Kathmandu, Nepal, is a medieval city known for its palaces and temples. Located on the ancient trade route linking Tibet and India, Kathmandu is essential for its history, art, culture, education, healthcare, and economy. Nepal’s evolving urban landscape is linked to the historical influences of the twentieth century, with urbanization and globalization stressing the perspective of ‘modern culture’ that changed architecture and lifestyle. As early as 1876, Rana kings travelled to Europe to bring back neoclassical and French Renaissance architecture, later establishing the hallmark of modernism in Nepal. These journeys resulted from strategic alliances forged by Rana monarchs with the British Empire, which also developed external architectural styles in the landscapes of Kathmandu, Nepal.
The Urban Settlement of Kathmandu
The primary factor for the spatial sprawl of the urban settlement was the proximity of trade routes. Clusters of residences flanked either side of the routes, and the city developed in an organic settlement pattern. While the human scale was maintained, the uniform brick houses and pitched roof architectural styles were distinct in their ornamentation and orientation from their neighbouring houses. Post the Rana kings, palaces and gardens were built in an extravagant manner towards the outskirts of the region.
The settlement began developing around the palaces, with wealthy upper caste families in the immediate vicinity and lower caste families further towards the periphery. Unfortunately, establishing the society dynamic and also prevented the city from further expanding outwards, and the central core became densely populated. With immigration on the rise, the city was forced to expand but did so by converting the Rana gardens into smaller clusters of residences.
Construction styles of the landscape
The cultural landscape developed here over the past century has been unique compared to neighbouring Asian countries. The size and placement of open spaces, the placement of temples and houses, and the location of crematoriums and resting places indicated an understanding of the importance of visual responses and social interaction in the design of settlements. The façade, with its richly carved wooden windows against the backdrop of the red brick wall, gave the street a unique image, visually testifying to the high artistic ability and prosperous economic situation of the people of the Kathmandu Valley.
The basic foundation of dwellings generally consists of a few layers of natural stones, followed by brickwork gradually layered to attain desirable wall thickness. As masonry walls are built without a damp-proofing layer, the plinth in the front is extended as protection. Stepped plinths were also common as they helped during flooding and later became an architectural feature of Nepali buildings. The quality of brick use reflected the owner’s financial status and the building’s importance. In these dwellings, the doors are relatively small and have limited access, most accessible only in a bent body position for safety reasons. Door frames with carvings and Torana were used as a dedication to spiritual beliefs. The design of windows displayed finesse, workmanship, and artistry, especially in temples which had intricately carved frames and lattice patterns.
Urban Expansion: Effects of Tourism
With natural disasters affecting the region and the demand for building space increasing rapidly, vertical expansion had taken over the landscape, capping many traditional houses with several storeys high concrete structures. Much of this cultural development slowed down with the beginning of the influx of migration. Disproportionately tall buildings replaced traditional buildings with little emphasis on artistic flair. New building styles lack respect for the previous scale and harmony that the traditional landscape embodied and have gradually begun to change the historic environment. The influx of tourism has led to widening roads and pathways, discarding the organic patterns of the initial settlement. Cement as a building material has taken over the city, with many traditional houses lost or under threat due to its incompatibility.
Changes, both coercive or deliberate, through the effect of globalization and innovation, have impacted both architecture and ways of life in Kathmandu in a noticeable way. Presently the rising architecture style in Kathmandu exists inside the obscured lines of advancement and tradition. A few typical morphological highlights of Western rural improvement are unmistakable in the design of the new townscape.
Harnessing tourism to promote the conservation of landscapes
Immigration and natural growth in the region have caused massive urban sprawl in recent decades, with significant consequences for the Kathmandu Valley. Some preservation work is in progress. However, given the rapid demographic change and pseudo-modernization of the valley, how long these architectural treasures will survive is still open to speculation. Although tourism significantly contributes to Nepal’s economy, there is room for further investment in that sector to reap additional benefits, especially regarding local livelihoods. However, the efficiency of tourism in Nepal is lower than in other countries due to underdeveloped tourism infrastructure (roads, bridges, activities and accommodation). The relative advantage of the country in the field of nature tourism lies in the network of protected areas, so the development of a valuable tourist offer together with the development of infrastructure (so that people can more easily access the improved offer) can increase development benefits.
References:
Sandholz, S. (2016). The Role of Urban Cultural Heritage in Kathmandu, Nepal, and Yogyakarta, Indonesia: Between Memory of the Past and Potential for the Future.
Sengupta, U. and Bhattarai Upadhyaya, V. (2016). Lost in transition? Emerging forms of residential architecture in Kathmandu. Cities, 52, pp.94–102. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2015.11.007.
Wolfgang Korn (n.d.). Traditional Architecture of the Kathmandu Valley by Wolfgang Korn. [online] Internet Archive. Available at: https://archive.org/details/TraditionalArchitectureOfTheKathmanduValleyByWolfgangKorn_201712/page/3/mode/2up?view=theater [Accessed 19 Jul. 2023].
Sengupta, U. (2018) Ruptured space and spatial estrangement: (Un)making of public space in Kathmandu. Urban Studies 55:12, pages 2780-2800
Mohan N. Shrestha (1981) Nepal’s Traditional Settlement: Pattern and Architecture, Journal of Cultural Geography, 1:2, 26-43, DOI: 10.1080/08873638109478639.
