SYNOPSIS:

Project Title:

Reworking of Faqir Khana Museum

Location:

Bazaar Hakiman, Bhatti Gate, Walled City, Lahore

Client:

Fakir Sayyed Iftikhar Uddin

Users:

Variety of people excluding children under 12

Approximate Area the Site:

86500 sqft

Approximate Area of the Project:

51300 sqft

Background of the Project:

Lahore is a city of festivity, culture, complexity of multiple social groups, background and
traditions. It is also a city that has faced constant governance of different school of
thoughts, from Mughals, to British, Sikh, to other governing parties. Lahore, originally
being an agricultural region, is today a city thriving with vehicles, new housing schemes,
and commercial, political, and communal activities. It requires all sorts of museums
covering a wide range of subjects from film, to food, to transportation, to music, to
cultural events.
Faqir family is a family which has a great historical background of great people, who
played an important part in the history of Punjab. Faqir Khana museum being a great
asset of the walled city has not been given the significance that it deserves. The
relationship between the visitor and the display is very important. There is then, the
enhancing of the value of the objects on display.

Reason of Selection
Today, a few people know what Faqir Khana is but they dont have any idea about its
magnitude, i.e. The largest private antiques collection in South East Asia Majority of
them have no idea what sort of relics we have in our possession, especially the relics of
Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h.) and original pieces of hand written manuscripts of The Holy
Quran.

Space is a major problem of the museum. One reason due to which the museum has
not been able to grow is the spatial limitations. The museum lacks proper space and
facilities for storage, archiving, preservation and administration which made the Faqir
family give away relics on loan to Badshahi Masjid and donate antiquities to Lahore
Museum.

Objectives
My aim is to create awareness regarding our past, our history, because only then we
can understand the true meaning of our present that will build our future of generations
to come. To create a walk of fame for everyone to relish the beauty we have at Fakir
Khana Museum and know the generations from whose hands its been passing through.
For this I would firstly regenerate the street leading from Bhatti Gate to the museum and
will remake the museum in a proper way by accommodating the objects in their
appropriate places for their conservation and preservation, allotting extensive storage,
archiving and research space.

Core Work

Extension and reworking of present Faqir Khana Museum

Miniature
Carpets
Sculpture/ Reliefs
Jewelry
Porcelain/ Crockery
Weapons
Books
Dresses

Designing Islamic Museum and Education Centre

Street regeneration and rehabilitation

Scope of work

Conducting on-site surveys and mapping

Documentation of Havelis
Studying Streetscape
Case studies
Master planning
Detailed Planning

Research Aspects
Daniel Lebiskins Museums
Form as an ordering Device of Space
Architectural Character of Walled City
Architectural Heritage
Cultural Elasticity
(Will be decided after the completion of site survey.)
Research Methodology

Books
Articles
Case studies
Interviews/ discussions/ email Correspondence
Documentaries
Maps and Drawings

Bibliography

Architecture: Form, Space and Order by Francis Ching

Reworking Eisenman by Peter Eisenman

Lahore Recollected by F. S. Aijazuddin

Old Lahore (Reminiscences of a Resident) by H. R. Goulding

The Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs

Mughal Architecture by Ebba Koch

Towards a New Architecture by Le Corbusier

Museums for a New Millenium by Victoria Mangano Lampugnani

Architecture in Pakistan by Kamil Khan Mumtaz

Modernity and Tradition (Contemporary Architecture in Pakistan) by Kamil Khan

Mumtaz