Thursday, July 19, 2018

Architecture Exhibition
A collective report



Nepal has a long history of wonderful architecture. The three oldest Nepali architecture styles are the pagoda, shikhara and the stupa. Nepal imported the shikhara style and its unique adaptations include the Krishna Mandir while, the pagoda structures such as Nyatapola are among masterpieces of architecture and on the world heritage site list.



That was the past and now as a nation, our architectural geniuses have arrived and they are all over the world. Our architectural artists and engineers are practicing in the finest organization of the America, Europe and Asia contributing towards the making of the best human architectural achievements around the world.

And some of the best engineers got their education from the Pulchowk Engineering Campus which is probably considered the best architectural college in Nepal. That is where we went for a visit.

And from 13 July to 15 July an architecture exhibition was held there. This was their 12th architecture exhibition. There were all of us, our three year old Chuntu or Neela, our four year old Vidheha to our older Sanket dada who is 14. It would be a great outing for sure.

What did we see, a bamboo structure that was made for spatial recognition, places narrow, and places wide and high, so the third year students who made it said. In fact we go to talk to the designer who came straight after painting some stuff and had paint daubs all over him!

That was the entry point.


Then we went through an art show and we got to vote for the artwork that we liked best. Next was another installation around a pond that was made with bamboo and white rope. It was spectacular, the contrast against the greens was stark. The shapes were like upside down cones.

Then came the photography exhibition. Here, too, we got to vote for the images that we liked best. It was quite interesting that many of the images were of places we had already been to and they looked so different when presented as art, photographs and architectural models. The photographs were all in black and white and that made them even more interesting. We like the image of feet that were tied with chain and jewelry best.

Then came more artwork; stalls by different construction companies such as iron rods for construction, plumbing, water safety; images of human species and their progress from ape to homo sapiens; another installation.


The installation was interesting as it was made with white ribbon. We got to walk through and it was very interesting negotiating the space. Next came a perspective presentation of height including being inside tall halls to being inside narrow spaces.

Once out of this area, we got to see hundreds of models of houses, living spaces, kindergarten schools, resort complexes for healing, and much more. It was interesting seeing these and so many of them and comparing their geometric shapes.

Then came product designs that used lighting also for highlights. We came down the stairs and reached models presented by Purbanchal University student engineers. Then we saw traditional buildings from the Terai and from the valley and other places. Some of them were large.


Last but not the least was a special presentation of international and national architectural design presented as a chess board piece. That was an amazing experience. The international buildings such as the tower of London (the Big Ben) were presented as pawns, the buildings of Paris, Dubai, Shanghai, Malaysia that were the most remarkable were presented in all black. The architectural masterpieces of Nepal including the Nyatapola, Boudha, Bisket jatra rath, Dharahara, and the patis were presented.

The Architecture Exhibition
by Vidheha Ranjan
We saw a bamboo sticks arranged in a way that was amazing. The color was yellowish and black.
We looked at plumbing equipment.
We saw humans from different ages.
We saw artwork and we took pictures.
We looked at the house models and everybody liked them.
We were at the Puchowk Engineering Campus.

Near the fish pond there were installations made of bamboo and white rope. That was very interesting. There were three of them of the same shape. They looked like nets.

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