An antiquated and abandoned traditional Gujarati mansion,situated in the deep insides of a narrow lane of one of the ‘Pols’,

in the older part of Ahmedabad, flourishing with profusely andintricately carved doors, windows, and balconies flaunts anarchitectural language that reflects the intimacy inherent in

Gujarati lifestyle. Several such beautiful structures havefallen into disrepair, and many more demolished due to economic

pressures, as well as lack of awareness and understanding of the need topreserve our architectural heritage. One of the fine examples ofpreservation and adaptive re-use is ‘The Mangaldas ni Haveli‘

by The House of Mangaldas & Giridhardas. The haveli was refurbishedand transformed into an interactive and informative exposition that offersan exquisite experience to its visitors, by exposing them to the richnessand eloquence of traditional ambience, lifestyle and architecture of this

part of the world.

Interior Designer Vaishali Shah, an avid conservationist herself, metAbhay Mangaldas – the young and dynamic scion of one of the city’s

famous families. A conversation with him led her to unearth this beautifulrestoration and reuse story – of a dilapidated haveli into a

boutique heritage hoteland restaurant.

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As an old saying goes, “thy rootsmaketh thy character “. Similarlythe old city of Ahmedabad withits bustling narrow lanes,intermingling pols, communityannouncement boards, the birdfeeders, women sojourns on theverandah, the timeless darwajas(city-gates), Goddess Lakshmitemple at the Teen Darwaja, theCalico dome, merging of Indo-Islamic monuments, day marketstransforming into night foodjoints and various other imagesbecame my identity. People knewme to be from the ‘Pol-house’ city.The beauty of a Pol-house standstestimony to the intimacy of atraditional Gujarati lifestyle thatis still alive in this part of the city- a living culture. I wasmesmerized and captivated by therow-house form of architectureand got involved in restoring theold houses. Ironically, my friendsand family couldn’t comprehendmy passion to restore the old city.Owing to the recent awarenessprograms by eminent architectsand city-veterans, theAhmedabadi mindsets arechanging. One such venture inthis direction is ‘The Mangaldasni Haveli‘ by The House ofMangaldas & Giridhardas.

Mangaldas ni Haveli was earlier known as BholanathDivetia ni Haveli. It is situated deep inside a narrowlane, called Lakha Patel Ni Pol, Khadia area of the oldcity of Ahmedabad. This haveli is believed to have beenbuilt about 200 years ago and was passed from owner’sheirs in the hands of an old lady. Later the last ownerapproached the renowned industrialist and heritageconservationist Abhay Mangaldas – of the House ofMG group.The project requirement was to reuse the haveli as aCafe and a Craft Center - a celebration of architecture,craft and culture of this region that would act as acatalyst to the revitalization of the entire area.The Haveli is a classified category-A heritage structure(as defined by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation).

Scope of Conservation Project:The retrofitting and the interior refurbishing of theproject for the purpose of adaptive reuse from aresidence to a Café and Craft Center took place over18 months. Phase 1 was to make the haveli structurallysound and to make modifications on the second floorof replacing a sloping roof with a slab for a terrace.Phase 2 was to reinstall all the services like electrical,plumbing and drainage and phase 3 was to refurbishthe interior spaces for the required purpose.

DesignIt was decided that the entire look of the old haveliwould be retained, withholding all the structural and

interior elements, except the elements on the secondfloor. All the restoration work would be kept visiblewithout any attempt to blend it with the old. The newaddition of dumbwaiter and terrace would be totallymodern in material (exposed cement, glass and steel)as well as designed to create a sense of co-existencebetween the old and the new. The outcome shouldreflect preservation of our traditional values, along withbenefits of a modern lifestyle.

Technical issues of restoration and solutionsThe main retrofitting needed was in one of the primarywooden beams of the structure. The entire buildingwas leaning on one side as the junction of this beamwith a supporting pillar was damaged. Instead ofreplacing the beam, the haveli was jacked up from thiscorner and the beam was reinforced with steel.

The damaged plaster on walls was repaired in lime,the plumbing and drainage was newly laid in the groundor in the walls (concealed). The electrical wiring wasput in a wooden conduit running at lintel level on all thefloors and the existing underground water tank andrecharge well were reactivated. The rainwaterharvesting system was already in place. The cementtile flooring on ground floor and portion of first andsecond floor was replaced with reclaimed clay tilesand the bathrooms were completely refurbished withstone floor and modern fixtures.Damaged frescos were cleaned up, but not repaired.The wood carving was repaired where broken and

1. The restored façade sits resplendent with old grace and grandeur2. The craft center with its products display on the first floor3. The colourful second floor restaurant reveals the vibrancy of the culture4. A new staircase added to go to the terrace5.The figurative mosaic flooring resonates with the traditional decor

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2. Structural Restoration:-The restoration was done to preserve the originalfaçade and other elements in the building. Thestructural restoration complied with the heritage by-laws under the guidance of Ar. Debashish Nayak. Theadaptive use of old materials helped preserve the ethosof the building.3. Restoration of Finishes -The original flooring was repaired and restoredin almost all the places. The remaining floor areaswere refurbished with mosaics tiles. All otherfinishes like paints, frescos, parapet walls wererec la imed fo l lowing the o ld methods ofconstruction.4. Construction of new structures to adaptprogrammatic requirements:-There were many challenges faced while addingnew structures to the building. The plumbing hadto be redone to accommodate bathrooms on theupper floors. A whole new plumbing system wasinstalled to accommodate them.There was no ventilation for the kitchen, with walls onboth the sides. So the kitchen was equipped with anexhaust, which ran on the side of the building.There was a staircase added to go to the terrace andanother stair-well was converted into a dumbwaiter shaft,for easy access.The ‘tanka’ underground tank was restored for collectingrain-water, which would flow into the river.

thoroughly cleaned, and varnished without any touchup in colour (this haveli is unique as its carvings arepainted).Restoration ProgramThe restoration process included:-

1. Documentation of Haveli2. Structural restoration3. Restoration of finishes4. Construction of new structures to adapt programmatic requirements

The whole process was executed under the guidanceof creative director Abhay Mangaldas, with inputs fromrestoration architect Debashish Nayak of AhmedabadHeritage Cell. Studio-11 architects were hired foradditions to the structure. The outside contractor wasMr. Jethabhai, who has been working on restorationprojects with Heritage Cell, along with the House ofMG team.

Program1. The documentation:-There were no drawings or information available onthe haveli. So the documentation of the haveli was doneby Ar. Debashish Nayak and later by Studio 11architects. The challenge was to measure walls, whichwould go narrow while going up. A detailed study ofthe structure and documentation of architectural,structural and non structural damages was done tofacilitate the design of the haveli.

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6. The modern chandelier punctuates thedecorative courtyard

7. The second floor indoor restaurantadorns artistic ceiling and mosaicflooring

8. The peacock graces the dumbwaiter onthe terrace

9. The haveli houses visual crafts storeon the first floor

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