Dharahara

Dharahara and Sundhara, two of the most significant landmarks in Kathmandu, are components of an important public square. However, unlike the squares of Malla times with prominent religious fabric, this area is a non-religious but historic witness to the development of urban life in Kathmandu.
Credited as built by Prime Minister General Bhimsen Thapa (1779-1839), Dharahara (alias Bhimsen tower) is dedicated to Queen Lalit Tripura Sundari, a powerful
figure in the political system in those days. The tower is not exactly a product of local architecture but rather an imported idea, most likely from the minars (minarets) of Mughal India. The monument renovated in 1936 AD after the 1934 earthquake by the then Prime Minister Juddha Shumsher, was proportionately shortened, however maintaining the vertical divisions.The projecting balcony at the seventh cornice was also added. The design of the tower is remarkably simple — a hollow pipe vertical shaft on the inside and tapering on the outside. The central spiral staircase, with
213 steps goes all the way up with no landings except at the 188th step for the projecting balcony. The baked brick walls with surkhi mortar decrease in thickness with height, from 72 inches at the bottom to 29 inches at the top.I-section steel beams are used heavily in the balcony, spirally across the core and at the outer wall to hold the stair.
In close proximity, the Sundhara (Golden Conduit), also built by Prime Minister Bhimsen Thapa, is a relatively new water conduit in Kathmandu, the others being as old as of the Lichhhavi times (ca. 78880). Built entirely of stone, the conduit reflects the maintenance of highly skilled stonework till the time of its construction.
Sundhara, sadly, no longer runs on the old water supply system, the reason locally stated as being the intensity of surrounding construction work.
The entire area was revitalised by Kathmandu Met
flects the maintenance of highly skilled stonework till the time of its construction. Sundhara, sadly, no longer runs on the old water supply system, the reason locally stated as being the intensity of surrounding construction work.The entire area was revitalised by Kathmandu Met ropolitan City (KMC) in a Public Private Partnership Programme, with Sidewalk er's Traders. The project initi ated a few years ago, intend ed to revitalize the two his toric structures along with the open garden in front of Dharahara, as well as make it sustainable. However, owing to lack of effective legal framework and poor capability of the municipality, the target of sustainability transformed itself into commercial redevelopment with poor urban design. The open gardens, instead of providing a breathing space is used exclusively by the elite few who pass the enclosure of Dharahara through its ticketing counter, while much of the space has been used to build retail outlets and for extension of the Kathmandu Mall (Sundhara Mart). Whatever open space is left for the general public is crowded by confusion in terms of its entrances and by the vendors and vehicular traffic and parking areas.
This area has undergone a series of transformation through the times — from an open space to a regional bus park, to a brick paved plaza, through a state of neglect, to the current state of ‘development’. The search for a ‘meaning’ to the place continues but its essence as a transitional space and an urban plaza between the commercial and transportation node of Kathmandu is yet to be physically realised.