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Saving a historic hospital from certain death View from courtyard C2 1983 Source:Sundaytimes Behind those sturdy pillars, past the broad corridors and into the courtyard, this new book unravels a murky saga.  And who better than the man whose own career was intertwined with its conservation, to tell the story. Gamini Wijesuriya describes it as a ‘tortuous effort’. Looking at it now, so beautifully restored, it is hard to imagine the magnitude of work that went into saving the historic Dutch Hospital from certain demolition and indeed the perseverance required to accomplish the task. Dr. Gamini Wijesuriya was the former Director of Conservation at the Department of Archaeology, the first Asian heritage professional to become a staff member of the International Centre for the Study of Restoration and Preservation of Cultural Property (ICCROM) in Rome. Now a Special Advisor to the Director-General ICCROM and to the Director of WHITRAP (the UNESCO ...