Lahore: A Framework for Urban Conservation: Integrated Planning and Monument Conservation (2013-17)

In 2017, the ‘Walled City of Lahore: Master Conservation and Redevelopment Plan’ (MCRP) was prepared in response to the mandate of the WCLA as a joint in-house initiative of AKTC and the WCLA proposing  an array of strategic goals and corresponding policies to preserve the Walled City’s distinct character and identity and to mitigate  external pressures and the threats of negative developments. This plan also includes the development, improvement and maintenance of municipal services and infrastructure.

Rabi, Maryam. “Conservation of the Shahi Hammam.” Lahore: A Framework for Urban Conservation, edited by Philip Jodidio, 177-190. Munich: Prestel, 2019.

The Shahi Hammam is a seventeenth-century Mughal-period public bathhouse located just inside the Delhi Gate of the historic Walled City of Lahore. The project to conserve the Shahi Hammam was initiated in 2013. One of the few surviving Mughal-period public bathing establishments, the monument was in an extreme state of disrepair caused over time by neglect and mismanagement. Following documentation and analysis, AKTC rehabilitated the building in anew function as a museum site. WCLA is now responsible for its daily operations and maintenance.

Khan, Masood. “Conservation of the Wazir Khan Mosque and Chowk.” Lahore: A Framework for Urban Conservation, edited by Philip Jodidio, 191-209. Munich: Prestel, 2019.

Built in 1634, the congregational mosque of Wazir Khan is one of several monuments that were located along the route that the Mughal nobility traversed as they entered the city and made their way to the royal residence in Lahore Fort. In 2009 AKTC carried out a comprehensive documentation and condition and risk assessment of the mosque. It showed that the building was in bad condition reflecting decades of indifferent management, lack of technical and financial resources, the resulting inadequate conservation and upkeep. Work on the rehabilitation of the seventeenth-century urban square began in October 2015. The original Mughal-period floor was exposed after careful unearthing and restored together with the steps leading up to the entrance. In 2017, the government of Punjab approved a five-year project, consists of the rehabilitation the neighbourhood context, and the conservation of the monument itself. The North Façade conservation was its initial project.

---

Source: Aga Khan Trust for Culture