RIVERFRONT PREPARED BY:

KIRAN RAI
ARCHITECTURE 2072/BAE/12
Introduction:
Any building, parks, settlement or
any structure found near riverside
is called riverfront architecture.

Types of riverfront:
• Cultural Riverfronts
• Environmental riverfronts
• Historic riverfronts
• Mixed-use riverfronts
• Recreational riverfronts
• Residential riverfronts
• Working Riverfronts
Why it’s important:
Since our country is 2nd richest
country in water resource.
Even though Nepal have 6000
rivers, but it is hard to find
riverfront architecture.

In near future waterways can

be another means of
transportation, it’s necessary
to develop riverfront and learn
about riverfront architecture.
Objective:
• to study about riverfront
architecture
• to learn process/guideline of
riverfront development
• to learn how to develop
riverfront as tourist
destination
• to learn how to develop
riverfront as adventurous
spot
• to learn about value of river,
traditional rituals and
religious activities that
involve river in context of
Nepal
Research Question
• What is riverfront architecture
in urban context?
• What is riverfront use in
context of Nepal?
• What is relation between
human and river?

Scope:
• Understanding the use of
riverside in Nepal
• Learn how to develop and
revitalize riverfront
• Learn how to make riverfront
habitable and adventurous
• Learn about riverfront
architecture
 Literature Review
1. Waterfront:
• In general, the river corridor or the waterfront refers to the land fronting on to water (Dong,
2004).
• Waterfront can be defined as a part of a town that is next to an area of water such as a river
or the sea (Amola, 2009).
• It is the natural gem of the city and offers great potential and opportunity for the future growth
of the community (Group, 2013).

2. Waterfront development:
• Waterfront is a zone of interaction between urban development and the water and is
considered to be a unique and irreplaceable resource where it interfaces between land, water,
air, sun and productive plants (Wrenn, 1983).
• It has also been characterized as a place integrating land with water and having a natural
attraction to people (Zhang, 2002).
• water edges are most attractive water features for human settlement and in most countries
the land in front of water developed earlier than the inland areas. In the development context,
waterfront development has various interpretations depending on the characteristics of the
sites and the cities (Dong, 2004)
 Literature Review
2. Waterfront development:
• Waterfront development may not necessarily need to directly front water, but may need only to
look as if it is attached to the water (Breen and Rigby, 1996) .
• Ryckbost (2005) sees waterfronts as any property that has a strong visual or physical
connection to water with the water itself being any type of water body such as a lake, the
ocean, a river or a stream of all sizes
3. Importance of Waterfront development:

There are three categories of waterfront development on different levels which help to clarify the
meaning of waterfront development (Ragheb, 2017):

• Is local and environmental planning which puts emphasis on the water-human relationship design
and the waterfront remedy, and its objective is to create an accessible and enjoyable water
environment.
• Is urban planning which puts emphasis on the feasibility study of the development projects and
the spatial design, and its objective is renewal and development of the urban areas.
• Coastal development is national planning which puts emphasis on the development strategies and
the implementation of planning, and its objective is to prescribe the character of the city and the
development scheme.
 Literature Review
4. Concepts in Riverfront Development:
Some of concepts in river front development are as follows (Gupta, 2017):
i. River as a main attraction of development
ii. Beautification of river reserves
iii. Level of river flow
iv. Development of permanent infrastructure

5. Elements for successful Waterfront Development:

Torre (1989) identified ten elements recommended to be taken into consideration while planning a
waterfront development which are as follows:
I. Beginning the project
II. Financial feasibility
III. Environmental approvals
IV. Public perception of need
V. Function
VI. Authenticity
VII. Image
VIII. Construction technology
IX. Theme
X. Effective management
 Literature Review
6. Principles for Developing Plans in Waterfront Areas:
Bertsch (2008) recommended several principles that must be included while developing plans for
waterfront areas, as follows:
i. Accessibility
ii. Integrated
iii. Sharing benefits
iv. Stakeholder participation
v. Construction phase
References:
• A Guide to Riverfront Development
• Sustainable urban river front development a case of bagmati river (shankhamul – teku
section) – Ar. Samriddhi Shrestha
• Urban Waterfront Regeneration
• Valuing Rivers
Thank You…