SIGNAGE PATAN DURBAR SQUARE PROPOSAL
VICTOR GUAN
SUMMER 2019
OVERVIEW Patan Durbar Square is a popular historical, cultural UNESCO heritage site that is open to the public. In order to maintain the traditional appearance of the environment and architecture, the temples and buildings must be clearly visible in their natural forms. However, modern signs and products in the area cover detailed portions of the buildings and disrupt the view with brightly colored boards and clothing items. There needs to be a compromise between vendor publicity and architectural conservation. Regions affected:
1. Lam Pati (building across the road from the ticket counter)
2. No parking zone (sidewalk by the entrance) 3. Wings & Things (restaurant in the square) 4. Other shops/cafes on the west edge of the square (off the corner of Wings & Things)
problem Vendor products and advertisements are cluttering the traditional architecture of cultural buildings and obstructing the visibility of the Patan Durbar Square.
solution Provide signage regulations to keep advertising consistent with the building’s architecture so it does not distract from the views of the Patan Durbar Square.
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LAM PATI
- Signs are extruding outside of the shops, covering the tops and sides of the columns, especially the carved portions: the metha(capital) and cakulan(plate). - The bright and flashy colors of the signs are contrasting heavily with the building colors and removes the focus from the building itself. -Each type of sign/product individually varies greatly from one another, creating further disarray in the building’s appearance.
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- Items are not to be displayed on the outside of the building. Products are limited to within the shop space, reaching no further than the exterior columns. - Signs are not allowed to cover any carvings on the building. They may be hung outwards on the beam atop the columns where there are no sculptures. - Instead of placing physical sign boards outside, each shop may have their company name painted atop the space, as with the yellow “ENTRANCE� sign.
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NO PARKING ZONE
- The road leading up to the ticket counter for the Patan Durbar Square has a long area on the edge of the sidewalk that does not allow parking. There are many “No Parking” signs along the straightaway, and is a common place for puddles and leftover garbage. - The main purpose of this region is for people to be picked up and dropped off by taxis and motorbikes. The signs distract from the entrance as people don’t notice they are in the premise of the square until turning left towards the Octagonal Chyasing Deval(Krishna) Temple.
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To make better use of this space, adding a stand of 3D letters spelling out “Patan Durbar Square” to replace the “No Parking” signs would increase the visibility of the square as people are traveling from that road. This sign would be a nice addition to show the entrance of the square and acknowledge the boundaries of the area as people are walking towards it. Rather than having an extra bit of sidewalk where trash and puddles form, it can be beautified with a more official sign for the square. People would still be unable to park there but also be picked up/dropped off when necessary, and would be a fitting spot for pictures with the majority of the square in the background.
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WINGS & THINGS
- Signs and products above the roof of the Wings & Things restaurant clutter the building iteslf and distract from the temples in the square. - The colors of the signs clash with the traditional building and convolutes the appearance, making the building look messy. - The different brands and modern look of the items contrast poorly with the historical and cultural motivation of the site.
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- Similar to the “KVPT” letters in front of the office, “Wings & Things” can be displayed atop the roof as individual letters in a more discreet color. - Small signs may be placed perpendicular to the building as long as they are below the roof cover of the restaurant and do not extend to the street. - Signs/products can be shown above the roof within the white space of the wall or hang on the roof itself. They cannot, however, extend to the brown wall.
KVPT sign outside the office. With thin black metal sheets laying atop a balcony, you can see the logo and name without it distracting from the building.
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Instead of the current signs highlighted in red, switching to a sort of hanging sign would stimulate the same publicity but in a much more respectable manner. The restaurant would be visible from the side without the large, flashy advertisements for Coca Cola or generic burgers. To the left is a sample design that would promote the brand without affecting the building’s appearance.
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OTHER SHOPS
- Off the corner of “Wings & Things� is a line of shops that have large amounts of products extruding onto the street. Rather than using signs to represent their stand, they showcase their goods outside. - Materials are simply dumped onto the road, extending way past the shop itself. It is visually unappealing and obstructs what would be a clear walkway.
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- Products may NOT lay outside past the roof of each respective shop. The street would be much cleaner and shops would be more organized without items piled onto the road. - One sign may be placed above the roof of each stand as long as it does not cover the entire balcony on top. An alternative would be similar to the “KVPT” office sign, having each letter of the shop name displayed above the roof. - Signs can also be hung perpendicular to the columns as long as they do not extend past the roof and are placed high enough to not be in people’s way. Below are sample designs of hanging signs that would be approriate to display. - Colors and style may not be too bright or modern, as it would distract from the traditional setting of the square.
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Signs cover the square as vendors and stores are attracted to the tourism in the beautiful Patan Durbar Square. However, this consumerism cannot overpower the reason for this beauty, which lies in the historical and cultural architecture of the site. When colorful, modern signs flood buildings and streets, it undermines the traditional significance of the square. With this proposal, signs can still advertize shops throughout the site, but in a more subtle manner that respects the consistency of the architecture.
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Tel. +977 1 55 46 055 P.O. Box 13349 - Kathmandu, Nepal
info@kvptnepal.org
www.kvptnepal.org
All photographs and drawings within this report by KVPT staff unless otherwise noted.