Vikas Dil Awari Taking The Past Into The Future

Vikas Dilawari is a practicing conservation architect with more than two and a half decades of experience exclusively in the field of conservation, with scales ranging from urbanism to architecture. He has a double masters in conservation from School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi, and from the University of York. He was the Head of Department of Conservation at Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute for Architecture, Mumbai, from its inception in 2007 to 2014. Dilawari has lectured and written extensively on the subject of conservation, nationally and internationally.

Where are our cities heading?

Taking the case of Mumbai, Vikas Dilawari sheds light on the current trends in construction. “A good city is a harmonious blend of public landmarks, residential grain, land use, good quality public and private spaces, and efficient infrastructure.” Mumbai had been the finest city the East of Switzerland in the 19th century, as it exemplified these qualities. Both 19th and 20th century buildings were planned sensitively and have been integrated well with the city and have contributed to become its heritage. Mumbai was the first city to have heritage legislation. However, currently the government is not keen on conservation and neither do builders nor residents welcome it.

“If today’s architecture can become the heritage of tomorrow, then you can certainly think about erasing some of the past.”