LONDON, Sept 2 — Nine of the world's most famous historic buildings are set to undergo restoration works thanks to a US$1.5 million (RM4.75m) grant from American Express and the World Monuments Fund (WMF).

Endangered architectural masterpieces from Barcelona to Hong Kong will be restored with the funding, which is part of the twice-yearly “World Monuments Watch” programme, which calls international attention to threatened cultural heritage sites around the world. Each of the nine locations was listed among the at-risk sites identified by the initiative last October.

Sites set to receive the funding include Antoni Gaudi's Güell Pavilions in Barcelona, built between 1883 and 1887, which will be made more accessible to the general public. The eighteenth-century Tenyuji Temple in Ogatsu, Japan will be restored following its destruction in the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.

The churches of Saint Merri and Notre-Dame-de-Lorette in Paris, France will see both their structures and interior artworks restored, whilst Pokfulam Village, a hillside settlement in Hong Kong, will undergo preservation works and the installation of a community history centre.

The sixteenth-century Farnese Aviaries in Rome, the archaeology museum Fundidora Park in Mexico and Sulgrave Manor in the UK will also receive a share of the funding. Sir Giles Gilbert Scott's graceful Art Deco Battersea Power Station in London and The House of Wonders, in Tanzania — at one time the most modern building in East Africa — will also undergo repair works.

“These historic places are tied to their nation's identity and our grant funding will help ensure our world's incredibly rich history can be experienced by future generations,” said Timothy McClimon, President of the American Express Foundation. — AFP-Relaxnews