Synopsis:

Conversion Of Traditional House Into Tourist Accommodations In Patan City: An Approach Of Contemporary City Transformations.

The contemporary urban built form is continuously challenged and contested by complex societal needs within which it is shaped. As a result, the city continuously struggles to provide the spaces for varied functional needs and activities, based on the demands and needs. With advancement of technology, time has transformed towards network based society, with free-flow of people and their knowledges, connecting people around the world, and this has asserted the feeling of cosmopolitanisms. In this context, as any other cities around the world, Patan city in Kathmandu, is also challenged with the modern affects and demands and having said that, the historic buildings are also continuously challenged with the nexus between modern needs and their significance of historic values or ethos. With time, the core of Patan is undergoing transformations from its homogeneous social organizations to more diverse and heterogeneous social belief and interactions and thus, the city, itself is undergoing different changes, echoing changes in society, economy and politics. Among many contemporary transformations, the article is mainly aimed to discuss the aspects of the transformations of family heritage buildings to the tourist accommodations as part of contemporary changes in the core city and to reflect on pros and cons of the process. The article further tries to shed light on the necessity of government and concerned institutions to integrate this process in holistic approach of heritage management.The write up is backed on the basis of general interviews and discussions with some of the key informants along with site visit and site observations. My sincere gratitude to Ms. Chandra Shova Shakya, Senior Architect, Heritage and conservation unit, Lalitpur Municipality; Dr. Rohit K. Ranjitkar, Programme Director, Kathmandu Valley Preservation Trust; and Mr. Jiten Shrestha, Cofounder, Designer, Cosy Nepal; for sharing their knowledges, experiences and views.

Original version of the article is published in Spaces magazine, art and architecture magazine of Nepal, May 2018