Centre for Historic Houses of India

The Centre for Historic Houses is part of the School for Art & Architecture at OP Jindal Global University in Sonipat/New Delhi was founded by Dr. Esther -aka Mimi - Schmidt (Oxon) in 2019 and aims to foster respect for local traditions and promote stewardship towards historic buildings. We preserve, research, document, revitalize and promote historic houses, their interiors, collections, objects, inhabitants, environment and culture as well as the associated creative industries. One of our main aims is the development of innovative management schemes for historic monuments and sites with a focus on family owned properties. As such the centre is an interdisciplinary effort drawing support from the diverse expertise and research interests of the faculty at Jindal Global University ranging from law, to business, architecture, journalism, international affairs to liberal arts. We provide a platform for the exchange of expertise and ideas relating to historic houses. The centre is dedicated to advocacy and to the development of partnerships between higher education, owners of historic houses and heritage experts both in India and abroad to foster knowledge exchange and entrepreneurship stimulating economic growth through tourism and local business in the heritage sector, the built environment and associated creative industries. We also focus on non-visitor related business schemes for historic houses -something we particularly accentuate during the current pandemic. The Centre propagates a paradigm shift in both the understanding and management of historic houses by focusing on three interrelated areas: preservation, design and social entrepreneurship. We believe that the historic houses of India have a major impact on communities and thus require management schemes with social impact.