The ''Vanishing Heritage Project'', funded by the Ashvita Foundation in Chennai, aimed to document and preserve the architectural heritage of Chennai's historic neighborhoods, primarily Mylapore and Royapettah. These areas, known for their narrow streets lined with agraharam-style homes, clay-tile roofs, wooden rafters, and decorative balconies with grill railings, are gradually losing their unique identity to modern concrete structures.
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| Old vintage house, Kutchery Rd. Mylapore, Chennai thehindu.com |
Initiated several years ago, the project offered a grant of Rs. 1 lakh to a select group. The study included geo-tagging, mapping, and photography, focusing on older houses more than 50 years old, as they showcased heritage features with distinctive design styles influenced by various time periods.
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| old neo-classical vintage house, Mylapore, Chennai thehindu.com |
The two groups studied many interesting structures, mostly privately owned, despite ongoing demolitions. They documented homes that still retained their original architectural features and were owned by famous personalities. In Royapettah, the team discovered buildings with unique motifs and historical significance. Dating back to the 1920s and 30s, these buildings featured load-bearing thick walls, which helped them withstand the test of time. The team created extensive maps detailing architectural styles and notable features.
Residents' reactions to the project varied from curiosity and skepticism to welcoming interest. While many were receptive, they shared concerns about the prohibitive cost of maintaining old structures, such as high labor costs and the difficulty of replacing old wooden windows, main doors, etc. Consequently, many opted to replace these heritage homes with modern flats.
The urgency of this project was underscored when the team returned to find that several houses they had documented had already been demolished. This rapid change highlights the need for such documentation to preserve the stories and identities of these neighborhoods. The Vanishing Heritage Project showcases the importance of architectural heritage in retaining the cultural essence of a place, emphasizing the rich history of vanishing urban landscapes in big cities like Chennai. This situation is true of other cities across India, and unless such privately owned structures are preserved and safeguarded for posterity, their disappearance is imminent.