The Chandigarh Heritage Conservation Committee (CHCC) on Thursday approved the proposal of construction of a new Town Planning Building for Punjab and Haryana here.
The CHCC also approved the proposal of installation of solar photovoltaic power plants on the roof top of five Government schools, which have been graded as heritage structures in the city.
The fourth meeting of CHCC was held under the chairmanship of KK Sharma, Adviser to the Administrator at UT State Guest here on Thursday.
A senior official of the UT Administration said that during the meeting, CHCC examined the proposal for a new Town Planning building for the town planning departments of Punjab and Haryana and general offices of UT, Chandigarh which shall be coming up at site no. 3 in Sector 18 Madhya Marg. The cost of the project would be borne by Punjab and Haryana states and the building work is to be executed through Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA).
After detailed discussions on the architectural and urban design aspects of the project, it was conceptually approved by the Committee.
Another proposal of installation of SPV power plants on five Government schools was principally approved by the Committee. The UT Department of Science and Technology had framed the proposal for installation of SPV power plants on the roof top of these five Government schools, which have been graded as heritage structures by the UT Administration.
During the meeting, the Committee desired that the services on roof tops of buildings should be planned aesthetically. The electricity produced from these SPV Power Plants is to be used in the institutions and surplus power if any, can be exported to the grid.
The UT official said the issue of preservation and conservation of exposed RCC (Reinforced Cement Concrete) facades in City Centre, Sector 17, which is a heritage precinct was discussed in detail during the meeting wherein the importance of preserving the architectural character of this important area was highlighted and various methodologies for maintenance and upkeep of exposed RCC facades were deliberated by the Committee.
A power point presentation on the subject was given by a team comprising of Professors from Chandigarh College of Architecture and Professor Jagjit Singh Ghuman, RCC Conservation Expert. The Committee also discussed the enforcement and regulatory issues involved in maintaining the ambience of the area, informed the official.
The Committee also reviewed the external facades of the proposed Block -B of CHB building on Jan Marg in Sector 9, Chandigarh which is coming up as a green building. The earlier proposal was prepared as per the existing architectural controls applicable to this important avenue. However, the CHCC experts were unanimous in their view that certain flexibility for incorporating the long term sustainability of the structure could be infused in the design in order to address modern day requirements.
The design of the upcoming new office building for UT offices on plot no. 7, Sector 9-D was also discussed in the same context, added the official.
On the directions of Ministry of Urban Development, the CHCC was constituted in 2012 to supervise the architectural preservation plans in the City Beautiful.