- Modelhouse
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Namuna Ghar (The Model House) in Bhaktapur is a typical traditional Newari house, which had been neglected for a long time, until Mr Rabindra Puri decided to buy and renovate it. Having a great passion for Newari architecture, Mr Puri believed that he needed to set an example in order to convince other home owners to restore their houses, rather than to demolish and rebuild. The house was totally neglected and it was in a very bad state. Nobody lived in the house for ten years and there were rumours that the house was haunted. It was used as a chicken farm for the last five years before it was restored. When the restoration work started certain elements were found which indicated the house to be about 150 years old.
The house has been restored in its original shape, reusing most of the materials. The weakest part of the house had to be demolished and rebuilt in traditional style. It was a major challenge to save all the wooden frames, windows and bricks and the workers had to be repeatedly told to be very cautious. Only very few materials and materials for modern facilities, like the bathroom, are new. For the interior decoration traditional and local materials have been used. The restoration methodology was totally traditional. Some modern earthquake resistant measures have been also adopted.
The area of the project is 259.21 square meters but the house is built in an area of 84.8 square meters and there is a garden and a lawn in front of the house. The total cost in restoring the house is 17,000 US$ which was financed by its owner.
The house was reconstructed in a time span of about a year and a half. The construction work was started in September 1999 and it was completed in 2001 March.
Awards and Appreciation
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization UNESCO has recognized the outstanding restoration of Namuna Ghar, Bhaktapur at a ceremony held on 24 October 2005. The conservation of this private building was awarded an Honourable Mention in the 2004 annual UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards.The head of the UNESCO Office in Kathmandu, Ms. Koto Kanno, presented the award to Mr Rabindra Puri, owner of the Namuna Ghar.
Total of 37 entries were received on 2004 from 12 countries and administrative areas in the Asia-Pacific region. A variety of types of projects were submitted for the Awards, including: seven religious buildings, fourteen institutions, eight residential buildings, three commercial projects, three urban conservation programmes, and two cultural landscapes.
The house became so popular in such a short time, already in June 2001 the house was declared a model house from the Bhaktapur Municipality. The appreciations and success of the project were proven by the visitors of the house (thousands), articles written by almost all the newspaper of Nepal and 5 different documentary films shown by Nepal Television and Channel Nepal as well as by an Indian Channel called B4U Music.
Summary
Namuna Ghar set an example that how one could maintain the ancient architectural method building a house using the modern amenities without destroying its ancient looks and values. Many foreigners as well as Nepalese people come to visit the house. That means the house is more or less like a museum. Exhibitions and cultural events are also organized in the house. The house has also got a guest room, which is available for scholars who comes to Bhaktapur for the studies and researches.
References
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