Where heritage lives

With 18 UNESCO Asia Pacific Awards for Cultural Preservation and over 55 small and iconic building restorations to his credit, Vikas Dilawari’s plate is more than full. It’s an arduous load that he’s been willing to carry ever since he embarked on conservation architecture, a field barely recognised in the mid 1980s. He began as an apprentice with premier conservationist Ved Segan, known for restoring Shimla’s quixotic Gothic-style Gaiety Theatre.

Vikas Dilawari | Photo Credit: Special arrangement

There’s been a lot of looking back at history ever since. For Dilawari, it has been a mission to convince clients, establishments, developers and governing bodies that restoring old buildings is actually a sustainable pathway. In India’s financial capital, where redevelopment is seen as prime for the economy, salvaging older structures is never a welcome proposition. And so, when Bombay High Court recently (October 2024) stayed the implementation of guidelines by the State Government and BMC that would raise the height of the Marine Drive skyline to 15 stories, deeming this unsustainable, this is a win for Dilawari’s tribe.

Restoration work on at Mumbai’s Rajabai Clock Tower, in 2021. | Photo Credit: Vivek Bendre

A core argument of the PIL by several residents’ groups was that Marine Drive is a heritage precinct that needs to be preserved. It’s a wake-up call for the nation, that the past is precious and irreplaceable for a city’s experience of culture and history. Take the interesting story about the Rajabai Clock Tower, which was built in 1878 by British architect Sir George Gilbert Scott in Venetian-Gothic style. Premchand Roychand Jain, founder of the Bombay Stock Exchange, donated part of the funds with a caveat: the tower should be named after his mother, Rajabai. From inside the University of Mumbai’s campus, at 285 feet, the tower has captivated Mumbaites for over a century, at one time being the tallest building. It was a tall order to restore the Clock Tower. A team of firms were involved, primarily SNK Consultants and KSA Lighting, completing it in 2021. Dilawari’s firm was responsible for the stained-glass craftsmanship, which they specially revived.

The interior view of the hall at Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, Mumbai. | Photo Credit: Vivek Bendre

For a conservation team, the job can be slow and tiresome, taking from anywhere over three to 10 years, often working with tight budgets, navigating multiple channels and bureaucracy to revive traditional practices that are all but extinct. For one project, Dilawari’s firm went through the painstaking process to make lime wash, that is no longer available, by sourcing the best lime from Rajasthan’s Sikar region. They sourced traditional craftsmen from Vasai to do gold work and gilding for the Corporation Hall of the BMC, which had burnt down in a fire in 2000. Not only did they revive a lost art, the craftsmen who had done gilding for three generations were back in business again.

Flora Fountain, Mumbai. | Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStock

“One of the pitfalls of conservation, is that beautification takes precedence,” says Dilawari, who believes in preserving the sanctity of the building. They do this as far as possible, beyond the ask, solving curious mysteries like in Flora Fountain, where many parts of the Goddess Flora were damaged such as the head, neck, hands and nose. Built in 1864, the fountain is 38 feet high with 16 water spouts. But there were no structural plans available. “The plumbing was not functioning, and the water was not flowing,” says Dilawari who worked closely with INTACH. It was when they opened the central drum that they were able to locate the source of the problem, the engineering mechanism and the leaks in old pipes. Dilawari is ecstatic with their holistic intervention. “Now the water flows 24x7.”

Bhau Daji Lad Museum in Mumbai. | Photo Credit: Paul Noronha

How can architects convince influential bodies that conservation is actually economical, sustainable and far-sighted? The best advertisement has always been the proof that it works. Says Dilawari, “Bhau Daji Lad Museum is a great example — so many people started visiting after restoring. When the museum had increased footfall, the establishment was convinced to get into the next phase of repair work, and expand.” One of the key factors that ushered in a new phase was the public-private partnership model of Bhau Daji Lad between Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai, the Jamnalal Bajaj Foundation and INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage). There are lessons to be learned in this cross-pollination between citizen’s and governance bodies acting in tandem for the greater good. The museum won the UNESCO Asia Pacific Heritage Award of Excellence for Conservation in 2005.

For Dilawari, heritage conservation is not just about an iconic piece of architecture. It’s about re-establishing the roots of place giving communities a sense of belonging. It’s about lives and cities in balance — playing cricket on a maidan, walking down your familiar street and communing with your decades-old neighbours. And so, when Sethna Building off Wadia Road, a dilapidated tenement that was home to several old residents, was no longer habitable, Dilawari stepped in, taking on the challenges of a low-income project. “The restoration was so economical that the Chairman of Garib Zarthosthiyona Rehethan Fund Trust, gave us four more projects.”

Esplanade House, Mumbai | Photo Credit: Special arrangement

Another prized project for Dilawari is Esplanade House, the former residence of Jamsetji Tata in Fort, which he restored for adaptive reuse. Built in 1887, Esplanade House was one of the first to have an elevator, electricity and concealed wiring. The charm of Esplanade House is in its multifaceted elevations, each one different and extraordinarily detailed. From its filigree chajjas, Roman mosaic floors, cast iron railings and stucco work to etched glass and inlay works, the splendid mansion is a feast to behold but a monumental task for a conservation architect. Commissioned by R.D. Sethna Scholarship Fund, who are the trustees, it took 10 years to restore, starting in 2004. For Indian society, with modern aspirations rather than being history-loving, Dilawari’s “peeling off the surface of garish newly-added paint to find gold” is the perfect metaphor to reveal such buried pasts, which as he maintains, must be in balance with future progress for a city to be sustainable.

Conscious Collective is till December 15 in Mumbai.

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The writer is a brand strategist with a background in design from SAIC and NID.