Virasat-e-Khalsa

Virasat-e-Khalsa
	Official logo
	Virasat-e-Khalsa
	Location within Punjab
Established	13 April 1999
Location	Anandpur Sahib, Punjab, India
Coordinates	31°13′55″N 76°30′09″E / 31.23194°N 76.50250°E
Type	Sikh museum
Architect	Moshe Safdie
Owner	Government of Punjab
Nearest car park	Open
Website	http://virasat-e-khalsa.net/

Virasat-e-Khalsa is a museum of

Guru Gobind Singh Ji. It serves to attract tourists and pilgrims. This results in a consultation between religion and emerging need in the building environment. One side it promotes hand crafts to locals as well as nurturing a sense of heritage, besides it recalls to infinity by the volumetric interference of existing skyline is another phase of a visible Urbanism dilemma.^[1]

Structure

There are two complexes at each side of a ravine, connected by a ceremonial bridge:

The smaller western complex includes an entrance plaza, an auditorium with 400 seating-capacity, two-story research and reference library, and changing exhibition galleries.
The eastern complex contains a round memorial building as well as extensive, permanent exhibition space, consisting of two clusters of galleries that try to evoke the fortress architecture of the region (most evident in a nearby Gurudwara) and form a dramatic silhouette against the surrounding cliff terrain. The gathering of the galleries in groups of five reflects the
Five Virtues
, a central tenet of Sikhism.

The buildings are constructed of poured-in-place concrete; some beams and columns remain exposed, though a great deal of the structures will be clad in a local honey-colored stone. The rooftops are stainless steel-clad and exhibit a double curvature: they gather and reflect the sky while a series of dams in the ravine create pools that reflect the entire complex at night.[2]

Visitor numbers

Visitor numbers have broken records as the museum has been recognised as the most visited museum in the Indian subcontinent. The footfall for a single day on March 20, 2019, was the most ever recorded for a museum in India.

Over 10 million people have visited since its inception 8 years ago.^[3]

References

^ Sharma V.C., Vimal S. (2017) Religion Interacts with New Urbanism Holistic City Anandpur Sahib. In: Seta F., Biswas A., Khare A., Sen J. (eds) Understanding Built Environment. Springer Transactions in Civil and Environmental Engineering. Springer, Singapore
^ Moshe Safdie and Associates | Project Details
^ report on visitor footfall

Photographs

[1] Sharma V.C., Vimal S. (2017) Religion Interacts with New Urbanism Holistic City Anandpur Sahib. In: Seta F., Biswas A., Khare A., Sen J. (eds) Understanding Built Environment. Springer Transactions in Civil and Environmental Engineering. Springer, Singapore

[2] Moshe Safdie and Associates | Project Details

[3] report on visitor footfall

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