ROSHAN MISHRA

NEPAL’S ARCHITECTURAL REPOSITORY

Established in 2016, the Nepal Architecture Archive (NAA) houses studies by scholars and practitioners, both local and international, concentrating on Nepal’s architectural evolution over time.

The collection of NAA began to develop when the Saraf Foundation, the umbrella organisation, aimed to renovate and preserve the Taragaon Hotel (previously Taragaon Museum/now Taragaon Next) in 2009 and transform it into a Documentation Centre. The goal was to document the contributions of artists, photographers, architects, anthropologists and Sanskritists from abroad in the second half of the twentieth century to identify, highlight and preserve the cultural heritage of the Kathmandu Valley.

Nepal’s recent history began in 1950, when Nepal was formally opened for exploration. Before this time, this landlocked kingdom was not widely explored. Therefore, the archive aimed to document the architectural history of Nepal, mainly focusing on the Kathmandu Valley. Once the Nepal Architecture Archive was established, the foundation began connecting with architects and scholars who

Wolfgang Korn, Kasthamandap, courtesy of Nepal Architecture Archive worked and lived in Nepal. This was important to understand and preserve the architectural history of the Kathmandu Valley and beyond.

Many architectural initiatives began with foreign involvement, exemplified by projects like the Bungamati survey conducted by Danish students in 1967, the Pujarimath Renovation in 1971, the Bhaktapur Development Project in 1974, and the Restoration of Cyasilin Mandap in 1987. These initiatives extensively documented various architectural elements, encompassing vernacular settlements, palace squares and surrounding monuments. In contrast, scholars and historians such as Mary Slusser, Niels Gutschow and Wolfgang Korn contributed to the field through published books focused on architecture and heritage research. However, the materials from these works, comprising research, photographs, drawings and plans, remained dispersed among different individuals. Documenting the recent history of Nepal had never been attempted before. Therefore, the foundation initiated NAA so that this transitional history could be captured and preserved, foreseeing the risk of losing scattered documents. Since many individuals and scholars were still working in Nepal, it was easier for the foundation to connect with them and acquire materials that might have otherwise been lost or discarded.

When the Taragaon Museum was opened in 2014, it displayed around 150 works acquired from scholars and individuals, and since the establishment of the Nepal Architecture Archive, the collection has grown from 150 to almost 100,000 items. This collection has now become one of Nepal’s most important architectural collections. The importance of the collection was further realised after the 2015 Nepal earthquake. Many heritage sites were damaged or collapsed, and there were no blueprints for many buildings and monuments to reconstruct and renovate. In Kathmandu, the most important fifth-century rest house, ‘Kasthamandap’, completely collapsed. It was one of the important buildings in the valley from which Kathmandu derives its name. In the 1970s, the rest house was measured by German draftsman Wolfgang Korn, who donated his drawing to the archive. This drawing was the only existing scaled drawing available for use as a reference for rebuilding. The foundation was able to collaborate with UNESCO and provide the drawing to the reconstruction team. The new structure of Kasthamandap was then built, based on the drawing from the archive. This is just one example; the archive has extensive documentation of places like Bungamati, Kirtipur, Bhaktapur, Patan, Kathmandu, Swayambhu and other many sites. These locations carry significant historical and architectural importance. The archive

Niels Gutschow, Götz Hagmüller, Surendra Joshi, Cyalisin also conducts surveys, Mandap, courtesy of Nepal Architecture Archive collaborations and documents other historically important sites. Currently, the foundation is working with Heidelberg University to document monument sites in the Kathmandu Valley. The archive was envisioned to begin collecting architectural documentation. When NAA started receiving materials, all types of materials came with it. Currently, NAA consists of a comprehensive collection of sketches, photographs, architectural drawings, slides, negatives, films, handwritten documents, reference materials and rare books. Until now, the archive has been accessible on a request basis. This year, the archive plans to migrate its collection to a collection management system to make it accessible to local and global audiences. Currently, the Nepal Architecture Archive displays its selected and curated collection in the Taragaon Museum, which is within Taragaon Next. The current curated show, Archiving for the Future, is open to the public every day, showcasing the architectural history of Nepal.

Leonhard Stramitz, Swayambhu, courtesy of Nepal Architecture Archive

The Nepal Architecture Archive is open to collaboration and research with institutions around the world that wish to conduct work on Nepal’s history, culture, tradition and heritage.