As in dozens
of offices of any kind, good performances are always clouded by the "bad
praxis", whether done by certain people, certain entities... real
extravagance without any rigor, neither technical nor historical, dotting each
point in our territory.
Hidden are the
intentions for which you choose to go the easy way, whether for economic,
political or aesthetic, but the reality is that it acts without stopping to
think about the consequences of our actions on the assets.
The subject I want
to talk in these lines is the question of bad restorations, actions already
taken or still in progress, in which predominates the reasons set out above any
historical and heritage rigor.
What do we
mean by bad restoration? That does not respect the traditional value of the
work, which it is made with materials that drastically alter the image that the
item had before the restoration ... that is, the intervention that deprives the
identity of the restored element.
As with any
work, whether architectural, sculptural or pictorial, always is provided that
any intervention is to go completely unnoticed, using the same materials, the
same techniques ... and if it is not possible, it does everything "added"
neither stands nor distorts the original.
We can make a
long list of works which, for various reasons, can be dismissed as bad
restorations, such as the Roman Theatre of Sagunto in Valencia (Spain),
restored in 1985, in which it was rebuilt again the stands, the scene… Authors
understand it as a new work, due to be a dilapidated building. This action has
led to legal battles between political parties, between administrations... and in
January in 2008, the Supreme Court orders that the restoration must be demolished
and the Theater must stay in their dilapidated original state.
Another less
known example is the “Heraklea Minoa” Roman Theatre in Sicily (Italy), where it
was placed a plastic sheet in the stands so that attendees could sit, but due
to the climate of the place it began to emerge vegetation under the plastic,
including roots destroying parts of it. It was ordered to remove the plastic.
As these
examples there are hundreds, at all points of geography, but I want to address,
in concrete, one of the buildings in the town where I live.
This is the “Blacksmith
Building” of Torrejón de Ardoz in Madrid (Spain), an example of civil
architecture with an important historical value as well as ethnographic values shared with other emblematic buildings of the city
(fortunately still standing) as the church of San Juan Evangelista (which was
built in the sixteenth century and later expanded to its present appearance in
the year 1784) and the “Casa Grande” (in the XVI century).
The team of the
local government sought to retain the facade of the building and rehabilitate
the interior with a new construction, but due to the continuing state of
neglect it has suffered for decades and the original walls of adobe, the facades
that kept propped, finally they collapse. In addition, we must add the
destruction of the attached housing (in traditional Spanish style).
Now it is
trying to build a replica of how it was, a "historical false" (a
fake, to restore imitating the original state) with modern materials, with
metal structure with brick... What strikes the attention of the play is that
they are selling it, as seen in the sign of work by the motto "The city recovers a landmark building
to preserve and safeguard the assets of Torrejón".
Ladies and gentlemen,
let's talk clearly. On one side, they are agreeing in abandoned entirely a
landmark building of more than 3 centuries old. After, they consent to
"fall" it due to a poor execution. And finally, they try to recreate,
in bad ways, the state that once it had and try to sell it as the greatest
achievement made in the rehabilitation of buildings, but... How will they preserve
and protect the heritage of Torrejón a building that does NOT belong to the
heritage, because it is a "historical false"?
I honestly
think that, like many local citizens, it is a "suspect" demolition, because
everyone knows that the underground water layer of the city is very shallow
because of the proximity of the river Henares, and to shore up some adobe walls
of 300 year old lead behind a comprehensive study, or not carried out or was
not as comprehensive as it should.
The case is
that it has lost an important building in the town that, for many recoveries
that local authorities want to do, we will not enjoy it never.
The question
to ask is: How could we suppress the bad restorations? I advocate an increase
in subsidies at both county and state, the main reason for lost buildings and
assets.
Not offer
grants or subsequently derives a total abandonment of the elements to keep,
such as updates on the new slides in the ruins of Pompeii (Italy), in
particular the above case of the “Blacksmith Building” in my city.
What really
must be avoided is that the building reaches a precarious state and that is
called "maintenance". Small and specific economic actions saved the
fate they undergo dozens of abandoned buildings: the ruin and future collapse.
A true and a transparent
public money policy would do that the abandoned buildings recover its position
on new construction, change of use to promote the recovery benefit as giving
the building use (identical or different), it will be maintained and preserved
for the benefit of future generations.
The problem is
that more and more private entities offer and take charge of the restoration
work of heritage buildings, always opting for hotel use, hostels... instead of
creating identity museums (museums about the town), social centers or uses that
really are needed, rather than a hospice in a village with 20 inhabitants.
According to
the latter, we have in mind the current proposal of the Rome City Town and the
Italian Ministry about the restoring of the Anfitreatro Flavio (the Colosseum),
by which it seeks to achieve the 25 million of euros are needed for its
reconstruction and the adequacy of the surrounding by private entities, in
exchange for that investment, would have a space to promote their image (as in
the current soccer fields, where it is located in the field displays a row of
sponsors).
But ... how
much is needed today to rebuild the Coliseum or other debris?
That debate
will be the subject of other lines.
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