SPACES Nepal JULY 2014

ART ARCHITECTURE INTERIOR

July 2014 – Vol 10 No. 07

Price: NRs.100/- IRs.100/- USD 5.95 EURO 5.95 GBP 4.95

10th Year - Anniversary Specials

Nepali Art

A Mosaic of Multiple Melodies

As Long as the Sun and Moon

Endures

Earthquake

Monsoon Wet n Wild Bardia

Risk Reduction and Preparedness in Nepal

RELICS

ARE HEARD

HISTORY IS SEEN

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April 2014 / 3

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April 2014 / 5

Zero Discharge

A smart alternative to Septic Tank

April 2014 / 7

Contents july 2014 Vol 10 No.07 SPACESNEPAL.COM

Monsoon Bardia Bardia National Park is a protected area established in 1988 covering an area of 968 km2 (374 sq mi), Together with the neighboring Banke National Park, the coherent protected area of 1,437 km2 (555 sq mi) represents the Tiger Conservation Unit (TCU) Bardia-Banke that extends over 2,231 km2 (861 sq mi) of alluvial grasslands and subtropical moist deciduous forests.

Interior

Journey

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Lines: creating career pathways For one struggling interior designer, in Nepali context, to work in huge spaces is the biggest challenge itself. Along with different projects completed in very short period of time, ID Sushovit Ranjitkar got chance to prove himself as an innovative when interior design of Mrs. Shailaja Adhikari’s consultancy was assigned to him.

Personality Ar. Pratyush Shankar is an Ahmadabad based architect and an author.

Teaching studio basic design, urban history, and subjects of history, humanities, and architectural research are his subject of interest. The Associate Professor and Acting Dean of Faculty of Architecture at CEPT University based in Ahmadabad, India.

Mercantile plaza When it comes to re-designing the existing Mercantile Plaza, situated at Durbar Marg, the heart of Kathmandu City and also known as King’s way (leading to Narayanhiti Palace), the designers opted for an elegant and a contemporary composition of glass and aluminum panels. This building, which now accommodates almost a dozen of high-end stores and a roof top restaurant Mezze, is one of the most popular hubs in the capital.

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Architecture 8 / SPACESNEPAL.COM

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From the shelf A well researched book that describes the detail study of shrines in the streets of historic Kirtipur, Kathmandu valley and other towns that are studded with shrines dedicated to clan and family, Gods, the Hindu deities or to Lord Buddha.

Nepali Art Observing artworks is getting inspiration and encountering the gems and poetic moments of Nepali artists. They are diverse in terms of themes as representation of nature, recreating myths, reintegration of cultural rituals, reformulation of tradition, raising the voice of the marginalized, the women, and the ethnic minorities, taking corrective measures on socio-political evils and carving identities of individual artists.

Architecture

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Architecture Galleries You might have been to Patan Durbar Square for a number of times, but it’s not the whole what you have seen. You see what is, but you have to hear to get into the composite whole of it. As an effort to make the square heard more and to enliven the history, the Architecture Gallery, as an extension of Patan Musuem, has been established. And now it is open to all.

While observing the display of rare and historical artifacts survived from the neglect, misuse and inadequate restoration for ages at Architecture Galleries of Patan Musuem, your despair, if any, effaces and a sense of new hope and appreciation occupies your mind.

68 PASSAGE: Search Interdefinite 70 Store watch: Parth International Pvt. Ltd. 72 Open Space

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Editorial

As the monsoons pick up momentum - Nepal appears at risk of water borne disasters and earthquakes. As I write this, the massive landslide in Jure shows how volatile our landscape can be.

The imminent danger of the landslide-dammed lake outburst flood could create massive havoc downstream. The downstream areas are already declared crisis hit. River activist Megh Ale who is familar with the Bhote Sunkosi area has pointed out to the ongoing bulldozer works for the road above the landslide areas. Journalist Kanak Dixit opines that in areas where life is lived - environmentally conscious highways and alignments are appropriate (though one cannot protect against the ‘act of god’) and such designs happen when road engineers and environmentalists and economists act in unison. On another note the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on a state visit to Nepal currently and would perhaps touch on the contentious issues of sharing and developing trans-boundary water resources which we hope will give us all a positive direction.

He is the first foreign Head of Government to address Nepal’s new parliament. Presently - water and environment within one’s space seems to be central and core to the issues debated globally as well as locally to sustain life.

Our cover story this month is about the newly opened Architecture gallery at Patan Museum. The galleries showcase our historical elements such as windows, columns, struts, and other artifacts, displayed in a typological order accompanied by drawings and captions. Nepal’s first Architectural gallery is an eye opener depicting the extraordinary legends amidst the art and architecture. Through the gallery, we now have access to the Vidhyapith room (tantrik room) at Mulchowk which was closed for over 90 years and has an esoteric shrine dating to the 17th century with a rare example of Malla-period interior architecture. Rohit Ranjitakar the Country Director of KVPT (Kathmandu Valley Preservation Trust) who initiated the project states that Nepal’s

(traditional) Architecture is it’s identity. As you discover and abosorb the artifacts and elements – it is natural for one to be inspired by one’s heritage, but the bigger question as you step out of the Museum lies on - what do we all do presently with our Cities and Vilages to improve our natural and visual environment ?

This month we also interview Architect Pratyush Shanker - the author of ‘Himalayan Cities, Settlement Patterns, Public Spaces and Architecture’ who is also the Associate Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Architecture at CEPT (Center for Environmental Planning and Technology). His journey started when he received the Commonwealth Grant to study a small town in Himachal Pradesh and later received The Ford –Asia Fellowship Award to study Himalayan Architecture.

His views on Nepal are succinct when he states that - Nepal is a living museum of many distinct architectural traditions. It is blessed with a lineage in architectural and urban ideas that are unique. The question really is of the future and where it is heading! Nepal has the strength to show the way to many Asian countries about questions for new forms of development and hybrid conditions between old and new.

We also highlight the 155 feet tall statue of Guru Padmasambhava in Takela, Eastern Bhutan which was designed and built exquistely by our Nepali sculptor - Raj Kumar Shakya and his team. The intricate work on the copper statue that began nearly 4 years ago was completed this year and goes on to reflect the export value of traditional craft and knowledge, keeping the spirit and flame of Nepal’s first Internationally acclaimed Architect Araniko. He had visited Tibet and influenced Chinese Architecture profoundly. Araniko was initially sent to Tibet to build the Golden Stupa, and further went on to China to work in the court of the Mongol emperor Kublai Khan, the founder of Yuan dynasty (1279–1368) and was credited to have brought the trans-Himalayan artistic tradition to influence Chinese art.

Finally on an ending note – I would like to reflect on an interesting quote of the Dalai Lama who says that – the planet does not need more successful people. The Planet desparetly needs more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers and lovers of all kinds.

Namaste !

Sarosh Pradhan / Editor in Chief 10 / SPACESNEPAL.COM

Exterior Interior

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Contributors

Volume 10 NO. 06 | June

Jeebesh Rayamajhi, a graduate in English Literature from TU, is a dramaturge and has worked as a theatre consultant for pioneering theatre companies including Aarohan-Gurukul, Theatre Village, Mandala Theatre and Bardali Kala Samuha in Nepal. In course of working for leading theatres, he has coordinated different campaigns and events including Kathmandu International Theatre Festival, a prestigious theatre festival organized by Aarohan. He is associated with a number of organizations like School of Creative Communications, Asian Centre for Humanities, Oscar College of Film Studies and Theatre Village. He is a translator and editor for a number of books and magazines.

Ms. Hima Shrestha is the Director of Earthquake Engineering Research and Training EERT Division of NSET. She joined NSET in 2004 as a structural engineer. She has 20 years of work experience in this field (Structural engineering). Her main expertise is on earthquake risk assessment, mitigation and preparedness.

She has a Masters degree in Structural Engineering from Institute of Engineering, Pulchowk, Nepal and a Bachelors degree in Civil Engineering from Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh, India.

Sushovit Ranjitkar is fresh interior designer in town who has experience of nearly one and half dozen interior design projects: some of them completed and some of them still on-going. He gets his inspiration from straight lines which have been his key design element and he likes to use glass often in his design.

A graduate from IEC College of Art and Fashion, he is currently working as Lecturer at the same college.

CEO Editor-in-Chief Creative Manager Senior Correspondent Contributing Art Editor

Junior Editor Contributing Editor

Photographer

Intl. Correspondent

Ashesh Rajbansh Sarosh Pradhan Deependra Bajracharya Pujan Joshi Madan Chitrakar Kasthamandap Art Studio Shristi Pradhan President - Society of Nepalese Architects Ar. Jinisha Jain (Delhi) Ar. Chetan Raj Shrestha (Sikkim) Barun Roy (Darjeeling Hills) Pradip Ratna Tuladhar Hemant Kumar Shrestha Bansri Panday

Chief - Administration Marketing Officer Admin Officer Office Secretary/Subscription Accounts Legal Advisor

Anu Rajbansh Debbie Rana Dangol Ashma Rauniyar Pramila Shrestha Sunil Man Baniya Yogendra Bhattarai

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Cover Photo: Architecture Galleries at Patan Museum Š Ashesh Rajbansh

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NEWS

FURNEX NEPAL EXHiBITION 2014 The exhibition will showcase designs and decorations of various furniture and furnishing houses. Similarly it will cater information regarding repair and maintenance, value of goods and materials. And, keeping in mind the increasing demand for furniture and furnishing for homes and offices, it will avail a single platform for buyers and sellers.

Nepal Furniture and Furnishing Association (NFFA) are all geared up to raise the curtains of the 3rd Furnex Nepal Exhibitions that is scheduled to be held on 27 to 31 August at Bhrikuti Mandap Exhibition Hall. With the success of the 1st and 2nd Furnex Nepal

Exhibition, even the visitors, buyers, and businesses seem to be excited about the upcoming event.

NFFA association was established in the year 2056 B.S and is an umbrella organization of Furniture and

‘Kuch Bhi Ho Sakta Hai’ Anupam Kher Live in Nepal The show avails an opportunity to the audience to experience Anupam Kher’s Journey to stardom, uncovering the hidden chapters from his book of life, stories of his resilience, heartbreaks, triumphs and how he turned every obstacle into a milestone during his 32 years in acting career.

Koseli School Nepal, is presenting one of the fabulous charity show of the year in Kathmandu, named as ‘Kuch Bhi Ho Sakta Hai with Anupam Kher’, a prominent Indian talk show that share Bollywood’s biggest celebrities stories of failure and success which is featured in Colors Chanel, a Hindi entertainment channel. Koseli School Nepal’s charity show is inviting one of the top Bollywood actor/director Anupam Kher 14 / SPACESNEPAL.COM

Furnishing Manufacturers, Product importers, Distributors, Dealers and Professionals, bonded together for raising their voice and getting protection in compliance with the government acts. NFFA is a non-profit oriented and a nongovernmental organization that involves groups of renowned Furniture & Furnishing related business people of Nepal. It focuses on promoting Furniture & Furnishing products in urban as well as rural areas of Nepal. The association not only believes in public private partnership for assisting the government of Nepal in related objectives like National import/export, manufacture Policy but also believes in advocacy of users’ rights regarding the cases of warranty, guarantee, counterfeit, fraud issues of grey channel etc.

Furnex Nepal Exhibition

in Nepal to entertain audiences in Nepal with his live act show and stories of his life. The Anupam Kher Show – Kuch Bhi Ho Sakta Hai is a 2014 Indian talk show hosted by Anupam Kher that features a new celebrity every week. The show is renowned to highlight inspirational stories of Bollywood celebrities, and is still achieving success since their first aired show with actor Shah Rukh Khan.

Koseli is synonymous to ‘a Gift’ and the gift will definitely be life time memorabilia for the students of Koseli School who will get a chance to be educated by the prominent actor of India. Koseli School is a center for slum and street children situated in Kathmandu and are running under a registered NGO. This school is helping underprivileged children of Nepal who come to the city for better lives but due to poverty are often left to fence for their shelves in harsh conditions. These children come from the poorest area of the country and society and almost all of them end up living in miserable and unimaginable condition and their biggest need is survival through any means possible. Koseli School seeks to integrate the slum and street

2014 is bound to energize new expertise in furniture, furnishing and decoration businesses, brands and organizations featuring a prime, easily accessible location with a wide array of experts on services and onspot experience.

Similarly it will avail an opportunity for local furniture manufacturers of Nepal to promote their product and service. According to NFFA there will be up to 46 big stalls and 20 small sized stalls in the exhibition.

The title sponsor for the event is Shaan Furniture, Status Group’s Polo and Yeti Carpet as main sponsors, Premier Insurance as the official insurance and Spaces Magazine as the official magazine. The Event is managed by Dr. CS Events, Pvt. Ltd.

children into main stream society by providing them with a normal childhood and empowering them back to the society through education and skills. Currently the school has 120 students with requests for more admissions every day while seeking attention, education and need for care. Hence the event organized by Koseli School, and managed by WFS Events and Services will be a support to the students and can admit more underprivileged students as all the incomes from the event will be a beneficiary to the children admitted in Koseli School.

The Charity show is being organized at Army Officer’s club on Friday, 22 August 2014 where throughout the play; the audience will get an opportunity to experience Anupam Kher’s Journey to stardom, uncovering the hidden chapters from his book of life, stories of his resilience, heartbreaks, triumphs and how he turned every obstacle into a milestone during his 32 years in acting career. The tickets are priced as NRs. 8,000- VIP tickets, NRs 5,000 – Golden tickets, NRs 3,000 – Silver tickets and NRs 1,500 – Bronze tickets.

NEWS

Retro-fitting of School Buildings: An Imperative Need of Disaster Preparedness It is reported that 77 percent schools in the valley lack the safety measures in buildings for earthquake disaster. Hence there is an imperative need of disaster preparedness in vulnerable schools in Nepal.

Schools in Nepal of the various regions are particularly exposed to different kinds of disasters. Disaster awareness and preparedness at the schools in Nepal is considered to be very low. School survey conducted in 1998-1999 shows that there are about 643 public schools and 909 numbers of buildings. Out of 378 schools surveyed, the study showcases that collapse grade is of 66 percent whereas 23 percent school buildings are in repairable condition and 11 percent schools are beyond repairable and are likely to face severe damages.

But, at present there are more than 32,000 public and private schools, and the challenge is to scale up the process of enhancing earthquake safety of schools for which institutionalization of the concept of School Earthquake Safety Program SESP is necessary.

Schools are source of education and also a tool to make people aware about safety from hazards. Students, teachers, parents and the members of the management committee are the active agents who help widen the outreach of the earthquake safety measures. The earthquake resistant school building stands there as stimulator to change the current construction practice. School students are good conveyers of information from school to individual households. In this sense, school could be considered as ignition point to change traditional practices to seismically safer construction

practice. Apart from its educational usage, schools are also used as community meeting places and emergency shelters during disasters.

Despite the high risk of earthquakes, school construction in Nepal has largely ignored issues of structural safety and they are built very informally just like common residential buildings. Over 77 percent of the valley’s public schools are likely to collapse if they were to experience intensity IX shaking.

Estimated casualty figures for a scenario earthquake of MMI IX shaking during school hours in Kathmandu Valley are: 29,000 deaths - including students, teachers and administrative staff (12 percent), 43,000 seriously injured (18 percent), total collapse of school buildings (66 percent), partial collapse (11 percent), and 23 percent buildings will suffer from minor to moderate damage.

Nepal lies in high earthquake prone zone and promoting earthquake resistant construction can appreciably reduce the losses from the potential threat. Temasek Foundation, a Singapore based philanthropic organization that builds a more prosperous and connected Asia through developing human and social capital, is supporting training programs on various subjects like education and disaster response capability that promotes positive networks of cooperation in and across communities in Asia. Similarly Nanyang Technological University (NTU), a leading university, which has a vibrant research culture

and has created a name internationally for its work in state of arts areas like advanced materials, biomedical engineering, clean energy and environment, computational biology, intelligent systems, and nanotechnology. As a result of joint project, retro-fitting of the building of Adarsha Azaad Higher Secondary School was made possible and the building was inaugurated recently. The delegates present in the inauguration ceremony were Mr. Gerald Yeo, the Director of Temasek Foundation, and Professor Lee Soo Ying of NTU, NSET staffs and faculties of Adarsha Azaad School.

NSET, NTU and Temasek foundation had also provided construction supervision. During construction, the masons and technicians were provided with the hands-on training on earthquake resistant construction.

Further the school teachers, students and the surrounding community were also oriented on earthquake safety. Emergency Response Plan of the school is developed including training of teachers, parents, children and the community for the drill to be performed based on the plan.

NSET started providing on-the-job training and classroom lectures for the masons during the School Earthquake Safety Program (SESP) in 1999, it was observed that the mason training was very effective and the impact was remarkable with high replication potential. Mason training became the integral part of the school safety program. The masons trained during the program are now spreading the technology of earthquake-resistant construction in their communities and replicating the technology while constructing new buildings. They are also training other masons. Thus the process of replication is expected to create a multiplying effect in future to set a new technological culture in construction.

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NEWS

Spaces Magazine and NFFA Announce First Interior Design Competition IDC’s objectives are to uplift the scenario of forgotten richness of interior design in Nepal; to help create career opportunities in the market; and to encourage new generation to produce new innovative ideas and changes in designing concept with the changing lifestyle of these days.

Spaces Magazine and Nepal Furniture and Furnishing Association (NFFA) has jointly announced the 1st Interior Design Competition (IDC) – 2014 on the occasion of Furnex Nepal Exhibition - 2014, which is scheduled to be held on 27 to 31 August at Bhrikuti Mandap Exhibition Hall, Kathmandu. The IDC -2014 is the first competition held in the yearly exhibition of Furnex for students of Interior designing background which was conceptualized and formulated by Spaces Magazine and NFFA after a long brainstorming session.

Approximately fifty students from various interior designing colleges and institutions will take part in the exhibition. IDC’s objectives are to uplift the scenario of forgotten richness of interior design in Nepal; to help create career opportunities in the market; and to encourage new generation to produce new innovative ideas and changes in designing concept with the changing lifestyle of these days.

Spaces Magazine, as official magazine for the Furnex Nepal has prepared conscientiously to manage the upcoming Interior Design Competition during Interior design comprises the the exhibition. The Interior Design arrangement of living spaces to Competition (IDC) - 2014 scheme accomplish greater functionality makes includes project on residential design use of diverse aspects of other disciplines with cultural inspiration in a contemporary such as architecture, product design, arrangement while the concept includes environmental psychology, ergonomics Internal Space Utilization. The criteria is and decoration. Spaces Magazine along to prepare a 2D drawing that will include with NFFA has sensed its significance and the assuming floor plan, zoning and intends to promote interest in students partition layout, furniture layout plan, floor for Interior designing careers. finish plan, reflected ceiling plan, cross

Lasting Protection for All

New Multi-brand Paint Showroom in Bhaktapur Apurva International Pvt. Ltd., a company renowned for their multi-brand paint showroom and UPVC Roofing Sheet in Kathmandu, have recently opened a new multi brand showroom in Gatthaghar, Bhaktapur. The Managing Director (MD) of Apurva India Ltd, Mumbai Mr. Ashok Kumar Kate inaugurated the showroom on 6 July 2014. Mr. A.K. Kate along with MD. Raju Gupta, Apurva International and team organized a two day workshop on Product Briefing and Presentation. Similarly a Workshop for Fabricators and painters was also organized.

According to the company, the new multi-brand showroom offers varieties of paints for commercial, industrial and residential use and top brands like Sunrise’s brand product of UPVC Roofing Sheet, Asian Paints, Kansai Nerolac, Pashupati Paints, Lewis Berger Paints, and Dulux Paints and eminent brand from Akzonobel are presently on their product portfolio. The company also stated that on the occasion of the inauguration of the new showroom Rs 1,000 cash discount vouchers will also be offered to its customers for a year.

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section and furniture details. While the other criteria include a 3D layout by computer rendering or using any computer aided design software.

After the total submission of these 2D/3D illustrations, the jury panel will select the best ten projects before the exhibition commences.

These ten models will be displayed during the Furnex Nepal Exhibition.

Jury panel members include an architect, academician, interior designer, artist, and a home maker and will have 75 percent voting stake while the remaining 25 percent remains open for public voting. On the closing ceremony of Furnex Nepal Exhibition, three winners will be announced that comprises to 1st, 2nd and 3rd positions. The winners will receive a trophy, certificate and a cash prize and an exposure to the market. Winners will be judged for suitability of the design to the project, originality of the design solution and the fine successful integration of interior finishes and furnishing.

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NEWS

Completion of 155ft tall Repousse Statute of

Guru Padmasambhava in Bhutan

Guru Padmasambhava is believed to have meditated in a sacred cave of ancient Village of Pharping, the south of the Kathmandu Valley, and attained enlightenment. Presently as a homage, Bhutan has the tallest statue of Guru Padmasambhava and it was made possible with the art and craftsmanship of the Nepalese artists.

Guru Padmasambhava is often referred to as the second Buddha in Bhutan where the official state religion is Drukpa Kagyu Buddhism. A great master of Buddhist Tantra, he is said to have emerged in Bhutan around eighth century and established the teachings of the Buddha all over the country. He is also credited in bringing Vajrayana to Tibet and Bhutan and he is revered today as one of the great patriarchs of Tibetan Buddhism and the founder of the Nyinmapa School.

The project of the 155 feet tall repousse statue of Guru Padmasambhava was assigned to Raj Kumar Shakya and his team.

They were assigned to design and built the 155 feet tall statue of Guru Padmasambhava in Takela, Eastern Bhutan. The intricate work on the copper repousse statue began on 20 June 2010 and after working diligently for three years and nine months, the statue was completed on 20 March 2014.

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As Nepal’s is renowned for its metal works and artifacts, the practice is believed to be very ancient as it traces far back to the 11th century. This art has been practiced and passed down to generations and the historic monuments created by the generations of artists are strewn throughout Nepal and all over the world. Hence Nepalese artists

were requested for the project in Bhutan whereby the project itself was a complex task undertaken by Raj Kumar Shakya and his team. The project started with many models and under the direction of Shakya, a total number of 57 people worked on the project. The concrete base that was constructed is 40 feet tall. In fact, the actual size of the copper repousse figure is 115 ft tall and the face alone measures 15 ft.

To mark the successful completion of the 155 feet tall repousse statute of Guru Padmasambhava in Bhutan and to felicitate the involved artists, a program was carried out in Patan on 12 July 2014.

In the program, Mr.R.J. Shakya, Architect Anil Shakya and his team from Sumeru Art Village were honoured. Senior scholar and culture expert Mr. Satya Mohan Joshi and Ani Maya Shakya presented tokens of appreciation to all the team members who were involved in the project in Bhutan. The Event at Yala Maya Kendra was a kind of celebration of Nepal’s craftsmanship that will present a good and optimistic outlook from abroad. The contributions of Raj Kumar Shakya and team, Ar. Anil Shakya and Sumeru Art Village are greatly acknowledged.

Apart from Nepal and Bhutan, Shakya’s work has also reached China, Germany, USA, Korea, France, India and Japan.

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NEWS

Amalgam 2014

An Exhibition of Paintings and Prints Many paintings in the exhibition explore the unconsciousness as a source of inspiration. The visions were based on more personal experiences and thought process that have been evoked by the urban surroundings of Kathmandu where the artist’s works involve a lot of line-works which metamorph into different forms of human expressions that are composed with varying forms of patterns.

In some point in our life we realize that every moment we experience teaches us something new about ourselves, our creativity, the society, the world around us, and the responsibilities we hold for every phase that pass us by. It’s absurd sometimes we feel in course of events that takes an unexpected turn and stamp its mark permanently in us; more often we find it challenging while dealing with it optimistically and artistically, but in the end, it definitely turns to be rewarding.

Everything around us is bound to change and accepting and coping with changes is an art itself. Life is always about changes and choices.

Though some choices are out of our control, whatever the choice we may have that eventually shapes our days, shapes our experiences, shapes our

views, shapes our thoughts and thus transforms our lives and the people around us completely. If we could adapt the changes in life positively then there is no doubt that it adds courage to our thought patterns and only then we would have a chance for ourselves to blossom and progress meaningfully. ‘Amalgam- 2014’, the exhibition of paintings and prints by 26 Nepali artists, proved to shape the perception of the visitors in an inspirational and constructive way. As art in itself should never be taken in a competitive way, where you have to excel in all fields or expects to be perfect but rather focusing on simpler things can sometimes matter the most.

Another artist finds inspiration in his heritage, social and political roots and is a direct reflection of his cultural background such as costumes, rituals, myths and

aesthetics. Most of these arts displayed show the contemporary reflection of the artist’s personal, socio-cultural and political surroundings influenced by the progression into urban life and the merger of ancient traditional times with the new and contemporary one. Other works of art illustrate the awareness of climate change, using the medium of art to link to the community. Many of the displayed works in the exhibition are deeply inspired by the culture and tradition of our country and some are based on socio-political issues that address the current situation of Nepal through the use of distinct characters and icons which are imbued with a sense of humorous and satire while others display the inner state of the human mind that deals with the direct and indirect social and cultural impact on the human psyche.

Amalgam – 2014 was successful with the group effort of 26 Nepali artists, whose paintings and prints were displayed vividly at Siddhartha Art Gallery from 27 June to 28 July 2014.

These 26 artists include Aditya Aryal, Arjun Bhandari, Arjun Khaling ,Hitman Gurung, Jasmine Rajbhandari Pant, Rajan Pant, Kailash K Shrestha, Lavkant Chudhary, Mukesh Shrestha, Mekh Limbu, Muna Badel, Manish Harijan, Narayan Prasad Bohaju, Prabin Shrestha, Prithvi Shrestha , Ram Maharjan, Sagar Manandhar, Saurganga Darshandhari, Sanjeev Maharjan, Sheelasha Rajbhandari, Shraddha Shrestha, Sudeep Balla, Sunil Sigdel, Surendra Maharjan, Sushma Shakya, and Suvas Tamang. The art exhibition ‘Amalgam’ was inaugurated by His Excellency. Mr. Ranjit Rae, the Ambassador of India to Nepal After the inauguration he stated that he was incredibly impressed by the work of the artist and he congratulated the artists individually.

During the month long exhibition, Siddhartha Art Gallery also hosted a series of talks titled ‘Amalgam Art Talk Series’ every Sundays. In the talks, different issues related with the challenges of arts and artists were addressed and discussed on.

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Architecture

Mercantile Plaza text Drishti Manandhar

photo A. Rajbansh

This complex conveys the story of a successful transition of a residential complex into a modern commercial centre.

A modern picturesque that stands on its old glory with all its splendor and subtlety!

Durbar Marg, also known as King’s way (leading to Narayanhiti Palace) is situated at the heart of Kathmandu City.

It is one of the most famous and posh area of Kathmandu with luxury hotels, restaurants serving international cuisines, fine boutiques, galleries,

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travel agencies and airline offices.

And when it came to re-designing the existing Mercantile Plaza, situated at Durbar Marg the designers opted for an elegant and a contemporary composition of glass and aluminum panels.

This building, which

now accommodates almost a dozen of high-end stores and a roof top restaurant Mezze, is one of the most popular hubs in the capital. The Mercantile Building has been a one sure shot destination for the shopping mongers as well as the foodies of the valley.

Architecture

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Architecture

complex was to keep the courtyard concept intact,” said Rupak Maharjan of Decor and Design,“resulting in a central atrium that guides the planning of the whole space.” The central core of the complex has regulated in the overall planning of the complex. Shops are carefully planned alongside the well-lighted atrium that gives you an essence of guided openness generously exposing lights in the interiors.

One can view the entire complex from the atrium itself. And this is definitely of the highlights of this plaza.

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The side elevation is a sensitively wrought composition of grey aluminium panels and glass entirely facing the street. The complex is divided into two parts by the atrium. The anterior part of the atrium being the street side, which is two storied with 12’ floor height and the posterior part which is three storied with 8’ floor height. Hence the front façade manages to conceal the spatial consideration of the complex.

Although this building was reconstructed over the existing building, special considerations for the retrofitting of the structure were taken. Previously, it was a one storied residential building built with a concept of an inward looking courtyard. There were two complexes sharing the common courtyard. “The main concept behind the

The complex is largely solid on the street side with glass walls used for displaying various products and their hoarding boards. Strategic openings are provided at the southern face in order to admit daylight to the complex. Integration of pergolas on the front façade gives the complex a powerful sense of restraint.

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Interiors The entrance lobby opens up to the airy atrium spacewith a large metal staircase extending unto the top floor, an elegant configuration of lines and shapes that is complemented by a larger than life artistic lampshade. The amalgamation of metal and glass evidently brings out the serene character of the place.

According to the designers, “The main reason behind using materials like metal, glass and ACP panels in the exterior was to give it a contemporary character.�

All the interior walls are painted white, and these walls along with the expanses of glasses give a character to its interior spaces. The partially higher floor levels make the complex interpret as two instead of three stories high. The planning of the shops around the atrium space makes navigation easier and effective. The atrium space has resulted in various pockets like spaces between the shops encouraging gatherings and interaction.

Hence, the major concern of the design was how to merge the existing circumstances and get a transitional connection with the functions that were proposed.The outlets of brands like Nike, Polo, Pocket, No Exit, Roadhouse CafĂŠ and many other names speak for the effective rendition of this building. This complex conveys the story of a successful transition of a residential complex into a modern commercial centre. A modern picturesque that stands on its old glory with all its splendor and subtlety! june 2014 / 27

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RELICS

HISTORY

ARE HEARD IS SEEN

The display of rare and historical surviving artifacts at the Architectural Galleries of Patan Mueseum gives Kathmandu a new sense of appreciation for its history.

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You might have been to Patan Durbar Square for a number of times, but it’s not the whole what you have seen. You see what is, but you have to hear to get into the composite whole of it. As an effort to make the square heard more and to enliven the history, Architecture Gallery, as an extension of Patan Musuem, has been established. And now it is open to all.

Like in many other sites, Patan Durbar was devastated massively by the earthquake of 1934. Whatever the monuments the resources and skills of the time made possible were restored after the earthquake but some of them were not restored adequately - and many are yet to be restored.

Rohit K Ranjitkar, The Country Director of The Kathmandu Valley Preservation Trust (KVPT ) says, “Shrine of Taleju, for example, seems to have been slightly taller and another shrine called ‘Bhai Dega’ was the biggest one in the premises. There were other three shrines made of stone, and they are not in scene at present.”

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Vidhyapeeth Room at Mulchowk Mr Ranjitkar took an initiation to open a room called Vidhyapith at Mulchowk which was closed for about 90 years. It is believed to have been a tantric room, and any entrance to the room without proper ritual performance is supposed to be harmful.

Having no idea about the proper rituals, no one had taken an initiation to enter the room after the overseeing priest left his duties years before.

He had entered the room with a team of 7/8 people. They were surprised to see a very thick layer of dust and a few idols and uniquely carved altars. Vidyapith, one of the esoteric shrine rooms of the former palace, contains uniquely carved three altars: complete with an architectural framing of base, colonnettes, roof-molding and tympanum. The large cabinet has nine niches which likely housed the Navadurga deities. And two smaller cabinets have four divisions portioned by colonnettes which might have housed other subsidiary deities.

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‘THE FIRST AND THE ONLY ONE ARCHITECTURE GALLERY IN NEPAL’ Rohit K Ranjitkar, The Country Director of KVPT

How KVPT initiated the establishment of the Architectural Galleries?

The monuments started falling and decaying with the smack of the great earthquake of 1934. It is obvious that the rescue of living beings is given the first priority in the time of crisis and the arts and heritages are left out-of-the-way. The devastated major monuments were hastily reconstructed during a period of material scarcity after the earthquake, leaving many buildings in a fragile condition.

KVPT, in association with The Department of Archaeology of The Government of Nepal, has been working to safeguard the historic architecture of the Kathmandu Valley. Over the past two decades KVPT has restored over 50 buildings throughout the valley including palaces, temples, monasteries, and homes.

Since 2006 KVPT has been working primarily on the complete restoration and adaptive re-use of the historical palace complex adjacent to Patan Durbar square. A number of organizations and individuals including The Department of Archaeology of The Government of Nepal, US Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation, The Government of The Federal Republic of Germany, Prince Claus Fund for Culture And Development, The Prince’s Charities, Sumitomo Foundation, Nepal Investment Bank, Lamu Amatya, Ludwig Kuttner & Beatrix Ost, Prithivi B. Pande & Pratima Pande, University of Applied Arts in Vienna have supported to make the restoration project a success.

Patan Palace Restoration Project is KVPT’s largest program of works to date, encompassing the restoration and conservation of 2 major palace courtyards, 3 tiered temples, 2 Shah-period public buildings, a water tank, a step-well, a rest-house, and a large urban garden. The oldest inscription in the area dates back to a Licchavi monastery from the 8th century, but most of the existing structures were built by the Malla kings in the 17th century. The palace was abandoned by royalty in 1769 when the Shah dynasty captured the Malla kingdoms and shifted the seat of power to Kathmandu.

Over the course of the 20th century the monuments of the Patan Palace were encroached by various government offices for other purposes leaving it suffer from neglect and decay. Sundari Chowk, for example, housed police station at the time when a documentation project started in 1993.

Similarly, the negative impact of today’s development pressures has been another threat for the monuments in this square. With the mission of safeguarding the threatened architectural heritage, KVPT launched The Patan Palace Restoration Project. Though the Architecture Gallery was not in original plan, with an objective of preserving the monuments and making the palace self sustaining, we established architecture gallery. This is the first and the only one architecture gallery in Nepal.

How far is the dream to come true?

Besides the complete restoration of the Patan durbar complex, the gallery is under development and there are a lot of things to do. We are focused on the elements of the architecture like tundals and pillars and we have been able to exhibit only a few things. We have only been able to give the captions but the sub captions for individual exhibit are yet to be given.

Now we are working on the north wing. We are thinking about the possibility of establishing a proper audio-visual exhibition area with an objective of contributing for the proper documentation and archiving. We have not been able to make the proper use of the rooms at Mulchowk yet.

We are thinking of allocating a space for the temporary exhibition of rescued monuments, too. Mulchowk Gallery exhibits objects whereas we are planning to make Sundari Chowk, which is under restoration, a gallery of drawings and facsimiles of historic paintings.

Your dream as a conservation architect?

Nepal’s identity is its architecture. There is only ours in our architecture; our architecture is originally ours. I wish all the monuments were preserved - It can be one of the main resources for our prosperity. There seems to be a misconception about the monuments: only the temples, palaces and idol are not monuments; surrounding atmosphere including private houses are also monuments.

It should be taken as a composite whole and, thus, the development or other construction should go well with the surrounding atmosphere of the space. I wish the owners of the private house as well would step ahead for the preservation of monuments. May every individual be conscious of its importance and start preserving monuments right from individual level!

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Window of the House of Gayahbajya According to Ranjitkar, Gayahbajya’s window is one of the most valuable assets the gallery showcases.

This small carved window from a historic house of Sulima Square dates to the 10-11th centuries according to its radio-carbon analysis, making it oldest yet found in Nepal. The window was rescued during the repair project when it was replaced by a modern window. The window is made of Sal (Shorea Robusta) wood. A large multi-bayed window framed by two smaller ones is perhaps the most characteristic motif of Nepali façades.

Aside from its age and artistic qualities, this window figures prominently in local history as a piece of the house of Gayahbajya, a tantric priest who was famous in the 17th century for his tantric powers including the ability to bring dead back to life. The legends say Gayahbajya’s spirit is maintained until today in the ground floor of this house and can’t be opened without threat of major calamity.

Architecture Galleries The interior of the first floor of Mulchowk (main courtyard originally established

by Srinivasha Malla in 1666) houses Architecture Galleries. As you enter you will be amazed to see the rare and historical artifacts survived from the neglect, misuse and inadequate restoration for ages. While observing the exhibits your despair, if any, effaces and you feel pride for the extraordinary legends, arts and architecture you own, your county owns. A sense of new hope 36 / SPACESNEPAL.COM

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and appreciation occupies your mind while observing the efforts made to conserve the endangered artifacts and to enliven the history.

The galleries showcase historical windows, columns, struts, tympana, and other artifacts which are displayed in a typological order accompanied by drawings and captions. The Vidhyapith, an esoteric shrine dating to the 17th century and a rare example of

Malla-period interior architecture can be accessed through the galleries.

Window of the House of Gayahbajya that dates back to 10-11th century and uniquely carved altars of the Vidhyapith room, amongst other, are the valuable treasures in the galleries.

The artifacts themselves are enough to tell you about the aesthetics and the course of time they suffered for.

Moreover, the aptly placed captions

based on extensive research and authentic sources are enough to quench your immediate curiosity and to generate new passions for arts and history.

The gallery at the Mulchowk suffices you for this time and Sundari Chowk Gallery, which is currently under restoration, invites you for the next time.

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Earthquake Risk Reduction and Preparedness in Nepal text Ms. Hima Shrestha

An earthquake does not cause death or injury by itself. People are hurt by falling objects and collapsing walls. Collapsing buildings and vibrations can cause short circuits and electric fires. Lighted gas or stoves may also cause fires. All this leads to panic and confusion. With precaution it is possible to avoid such confusion.

Introduction Disasters disrupt hundreds of thousands of lives every year which has lasting effects, both to people and property. Most of the losses of lives in past earthquakes have occurred due to the collapse of buildings. Those buildings are generally non-engineered which are constructed informally in the traditional manner without any or little intervention by engineers or built without following building standard. The safety of the non-engineered buildings from the fury of earthquakes is a subject of highest priority in view of the fact that in the moderate to severe seismic zones of the world more than 90 percent of the population is still living and working in such buildings, and that most losses of lives during earthquakes have occurred due to their collapse. The risk to life is further increasing due to rising population particularly in the developing countries.

On average about 1,000 earthquakes with intensities of 5.0 or greater are

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recorded each year. Great earthquakes (intensity 8.0 or higher) occur once a year. Damage and loss of life sustained during an earthquake result from falling structures and flying glass and objects. Hence every individual should be involved in disaster risk reduction activities to mitigate human and property loss. The effort should be made at right time well before disaster strikes so that we can save life and property considerably which is well proven by two recent earthquakes in Haiti and Chile.

Damage due to Recent Earthquakes The information on the behavior of nonengineered or substandard designed existing structures under seismic loads has been further emphasized by the catastrophic effects of recent earthquake events (Turkey 1999, India 2001, Iran 2003, Pakistan 2005,China 2008, Haiti 2010).The recent event in Haiti reminds

us about the colossal death and destruction that earthquakes can bring to a community which lagged behind in its preparations to avert the likely disaster.

The January 12, 2010 earthquake in Haiti caused a massive loss of life and a great number of injuries occurred.

According to official estimates, 222,570 people killed, 300,000 injured, 1.3 million displaced, 97,294 houses destroyed and 188,383 damaged in the Port-auPrince area and in much of southern Haiti. Most of Port-au-Prince’s major landmarks were significantly damaged or destroyed in the earthquake, including the Presidential Palace, the National Assembly building, the Port-au-Prince Cathedral, and the main jail. It measured 7.0 in magnitude.

On the afternoon of May 12, 2008, a 7.9-magnitude earthquake hit Sichuan Province, a mountainous region in Western China, killing about 70,000 people and leaving over 18,000 missing.

Many school buildings collapsed killing more than 5300 students. Almost 7,000 classrooms crumbled because of slipshod construction methods or because building codes were ignored.

A powerful 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck in Pakistan-administered Kashmir known as Azad Kashmir, near the city of

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Muzaffarabad, affecting Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It occurred at 08:52:37 Pakistan Standard Time (03:52:37 UTC) on 8 October 2005. This destructive earthquake followed with more than 140 aftershocks, causing extensive damage in Pakistan, India and Afghanistan.

Reports indicate more than 82,000 people have been killed, and more than 3.3 million people have been left injured or homeless with more than 1,000 hospitals destroyed. Extensive damage occurred in northern Pakistan. The heaviest damage occurred in the Muzaffarabad area, Kashmir where entire villages were destroyed.

Impact of earthquake and preparedness (An example of Haiti and Chile) In the first two months of the year 2010 the world experienced two devastating earthquakes: one in Haiti and one in Chile, letting a comparison between the two incidents. The magnitude 7.0 quake centered right near the Haitian capital swept through several urban areas leveling nearly everything. Communications were completely knocked out. Even the National Palace was destroyed, leaving the prime minister in the same dire straits as other citizens. In contrast, the magnitude 8.8 quake in Chile a month

later caused considerably less damage and loss of life, with death tolls under a thousand rather than over 200,000 as in Haiti. What allowed Chile to be so prepared when Haiti was clearly not?

One reason Chile was less damaged was the location of the actual quake.

The Chilean earthquake, while over 500 times stronger than the one in Haiti, was about twice as deep and four miles offshore rather than onshore. It was even further from the nearest urban area, Concepción, about 70 miles from the epicenter, while Port-Au-Prince is located less than 20 miles from the epicenter in Haiti. Beyond the actual shaking caused by the quakes, however, Chile was better prepared overall to endure high magnitude seismic activity. This is due to an organized government and building regulations, which Haiti has historically lacked.

Similarly the recent more violent earthquakes in developed cities like Christchurch (February 2011 Christchurch earthquake) and Japan (March 2011 Japan earthquake) clearly demonstrated that preparedness makes a lot of difference. Had it occurred in developing country like Nepal, it would have claimed massive number of dead and significant loss. Magnitude 6.3 earthquake of Feb 2011 Christchurch earthquake

resulted in peak ground acceleration exceeding 1.8g with highest recording 2.2g at Heathcote Valley Primary School, a shaking intensity equivalent to MM X+. A PGA is one of the greatest ever recorded in the world. This PGA was greater than many modern buildings were designed to withstand.

The acceleration experienced would “totally flatten” most world cities causing massive loss of life; in Christchurch New Zealand’s stringent building codes limited the damage causing only about 180 dead. Similarly, a 9 magnitude mega thrust earthquake, off the coast of Japan that occurred on 11th march 2011, triggered extremely destructive tsunami waves up to 10 m and travelling up to 10m inland destructing many buildings. The buildings in tsunami hit areas sustained severe ground shaking due to earthquake but were destroyed later by massive tsunami which was beyond imagination of the nation.

Seismicity of Nepal Nepal is situated along southern slope of Himalayan mountain range, which is susceptible to great earthquakes.

There is a record of many large earthquakes that have occurred in the past.

Kathmandu has suffered damage due to earthquakes several times since 1833.

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The assessment of Seismic Hazard of Kathmandu valley done by UNDP / UNCHS, 1994 and Nippon Koei and Oyo, 2001, identifies several faults in the Kathmandu Valley. Different fault models are liable to produce earthquakes of intensity IX in many parts of the country.

It is pointed out that there is a high possibility that a huge earthquake will occur around the Himalayan region based on the difference between energy accumulation in this region and historic earthquake occurrence (“Himalayan Seismic Hazard� by R. Blham, V.K. Gaur and P. Molnar).

Various earthquake zoning studies assign Kathmandu Valley peak ground accelerations ranging from 0.3g to 0.45g, which corresponding to a Modified Mercalli Intensity MMI = VII – X. From the Munich Re Group database it can be concluded that MMI IX is the maximum intensity that can be expected on Kathmandu Valley fluvio-lacustrine deposits and MMI VII should be assumed on bedrock surrounding the Kathmandu metropolitan area.

Seismic Risk of Nepal Earthquake scenario for Nepal poses grave concern as most of the buildings are unsafe in the urban areas of Nepal.

The main factors creating this situation are lack of knowledge, awareness and technology dissemination mechanism.

Kathmandu Valley Earthquake Risk Management Project (KVERMP), implemented by NSET, has shown that there is possibility of 60 percent damage to total building stock of Kathmandu Valley if there would be the repetition of 1934 earthquake again. Scenario is not different for buildings constructed of modern material and system. The tendency of neglecting in the construction practice, minimum seismic design recommendations provided by codes and guidelines,

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dramatically increases the percentage of high vulnerable structures within the existing stock. These vulnerable buildings in high seismic hazard have created significant risk. Hence majority of Nepalese population is under high seismic risk.

Seismic Risk Reduction Strategies From the safety view point , the safety of human lives is the primary concern and the functioning of the buildings has lower priority except the buildings required for community activities such as schools, assembly halls, cinema halls etc. and those required for the emergency, such as hospitals, telephone and telegraph, fire fighting. Structural safety can be achieved by adopting appropriate design and construction details involving only small extra expenditure which should be within the economic means of people in most countries. These rules will not prevent all damage in moderate or large earthquakes, but life threatening collapses should be prevented and damage limited to repairable proportions.

Experience from recent earthquake has demonstrated that structures which are properly designed and constructed are able to withstand severe earthquake without collapse. However, these same earthquakes have shown that old buildings as well as buildings of recent construction can be seriously damaged or can collapse causing loss of life to the occupants. Studies of the structural performance during these recent earthquakes have clearly demonstrated that structural system must have sufficient ductility, or the ability to maintain their integrity when stressed beyond their yield point in order to protect human life.

Seismic risk can be significantly reduced by the following actions that are also considered as strategy for earthquake

risk reduction.

1) Do not increase the risk: 2) Decrease existing risk: 3) Prepare for possible consequences

Do not increase the risk We can avoid increased risk by constructing buildings and non building structures seismic safe. Use of codes and guidelines helps to protect public health, safety and general welfare.

Standard norms shall be followed to all types of structures. Nepal National Building Code is to be enforced practically to virtually reduce the seismic risk.

Further, the following things should be kept into consideration when building new structures.

The factors that pose less vulnerability to the building during earthquake shaking are listed below: - Building should be regular in plan, elevation and structural system - Building should have sufficient redundancy - Demand Capacity Ratio (DCR) of each structural elements as well as the whole structure should be less than 1 - The building shall contain one complete load path - Building shall have no damage and deterioration of structural elements and materials itself - There shall be no hammering between adjacent buildings - There shall be no diaphragm discontinuity - Structural elements and the building shall not be slender - There shall be proper connection between each structural elements and between structural and nonstructural elements - Building shall have sufficient ductility - Building shall have sufficient strength

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Building should not be situated on liquefaction susceptible soil, steep and rock fall areas, fault rupture surfaces and soil filled areas Non-structural elements should be restraint properly

The key factor to survive the building is symmetry, ductility and redundancy.

Decrease Existing Risk The main seismic vulnerability is due to the present building stock. Hence reducing the heightened risk is a main challenging task and is utmost important at the present context of Nepal.

Various alternatives have been developed for retrofitting of the buildings.

Retrofit strategy refers to any option of increasing the strength, stiffness and ductility of the members or of the whole building. The possible intervention options need to be selected based on the building typology and the expected performance of the building after retrofitting. Following considerations ought to be additionally made while selecting probable intervention options: (i). Requirements to complies to the Building Code for design, materials and construction (ii). Compatibility of the solution with the functional requirements of the structure (iii). Possible cost implication (iv). Indirect cost of retrofitting such as relocation cost (v). Availability of construction technique (materials, equipments and workmanship) in construction industry (vi). Enhancement of the safety of the building after intervention of the selected option (vii). Aesthetic view of the building Once these considerations are made, different options of modifying the building

to reduce the risk of damage should be studied. The corrective measures include stiffening or strengthening the structure, adding local elements to eliminate irregularities or tie the structure together, reducing the demand on the structure through the use of seismic isolation or energy dissipation devices, and reducing the height or mass of the structure.

Prepare for Possible consequences Preparedness can reduce the impact of disaster and sometimes avoid the danger completely. The citizens should learn how to protect themselves and their families against all types of hazards. Various manuals are available on this issue. The focus is on how to develop, practice, and maintain emergency plans that reflect what must be done before, during, and after a disaster to protect people and their property.

Also included is information on how to assemble a disaster supplies kit that contains the food, water, and other supplies in sufficient quantity for individuals and their families to survive following a disaster in the event they must rely on their own resources.

Preparation before an Earthquake Strikes Prepare your family by creating a family disaster plan. You can begin this process by gathering family members and reviewing the information such as hazards, evacuation routes and community and other plans) and discussing with them what you would do. Additionally, your family plan should address the following: • Escape routes.

• Family communications.

• Utility shut-off and safety.

• Vital records.

• Special needs.

• Caring for animals.

Safety skills It is important that family members know how to administer first aid and CPR and how to use a fire extinguisher.

Prepare Emergency Kit - go bag You may need to survive on your own after a disaster. This means having your own food, water, and other supplies in sufficient quantity to last for at least three days. Local officials and relief workers will be on the scene after a disaster, but they cannot reach everyone immediately. You could get help in hours, or it might take days. Basic services such as electricity, gas, water, sewage treatment, and telephones may be cut off for days, or even a week or longer. Or, you may have to evacuate at a moment’s notice and take essentials with you. You probably will not have the opportunity to search for the supplies you need.

A disaster supplies kit is a collection of basic items that members of a household may need in the event of a disaster.

Coping with an earthquake An earthquake does not cause death or injury by itself. People are hurt by falling objects and collapsing walls. Collapsing buildings and vibrations can cause short circuits and electric fires. Lighted gas or stoves may also cause fires. All this leads to panic and confusion. With some precautions it is possible to avoid such confusion.

If you are caught indoors at the time of an earthquake, • Keep calm.

• Move to pre-identified safe areas inside the building.

• Stay away from glass windows,

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• • •

doors, almirahs, mirrors etc.

Stay away from falling plaster, bricks or stones.

Get under a table or a sturdy cot so that you are not hurt by falling objects.

Do not rush towards the doors or staircase. They may be broken or jammed.

If you are outdoors at the time of earthquake, • If open space is available nearby, go there.

• Keep away from tall chimneys, buildings, balconies and other projections.

• Do not run through streets; hoardings or lamps may fall on you.

earthquake proof buildings that will not get damaged even during the rare but strong earthquake; such buildings will be too robust and also too expensive.

Instead the engineering intention is to make buildings earthquake-resistant; such buildings resist the effects of ground shaking, although they may get damaged severely but would not collapse during the strong earthquake.

Thus, safety of people and contents is assured in earthquake-resistant buildings, and thereby a disaster is avoided.

This is a major objective of seismic design codes throughout the world.

Design Philosophy

a) Under minor but frequent shaking, the main members of the buildings that carry vertical and horizontal forc• Check if you or anyone else is hurt. es should not be damaged; however Use first aid at least on the cuts and buildings parts that do not carry load bruises. may sustain repairable damage.

• Keep the streets clear for emergency b) Under moderate but occasional services. shaking, the main members may • Switch off all appliances like the refrigsustain repairable damage, while erator, TV or radio. Turn off the gas. the other parts that do not carry load • Wear shoes to protect your feet from may sustain repairable damage. debris.

• A battery operated radio will help you c) Under strong but rare shaking, the main members may sustain severe to get important messages. damage, but the building should not • Be prepared for more shocks. collapse.

These aftershocks always follow an earthquake.

Earthquake resistant design is therefore concerned about ensuring that the Avoid the following in an earthquake • Do not crowd around damaged areas damages in buildings during earthquakes are of acceptable variety, and also that or buildings.

• Do not waste water. It will be needed they occur at the right places and in right amounts. This approach of earthquake for fire fighting. resistant design is much like the use of • Do not move the seriously hurt electrical fuses in houses: to protect the people. entire electrical wiring and appliances in • Wait for medical help to arrive. the house, you sacrifice some small parts • Do not spread rumors. They lead to of electrical circuit, called fuses; these panic and worsen the situation fuses are easily replaced after the electrical over-current. Likewise to save the Philosophy of Earthquake building from collapsing you need to allow some pre-determined parts to undergo Resistant Design the acceptable type and level of damage.

Engineers do not attempt to make

After an earthquake

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Earthquake resistant buildings, particularly their main elements, need to be built with ductility in them. Such buildings have the ability to sway back-and-forth during an earthquake, and to withstand the earthquake effects with some damage, but without collapse.

1. Structure should remain essentially elastic in frequent minor ground shaking 2. Structure should be able to resist occasional moderate ground shaking without significant damage 3. Structure should be able to resist major earthquakes without collapse Difference between Normal Load and Lateral Load Design 1. In Ordinary Load (dead/ Imposed, wind etc), it is expected that structure will essentially remain elastic even during severe most design loading 2. Where as in earthquake resistant design it is expected that structure could go in inelastic regime and suffer severe damage during a major earthquake We thrive for Earthquake resistant design & construction not Earthquake proof 1. Buildings and other structures are designed for much lesser load than imparted by large earthquakes for affordability and also large earthquakes are rare.

2. Properly designed Buildings has Ductility, Redundancy.

3. Building has over strength due to considered safety factors in loads and materials.

Ductility: It is the capacity of an element or structure to undergo large inelastic deformation without significant loss of strength and stiffness. Ductility depends upon: • Construction material • Quality of detailing • Form of structure

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LINES Creating Career Pathways text Sushovit Ranjitkar

Along with different projects completed in very short period of time, ID Sushovit Ranjitkar got chance to prove himself as an innovative when interior design of Mrs. Shailaja Adhikari’s consultancy was assigned to him. This success has completely transformed the complexion of Interior Design in Kathmandu. The consultancy is in the busiest street of old Bhatbhateni, Tangal, and now that offers a state-of-the-art amenity no other consultancy interior in the city can match.

Wow design factor of the reception with use of warm lights at the entry made possible occupants and their interest pull them directly at the door of consultancy. Add enticing features like space planning, partition design; wall design has made it easy to understand why the address has become so desirable.

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Interior

In Interior Design for Interior Designers, FIRST IMPRESSIONS are everything.

The main concept behind these few projects, which we have had a chance to be involved with were mainly based on nature. We emphasized all design elements: such as furniture design, space planning, accessories and design elements based mainly on the concepts received from the client.

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For one struggling interior designer in Nepali context, to work in huge spaces is the biggest challenge itself. He says, “It was in my 3rd year of B.Sc. Interior Design when I got this opportunity to work with Mrs. Adhikari in such a big project and it was challenging, too. As a student it was like dream come true.”

When it came to the decor, Sushovit selected a variety of statement pieces, among them were use of green color that represents fresh and new beginning; the stripes and use of slanting lines in the partitions tries to speak about the career path of students who are trying to go abroad and also represent the opportunities and guideline for them who are in dilemma. The library and classroom has two green strips on the wall which creates a fresh and calm atmosphere.

He says, “She asked me to design the 3000+ sq. ft. area in such a way that it can stand out best and I tried to make it as simple as it could be. Design is what you link with the scenario that can be creative and simple. Design has no limit.” As the natural lights enter only through one direction, glass partitions are created to make the optimal use of natural lights. With lots

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of excitement, little difficulties, challenge and hard work, he completed this elegant looking modern design.

With approximately 3000 sq. ft. space, the consultancy has got a reception area, 2 counseling rooms, 1 in-charge room, 1 library, 3 classes, 1 computer lab, 1 MD office along with 1 big training hall for teachers. The Red and black color combination gives warm and welcoming environment to the reception whereas the design made on the back part of reception acts as the emphasized zone.

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Journey

Monsoon Wet n Wild Bardia text and photo Ashesh Rajbansh

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Journey

About 70 percent of the park is covered with forest, with the balance of a mixture of grassland, savannah and riverine forest. The flora recorded in the park comprises 839 species including 173 vascular plants comprising 140 dicots, 26 monocots, six fern, and one gymnosperm species.

T

he good recent news about the success in wildlife conservation in Nepal has a grass root connection with the largest and most undisturbed national park in Nepal.

No poaching of tigers reported for three consecutive years. Together with the neighboring Banke National Park, the coherent protected area of 1,437 km2 (555 sq mi) represents the Tiger Conservation Unit (TCU) BardiaBanke that extends over 2,231 km2 (861 sq mi) of alluvial grasslands and subtropical moist deciduous forests.

Bardia National Park is a protected area established in 1988 covering an area of 968 km2 (374 sq mi), adjoining the eastern bank of the Karnali River and bisected by the Babai River in the Bardiya District.

About 70% of the park is covered with forest, with the balance a mixture of grassland, savannah and riverine forest. The flora recorded in the park comprises 839 species of flora, including 173 vascular plant species comprising 140 dicots, 26 monocots, six fern, and one gymnosperm species.

Esteemed as the most undisturbed and largest national part in Nepal, it has abundance of nature including mammals like rhinoceros, wild elephant, Bengal tiger, swamp deer, Gangetic dolphin and around 407 species of birds. This is good enough to tempt a travel in there but many planning went unsuccessful due to some responsibilities here and there.

Suddenly there was an opportunity for a trip to the same place, but in mid monsoon. Without thinking twice and many any adjustments I went ahead with one on my dream trip. june 2014 / 49

Journey

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Journey

Special ingredients pan cake being prepared for elephants.

Food pack for elephants, includes rice, lentils and salt. They’ll remember you for long time if you feed them for a week, daily.

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Journey

Started the journey with a flight from Kathmandu to Nepalgunj in early morning, for further road transport to Bardia National Park. It took us around two and half hour in SUV to reach Tiger Tops Karnali Lodge situated within several feet from the border of the park. It was already very exciting trip that we drove though jungle trails crossing several rivers, luckily the effect of the monsoon was still not that strong to swell the rivers.

Monsoon flood and karnali chisapani bridge, unique and famous for it’s asymetrical design.

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The lodge had the legendary touch of perfection to meet the standard set by Tiger Tops both in accommodation and service. The rest at night went well with sound sleep. Next morning we started the much anticipated jungle trail on elephant back. The entire area was covered in lush greenery everywhere, rives had enough water but not to overpower by its strength. Since there was light shower now and then and breeze of fresh air prevented the build the heat of terai thus making the journey very pleasant.

Journey

We spotted many waterholes, favorite amongst the animals of neighboring jungle, taking pictures of the activities of rhinos and wild elephants. During next four days, we covered a vast area of the jungle and even rafted on mighty Karnali river starting from Karnali Chisapani bridge. Though the river was not on its full might, the swirl, depth at certain places and current seemed scary many times. It was a surprise and delight to see a wild elephant couple in an island in the river itself prompting us to assure the strength, courage and will of that mighty beast.

Mesmerized completely with the sights, views and thanking god for giving so much to this area and for providing me the opportunity to experience the nature at its fullest, all went fine except for few instances when we really had to plan and make use of every bit of knowledge that we have.

The elephant is almost swimming while crossing the river, on our way back the rives rose by almost a feet, it was very scary while crossing the river.

Mother and baby rhino submerged in water to escape escalating heat.

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Journey

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Journey

A smiling Tharu woman wearing unique hat to prepare her from sun and rain while working on filed and walking as well.

While returning back on last day of jungle trail, there was sudden and extremely heavy downpour of rain that caused the river, that we had to cross back home, swell so dangerously that forced everyone there to stop, bang their heads, come up with the genuine idea and implement swiftly. The elephant that we rode was almost floating, a serious affair. At last we managed to come back safely to enjoy the rest of the evening together with wonderful staff and others present at the lodge.

Terai has very fertile land, farming is main source of income for local residents.

A herd of spotted deer deep in Bardia National park.

Why go abroad, why spend foreign currency, why worry about difference in language and lifestyle, why you take a chance to upset your stomach with the food that you have never knew, why spend long time in travel to and fro of destination, why prepare passport and do unpleasing formalities at the immigration, you can find everything in our Nepal so wealthy with diverse but pleasing nature.

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personality

On Himalayan Architecture Nepal is a living museum of many distinct architectural traditions.

It is blessed with a lineage in architectural and urban ideas that are unique. The question really is of the future and where it is going to go! Nepal has the strength to show the way to many Asian countries about questions of new forms for development and hybrid conditions between old and new.

What have you come to comprehend regarding Himalayan architecture?

I see similarities between the architecture and settlement pattern in the Himalayas which I have tried to cover in my book.

With regards to settlement pattern, I see a strong correlation between landscape conditions and material culture. In the case of Himalayan cities two attitudes to landscape exist: one where landscape is followed and revered; and other where it is defied through one time man-made acts. I think great cities are a result of both following and defying landscape. I find similarities in the way city centers are conceived and produced in most Himalayan cities. This is very evident in cities of the valley here. And, Himalaya has also been the place of immense innovation and the development of new typologies including high density housing like in the valley, that were not possible in the plains. This was perhaps possible due to its unique geographical location and accepting cultures from both north and the south.

It sounds like your book covers many regions in the Himalayas. Is that so?

Yes, exactly. Actually it marks the conclusion of long research on the cities and architecture of the Himalayas. It surveys the ideas of settlements in diverse areas of the Himalayan region, cutting across national boundaries from Kashmir via Nepal to the north – eastern parts of the Indian Subcontinent and their relationship with the landscape. Even the cultural landscape of myths and rituals, perception of nature, spatial construction and the nature of landscape plays a significant function in settlement. These connections between natural systems and human inventiveness are predicted through its built tradition and this underlies the subject matter of the book.

Could you brief us about your years of research for the book?

This book is a result of my last 20 years of work in the Indian and Nepalese Himalayas. This book is illustrated with some 120 drawings: some of my own and some by my students who I have

supervised. This publication makes a case for settlement in the Himalayas and tries to decipher the code of their settlement pattern, public places and Architecture.

In terms of its scope, it includes Ladakh, Himachal, Gharwhal, Kumaon, Sikkim, Nepal and Bhutan. This is for the first time that an analytical study on the spatial construct of the Himalayas has been attempted at this scale. It tries to not only describe the Himalayan cities through documentation but tries to derive useful lessons for urban designer and planners while they deal with contemporary problem of development in landscapes such as Himalayas.

How as an architect do you see the relation between and among Internet, Society and Spaces in the cities?

Yes the monograph on Internet, Society and Space in Indian Cities, is an entry into debates around making of IT Cities and public planning policies that regulates and restructures the city spaces in India with the emergence of internet technologies.

Placing the inquiry in the built form, it maneuvers discourse from architecture, design, cultural studies and urban geography to look at the notions of cyber-publics, digital spaces, and planning policy in India.

The findings shows that the relationship between cities and cyberspaces need to be seen as located in a dynamic set of negotiations and not as a mere infrastructure question. It dismantles the presumptions that have informed public and city planning in the country by producing alternative futures of users’ interaction and mapping of the emerging city spaces.

What is your viewpoint on the blending of architecture, public spaces and culture of Nepal?

Nepal is one of my favorite places and a living museum of many distinct architectural traditions. It is blessed with a lineage in architectural and urban ideas that are unique. The question really is of the future and where it is going to go. Nepal has the strength to show the way to many Asian countries about questions of new forms for development and hybrid conditions between old and new. I feel Kathmandu

Ar. Pratyush Shankar is an Ahmadabad based architect and an author. Teaching studio basic design, urban history, and subjects of history, humanities, and architectural research are his subject of interest. The Associate Professor and Acting Dean of Faculty of Architecture at CEPT University based in Ahmadabad, India, he is an avid hiker, photographer and a researcher. His journey started when he received the Commonwealth Grant to study a small town in Himachal Pradesh and later received The Ford –Asia Fellowship Award to study Himalayan Architecture. Since then, he has published several writings in the form of book chapters, papers and articles in prestigious journals. His years of work in the Indian and Nepalese Himalayas is now scheduled to be launched by July 2014 in a forthcoming book titled ‘Himalayan Cities, Settlement Patterns, Public Spaces and Architecture.’ Spaces had an opportunity to talk to Ar. Pratyush Shankar on the subject of Himalayan architecture, space and urban geography planning.

valley has the potential to create new spaces that are of urban importance much like the bold public squares that were created during the Malla period, that are still relevant. The good thing about Nepal is an active civil society and a natural use of public spaces for social purposes like performances and even protests. This is a good sign and augers well for its future.

Could you brief us about the recent projects you had in Kathmandu?

I have recently completed one. It was a house in Kathmandu wherein I have used skylights at an angle and position so as to get the light in during the winters and block the same during the summer months. It is a house that reinterprets the traditional Newari house into a modern idiom.

What advice would you like to give to the new generation of architects in Nepal?

It will be nice if architects begin to write more and generally raise more awareness about not only architecture but also the city and questions of public places. They should be active participants in questions of development and public policy beyond being only reduced to connoisseur of arts. june 2014 / 57

art

Nepali Art

A Mosaic of Multiple Melodies

text Dr. Yam Prasad Sharma

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photo a. rajbahsh

art

In some of the artworks, the opposing images have been juxtaposed. One image is melting into another; the images have been displaced and condensed in metonymy and metaphor.

Nepali art represents the diverse voices, themes and styles. Observing artworks is getting inspiration and encountering the gems and poetic moments of Nepali artists.The artworks range from traditional to modern, and even to post modern. They are inclusive in terms of art genres as sculpture, painting, architecture, installation, performance, video arts, new media arts and alternative arts. They are diverse in terms of themes as representation of nature, recreating myths, reintegration of cultural rituals, reformulation of tradition, raising the voice of the marginalized, the women, and the ethnic minorities, taking corrective measures

on socio-political evils and carving identities of individual artists. Multiple images have been carved; multiple melodies have been composed and multiple colours are in harmony as in the rainbow. Thus, Nepali art is a mosaic of multiple voices. All the individual artists have their own unique identities as their artworks, yet, they have been connected to each other as in the carnival.

The traditional paintings and sculptures make the viewer aware about our cultures, myths, rituals and our tradition.

The traditional paintings include manuscript illumination, miniature painting, paubha, mandala, patta chitra,

Photo Hemanta Shrestha

Fresco in Bhaktapur palace.

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art

didactic aspects. Use of mythical and supernatural elements makes the works strange and unusual.The images suggest something beyond themselves.

The sculptures are in various mediums as woodcarving, stone carving, clay modeling, bronze, metal casting and assembled sculptures.

The contemporary sculptures and paintings are more subjective than the traditional ones, for they express the inner feelings and emotions of the artists rather than representing the external objects realistically.

Contemporary arts do not reproduce the reality rather they respond to their own context. There is the distance between the objects in the world and images in

Modern Painting

by Asha Dangol

wall paintings and representation of mythical divinities in realistic forms.

Manuscript illumination includes both visual and verbal elements. The texts and paintings coexist together.

Paubhas and mandalas can be taken as the instrument of meditation and concentration for the achievement of enlightenment and nirvana. The principal divinity is located at the center and subsidiary deities are in the periphery around the central figure. As we observe the mandalas, our eyes move from periphery toward center and become stable at the central divinity.

The individual viewer is supposed to be united with the almighty dissolving the duality between the self and the other. Moreover, some paubhas also reconcile sacred and profane elements, for the images of divinities are in sexual union suggesting the union of Prakriti and Purusa, male and female principles, the individual sadhaka and the almighty.

Traditional sculptures and paintings have magical, mystical, symbolic and 60 / SPACESNEPAL.COM

art

the paintings. The images and colours are distorted and altered to express inner feelings. The figures have been simplified using geometric shapes.

The unlimited numbers of shapes have been represented in limited numbers.

The abstracts arts are free from external reality. The form is its own content.

Such artworks attempt to address the intangible aspects of the human beings.

As the artworks are subjective, the meanings of the works seem to be multiple. In some of the artworks, the opposing images have been juxtaposed with free association as in dream.

One image is melting into another; the images have been displaced and condensed as in metonymy and metaphor.

Contemporary artworks seem to be interconnected with various genres of arts as paintings, literature, sculpture, drama, architecture and music. The boundaries between various art genres have been blurred. Thus, they have intertextuality and inter-art relationship. Some of the artworks seem to be unfinished and on the process of becoming, thus, they are open-ended and plural.

Their meanings are not fixed, certain and monolithic but always contingent, uncertain, provisional and ever shifting.

These works carve multiple identities.

The meanings are relative to time, place and person.

The handicrafts and folk arts make our collective unconscious visible t. Our

Wall Painting from Lumbini

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art

cultures, rituals, myths and manners have been expressed through these artworks. The simple folk forms remind us of our childhood.

The artworks related to architecture present the model of our office, residence and shrines giving insights to the contemporary architects and designer.

The experimental and alternative artworks do not follow the convention and established rules. Being avant-garde, they break away from the mainstream. They attempt to invent their own rules for expression. They are alternative in terms of media, subject matter and style. Nevertheless, all the artworks are alternative arts of their time. Nepali art houses multiple voices, identities and melodies. Nepali art is the beautiful mosaic of diverse voices, forms and traditions.

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from the shelf

As Long as the Sun and Moon

Endures As Long as the sun and moon endures, is a well researched book that describes the detail study of shrines in the streets of historic Kirtipur, Kathmandu valley and other towns that are studded with shrines dedicated to clan and family, Gods, the Hindu deities or to Lord Buddha. Apart from their religious and social significance, these street shrines also contribute to the individuality of character and the disposition of each street or neighborhood. The study focuses on the shrines chronology from the earliest specimens to the end of the twentieth century, the reasons for their erection, typology and iconography with the aim of providing a broad understanding in a wider perspective for all Newar settlements.

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Most of these shrines are reinforced by a general similarity between various types of Hindu shrine and Buddhist shrines. Nevertheless, not only does each shrine bear the marks of its own relationship with its immediate urban space, but together the shrines reflect the history and the social life of the town. Furthermore no two shrines are exactly the same; each offers certain individual characteristics and most are of intrinsic artistic value. Such shrines are witness to the continuation of the traditional life among the indigenous population. As with other towns of the valley, the Kirtipur population comprises a Buddhist and a Hindu community who have lived in peace and harmony side by side for many centuries. Although

from the shelf

the two communities have their separate identity they respect each other’s belief and share many traditions.

It is not certain how far the tradition of building small shrines goes back in the history of the valley.

A possible ancient example is the fragment of the dome of a chaitya of the form used in the Licchavi period (4th – 8th Century AD) set outside the city walls of Báhirigáon. In many of these shrines emblems of the sun and a half or full moon allude to last as long as the sun and moon remain in the sky. In the Malla period other emblems such as the trident or radish indicate the shrine being dedicated to either Shiva or Ganesh. Deer, fish, the lotus , thunderbolt or bull are to be found carved on earlier inscriptions of the Lichhavi period symbols of Buddhism, Vaishnavism and Shaivism.

Although the tradition is still alive and new shrines have been erected in the recent years it remains to be seen whether in the future fresh shrines would be set up in the new modern life in the valley. In spite of such changes in the physical environment and social habits the street shrines are still part of the daily life of town and together with larger temples bind the social and cultural identity of the townspeople together. There are various reasons for setting up a street shrine. The most important are, of course, piety, reli¬gious duty and a sense of paying the ultimate respect to the divinity, which is hoped to help pave the way for an improved life in the next reincarnation. Other reasons would be simply to perform a dharma,

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from the shelf

as a commemorative monument, good deeds, a desire to make a permanent record on stone of personal or family names with inscriptions that usually follow a fairly set formula which includes the names of the donors followed by their genealogy and often the date. Such records bring respect and fame to the family within the community. Almost all inscriptions on the shrines emphasize the wish of the founders for a better life in the next reincarnation. It is also customary to mention in the texts of the inscriptions that the act done by the donor should continue and last as long

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as the sun and moon remain in the sky.

These street shrines that were made by individuals or members of one or several families or groups associated , provides a direct link between the townspeople, their ancestors and their neighborhood community and are set up to last as long as the sun and moon endures.

The book was kindly provided by

Mandala Book Point, Katnipath, Kathmandu Tel: 4227711

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artspace

PASSAGE

SEARCH INTERDEFINITE performance ASHMINA RANJIT text ASHA DANGOL Influenced by the time she lives in, her works question the being in the passage: about the female identity raising questions about women’s cultural roles, social gendering, physical experiences and sexuality.

This work is about her ephemeral that occupies the liminal space that has been experienced but never talked about or expressed about. Her performance yarns for the manifestation and reclaiming of the women’s experiences between defined roles, between nostalgias and aspirations. It gives voices to their political concerns as well as to their most for making political and their intimate expressions of desire, joy and fulfillment.

ASHMINA RANJIT

Ashmina Ranjit is an interdisciplinary visual artist and well known name in the contemporary Nepali arts. She received her MFA from Columbia University Graduate School of Art, New York, USA and also holds BFA from University of Tasmania, Australia as well as Lalit Kala Campus, Kathmandu.

She has traveled and exhibited widely in Asia, Europe, Australia and the USA including Dhaka Biennale and Fukuoka Triennial. Honored by several scholarships and fellowships such as Fulbright (USA), Aus-aid (Australia), Honorable Mentioned-Dhaka Biennale, she is well known for her installation and live performance along with painting, drawing, sound and video installation as well. She has organized and performed a number of art events and she is one of the founders of Lasanaa and the Founder Chair of Sutra Art Center.

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store watch

Parth International Pvt. Ltd.

COMFORT HAS A NEW DESTINATION Parth International Pvt. Ltd, based at Babarmahal Kathmandu, which by now runs the franchise of several international brands, has introduced Featherlite group into Nepal by launching a wide range of office furniture. Comfort has a new destination and through Parth International Pvt. Ltd, Featherlite is committed to deliver the best furniture products in Nepal. Its core expertise lies in manufacturing and marketing exceptionally innovative and cost effective office furniture such as modular work stations, chairs, partitions, desks, conference tables, educational laboratory, retail furniture and fixtures. Featherlite is further acknowledged for establishing implementation of mega and multiple location projects without compromising on requirements of the customers.

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This is the first wing of Featherlite outside India and through Parth International they are committed to provide ergonomic office furniture and make people aware on the health issues that come with sitting in shoddily chairs and desks which can have a serious effect on their back.

store watch

Presently, Featherlite is one of the leading furniture manufacturing and marketing organizations in India. It provides complete office furniture solutions for all sectors of market. This is the first wing of Featherlite outside India and through Parth International they are committed to provide ergonomic office furniture and make people aware on the health issues that come with sitting in shoddily chairs and desks which can have a serious effect on their back. The store now has an answer to this problem as ergonomics chairs will diminish such health concerns and at the same time a comfort level for more effective result for any individual working in offices.

Their design capabilities include large in-house design studio; integrated design solutions that provides solutions in the areas of seating and furniture systems; and ergonomic design that combine technology and aesthetics to suit different working environments.

Parth International Pvt. Ltd now provides limitless extendibility of work space allowing scalability and multiplicity of the workspace. It neutralizes the rigid hierarchies and promotes collaboration at the workspace. Some products like chairs are designed differently for men and women. While some tables can be adjusted to different levels of

height for various kinds of works, this allows adjustability of accessories which enables workspaces to be personalized for oneself. Even the wire management is conceived to address the most advanced and demanding technology requirements. Privacy screens are also unique in construction, these screens also could be supported on connectors which could slide on the track or could be permanently fixed to the surface.

Through such innovative office furniture products, Parth International provides great workplaces supporting their people and their business goals.

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Sp ac es OP EN

This photograph was shot on 17 July 2013 at Ghabahal, Lalitpur during Rato Macchindranath Jatra, a week long festival to welcome rain and harvest at the beginning of summer. Rato Macchindranath Jatra is mainly celebrated by Newars (indigenous people of the Kathmandu Valley) but people from different walks of life come together to celebrate this festival regardless of their social status, race, religion and genders which I think is a step towards peace and harmony. People look at the chariot from their houses, come out onto the street, have feasts and celebrate with family and friends in the community. Festivals like this, reflects unity and the harmony.

The Photographer

Siddhartha Man Shakya, a local inhabitant of Patan, is currently studying in Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar majoring Art History. An art lover and passionate photographer, he is an SCC alumnus.

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The School of Creative Communications is a unique blend of creativity and communication. We provide a platform for those who dream of nurturing one’s creativity through communication. We offer training programs on art, photography, writing and languages.

We have been conducting SCC Explore Photography workshops since its establishment in 2009. We have been organizing SCC Blue Bag,sharing program with scholar once a month. It is located at Kupondol, Lalitpur, Nepal. (Link road to Bagmati river)

www.scc.org.np facebook.com/scc.kathmandu

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connects

02 JK White Cement 14 Kuleshwor, Naya Basti, Kathmandu Ph: 977-9851050650 prashant.chaturvedi@jkcement.com www.jkcement.com 03 Furniture Land Blue Star Complex Tripureshwor, Kathmandu Ph: 977-1-4224797 sales@furnitureland.com.np www.furnitureland.com.np 04 Beko Putalisadak, Kathmandu Ph: 977-1- 4422190 www.beko.com.np

19 Aditya Hardware Enterprises Bluestar Complex, Room # 522, Thapathali Ph: 9851007818 sanjay_kyal@yahoo.com 21 MD Furniture Maharajgunj (Opp. U.S. Embassy) Ph: 977-1-4721484 mdfurniture@snet.com.np www.mdfurniturenepal.com 21 Poonam Parquet & Furnishers Maharajgunj, Chakrapath, Kathmandu Ph: 9841278558 / 4721264 parquet.poonam@gmail.com

28 Worldlink Communication Pvt. Ltd. Jawalakhel, Lalitpur Ph: 977-1-5523050 sales@wlink.com.np 05 Technical Associates Services Pvt. Ltd. www.worldlink.com.np Thapathali, Kathmandu Ph: 977-1-4219999 29 Best Interior Furniture Industry ta@ta.com.np GPO Box: 1949, New Baneshwor, Kathmandu www.tas.com.np Ph: 4782864 / 9851025858 hkajimaharjan@gmail.com 06 Subisu Cablenet Pvt. Ltd. 148 Thirbum Sadak, Baluwatar 43 International Electronic Concern (P) Ltd. Ph: 977-1-4429616 Harati Bhawan, Putalisadak info@subisu.net.np Ph:977-1-4421991 www.subisu.net.np Market_iec@wlink.com.np www.iec.com.np 07 Index Furniture Metro Park Building, 1st Floor, Lazimpat 47 Balterio - Navin Distributors Pvt. Ltd. Ph: 4415181 1st Floor, A.T. Complex, New Plaza, Kathmandu info@indexfurniture.com.np Ph: 977-1-4430785 www.indexfurniture.com.np balterio@navindistributors.com www.balterio.com 09...........

11 Exterior Interior Hattisar & Bhatbhteni Supermarket, 2nd Floor Tangal, Kathmandu Ph: 4435419 / 4436876 extint@wlink.com.np 13...........

17 Kitchen Concepts Pvt. Ltd. Teku Road (Near to Bakery Café) Ph: 977-1-4221858 nepalkitchen@wlink.com.np 19 Kapilvastu Glassfiber Industries Milanchowk, Butwal, Nepal Ph: 071-549406 info@kapilvastuglassfiber.com www.kapilvastuglassfiber.com

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56 Yeti Airlines Tilganga, Kathmandu Ph: 977-1- 4464878 reservations@yetiairlines.com www.yetiairlines.com 62 Halesi Décor Pvt. Ltd. Chabahil, Kathmandu Ph: 977-1-4464888 / 9851050798 63 Pyramid Vaastu Consultant 244 Rudra Marga, Ratopool, Kathmandu Mobile: 9851151618 / 9815717618 mundharanp618@gmail.com 66 Bestbuy Nepal Pvt. Ltd. Kupondole, L.P. Ph: 977-1-5523289 / 5545481 info@bestbuynepal.com www.bestbuynepal.com 67/69 ATC ............

67 Bricks Café Kupondole, Lalitpur Ph: 977-1-5521756 info@brickscafee.com.np www.brickscafe.com.np 67 Chaitanya Spa Wellness Healing Spa Pvt. Ltd. Bakhundole, Sanepa Ph: 977-1-5547774 info@chaitanyaspa.org www.chaitanyaspa.com 69 Skylight Pvt. Ltd. Naxal (Opp to Police HQ), Kathmandu Ph: 977-1-4423851 info@skylight.com.np www.skylight.com.np 73 Foto Hollywood Civil Bank Building, Kamladi Ph: 977-1-4169060 www.fotohollywood.com.np 74 Nagarik - Nepal Republic Media Pvt. Ltd. JDA Complex, Bagh Durbar Ph: 977-1-4265100 / 4261808 circulation@nagariknews.com 75 Yeti Polychem Pvt. Ltd. Dillibazar, Kathmandu Ph:977-1- 4421501 / 9851004448 76 Starnet Enterprises Pvt. Ltd. Shankhamul, Pragatimarga, Kathmandu Ph: 977-1-4781945 info@starnetenterprises.com www.starnetenterprises.com 77 Buddha Air Jawalakhel, Lalitpur Ph: 977-1-5542494 www.buddhaair.com 77 Communication Corner Pvt. Ltd. (Ujyaalo 90 Network) Ujyaalo Ghar (Behind Central Zoo) Jawalakhel, Lalitpur Ph: 977-1-5000171 info@unn.com.np www.unn.com.np 79 Marvel Technoplast Pvt. Ltd. Heritage Plaza - II, 2nd Floor, Kamladi Ph: 977-1-4169122 info@marvel.com.np www.marvel.com.np 80 Berger Jenson & Nicholson (Nepal) Pvt. Ltd. Berger House - 492, Tinkune, Kathmandu Ph: 977-1-4466038 info@bergernepal.com www.bergernepal.com

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