Zanzibar Stone Town Projects

Following the restoration of Baltit Fort in Northern Pakistan, the Old Dispensary in Zanzibar was the second major historic building restored by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture. The project has since been expanded to the restoration of other landmark buildings and several modest dwellings and caravanserais in the Zanzibar's Stone Town, which has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Indian Ocean Maritime Museum, to be situated in the Old Dispensary, is part of the continuing redevelopment of Zanzibar’s Stone Town and its waterfront.Introduction
(by Stefano Bianca, Director, Historic Cities Programme)
Following the restoration of Baltit Fort in Northern Pakistan, the Old Dispensary in Zanzibar is the second major historic building restored by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture since its establishment of the Historic Cities Programme in 1992. As in the case of Baltit Fort, the Zanzibar restoration project was complemented by a wider urban planning and conservation effort, with a view to guiding and controlling future development in the sensitive area of the Stone Town. A cosmopolitan city which developed and flourished in the context of Arab and European marine trade, Zanzibar has now become an attractive tourist destination, and the Stone Town is subject to increasing pressure as a result of modern development. The planning surveys and proposals, carried out in close co-operation with the Zanzibar Stone Town Conservation and Development Authority on the basis of earlier efforts sponsored by UNCHS Habitat are presented in this brochure in summary form, since a separate monograph entitled Zanzibar:

Of the four “action areas” presented in the Stone Town Conservation Plan, the sea front is perhaps the most representative quarter. It is here that boats from Portugal, from the Arabian peninsula, from India, from England, and even from the Americas crossed each other, exchanging merchandise and contributing to the cosmopolitan character of Zanzibar. It is here that the Omani Sultans, their dignitaries, and rich Indian merchants built their palaces, government buildings, and public facilities. It is here that a sequence of formal and informal open spaces emerged and still constitutes, today, the open-air “living room” and the most prominent focus of the growing city.

The sea front thus became the focus of the Trust’s endeavours, which include not only the restoration of the Old Dispensary at the north-eastern end of the contemporary pier, but also assistance to convert an important but abandoned structure located at the south-eastern edge of the Stone Town, the former telecommunications building erected on a highly visible and strategic site on the sea front in the 1930’s. A corresponding grant was provided to Tourism Promotion Services, another institution of the Aga Khan Development Network, thus enabling the transformation of the building into a viable hotel facility, sensitive to its urban and cultural context.

The new hotel - the Zanzibar Serena Inn - will be inaugurated at the same time as the restored Stone Town Cultural Centre, in early March 1997. Both projects constitute models for the wide range of interventions needed in the on-going conservation and revitalisation process of the Stone Town. The state-of-the-art restoration of the Old Dispensary, a key historic building, includes research into and adaptation of the original building technologies. The conversion and adaptation of the telecommunications building ensured the survival of this abandoned structure which, if permitted to further fall into disrepair or if replaced by a less appropriate new building, would have threatened to become an eyesore in the old city. Identifying appropriate new uses for old buildings is a key issue in the revitalisation of historic districts, and the structure of the Old Dispensary, though almost entirely brought back to its original state, had to allow for new uses which will ensure its social and economic viability.

Between the two buildings, which lie at each end of the main sea front, is a series of important public open spaces, including the Banyan Tree Square, the waterfront promenades, Forodhani Park, and Kelele Square. Considering their value for the local community, their attraction for visitors to the island, and their interaction with the landmark buildings facing the sea, the Trust has attached specific importance to the design and enhancement of these open spaces within the master planning concept. For one of them, Kelele Square, the Trust has developed and implemented a detailed beautification project, as this open green space was intimately linked to the conversion of the former telecommunications building into a hotel and might have suffered from this change, if not handled in a sensitive manner. All of the existing trees were preserved, and landscaping details were developed which could be replicated in other places in Zanzibar. For the other public open spaces, such as Forodhani Park, design concepts have been proposed and await funding from donors interested in the rehabilitation of the Stone Town.

As demonstrated by the projects initiated by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, urban conservation is a multi-faceted and highly complex process. Therefore, continued and effective co-operation between local institutions, non-governmental organisations, donors, and planners is needed. The Trust's Conservation Plan has tried to achieve a common framework for defining, co-ordinating, and monitoring future development, while its restoration and public space improvement projects, now completed, have set examples for future implementation. UNESCO and the European Union have been extremely helpful in the initial co-ordination process. It is hoped that other donors can be convinced to join the effort, thus helping to materialise the established planning framework in co-operation with the Zanzibari government.

The present planning and conservation efforts could not have been brought to fruition without the continuous encouragement of the Zanzibari authorities, headed by His Excellency President Salmin Amour who graciously extended his support to the Trust’s activities. I would also like to acknowledge the guidance provided by the ministries and offices of the Zanzibar Government during the preparation of the Stone Town Conservation Plan, from June 1992 to July 1994. For their most valuable support and participation, I would in particular like to thank Mohamed Bakari Hassan, Principal Secretary for Special Duties, State House; Ali Abdalla, Principal Secretary, Chief Minister’s Office; Muhammad Salim Sulaiman, Principal Secretary, Ministry of Water, Construction, Energy, Lands, and Environment; the Honourable Salim Juma Othman, Regional Commissioner for the Urban and West Regions; and Ahmed Sheikh, Director General of the Zanzibar Stone Town Conservation and Development Authority.

Finally, my special thanks go to the dedicated teams of architects, engineers, project managers, artisans, and craftsmen whose efforts allowed this project to materialise and made it a success. Many of them are acknowledged at the end of this brochure; many others have provided anonymous, but equally precious contributions, which I would like to recognise on behalf of the Trust.

  E-mail this page

  Print this page

Aga Khan Agency for Microfinance

Microfinance for Women in Northern Pakistan

Since its establishment in 2005, the Aga Khan Agency for Microfinance (AKAM) has taken over 25 years of microfinance activities, programmes and banks that were administered by sister agencies within the AKDN. The underlying objectives of the Agency are to reduce poverty, diminish the vulnerability of poor populations and alleviate economic and social exclusion. more