Experts to submit final plan for Writers' Buildings renovation

Experts associated with the ambitious Writers' Buildings renovation project are in the last stages of planning and will hand over the final report to the West Bengal government soon.

The facelift of the red colonial edifice, built around 1780, is part of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's "London dreams"- her grand idea of sprucing up the eastern metropolis on the lines of the British capital.

On board for the project are experts from Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) and Jadavpur University's department of architecture.

"We had submitted the first part of the detailed project report (DPR) in November last year. The second part will be submitted by the end of this month or middle of June," Madhumita Roy, head of the Jadavpur varsity's department of architecture, who is is leading the project told IANS on Thursday.

She said a part of the plan is to demolish post-Independence era structures that have cramped up the interiors and obstructed ventilation.

To modernise the structure, energy efficient technologies like water harvesting, solar panels will be incorporated in sync with passive architectural interventions to ensure ample light and air enter.

The vision is to transform it into a green building, she said.

Roy and her team are also taking into account insights shared by experts from across the globe. However, the stress is on wrapping up the planning part before any major change in the political scenario.

"Though there are some useful inputs, we can't use them all. For example, a German expert said the planning period for a 7,000 sq. metre structure took four years and implementing took three. Our building is around five lakh sq. feet. We can't plan for so many years because the political scenario may change," she said.

While the overall planning began in May last year, Roy lamented the lack of speedier action in terms of demolition of structures.

"After the submission of the first report, things should have moved faster," she added.