CONSERVATION OF VISHRAMBAGWADA, PUNE
Brief of the Project: Unique project of the Pune Municipal Corporation that compliments the glorious heritage of the first school of Pune that later came to be known as the Oxford and Cambridge of India. Located in the old city of Pune, the Vishrambagwada is one of the last buildings constructed by BajiraoII the last Peshwa in 1808, a decade before the British Raj took over Pune. It was the place from where the first Sankrit School in Pune started in the 1820’s and also the former venue of the Pune Municipal Corporation. Kiran Kalamdani had undertaken an academic architectural design dissertation to think about the reuse of the historic building in 1984-85. At present the Pune Municipal Corporation has appointed a team of architects under the partnership of Badawe Sowani Kalamdani Architects to conserve the building. The first phase of the building is 50% complete and work is ongoing. The owners are funding the project, viz. The Pune Municipal Corporation and the approximate cost for the work is Rs 4.5 Crores. The partly timber-framed building is about 40,000 square feet and is built around three courtyards. The propose use of the restored building would be to showcase the history of Pune city. Given below are few pages from the Kimaya Porfolio where few conservation projects by Kimaya are on display.