Sister Nivedita's House

Sister Nivedita’s House is a significant heritage asset of West Bengal and India. Replete with social, cultural as well as architectural significance - this was a landmark conservation project both in terms of methodology as well as materiality.

The project began and concentrated on substantial archival research - uncovering not only the conditions and original references of the building, but of bengali households and life in the bengali quarters in general. This was followed up by meticulous documentation of the existing house including a detailed condition assessment and structural stability analyses. This base information helped to strategically pinpoint important conservation steps and approaches.

The actual process of conservation involved painstakingly removing unwanted / incongruous future developments, structural strengthening and reconstructions as and where necessary. Attention was paid to sourcing/ creating on site matching material matrices. Skilled craftsmen carefully restored the building to its original condition using these materials and prevalent traditional techniques of the time.

Location: Kolkata, West Bengal
Client: Property - Government of WB | Funding - Ministry of Culture, GOI
Year: 2014