SUBBMITTED BY

IQRA SHAHZADI
1500101005
FATIMA SHAHEEN
15006101003
SUBBMITTED TO
MA’AM FAIQA KHILAT
SUBJECT TITLE
ARCHITECTURAL CONSERVATION
PROJECT TITLE
REPORT WRITING FOR CONSERVATION
PROCESS OF LAHORE MUSEUM
ABSTRACT
This thesis aims to identify the structural and materials damages to evaluate Lahore Museum to
save the heritage and to propose the conservation and recommendation for the conservation of
Lahore Museum.
Lahore museum was initially designed by Lockwood Kipling and Bhai Ram Singh. Building
construction completed in 1893. The material used for the construction is bricks, limewater, and
reinforced concrete, steel and wood. The predominant structure of the building is brick masonry
as load bearing system.
To determine the present condition and problems the studies conducted is qualitative study
included historical survey, documentation through observation. The building constructed in
different phases and this haphazard construction disturbs its original structure. Study conducted
to detect different damages to aware the authority to take action against these damages through
proper conservation process and to avoid future addition in the building.

KEYWORDS
Lahore Museum, Qualitative Assessment, Analyses, Recommendations, Conservation Process.

INTRODUCTION
Lahore Museum situated on mall road Lahore is one of the largest and oldest monument in
Pakistan and have historical importance of the colonial era in Lahore. The aim of conservation of
museum is to enhance the tourism as it is already used for tourism purpose it’s very important to
retain this heritage to generate revenue.
The Museum along with NCA sits on Mall Road on the north, Library Road on the east and Prof.
Ashfaq Ali Khan Road on the west while its southern end is empty and currently serves as a
public parking lot.The Museum building sits on an approx. 10,000 m2 (108,000 ft2) trapezoidal
lot. The footprint of the main Museum building is 5225 m2 (56241.5 ft2), while additional
structures namely the Servant Quarters, Annex building, Canteen and the Tube well occupy
another 462.13 m2 (4974.33 ft2).
Methodology adapted for the study is qualitative the data is collected from primary and
secondary sources all historical research, addition alteration is collected from secondary sources
the building survey and documentation to observe present condition of building primary source
is used. This study leads to recommend to cope the problems which observed during survey.
BACKGROUND
The origins of a Museum in Lahore can be traced back to a March 1855 circular issued by the
Financial Commissioner of Punjab, proposing the establishment of museums at district level
“with a view to tracing the development of the resources of the country and improvements in
agriculture, machinery and the arts”

As a consequence, Lahore’s first museum named “Lahore Central Museum” was established in
1856 and housed in Wazir Khan’s Baradari.

The ‘Baradari’, built in the 17th Century in distinctive Mughal style, was focal point of the
garden known as ‘Nakhleh-e-Wazir Khan’- The date palm garden of Wazir Khan by 1863, the
collection had acquired an antiquarian feel and was fast outgrowing the space in the ‘Baradari.
Thus in 1864 Lahore Central Museum, coined by the people as ‘Ajayabghar’ or the “house of
wonders”, was relocated to the Exhibition Hall9, built earlier in the year for holding the Punjab
Exhibition of Arts and Industry of 1864 .After the exhibition closed, the Exhibition Hall, which
had been built as a temporary structure later known as Tollinton Market, was given a more
permanent roof and floor and the Museum collection was moved in.

The Museum in the 1870s under the curatorship of John Lockwood Kipling, got a new direction
and an influx of ideas. Kipling in his position as the curator of the Museum and Principal of
Mayo School of Arts encouraged the amalgamation of the two institutes. It was in 1887 that a
decision was made to build the present building of the Museum as part of an institute called the
Victoria Jubilee Institute. The Institute was sited across the Exhibition Hall, in the grounds of
the ‘Baradari’ and included the Museum, a Lecture Hall, a Library and the Mayo School of Arts.
The venture was financed out of the funds raised throughout the Punjab Province during the
commemoration of Queen Victoria’s Jubilee in February 1887. On 3rd February 1890 Prince
Albert Victor laid down the foundation stone for the building designed by Bhai Ram Singh,
member of the first batch of students from Mayo School, under the guidance of his mentor John
Lockwood Kipling. The Institute constructed by Sir Ganga Ram, then Executive Engineer of
Lahore, was completed in late 1893; in time for the Punjab Exhibition of December 1893 and
was opened to the public in

The history of the Museum in Lahore thus encompasses more than 150 years and three
remarkable buildings – The Baradari of Wazir Khan, The Exhibition Hall and the current
Museum building – all located adjacent to one another within two blocks fronting on “The Mall”.
CONSTRUCTION STAGES
Lahore museum is constructed in three phases all are given bellow.

PHASE 1

Initially it has entrance portico, two mirror galleries public toilets and exhibition hall.
PHASE 2

The new additions included in second phase library, curator and two toilets along with veranda
are added all built at the southern end of the building.
PHASE 3

The building was closed off to public in 1965 for two years, to carry out repairs and also for the
construction of new works. The new addition included laboratory, workshops, mosque and
several servant quarters they all built on southern side of building. The empty space between the
NCA and museum was converted into stores for the reserve construction it is a two storey
construction.
MASTER PLAN
ELEVATIONS (Vertical Arrangements)

NORTH ELEVATION

EAST ELEVATION

SOUTH ELEVATION
SPACE CODING PLAN

GALLERIES LABORTARY AND SERVICES

AUDITORIUM & GALLERY
LIBRARY
GALLERY
CONFERENCE ROOM
GALLERIES
STORAGE
THE FRONTSPACE
MANUSCRIPT GALLERY
SERVICE AREAS
VERANDA

ADMINISTRATION SPACES