Preservation for the People
Mapping out urban heritage in Asia and developing a new paradigm for people friendly conservation
TIBET HERITAGE FUND
AWARD WINNER 2006
International Tibet Heritage Fund's project in Ladakh, India
BANGKOK, 1 September, 2006 -
The UNESCO Regional Advisor for Culture in Asia and the Pacific announced the 2006 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards for Culture Heritage Conservation.
Leh is the 600-year old capital of the former Tibetan kingdom of Ladakh, now part of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. Built in traditional Tibetan architecture at a height of 3,500 m above sea level. In cooperation with the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council and local resident committees, the ITHF has started a project to preserve and rehabilitate the historic town center. 100 historic residential and religious buildings need to be surveyed and documented.
As with their pioneering work in Tibet and Beijing, the THF works very closely with resident families to find ways that these historic neighbourhoods can be preserved - and basic services can be improved - without gentrification, without kicking out the people.
As with most of ACHR's coalition partners, ITHF has its own funding, but ACHR has supported the team's efforts by helping to link the ITHF team with other Indian design professionals, and inviting ITHF team members on exchange visits to share and learn from similar urban poor heritage processes in Asia. An example of such an exchange took place in October 2004 when ITHF team members from India, Japan and China visit historic preservation projects (which include a big component of poor community revival) in Bangkok and Ayutthaya .Later this month ( September 2006) ITHF's director Andre Alexander will lead a new ACHR regional process with a working title of "Preservation for the People".
Andre Explains:"Historic districts often preserve traditional social networks and traditional building skills, and in a rapidly-changing world represent values and identity.
In practical terms, old urban districts also offer affordable housing to low-income communities. All too often, when the heritage aspect is "discovered", as in the case of Beijing but also elsewhere, the low-income communities are pushed out, and traditional intangible structures also disappear."The new ACHR process will seek to identify and promote heritage processes in Asia which not only preserve and restore buildings, but also focus on a people centred approach to preserving traditional skills, allowing the urban poor to stay in their communities and increasing income opportunities for the original inhabitants.
MORE SOON on this process starting September 2006.
Leh Old Town, Ladakh, India
UNESCO Text:
This small-scale project has catalyzed a conservation and urban rehabilitation movement in the ancient capital of Ladakh by successfully undertaking the pilot restoration of a residential neighbourhood which includes a range of building typologies. By conducting a detailed social survey alongside a conservation inventory, the needs of the population were addressed in an integrated way. Through low-cost restoration using indigenous knowledge, skills and materials, it has demonstrated the feasibility for residents and authorities to upgrade historic quarters for modern living.
ITHF Web site is here