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Twisted truth
Fiddling with heritage WITH reference to the article, Fiddling with hertiage (April 18), issue of whether the building was ‘conserved’ or ‘relocated’ is a confused one more so when it is also claimed that the building was ‘saved’. However, the important issue is what was achieved and what did the city and its architectural heritage gain or lose. In the course of the relocation naturally the site was changed. But in addition so was the structure, the function, the floor levels, the plan, the size of its major spaces, some of its exterior materials and the relationship of the building to the street. It may as well be a different building. The truth is that the Nusserwanjee Building was demolished. Only the stone masonry was acquired and reused; in this case in the same manner as in the original building. Another builder may have used that same stone masonry as soling in his foundation. I fail to see how this is “a novel ... alternative method to save our architectural heritage”. If we were to demolish the heart of Kharadar and all the great old buildings of Jodia Bazaar and relocate them to a farm in Malir will we have ‘saved’ our architectural heritage? The Nusserwanjee Building today looks sorely out of place hemmed in among the tall apartment buildings of Clifton. It is like a piece of washed up flotsam — some old ship run aground on our beach. What sort of a tribute is this to the memory of Jamshed Nusserwanjee. What is most disappointing are the missed opportunities. Both in making a statement about the future of our architecture as well as to take a stand against the destruction of our architectural heritage and the degradation of our urban environment. I find it hard to believe that “twelve prominent architects” got together for a day to brainstorm about the design of a new art and architecture school and this was the best they could come up with — an old 19th century stone clad warehouse building butted up ungracefully against a cement block neo-haveli that has absolutely no relationship to it. This was the first opportunity in the history of Pakistan to conceive a custom designed building for the teaching of art and architecture. The building could have been, and should have been, about the relationship between art and architecture, about their role in our culture, about the relationship between modernity and tradition, about the nature of art education and its place in our lives, about human values, about civic architecture and so on. The result leaves much to be desired. In 1963, the owners of Penn Station in New York City decided to demolish that great building to make way for the current Madison Square Garden and Penn Station. The architectural community of New York City rallied to protect the great marble and granite edifice designed by the firm of McKim Mead and White. Still, in spite of numerous demonstration, newspaper editorials, petitions and pleas from on high, the economic imperative prevailed and Penn Station was reduce to rubble. But Penn Station did not die in vain. As a result of its demolition the Landmark Preservation Commission was created and over a million historic structures throughout the United States have been protected. It would have been better if the effort that was made to move the Nusserwanjee Building had been expended to keep it in Kharadar. That effort, perhaps a losing one, might have been the stand against rampant destruction that Karachi’s architectural heritage has been waiting for from its citizens and especially from its architects. At least it would have been an unequivocal statement. Instead, the ‘relocation’ of Nusserwanjee Building suggests all sorts of convenient compromises in a pliant environment and sets entirely the wrong precedence. ARIF BELGAUMI Karachi | ||
WITH reference to the article, Twisted truth (May 2), I agree with the writer. Rather than modernizing the medievalism of the madrassas these politicians want mainstream education to be ‘madrassaized’. If the government is forced to change its policy because of the pressure from these people it will have to Talibanize all of mainstream education. This is not good for Pakistan.|
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