As many as 13 projects from six countries – Afghanistan, China, India, Iran, Nepal and Thailand – have received UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation.

The jury deliberations were carried out in November 2022, when members reviewed a total of 50 entries from 11 countries from across the Asia-Pacific region. 

The restoration of the historic Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya in Mumbai has won the Award of Excellence, with the jury hailing it as a project that sets a standard for the conservation of world heritage monuments.

The complete list of awarded projects in 2022: 

Award of Excellence

• Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya Museum, Mumbai 

Award of Distinction 

• Stepwells of Golconda, Hyderabad

• Zarch Qanat, Yazd, Iran

• Neilson Hays Library, Bangkok, Thailand 

Award of Merit

• Topdara Stupa, Charikar, Afghanistan 

• Nantian Buddhist Temple, Fujian, China 

• Domakonda Fort, Telangana 

• Byculla Station, Mumbai 

• Sadoughi House, Yazd, Iran 

• 25 Chivas in Kathmandu, Nepal 

Special Recognition for Sustainable Development

• West Guizhou Lilong Neighborhood, Shanghai, China 

Award for New Design in Heritage Contexts

• M30 Integrated Infrastructure for Power Supply and Waste Collection, Macao SAR, China

• Xiaoxihu Block, Nanjing, China

UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation

• Since 2000, the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation programme has been recognising the efforts of private individuals and organisations in restoring, conserving, and transforming structures and buildings of heritage value in the region. 

• By acknowledging private efforts to restore and adapt historic properties, the Awards encourage others to undertake conservation projects within their own communities, either independently or through public-private partnerships (PPPs).

• Awarded projects, to date, demonstrate various conservation criteria, such as the articulation of the spirit of place, technical achievement, appropriate use or adaptation, the project’s engagement with the local community, and the project’s contribution to enhancing the sustainability of the surrounding environment and beyond.

• The UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation is supported by a partnership between UNESCO and Ng Teng Fong Charitable Foundation since 2021. Under this strategic partnership, NTFCF is supporting five Awards cycles (2021–2025) and an accompanying series of specially tailored capacity-building activities amplifying the regional impact of the Awards programme.

• UNESCO introduced the new category, ‘Special Recognition for Sustainable Development’, in 2020, together with an updated set of Awards Criteria to acknowledge the role and contribution of cultural heritage to sustainable development within the broader framework of the UN 2030 Agenda. 

Awarded projects in India

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya Museum, Mumbai

The heroic restoration of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya Museum on its centenary has relit the spotlight on a major civic institution in the historic city of Mumbai. Impressive in its scale, the project addressed extensive deterioration through well-informed architectural and engineering solutions, overcoming major challenges during the pandemic. Executed to the highest level of technical excellence, the project sets a standard for the conservation of World Heritage monuments in India and beyond. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya was established as the Prince of Wales Museum of Western India in 1922. The 100-year-old museum is part of the Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensembles of Mumbai’s world heritage property. 

Stepwells of Golconda, Hyderabad

The restoration of the stepwells of Golconda has realised an ambitious, long-term vision for renewing the extensive complex of architectural and social spaces within the 16th century Qutb Shahi necropolis. Erected in the memory of the departed kings of Golconda, they are magnificent monuments that have withstood the test of time and nature’s vagaries. They are located 1 km north of Golconda Fort’s called Banjara Darwaza. 

Domakonda Fort, Kamareddy, Telangana

Initiated through private efforts, the Domakonda Fort project has been successfully revived as a cultural space for the community through modest physical intervention and with significant social impact. This fort is also called “Gadi Domakonda” or “Killa Domakonda” as it houses a palatial mahal inside and popularly called “Addhala Meda” (Glass house).

Byculla Station, Mumbai

The project is a notable case of community-initiated public-private partnership for preserving a significant part of Mumbai’s recent history. The commendable effort of the project team to rescue Asia’s oldest railway station provides a prototype for restoring and utilising historic railway heritage across the region.

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