“In his book, Hagen writes about Bhaktapur and his repulsion against concrete houses,” informs Puri, and goes on, “This house is dedicated to him for his contributions to Nepal.”
Luckily for Puri, the house was on sale when he found it, and with the help of his two Spanish friends, Jose Ojeda and Fernando Palazuelo, he was able to buy it. The renovation of the house began a year and a half ago. “Our first challenge was to remove the layer of cement on the exterior of the house as well as the interior plasters of the wall,” says Puri.
The work had to be done with much patience and care since they had to save the layers of bricks of the house. Puri therefore hired stone carvers instead of construction workers to do the job. They would remove only two to four square feet of cement each day. The roof of the house had to be completely bedded with concrete before it could be restructured.
The second challenge was removing the enamel from the existing wooden parts of the house. “I had to import special equipment from Germany to remove the enamel without causing harm to the wood,” explains Puri. The hard work has definitely paid off. The natural color of the wood compliments the red brick walls and floor tiles, and all together they create a cozy and appealing atmosphere.
The two concrete balconies that run all around the house, on the top two floors, have been replaced by balconies with intricately hand-carved wooden balustrades. Puri has his own team of 90 people who work at his workshop to make all the wooden carvings and sculptures required for his renovation projects. “By mid-September, we’ll have 150 people in the workshop,” puts in Puri, and adds, “I’m proud to say that we’re capable of reproducing all kinds of sculptures and wooden works from the Malla eras.”
Four female wooden figures in Tribhangi postures grace the stairwells at the top of house. Widely used as struts in temples, they have been removed from their architectural functions to serve as decorative elements. Another unique innovation by Puri is the windows of the Toni Hagen House. The windows have nets as well as glass but they have been incorporated within one big frame instead of two separate ones. The glass part is movable while the net is fixed onto the frame. The kitchens, however, are small and narrow with low wooden ceilings, and the ventilation systems are yet to be installed.
Inspired by medieval Malla architecture and designs, Puri considers his team to be a group of artists, and not craftsmen. He definitely has every right to say so because the restoration of the Toni Hagen House has been beautifully executed, and is a work of art in itself. No wonder, the four-story apartment complex already has eager tenants who want to move in as soon as possible.
If nothing else, Rabindra Puri has managed to keep one thing as it is—the house still stands out in its neighborhood—but this time not as a reminder of urban development but of Nepal’s rich cultural heritage.
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