Last week, we met up with Dr. Rohit Ranjitkar at The Inn in Swotha, Patan. The setting was a Newari townhouse that had once teetered on the edge of ruin and now thrives as a boutique hotel, carefully restored through his conservation practice. For over thirty years Dr. Ranjitkar, a senior architect and heritage conservationist with the Kathmandu Valley Preservation Trust (KVPT), has guided the revival of the valley’s historic structures. The Inn itself spoke of the philosophy team SMA had come to explore: that heritage lives not in stasis but by adapting and being used. For the two younger SMA members, the visit was an inspiring return to the Malla architecture of Patan, where they had first met Dr. Ranjitkar two years ago on a WCFA Studio 6 trip.
The conversation turned naturally to the work, with contributions of several SMA-ers, on the Nalwa Community Centre in Haryana, India. Led by Prof. Anne Feenstra and Ar. Himanshu Lal, the project transformed two dilapidated havelis (90 and 150 years old) into a vibrant hub for the local community. The team displayed four project panels of ‘Design, Make, Usage, and Outside’ made by Rashmi, that chronicled the four-year journey of its resurrection. The Nalwa project exemplifies living heritage where the original Jat Havelis were not museumified but revived, using local materials and upcycled waste, accommodating contemporary needs while honoring their past. Dr. Ranjitkar promptly engaged with his concerns for the salvaged timber panels in the Knowledge Centre, inquiring whether their maintenance required specialized craftsmen or could be managed by local builders. He also deeply resonated with Prof. Anne’s bold intervention of using a glass-and-steel pavilion that provided well-lit airy community hall which would be rather impossible within the original masonry that now bridges past and present, where the weight and solidity of history meet the openness and lightness of a space reimagined for today.
As discussion deepened, he shared his own trials while restoring Patan, and the group exchanged reflections on the challenges of conservation in South Asia where fragile buildings, limited resources, and meticulous care is needed to preserve both structure and the millennium old spirit. By the end of the afternoon, the dialogue transcended method and technique, culminating in a shared responsibility i.e. to keep the spirit of a place alive for the generations to come.
Read more about the Nalwa Project here.
