The Center for Heritage Initiative (CHI) is a multidisciplinary institutional Center for research & consultancy with expertise in the built character heritage sector. CHI was instituted in the year 2013 at Dayananda Sagar College of Architecture, Dayananda Sagar Institutions, Bengaluru.
Center’s vision is to understand and spread India’s cultural heritage including its linkages beyond political boundaries. For the purpose of the Center, Cultural heritage is understood to be sites like architectural monuments, archaeological sites, group of buildings, historical city centers and townscapes. Here it is to be noted that ‘site’ encompasses all its aspects including the intangible (communities, traditions, crafts, rituals, etc.) and its relationship to tangibles.
The Center for Heritage Initiative (CHI) is a multidisciplinary institutional Center for research & consultancy with expertise in the built character heritage sector. CHI was instituted in the year 2013 at Dayananda Sagar College of Architecture, Dayananda Sagar Institutions, Bengaluru.
Center’s vision is to understand and spread India’s cultural heritage including its linkages beyond political boundaries. For the purpose of the Center, Cultural heritage is understood to be sites like architectural monuments, archaeological sites, group of buildings, historical city centers and townscapes. Here it is to be noted that ‘site’ encompasses all its aspects including the intangible (communities, traditions, crafts, rituals, etc.) and its relationship to tangibles.
Moreover, these cultural heritages are a unique and irreplaceable source of information for various academic and professional disciplines. In fact, India can be considered a vast and largely underexplored repository of Cultural Heritage, especially for the purpose of imparting academic knowledge in fields like architecture, planning, urban design, habitat studies and related disciplines.
The first step towards understanding this vast knowledge bank is to record and document it which then serves the purpose of analysis, understanding and interpretation. The centre aims to use technology, to study and understand India’s diverse cultural heritage.
The centre positions itself as an expert cell offering advice on all aspects of built cultural heritage conservation to different organizations / groups ranging from governmental agencies, professionals, NGO’s, general public and students.
Heritage and Conservation is one such area, wherein the institution is contributing since 2014. In continuation to the mandate of the institute, DSCA established a ‘Centre for Heritage Initiative’ (CHI) to impart awareness in the field of Conservation and Cultural Heritage in Karnataka region. Objectives of ‘Centre for Heritage Initiative’ (CHI) are;
To create a permanent record of unprotected historic buildings and sites in Karnataka region and the surroundings.
To learn from the past in order to base the development of new design of buildings and settlements on the knowledge of historic achievements and valuable traditions in the region.
To develop skills and abilities through workshops and training programmes for research and documentation of various aspects in the field of Conservation and establishing links with existing practices in Karnataka region.