Conference: Government working on adaptive usage of heritage buildings, says minister

Efforts being made to carry out an audit of all heritage buildings

LAHORE: The government is working on a plan regarding adaptive usage of some of the heritage buildings, said Federal Minister for Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mehmood.

He expressed these views on Saturday while addressing a roundtable at the National College of Arts. The conference was organised in joint collaboration with the Architects Regional Council Asia (ARCASIA) and the Vicegrad 4 Architectural Foundation.

He said that efforts were being made to carry out an audit of each and every heritage building in addition to making a catalogue. Once the audit is complete, it will be easy to determine where talent can be utilised to preserve these heritage sites, he stated.

The minister said that the country is home to Indus Valley civilisations such as Mohenjodaro and Harrapa. He added that many places in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the northern part of the county represent the Buddhist Gandhara civilisation.

“Lahore is reflective of heritage; the city also has colonial era buildings,” said Mehmood. We have challenges but our heritage needs to be conserved, he stressed.

He maintained that it has been decided that heritage sites will be open to the public.

A large number of people visited the governor houses when they were opened. Lahore governor house will be transformed so that guided tours can be made possible, he said

Earlier, Yousuf Ghouri, an architect, said that Lahore is the perfect place to hold the 3rd heritage conference. He said that he was sure that the guests would experience Lahore in its true spirit.

ARCASIA President Jehangir Khan Sherpao said that all the delegates will share ideas on how heritage related matters can be improved further.

Institute of Architects Pakistan President Ali Zafar Qazi said that the government was taking sincere steps for the best way forward and efforts were being made on housing and heritage related matters.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 28^th, 2018.