page_title: Downtown Yangon
section_title: Architecture
hierarchical_section_title: Downtown Yangon / Architecture
caption_attribution_description: English: Yangon Region Court (formerly New Law Courts building)
context_page_description: Downtown Yangon is the central business district of Yangon, Myanmar, located close to the geographic centre of the metropolitan area. The area features many of the city's major arts institutions and sports facilities.
context_section_description: Yangon's CBD is known for its leafy avenues and fin-de-siècle architecture. The former British colonial capital has the highest number of colonial period buildings in Southeast Asia. The CBD is still mainly made up of decaying colonial buildings. The former High Court, the former Secretariat buildings, the former St. Paul's English High School and the Strand Hotel are excellent examples of the bygone era. Most buildings in the CBD from this era are four-story mix-use (residential and commercial) buildings with 14-foot (4.3 m) ceilings, allowing for the construction of mezzanines. Despite their less-than-perfect conditions, the buildings remain highly sought after and most expensive in the city's property market.
  In 1996, the Yangon City Development Committee created a Yangon City Heritage List of old buildings and structures in the city that cannot be modified or torn down without approval. In 2012, the city of Yangon imposed a 50-year moratorium on demolition of buildings older than 50 years. The Yangon Heritage Trust, an NGO started by Thant Myint-U, aims to create heritage areas in Downtown, and attract investors to renovate buildings for commercial use.
caption: The Yangon Region Court building on Strand Road.
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