consumption of distemper, 

appearance, water resistance, cost and 

consistency. Following the presentation, 

and sturdily built houses, Fishtail 

Residency has an excellent 

infrastructure. According to the 

promoters, Annapurna Developers 

Ltd., the housing complex is ‘A 

Heavenly Haven’ providing a 

convenient location, modern 

amenities, affordable costs and 

comfortable accommodations. All 

the houses have four bedrooms 

each and are three storied with a 

car port in front. One of the major 

attractions, besides of course the 

munificent view, is a terrace garden on 

the top floor. For those thinking of 

owning a home away from home in the 

scenic city of Pokhara, Fishtail Residency 

clearly provides a good choice. 

ARCHITECT AND BUILDERS’ MEET 

questions were invited from the floor, 

which were answered by the 

professionals of the company. 

J.K. Cements has been sponsoring the 

annual Architect of the Year Awards 

since 1990. The awards include Indian 

Architecture Award (IAA) under which 

there are six separate categories and the 

Indian State Architecture Awards (ISAA) 

with three categories. Under Focus 

Countries’ Architecture Awards (FCAA) 

are: Focus Countries’ Architect of the 

Year Award, Focus Countries’ 

Commendation Award and the Focus 

Countries’ Young Architect’s Award. The 

Great Master’s Award (GMA) or 

Chairman’s Award (CMA) is open to 

SYMPOSIUM ON 

VAASTU – VOL 7 

Amidst well-known architects, 

engineers, professors and architectural 

students, a symposium on the 7 th issue 

of VAASTU was held on August 14, 

2005. At the function held in Pulchowk 

Campus, guest speakers Prof. 

Sudarshan Tiwari, Prof. Jiba Raj 

Pokhrel, Campus Chief Suman Baidya 

and Uday S. Shrestha, Editor of 

SPACES put forward their views and 

opinions about the journal. 

VAASTU is published annually by the 

Association of Students of 

Architecture (ASA), IOE, and features 

architectural designs of IOE students 

besides articles from professionals. 

architects from India and neighbouring 

countries like Nepal, Bangladesh and 

Bhutan. All the awards carry cash prizes, 

citations and trophies. Past award 

winners from Nepal include architects 

Tom Crees, Deepak Sherchan, Roshan 

Marahatta, and Sarosh Pradhan. 

J.K. Cements is a part of the giant JK 

Group, one of the largest conglomerates 

in India, with a diverse range of 

businesses and industries including the 

famous JK Tyres and Raymond Suitings. 

While the head office is in Kanpur, the 

J.K. White Cement Works production unit 

is situated in Gotan, Rajasthan. The 

company has a large network of 

customer technical service centres all 

over India. In Nepal, Daya Trading 

Concern, under MD Kanhaiya Mittal, 

distributes the company’s products and 

Nalin Prabhat, B.E (Chemical) is the 

company’s Regional Marketing Officer. S 




SCULPTURE IN WOOD: SYMPOSIUM Samay Chakra 2005 

Thirty two established sculptors and 

painters gathered at the Sirjana College 

of Fine Arts from 21 st July to 4 th August 

2005 to participate in a workshop called 

‘Sculptures in Wood: Symposium 2005’. 

Besides Srijana College of Fine Arts, 

‘Arambha’-Contemporary Nepali 

Bhandari, Om Khatri, Pushpa Sherchan, 

Raju Pithakoti, Ram Krishna Bhandari, 

Ravindra Jyapoo, Sharada Man Shrestha 

and Sudarshan B. Rana. 

The artists involved were Chanda 

Shrestha, Kiran Manadhar, Navindra 

Sculptors’ Group was the co-collaborator. 

The participating sculptors were 80 year 

old Prof. Govinda Narayan Jyapoo, 

Baikuntha Man Shrestha, Bijay Maharjan, 

Bhuvan Thapa ‘Bahuvi’, Indira Shrestha 

‘Kamala’, Indra Khatri, Kamalesh 

Maharjan, Kishor Rajbhandari, 

Narendra B. Shrestha, Narendra 

Rajbhandari, Rajan Kafle, Shanker Raj 

Singh Suwal, Sharada Ranjit, Sunil K. 

Ranjit, Sunita Rana and Uttam Nepali. 

Harka B. Shakya, Hridaya Ballav Pandey 

Krishna Manandhar, Pravin K. Shrestha, 

Purna Kazi Shakya and Uttam Kharel 

were the participants from the Lalit Kala 

Campus faculty. Although the workshop 

was supposed to finish on the 4 th August, 

many of the artists could be seen on the 

premises of Sirjana Art Gallery till the 

second week, still hard at work trying to 

put the final touches to their creations. 

One could judge that wood sculpting 

must be a strenuous art form, specially 

for the ladies, as evidenced from the 

exhausted bearing of Pushpa, whose well 

rounded work in yellowish Haldi wood 

seemed almost finished. It was heartening 

to see the octogenarian, Prof. Govind 

Narayan Jyapoo, still as enthusiastic as 

in his more youthful days, hammering 

away at his chisel, a look of pure 

happiness on his good natured face. S 

LAUNCH OF 24X7 CUSTOMER CARE CENTRE IN KATHMANDU 

On 15th August 2005, Parryware, a 

division of EID Parry (India) Ltd. and 

part of the Rs. 6200 crore Murugappa 

Group, launched its 24x7 Customer Care 

Centre in Kathmandu. The CCC has 

been planned to come up within three 

months. Besides complaint resolution, 

bathroom designing, products installation 

and bathroom renovation, the CCC also 

provides annual maintenance service of 

bathrooms. Resolution of complaints is 

assured within 48 hours according to the 

press release and there is a 6 months 

warranty against functional defects. 

Another major advantage guaranteed is 

the availability of genuine bathroom 

product spares. The occasion was also 

taken advantage of to introduce 

Parryware’s range of taps and fittings, 

which according to General Manager 

George Angelo, is an addition to the 

Company’s regular line that includes 

closets, bidets, basins, pedestals, cisterns, 

urinals, lab sinks, electronic flushing 

systems, waterless urinals, bath tubs, seat 

covers, kitchen sinks and other 

accessories. With this addition, the 

company now claims to have 

transformed itself into a total bathroom 

solutions provider. S 



ART 

MOLTEN 

LAVA 

“I AM IN LOVE WITH FREEDOM,” SHE DECLARES. 

“TOTAL FREEDOM,” SHE EMPHASIZES. 


“When I was a kid, elders would ask me whom I 

wanted to be when I grew older, not what I wanted 

to be,” recalls Ashmina Ranjit. 

“I used to think, ‘What a stupid 

question!’” Today, after achieving a 

certain prominence in the field of art, 

she is very much a force unto herself. 

Oh yes, no one can doubt that Ashmina 

is now a persona in her own right. The 

twin snakes running up her nose to her 

forehead is only a supporting physical 

manifestation of a decidedly 

individualistic personality. Naturally, as is 

expected of an artist of unusual calibre, 

she lets her non-conventional works 

speak for themselves- in the processrevealing 

much about the uniqueness of 

Ashmina Ranjit. 

Her snakes and the reason for them being 

where they are could be discussed ad 

nauseam but she, herself, attempts to 

simply explain them away by saying that 

she has always been passionately fond 

of the reptiles. From an outsider’s point 

of view, too much importance needn’t 

be placed on this fetish-perhaps the artist 

is only proclaiming her rebellious nature 

in an artistic way. 

But more important, and more interesting, 

would be an insight into some of 

Ashmina’s avant-garde works. Many still 

remember her ‘Hair Warp-Travel through 

Strand of Universe’ exhibition at NAFA 

Art Gallery in 2000 when, in addition to 

charcoal sketches of innumerable 

strands of hair intertwined meticulously 

to form crowning glories, on view was 

also installation art in the form of huge 

red braids of accouterments usually 

related to meticulous hair-dos in Nepal. 

Besides being an obvious novelty in 

choice of subject, the artist, as she is 

inclined to do, had a message to impart 

as well. The gist of it being simply, that 

woman’s hair is a powerful instrument 

of feminine expression besides being a 

liberating experience when in free flow. 

“I am in love with freedom,” she declares. 

“Total freedom,” she emphasizes. Maybe 

that is why she wanted to be a pilot when 

growing up, but soon enough recognized 

that art was what was she was searching 

Right: An eloquently descriptive early 

work in which the artist clearly seems to 

have been on the safe track. 


ART 

for. “I realized that art gave me a feeling 

of great liberation.” She went on to 

complete her Bachelor in Fine Arts from 

Lalit Kala Academy in 1992 and had her 

first solo exhibition, ‘SAARC Girl Child 

Decade’ at the Goethe Institute in 1990, 

followed by ‘Women’, at the Srijana 

Contemporary Art Gallery in 1993. In 

the same year, ‘Wonderful Landscapes 

of Nepal’ was exhibited at the J Art 

Gallery. Ashmina then won a scholarship 

to do BFA from the University of 

Tasmania in Australia. With widening 

exposure to the world, the latent rebel in 

Ashmina seemed to be boiling over with 

righteous anger at the unjust gender 

inequality between the sexes back in her 

own country. 

Left above: Asmina’s installation art in 

Durbar Square, Basantpur, expressing 

the loss of identity and the bloodshed of 

recent times. 

Left below: Charcoal sketch on lokta 

paper from the ‘Hair Warp’ series. 

Anger, which gave birth to ‘Women and 

Sensuality’ in 1998 which was exhibited 

at the Kathmandu Art Gallery. One of 

the organizers was architect Sarosh 

Pradhan, an artist himself, and he 

remembers, “Ashmina wanted to title the 

exhibit, ‘Women and Sexuality’ but we 

advised her that it would be more prudent 

to use the term, ‘Sensuality’ rather than 

‘Sexuality’.” Through this show, Ashmina 

wanted to ‘express the feminine 

perspective towards women’s sexuality’. 

Some of the oils on canvas created quite 

a stir-a profusion of blood red depicting 

depths of stark womanhood. Other 

canvases on display were lithographs 

which were more complex in nature. 

Ashmina claims to “have always been 

influenced by nature…Human Nature, 

Social Nature, Cultural Nature, Nature’s 

Nature’ which provokes searching for 

answers to the questions, ‘Who am I? 

What am I? Where am I?’”. Ashmina 

brings up an interesting point when she 

says that people should be able to 

understand the difference between skill 

and creativity in an artist. “An artist may 

be very accomplished, but it is creativity 

which uplifts art to a transcendent level.” 

According to ‘Gender and Globalism’ 

(Aomori Contemporary Art Centre/ 



ART 

Autumn 2002-Artist in 

R e s i d e n c e 

Program)Ashmina had 

started to feel suffocated 

by painting early in her 

career, and influenced by 

Andy Goldsworthy’s works 

(consisting of only natural 

materials), tried her hand 

at earth works. About 

‘Cultural Body Installation’ 

at the Siddhartha Art 

Gallery in 2000, the artist 

had this to say, “One may 

adopt a new culture but 

what one has had from 

birth will always be within, 

layering & intermingling”. 

Various layers of materials 

as those used for clothing 

had been employed to 

symbolize this fact. ‘Hair 

Warp’ followed in the 

same year. ‘Feminine 

Fresco’ in New Delhi in 

2002 was another display 

of Ashmina’s extremely 

candid opinions on 

women’s sexuality. Her 

installation titled, ‘Shakti Sworup- 

Menstrual Blood’, arose from the artist’s 

quest to ‘understand, express and visualize 

the strong emotions stirred by flowing 

blood, along with the fears associated 

with it’ besides stressing home the point 

that, ‘menstruation is a natural 

phenomenon without which creation 

would come to a standstill…full stop.’ 

Further reinforcing her versatility, 

Ashmina says, “Medium is not a 

confining factor with me. Medium is not 

my master.” Many of her works are 

described as mixed media and include 

drawings, lithographs, oil on canvas, 

acrylic on canvas and paper, 

performances, and of course, 

installations. Her ‘Uplift’ at the artist-inresidence 

program in Japan in 2002, 

featured a mixed media installation of 

cloth, paint, color pigment, fishing line 

and video projector. It is obvious that 

the artist is very involved with the 

Left: An evocative painting by an 

evocative artist. 

medium of art through installation where 

mixed media, perforce, have to be 

applied. Perhaps this rebelliousness to 

escape from conventional art is the result 

of a desire to develop a completely 

different identity from those around her. 

Ashmina’s father, Krishna Gopal Ranjit, 

in his seventies now, is himself an artist 

whose domain seems to be picturesque 

scenes that echo serene tranquility in their 

technically perfect method of artistic 

execution. According to Ashmita, “At 

present, artists here seem to be afraid 

of taking risks. They should start coming 

out of their comfort zones.” 

Ashmina is a politically conscious artist 

who likes to define herself as a humanist. 

During an art event organized by Royal 

Nepal Academy in 2002 titled 

‘Disillusioned Present’, Ashmina’s 

installation of scores of scattered shoes 

on red painted floors of Durbar Square, 

was meant to depict mass killings and 

loss of identity due to the strife in the 

country. More recently, in June 2005, 

Ashmina presented a performance art 

called ‘Tamas-The Darkness’ meant to 

contrast hope and despair as symbolized 

by light and darkness and pointedly 

compared the state’s citizens to cows who 

she describes as simple, docile and useful. 

In 2001, she had participated in an 

artistic protest condemning the 

destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas in 

Afghanistan. Here too, Ashmina’s 

installation of 2500 bottled Buddha 


Emerald Pools 



figurines in a spiral arrangement (where visitors were 

free to take them home) was a typical display of her 

inherent creativity. 

ART 

Three years ago, she along with a core group of seven 

well known artists, founded ‘Sutra’. She says, 

“Through this organization we would like to create 

opportunities for free expression for younger artists.” 

Ashmina is also closely associated with the Gallery 

Nine Art Gallery in Lazimpat. 

Her own studio is on the top floor of the Nepal Fine 

Arts Association building in Naxal but she has hardly 

stepped into it for the last one year for obvious 

reasons. Some of her works hang around the various 

rooms in the NAFA gallery and one large piece from 

‘Hair Warp’ (charcoal sketch on lokta paper) is part 

of the National collection. Obviously, Ashmina’s 

installations, for which she is particularly famous, tend 

to be of impermanent nature and so one has to wait 

Facing page: ‘Shaktri Swarup-Menstrual Blood’- A 

particularly bold theme. 

Right: Installation art during the ‘Hair Warp’ 

exhibition in Kathmandu. 

Below: ‘Uplift’-Asmina’s exhibit at the artist-inresidence 

program in Japan. 

for an exhibition to see them. However, she does have a 

suggestion about ways of making them more enduring . 

“Some of my installation art like ‘Shakti Sworup’ would 

be just right for places like large hotel lobbies.” Born on 

the 4 th of October, this Libran seems to live up to at 

least something that the sign is supposed to represent- a 

seeker of justice. Also- one in search of perfect balance. 

Small wonder then that she believes there are two stages 

of any artistic endeavour- the conceptual level and the 

physical level. “The first can take a long time,” she says. 

“That is why it is not easy to say how long it takes for 

me to create art.” Ashmina is an artist in tune with 

existing times and so truly could be said to be a 

contemporary artist. And although Ashmina has gained 

national fame as well as a measure of international 

recognition, winning many coveted awards on the way, 

she shows only the smallest signs of satisfaction. 

This artist- who has won a Fullbright Fellowship to do 

her M.F.A. in visual arts for the 2004/2006 session at 

Columbia University in Manhattan, USA- seems to be 

living a life still very much unfulfilled. This artist- who 

has had exhibitions of her works displayed all over the 

world- seems to be living a life full to the brim. 

Contrasting words undoubtedly, but nevertheless, 

quizzically true and quite appropriate to describe the life 

and times of Asmina Ranjit. S 



Text: Kathmandu Valley Preservation Trust 

THE IMAGE OF KAL BHAIRAV REPRESENTS LORD SHIVA IN 

HIS FEROCIOUS MANIFESTATION AND IS WORSHIPPED BY 

BOTH HINDUS AND BUDDHISTS ALIKE AS THE SEER OF TRUTH. 

Standing imposingly at the centre 

of the Royal Square of 

Kathmandu since its consecration 

in the 17th century, the shrine of 

Kal Bhairav has evolved as a crucial part of 

the historic ensemble of the Square over a 

period of time. A very rare example of stone 

architecture, the image of Kal Bhairav 

represents Lord Shiva in his ferocious 

manifestation and is worshipped by both 

Hindus and Buddhists alike as the seer of 

truth. The monument of Kal Bhairav has a 

significant place in the religion and culture 

of the Valley and it is believed that the person 

who lies before the monumental figure has 

to face terrible consequences. Besides being 

closely associated with the eight Mother 

Goddesses, Kal Bhairav is the most 

worshipped deity and is considered to be the 

protector of the Valley. 

The original configuration of the structure 

was completely lost under several layers of 

continuous alterations done due to wellintentioned 

votive offerings of the devotees. 

The first recorded major alteration made to 

the holy shrine was triggered by the 

devastating earthquake in 1934. The upper 

level including the cornice and the pinnacles 

were severely damaged. During the repair 

the former shape of the upper structure was 

completely changed. Much of the shrine’s 

historic fabric and details were already either 

lost or altered when the Kathmandu Valley 

Preservation Trust (KVPT) initiated the 

project in 2003. The proposal to restore the 

structure back to its historical state was 

successful only after winning the U.S. 

Ambassador’s fund for Cultural 

Preservation, 2003. 

With repair and restoration of this shrine, 

not only has the local community gained its 

Photo: Manju Rana 

Left: Kal Bhairav in 1910 before the 1934 

earthquake: details such as the tympanum 

(found missing prior to restoration) still 

existed during this period. This photograph 

served as the prime reference to deduce 

the original form and lost intricate details. 


HERITAGE 

historical and religious monument but 

also a vital piece of the Square’s whole 

assemblage has been brought back to its 

original glory. 

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE 

This elaborate Bhairav shrine was 

dedicated by King Pratap Malla as a part 

of the assemblage of monuments built 

during his golden reign of Kathmandu 

during the 17th century. Legend indicates 

that the principal image was discovered 

while excavating water conduits from 

Budha Nilkantha and was installed in the 

present location by Pratap Malla. 

Although no evidence can be found to 

support this myth, the prevailing legend 

indicates that the history of the historic 

image may go further than Pratap Malla’s 

own period as it was discovered during 

the king’s reign and not commissioned 

by him alone. 

Kal Bhairav was also tremendously 

popular as ‘Court Bhairav’. It has played 

an important social as well as religious 

role in the affairs of the country. He was 

the chief witness in front of whom civil 

servants were sworn into office. Such is 

Above: The great earthquake of 1934 

destroyed the upper level of the Kal 

Bhairav shrine including the cornice 

and the pinnacles that had collapsed. 

During the repair done in 1936, it was 

not restored according to the historic 

configuration. 

Left: This is one of the oldest 

photographic record of Kal Bhairav, 

taken by Dr. Kurt Boeck, circa 1890. 

Photo: Manju Rana 

His impact in society that when 

Kathmandu’s former mayor returned to 

his post in early 2004, he, along with his 

associates, were sworn into their positions 

in front of the “Court Bhairav”. 

PROJECT FRAMEWORK 

Restoration of Kal Bhairav at 

Kathmandu Darbar Square, a UNESCO 

World Heritage Site, is a significant 

component of the KVPT’s ‘Kathmandu 

Darbar Initiative (KDI)’ project. It is the 

first of such campaigns to be funded by 

Nepalese Corporate Houses rallying for 

the restoration of temples at the Royal 

Square. Under this common banner, 

restorations of Indrapur and Narayan 

Temples have been completed in 2002 

and 2003 respectively. 

The restoration of this outstanding 

historic shrine was undertaken in a project 

framework, which included both public 

outreach activities and critical training of 

local manpower in project management, 

public relations, preservation advocacy 

and the state of the art conservation 

technology. The implementation of the 

project was executed by the core staff 


The restoration of Kal Bhairav was 

completed in May 2005. 


HERITAGE 

Photo: Raju Roka, 2004 

Above: The original fabric in the back facade 

was hidden below newly added layer of 

precast cement mesh. 


Left: A 1:1 scaled drawing of the tympanum 

was prepared with reference to the historic 

photographs. 

Below: The completed tympanum being 

washed before installation. 


of the Trust in close association with the 

Department of Archaeology and 

Kathmandu Metropolitan City. 

CONSERVATION ISSUES /STRATEGIES 

The historic buildings and monuments 

in Kathmandu Valley present a number 

of serious challenges regarding questions 

of historic material retention, authenticity 

and especially justification of replacement 

of carvings or fabric. Kal Bhairav is a 

representation of these monuments as 

it was a palimpsest of layers including 

the earthquake rebuilding, votive 

offerings and incomplete historic details. 

Historical photographs (Kurt Boeck’s 

photo 1890, Ganesh Photo Lab 

photograph of before and after the 

earthquake) provided nearly all that is 

known about the evolution of this layer. 

Of great interest is the fact that these 

photographs, which span from 1890 to 

1934, document the same architectural 

facade with no changes! The shrine thus 

survived the earthquake without major 

damage. A subsequent rebuilding 

between 1936 and 1991 did however 

greatly simplify this facade, while also 

adding depth to the structure through the 

addition of a new back wall. This was 

most likely done as structural 

reinforcement. The votive offering made 

in 1991, which is well documented, clad 

the entire architectural frame in marble 

tiles and added a concrete framesupported 

roof to cover the shrine. This 

cladding concealed the changes to the 

shrine’s architectural frame during the 

initial studies of the building. In 

preliminary work investigations, prime 

concern was on the extent of damage 

done on the underlying stone fabric by 

the addition of marble tiles laid in cement 


mortar. On removal of this cladding in 

fall 2004, and expecting to find the 

colossal stone arch with sculptural figures 

with flanking assembly of columns and 

entablature, a much-reduced version of 

this 17th c. composition was found. This 

20th century rebuilding can be 

hypothesized to be prompted by some 

major cracks resulting from the great 

earthquake of 1934. 

RESTORATION DESIGN QUESTIONS 

Having discovered that the 17th century 

structure was completely lost, a study of 

the 20th century structure was done to 

evaluate whether it was worthy of 

conservation, and if so, by which means. 

Where major rebuildings have intervened 

between the building’s original 

construction and the most recent 

restorer, they were undertaken with 

intention and design, however 

inappropriate. The 1971 repair done to 

the shrine (addition of roof structure) 

was neither traditional nor due 

consideration was given to the prime 

image. Thus, it did not merit to be 

conserved. Likewise, the 20th century 

structure failed to convince us of its 

restorability for following reasons: 

• The rear wall, a veneer of stone blocks 

was structurally unstable and of poor 

workmanship. The surfaces of more than 

60% of these stones were damaged by 

cement mortar, which was used to attach 

the marble cladding and cement slabs. 

Above: A reduced and simplified 

version of the original structure 

exposed on removal of top layers. 

Below right: The shrine as it stood in 

December 2003 before restoration. 

Below: The roof structure with 

corrugated zinc sheets supported by G.I. 

pipes (inventory of Kathmandu valley 

1971/UNESCO). 




HERITAGE 

Photo: Lumanti Joshi, 2005 

• The composition of orders framing the 

colossal image appeared to be ad-hoc 

from post-earthquake repair years with 

little formal sympathy in relation to the 

fine focal image. 

• The roof and pinnacle composition was 

architecturally of poor quality. There 

were no proper joints between the roof 

members and the stone work at the roof 

level. In this case there was no way to 

waterproof the poorly laid stones. 

The existing configuration was still 

incomplete due to the 1936 repair and 

to complete the roof pinnacle, the design 

had to be reinvented. Excellent 

documentation of the pre 1934 

configuration had fortunately been done, 

which was considered to be the original 

and hence the base for the restoration. 

Restoring the Kal Bhairav shrine 

The approach to the restoration problem 

involved analysis of the structure as a 

whole and depended on various larger 

considerations in the local context. An 

on-site workshop was conducted with the 

entire KVPT technical team to explore 

different views regarding its restoration. 

Top: Stone blocks on opposite facades 

with steel reinforcement drilled into the 

blocks to stablize individual pieces and 

strenghten the entire structure. 

Top below: Carved details of the 

pinnacles refined at site. 

Construction period: December 2003 - May 2005 

Construction cost: Nrs. 29,99,211.00 

With generous support from: U.S. Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural 

Heritage Preservation, US Embassy, Kathmandu, Nepal Investment Bank, 

Kathmandu, Mr. Prithivi Bahadur Pande, German Development Service (DED), 

Mr. Deepak Man Sherchan, Mr. Bikram Krishna Shrestha, Mr. Prem Lal Shrestha, 

Mr. Jitendra Basnyat, Mr. Jitendra Rajbhandari, Mr. Niranjan Lal Shrestha, Mr. 

Siddhant R. Pandey, Mr. Surya P. Shrestha 

Implemented by: Kathmandu Valley Preservation Trust (KVPT) In 

cooperation with His Majesty’s Government Department of Archaeology 

(DOA) & Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) 

Documentation and Implementation Team: Erich G. Theophile, Dr. Rohit 

Kumar Ranjitkar, Sushil Rajbhandari, Raju Roka, Lumanti Joshi, Badri Juwal, 

Rajan Shrestha, Sujata Shakya, Sushma Bajracharya, Bishnu Chulyadha and 

Dinesh Tamang. 

Some were of the opinion that the 1936 

layer needed to be retained for its historic 

value. However, the stones had 

deteriorated considerably and some of 

them required urgent replacement. 

Juxtaposition of the historic stone with 

the new stone would be extremely jarring 

and thus seemed a rather harsh approach. 

Moreover, the architectural frame from 

the 1936 repair lacked the richness in 

artistic value of the original. It seemed 

to be ‘incorrect’ to leave it as it stood; 

restoring the original form of the 

structure was preferable and so was recarving 

the lost elements. 

Since the advent of foreign visitors in 

1951, the cluster of monuments at the 

entrance of the Hanuman Dhoka Royal 

Palace has been a ‘snapshot’ of the 

country’s architectural heritage, with Kal 

Bhairav as a major focus of the square. 

Thus, restoring the ensemble image, 

which has become iconic, was 

complementary to the environmental 

quality of the historically and 

architecturally significant Square. 

However, the thickness of the principal 

wall, which composed of core brick 

masonary, was retained reusing some of 

the surviving stone blocks. 

The study and documentation process 

to redesign this stone architecture from 

the photographs as well as the enormous 

number of excellent stone commissions 

generated, meant that the human factor 

weighed the argument in favour of re- 

carving the lost carvings (i.e. pinnacles, 

cornice details and tympanum). Where 

vital components were missing, like the 

elaborate tympanum above the focus 

image and the details of the stone 

pinnacles, they were re-carved based on 

the historic photographs and 

documentation. 

The Trust has not just focused on the 

‘visible’ restoration of the shrine but also 

on structural restoration. Additional 

stainless steel mesh has been introduced 

in between core brick masonry structures 

of the frame to tie the outer skin of 

stone blocks. This extra bracing of the 

stones supports and stabilizes the 

structure in the event of any probable 

seismic movement. 

Votive offerings of sculptures, bells and 

polychrome on the God seem to have 

been common for as long as we know. 

Restoring the monument at the disposal 

of these offerings would have been such 

as being disrespectful of the prevailing 

rituals and people’s sentiment. 

Considering this human factor as a 

significant aspect of the project, these 

details have been incorporated into the 

restoration of the Kal Bhairav shrine. 

Thus, the model effort of the Trust to 

reinstate the significant part of the 

historic ensemble incorporated various 

aspects of conservation methodology, 

integrating new technology and 

traditional construction methods. S 



S E R E N E 

SHANGRI-LA 


This view is in fact one of the key features defining 

not just the location of Shangri-La Village Resort in 

Pokhara, but the way it has been designed and built. 

TONI HAGEN 

The story of how, or more precisely, 

where, the Shangri-La Village Resort in 

Pokhara came to be, began in the year 

1952. A Swiss traveller and geologist, 

Toni Hagen, was in Pokhara that year 

and he took a photograph there, facing 

north towards the Annapurna range. 

This photograph went on to become 

somewhat representative to the ‘outside 

world’ of the beauty of Pokhara, a classic 

picture if you like, and Toni Hagen, 

following extensive travels across the 

length and breadth of Nepal, went on to 

become something of an authority on 

the geography of this country. 

Fast-forward to the year 1990 and we 

have Shyam Bahadur Pandey, hotelier 

and patriarch of the Shangri-La hotel in 

Kathmandu, recognizing an opportunity 

for creating a deluxe hotel in Pokhara. 

The site? The very spot (more or less), 

from which Hagen took this famous 

panorama of the Annapurna Mountains. 

S 


1. Main Entrance 

2. Parking 

3. Main Building 

4. Swimming Pool 

5. Pool House 

6. Multi Purpose Hall 

7. Shops 

8. Service Building 

9. Guest Blocks 

10. Walkway 

11. Waterway 

12. Temple 

13. Chorten 

14. Landscaped area 

Many things have changed in Pokhara 

since the time that photograph was taken, 

but the view of the mountains have 

remained more or less like that which 

Toni Hagen saw that beautiful morning 

in 1952. This view is in fact one of the 

key features defining not just the location 

of Shangri-La Village Resort in Pokhara, 

but the way it has been designed and built. 

Above left: Beautiful landscaping is one 

of the best features of the resort. 

Above: Nights at the Shangri-La are a 

special experience. 

Left: Master plan. 


Traditionally, hotels and resorts have tried 

to locate themselves along the lakeside, 

around Phewa taal, the main tourist area 

in Pokhara. This placement guarantees 

easy access to the tourist area around 

the lake, as well as automatically 

enhancing the architectural appeal of 

buildings, by virtue of being located 

beside an idyllic lake. Not so with the 

Shangri-La Resort. It is located nowhere 

near the lake, and in fact, is closer to the 

much less idyllic western end of the 

Pokhara airport runway. The architects 

themselves describe the original site, 

before they completed landscaping and 

construction, as “flat and boring”. So, in 

terms of creating a successful resort, the 

architects and clients had to come up 

with a design that could somehow 

compensate for not being beside, or even 

close, to Phewa taal – which is for many, 

the definition of a Pokhara experience. 

As well as being flat and boring..! 

DESIGN CONSORTIUM 

The firm that executed this feat and help 

build the Shangri La Village resort was 

Design Consortium. It was this firm’s first 

major project. In fact, this ‘consortium’ 

consisted of just four young architects 

fresh out of architecture school, limited 

in experience, but plenty on drive. Clearly 

they did something right when they 

presented their case because Shangri-La, 

a well-established and successful hotel 

looking to invest what eventually came 

to around five million USD in this 

venture project, chose the Design 

Consortium team to do the work. 

So back in 1994, the design team set to 

work and it took them around six months 

to finalize a design. The actual 

construction, however, was completed in 

a blistering eighteen months, a record 

pace of sorts - given the normally staid 

pace of construction that is more 

common here. In 1996 the resort was 

complete and started actual operations. 

Its management, and its designers, 

attribute a significant part of this feat to 

Uttpal Sengupta, a legendary taskmaster 

and perfectionist who for around two 

decades had been general manager at 


well as work really hard, for this would be the 

consortium’s make or break project. This also meant 

Shangri-La could have more of a say in the design 

process and so there was a lot of input from their 

side but all in all a very healthy interactive design 

process ensued, resulting in a mutually satisfying 

end result. 

Design Consortium, which is now known as Design 

Cell, then consisted of four young architects: Sanjay 

Pradhan, Umesh Man Shrestha, Arun Dev Pant 

and Shakti Man Dangol. The current CEO of the 

Right & above: Pebbled paths and lush green ferns 

are well married to thatched cottages. 

He had the vision to see the possibilities-Shyam B. 

Pandey. 

Below: The grounds of the resort offers many 

excellent examples of an aesthetic mind. 

Shangri-La in Kathmandu. He had the 

skills and experience required and shared 

in the vision of its owners. So when the 

Shangri-La group decided to set up a 

presence in the growing tourist market 

in Pokhara, he was a natural choice to 

represent Shangri-La. Interestingly, at this 

point, a design for the Shangri-La Village 

already existed, created by a French 

architect. But though acknowledged as 

being superb in many aspects both by 

the client and its final architects, this 

design did not find fruition. So why was 

Design Consortium selected over both 

an existing already-paid-for design, as well 

as other established architectural firms 

in the country at that time? They say 

Sengupta had a gift for recognizing talent, 

and he and his team saw in the Design 

Consortium team, well…talent! Also, 

being young and enthusiastic, they would 

help infuse energy into the project – as 

Left page: Symmetry and harmony are well 

demonstrated in the corridors. 



Shangri-La group, Daman Pradhan, 

tells the story of how these four 

young architects, fresh out of college 

approached them for an opportunity 

to work on the Pokhara project. It 

was a prestigious project and almost 

on a whim, the management allowed 

the foursome to make a 

presentation, never realizing that they 

would actually deliver what they 

wanted - but they did. In fact, 

Pradhan marvels at the fact that 

they did their research and came up 

with a design, mock up and all, in 

just three days. Their design worked, 

so did their enthusiasm, and so 

Shangri-La was theirs to work on. 

THE DESIGN 

During the design phase the team 

went off to villages in different parts 

of the Pokhara region and recorded 

architectural features of settlements 

and buildings from the surrounding 

areas. Based on this, they came up 

with a design they describe as 

‘contemporary, with local 

inspirations’, and having ‘an organic 

approach’. Structures in this resort are 

not rigidly defined along standard 


axis’s - rather, structures occur naturally, 

in a more loosely bound, or organic, 

pattern. This pattern they say was inspired 

by the way village settlements are laid 

out – and so the end result was a Shangri- 

La Village Resort. 

Shangri-La’s instructions had been to 

create a place that was warm and 

welcoming, giving a flavour of local 

architecture – while providing all the 

comforts of a deluxe resort of this 

category. Surrounding settlements around 

Pokhara like Birethati and Siklis were 

visited to draw inspiration from for the 

village concept. One of the designers 

even thought of creating a village based 

on the idyll of Gaulish villages featured 

in the Asterix and Obelix comics, which 

some readers may be familiar with! 

However, reflecting on local elements of 

design was their brief, and that is what 

the resort has finally incorporated. 

DETAILS AND FEATURES 

In fact, a lot of this village element at 

the resort is found in the details like the 

Maithili motifs on the walls, the lamp 

niches in the stone walls and the stone 

walls themselves. Typical Nepali villages 

in the region incorporate a lot of stone, 

straw and wood in their construction and 

these materials have also been used 

extensively in the resort to add to the 

village feel. Here, an essentially modern 

construction has been disguised to more 

or less give it a village veneer. 

The profile of the blocks with the guest 

rooms, backed up against the southwest 

perimeter of the property, has been 

deliberately broken up by creating a row 

of split level cottages with four sets of 

rooms each, with two more in the section 

joining the cottages. All of these blocks 

are shaped like a typical ‘matchbox’ 

Nepali house and have only two floors 

each. There are also a number of rooms 

in the southern corner of the property 

that seem to lie below ground level, an 

effect achieved by converting their 

combined flat roof area into a lawn. These 

rooms may remind guests of the flat roof 

design of the houses in Manang and the 

Mustang regions off north of the 

Pokhara valley. All of these rooms face 

the mountains to catch that priceless view 

- and every room comes with this view. 

The entire orientation of the resort has 

therefore been created with this view in 

mind. One of the most attractive 

features about the design of the resort 

is the way in which rooms seem to have 

so much privacy, an effect enhanced by 

the split levelling and the fact that no 

rooms face each other. The effect of 

Above: The entrance itself 

promises expansiveness within. 

Left: Split level designs have 

been incorporated adding to the 

independance of each room 

with regard to uninterrupted view. 

Right: One view of the resort that 

exemplifies the thoughtfulness 

towards the creation of an 

interesting landscape. 


the orientation of the resort and the 

rooms is like having the place to oneself 

with a beautiful garden in front, and then 

a great view beyond. On the lower floors, 

it’s the pergolas that give the rooms 

privacy and the front of each room 

opens up into the garden allowing direct 

access to the garden from the rooms. If 

it weren’t called the Village Resort, this 

place would have done well to call itself 

the Shangri-La Garden resort. In fact, it 

is one of the best features of the resort. 

Probably no co-incidence as the original 

Shangri-La in Kathmandu also has a 

garden as one of its most attractive 

components. In most resorts, a garden is 

a formal element of design. Here it is 

is like coming across an empty 

concrete community hall in the 

middle of an otherwise pretty 

village. This hall is clearly not an 

accident as it was built to serve 

as a conference room/restaurant, 

but when not being used, it 

remains a bare hall that does not 

contribute to the overall appeal 

of the resort. Conferences and 

seminars are an important market 

that the resort was probably 

geared towards, in addition to the 

leisure tourists, and in this respect, 

it is a valid structure, but it does 

detract from the ‘village’ feel. In 

its defence however, what can be 

said is that it separates the rooms 

and garden area, from the 

somewhat different feel of the 

swimming pool and the main 

building area. 

THE POOL AND THE MAIN BUILDING 

The pool area and the main building are 

a bit more modern - the decidedly unvillage 

part of the village. By themselves 

they form an attractive area and in a 

sense, the village part consists of the 

garden area and the guest rooms, and 

this part the modern resort. There is a 

large open square flagstone area by the 

pool, lending sharp geometry to the pool 

area. The pool itself is a semi circular 

horizon pool, with the main building itself 

a cylindrical shape, blending with the 

pool’s curve. The main building also 

comes with pergolas following its curve, 

pergolas being a popular feature here. 

Though currently one of the most 

popular deluxe properties in Pokhara, its 

main disadvantage was not being located 

close to the lakeside. The swimming pool 

takes care of that in a way, perhaps by 

seeming to mimic the lake, so 

the star – as far as appeal of the place as 

a whole is concerned – with no disrespect 

to the other factors that make up this 

heavenly resort! 

The garden works, but what doesn’t work 

so well is the conference hall in the 

middle of an otherwise very attractive 

garden. It doesn’t block the view or 

anything, but is a conspicuous, and usually 

empty structure, that guests have to walk 

by when passing between the rooms and 

the main building. The hall itself is a solid 

Nepali-feel building, but could perhaps 

have been located elsewhere. Its presence 


unavoidable in most Pokhara images. 

And so the design of the pool area gives 

Shangri-La ‘village’ its own lake! On clear 

days, reflected in the pool, are the 

mountains. And being located at the 

northern end of the resort the pool traps 

this reflection, letting visitors walk in to 

the mountains, in the ‘lake’! 

THE LOBBY 

Visitors, on entering the resort through 

the main lobby, get an ethnic or village 

feel of the place by virtue of the décor, 

and this feel is sought to be preserved 

when they move towards the rooms – 

coming out of the main building, walking 

along the covered walkway, and through 

the garden. Three split stone walls allow 

access to the pool area as soon as guests 

leave the main building, but also block it 

from view, so the two areas with 

different feels do not clash in the 

beginning. The difference is not stark, 

but this split wall access allows for a more 

gentle transition from village, to a blue 

horizon pool by a circular glass walled 

building - the upper floor of which has a 

viewing gallery that again offers great views 

to diners. 

INTERIORS 

The entire interiors, furnishing, and decor 

of the resort have been created keeping 

Facing page: The tender loving care 

taken in the making of an environment 

that is soothing and relaxing, as evident 

from these pictures, has to be appreciated. 

Above: What else but a Shangri-La could 

look like this at night? 

Right: An overview of the lobby which is 

open and welcoming. 


the village concept in mind. In the 

reception and dining area, there are 

reminders of local village life in the form 

of decorative elements consisting of 

everyday items used in villages. The 

reception and lobby area have also been 

created to give this impression. Most of 

the interiors and furniture however 

appear to be of Rajasthani origin and 

flavour. This was apparently because at 

around the time the resort was being built, 

a lot of Shangri-La’s clients were French 

groups who used to travel on the Jaipur 

– Bombay -Nepal circuit. So when it was 

time to work on the interiors, the 

decorators went off to Rajasthan to get 

ideas for interiors and perhaps with the 

idea of pleasing their French guests, a 

Rajasthani décor was chosen. Because a 

lot of Rajasthani furniture and 

decorative items come from their 

villages, they do impart a rural flavour. 

At the same time, when placed in a 

different environment, they take on an 

exotic nature and so the décor 

was probably meant to give the 

resort an exotic rural flavour. 

Appropriate, one could say, for 

a deluxe village resort. 

THE OVERALL EFFECT 

In total the Shangri La Village 

Above: Bedrooms are furnished 

with an eye towards ethnicity. 

Left: The restaurant has a cosy 

atmosphere due to the diffused 

lighting through Lokta paper 

shades. 

Right: Nice ethnic touches make 

the rooms a delight to spend time in. 

Facing page above: Earthen pots, 

wicker chairs and recessed 

lighting explains the reason for 

visitors’ pleasant surprise as they 

enter the lobby. 

Left: The bar is, as expected, 

comfortable and with a warm 

ambience. 


Resort has 61 standard rooms, all of 

which are more or less identical in their 

boarding capacity and general layout and 

decor. The resort is now 11 years old 

and in some places showing its age, but 

for the most part, seems to be holding 

up – though not ageing all that gracefully, 

given the fact it is under-utilised in the 

so-far unsteady tourism market. 

So what can be said about this resort that 

came to be because of one man’s vision, 

and another man’s photograph? This, that 

the Shangri-La Village Resort is a 

functional resort that is both attractive 

and well planned for the most. It is also 

comfortable, and fulfils a brief where it 

manages to incorporate village elements 

in its design. The overall effect is pleasing, 

especially, as noted before, the garden, 

which is really spectacular. The way the 

profile of the Shangri-La Village Resort 

is spread out, and broken up into split 

levels is a clever feature, saving it from 

becoming a concrete block trying to call 

itself a village. 

This feature, lends credibility to the village 

goal, and to the overall aesthetic appeal. 

Wood and stone is the binding feature 

throughout the resort, and these 

materials have been used to good effect. 

Bottom line, a successful blend of deluxe 

features and ethnic elements to create 

the village resort the Shangri-La Village 

hoped to be. S 



CRAFTS 

DRIFTING 

T O W A R D S 

FAME 

Text: G. Shrestha 

‘Bhavishya Drastha’-Nepali Nostradomus 

‘… the poet has tried to cook many dishes with 

a variety of different tastes. It is no use judging 

them to be either tasteful or tasteless…it is the 

cook’s perseverance, effort and enthusiasm 

that must be given due praise.” 

’ 

Late Siddhicharan Shrestha 

Among the many awards he has 

been able to earn in his 59 

years, Narendra B. Shrestha is 

proudest of the ‘Byathit Kavya 

Award’ for poetry in 1994. He has had a 

slim book published on a collection of 

his poems from 1963 to 1986, and in the 

forward, the late Siddicharan Shrestha 

writes, ‘… the poet has tried to cook many 

dishes with a variety of different tastes. 

It is no use judging them to be either 

tasteful or tasteless…it is the cook’s 

perseverance, effort and enthusiasm that 

must be given due praise.” As a man who 

has dabbled in many diverse fields and 

with optimistic endeavour, Narendra is 

certainly deserving of such words from 

the great poet. 

He paints, writes, sketches, sculpts and, 

besides calling himself a good ‘business 


CRAFTS 

manager’, has always been active in the 

social service sector. “I am a Jack of all 

trades, master of none,” he admits 

modestly. But hold on, Mr. Shrestha, hold 

on. Don’t be so 

harsh on yourself. 

We must inform 

you that we find 

you to be master 

in at least one 

field, which for 

lack of a better 

term, we shall 

call, ‘driftwood 

sculpture’. Now, 

seeing that it is a 

relatively new term, 

let us hear from 

Narendra about what 

exactly constitutes 

‘driftwood sculpture’. 

“I collect roots and branches 

that drift down the rivers,” he 

explains. “Then I visualize a 

particular concept I have in 

mind in relation to the 

particular characteristics of 

such driftwood. All driftwood 

has odd shapes and sizes that 

have been defined by nature. 

Constant hammering of 

rushing water, the gentle but 

continuous massage by free 

flowing rivers and the constant 

bouts with rocks and 

other obstacles on the 

way become responsible for 

making driftwood 

quite interesting and 

individually 

different 

from one 

another.” 

Narendra goes on, 

“Next, I sculpt the 

concept according to my 

designs using the oddities of 

the driftwood in my favour.” 

From such an unusual source has arisen 

many unique pieces of artful sculpture 

that adorn his house in Nagpokhari. “I 

believe that each of my works is the only 

one of its kind in the world. I think it is 

virtually impossible to replicate them,” 

he declares. His particular brand of 

sculpture has been exhibited in art 

exhibitions from time to time. 

However, Narendra isn’t particularly 

enthusiastic about selling them. “Just 

imagine, each one is so uniquewouldn’t 

it be torture to part with 

them? Besides money isn’t my 

objective.” In fact, what Narendra 

is enthusiastic about, is “to have my 

sculpture in a museum permanently on 

display for public viewing.” 

Each of his works has exclusive names. 

So too, a history, according to Narendra. 

An interesting article titled ‘Finding 

Ravana in Singha Durbar’ published in a 

national daily some years ago describes 

how Narendra found a piece of 

Above: This piece is the first one of 

Narendra’s driftwood works. 

Left: A vibrant sculpture such as this 

speaks volumes about his artistry. 

driftwood inside the durbar and which 

he fashioned into a sculpture depicting 

Ravana kidnapping Sita. Similarly, he has 

found his raw material in many such 

unexpected venues. But whatever the 

origin, one will have to agree with the 

sculptor that each finished piece can be 

visualized to be carrying a certain 

concept, a certain story. Such as the large 

sized ‘Bhavishya Drashta’ for example. 

“You see this face and the hand he is 

peering unto?” asks Narendra. “Well he 

is the Nepali Nostradomus and can you 

also see the hand blessing him from 

behind? That is where he is getting his 

power of prediction from.” He turns the 

piece around and lo and behold-there is 

a bald man with a large nose in a stooping 

posture. “This man has had a lot to do 

with whatever has been the current trend 

of events in the country. Guess who he 


is?” No need to guess, it clearly is meant 

to portray G.P.Koirala, prime minister 

umpteen times. 

‘Mache Kanya’ (Mermaid) is another 

relatively big piece, and in this, one 

notices an almost ethereal quality of 

artistry. The slim mermaid stands 

gracefully atop a dolphin and with 

another one taking a leap. The mermaid 

is well shaped but instead of the face, 

there is a gaping yawn-like hole. The 

result of all this is a sculpture that reflects 

vibrancy and action. It is undoubtedly 

one of Narendra’s more imaginative 

works. “All my works are sculpted from 

one piece,” he further informs. “This is 

another reason for my claim that each 

is one of its kind in the world.” A 

beautiful ‘Bal Sulabh Ganesh’ takes pride 

of place in his living room, and makes 

for an elegant looking centerpiece. 

Narendra B. Shrestha has several racks 

full of Nepali literature. And this is as 

expected of a man who considers 

himself to be a man of words. However, 

there is more to it than that. All those 

books have covers designed by Narendra 

himself and all the designs are in the 

form of arty drawings. Some of his 

paintings hang on the walls as does a wallhanging 

full of commemorative and 

Above: Driftwood sculpture displayed 

below some of Narendra’s paintings. The 

books’ cover drawings were done by him. 

Below: The sculptor with a piece that is in 

the early stages of being crafted into a 

one-of-its-kind work. 


CRAFTS 

other medals acquired for work with 

associations like Lions Club, Jaycees and 

other social service as well as business 

organizations. Narendra has been 

recognized for his social service and this 

is evident from many awards including 

the International President Humanitarian 

Award presented by Lions International 

in 1997; the Birendra Aishwarya Sewa 

Padak in 2001 as well as the Second Best 

Social Service Award during the first 

Youth Festival in 1965. In 1970, as the 

cultural secretary for Nepal Unesco Club, 

Narendra was the one to initiate a beat 

contest in aid of beggars’ welfare, and 

in which a group of real beggar kids were 

invited to be the chief guests. Prizes too 

were given away by the ‘chief guests’. 

Presently, he is an executive member of 

the Satya Sai Kendra which runs a 

diagnostic centre for the poor, and in 

which Narendra holds the chairman’s 

post. He has also tried his hand at 

landscaping, having done the same for 

Satya Sai Kendra and for Nagpokahari. 

On the business side, he has a shop, 

‘Neeru’s’ (named after his wife) at the 

Bishal Bazar. He is also a director of the 

Bishal Bazar Company as well as director 

of the upcoming Lalitpur Bishal Bazar. 

It is a wonder how he manages the time 

for all his various activities but as he says, 

“Although I am a businessman, I don’t 

really give much time to my business. Still, 

it’s all a question of managing time 

properly.” He adds, “I am a very 

active person and thanks to 

God, I think I’m in almost 

perfect good health.” And, 

“Look at me, I am 59 years olddo 

I look it?” Before we forget, 

we must also mention that 

Narendra has taken acting 

lessons and performed with well 

known actor Madan Das 

Shrestha, in three plays staged 

in Naachghar during 1967- 

1968. In fact, he directed one 

of them which was titled, 

‘Balbhadra’. 

Much has been dabbled at, and 

with some degree of success 

too, but all said and done, it is in 

the art of ‘driftwood sculpture’ 

that Narendra B. Shrestha really 

excels. One can judge that such 

marvelous work must be really 

time consuming, and the 

sculptor agrees. At the same time, 

the end results displayed in his 

Above: ‘Lion’-Lovely lines and 

polished looks make this a very 

interesting work indeed. 

Below: ‘Kurukshetra’- This intricate 

sculpture tells it all-the tale of the 

Mahabharat epic. 

rooms totally justify any length of time 

taken because the art forms arrived at 

are, as he repeatedly says, ‘really unique’. 

Looking at his huge and solid ‘Singha’ 

(Lion) and the delicately poised ‘3 rd Stage 

Ballet’, one cannot but marvel at his 

ingenuity. Similarly, his ‘Sangharshmaye 

Manche’ (Struggling Man) and ‘Man with 

Dog’ are worthy creations, as are ‘Save 

Nature’ and ‘Khelkud Ma Unmukh 

Haru’ (Those Who are Busy with 

Sports). Narendra’s ‘Kurukshetra’ is a 

depiction of the Mahabharat and when 

he goes into an explanation of the many 

nuances of the multi-figured sculpture, 

one begins to understand the tremendous 

effort and imagination that goes into the 

making of such wonderful works. 

Final words from the poet/painter/ 

businessman/social service worker/ 

sculptor-“I am not into ‘Kastha Kala’ 

(Wood Carving), I’m into ‘Kathe Kala’ 

(Wood Art). The former is traditional, 

the latter, modern.” S 



JOURNEY THROUGH 

S P A C E S 

S P A C E S 

due to this, 

DESIGN RESPONSE TO HOUSING MARKET Nov/Dec 2004 

Civil Homes Phase III in Sunakothi has been a design response 

to the planned housing sector which, according to the 

glaringly, 

designers, Design Cell, has made a surprisingly 

the 

late start in 

Nepal. The main objectives have been to balance cost with 

facilities provided, so that the project becomes economically 

viable while still maintaining higher standards of space and 

requisite amenities. 

other hotels in 

THE MASTER BUILDER Nov/Dec 2004 

Shanker Nath Rimal is best known for designing the 

Shahid Gate. However, his prowess is all the more 

appreciated for the design and construction of the Royal 

Nepal Academy Hall because, although an engineer, 

his architectural abilities have been well demonstrated 

by the multifunctional design. Other designs that have 

earned this artist/engineer an enviable reputation have 

been the highly individualistic and much discussed 

‘Gudne Ghar’ and ‘Khutte Ghar’. Perhaps these signify 

the artistic nature of the man. 


HOTEL WITH A HISTORY Nov/Dec 2004 

The Shanker Hotel has a hundred year history behind 

it. Neo-classical in design, this ancient building is an 

architectural monument . Credit has to be given to 

the owners who have taken good care to make sure 

that the original facade is preserved for eternity. It 

has specially been a creditworthy achievment since 

even when much of the interiors had to be 

reconstructed for commercial viability, the exteriors 

were kept unchanged. 

it highlights, 

PROTECTOR OF MONUMENTS Nov/Dec 2004 

The Kathmandu Valley Development Trust Office in 

Patan Durbar Square befits perfectly, its function-the 

preservation of traditional monuments in the Valley. It 

is not really surprising since the Nepal Program 

Director of this international body is the well known 

architect Dr. Rohit Ranjitkar who has a couple of 

interesting works to his credit such as the renovated 

Baber Mahal Revisited. He is fond of propagating, “It 

is not necessary to destroy traditional structures in 

order to provide comfortable living and working 

difference with 

space.” The KVPT office proves the point. 

the area and is 

AMIDST ENCHANTED FORESTS Jan/Feb 2005 

Haatiban Resort stands some 400 metres above 

Kathmandu Valley and appropriately enough, has lovely 

invigorating weather all year around. Set in 2 hectares of 

lush green forest, the resort, designed by Narendra 

Pradhan, well known maker of monasteries, is only 15 

kms from the Capital. Constructed with stone masonry 

and mud mortar, the architect faced some unusual 

challenges such as the difficult decision to have the cottages 

face west to take advantage of the perennial view of 

Kathmandu Valley, rather than east to catch the sun. 


he restoration of Ba 

as a labour of love fo 

reat-great grandson o 

JB Rana. Indeed 

otivation must hav 

ransform dilapidate 

own guard quarters 

FIRST WOMAN ENGINEER Jan/Feb 2005 

Shanti Malla was, for almost seven years, the first 

and only woman engineer in the country. She 

spent a major part of her working life at the 

Department of Housing as an engineer, and six 

and a half years as a first class officer in the Anti 

Corruption Bureau. Today, she runs a school that 

she founded, Ananda Vidya Mandir in Koteswore, 

Kathmandu. 

A SAMPLE OF THINGS TO COME Jan/Feb 2005 

Namuna Ghar of Bhaktapur, recipient of an UNESCO 

award, is the brainchild of an artist cum academician, 

Rabindra Puri who however, prefers to be called a 

‘restorer’. Seeing that almost 80% of original materials 

were reused during the restoration of Namuna Ghar, 

and much effort put in to ensure originality of other 

materials, Rabindra Puri certainly deserves to be called 

just that- a restorer. 

BABER MAHAL REVISITED MAR/APR 2005 

The restoration of Baber Mahal Revisited was 

a labour of love for Gautam SJB Rana, greatgreat 

grandson of Maharaja Chandra SJB 

Rana. Indeed, a great deal of motivation must 

have been needed to transform dilapidated 

stables and run-down guard quarters to what 

is on view today- a truly remarkable monument. 



S P A C E S 

FLAUNTING SPACES REFRESHINGLY Mar/Apr 2005 

ber Mahal Revisited 

r Gautam SJB Rana, 

f Maharaja Chandra 

, a great deal of 

e been needed to 

d stables and runto 

what is on view 

One of the newer additions to innovative architecture in 

Kathmandu has been the Nanglo Bakery Café at 

Sundhara. Designed by Sarosh Pradhan, the project 

was envisaged as ‘an effort to be kinetic in nature, 

sculptural in form and poetic in treatment of spaces, 

materials and details’. With an abundance of space to 

play around with, the designer has succeeded in creating 

a haven in the middle of a concrete inner city jungle. 

Daring use of metallic structures combined with aesthetic 

traditional touches impart an interesting aura. 

GOD IS IN THE DETAILS May/June 2005 

The Country Villa in Nagarkot is, ironically, 

conspicuous. Ironic, because the architect, 

Siddarth Gopalan, envisaged much of his design 

concept towards blending the hotel with the local 

environment. Acutally, to be fair, it is conspicuous 

because of this- Country Villa Resort’s design 

has incorporated local architectural touches 

admirably and, in the process, has become all 

the more eye-catching. 

THE FOUNTAINHEAD Mar/Apr 2005 

Bibhuti Man Singh has earned quite a 

reputation as one of the most innovative of 

architects. His award winning design of the 

Himalayan Pavilion at Expo 2000 in 

Hanover created quite a stir. Park Village in 

Budhanilkantha and Club Himalayan in 

Nagarkot are two great examples of his 

innovativeness. 



S P A C E S 

ENDURING LEGACY May/June 2005 

The Garden of Dreams in Keshar Mahal is well 

on its way to completion. If we are to go by 

what has been achieved so far, then all we can 

do is wait with bated breath for the day it is fully 

complete. Gotz Hagmuller, the man who 

designed the path breaking Patan Museum, 

surely must consider restoration of this garden 

to be one of his magnum opuses. 

One of the newer 

innovative 

additions to 

architecture in 

ILLUMINATED LIVES May/June 2005 

Creative Builders Collaborative (CBC) is presently 

one of the premier design and construction 

companies in Nepal. It has been responsible for 

building seven out of the eight SOS Villages all over 

the country. In addition, the company has a long list 

of creditable works in their portfolio. Perhaps the 

combined glow of Dipak and Jyoti Sherchan have 

been the cause of so much illumination. 

ORGANIC TO THE CORE July/Aug 2005 

Gangadhar Bhatt Halbe is the first 

man to have acquired an 

architectural degree in the country. 

He has had an eventful life and will 

always be remembered for 

outstanding landmarks such as the 

City Hall and the Soaltee Hotel. A 

man with an individualistic streak, 

Gangadhar Bhatt is also a man of 

modern thoughts. 

COMMUNITY LIVING July/Aug 2005 

Comfort Housing has not only been hugely 

successful in the business of selling housing 

projects, it has also been very successful in 

imparting the concept of community living. But of 

course, it is the design and construction which 

really matter, and in this, Architect Rajesh Shrestha 

of Vastukala Paramharsh and CE Construction 

have both done splendid work. 



STARK 

SOPHISTICATION 

The design of a bar or restaurant 

is like a theatre design: it sets a 

stage, effectively creating the 

mood for a wholesome 

experience. While a glass of beer is just 

a glass of beer, the surroundings in which 

that glass of beer is served should subtly 

engage the diner. It should offer a tenor 

that ranges from hard-edged urban 

sophistication to upscale elegance to 

downplayed comfort. It should be able 

to talk and to convey a message. 

J Bar’s concept was visualized while 

holidaying in Sri Lanka. The plan was a 

rough sketch of the ceiling with charcoal 

pencil shading, highlighting the proposed 

recesses in the ceiling. It was more of an 

artist’s version of the ceiling - very fluid, 

very dramatic. This rough sketch was 

faxed to Anand (one of the owners) who 

surprisingly approved it instantly! 

IDENTITY Located on the first floor of 

the building that houses the famous 

Himlayan Java in Thamel, the space now 

occupied by the bar was used partly as 

an office and partly as a store. 

Two entrances lead to the J Bar - one 

in the front of the building towards the 

main road and the other, opposite to 

the beautiful Keshar Mahal. There are 

no signboards or any kind of signage 

anywhere identifying J Bar. The bar’s 

only identification is through word of 

mouth of satisfied clients. 


INTERIOR 

Text: Sonia Gupta 

The walls are bare, completely stark, and as 

darkness sets in, the riotous lighting plays havoc. 

The shaft has been turned into 

the liquor display unit, 

highlighted with more recessed 

lighting and has become the 

main focus of the bar. 

BASICS 

The built up area of the J Bar is rather 

small, somewhere around 1280 sq ft., 

although the total floor area, which 

includes Himalayan Java, its kitchen and 

offices, is enormous. Being largely a 

rectangular shaped hall, the interiors were 

architecturally very uninteresting. It had 

a low ceiling with a lot of irregularly 

distanced beams. In addition, there was 

a shaft on one side as well as four 

columns within the enclosure. This first 


time assessment of the site definitely 

posed some obstacles. At that moment, 

it was immediately decided that these 

inherent negative points of the site must 

be turned into its positive features for 

the design to be effective. 

The remedy started with designing the 

false ceiling in such a way that it would 

hide all the harsh structural elements yet 

make it aesthetically pleasing. Since the 

existing ceiling was very low and adding 

a false ceiling would make it even lower, 

it was decided to highlight it with 

carefully placed light fixtures for 

ornamentation as well as for general 

lighting. This approach to the lighting in 

J Bar made it pleasingly aesthetic as well 

as efficiently functional. 

The other main issue that had to be dealt 

with was the shaft. By turning it into the 

liquor display unit, highlighted with more 

recessed lighting, it has become the main 

focus of the bar. 

BEING SPECIAL 

Certain unique features have been 

adopted in J Bar: the lighting effects, the 

‘rat eaten marble’ and the extensive use 

of glass. Like a painting, the marble on 

the wall tells a story and needs to be 

perceived in that way. The many shades 

of ochre, the grains and the unfinished 

rawness of the marble becomes a centrestage 

in J Bar. The mood lights used 

enhances a personal theory of bar design 

being akin to setting up of a theatre. It 

has been used here to make drama, to 

set a stage, to create an atmosphere, to 

make people happy with this riot of 

Above: Like a painting, the marble on the 

wall tells a story. The many shades of ochre, 

the grains and the unfinished rawness of 

the marble becomes a centre-stage. 

Left: The low false ceiling, with carefully 

placed light fixtures, hides all the harsh 

structural elements, making it aesthetically 

pleasing and functional. 


colour all around. These lights are 

programmed on timers and can 

play with the colour of the season. 

They can be programmed and 

controlled to whatever colour 

required, thus setting the mood for 

the evening. 

IMPLEMENTATION 

The construction took 

approximately 2 ½ months for 

which local contractors were 

employed to do the job. A major 

problem encountered during 

construction was the unavailability 

of proposed construction 

materials. Quite a number of days 

were spent in trying to source out 

materials locally. There were 

instances when the required 

material was found but not in 

enough quantities. Eventually it was 

decided to bring everything in 

from India as the bar was scheduled to 

open soon. Although each and everything 

was brought in from India, including the 

furniture, marble, tiles, glass, chillers, the 

bar backup equipment, as well as all the 

serving dishes, the sound equipment as 

well as the mood lights were imported 

from UK. Sound and light engineers were 

specially brought in from Delhi to install 

the systems. 

AND AT THE END 

J Bar is simple in its design. It is an 

uncomplicated ambience created to 

soothe the nerves and yet be able to play 

up the emotions - whichever way one 

wants to look at it. Paintings as artworks 

have intentionally not been used. Rather 

the natural marble and prolific use of 

glass has been incorporated as the 

medium. The walls are bare, completely 

stark, and as darkness sets in, the riotous 

lighting plays havoc. The hall with its 

beams, shaft and columns, perceived 

initially as design constraints, is in fact 

the canvas on which colour has been 

filled. The bar is also a play of light and 

shadow. The lines are clean, crisp, 

minimalist and almost clinical in 

approach. J Bar is one place where no 

compromise was made in terms of 

quality and where it was very clear to all 

concerned as to what the end product 

had to be – a place to unwind, to 

relax and to be anywhere in the 

world that they wanted to be. J 

Bar truly reflects the personalities 

of its owners, Anand Gurung, 

Cabinet Shrestha and Gagan 

Pradhan, trendy, happening and 

with the times!! It could not have 

been accomplished without the 

immense faith they had in my 

design ability. S 

Above & below: The mood 

lights make drama, sets a 

stage, creates an atmosphere, 

makes people happy with the 

riot of colour all around. 



Sonia 

Text: A.B. Shrestha 

Sonia’s entrance into the frame comes like a whiff 

of fresh air not only due to her attractive demeanor 

but equally due to her modern ideas. 

DESIGNER 

Sonia Gupta, nee Malhotra, is 

starting to make her mark in 

Kathmandu. This pretty interior 

designer from Delhi is proving, once 

again, that art and design knows no 

boundaries. Nepal’s architectural landscape 

already has had the likes of the great Robert 

Weise and Louis Kahn imprinting their 

respective stamps, and currently, Gotz 

Hagmuller, making sure he leaves behind a 

legacy as well. So Kathmandu is no stranger to 

an international milieu in the architectural 

field. Now, a younger generation of 

international designers is entering the picture. 

Sonia’s entrance into the frame comes like a 

whiff of fresh air not only due to her 

attractive demeanor but equally due to her 

modern ideas. Her arrival on the scene 

perhaps adds to the much-needed move 

towards a more contemporary vision in 

interior designing in the Capital. 

J Bar in Thamel is one such move and it has 

certainly done Sonia proud. Jeans Café in 

Basantpur has been a continuation of the same 

spirit as has been Vineyard in Baber Mahal 

Revisited. Especially heartwarming to Sonia has 

been the end result of her efforts in J Bar. “I 

was fortunate to have really understanding clients 

who placed their total faith in my abilities,” she 

says. “My concept was accepted at first glance 

and from then on, no stone was left unturned to 

ensure that my work progressed rapidly and 

without hindrances.” Enthused with the accolades 

that followed, Sonia must be realizing that now 

she has a reputation to live up to. The work she 

has been assigned to refurbish the Coffee Shop, 

the Ghar-E-Kabab as well as the rooms of the 

Hotel de l’Annapurna might well be her 

opportunity to do so. 

One cannot but notice an aura of confidence 

around her when discussing the project. “I 

already have a concept in my mind about what I 

think the finished project should look like,” she 

says. “I have been studying the clientele here and 

I have noticed that in addition to young 

customers and the usual tourists, there are a 

sizeable number of regulars. I don’t want them 

to feel out of place later on and at the same 

time I want the younger customers to enjoy a 

more sophisticated and modern environment.” 

She adds, “I will be working on this with Kai 

Weise who will be responsible for the 

architectural and structural work”. Well, this is 

one project that will be attracting some attention, 

keeping in mind that Kai’s father, the late Robert 


Weise, was the architect who designed 

the Hotel de l’Annapurna. 

Talking about fathers and such, it is 

interesting to know that Sonia’s maternal 

great grandfather Samuel Evans Stokes, 

a Quaker from Pennsylvania, introduced 

apple trees in Shimla in 1903, and thereby 

made Himanchal Pradesh into one of 

the biggest apple producing states in 

India. Besides being a social worker, he 

She finished her B.F.A in 1991 and 

surprisingly, did not start any work 

professionally for almost five years. “I 

got married,” she laughs. “And then my 

daughter was born, so I became pretty 

busy at home.” But destiny was only 

waiting to play its part. In 1995, the wellknown 

architect, Shiban Ganju, requested 

her to be his interior design consultant 

for two residential projects - that of 

industrial biggies, Khaitan and Goenkaboth 

in New Delhi. “You can imagine, I 

must have been blessed to have had such 

distinguished clients for my first 

professional works.” From then on it has 

been a busy ride, and her firm, Sonia 

Gupta and Associates, went on to do a 

lot of prestigious projects including, 

also joined Gandhi in the freedom 

struggle and such was his stature in preindependent 

India that his life’s story 

entitled the publication of a book called 

‘An American in Khadi’. How fitting also 

that Sonia was born on the 15 th of 

August- India’s Independence Day. Sonia 

reveals, “Actually my real name is 

Vandana”. Supposedly, during the five 

years of her B.F.A. Interior Design and 

Art Education in the University of 

Georgia, USA, people found it difficult 

to pronounce her name. So she began 

using her nickname, Sonia. She has also 

done a one-year Advertising and Applied 

Arts from College of Art, New Delhi. 

offices of PSA Legal Eagles in Delhi and 

New York, a NRI residence in New York, 

the Bandhavgarh Jungle Lodge, and the 

Opus in Delhi. However, with a growing 

list of Kathmandu projects including the 

Hotel de l’Annapurna and residences of 

HRH Princess Helen Shah and Kapil 

S.J.B. Rana, it does look like Sonia might 

well be as busy here. Half jokingly, she 

says, “I would love to build a cottage for 

myself in Kathmandu, but I hear land 

prices are over the roof!” She has built a 

small cottage recently in Shimla, which 

she visits occasionally. 

Sonia has had an exhibition of her 

computer graphics at the Guggenheim 

Museum in New York and another at 

the Lyndon Art Centre in Georgia. She 

was also a recipient of the Georgia Rotary 

Scholarship. And besides ranking 27 th in 

the All India Order of Merit in the Class 

XII Board Exams, Sonia also topped the 

State of Delhi in Art. She describes her 

Above & left: Two of Sonia’s recent 

works – Vineyard in Baber Mahal 

Revisited and Jeans Café in Basantpur 

specialization as Interior Architecture and 

believes that it would be proper and in 

the scheme of things if architects would 

work alongside interior designers as 

consultants. From her experience, Sonia 

believes that it is very important to be 

professional in dealings with clients but 

rues the fact that there are still many who 

do not understand the time and effort 

an interior designer has put in to arrive 

at a point of mutual satisfaction. Sonia 

says she is quite selective when accepting 

assignments and likes to have her interest 

aroused by challenging projects in which 

she is allowed a free hand to unleash her 

latent creativity. She says, “Working here 

has been a pleasure but it has been 

difficult as well.” Elaborating further, she 

adds, “Sometimes it is impossible to get 

the kind of materials I need and even 

when available, not in the requisite 

amounts. I do wish concerned importers 

would consult interior designers when 

ordering so that they have adequate 

stocks of required and in-vogue 

materials. This would make our task so 

much easier and prevent unnecessary 

delays in the finishing of projects.” S 




ARCHITECT ROBERT WEISE: 

Text: Kai Weise 

SWITZERLAND 

Winterthur is an industrial city approximately 25 km 

north of Zurich. In the pre-war days, the euphoria of 

industrialization was slowly fading due to the harsh 

working conditions and the economic depression. Grey 

smoke belched out of the chimneystacks as masses 

of workers wearing faded overalls swarmed into the 

soot-covered brick cathedrals of assembly lines and 

machines. Ship’s engines the size of triple storey 

buildings were being manufactured to conquer the 

oceans. However a new wave of reform was being 

demanded by the trade unions, encouraged by the 

socialists. The newly established industrial bourgeoisie 

fought back heavy-handedly. Across the borders in 

Germany and Italy, the turmoil and depravation fuelled 

the establishment of a new order, the authoritarian 

regimes of Hitler and Mussolini. 

Under these circumstances, Robert Weise was born 

on May 23 rd 1929 and grew up in a large household 

together with eight aunts and uncles who all followed 

the strict dictates of the grandmother. Being a single 

child, he was pampered by the family and was 

introduced to a wide range of activities: from 

constructing gliders to assembling radios. Robert went 

to primary and secondary school in Wulflingen. His 

passions were art and sports. He joined the Boy Scouts, 

where he participated enthusiastically and was given 

the name Silver Fox. 

By the time Robert was 10 years old, the 

Second World War had begun. Step by step, 

Europe was engulfed by the German army, 

and as Mussolini joined forces and France 

fell, Switzerland was left an island in the midst 

THE LIFE THE WORK THE TIMES 

§ 

PROFILE 

“The foreign lands are not at all 

foreign to me; for it is there that 

I hope to be able to express the 

personal freedom in me”. 

of repression. For five long years, the country 

was in a state of emergency. Food was rationed 

and windows had to be blackened at night. 

These were insecure times. Meanwhile, at 

school, the art teacher did not give Robert 

full marks in his final secondary school exams, 

which set him on a new course. Instead of 

becoming an artist like his friends, he followed 

the advice of his art teacher and chose a more 

technical profession; Architecture. Robert did 

his apprenticeship as a mason and then joined 

the architecture course at the Swiss Technical 

Institute in Winterthur. 


The war had ended and Europe was 

licking its wounds. Though Robert 

moved away from art, he continued with 

his passion for sports. However, as he 

grew older, his physique became heavier 

and he had to change from gymnastics 

to wrestling. He made the Wulflinger 

Turnverein (gymnastic club) proud by 

bringing in medals and wreaths and even 

winning the cantonal (state) 

championships. Robert joined the 

obligatory army service with the “Light 

and Mechanized Troops”, where he 

thought he would be driving around in a 

jeep; he ended up with the bicycle troops. 

He left the army when he did not get 

first accreditations to become an officer. 

Even after leaving the army, he 

continued bicycling and toured large parts 

of war-torn France, Italy, Spain and 

England. An entry in Robert Weise’s diary 

dated: London 29 th June 1948, gives an 

early hint on what he was going to do 

with his life. “The foreign lands are not at all 

foreign to me; for it is there that I hope to be 

able to express the personal freedom in me”. 

Robert Weise completed his architecture 

in 1953. Soon thereafter he wooed Lotti 

Stalder, an adventurous and attractive 

young woman from the Bernese Alps, 

to marry him. 

CAMEROON 

After completing his studies, Robert 

applied for a job with the Basle Mission 

to work in the British Cameroons. To 

prepare for the task of working in such 

a foreign context, he was sent to the 

Building Research Centre at Watford, 

England to specialize in tropical 

architecture. In December, his first 

daughter, Gerda, was born. Four months 

later, after last minute preparations for 

the long journey to the “black continent”, 

the family boarded the S.S. Reventazon 

in Liverpool. After 12 days, on May 11 th 

1954, the ship entered the bay of Victoria 

and docked at Tiko, British Cameroons. 

Cameroon had a turbulent past and after 

the First World War, the territory divided 

up between the British and the French, 

had little social or political progress. It 

was only after World War II that the 

independence movement erupted and 

guerrilla warfare raged in the French 

Cameroons. The security situation was 

deteriorating and though even 

missionaries carried personal firearms, 

Weise chose to remain unarmed, arguing 

that it was the firearms that attracted 

disaster. During the 3 years in the British 

Cameroons, Weise was assigned to 

various mission stations. Other than 

looking after the existing faculties of the 

mission, several new projects were carried 

out such as; a leprosy settlement in 

Manyemen, a theological seminary in 

Nyasoso, a bookshop in Victoria and a 

teacher’s training centre in Batibo. 

Working conditions were tough. Materials 

needed to be ordered and often selfprocured 

from Douala in the conflictridden 

French Cameroons. The roads 

were earthen tracks that became a 

quagmire of slippery red mud during the 

rains. The boats that frequented the route 

between Victoria and Douala had to wind 

through the creeks where danger lurked 

around every bend. The building sites 

had often to be cleared from the thick 

forests. The labour force lacked training 

and even the supervisors had difficulty 

understanding how to measure something 

that was longer than their measuring stick. 

Innovation and endurance was required. 

Weise brought about basic reforms on 

his construction site, by banning the 

beating of labourers. Lotti Weise did the 

Above: Leprosy settlement and book 

shop, Cameroon. 

Below: Residence of Prince 

Basundhara and T.U. Library, 

Kathmandu 

accounts and carried out first aid for the 

sick labourers. 

The contract ended in June 1957 and 

the Weises flew back to Switzerland. The 

wooden crates remained packed, for 

Robert had no intension of remaining in 

Switzerland. A new job was in the 

offering; this time in Nepal. A son, 

Stephan, was born in September and 

when Stephan was barely seven weeks 

old, the family boarded the plane towards 

the East. 

NEPAL 

It was November 11 th 1957. The Dakota 

DC 3 landed on the Gaucharan airstrip 

in Kathmandu. A pickup was waiting to 

take the Weises to the SATA (Swiss 


PROFILE§ 

Above: Royal Palace proposal, 

Kathmandu. 

Right: St. Mary’s School and T.U. 

Science Block, Kathmandu. 

Below: Royal Hotel, Kathmandu 

Association for Technical Assistance) 

office and guest house at Ekanta Kuna, 

Jawalakhel, Lalitpur. 

In 1957 Nepal was still in the throngs of 

setting up a democratically elected 

government. Robert Weise was on a twoyear 

assignment within the framework 

of the Swiss assistance to the Ministry 

of Agriculture. One of the ongoing 

projects was the establishment of cheese 

factories in the mountainous regions. The 

factory in the Langtang Valley had already 

been set up and additional factories were 

planned, such as the one in Thodung, 

north of Charikot. Designs were also 

prepared for storage godowns and staff 

quarters for the ministry. Weise also 

prepared a proposal for the establishment 

of a Building Research Centre in 

Kathmandu, which even after a 

concerted effort did not get the required 

backing of the Swiss. 

The contract with SATA expired in 1959, 

nevertheless Weise had already been 

approached by the royal family for 

various design projects; a barn for the 

royal palace, a restaurant in the Gokarna 

forest and residences for Prince 

Himalaya and Prince Basundhara in 

Tahachal. A proposal was also prepared 

for the Nepal Bank building in New 

Road. However, it was not these projects 

that convinced Weise to stay on in Nepal, 

but the prospect of working on the 

proposed Tribhuvan University complex 

in Kirtipur. 1960 was a critical year, not 

only for Robert Weise, but also for Nepal. 

The Tribhuvan University project did 

materialize and he was given a three year 

contract as Architect-in-Chief for the 

preparation of the Master Plan and the 

design of the Library Building and the 

Science Block. The decision to leave the 

refuge of the Swiss government and take 

the leap to working for the local 

government was that which led to the 

exceptional contribution of Robert Weise 

to modern architecture in Nepal. 

In 1960, King Mahendra took a bold 

step when he commissioned the design 

of a new palace. This clearly symbolised 

the break from the past history of Rana 

domination and was part of the nationbuilding 

process for a “Modern Nepal”. 

The Ranas used the neo-classical style 

of the colonial powers in India to 

distinguish themselves from the 

common folk and to symbolically strive 

towards equality with the British. 

However, King Mahendra wanted to 

replace the “Rana Style” palace with a 

building designed in a style representing 

a modern interpretation of Nepalese 

architecture. Architect Weise was 

approached to submit a proposal. The 

architect was honoured. However, as a 

young architect, he naturally felt rather 


overwhelmed with such a colossal task. 

The project however fell through due to 

misunderstandings with the Royal Aidede-Camp. 

The project design was later 

commissioned to “Chatterjee and Polk”, 

one of the largest architecture firms in 

Asia. Benjamin Polk, an American 

architect, described the design in his book 

“Building for South Asia, An Architectural 

Autobiography” as “the building has total 

balance and total lack of symmetry” with a 

“Hindu temple tower”. 

In December of the same year, Weise 

was contacted by the Anchaladish (Zonal 

Governor); a new city, Bharatpur, was 

to be planned in Chitwan and he should 

come down to study the site. By late 

afternoon of December 14 th 1960, 

Robert was sitting with the Anchaladish 

on the verandah of a traditional wooden 

house on stilts. Robert Weise began to 

ask questions, questions that an architect 

would ask when confronted with the task 

of planning a new city for the first time. 

The Anchaladish waved off the 

questions, explaining that the bulldozers 

were coming the next day, and he was to 

direct them on the alignment of the roads. 

The next morning it was announced on 

radio that King Mahendra had dissolved 

parliament. There was going to be curfew 

in the evening and so Robert had to 

return to Kathmandu immediately. 

Before leaving however, the only 

suggestion that he managed to give was 

that the city centre should not be on the 

highway. The suggestion was followed. 

During the 1960s, Weise was confronted 

with the challenge of adapting the 

modern style of architecture he had been 

taught in Switzerland and his experiences 

with the European architecture in the late 

colonial period of western Africa to the 

context of the Kathmandu Valley. This 

struggle is already clearly visible when 

comparing the modern style used for the 

residence in Tahachal, the various forms 

of brise soleil derived from tropical 

architecture used on the library building 

and the adapted traditional windows 

proposed for the Nepal Bank project. 

The institutional buildings designed by 

Weise in the early 1960s were purely 

functional, with little regard to style. 

Examples of such buildings are the 1962 

designs of the Lincoln School auditorium 

and the classroom block for St. Mary’s 

School. However, Robert Weise 

experimented with forms and finishes in 

the residential buildings he designed. The 

cubical, flat roofed, white plastered 

buildings slowly transformed into exposed 

brick buildings with sloping roofs. The 

drawing of a residential building dating 

from 1961 shows how a “Newari” 

sloping roof was added to a design, 

which initially had a flat roof. This might 

seem an issue of little relevance today; 

however in 1961 there were hardly any 

“contemporary” designs to refer to. It 

was up to the architect to work towards 

an appropriate design which, seen in the 

larger context, would lead to the creation 

of a style. As Robert Weise explains: 

“There were two choices: either to forget about 

the traditional architecture 

and follow what at that time 

locally was referred to as 

‘Bombay box style’ or ‘house 

without hats’, or else to 

blend the new with the 

traditional. It must be noted 

that in 1957 no 

qualitatively suitable 

materials were available to 

follow the ‘modern 

international style’ of that 

time nor would it have been 

economic. For me it was 

obvious that the new era in 

Nepal must be created 

though with a progressive 

spirit, but with a 

Top: T.N.A. Hostel, Sikkim. 

Above: Fishtail Lodge, Pokhara. 

Below: Residential building, 1961, 

Nepal, showing ‘Newari’ sloping roof 

added to flat roof. 

traditional mind”. 

A ‘Nepalese style’ of architecture for the 

given context was being sought after and 

the culmination of these initial 

experiments can be seen in the design 

of Hotel de l’Annapurna. Robert Weise 

refers to this struggle when he writes: 

“Understandably the trend at that time was 

rather in favour of the progressive spirit, 

but it soon balanced and the resulting blend 

of architecture was called Nepalese. An 

early example was the Annapurna Hotel, 

the first “modern” tourist hotel which opened 

in July 1965.” 

The family grew with the birth of a 

second daughter Zita, and four years later 

a second son Kai. The same year, the 

family moved to the Club House at 

Bahadur Bhawan, then known as Lal 

Durbar. The Bahadur Bhawan had been 

converted into the Royal Hotel by Boris 

Lissanevitch in the mid-1950s, where 

celebrities from around the world stayed 

when visiting Nepal. With the 

advancement of commercial aviation 

tourism became a potential industry for 

Nepal. Plans were made to enlarge the 

hotel. The proposal prepared by Weise 

retained the front wing of the Rana 


palace and framed it with a ‘Nepalese’ 

style building in the back. It is of course 

interesting to compare this design to 

what has subsequently been done to give 

the palace a special ‘Nepalese’ identity; by 

adding ‘pagoda style’ roofs to the Ranastyle 

building. 

PROFILE§ 

In 1967, the Chhogyal of Sikkim called 

Weise to Delhi in connection with the 

foreseen Sikkim House project. The 

audience was given at the Rastapati 

Bhawan, and the Chhogyal came straight 

to the point; “How would you perceive 

the Sikkim House to look?” So Robert 

Weise had to sketch out a design there 

and then, which the Chhogyal accepted. 

The Sikkim House was to be constructed 

exactly as shown in the sketches. This 

meeting was followed by a close 

relationship with the Chhogyal who 

asked Robert Weise to develop a ‘Sikkim 

Style’ of architecture. By the end of the 

1960s, several projects had commenced 

in Gangtok, which reflected this newly 

conceived ‘Sikkim Style’; T. N. A. Hostel, 

T. N. Higher Secondary School and the 

Palace Secretariat. 

The 1960s was a decade of 

experimentation for Weise, which 

brought out some of the most interesting 

designs. In addition to the projects already 

referred to above, there were numerous 

residential buildings, schools and projects 

related to tourism. One project must be 

mentioned here in particular, the Fishtail 

Lodge in Pokhara. A simple design and 

the use of local materials created an 

environment that reflected the essence 

of Pokhara and captured its identity. 

WCAE 

In 1969 the firm ‘Weise Consulting 

Architects & Engineers’ was registered. 

The office grew quickly to comprise of 

at times up to 25 staff with a branch 

office in Sikkim. The next five years was 

the most productive period of Robert 

Weise’s career, during which over 100 

projects were designed. In Kathmandu 

the most prominent of these projects 

were Hotel Malla, the Army 

Headquarters and the SOS Children’s 

Village in Sano-Thimi. The Hotel Yellow 

Pagoda on Kantipath was constructed. 

Several hotel projects were designed but 

never constructed, such as the impressive 

design for the extension of Hotel 

Annapurna for Hilton. Army complexes 

were carried out in Chhauni, Baneshwor, 

Bhaktapur, Karipati, Pokhara and 

Nepalganj. Parallel to the projects in 

Nepal, there were some projects in 

Sikkim, many of which however ended 

up not being built, for history struck 

again. On May 16th 1975, Sikkim 

became the 22nd State of the Indian 

Union. With the transition of power, 

many of the projects conceptualized by 

the Chogyal were scrapped and for those 

that were later implemented, Weise’s 

services were no longer sought. 

In 1976, the office and residence was 

moved to Keshar Mahal, a building 

designed by Robert Weise. After Sikkim, 

a slight hint of fatigue shimmers through 

in Robert Weise’s work. The second half 

of the 1970’s led to a double heart attack 

in 1979. During this period there were 

however several major projects such as 

Top: SOS Children’s Village, 

Kathmandu. 

Above left: Hotel Yellow Pagoda, 

Kathmandu. 

Above right: Japanese Embassy staff 

quarters, Kathmandu. 

the west-wing extension of the Hotel de 

l’Annapurna, the Geodatical 

Observatory in Nagarkot, the Japanese 

Embassy Staff Quarters in Jawalakhel, 

and work on the Soviet Embassy had 

already begun. 

In his book “Wege und Irrwege der 

Entwicklungshilfe” (Paths and Erring-Paths 

of Development Aid), Dr. Toni Hagen 

presented Robert Weise’s work as a highly 

successful example of development aid 

through private initiative. During the 

period 1959 to 1979, a Swiss architect, 

without any foreign financing, provided 

practical training to 22 architects and 80 


§PROFILE 

draftspersons. Seven 

architects who worked in 

the office for several 

years went on to open 

their independent offices. 

Robert Weise contributed 

to the contemporary 

architecture in Nepal by 

achieving a blend between 

the traditional and the 

modern. In 1979, Robert 

Weise was commended by the Royal 

Nepal Academy for his exemplary works 

of preserving the Nepali cultural identity 

in modern buildings. 

The 1980s was the most challenging 

period in Robert Weise’s life. The heart 

attacks had severely affected his health. 

All the children had left to study or live 

abroad and his position as the “Grand 

Master” was being undermined by 

younger architects who, not finding a 

better reason, condemned him for being 

a foreigner. Even after providing service 

to the country for over 30 years, it was a 

struggle to obtain a visa. In March 1989, 

Robert Weise was again hospitalized and 

had to be flown to Delhi for a double 

by-pass heart operation. 

During this decade there were 

nevertheless over 60 projects that were 

designed. Some of the projects that were 

implemented were the Annapurna 

Arcade, the Coca Cola Bottling Plants 

in Balaju and Bharatpur, the Samajik 

Sewa Mandir in Lainchour and the 

Embassy of the Federal Republic of 

Germany in Gyaneshwor. It was 

however the Dreamland Resort project 

in Begnas that best exemplifies this 

period. The grand idea of having 

boathouses built on Lake 

Begnas for a luxury resort 

remained a dream, due to 

environmental concerns. 

This period of hardship had a deep 

influence on Robert Weise, who diverted 

his attention towards other activities. He 

joined the Free Masons and committed 

himself to the Rotary Club of 

Kathmandu where he became president 

in 1988. In search of a more 

philosophical reason for existence, he 

started reading the teachings of Shree 

Rama Tirtha and meditating. However, 

the greatest task that he took upon 

himself was a study on the historic 

evolution of architecture in the 

Himalayan region. The study came to an 

abrupt halt with the sudden reoccurrence 

of his heart condition, leaving a huge 

collection of books and piles of notes. 

After the heart surgery, Robert Weise 

never recovered properly. He spent 

several months in a health resort in 

Switzerland. The near death experience 

made him a completely altered person; 

he turned vegetarian and abstained from 

alcohol and tobacco. 

Top: Samajik Sewa Mandir, Kathmandu 

Above left: Hotel Malla, Kathmandu. 

Above right: Dreamland Resort, Pokhara 

GERMANY 

Robert Weise was in Berlin when the Wall 

came down in November 1989. With the 

German capital being moved to Berlin, 

it became the biggest construction site 

in the world. Places such as the 

Potsdamer Platz, which was formerly 

segregated in two by the wall, were now 

centres of commercial power, 

surrounded by high-rises designed by the 

most prominent international architects. 

Robert Weise spent the last few years of 

his life doing what he loved mostpainting, 

travelling and engrossing 

himself in philosophy. In January 1996 

he was admitted to hospital for chest 

pains. Over the next month his health 

steadily declined and he breathed his last 

on February 11 th 1996. S 



Lumanti 

Chen 

Text: G. Shrestha 


About one and a half kilometres 

from the ring road, in 

Dholahity- on the way to 

Sunagothi- is a simple looking 

house on the left side of the road. 

Besides the wooden gates is a copper 

plaque on which is engraved, ‘Lumanti 

Chen’. These are Newari words that 

translated means, ‘A House of 

Remembrance’. After spending some 

time inside the house, it becomes pretty 

clear that the name holds true for this 

two and a half storied building. 

[ ] 

INTERIORS 

Stepping inside the doors, unto dark polished 

parquet floors, one is immediately treated to 

a thoughtful review of a bountiful assortment 

of details in the living room. 

Four years ago, Kewal and Sunita 

Shrestha moved into Lumanti Chen 

from their old residence in Bhedasingh 

and they seem to have spent the time 

well. At least as far as creating a home 

that anybody would be proud of. A well 

tended garden with a miniature 

Swayambhu atop a rock mound with 

tree-like shrubs, and green beer bottles 

lining the flower beds at the perimeters, 

is early evidence that some amount of 

creativity has been given free reign. This 

is substantiated by the loving care and 

dedicated effort that has been obviously 

endowed in doing the interiors. And one 

has to give real credit for this to the 

homeowners. “After we bought the house 

we have almost completely redone the 

interiors,” says Sunita. “As far as the 

exteriors are concerned we haven’t 

changed much except to add a few 

extensions such as the car port on the 

right side.” The porch leading into the 

house has been decorated in such a way 

as to make a visitor expectant of better 

things to come. The carved wooden 

doors are flanked by brass lions and 

from the porch ceiling hang a few clay 

traditional handicrafts. Adjoining the 

porch is a tile-roofed space open on three 

sides and supported by carved wooden 

columns. More functional use of this 

space has been food for thought for 

Kewal who says, “I think I’ll make this a 

glass enclosed bar.” 

Stepping inside the doors, unto dark 

polished parquet floors, one is 

Facing Page: The garden in front of this 

interesting house is well maintained and 

offers refreshing open space. 

Below: The homeowner is making plans 

to have this space converted into a glass 

enclosed bar. 


immediately treated to a thoughtful 

review of a bountiful assortment of 

details in the living room. The open entry 

into the living room is bordered on either 

side by two tall wooden lions and a 

massive (about 5’ by 7’) carved wooden 

Newari window graces the far wall. “I 

found the window in a discarded state in 

the wood carver Himal’s workshop in 

Lalitpur,” informs Kewal. “I had to buy 

it and yes, it cost me quite a bunch, 

around Rs.75,000.” Seemingly, it is 

different due to the fact that the central 

carving is that of the god Suryanarayan 

instead of the usual peacock. From the 

ceiling hangs a miniature copper/brass 

alloy Krishna Mandir that was improvised 

by Kewal himself to serve as an 

interesting lampshade. Cost? Rs.9,000. 

On both sides of the fireplace stand two 

tall clay ‘panas’ (tall Newari lamp). At first 

sight they seem to be made of gilded 

metal but are in fact of clay. 

Four similarly styled but smaller carved 

wooden panas, gilded to give a metallic 

appearance, hold up a large square glass 

sheet to make up a centre table that 

becomes a conversation piece in front 

of the long low height wooden sofas set 

at right angles. According to Kewal, each 

of the smaller panas table-stands cost him 

Rs.8000 each. “But it was worth it,” he 

says. “See how intricately they have been 

designed!” R.S. Interiors was the creator 

and in fact, they have done most, if not 

all the furniture in the house. A couple 

of circular wooden tables holding statues 

of the gods Bhairav and Ganesh, are 

placed around the room as well as a 

couple of other smaller glass tables with 

objects like clay vats (plain and with 

dragon designs) serving as stands. It has 

to be said that almost all the tables in the 

house are quite unique in style. And none 


Above: One is treated to such a sight on 

entering the front doors. An assortment 

of traditioonal objects serve as tasteful 

decoratives. 

Right above: A view of the outside from 

the lounge, with Kewal, Sunita and friend 

in the garden. 

Right: The entrance into Lumanti Chen 

is such as to build expectancy of better 

things to come. 


more so than the circular table in the dining 

room which is arrived at through a small 

passageway from the living room and 

connected to the kitchen by a longer 

passage. The exquisitely carved wooden legs 

of the table holds a substantial circular glass 

top which makes for an impressive sight. 

Because of the circular nature, seating can 

be arranged for six at a time quite 

comfortably. Through the angled window, 

one can view the tiny rose garden in the 

backyard. A well-designed cabinet with 

compartments holding wine glasses and 

decoratives adorns one wall. Although there 

are many interesting objects on view, such 

as the small Newari brass vessels atop three 

simple racks, the centerpiece of the dining 

room is the fish-shaped glass bowl that has 

two goldfish making merry all day long. “I 

bought it at Bluebird for around Rs.5000,” 

informs Kewal. 

From the lobby, which seems part of the 

open living room, arise wooden-steps with 

wooden etchings all along the accompanying 

wall, leading up to a landing that opens unto 

a family lounge. Here, cosy seating has been 

arranged on the floor in front of three 

French windows that open out unto a 

verandah. The innovatively designed roll– 

up curtains of printed handloom (by 

Dhukuti) add a touch of sophistication to 

the lounge. This floor holds three bedrooms 

SWIMMING 

Above: Some small curios on the wall 

lends elegance to the dining room. 

Right: The private family lounge on 

the first floor with the French style 

windows leading on to the veranda. 

POLS 

Top: Marble floors, elegant curtains 

and a beautiful dining table set is 

what makes a sumptuous dinner all 

the more satisfying. 




- all with attached bathrooms – connected 

by the family lounge. 

The bedroom on the east is a haven for 

those seeking the warmth of early 

sunshine, assured by two bay windows 

facing east and northeast. The bathroom 

is also quite different because of the odd 

angles of the walls. The adjoining master 

bedroom has a bay window facing west 

and is well furnished. A wall cabinet and 

a divan complement a large double bed 

with attached bedside tables. On one of 

the bedside tables stands a beautiful nude 

arched backwards, holding a globular 

lamp. The third bedroom has two bay 

windows and a wooden cabinet 

displaying miniature animal figures and 

other showpieces. This is the son’s room 

and lokta paper lampshades enlighten it. 

The ceiling in this room is high and Kewal 

is mulling over plans to build a sort of 

loft in the space available. When seated 

on the private lounge one is treated to 

the interesting sight of wooden steps 

leading up to the third floor and this is 

further enhanced by the big brass 

hurricane lamp dangling from the ceiling. 

No chandeliers in Lumanti Chen, but 

then who needs one when there are such 

appealing lights available? A square 

Facing Page: The hurricane lamp casts a 

warm glow on the first floor landing and 

the private lounge. 

Above: The master bedroom is elegantly 

simple in its style of furnishings. 

wooden mandala hangs near the second 

floor landing. According to Kewal, “Most 

of the wooden items are from Lalitpur 

while the clay ones are from Bhaktapur.” 

Sunita seems to have an affinity towards 

gardening and says, “We have a gardener 

coming twice a week but rest of the time 

I look after it.” She also says proudly, 

“At the back of the house is a small 

nursery which I maintain.” The back of 

the house, at two ends, also has a guest 

room as well as a mandir. The couple 

takes great satisfaction from a job well 

done. However Kewal admits, “I am 

constantly moving things around. It’s 

hard to be perfectly satisfied.” One of 

the reasons for his dissatisfaction stems 

INTERIORS 

from the fact that he has always wanted 

to hang two portraits of Malla Kings on 

the living room walls, but says, “Sunita 

and I have visited many galleries but have 

yet to find what we are looking for.” 

Another reason for discontent is the 

malfunctioning of the fireplace. “Can 

you suggest how we can fix it?” 

Well one does need a few imperfections 

in real life otherwise life would be too 

sickeningly perfect. Still, we must wish 

them luck in their search for an artist 

who will paint for them the portraits they 

desire and an engineer who will make 

sure that the smoke from the fireplace 

does not come into the room and tarnish 

their creditable efforts. S 


REPORT 

PROPOSED OUTER RING ROAD 

The proposed Outer Ring Road of Kathmandu Valley has 

been a topic of debate among planners and architects. Whereas 

the planners are divided on the issue, architects are expecting 

a lot of opportunities in Kathmandu once the project takes 

off formally. In reality, the 

Outer Ring Road will change 

the cityscape of Kathmandu 

and if not planned properly, it 

may encourage unprecedented 

urban sprawl. 

The chaotic situation in the 

existing Ring Road needs to be 

carefully studied while designing 

the proposed road. The 

challenge for planners and road 

engineers is not only to create a trunk road or a fast track for 

the city, but also to create an urban arterial road, which will 

serve both the urban and rural areas of the Valley. It has to 

link the traditional settlements of the Valley which have good 

potential for tourism development. 

KATHMANDU VALLEY 

The idea of the Outer Ring Road was mooted about four 

years ago when the Department of Roads conducted a 

feasibility study of the road and prepared a report. The study 

was followed by a short review of the project in terms of 

urban development. The 

review was guided by the 

proposal for future land 

pooling sites in the three 

districts of the Valley 

including the proposed 

new town of Harisidhhi. 

Moreover, the JICA report 

of 1993 has clearly 

underlined the need for a 

link road from Lubhu of 

Lalitpur to Gokarna of 

Kathmandu. Since the existing Ring Road has been located 

in the northwest part of Kathmandu Valley, accessibility is 

very poor on the newly expanding settlements in Lalitpur 

and Kathmandu. The metropolitan areas of Kathmandu 

Valley are expanding towards east and south and those areas 

The rationale of constructing the Outer 

Ring Road lies more on integrated 

infrastructure development rather than 

being merely a highway project 

Text: Ar. Kishore Thapa, ORR Project 

Courtesy: Kishore Thapa. 


a bypass road for Greater Kathmandu (Kathmandu and 

Lalitpur combined together) once the Bardibas- Banepa road 

is completed. Similarly, bus terminals, sewage treatment plants 

and telephone exchanges could be located adjacent to the Outer 

Ring Road. The proposed road will also help in the delineation 

of rural urban boundary as envisaged by the Long Term Plan 

and opening up new areas for planned development. 

Image: Sarosh Pradhan. 

PLANNING CONCEPT OF THE OUTER RING ROAD 

The proposed Road will be approximately 66 km long and it 

will connect large numbers of villages and traditional 

settlements of Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur. It will 

help to promote the linkages of many cultural towns such as 

Harisiddhi, Lubhu, Thimi, Bode, Gokarna, Tokha, Kirtipur, 

are in need of a major trunk road. On the regional basis, a 

bypass road is necessary to divert the traffic coming from the 

east of the Valley and going to the west or vice versa. 

WHY OUTER RING ROAD? 

Many people ask whether the Outer Ring Road is a necessity. 

In the given situation, improvement of the existing road 

network in the urban areas should be the first priority. This 

includes improvement of 14 numbers of existing radial roads. 

The much-awaited Inner Ring road, which includes Bishnumati, 

Bagmati and Dhobikhola corridor should also be given top 

priority. This will contribute to diffusing the traffic congestion 

in Kathmandu and Lalitpur. Similarly, accessibility of the 

southern and eastern regions of the Valley needs to be 

progressively improved. 

The rationale of constructing the Outer Ring Road lies more 

on integrated infrastructure development rather than being 

merely a highway project. The government has been 

implementing the Melamchi Water Supply Project, which will 

bring water from the snow-fed Melamchi river to Kathmandu 

Valley through a 27 km long tunnel. The treated water from 

Sundarijal and Bansbari has to be distributed to the major 

towns and settlements. It would be cheaper to construct a 

road and lay pipes along its alignment. The road will also help 

in the location of the large reservoirs to be built in different 

locations of the Valley. Another infrastructure development 

project, which is suffering due to the lack of road access, is 

the electric transmission line. If the transmission line could 

follow the road, it will greatly help in the construction as well 

as operation and maintenance. Similarly other utilities like laying 

of telephone cables for telecommunication network expansion 

can be highly benefited by the construction of the Outer Ring 

Road. In the transportation aspect, there is an urgent need of 

Khokana and Thecho. It will roughly follow the rural and 

urban boundary envisaged in the Plan 2020 of Kathmandu 

Valley and will try to maintain the hierarchy of settlements in 

the Valley. 

Hierarchy of physical and social infrastructure shall be 

maintained as per the planning norms and standards. For 

example organised open spaces will be provided at cluster level, 

block level and neighbourhood level. 

The planning approach is to be adopted not only in the landpooling 

programme but also in the provision of the basic urban 

infrastructure. Building byelaws will be formulated to create a 

habitable neighbourhood. 

TECHNICAL FEATURES 

The only study report available today is that of the feasibility 

study done by Department of Roads. A detail project report 

has to be prepared to estimate the cost and to prepare 

Image: Sarosh Pradhan. 

The Outer Ring Road will be divided into three sectors, namely Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur. Each sector will be 

divided into subsectors. Each subsector will be divided into neighbourhoods, which will be further divided into blocks 

and clusters. A block will contain about 15 clusters and each neighbourhood will contain about 6 blocks. Each 

neighbourhood will be linked to the Outer Ring Road through a 11 m road and each block will be served by a 8m wide 

road. A strip of 250 m will be delineated on the either side of 60m wide roads for planned development and the width of 

the planning area may vary as per local condition. 


REPORT 

engineering drawings of the road and bridges. According to 

the report, the total length of the road will be 66 kms and it 

will have a right of way of 60m. There will be six-lane fast 

track, two-lane service track on either side and a bicycle track 

and pedestrian walkway on either side. Sufficient landscaping 

will be done to maintain greenery within the right of way. 

There will be 22 bridges and 56 culverts. The longest bridge 

near Chobhar will be 120m long. 

Due to the topography and local conditions, the Outer Ring 

Road will be merged to the existing Ring Road in Balaju area. 

Sewers, water mains and electrical distribution lines will be 

located along the road. Similarly, telecommunication cables 

(preferably optical fibre) will be laid along the road. This 

approach will help in reducing the individual project cost and 

facilitate operation and maintenance of the utilities. The Outer 

Ring Road can be constructed in different stages based on the 

detailed project report. 

Chinese assistance will be available for the road construction 

only and the land acquisition cost has to be borne by His 

Majesty’s Government. The total cost of land acquisition is 

estimated to be Rs. 3 billion, which the government cannot 

bear alone. The direct beneficiaries of the project have to 

share the cost of land by contributing the land required for 

the road free of cost. 

LAND POOLING (See Issue 1 Nov-Dec 2004) 

Land Pooling, a model of town planning, has been successful 

in small-scale land development projects in Kathmandu Valley 

and urban planners are now testing this model in large-scale 

town planning projects. In this concept, landowners are 

compensated by returning their developed land with lesser 

area but of higher value. No landowners are thereby displaced 

and prospective buyers will also get developed plots. 

The Proposed Harisiddhi New Town Project popularly known 

as “New Kathmandu” has been planned as per land pooling 

concept. The same concept is very much feasible in the 

proposed Outer Ring Road. Land pooling will also facilitate 

infrastructure development of the entire project area, which 

is planned to be 250m on either side of the road. Buildings 

falling on the right of way of the road will be compensated 

according to the current market rate. Special resettlement policy 

will be formulated to address the issue of socially disadvantaged 

people affected by the project. The government has already 

initiated land pooling schemes in different locations of the 

Valley, falling in the alignment of the Outer Ring Road. These 

include Kamerotar in Thimi, Gothatar and Jorpati and Kirtipur 

in Kathmandu. Similarly Harisidhhi New Town Project, as 

mentioned earlier, is in the pipeline. These land pooling schemes 

will be taken as demonstration projects, which will be replicated 

to other areas of the Valley. Although land pooling is a time 

consuming and complex process, Nepalese planners have gained 

enough experience by successfully completing more than 12 

such projects in the Valley. The response of the people and 

politicians has been very encouraging. 

THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT AND THE TOWNSCAPE 

The planning concept of the neighbourhood will be combined 

with the vision of the built environment of the ORR corridor. 

The rendering of the neighbourhood design by architects will 

help the planners to plan the infrastructure. Architects and 

urban designers will be hired to prepare the proposed townscape 

and architectural guidelines at all levels of planning units, such 

as neighbourhoods, blocks and clusters. The proposed planning 

concept envisages the creation of a lively built environment 

at the neighbourhood level and a modern and architecturally 

pleasing townscape at the city level. On one hand the hierarchy 

of roads will be maintained to serve different planning units 

such as clusters, blocks and neighbourhoods, similar hierarchy 

will also be maintained in the provision of open spaces. The 

planning concept will also incorporate beautification of the 

service roads along the main road and intersection of the 

Outer Ring Road and radial roads. 

It should be noted that planned settlements might not be feasible 

on the entire length of the ORR due to ground conditions of 

Kathmandu Valley. It is expected that planned development 

will take place in about 60 percent of the length of the road. 

However, the ORR project will be a milestone in the 

development of the Valley for many years. S 



ANALYSIS 

Text & Images: Ar. Sarosh Pradhan, SPA 

KATHMANDU VALLEY 

a vision with the outer ring road 

We often forget the hills 

surrounding us – when we 

get busy developing our 

little plots, our little boxes, 

our infrastructure – our valley. Perhaps 

the lack of a cohesive vision blurs the 

potentials of a valley, which still boasts 

of seven world heritage sites and erodes 

off a unique identity, which we should 

develop further. It may be worthwhile 

to step back a little and reflect on the 

uniqueness of Kathmandu before we try 

giving any solutions to a growing 

metropolitan city. 

Climatically a haven, the landscape of 

the Valley is an enchanting feature. The 

organic development of the city so far 

has superseded any strong master plan. 

The inner cities of Kathmandu, 

Bhaktapur and Lalitpur have stood out 

in terms of character, scale and the 

uniqueness of a culture having historical 

roots. But what about the present 

happenings – does it have any reflection 

of that uniqueness…or is it just trying 

to arrive at a common minimum 

denominator for survival?…of solving 

functional equations. 

It is without argument that the city grows 

– and should be treated as dynamic. The 

process of growth of a city can be 

nurtured just like the growth of a little 

baby to adulthood. Basic understandings, 

with room for maturity and greater 

potentials need to be kept in mind while 

suggesting any new venture. The Outer 

Ring Road could be one such spark 

which could infuse an awareness of 

planning with broader issues in mind. The 

Outer Ring Road could become a 

catalyst to change and used as a planning 

tool for positive development and 

awakening of Kathmandu Valley to the 

21 st century. 

IMPORTANCE OF A WELL PLANNED ROAD 

Cities are designed with the traffic in 

mind. The order and movement patterns 

within a city reflect, to a certain extent, 

the quality of life. If you look at our 

inner city - the pedestrian comes to our 

mind; which in turn reflects the scale of 

the built environment. But, put in fast 

moving cars and trucks (travelling slowly) 

within the inner city presently – an image 

of saturated chaos grows louder. Thus 

as the Kathmandu metropolis expands 

Someone’s sitting in the shade 

today because someone planted 

a tree a long time ago. 

- Warren Buffet 

(which is invariable with all major cities), 

it is urgent to have certain broad planning 

principles in place. This in turn would 

pave the way for a broader understanding 

of planning, services and infrastructure 

which are critical for a healthy 

development. 

A good road is a lifeline for transportation 

from one end to another. It increases the 

scope of transaction of arriving at new 

places for development with the added 

value of focus of new destinations. 

Above: Saturated chaos. 

Below: Past townscapes of Kathmandu – 

lessons we could learn from the past 

identity / character and concepts. 


Kathmandu 

Patan 

Bhaktapur 

ZONE A: Satellite Business Centres 

The areas where high growths are likely 

to occur are the junctions between the 

ORR and radial roads which could be 

prime spots for business and commercial 

buildings, thereby decongesting the inner 

city area. 

ZONE B: Government Offices / Buildings 

The road project along with the 

government could formulate a long-term 

plan of focusing on a Government 

Buildings Zone on a strategic location of 

the road project. 

Above: Kathmandu Valley overview 

with the proposed Outer Ring Road 

SETTING NEW STANDARDS 

The Outer Ring Road is a circular 

concept of connection – but along with 

it, we need to give room for setting new 

standards. New standards of road 

construction, new standards of fitting in 

services infrastructure, new standards of 

road intersections, new standards for 

signage, new standards of better planned 

integrated neighbourhoods. 

Chobar (Bagmati River Gorge) 

Proposed Outer Ring Road 

Existing Ring Road 

Radial Link Roads 

The zoning is expressed as an exploration 

of a vision keeping in mind the distinct 

natural identity and character 

Kathmandu has. The townscape imagined 

would try to get a fresh approach with a 

larger functional requirement priority in 

place, yet trying to retain its unique 

character and environment, arriving at 

some vision of planned urban growth – 

with a refreshing identity – diffusing the 

fears of Kathmandu Valley becoming an 

urban sprawl. 

ZONE C: Institutions / Schools Colleges 

There needs to be an environment to 

learn and space to grow and imbibe 

knowledge. Thus with the Education 

Ministry making certain by-laws to 

upgrade the requirements of these 

institutions, along with the road project, 

could zone out areas that already exist 

such as the one in Kirtipur area and give 

a focus on the developments of quality 

educational establishments to grow. 

ZONE D: Recreation Zones 

Presently there is a serious lack of 

recreational areas and are limited to 

movie theatres and restaurants. An 

exhibition ground, which can take in 

planned vehicular movement, a stadium, 

parks, zoos are some of the basic 

RADIAL ROADS 

The urban growth within a specified 

region between the Inner - Outer ring 

roads need to be focused. Specialized 

zones should be developed where 

specific activities would be encouraged. 

Proper combination would allow for an 

optimised growth till the time that a target 

density is achieved. Subsequently, the 

growth areas will need to be expanded 

and a new development focus area can 

be delineated. 

ZONING 

The importance of zoning is relevant 

from the point of view of establishing 

certain character – in places where the 

road would pass. As the road is built, it is 

evident that land value would change. 

Thus it is with a certain overall view that 

land value could be developed and zoned. 


ANALYSIS 

requirements of cities planned in the 

present age. 

ZONE E: Heritage / Cultural Points. 

There are various heritage sites such as 

Khokana, Bungamati, Lubhu etc 

through which the ORR passes. Thus 

these areas should be developed into 

heritage and cultural points. It is 

important that ORR should not pass 

through heritage points, as it will have a 

negative impact on their conservation. 

ZONE F: Residential / Housing 

Neighbourhoods. 

The ORR development will be an 

opportunity to provide people with better 

living standards. Housing developments 

with adequate parking, greeneries, open 

spaces and infrastructures could be done 

in the sparse land between the existing 

ring road and ORR. These 

neighbourhoods could be developed 

incorporating mixed income groups as 

this will help in reversal role play of 

people and help achieve a variety of 

volumetric space in the neighbourhood. 

ZONE G: Bus Parks. 

After the ORR development, the existing 

bus park at Gongabu will not fulfil the 

requirements of the increased 

population. Bus parks at strategic points 

will be required. Proper zoning of bus 

parks will not only fulfil the demands of 

people but lessen the traffic inside the 

main city core. By limiting the highway 

buses to the outer ring road bus parks 

the traffic inside the city will be more 

stable. It is convenient to develop bus 

parks in the areas where the outer ring 

road meets the highways. 

ZONE H : Whole Sale Market 

By developing markets at the ORR where 

the export-import goods can be sold at 

Below: Satellite commercial cities at 

junction and nodal points 

wholesale prices, there will be lesser chaos 

in the core area. 

ZONE I: Water Reservoirs 

If we are to go along with the new 

development then we will have to solve 

the current and future water crisis. The 

best solution would be to develop water 

reservoirs like in Singapore where 

rainwater is stored in reservoirs and 

distributed to households after treatment. 

The proper locations for these reservoirs 

would be hilly areas so as to support 

natural flow and along the path of 

streams so as to collect stream water. 

ZONE J: Corporation / Services Zone 

Increased population means more wastes 

and more requirements. The ORR 

development will have to incorporate 

many aspects like sewage treatment, 

garbage disposal, telephone exchange, 

electric sub stations, public toilets, etc. 

Thus before we become numb to the existing 

problems becoming cancerous – it is possible to 

do a workout on the city and slim it down to 

priorities with a strong sense of vision. Perhaps 

in this effort lies the direction of a Capital that 

could still inspire a nation in a positive direction. S 


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TRENDS 

A D ISTINCTIVE 

Text: Niti Joshi Shrestha, Frame World 

TOUCH OF CLASS 

It is true that no matter how good a work 

of art, if it is not presented well, becomes 

just one more ‘fine art’. But if care is taken 

to have it presented with flair, the work 

becomes an object d’art in the true sense 

of the word. Adding that distinctive touch 

of class, the ‘frame’ has always been an 

important element in the display of works 

of art. 

In choosing a frame for specific works of 

art it would be wise to keep these 

fundamental principles in mind: 

a. A picture should not be ‘over-framed’: 

The frame should not command more 

attention than the picture. This however, 

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frames should be simple and bland. This 

also should not mean to imply that the 

frame must be so integrated with the work 

of art that it becomes a part of it. 

b.The first and most important 

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size. For example, the smaller the 

painting, the larger the frame it requires, 

and larger paintings can usually be 

framed pleasingly with narrower 

moldings. 

c. Aluminum frames with high gloss or 

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framing modern works of art. 

CUSTOM FRAMING 

Why does custom picture framing play such an important role in home and office 

decoration? Perhaps one reason is that framing is an affordable way to create a 

completely unique handmade design object-one that reflects your individual taste 

and personality. By definition, a custom frame is one-of-its-kind, designed with you 

and for you alone-something that helps express who you are.Custom framing, like 

original art, is a lasting investment. A well made custom frame that you purchase 

today will look as good as new twenty or thirty years down the line. If you own 

valuable artwork or have irreplaceable mementoes or documents, custom framing 

is the best way to both enjoy and protect them. Framing will guard such priceless 

possessions from damage that will almost inevitably occur due to improper handling, 

dust, humidity, pollution, etc when they are stuck away in a drawer. And, of course, 

neither you nor anyone else can appreciate them unless they are displayed on 

your walls. 

d. Wooden frames are ideal for all 

classical motifs. The colours of wooden 

surfaces are more delicate than aluminum 

and therefore produce a soft and warm 

effect. Besides, wooden frames are 

available in many different colours. 

e. As far as width of borders is concerned, 

it is good to go with the principle of: small 

format-narrow border; large format-wide 

border. The question arises, how do you 

define what is small and what is large? If 

in doubt, it is better to choose a slightly 

wider frame border because it is the only 

way to guarantee that the frame achieves 

the desired effect. 


Picture framing is an art by itself and 

requires a high sense of aesthetics as 

well as some amount of expertise, and 

besides the above basic principles, it 

should also be mentioned that framing 

could be double glassed and that 

pictures can either have simple frames, 

double frames or even triple frames. 

Imported brands (mainly from Italy), are 

synthetic in nature and cost from Rs. 500 

onwards. While aluminum frames are 

currently not much in demand, imported 

synthetic frames are quite popular due 

to their finish and convenience in 

execution. Nevertheless, it must be 

remembered that wooden frames, 

available locally and mostly custom 

made, are specially suited for art works 

to lend the distinguishing aura that only 

the grandeur of wood can provide. S 

FRAME 

World 

Located opposite Narayani Complex in Pulchowk, 

Frame World is an exclusive establishment dealing 

in picture framing and decorative items. Established 

just a year back, Frame World is managed by Niti 

Joshi, who has a rich experience of more than 

fifteen years in the craft of picture framing. 

According to her, “All our frames are specially 

manufactured by skilled experts. We also provide personal advice 

and lay emphasis on prompt customer service.” Obviously, Frame 

World deals primarily in custom made frames, but at the same 

time, the firm also stocks a wide variety of imported synthetic frames. 

Frame World provides excellent framing services for art pieces, 

cloth painting, tapestry, embroidery, canvas painting, photographs, 

glass paintings, tiles, mirrors and antique items including brass 

and other metallic objects. Frame World also has a branch in 

Maharjgunj, Kathmandu. 


TIPS 

COLOUR 

YOUR 

DASHAIN 

Painting your home or work place is much more than just protection of 

walls. Just like the colour of the clothes you wear, the colours of your 

home are an expression of your personality. Moreover the effects of the 

surroundings can be used to enhance your workplace or dwelling place 

and set the mood you desire. 

Text: Soumitra Roy, Asian Paints 

Here are a few ideas to plan and have your painting job done in a more organized way: 

INTERIOR WALLS 

1. Identify the rooms you wish to paint. 

2. Decide the shades/ scheme you want to use in each room. To 

arrive at the right colour combinations check out outlets in your 

town for the appropriate product. 

3. Remove light fixtures or mask them with masking tape, paper 

and/or cloth in order to prevent damage due to paint spillage. 

WATER SEEPAGE FACTS AND FICTION 

1. Paint is NOT a water proofing solution. The only permanent 

solution to water leakage and dampness is to rectify the source 

of the problem. Typical causes of water seepage are due to 

cracks in the external walls; leaking drainage pipes or water 

supply pipes; high ground water level that is getting absorbed 

in the walls from the foundation 

2. Application of Enamels (Oil Paints) will not solve the problem 

of water seepage. 

3. The water seeping through the wall will erupt on the surface 

at some place or other. 

4. We advise you to get a civil contractor or waterproofing 

expert to rectify the problem before you paint. 

EXTERIOR WALLS 

4. For exterior surfaces it is very important to undertake repairs 

of any wall imperfections before commencing painting. The 

most common problem with exterior walls, especially old 

constructions is cracks in the wall. Avoid applying putty or 

filling compound while painting exterior surfaces. Fill up cracks 

with a 1:3 cement and sand mixture. 

5. All external drainage pipes must be checked for rusting or 

leakage. Any faulty plumbing must be rectified. 

6. Special attention must be given to the roof. Check for cracks 

near the edges and close to the water reservoirs. Proper 

masonry or waterproofing work on the ceiling will enhance 

the performance of the painted surfaces. 


SURFACE PREPARATION 

7. Newly plastered surfaces must be allowed to cure for at least 

35 to 45 days before painting. 

8. To ensure long protection, the surface to be painted should 

be free from dust, grease and any loose materials. 

9. Remove any fungus and algae growth thoroughly by brushing 

it vigorously with wire brush and then cleaning it with bleaching 

powder solution in water (dissolve 10% bleaching powder in 1 

litre of water, filter the solution and apply by brush or sponge). 

This treatment should be done with greater care on the top of 

awnings, sunshades, parapets and other horizontal surfaces 

where water is likely to accumulate during monsoon. 

10. Previously oil painted surfaces should be sanded thoroughly 

to remove loose particles and made dull and matt for better 

adhesion. Exterior rough surfaces, previously coated with 

cement paint, should be wire brushed and washed with water 

thoroughly and dried completely. Before painting, ensure that 

the surface is free from chalking. 

11. The exterior surface should not be affected by any water or 

by constant dampness. If you are painting during the rains, 

allow for 2-3 days of total sunshine for the surface to dry out 

completely before commencing painting. 

PAINTING 

12. Apply a liberal coat of approved exterior wall primer using 

recommended method. 

13. Apply two coats of top-coat paint at recommended dilution. 

14. A gap of 4 to 6 hours must be given between two coats. 

15. It is recommended that horizontal surfaces like the tops 

of awnings and parapets must be given an additional coat 

for greater protection. S 


Text: Shristi Pradhan, 

Spatial Design Company 

Setting Moods 

Among the many finishes applied on walls, one of the most 

commonly used is paint. Wall surfaces act as a background 

against displays, or even as a dominant feature of a room and 

if used properly, effectively sets the mood of the room. It is 

widely recognized that colours have a strong impact on human 

moods and emotions. Hence choosing the appropriate colour 

is a daunting task. 

COLOUR SCHEME AND CHOICE 

While deciding on colour schemes, a few factors have to be 

kept in mind. The 

orientation and extent of 

daylight supply to the 

space through windows/ 

openings, and the type and 

location of artificial 

lighting used for specific 

purposes, are important in 

the sense that ill 

illuminated areas require 

lighter shades of colour. 

The duration that the 

space will be used, the 

purposes it will serve and 

the climatic condition also 

needs to be analysed. In 

addition, the character or atmosphere desired (calm, restful, 

stimulating, exciting, dignified, playful, etc.) also affects the 

colour scheme to be chosen. 

Choosing the correct colour can also make a space visually 

aesthetic as well as functional. A small space can be made to 

seem larger and an oddly shaped space to seem better. For 

example, if the end walls of a long and narrow room are of a 

strong warm colour, while the sides are lighter and cooler in 

tone, the ends seem to come closer visually and the sides move 

away, making the room look more normally shaped. Similarly, 

a dark ceiling will tend to seem lower than the same ceiling in 

a lighter tone. 

COLOUR EFFECTS 

Colour creates some surprising effects. Warm colours like red, 

orange and yellow are said to advance, that is, appear closer 

than they actually are, while cool colours like green, blue, and 

violet recede, appearing farther away. Light colours make 

objects look larger and 

lighter than they are, while 

darker colours make them 

look smaller and heavier. A 

dark floor and ceiling can 

greatly reduce apparent 

height and may even seem 

oppressive. A door painted 

to match the colour of the 

wall around it or a window 

curtained in a tone 

matching its surroundings 

will blend into their 

environment. On the other 

hand, the same elements if 

treated in contrasting 

colours will be emphasized. However there is no hard and 

fast rule to make any interior space lively. A small room can 

also be inviting and cosy using warm colours rather than going 

against space size. 

COLOUR HARMONY 

The concept of colour harmony is one of the keys to 

under-standing the theory that lies behind the development 

of various colour schemes. Before choosing any colour for 


complementary of the 

background colour. For 

example, a small area of 

strong green will seem 

more intensely green 

when placed on a reddish 

(pink) background and 

when placed on a violet 

background, its hue will 

seem to shift towards 

yellow green. 

Colour permutations and combinations. 

the wall, the total colour scheme for the 

room should also be considered. Neutral 

colours like shades of grey, beige as well 

as browns, tans and white are safe 

colours for those who are hesitant to 

experiment and explore. They appear 

homelike in their milder tones and 

masculine in their heavier values. Almost 

any colour can work in certain situations 

and almost any combination can be 

successful, given balanced relationships 

of hue, chrome and value, and sound 

choices of location, area, texture and 

other variables. In practice, all of the 

systematic knowledge of colour reviewed 

above is best absorbed as background 

for creative work that proceeds in ways 

independent of formula or routine. 

COLOURS IN RELATION TO EACH OTHER 

The actual space influence how colours 

appear. When seen against a larger 

background, small areas of colour may 

alter in both value and hue. Light colours 

will appear lighter than they are when 

seen against a darker background and 

dark colours become darker against a 

light background. A medium tone can 

be made to seem either light or dark 

through contrast with its surroundings. 

Similarly, hues will seem to shift in 

relation to surroundings. A neutral grey 

will appear warm when placed on a blue 

background and cool when placed on red. 

Stronger colours will seem to shift in hue 

in relation to background, with a small 

sample seeming to move toward the 

PAINTS 

The selection of the paints 

available in the market 

can be confusing. 

Basically, paints are 

divided into two types: 

water based and oil based. 

Paints are available in 

different finishes: matte, 

satin and gloss. Matte finish is practical 

and inexpensive as it covers a large area 

quickly. However surfaces with matte 

paints are difficult to clean but can be 

touched up easily. Satin paints are oil 

based and are slightly expensive than the 

water based paint. While gloss finish gives 

more shine, texture paints gives a rough 

finish to the surface. Try adding different 

textures to the room to add interest and 

variety to an otherwise plain wall. Painting 

finishes can be plain, textured or 

patterned. Emulsion paint is a good 

choice for painting walls as it lasts longer 

and gives a good finish. Distemper is 

another choice for walls and is 

comparatively cheaper than emulsion 

paint. For external surfaces, different 

paints like exterior emulsion, cement 

paints, waterproof paints and textures are 

available in the market. 

TROUBLESHOOTING PAINT PROBLEMS 

1. Choose good quality primer. This gives 

a smooth surface. Apply and dry fully. 

2. If you are not happy with the applied 

colour, repaint it. You can also try ragging 

and sponging over the painted surface, 

giving a mottled look. 

3. If paints spill on the carpet in a small 

portion, then do not rub. Instead let it 

dry and rub with abrasive sandpaper. For 

water-based paints, immediately remove 

by washing with plenty of water and 

blotting with clean rags. For oil-based 

paints, first scrape the colour then wash 

with white spirit and soapy water. S 


Perfecting the art of printing 

VARIETY PRINTERS Pvt. Ltd 

P.O.Box. 9240, T.U. Road, Kuleshwor, Kathmandu, Nepal. 

Tel: 977-1-4278869, 4284265. Fax: 977-1-4278050. email: variety@wlink.com.np 


TRANSITIONAL HICCUPS 

Courtesy: Dr. Rohit K Ranjitkar 

1992 

MAHAPAL HOUSE 

PATAN 

This post 1934 earthquake 

construction represents a new 

building type. The piano mobile 

two storey structure has 

uncommonly tall ceilings that 

are not usually associated with 

traditional buildings. 

And although people complain 

about low ceilings being a 

disadvantage as far as old 

houses are concerned, that has 

not stopped them from 

destroying even such houses 

where the rooms are tall 

enough. In the process, cultural 

destruction goes on unabated. 

2005 


DIRECTORY 

A listing of professionals featured 

Ashmina Ranjit- Artist 

Behind British Cemetry 

Samakhusi 

Kathmandu 

Phone: 4353284 

Mobile: 9851026155 

Late Robert Weise- Architect 

Narendra B. Shrestha- Sculptor 

172, Nagpokhari 

Kathmandu 

Phone: 4434536 

Mobile: 9851069696 

Sonia Gupta, BFA, Int. Designer, USA 

Interior Designer 

Sonia Gupta & Associates 

411, Osian Building, 

12, Nehru Place 

New Delhi-110019 

Phone: 0091-11-26214277, 26424767 

Mobile: 98-100-99972, 9851035289 

E-mail: soniadesign@rediffmail.com 

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE 

Yearly subscription 

Rs. 500 only 

Call - 5544606 

ATTENTION 

PROPERTY OWNERS 

If you have any constructed 

property waiting to be disposed, 

we will be pleased to feature it 

under our ‘Prime Properties-For 

Sale’ section in forthcoming issues 

of ‘Spaces’. Please note that prior 

to acceptance for publication, our 

in-house experts will first inspect 

the property. 

Contact: Marketing Department. 

Phone: 5544606/5526040 

email at 

market@spacesnepal.com 

ADVERTISERS 

Aditya Hardware 101 

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Avco 07 

Balterio 

Front Fold 

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Front Inside 

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Emerald Pools 25 

Exterior - Interior 81 

Fishtail Residency 12 

Frame World 23 

Glassic 59 

Home Furnishers 75 

Hot Pot 93 

Hotel Diyalo 87 

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IFB 09 

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Thanka House 48 

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Back Inside 

Variety Printing Press 102 

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Cover Fold 

Wood Carving Industries 24 

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Mandala Book Point 

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AVAILABLE AT 

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Oak Tree 

Celebrating 

The Grand opening 

of 28 Exclusive Luxury 

Homes at Terraces, 

Sunakothi 

Your life is a book, 

Make sure your home is the best Chapter. 

Imagine a neighborhood with beautiful wrought iron 

fences, walking and jogging paths, a community club 

with all the 

modern facilities. Imagine gorgeously 

landscaped greens where you can watch your children 

play or where you could sit in the shade of a 

thing under the sun, or not much of anything at all, 

Terraces is the unique community your entire family 

can enjoy. Valley Homes invites you to be a part of 

the family at Terraces, the place you want to be. Welcome 

to Terraces, welcome home! 

tree as watch the Himalayas change their hue. Imagine 

modern city facilities and easy routes to shopping, 

dining and work. That’s Terraces, Sunakothi. 

Enjoying quality time. Making memories. Living life to 

the fullest. That’s what Terraces offers you. A lifetime 

of Saturdays. Whether you’d like to do every- 

 

 

W e l c o m e H o m e 

Pictures are simulated graphic 

Cedar Tree 

Palm Tree 

For further information contact: Corporate Office : 5548418, 5523864 

Terraces, Sunakothi : 5573565, 5573566 

w w w . v a l l e y h o m e s . c o m . n p 

All models are indicative and are subject to change as decided by the company or by a competent authority. 

Willow Tree

Spaces Vol 1 Is 6

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