Description
In 1993, Humayun’s Tomb was designated a World Heritage Site. With almost a hundred heritage buildings located in the vicinity, the area is visited by millions of tourists and pilgrims each year, while the resident communities remain custodians of 700 years of living culture.
Following the successful restoration of the Humayun’s Tomb garden in 2004, the Aga Khan Development Network—in partnership with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), South Delhi Municipal Corporation, and Central Public Works Department—embarked on an ambitious urban renewal initiative in the larger Nizamuddin area in 2007. The Humayun’s Tomb conservation, co-funded by the Tata Trusts from the onset, remains the only privately undertaken conservation effort at any of India’s sites of national importance.
This volume details the philosophy, principles, and processes followed during this successful conservation effort, intending to serve as a definitive case study for similar efforts countrywide. Illustrated with detailed architectural drawings and lavish photographs of the heritage structures, and accompanied by a CD featuring the conservation work, this book documents the monumental works that have redefined standard conservation practice in India.
Praise for the Project:
“This is a model project, and I would like to stress ‘model project’… a way of organising people, expertise, skills, and money, to produce a quality of result for a place which is very complex, very important historically, one which is on the World Heritage List… I’m able to write of being inspired. Inspired by the qualities of the World Heritage Site brought to life…”
— Prof. Herb Stovel, Director, ICCROM & ICOMOS World Heritage Advisor
Humayun’s Tomb Conservation
By Ratish Nanda, with inputs from Rajpal Singh and Archana Saad Akhtar
Photographs by Himanish Das | Contributions by Narendra Swain, Christian Richter, Ram Rahman, Vijendra Nagar, and Ramesh Tahlan
Book Specifications:
Category: Heritage & Conservation, Architecture
Pages: 168 pages
Illustrations: 245 photographs, 27 illustrations, and 18 drawings
Dimensions: 8.27 x 11.7″ (210 x 297 mm), Paperback (pb) with gatefold and CD
ISBN: 978-81-89995-96-6
Date of Publishing: 2017
Table of Contents:
Foreword
Preface
Site’s History and World Heritage Designation
Understanding Humayun’s Tomb
Conservation Planning
Conservation Philosophy
Conservation Programme
Historic Urban Landscape
Notes, Acknowledgements, Project Team
About the Author:
Ratish Nanda is a distinguished conservation architect who has led the multi-disciplinary Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) team implementing the Nizamuddin Urban Renewal Initiative since its inception in 2006. Prior to this, he was responsible at AKTC for the monumental Bagh-e-Babur restoration in Kabul and the Humayun’s Tomb garden restoration.
