Itihaas
Mapping the people, problems and systems behind heritage conservation.
Understanding Heritage as a System
Itihaas was a system-design exploration into the challenges surrounding heritage conservation.
Instead of looking at heritage sites as isolated monuments, the project examined the wider system of stakeholders, maintenance, public engagement, funding and conservation.
When Heritage Becomes a System Problem
The research surfaced problems that sit across organisations rather than inside any single site.
- 01Poor maintenance
- 02Limited public engagement
- 03Lack of sustainable revenue
- 04Multiple stakeholders with different interests
- 05Challenges in long-term conservation
Research Before Designing the System
Heritage research was used to understand the current conservation ecosystem and to identify where in that ecosystem problems emerged.
- ▪Heritage research
- ▪Problem identification
- ▪Understanding stakeholder relationships
- ▪Mapping the existing system
Who Keeps Heritage Alive?
Mapping stakeholders helped reveal how conservation is influenced by different organisations, communities and interests rather than by a single decision-maker.
From Stakeholders to a System
The system map connected the identified problems and stakeholders to understand how conservation, public engagement and sustainability are interdependent.
Designing Possible Interventions
Working from the research and the system understanding, the team developed concept proposals — including approaches to heritage conservation governance and to promoting neglected heritage sites. These concepts were team outputs.
My Contribution
Collaborative college assignment for System Design. The overall system design and the concept proposals were team outputs.
As part of the team, I focused on heritage research, identifying the problems affecting conservation and mapping the stakeholders involved in the system.
This helped establish the research foundation from which the team's system-design concepts were developed.
What this project taught me
“Itihaas strengthened my ability to move from research into problem identification and systems thinking. It showed me that understanding who is involved, what motivates them and where the system breaks down can reveal opportunities that are not visible when looking at a single user or interface.”
Explore the Full Project
View the complete system map, research and concept development on Behance.
View Full Project on Behance →