Preserving Cultural Identity Through Architectural Conservation: A Case Study of Victoria Gate, AMU Aligarh

Abstract

Heritage awareness is the most important part in our society, conserving a building helps in saving so many cultural identities of different types. As the world is progressing towards modernization in every aspect, especially in building construction, people started to forget about their cultural identities and its importance, and this led to the risk of deterioration in heritage structure. So, to preserve the intangible heritage serious step should be necessary to take and the best way to save the heritage is to conserve those buildings which have the strong impact on their culture so that people started to realize the richness in the ways of culture. The City Aligarh is the place which has so many stories relate to the culture but the most important story that defines its cultural identity is Aligarh Muslim University, which has a strong impact on the society not nationally but also internationally, not only intangible but its tangible heritages are worth observing. So, to understand its cultural diversity a most unique building i.e., Victoria Gate at Aligarh Muslim university is chosen for the purpose of documentation and recommendation for conservation. The foundation of the building was laid in 1885 and the building did compete in 1922 with a clock tower at its top which is not functioning right now. This study aims to propose conservation strategies for a historical building at Aligarh Muslim University, fostering public awareness to support its preservation. The intent is to save and value our architectural heritage while engaging the community in its maintenance.