Time seems to have paused inside the restored Victoria Public Hall, as though the building had been holding its breath for decades and has only just exhaled. Engraved walls rise gently into arched, domed openings, their curves soft yet commanding, drawing the eye upward to a roof that soars with quiet confidence. Staircases carved from dark, lustrous teak unfurl like ceremonial pathways where each banister is sworn by etched details. The hall does not announce its grandeur; it reveals it slowly, through textures, shadows, and the dignity of craftsmanship.
At the heart of it all, the grand hall unfolds in mint green, its walls embossed with gold that catches the light effortlessly. The engravings shimmer as modern lighting — vintage in mood, yet contemporary in design — gleams through the space. Centralised air conditioning and discreet interventions of the present slip in without disturbance, allowing the past to remain unbroken.
But this is not how the building stood until recently. The conservation architects from Savani Heritage Conservation Pvt. Ltd. and Abha Narain Lambah Associates, who were tasked with restoring the building by the Greater Chennai Corporation, recall a very different sight.
Aswathy Ajith, the conservation architect on-site from Savani Heritage Conservation, recollects how the Victoria Public Hall received her in March 2023. “Trees were growing through and inside the building, causing visible cracks along the very structure. There were also heaps of bird droppings that had to be cleared, as many birds had nested inside. It was in a very rough shape, especially since the damages to the roof had caused rain water to leak through the walls and the floors.” Rucha Kamath, an associate conservation architect with Abha Narain Lambah Associates, adds how some parts of the building were extremely unsafe to even stand on. As the official consultant of the restoration project, Rucha, along with her colleagues, had made their first visit in 2021 to assess the condition of the building. Though well-ventilated, “there were no floors on some parts of the building,” she reveals, making the building appear fragile.
After a quick physical investigation of the red-bricked heritage structure, Rucha says, the degree of fragility became apparent. “There was a lot of settlement in the building which had split it into two parts. It wasn’t noticeable visually, but we ascertained it after we opened up a localised trench to check the condition of the foundation. There were a lot of cracks from the foundation and up,” she informs. The decision was then made to both structurally strengthen the building and also perform seismic retrofitting, a process that equips buildings to withstand earthquakes.
Since Robert Chisholm, the architect who was key in developing the colonial landscape of Madras in the late 1800s, had built the Victoria Hall as a load-bearing structure — where the weight of the building isn’t borne by columns or beams, but the bricks themselves — the work was challenging. Aswathy says that they used a technique called Helifix, where they inserted stainless steel helical bars into the bricks’ joints so the bars act as beams. “Since the building has an elongated profile, we also cross-braced the walls so that in case of any seismic activity, the building won’t collapse,” she adds.
Though much of this damage and retrofitting work was anticipated by Abha Narain Lambah Associates, who have been practising heritage building conservation for three decades, the building somehow managed to surprise them. “The first floor has a beautiful hall and a false ceiling. Since the false ceiling was at a height of 10 metres, there was no way for us to know the condition of the truss. After we put a scaffolding 10 metres high and assessed its condition, it was a surprise for us because it was in a much worse shape than what we expected it to be. The weather had completely caused the truss to deteriorate,” Rucha shares.
Material palette
While carrying out the restoration work, a majority of the material palette remained intact. For instance, the truss was almost completely replaced with timber roof structure, sourced to the same look and quality. The red brick too, that is more than an externally cladded element in the Victoria hall which also catches one’s attention, was matched to the exact shade, shape, and quality as those used by Chisholm. Rucha says, “We had to use wire-cut bricks that were of a specific colour and size and we went through a whole R&D process to finalise it. After that, we ran tests on the brick to ensure that it passes all the parameters set by our structural and seismic consultant to ensure its quality and durability.” She also jokes that when the team says that they have “restored the building brick-by-brick”, they mean it quite literally.
Speaking on the layers of materials used, Rucha says, “Our contractor for the project [Savani Heritage Conservation Pvt. Ltd.] was well-versed with lime and lime plastering.” But much of the building’s original plastering was lost, notes Aswathy. “This building was restored once or twice previously and so the plaster wasn’t original. In the facade for instance, cement plastering was done.”
The research was also thorough while restoring the building to its 146-year-old glory, she adds. “Through archival records, we found that the porch was burnt or damaged earlier. They reconstructed it during one intervention but the stone urns visible in some archival pictures were missing. We went back to the photograph to see the stone urns, and replaced them, too.”
Adapting for use
Restoration and conservation of heritage buildings come with the most challenging aspect, which is adapting it for today’s audiences. Architects who have been drawing up the layouts and plans for buildings since the end of the 20th century, have factored in space for electricity and plumbing. But since the Victoria Hall dates back to the 19th century, the conservation architects at work had to find a way to have wires and pipes set in place.
Rucha sheds light on this challenge. “To adapt the building and put it to use today, we have to include good lighting and air-conditioning as they are our basic needs. But for the first floor hall, the problem comes with the acoustics too. This hall was designed for very different acoustics and so to adapt it for usage today, with speakers and wires, we had to adapt it well.” She adds that the team had to consider each decision carefully. From putting up a soundbar to a light fixture, to ensure that the structure can support them, the team ran them through multiple calculations. The stage light for instance, she says, weighed 50 kg and since it was a load-bearing building, they had to make provisions into the truss to make sure it is held up safely.
To make it completely accessible, a disability ramp and a glass elevator has also been constructed. The aim was to ensure that these new additions, including air conditioning, were visually camouflaged so as to not disrupt the visual harmony of the building, Aswathy concludes.