Spiritual Reconstructions: reportage from the Kathmandu Valley
“Let me tell you one thing: there are too many architects today in Nepal, who meddle in the business of others and refuse to be transparent about their own,” a prominent Nepalese conservation architect told me during a visit to Kathmandu in March. Conversations in Kathmandu about the recovery of heritage and sacred spaces after the earthquake were tense and often vitriolic. It became difficult to discern hard facts from gossip, rumours, conflicts of interests and of persons. In this 16-page feature for Disegno #15 , I spoke to conservation architects, archaeologists, priests, the Nepalese Ministry of Culture, artists, campaigners and local community groups to find out about the challenges of rebuilding the sacred spaces that were destroyed in the Kathmandu Valley after the earthquake. The photos were taken the day after the earthquake in April 2015 by photographer Giles Price. Copies of Disegno #15 are available to order online.
