Due to uncontrolled growth in the urban areas of Kathmandu valley, the historic centres are rapidly losing its traditional urban fabric replacing the
rich vernacular architecture with unsympathetic and mediocre modern buildings. These invaluable architectural heritages that have been included in the
UNESCO World Heritage List are part of our identity. In order to preserve this heritage and also support the lagging tourism activities in Patan, PTDO
proposed a scheme to encourage homeowners to conserve and maintain their buildings, at the same time generate income from them by converting their
residences to quality tourist accommodations. This scheme was presented at the Donor’s Meet in 1995 organised jointly by UNESCO World Heritage Centre
and HMG Department of Archaeology.
This innovative idea to preserve the architectural heritage and increase economic activities that supported the tourism industry, a major source of
income for Nepal was much appreciated at this gathering. As a result of this meet, in 1998 the National Federation of UNESCO Associations in Japan
(NFUAJ) showed interest in this project and agreed to fund two buildings for this project. Two excellent examples of Newari architecture were selected
to be renovated through this project, the Shrestha House and the Rajbhandari House. Both these projects are at the last stages of their restoration
works and will be in operation very soon.