Seismic protection and preservation of the Newari architecture in Nepal

Traditional construction techniques in seismic areas have been characterized, for a long time,by a large variety of structural solutions based on the combined use of masonry and timber elements. Examplesof this can be found also in Nepal, where the recent seismic event occurred on April 25th, 2015 has made theanalysis of the traditional building technology very urgent. The interest for this comes from the considerationthat theNewarivernacular architecture, developed in the Kathmandu valley, presents interesting earthquake-proof structural solutions, very different from the typical timber frame adopted in other nearby regions, like theKashmirDhajji-dewari. Through the analysis of the effects produced by the recent earthquake on vernacularstructures in Nepal, this research aims at clarifying both the current state-of-the-art and the capabilities of theNewariarchitecture, which is nowadays subject to the risk of disappearing and needs therefore to be understoodin order to preserve its identity and to improve restoration projects