GEMSTONE VALLEY An interactive Center of Excellence, Gallery, & Institute of Precious Gemstones

Abstract

Pakistan is home to a huge variety of gemstone minerals, some of which make it prominent in the mineral world, such as peridot, aquamarine, topaz, ruby, sapphire & emeralds. Mining overall is a dangerous profession and Pakistan's history is one that is filled with political strive causing very little inflow of foreign investment thereby slowing down the country's potential economic growth from the gemstone sector. Our natural resources are being exploited and depleting due to wastage caused by old methods of extraction. There is a huge lack of proper infrastructure housing the cutting, polishing, and marketing of the gemstones. It is about time that we realize, that without proper infrastructure, education, awareness, training and regulations, the progress of the gemstone sector will continue to be slow and the probable revenue from it will always remain unrealized. The idea of this thesis is to provide awareness to the people linked to the gemstone industry, and the general public, resolving the issues faced by the struggling miners and learn how we can solve these problems through architecture. The lack of education, awareness and proper training facilities prove to be a big loss, due to the underdeveloped infrastructure and inattention of the government, our industry suffers from lack of modern observatories, research laboratories, educational and training facilities. The gemstone industry is only confined to the officials working in the field. The industry lacks a proper showcase of the precious and semiprecious gemstones, along with their interaction with the general public. There is need for a platform that not only helps showcase this resource, but also allows its people to celebrate and own it. We need a center of excellence facility, which constitutes of up to-date labs, research centers, training institutes and exhibition galleries for the interaction of general public. The aim of this thesis is to provide a platform, that would attract the youth to progress in this field, general public who will own these precious resources, and invite foreign investors, tourists, and hobbyists to our country, providing it with international recognition.