IIM-A to restore Louis Kahn Plaza

Institute expects the project to cost Rs 15 cr per annum for next 3-5 years

For the next 3-5 years, the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) estimates a project cost of Rs  15 crore per annum for the conservation and restoration of the iconic Louis Kahn Plaza (LKP) buildings at its main campus here.

In an attempt to conserve and restore the plaza, IIM-A has appointed Peter Inskip + Peter Jenkins Architects as the conservation consultants for restoration study and M/s Somaya & Kalappa Consultants as Conservation Architects for the Louis Kahn buildings of the Institute.

“Roughly we would have to account for a Rs  15 crore cost per annum for at least next 3-5 years. We are open to any organisation that wants to spend its CSR corpus on this project. However, the real costs will only be ascertained by the architects in near future after due assessments,” said Ashish Nanda, director of IIM-A.

Built by American architect Louis Isadore Kahn in the 1960s, the LKP has over a period of time undergone certain damage. However, according to Stephen Gee, director at Peter Inskip + Peter Jenkins Architects, these are not irreparable damage.

This would be one of the major restoration projects being undertaken by IIM-A in its recent past.

“Over the years, piecemeal intervention have taken place. But we are in the process of collecting and collating data and will develop our own documentation regarding its conservation and restoration,” said Brinda Somaya, principal architect at M/s Somaya & Kalappa Consultants.