Even as Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) says that the Water Metro terminal proposed in Fort Kochi will not spoil the aesthetics of the area and will be in sync with the surroundings, conservation architects and others assert that damage control must be done, including by at least partly rebuilding the three heritage buildings on the beachfront that were demolished.
“Tearing them down was a criminal act and nothing but a disaster, since lakhs of people visit Fort Kochi and Mattancherry every year to see heritage buildings that abound. They must be rebuilt under the supervision of agencies like INTACH, which know the value of heritage,” said Christopher Edward Benninger, a US-born architect who is settled in Pune and designed, among others, the Bhutan Parliament and the former corporate office of Kochi Refineries Limited (KRL) at Kundannoor.
The Water Metro terminal will need only a little space if it is constructed on a pier that protrudes into the water. Such structures are common the world over. It will thus also become a walkway. The metro agency must consult archaeologists and others while rebuilding the demolished structures. Heritage must be given its due, and for that, an urban design contest could be held to explore alternative solutions, Mr. Benninger said.
A court order must be obtained to leave the rubble on site, for being rebuilt, he added.
Heritage enthusiast and former Mayor K.J. Sohan said that the space where the demolished buildings stood was marked as one meant for recreation purpose, in the heritage master plan. “The metro agency has failed to adhere to the master plan. It speaks of lack of imagination. Each locale has its own unique characteristics that have to be respected,” he observed.
Conservation architect Benny Kuriakose, who was associated with the restoration of historic structures as part of the Muziris heritage conservation project said that care ought to have been given to retain heritage buildings. “No new structure can compensate the value of heritage structures,” he said and added that he was willing to guide KMRL, if needed.
Travel guide-turned-heritage enthusiast Thaha Ibrahim showed images of a three-storey historic structure that once faced the beachfront, whose remnants lay beneath the ground where the Water Metro terminal is envisaged.
KMRL sources said that the revised design of the terminal had taken care not to disrupt the aesthetics of the beachfront in any way. It will be published in a few days, they added.
