Karachi’s Architectural Heritage is slowly disappearing. This includes many reasons, ranging from a lack of initiatives by the Sindh Government, a lack of knowledge or desire to conserve what remains, and collective amnesia. The response to buildings of historic character is met with the old ball and chain brashness, and a general diminishment of historicity, often reduced to little more than a superficial façade. Karachi, the city’s rich tapestry of once harmonious communities— comprising close-knit Christians, the diminishing number of Jews, the dwindling community of Zoroastrians (Parsis), and Hindus— has undergone a seismic shift, struggling to reconcile with its diverse cultural inheritances. This painful disconnect can be directly linked to one of the largest mass exoduses of modern times, resulting in generations of families being uprooted from their ancestral homes and livelihoods.

Ozair B. Mansoor’s work sits unapologetically in the stillness of the prevalent conditions. Stemming from a desire to evoke a sensation rather than to document, he preserves what exists today in contemporary Karachi. By using conventional mediums such as felt tip pens and cotton fabric, he addresses an age-old concern that yearns back to a past that has become irretrievable. Karachi’s Lost Communities: Serai and Bunder Quarters investigates the communities through buildings that define the face of Serai and Bunder Quarters.

These quarters symbolize an era of unity, growth, and advancement, as the predominantly Hindu and Parsi communities shaped Karachi in the likeness of the British Empire. The load-bearing structures were constructed using brickwork made from red stone sourced from the provinces of Jaipur, as well as Gizri stone obtained from nearby quarries. The architectural forms and styles were another product of colonial influence, heavily relying on classical aesthetic principles such as repetition, rhythm, and symmetry. Many buildings feature Gothic or arched openings, incorporating both rectilinear and curvilinear shapes, whether pointed or curved.

In Rustomjee Building, Mansoor poetically reimagines that which was demolished, portraying the failure of the governing bodies in a newly born Pakistan of 1947. It also sheds light on a notable paradigm shift within architecture with a rise in function over form, loss of ornamentation and subsequently the virtue of craft. As global trends influenced the practices in the global south, a continued tabula-rasa mentality persisted alongside a demand for post-war construction. Movements concerning preservation or conservation had yet to reach the mainstream and influence the developing world. The 1960’s saw two charters, namely the Athens and the Venice Charter which were the first to propose for the protection and conservation of historic cities and architecture. This impacted the Global South much later, which is why so much architectural heritage in Karachi was already lost before its significance was realized.

The value of the body of work lies in that which is left to the imagination and a reconstruction of the immaterial, that which does not exist in the physical space anymore. The artist intentionally demarcates the guidelines as inseparable from the frieze above the openings. The focus is immediately drawn toward the tympanum in the center, a trait derived from Classical Architectural forms. The darkest line weights given to the cables and pylons that highlight what remains.

Through the Seva-Kunji Building, Mansoor sheds light on today’s monuments that once functioned as a student hostel, and was made intentionally derelict to curb any forms of organized resistance futile. The missing openings and balconettes cast a noticeable void and reflect the building’s uninhabitable state since the 1980s. Although the Sindh Building Preservation Act was enacted in 1994, its successful application remains elusive, particularly as approximately 1,400 heritage buildings in Karachi are currently at risk of demolition due to neglect.

In Mansoor’s body of work, the level of detail wanes at ground level. He meticulously crafts his compositions from top to bottom, and his assimilation of figures whom he refers to as ‘ghosts,’ along with the calculated use of blank space, serves as a premeditated gesture. Here, he highlights only the characteristics that suggest historic merit. Rusticated Doric pilasters create a decorative border between the main circulation area and the rooms, a notable feature of this building that is emphasized in the artwork.

The Kanji-Munji Building features another form of demolition various colonial heritage buildings in Karachi have been subjected to. Through the collective efforts of Marvi Mazhar Associates, the Kanji-Munji building’s front façade has been under a stay order; however, its vestiges continue to be chipped away by developers, making the demolition illegal for a protected heritage of this kind.

Mansoor relies here on orthographic projections, as seen in Bhaji Walla Building and Max Denso Hall & Library. He emphasizes this mode precisely because it is more relatable at ground level, and many buildings during this period were designed to be appreciated from the front view.

Max Denso Hall, located in the Market Quarters and Library, and Khalikdina Hall, in Ranchore Lines Quarters reflect successful interventions by authorities in safeguarding notable buildings. The Heritage Foundation Karachi founded by Yasmeen Laari successfully completed restoring Denso Hall in 2018. The same selections do not necessarily reflect the works of communities from the Serai and Bunder Quarters but reflect a time when faith did not determine the sense of community. Buildings meant for communal engagement and education for the natives were constructed through donations by philanthropists like Max Denso and Ghullam Hussein Khaliq. In Khalikdina Hall, a two-point perspective separates it from other works, the level of detail starts to diminish as the eye moves away from the center. While conceptualizing a drawing in perspective creates greater challenges, the artist pertinently captures its essence here, distinguishing it with a polished finish that conjures the meticulousness of architectural drawings.

The collective artistic research culminates in the Necropolis, the final piece of the puzzle. Etymologically Greek for ‘graveyard’ this piece highlights the artist’s mastery over the sequence of explorations and his skills. He mindfully places ghostly figures to create a sense of fabrication. The former inhabitants are set against the backdrop of the buildings’ past, present, and future conditions. It likens to that of a graveyard of memories, and its original communities. It makes apparent a somber atmosphere and state in which these derelict monuments exist, denied the protection and preservation they deserve. Necropolis demands painstaking brush strokes that move around the splashes of black paint, each stroke accentuating the details revealed in white against the darkened canvas. This interplay of various techniques intwines a dynamic, scroll-like appearance throughout the artwork.

Mansoor begins his process with scrupulous on-site studies, where he captures details through observation sketches. These initial drawings condense the work into basic shapes on a smaller sheet, which he later renders onto fabric. However, some of his completed pieces come to life entirely on location, shaped beside the very buildings that inspire them. The medium used is the consistent, but with nuances within each piece that signify its experimental nature as part of a process. Nonetheless, this shouldn’t denote that it isn’t a complete work in its own right. The architect revels in the freedom of an artist’s approach, where the body of work embraces a fluidity that discards rigid order. With critical attention to detail, he engages straight and cross-hatching techniques made up of alternating freehand strokes, all the while retaining a bleached photorealistic finish.

The communities he is drawn to are addressed, albeit cursorily, they simply offer a peripheral viewpoint. A set of drawings populated by ‘ghosts’ of yesterday beseech questions around the use of space beyond the façade. He is torn between the desire to see these buildings as timeless monuments, infinitely frozen in time. Contrastingly, he increasingly works with the existing conditions, reflecting his deep adoration for the beauty of aging and patina. His work reaffirms the notion that the historicity in derelict monuments lie largely in the façade, without critical engagement with what else historicity could entail. To the extent of raising awareness this work suffices. Through his approach, he reasserts the importance of a craft that has become increasingly digitized today.

Ozair B. Mansoor has dedicated over two years to researching and documenting these structures. Notably, the buildings on display are featured in a walking tour organized by Marvi Mazhar Associates and Shaheen Nauman under the banner of Heritage Walk Karachi.

Ultimately, the key question remains, do these works of art hold the emancipatory potential necessary to safeguard these monuments? Mansoor emphasizes his focus on the stories behind the buildings, choosing not to center his narrative on restoration or heritage conservation.

‘Karachi’s Lost Communities: Serai and Bunder Quarters’, the first solo exhibition of architect Ozair B. Mansoor was on display at Khalikdina Hall, Karachi, on December 20^th January 2024. This solo-exhibition was made possible through the grants received from Numaish-Karachi, an artist collective by Saima Zaidi and Durriya Kazi in Karachi.

Title Image:  Necropolis, archival felt tip pen on unprimed cotton fabric, 45”x 35”, 2024

All images are used with courtesy and copyright granted by Humayun Memon.

References

Dawn. (2018, December 10). Conservation efforts revive Karachi’s architectural heritage. Retrieved from https://www.dawn.com/news/1451336
International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS). (1931). The Athens Charter for the Restoration of Historic Monuments. Retrieved from https://www.icomos.org/en/167-the-athens-charter-for-the-restoration-of-historic-monuments
International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS). (1964). The Venice Charter: International Charter for the Conservation and Restoration of Monuments and Sites. Retrieved from https://www.icomos.org/en/participer/179-articles-en-francais/ressources/charters-and-standards/157-thevenice-charter
Lari, Y., & Lari, M. (1997). The dual city: Karachi during the Raj. Karachi: Oxford University Press.
Heritage Foundation of Sindh. (n.d.). Denso Hall. Retrieved from https://heritage.eftsindh.com/districts/karachi/denso-hall.php