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WORK

WORLD HERITAGE IN INDIA

ICOMOS, AGA KHAN TRUST FOR CULTURE

An exhaustive colour palate that represented India across its length and breadth was developed with a set of  primary and coordinating colours. These colours were then assigned to each monument and to its cultural reference. The information design that evolved was a set of words, quotation, time-lines, artistic renderings and photography introducing each Heritage site as a concept map. The intent was to transport the audience to the time of its conception and to the context. The spatial design was in the form of a way-finding passage to Indian Heritage with a series of info-walls of each Heritage zone.
The team created a story around the importance of preservation of heritage, the standards and the techniques for each type of cultural heritage property: buildings, historic cities, cultural landscapes and archaeological sites. The translation was an exploration of emotions, colours, words, motifs and imagery. December took a poetic approach to create a visual narrative. A glossary of words was developed that encapsulated the essence of each Heritage site. These words used boldly as the key design elements to draw the viewer in became a metaphor to describe the cultural character of India. Emotive references and quotes to the monuments evoked the essence of architecture and what it meant to the people of the time replaced the factual details that could be referenced anywhere.

CLIENT

ICOMOS, Aga Khan Trust for Culture

DOMAIN

Heritage,  Culture, Architectural Conservation

SCOPE OF WORK

Exhibition Design, Information Design, Graphics

International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) is a prestigious global non-government organisation dedicated to promoting the application of theory, methodology, and scientific techniques to the conservation of the architectural and archaeological heritage world over. New Delhi hosted the general assembly of this global body. As part of this event, December collaborated with Aga Khan Trust for Culture to curate  and design the exhibition - Unity and Diversity: World Heritage in India. The exhibition, organised by ICOMOS India and Aga Khan Trust for culture and supported by Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, showcased and celebrated UNESCO World Heritage sites in India. The exhibition addressed the interdisciplinary exchange of  architects, historians, archaeologists, art historians, geographers, anthropologists, engineers and town planners on the subject of, 'cultural heritage practice in India: protection, conservation and integration'.

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