Not only creating buildings but also preserving the ones that define the architectural heritage of the nation is also an integral process. Conservation Architecture is a niche that describes the procedure to preserve, restore and replenish any built form through carefully curated interventions. The process deals with the materials, structure, and design integrity of any culturally rich building.
Conservation architects are the specialized professionals who work towards conserving and restoring architecture. Their role entails devising solutions for conservation, monitoring, and supervision of the execution of work, and promoting the conservation of architectural heritage.
Here are the 5 architects who are driven toward preserving the architectural heritage of India.
Abha Narain Lambah
She is a well-known name in the architecture industry with two decades of experience in Conservation architecture. Her firm Abha Narain Lambah Associates was established in 1998 in Mumbai and engages in Architectural Conservation, Building Restoration & Retrofit, Museum Design, Historic Interiors, Preparation of Urban and Regional Level Conservation Management Plans, Conservation Assessment Studies, Urban signage, and Street furniture.
Her firm has 9 UNESCO Asia Pacific awards to its name for various conservation and restoration projects. She has been a consultant to various organizations working towards heritage conservation and has been a part of both Mumbai and Delhi heritage committees. Her projects include the 15th Century Maitreya Buddha Temple at Basgo, Jai Vilas Palace in Gwalior, the Prince of Wales Museum, and the Nehru homes in Allahabad.
Vikas Dilawari
He is a practicing conservation architect with an experience of three decades in the industry and runs his practice Vikas Dilawari Architects in Mumbai. He has executed several conservation projects and has won 17 UNESCO ASIA PACIFIC Awards for Cultural Preservation in South East Asia. He writes and lectures extensively on conservation, nationally and internationally. As a conservation architect, he believes the major challenge is the need for rational and careful experimentation while working as conservation is still a developing niche.
The range of his projects goes from historic homes, palaces, residential buildings, museums, churches, and temples, to banks, office buildings, lecture halls, educational buildings, hostels, Dharamshala, fountains, and hospitals. Some of his projects are the Esplanade house in Mumbai, JN Petit Library in Mumbai, the Sacred Heart Church in Mumbai, Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum in Mumbai, and many more.
Aishwarya Tipnis
She is a conservation architect based in Delhi who through her firm Aishwarya Tipnis architects works on architectural conservation, regeneration, heritage management, and building restoration. Her firm engages with historians, graphic designers, engineers, geographers, interpretation planners, and craftsmen at different levels and works on projects of varying scales from temples to forts. Architect Aishwarya’s training in Britain and understanding of Indian architecture drives her practical process and helps in devising solutions that are global in approach and appropriate in the local context.
She is the recipient of the UNESCO Award for Heritage Conservation in the Asia-Pacific Region, 2018, and of the highest civilian honor in the culture sector, the insignia of Chevalier des Arts et des Lettre by the Government of France, 2018. Her Listicle of conservation Projects include Restoration & Reuse of Laxmi Niwas Palace Bikaner, Restoration & Adaptive Reuse of Gobindgarh Fort, Urban Conservation Plan for Chandni Chowk Streetscape, French Colonial Town of Chandernagore, West Bengal and many more.
Manish Chakraborti
He is a conservation architect who founded his studio continuity in 2000 and is working extensively on multiple heritage conservation and restoration projects. He is the consultant to the World Monuments Fund, National Museum of Denmark, Archaeological Survey of India, and Asian Development Bank. He won the UNESCO Asia Pacific Heritage Award for distinction in 2016 for the conservation of St Olav Church, India.
He believes architecture is about coexistence, living with the existing, and responsiveness towards the building. He is a visiting faculty in various architecture schools and authored many books about conservation and heritage. One of his widely acclaimed projects is Denmark Tavern which he transformed from ruins into a heritage hotel and cafe.
Rahul Mehrotra
He is an architect, educator, and urbanist who has been working in the field for more than 30 years. He founded his firm Rahul Mehrotra Architects in Mumbai and has taken up many projects of Conservation Architecture in cities like Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, and Mumbai. His work oscillates between interior design, architecture, master planning, recycling urban land, and conservation. He writes about various issues concerning architecture, conservation, and urban design. A few of his acclaimed projects of conservation architecture are Falaknuma Palace in Ahmedabad, Oval Maidan in Mumbai, restoration of the Chowmahalla Palace Complex, and World Heritage Site at Goa.