PRESERVATION OF PRIVATE HOUSES IN FORT OF GALLE, SRI LANKA:A CASE STUDY

摘要

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