Panauti Past Present (1976-2020)

The city of Panauti is located near the Kathmandu Valley, in Nepal, at the meeting point of Punyamati and Roshi Khola Rivers. This locality, tri angular in shape, is mostly populated by Newar people, one of the most brilliant ethnic communities of Nepal. In order to contribute to the local architectural, social and cultural heritage, the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) carried out a research in this city from 1976 to 1979. At that time, the ethnologist Corneille Jest incited me to work on this project. Along with my three architect colleagues, Vincent Barré, Patrick Berge and Laurence Feveile, I was introduced in Panauti by John Sanday who was at that time in charge of the restoration of the Hanuman Dhoka Palace in Kathmandu, under the auspices of UNESCO.