UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation
Context: The restoration of the Amar Singh College building has won the prestigious ‘Award of Merit’ in the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation for the year 2020, the first such recognition for conservation work in the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir.
- The college was established during the Dogra Maharaja era in 1911 in Srinagar, and its building was heavily damaged during the 2014 floods.
- The restoration of the Amar Singh College brought back one of the most prominent institutional buildings in Kashmir to its former glory.
- The project team’s meticulous attention to original building design and materials involved training a new generation of building artisans in brick and stone masonry.
- The project serves as a noteworthy model for safeguarding a unique 20th century architectural asset in the Victorian neighbourhood of the old city of Srinagar.
- The project was led by Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), Kashmir Chapter, with the support of the local government and a group of community stakeholders.
- Apart from its architecture, the building has beautiful wall murals in two of its hallways. “Influenced by the Ladakhi art, the murals formed a significant part of the building’s interiors.
Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH)
- It is a non-profit charitable organisation registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860.
- In 2007, the United Nations awarded INTACH a special consultative status with United Nations Economic and Social Council.
- Since 1984, INTACH has pioneered the conservation and protection of India's natural and cultural heritage and is today the largest membership organisation in the country dedicated to conservation.
- Today it has chapters in 170 Indian cities, as well as chapters in Belgium and the United Kingdom.
1.png)
