Preservation of private houses in fort of Galle, Sri Lanka: a case study

Abstract

Fort of Galle is a declared World Heritage under the Criteria (IV) since 1988, and, since then, several actions have been taken to preserve its historic built environment in its authentic form. Establishment of Galle Heritage Foundation (GHF) as an organ under the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage was one of the pioneering and very important move taken towards this endeavour. GHF, closely working with the Special Planning Unit of the Galle Municipal Council (SPUGMC); Department of Archaeology (DOA); and other stakeholders for preservation of historic built fabric of the Fort. GHF plays a vital role in monitoring development activities within the fort; assisting in planning development activities; assisting in scrutinising development plans by residents and others; and, submitting their recommendations to the Planning Committee of Galle Municipal Council. The role and functions of the GHF in preservation of the historic built environment of the fort in its authentic character is distinctive. A GHF initiated socio-economic survey of the Fort of Galle, revealed that, although numerous preventive measures that include monitoring of building activities and control of developments through specific guidelines etc were effective, the historic fabric of the fort was fast deteriorating and degrading, mainly due to facts such as negligence, poor maintenance, illegal constructions, and dilapidation of uses etc. Further, it has been found that the deterioration of the southern sector of the fort, where there is a high concentration of private dwelling houses, is much rapid than its northern counterpart with public and institutional buildings. The socio-economic survey of the University of Ruhuna brought into light many valuable facts about the condition of private dwelling houses in the Fort, and, probable causes of their deterioration etc. There were altogether 60 houses, some of them were depicting high architectural characteristics of the colonial period that are worthwhile to retain for the posterity. The other houses, which are possessing elements of colonial architecture or their generic architectural characteristics were in the verge of collapse due to negligence, poor maintenance, and, dilapidation etc resulted from the poor affordability of the residents. Having identified the necessity of preserving them for the posterity, GHF, through the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, launched an international campaign to raise financial assistance for this endeavour. In 2007, the Government of Sri Lanka received the Netherland Government Cultural Grant, mainly to preserve and maintain Dutch Heritage of the Country, and the Government, with the consensus of the donors, decided to allocate part of this grant for improvement of private dwelling houses, in order to regenerate traditional Dutch Streetscape of the Fort of Galle.GHF was entrusted with the task of implementing the project. Having recognised the need of receiving expert advice from architect-conservators, GHF invited Centre for Heritage and Cultural Studies of the University of Moratuwa (CHCS), to assist them in preparation of plans for Refurbishment and Preservation of Private houses in the Fort. Necessary nitty-gritty’s finalised, and CHCS was appointed as Consultants to advice the GHF. All preliminaries have been identified by the GHF based on the Socioeconomic Survey conducted by the University of Ruhuna. About 60 private houses, which were eligible to receive financial assistance and technical guidance, too; had been identified. CHCS commenced the assignment, with an extensive Field Investigations and Preparation of Measured Drawings of selected houses. The cursory examination revealed that they had been renovated, modified and altered from time to time, without any records. Thus preparation of measured drawings and identifying original components had become a daunting task. A detail photographic recording completed the comprehensive documentation of Pre-refurbishment Stage. This paper reports on a case study of the above project, elaborating on technical implications. Project, having recognised its contribution for preservation of Cultural Heritage, was awarded UNESCO-Asia Pacific Cultural Award 2010 (Merit Award).