PAST FORWARD
UNESCO awards for four heritage structures signal a rising tide of urban conservation
WWhen Abha Narain Lambah devised a restoration plan for the Keneseth Eliyahoo Synagogue in Mumbai, in 2009, there was a problem: where would the funds come from? For a long time, the plan remained shelved, until, a grant came in, as well as funds from the Kala Ghoda Association, and a corporate entity helped get the project off the ground. It reopened in February this year and was recognised with a UNESCO-Asia Pacific Award of Merit on October 14.
It was one of four honoured this year; the Vikram Sarabhai Library, Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad, received an award of distinction, Mumbai’s Our Lady of Glory Church got an award of merit and Flora Fountain an honourable mention. “From a conservation point of view, [the synagogue] was a very challenging project,” says Lambah. When they set to work, the roof was falling apart, the Victorianera
building needed structural repairs and the original colour palette of the interior had been painted over.
Flora Fountain, a grand, 1868-built showpiece item made in white Portland stone was restored by Vikas Dilawari. It was his 17th UNESCO recognition. “It’s an encouragement that keeps you going,” he says. The soaring, Roman Catholic Church in Byculla was restored by David Cardoz and Ainsley Lewis and the IIM Library by Brinda Somaya. “The inclusion and recognition for the restoration and conservation of Louis I Kahn’s Vikram Sarabhai Library marks a landmark moment, wherein we begin to celebrate conservation efforts for buildings that belong to our ‘modern heritage’ especially in contemporary India where the values that these buildings represent are quickly eroding,” says Ruturaj Parikh, architect and director of MATTER, a Goa-based practice.
Architects and experts hope that the latest slew of awards will fuel interest in heritage and urban upkeep. “This will pave the way for more initiatives to strive for such recognition,” says Rahul Chemburkar, a Mumbai-based conservation architect. “This is a good opportunity to increase heritage literacy.”