Sister Nivedita's Heritage House Museum
Culture Architecture I Kolkata, West Bengal
Client Ramakrishna Sharda Mission
Status Completed 2016
Area 5,300 Sq. ft
Team Shimul Javeri Kadri, Sarika Shetty, Isha Hans
Built heritage is much more than bricks and mortar. It holds within itself social and cultural histories – of the people who inhabited it over the years and of the place where it belongs.
A contemporary museum that seeks to preserve the essence and teachings of Sister Nivedita, while creating an intensely personal and transformational experience highlighting her humanity, her vision, her work and contribution to the cause of Spirituality, Institution building and National awakening.
Adaptive Re-use of the House into a Learning Centre
In 2015, when we were approached to restore Sister Nivedita’s House in Kolkata and convert it into a exhibition architectural museum and learning centre, we saw it as an opportunity to further her noble, public-spirited legacy.
Sister Nivedita, born Margaret Elizabeth Noble, was an Anglo-Irish teacher, author, social activist, school founder, and a disciple of Swami Vivekananda.
Honouring values of the Past.
Over 150 years old, her house is a Grade I Heritage building in North Kolkata’s Baghbazar neighbourhood. It was in this house that she opened a school for girls in 1898 and took care of poor patients during the 1899 plague. Eminent philosophers and leaders like Swami Vivekananda also frequented the house. Our museum architectural design was guided by the intent of honouring these important historical and cultural narratives spatially.
