BHARATI PAWASKAR
Heritage connects us to our past and there should be a two-way approach as to how monuments can be preserved and at the same time included in the future developmental model. This inclusive process would add life to the structure and glory to people’s memory. It is not enough to just conserve or preserve the place of heritage importance, but the real challenge lies in maintaining the looks and putting it to adaptive use. One has to take the best of the past to the best of the future, and through his talks and presentations, Ayaz Basrai will discuss ‘Heritage Next: A Future looking at its Past’.
“We use a technology called photogrammetry to capture accurate 3D models from drone footage, and high resolution pictures of age old ruins to create detailed visualisations and future scenarios for incredibly beautiful monuments,” states Ayaz who along with two other artists, Andrea D’Silva and Satyajit Kambli will give presentations under the umbrella of New Perspective of Heritage Conservation in Goa, at the Fundacao Oriente on July 25. Ayaz’s presentation will talk of the new work around the general idea of how one can create a broader spectrum of engaging with heritage, and how efforts in the field could benefit from reframing some of these age-old questions.
These three presentations will cover academic work as well as projects in progress, with the aim of discussing several dimensions to heritage preservation: from the theoretic to the often neglected social and cultural dimensions; its relationship to other fields of knowledge and the possibilities new technologies open in this field. Andrea and Satyajit will present their graduation final projects giving an insight into what the future generations regard as their role in the preservation of our common heritage in the ephemeral digital age.
Conservation activity needs to be viewed under wider palate of approach. Sometimes one cannot rebuild the dilapidated structure, but using the place actively can offer additional informational value and keep the place alive in public memory. The place can be used as a modern story telling event venue where local communities can assemble and interact. Such places have the capacity to solve contemporary problems, feels Ayaz.
“We have to expand the tool kits for conservation activity and remove the conflict pitted against the conservation committees and the government by involving locals in the act. If locals are taken into confidence and are allowed to be a part of the reconstruction process, things become easier and smoother. They can plan the map of their city and be optimistic towards conservation to make the best of the city. One has to look into the future speculation, how the city will be after 15-20 years, including modern amenities but keeping the heritage alive as future interests all,” explains Ayaz.
Graduated in Industrial Design and specializing in Product Design from the National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad in 2003, Ayaz co-founded The Busride Design Studio with his brother, architect Zameer Basrai in 2006 as an independent design studio specialising in the design and creation of built environments - from hospitality and entertainment, to film, exhibitions, and installations, institutional and architectural. His studio is a leading architecture and interior design firm in India.
More recently, Ayaz heads the studio’s research arm, The Busride Lab based in Goa, which works on research and design projects in the domain of heritage conservation and futures research, at the intersection of technology, design and art. With wide ranging interests in illustration, immersive media, design and research, Ayaz is constantly dabbling in the ever-expanding latitude of design expression.
The other two artists, Andrea and Satyajit are recent graduates from Goa College of Architecture. Andrea’s personal interest in the history, growth, and influence of major colonial cities in India, has led her to write a dissertation on the architecture of diasporic communities of Kolkata during the colonial period, under the title ‘Re-defining the Urban Commons, A Mixed-Use Riverfront Development Project in Kolkata’. Satyajit’s keen interest in innovation, technology and digital documentation of built heritage has led him to take up the topic ‘Interpretation Centre for Old Goa’ as his thesis.
Ayaz will be giving a talk on some of the speculative fiction and future projects of his studio at the Museum of Goa on July 28 and guide through the processes that are used to create believable fictions which enables him to explore meaningful trajectories in his present work.
