FA Lecture - Sustainability and Development through Conservation

Benny Kuriakose delivered the talk on "Sustainability and Development via Conservation" as part of the FA Lecture Series of CEPT University on February 24 at 18.30 in the GIDC Conference Hall.

Dr. Kuriakose is most recognised for his work on the design of public buildings and the relocation of buildings in Chennai's Dakshinachitra Craft Village's Kerala Section. The Harishree Vidyalaya School in Chennai, the Muziris Heritage Project, the Springdale Heritage Resort in Vandiperiyar, and the plans for the tsunami-affected villages of Chinnangudi and Tarangmbadi in the Nagapattinam District are recent architectural projects. BK is the author of the book "Conserving Timber Structures in India" and one of the editors of the book "Guidelines for the Preparation of a Heritage Management Plan." His consultancy services have been provided to several state governments, the UNDP, and other organisations.

He explains the Muziris Heritage Project in detail here in the lecture. The Muziris Heritage Project is a distinctive government project to protect the Muziris region's heritage. The village where Muziris is believed to be located has huge significance due to the large number of historic places located in its close proximity. There are temples, mosques, churches, synagogues, forts, and excavation sites of historical relevance located in the area.

In the first century BC, Chinese, Arabs, Jews, Greeks, and Romans arrived to trade in Muziris, which is today's Ernakulam and Thrissur districts of Kerala. Similar to how the Portuguese, Dutch, and British originally arrived to trade, but quickly joined the internal power conflicts between the kingdoms of Travancore, Kochi, Calicut, and Mysore, and finally moved in as colonists. Each of them has made their mark on the area. The ancient sites and artefacts discovered via recent excavations make Kerala a special place to convey the tale of 3000 years of cohabitation and sharing.