For World Heritage Day, we speak with acclaimed conservation architect Abha Narain Lambah, whose work has played a defining role in protecting and reviving some of India’s most iconic historic sites. With a career that spans over two decades and a portfolio that includes everything from Mughal gardens to UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Lambah approaches heritage not as frozen history, but as a living, breathing part of our cities and collective memory. In this candid exchange, she reflects on early impressions, ongoing projects, and the role architecture plays in shaping the identity of a place.
Do you remember your first encounter with a heritage building that truly left a mark on you?
When I was 11 years old, my father was posted to Chandigarh, and my sister and I found a new freedom cycling down the shaded avenues of Corbusier’s city. The Capitol Complex, with its monumental buildings by Le Corbusier, left an indelible mark on me, and I decided to pursue architecture inspired by the master. Thirty years later, I got the opportunity to prepare the UNESCO Management Plan for Corbusier’s Capitol Complex—now a UNESCO World Heritage Site—and it truly was like a homecoming!
Are there any heritage sites that have directly inspired your work? If so, how
The Mughal gardens of Kashmir—Shalimar, Nishat, Pari Mahal, and Chashma Shahi—were part of my childhood memories. With my grandfather’s house in Kashmir, every weekend picnic meant time under the chenar trees. Today, as I work on restoring Shalimar Bagh through the JSW Foundation, I relive those childhood memories.
In your view, how do heritage buildings shape the cultural identity of a city or community?
Heritage buildings are the keepers of our memory, the custodians of our heritage, and markers of our identity. They give imageability to a city and define its ethos. That is why even today, we identify Mumbai with the Gateway of India, Delhi with the Red Fort and India Gate, and Hyderabad with the Charminar.
Do you think modern architecture can coexist meaningfully with heritage structures? What makes that relationship work—or fail?
Modern architecture, if sensitive to the context, can definitely coexist. The trouble is when architecture is non-responsive to the context—be it the local material or local heritage. At the Balasaheb Thackeray Rashtriya Smarak, in the historic Mayor’s Estate, we built a 60,000 sq ft new museum, but even as a contemporary building, it is respectful to the old building without attempting to copy it or mimic it.
How do you see art, architecture, and heritage intersecting in today’s world?
Art, architecture, and heritage have always intersected. Each derives inspiration from—or is a reaction to—the other. Each major movement, from Art Deco to Beaux-Arts to Cubism and Deconstructivism, finds resonance in both art and architecture.
