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Heritage
building means a building possessing
architectural, aesthetic, historic or cultural
values which is declared as heritage building by
any competent authority in whose jurisdiction
such building is situated. Historic buildings
and sites bring history into our daily lives.
Past economic, social, architectural and
cultural development is embodied in these
structures and sites which serve as important
measures of our progress. The style and
construction of a building provides an excellent
mirror which reflects the values and
circumstances that shaped it. The preservation
of historic areas and their surroundings can
make an outstanding contribution to maintaining
and developing social and cultural value of each
nation, and can contribute to the architectural
enrichment of the cultural heritage of the
world.
Conservation of heritage buildings, structures,
areas and precincts of historic or aesthetic,
architectural or cultural or environmental
significance involves maintenance, preservation,
restoration or reconstruction based on
requirements. Building with architectural
significance and traditional values are
considered for their preservation and
conservation. These
buildings/structures/monuments play an important
side in the history of the region as well as the
state in general which requires proper
maintenance. Some buildings/structures are in
endangered condition; some requires
strengthening, while mere maintenance is
sufficient for some buildings/ structures.
Our Srinagar city is developing faster than
anyone would have expected. The authorities and
the private developers and investors are coming
out with new plans and development ideas every
day. Their plans of action most of the time
revolve around allowing shopping malls, five
star hotels, guest houses, lines of shops to be
built in every part of the city. The present
beautification of lal chowk is a prime example.
A lot of effort and money is being spent upon
landscaping the area around ganta ghar and
changing the façade of ghanta ghar itself. But
the defacement and vandalism of the old ghanda
singh building at the same spot misses the eye
of the officials. Another example is the newly
constructed museum. While all the credit should
go to the concerned authority for taking up the
project which was a necessity but again the
restoration of the old building which is by all
means a heritage building has missed the eyes of
the authorities till date. In an effort to make
the city modern, many symbols of Kashmir’s
heritage are being modified with glass or
aluminum panels replacing their original style.
Encroaching upon old buildings which have
preserved our art and architecture for
centuries, and giving them a new look will not
make our cities great. Therefore, heritage
buildings must be left as they are. In case they
need repair or need to be modified to suit the
modern day requirements, it should be done by
experts in the field, using the original
material, and in such a way that the character
of the structure and its surroundings is kept
intact. The authorities and the people related
with the subject need to aware the general
masses that these old heritage buildings and
sites connect our present with our past and
remind us of our roots and origin. These
heritage buildings are a great source of
information for tourists who are interested not
only in the scenic beauty of Kashmir but are
also interested in knowing the history of the
place. One can see many foreigners roaming in
the by-lanes of our old city to explore the
original social and cultural fabric of our
society. They are not interested in our modern
glazed structures that are growing in numbers in
different parts of our city and which are
altogether similar to any building in Delhi or
Chandigarh.
Responsibility for the preservation of heritage
sites/buildings endangered by public or private
works should be entrusted to appropriate
official bodies. There should be a coordinating
consultative body, composed of representatives
of the authorities responsible for the
safeguarding of heritage sites/buildings. The
service responsible for the safeguarding of
heritage sites/buildings should be adequately
staffed with specialists required for the
preservation of these sites endangered by public
or private work. Member-States should ensure
that adequate budgets are available for the
preservation of heritage buildings and should
encourage the owners of these heritage buildings
to preserve their character and aesthetic
qualities. A blind eye towards not only
vandalism but even the demolition of these old
heritage buildings by the civic authorities
continue and in the process we are on daily
basis losing our prestigious building heritage.
Total ignorance towards the issue by the civic
authorities can be realized by the fact that
there is no department in the SMC which deals
with the heritage buildings and in the process
there is no check or record of the number of
these old buildings which are being demolished.
It is recognized that the retention of heritage
buildings has environmental sustainability
benefits. Conserving heritage buildings reduces
energy usage associated with demolition, waste
disposal and new construction, and promotes
sustainable development by conserving the
embodied energy in the existing buildings.
Embodied energy is the energy consumed by all of
the processes associated with the production of
a building. This includes the mining and
manufacturing of materials and equipment,
transportation of materials and administrative
functions. The existing building stock has been
recognized globally as a significant source of
energy consumption. However, the retention of
existing heritage buildings helps to conserve
embodied energy and contributes to a substantial
saving in energy consumption through savings in
building construction. Many traditional building
materials, such as timber, concrete and brick,
have lower scale embodied energy than modern
materials such as glass, steel or aluminum. In
most instances the benefits obtained from the
preservation of original building fabric will
outweigh any benefits to be achieved by
attempting to retrofit or upgrade the building
with measures such as thermal insulation.
Careful investigation of all possible options –
based on informed expert opinion – should be
considered before deciding on an appropriate
solution.
SYED ATHER QAYOOM RUFAI
ARCHITECT
SRINAGAR
ather_q@yahoo.com |
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