–WCLA senior architect informs participants about Brtish-era arsenal depot’s history, conservation process
–Students pitch ideas for re-using of restored space
LAHORE: Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA) Wednesday organised another “Meet the Expert” session, this time, at the recently-restored Barood Khana inside the Lahore Fort.
The academic session that was conducted by WCLA Conservation and Planning Director Najam Saquib and senior architect Azeem Dad, was attended by almost 150 students as well as faculty members from different universities of the country.
Launched by WCLA earlier this year, Meet the Expert provides an opportunity for students of architecture, social sciences, engineering, fine arts, history and cultural studies to visit heritage sites that have been restored or are going through the process of conservation.
Each session is followed by a question and answer segment and a suggestion slot as a part of which the students get a chance to interact with the professionals working on the monument’s conservation.
Barood Khana – an arsenal depot of the British colonial army inside the fort – was earlier hidden under tons of debris and wild growth. It was successfully restored by the conservation team of WCLA a couple of months ago.
“If we go inside the Barood Khana, we can see marks on walls against which arsenal crates and bullets were once kept. According to the old maps of the Lahore Fort, earlier there was a garden with arcades at the site of this arsenal depot, which connected the Alamgiri Gate with Shah Burj and Sheesh Mahal,” Abdul Rehman, a tourist guide at the fort, told Pakistan Today.
Later, during the British era, a road was built to connect the Hathi Gate with Diwan-e-Aam, he said while speaking of the changes the site has witnessed over the past hundreds of years.
On Wednesday, students from University of Engineering and Technology (UET), University of Lahore (UOL), National College of Arts (NCA), COMSATS, Punjab University (PU), Beaconhouse National University (BNU), Forman Christian College (FCC) and University of South Asia (USA), attended the Meet the Expert session at the Barood Khana where they learnt about the techniques and methodologies used in its conservation.
They were also given a guided tour of the successfully-restored structure.
A student, Sehar Agha, said that she had visited the fort several times but the arsenal depot was a new thing for her.
“I think this project needs to be highlighted as something hidden inside the Lahore Fort has been revealed and restored for the people. This area would look great if it is turned into an arsenal museum that features details of the phases of history it has gone through.”
Another student, Farhan Ali, told Pakistan Today that he was amazed to see how the clearing of the Barood Khana area was done by removing 123,000 cubic feet of debris and wild plantation.
“The session sure was quite an informative one and the interior of Barood Khana is mesmerising!”
During the session, WCLA senior architect Azeem Dad informed the students about how the area was cleaned using different machinery as the place, being a world heritage site, had to be dealt with care.
He spoke of the entire cleaning and documentation process of the building along with the technical designs and documentation using the latest equipment. “We had to remove loads of debris and wild plantation to start with the documentation of the place as it had not been cleaned for ages,” Azeem said.
WCLA Conservation and Planning Director Najam Saquib told the gathering about the material testing techniques, restoration and conservation process, excavations and final stages. He also informed them about the illumination of the Barood Khana and its re-use plan.
Earlier, a slideshow of the before and after pictures of the site was presented as well.
“I think this was a much-needed initiative to educate our students about the ongoing conservation projects of WCLA so that we receive their feedback along with ideas of re-using the space,” Najam said and added that they were also encouraging the students to work with WCLA on its projects for the restoration of Old Lahore.
