Giving The Past A Future

Architects Anjali and Kiran Kalamdani, Kimaya Architects Urban Designers Conservationists, Pune, have worked on over 120 conservation projects spanning a spectrum of sites, structures and experiences.

 

Conservation is thinking more of the future of the past rather than of the past itself. Conservation should ideally be about restoring a space or even an experience, related to the past, with the purpose of using it. The restored space should not become a museum piece, but be a space that is visited, experienced and enjoyed by people’, says architect Kiran Kalamdani, Kimaya Architects Urban Designers Conservationists, Pune, of the approach he and Anjali Kalamdani, his architect wife, take when working on conservation projects.

The Beginnings of a Long Journey

The first inspiration regarding conservation occurred unexpectedly when Kiran, a student at BKPS College of Architecture, Pune, travelled to Mandu, Madhya Pradesh, for a project on measured drawings. He serendipitously met Frenchman Claus Rotzer, a language teacher and archaeologist from Pune, meticulously photographing and measuring the monuments. One thing led to another, and on returning to Pune, Kiran did small assignments for Rotzer that kindled his interest in old structures, their aesthetics, their climate sensitive designs, and their place in history as well as the need for their conservation.

Kiran shared his interest with Anjali, his batch-mate, and they went on to pursue Urban Design at SPA, Delhi, (1985-87) where they undertook assignments for INTACH at the studio of KT Ravindran. After the course, Kiran received a one-year fellowship from INTACH for a Masters in Conservation Studies at The Institute of Advanced Architectural Studies, University of York. U.K. Kiran and Anjali, married in October 1987, travelled to York in 1988; while he studied she took on work at an architectural studio involved with restoration projects. During their travels through Europe they visited many restored monuments that inspired them to commit themselves to heritage conservation in India.

Setting Up Studio