Traditional Urban Landscape of Patan from the Elderly Lifestyle point view

Ref.: 115
Área temática: 04 Sin asignar
Fecha de recepción: 16/11/2008

AUTORES (* Autor principal)

Shakya, Lata * - Kyoto University (Japón)

EVALUACIÓN FINAL DEL COMITÉ CIENTÍFICO: Pendiente

ABSTRACT

The patan city was inscribed as one of the seven Monument Zones of kathmandu valley world heritage site in 1979. The pattern of Patan core area's town settlements and architecture is considered as unique and universal significance for historical cultural zone.Numerious buddhist and hindu temples&shrines, fountains, rest houses are beatifully organized in core area of Patan. Four to five storey individual dwellings are clustered along streets or around courdyards.Many courtyards of these residential dwellings are known as buddhist monastery(146 monasteries exit under patan core area) also. But the wave of modernisation leading to increased congesion, demolition of historical structures throughout core area that 2003 to 2007, kathmandu valley was listed as danger world heritage area.
This paper, therefore, focuses something different point view, on elderly lifestyle of traditional urban settlement to modify the importance of traditional core area as unique space of ritual&religious as well as living space and also its assignments to build sustainability. The datas for the paper are collected by writer, with questionair survey, interview survey and field survey in 2005, 2006 and 2008.
Most of elderly spend their almost time in religious activities. Morning time is the most active time for them. Go to draw water for worship from fountain or well, then do worship to all the shrines and temples of the neighborhood unit, recite sutra in monasteries are the daily activity which takes more than 2 hours. Including the Golden Temple and Patan Darbar Square which are famous as the world heritage moments, but for elderly, these are nothing more than religious space for everyday worship. Moreover returning from worshipping is shopping time for them. In afternoon, they spend time talking with neighbor in open courtyard or rest houses and in evening also spend for recite religious sutra (bhajan) and chating with neighbors(mostly gents elderly). Thus it can be said core area are important not only for historically but for spiritual health of elderly.
But this statement also only variable if elderly are healthy. Elderly with weak physical condition has to spend all his life inside of the dwelling. Moreover as newari dwellings are vertically oriented, elderly room always lies at 2nd floor wheares toilet lies at ground floor and dinning kitchen lies at 3rd floor(This is concepted by privacy and pureness of space, according to tradition). Thus family of elderly have to deal with all living activities of elderly. By interview survey, there are clearly appeared the need of nursing service and other services to reduce the load of family.
There are many spaces like buddhist monastries, rest houses that can be utilize as service center in core area.Therefore, it is hoped that utilization of traditional spaces means for the sustainable development of traditional core area as well as living arrangement & social security to elderly and their family.

BIBLIOGRAFÍA

1) Sanday Kentro associates :Patan heritage conservation actionplan(masterplan)
2) Mohan Pant & Shoji Funo :Stupa and Swastika, Historical Urban Planning Principles in Nepal's Kathmandu Valley, 2007
3) Wolfgang Korn : Traditional Architecture of the kathmandu valley, Ratna Pustak Bhandar, Nepal 1986
4) Gerard Toffin : Newar Society, City village and Periphery, Social science baha&Himal books, Nepal, 2007
5) Lata Shakya, Ueno Katsuyo, Fujimoto NaohisaA research on living space for elderly people comparing new and old residential types in urban areas of Nepal, Architectural Institute of Japan, Jyutakukei kenkyuronbun houkokukaironbunsyu1, pp131-140, 2006.12
6) Lata Shakya, Ueno Katsuyo, Fujimoto NaohisaA Study of Living Space for Elderly in Urban Area of Nepal, Comparative analysis of spatial structure between traditional & new residential area, 1st Nepal Engineer's Association-Japan Chapter seminar on "Current and Future Technologies", Osaka, 2007.10.7 (http: //www.neajc.org/seminar_papers/Shakya_Lata.pdf)