108 IA&B - MAY 2009
CONSERVATION IS VIABLE Manish Chakraborti & Soham De explain the different approaches they have used to restore a Parish church and a residential bungalow built in Kolkata in the 18th and the 19th century respectively. Photographs: Courtesy the authors
2 1. The wooden spiral staircase of Tagore Hall, Kolkata. 2. The restored spiral staircase of Tagore Hall, 2008. 3. The sagging roof of the living room of Tagore Hall, before. 4. The balcony of Tagore Hall, unutilised and the leaking roof. 5. The conserved living room of Tagore Hall, 2008. 6. The conserved Tagore Hall, with a traditionally designed marble flooring, 2008.
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/s. Continuity, a conservation design practice, founded in 1998 by conservation architect Manish Chakraborti has a core competence in conservation of heritage buildings and has a wide network of professional associates and is one of the leading firm based in Kolkata. Continuity is passionately engaged in conservation advice, conservation planning, and conservation projects in Kolkata and Rajasthan for the last several years ranging from residential houses, to churches and chapels, to forts and urban conservation. The first project was Conservation of house of Vidyasagar in the year 1998. Vidyasagar (whose name means Ocean of Learning) bought this 1840s two-storied house in North Kolkata to keep his collection of 20,000 books
and to accommodate his relatives and friends from neighbouring villages. Following his demise, his family members rented the house. Slowly the house slipped into decay over the years and the tenants were unwilling to leave the property. Finally the government of West Bengal settled with the tenants with a financial package and decided to restore, for posterity. The house is a load bearing brick structure with traditional lime mortar and plastered surface with projecting arched and louvered verandah. When we saw the structure, the roof was leaking from all corners, the walls were damp, the dampness was rising, the plasters debonded and wooden beams were sagged. Following a detailed documentation and estimation for its repair, the work was undertaken using traditional materials for its