Museums in India have long been considered a pitstop on an otherwise packed holiday itinerary: mostly static and unilateral. This is now changing courtesy of architects and industry experts who are looking at inclusive and interactive designs. The upcoming National Maritime Heritage Complex (NMHC) in Lothal, Gujarat, is proof.Spread across nearly 400 acres, it is currently among the ‘largest museum developments under construction in India and one of the most ambitious maritime museum projects globally’. A project helmed by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways and the Government of Gujarat, NMHC is being designed by architect Hafeez Contractor as an institution dedicated to India’s maritime history and seafaring legacy.
Hafeez Contractor
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Karl Wadia, senior principal architect, Architect Hafeez Contractor, says NMHC has been conceived as a large, multi-phase cultural and tourism development project. “It is designed as a multi-day visitor experience that combines heritage, recreation, education, hospitality, and public infrastructure,” he says, adding that Lothal was chosen as the site given that it houses the world’s earliest known man-made dockyard and remains one of the most important sites of the Indus Valley Civilisation.
