Heritage gets a new life

Architectural buildings in Mumbai are getting restored with the help of fibre wrapping technology.

Dr V S Dikshit who has a clinic at Laud Mansion in Mumbai remembers the time when the building underwent major repairs around 20 years ago.

A few years ago, the 105-year-old building needed more repairs. "This time," says Dikshit, "the exteriors needed attention, but because the building was a classified heritage structure, getting funds was simpler."

Let's face it, Mumbaikars may be proud of the architectural heritage that dots their city map, but with time an increasing number of heritage buildings are losing their sheen. What's more, most residents are unwilling to take the initiative to do anything about it. The reasons are aplenty.

These buildings fall under the purview of the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) and once it begins work people are usually shifted to a transit camp till the building is ready. In addition, tenants also have the burden of contributing to a repair cess fund that usually triples once MHADA finishes repairs.

Though residents can delist their buildings from MHADA and get the work done privately, they still require a no-objection certificate from MHADA. To put it simply, there's too much burden on the residents resulting in them shying away from getting involved in repair plans for heritage structures.

Laud Mansion's residents were faced with a similar experience when a private contractor was hired when the building underwent repairs for the first time. However, in 2001, when the second round of repairs were announced, a new technique called fibre wrapping was used to fortify the building.

C H Khemlani, technical director, Delta Structural Chemicals, who first used this process on Laud Mansion in 2001 and then on Minerva Mansion last year, says that while most buildings are around 70-80 years old, the wood can survive for as long as 200 years. Which means, there is no need to replace it with steel that is not as sturdy as teak.

"Instead of taking out teakwood beams and replacing them with steel ones", explains Khemlani, "what is being done is that the teakwood is kept intact with just the joints." He adds, "The biggest advantage with this process is that residents don't need to vacate the building or be shifted to a transit camp."

The fibre wrapping process is fairly simple. A 6x6 hole is made around the joint which is filled with a micro-concrete mix including silica granules and cement along with a few other substances, after which it is covered with a fibre or epoxy wrap.

"The fibre wrap makes the joints waterproof, and once these joints have been reinforced, the steel beams become unnecessary," explains Khemlani. Repairs for a four-storeyed building usually take six months.

The fibre wrap system can cost anywhere between Rs 25-30 lakh for the structural work of a four-storeyed building. However, additional costs have to be endured in case the exteriors need to be restored.

In Purshottam Bhavan, for instance, residents had to pay an additional Rs 5-10 lakh for similar repairs. "Restoring exteriors makes a huge difference to the building's look," says Dikshit, who witnessed the repair work of Laud Mansion's facade in 2001.

Nishith Tanna, structural engineer, Viztech Consultants, who is currently working on restoring Purshottam Bhavan, feels renovating buildings with steel has an obvious flaw. "Steel structures start rusting beyond a certain point of time and eventually need to be replaced."

Fibre wrapping is fairly new in India so Delta is increasingly getting involved with a large number of projects in Mumbai resorting to this system. The company is working on restoring Apsara Multiplex in Mumbai and a 90-year-old bungalow in suburban Mumbai.

"Globally, this system has been popular and is widely used in making bridges," says Khemlani, who is confident that this technology will breathe a new lease of life in the restoration of Indian buildings.