Spaces Vol 1 Is 6

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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 72 SEP-OCT 2005 SPACES
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 SPACES SEP-OCT 2005 73
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MASS HOUSING Thank you for a very i
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Page 23 and 24: “When I was a kid, elders would a
Page 27 and 28: Emerald Pools SPACES SEP-OCT 2005 2
Page 29 and 30: figurines in a spiral arrangement (
Page 31 and 32: Text: Kathmandu Valley Preservation
Page 33 and 34: The restoration of Kal Bhairav was
Page 35 and 36: mortar. On removal of this cladding
Page 39 and 40: This view is in fact one of the key
Page 41 and 42: Traditionally, hotels and resorts h
Page 45 and 46: axis’s - rather, structures occur
Page 47 and 48: unavoidable in most Pokhara images.
Page 49 and 50: Resort has 61 standard rooms, all o
Page 51 and 52: CRAFTS DRIFTING T O W A R D S FAME
Page 53 and 54: is?” No need to guess, it clearly
Page 57 and 58: HOTEL WITH A HISTORY Nov/Dec 2004 T
Page 59 and 60: JOURNEY THROUGH S P A C E S FLAUNTI
Page 63 and 64: INTERIOR Text: Sonia Gupta The wall
Page 65 and 66: colour all around. These lights are
Page 67 and 68: Sonia Text: A.B. Shrestha Sonia’s
Page 71: ARCHITECT ROBERT WEISE: Text: Kai W
Page 75 and 76: palace and framed it with a ‘Nepa
Page 79 and 80: About one and a half kilometres fro
Page 81 and 82: Above: One is treated to such a sig
Page 85 and 86: - all with attached bathrooms - con
Page 87 and 88: a bypass road for Greater Kathmandu
Page 91 and 92: Kathmandu Patan Bhaktapur ZONE A: S
Page 93 and 94: Quality output calls for quality in
Page 95 and 96: ACCESS BOON FOR HOUSING COLONIES Ma
Page 99 and 100: Picture framing is an art by itself
Page 101 and 102: SURFACE PREPARATION 7. Newly plaste
Page 103 and 104: complementary of the background col
Page 105 and 106: TRANSITIONAL HICCUPS Courtesy: Dr.
Page 107 and 108: Oak Tree Celebrating The Grand open
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