Old buildings are an integral part of a city's cultural heritage, and stand testament to a time gone by.
However, they are fast disappearing from Bengaluru’s streets. To say that the city is steadily losing its cultural heritage would not be an understatement. Every year, at least one old privately owned building makes it to the headlines because the property holders are unable to maintain it.
According to the Revised Master Plan 2031, the city today has over 500 buildings which have been listed as heritage structures. Of these, around 100 are government-owned. The remaining 400 are private properties. But, what if there was someone to help with conservation of such buildings or even re-purpose them to derive greater value out of the property? Will it help preserve Bengaluru’s heritage? The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), Bengaluru chapter, believes this can be done.
The organisation, which specialises in heritage conservation, preservation and restoration, is reaching out to private heritage property owners. In a Facebook post, the organisation has asked such owners not to look at the property value as being only linked to the intrinsic value of the land, and that it could yield bigger returns if it was re-purposed.
“In the past couple of months, we have been getting requests from a few owners asking us if their heritage homes could be converted to hotels/boutiques. What this means is that people have started believing that heritage on its own can have value, and that there are options available to them other than going for demolition. We want to reach out to more such people,” said Meera Iyer, convener, INTACH. However, she was quick to add that not all buildings listed in RMP 2031 can be re-purposed.
A classic example of a restored and re-purposed heritage building is Cinnamon in Halasuru, said Ms. Iyer. The heritage building, dating back to the 19th century, was once a dilapidated structure. It has been restored for adaptive reuse and today houses a cluster of boutique stores. “Given the condition and model of the old building, it can be turned into a hotel, cafe, office or a retail space. We are ready to provide the expertise,” said Ms. Iyer.
For this, INTACH is planning to conduct training programmes for contractors, masons and engineers in working with heritage material. But restoring a heritage property or even preserving it does not come cheap, and not all homeowners have the financial wherewithal to take this option.
For M.B. Krishna, who lives is a house built by his grandfather in 1914 on Ranga Rao Road in Basavanagudi, the cost of maintaining the property is a ‘headache’. “Materials are not available easily, and finding labour with the required skills is even more difficult. A minor repair will cost no less than ₹10,000,” he said, adding that while individual heritage building owners have responsibilities, so does the government.
“You cannot expect an individual owner to do everything. The government needs to relook at its town planning. Not just a heritage building, its surroundings also need to be preserved. Development should happen keeping the heritage value of the place in mind, not jut one building. Only when there are such efforts will heritage building owners want to maintain their property,” he added.