INTACH - Pondicherry

Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage Pondicherry

INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage) is an all India organisation, with headquarters in New Delhi, dedicated to heritage conservation and awareness. It has more than 140 chapters all over the country.

The INTACH chapter was started in Pondicherry in 1984. The INTACH Conservation Cell was set up in 1998 with an initial grant-in-aid from the Town and Country Planning Department. Since then, it has been working with the Government of Pondicherry and the public to conserve the architectural heritage and townscape of Pondicherry.

INTACH collaborates with Institut français de Pondichéry (IFP) and Ecole francaise d’Extrême Orient (EFEO) on various projects. It was the late Françoise l'Hernault (1937-1999) of EFEO who initiated the movement to protect the architectural heritage of Pondicherry. This work is now being continued by a team of dedicated architects, engineers and other interested persons.

Model Street Restoration

Achieving Urban Economic and Environmental Goals through Heritage Preservation Initiatives

Today Pondicherry is highly urbanised with over two-thirds of the population living in urban areas. The increase in urban population density during the last two decades has led to severe stress on the infrastructure facilities and urban amenities, shortage in housing, traffic congestion, degraded socio-economic conditions and deterioration of the environment and the quality of life.

INTACH Heritage Center

The building, about 150 years old, is one of the few surviving examples of a Franco-Tamil House in Pondicherry. The synthesis of French and Tamil architectural styles has given rise to "Franco-Tamil architecture", where the ground floor displays features of Tamil architecture such as the thinnai (a masonry bench), thalvaram (a lean-to-roof in the façade), etc.

While the first floor displays French influence showing pilasters, masonry columns with capitals, arched windows, plaster decorations and end ornament elements.

Beach Road Proposal

The project consists of three important components: the Beautification of the Beach Road, the Restoration of all Heritage Buildings along the Beach Road and the improvement of the Boulevard along the Subbaiya Salai till the botanical Gardens.

Goldsmith's Street Restorations

The four houses being too small in themselves had to be redesigned and interconnected to accommodate more facilities to suite the requirements of an office, like office rooms, meeting halls, pantries, dining spaces, restrooms and toilets. Thus came the decision to connect the houses through common amenities, while following the policy of least intervention with the existing structure in conservation.