15 May 2022  |   07:02am IST

CCF architects urge Goans to demand transparency in KA renovation work

Wants government to display plan of renovation/repair work that has been outlined by PWD

Team Herald

PANJIM: Architects from the Charles Correa Foundation (CCF) on Saturday urged people of Goa to demand transparency in the repair and renovation work of Kala Academy building. 

They also demanded the government to display the plan of renovation/repair work that has been outlined by the Public Works Department (PWD). 

Addressing the media persons, Tahir Noronha, Convenor of CCF said, “They have learnt through reliable sources that there is discussion of making arbitrary changes to the flooring of Kala Academy which Noronha claimed will make the lobby spaces dark, dingy and uninviting thereby altering one of the key feature of Kala Academy.” 

“The acoustics of the indoor auditorium which had already been tampered in 2004 are now going to be further interfered with and this time even the Mario Miranda murals may not be spared. Such major changes are threatening to erase the very essence of Kala Academy,” added Noronha.

Noronha said, “It is important to remember the judgement of High Court that no portion of Kala Academy will be demolished but only repaired to preserve and up-keep the same.” 

He alleged that the repair work is going on without taking the verdict of High Court into consideration.

Adding to this, Director of CCF Nondita Corea Mehrotra said, “There seems to be a little consideration to the principles of conservation which are necessary for any repair/renovation work. The government should be transparent enough and should convey about the structural, interior changes they are planning to make to this building.”

“Kala Academy is not any mere building but a part of citizen space,” she added 

Arminio Ribeiro, CCF trustee said, “The CCF is hopeful that this repair would be holistic and comprehensive. So far, based on the limited material the CCF has accessed, the structural repairs appear to have been completed in a scientific manner, it appears that by April the structural repair has also concluded. Now, the architecture work has commenced, and given the lack of transparency, there are several doubts that have risen over the interior renovation and the auditorium design,” Ribeiro said.