MERGING THE TANGIBLES – INTANGIBLES OF HERITAGE PRESERVATION – KARACHI

Sindh Wildlife Museum, located at the civil lines, Karachi is formerly known as old freemasons lodge built in 1914, during British rule, is a colonial architectural heritage, it was declared a protected heritage site under the Sindh Cultural Heritage Act of 1994. Renovations and preservation activity were underway, with plans to use part of the building as a museum for years. The project was defined as the adaptive re-use of the old Freemasons temple into1300 m² Museum with a 1000m² landscape.

The case of adaptive reuse was executed by Asiya Sadiq and Christophe Polack to design the old Freemasons temple into1300 m² Museum with a 1000m² landscape. The ongoing project had a positive impact on learning the colonial culture of Karachi, following an integrated approach, in addition to documenting the building they have documented through interviews the social history, the collective memories and identified the informal actors and processes which inform the public domain around the site. Archiving and integrating this information has required mediation, advocacy, negotiations and participation by all concerned. This project spiked discussion of the exhibition ” Rising Tide -New Trends in Art and Architecture” curated by Nazia Khan, which explores how various sections of society interface with the city as a mosaic of architecture and open public spaces. Over time, architecture becomes heritage, whereas the public domain in and around it, is sadly ignored. This Exhibition/public event as a temporary public space was set up on-site to raise awareness and sensitivity towards intangible and tangible heritage.