H@R
HERITAGE AT RISK
WORLD REPORT 2016-2019
ON MONUMENTS AND SITES IN DANGER
2016-2019
2016
19
HERITAGE AT RISK
HERITAGE AT RISK
WORLD REPORT 2016-2019
ON MONUMENTS AND SITES IN DANGER
PATRIMOINE EN PÉRIL
PATRIMONIO EN PELIGRO
EDITED BY CHRISTOPH MACHAT AND JOHN ZIESEMER
Published by hendrik Bäßler verlag · berlin
Heritage at Risk edited by ICOMOS
President:
Secretary General:
Treasurer General:
Vice Presidents:
Toshiyuki Kono
Peter Philips
Laura Robinson
Leonardo Castriota, Alpha Diop, Rohit Jigyasu, Grellan D. Rourke, Mario Santana Quintero
Office:
International Secretariat of ICOMOS
11 rue du Séminaire de Conflans,
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Funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Cultural Affairs
and the Media upon a Decision of the German Bundestag
Editorial Work: Christoph Machat, John Ziesemer
Front Cover: The Buzludzha Monument in Bulgaria (© Emil Iliev, 2020)
Inside Front Cover: Carpenter working on a timber post for the reconstruction of
Kasthamandap, with the Kal-Bhairab statue in the background (© ICOMOS Nepal/Kai Weise)
Inside Back Cover: Notre Dame de Paris, the spire in flames, April 2019 (© Emmanuel Fournier)
The choice and the presentation of the facts contained in this book and the opinions expressed therein do not commit ICOMOS in
any way and are the sole responsibility of their authors, whose independent viewpoints are not automatically endorsed by ICOMOS.
Photo credits can usually be found in the captions; otherwise the pictures were provided by the various committees, authors or
individual members of ICOMOS.
First Edition 2020
© 2020 ICOMOS – published by hendrik Bäßler verlag · berlin
ISBN 978-3-945880-67-8
CONTENTS
Foreword, Avant-Propos, Preámbulo Toshiyuki Kono, President of ICOMOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Introduction by Christoph Machat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
NATIONAL REPORTS
Albania: Monasteries of Albania, Abandoned Monuments. Key Study on a Survey and Documentation Initiative . . . . .
Australia: Heritage at Risk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Austria: Historic Centre of Vienna on UNESCO’s List of World Heritage in Danger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Bulgaria: The Buzludzha Monument . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Czech Republic: Heritage at Risk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Estonia: Estonian Watermills are Threatened by Fish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Finland: Helsinki-Malmi Airport Under Threat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
France: L’incendie de Notre-Dame de Paris. Point de la situation fin septembre 2019 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Georgia: Batumi Urban Heritage at Risk │ David Gareji Monasteries and Hermitage │ Khada Cultural Landscape at Risk
Germany: The Temple Synagogue in Hamburg’s Neustadt │ Bad Neuenahr: Great Frustration in the Bauhaus Year │
Illegal Destruction of Berlin’s St. Hedwig’s Cathedral Started in October 2019 │ The Roundhouse in Berlin-Pankow │
Berlin: Brutalist Icons Threatened by Demolition │ Focus Eastern Modernism: The Chemnitz Pylon Roof │
F1 (Fertigungshalle 1) and the Material Remains of the Former Heeresversuchsanstalt Peenemünde . . . . . . . . . .
India: Case Study 1: Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensembles of Mumbai and its Esplanade Mansion │
Case Study 2: The Risk of ‘Contemporising’ Historic Urban Landscapes – The Case of the Sacred Town of Varanasi │
Case Study 3: Saving Chandni Chowk, the Mughal Ceremonial Avenue of Shahjahanabad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Kosovo: Heritage at Risk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Mexico: The Main Threats Identified for Tangible and Intangible Assets as of 2017 │
Risks and Socio-cultural Impacts in the Sierra Tarahumara, State of Chihuahua . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Nepal: Overview of Heritage at Risk in Nepal: Changing Perception and Approaches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Netherlands: Amsterdam: Advertisements on Scaffolding in front of Historic Facades │
High-rise Development Outside the 17th Century Canal Ring of Amsterdam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Peru: Sitio Arqueológico Cerro Ventarrón. Antecedentes del Incendio 2017 y Medidas Adoptadas por las
Instancias Correspondientes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Portugal: Threats to the World Heritage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Romania: Transylvanian Saxon Architectural Heritage: Two Towers of Fortified Churches Collapsed . . . . . . . . . . .
Slovenia: Heritage of the 19th and 20th Centuries at Risk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Spain: The Palacio Bellas Artes in San Sebastian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Turkey: Current Risks in Cultural and Natural Heritage Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
USA: Endangered Historic Places . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Uzbekistan: Uzbekistan’s Historic Residential Architecture in Danger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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THEMATIC REPORTS
Airbnb Reshapes Historic Cities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
International Polar Heritage Committee: Heritage at Risk in the Polar Regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
International Scientific Committee on 20th Century Heritage: The Y-block in Oslo, Norway │ The Viking Ship Hall,
Roskilde, Denmark │ The Challenge of Conserving Post-Independence 20th-Century Heritage of India . . . .
Space Heritage at Risk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . 138
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OTHER ORGANISATIONS
Europa Nostra: The 2016 and 2018 Europa Nostra Lists of the “7 Most Endangered Heritage Sites in Europe” . . . . . . . . . 166
World Heritage Watch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
The Heritage at Risk Series . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
ICOMOS ∙ Journals of the German National Committee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
6
FOREWORD
I would like to congratulate on the new volume of Heritage at
Risk. This publication series started in 2000 under the initiative
of our Honorary President, Michael Petzet, who unfortunately
passed away in 2019. For the last 20 years, this publication series
has shown many heritage sites with problems and difficulties, and
has drawn the attention of a wider audience to risks caused by
various types of natural disasters, destructive human activities,
and excessive economic development. This particular volume
covers many cases in 23 countries during the period from 2016
through 2019. I would like to invite you to take this volume in
your hand, and to remember Michael and his twenty-year-long
achievement through this publication series.
As I am writing this, I just learned that two explosions have
heavily damaged Beirut. ICOMOS should offer long-term support to Lebanese colleagues to help with the recovery. Michael’s
long-term contribution through this publication series reminds
me of such a fundamental stance for an expert organization like
ICOMOS.
All of us are now going through an unprecedented disaster everywhere in the world. Impacts of this pandemic may last very
long, since it affects all kinds of activities. In order to identify
how this pandemic may affect cultural heritage and its conservation, ICOMOS has started a long-term survey on COVID-19 and
heritage conservation. A special issue in this series could perhaps
be an idea as a future project?
Last, but not least I would like to thank ICOMOS Germany for
continuing with this important initiative. Starting something new
is difficult, but continuing is at least equally difficult.
Toshiyuki Kono
President of ICOMOS
AVANT-PROPOS
Je tiens à féliciter pour le nouveau volume de « Heritage at Risk ».
Cette série de publications a débuté en 2000 à l’initiative de notre
Président honoraire, Michael Petzet, qui est malheureusement décédé en 2019. Au cours des 20 dernières années, cette série de publications a présenté de nombreux sites du patrimoine rencontrant
diverses difficultés, et a attiré l’attention d’un public plus large
sur les risques causés par différents types de catastrophes naturelles, les activités humaines destructrices et un développement
économique excessif. Ce volume particulier couvre de nombreux
cas dans 23 pays au cours de la période allant de 2016 à 2019.
Je voudrais vous inviter à prendre ce volume en main et à vous
souvenir de Michael et de ses vingt années d’accomplissement à
travers cette série de publications.
Au moment même où j’écris ces lignes, je viens d’apprendre
que deux explosions ont lourdement endommagé la ville de
Beyrouth. L’ICOMOS offrira un soutien à long terme à ses collègues libanais pour les aider à se remettre sur pied. La contribution
de Michael à travers cette série de publications me rappelle l’importance pour une organisation d’experts comme l’ICOMOS de
prendre position dans une situation comme celle-ci.
Nous vivons tous actuellement une catastrophe sans précédent
partout dans le monde. Les effets de cette pandémie pourraient
durer très longtemps, car elle affecte nos activités de multiples
façons. Afin de déterminer comment cette pandémie peut affecter
le patrimoine culturel et sa conservation, l’ICOMOS a lancé une
enquête à long terme sur l’impact du COVID-19 sur la conservation du patrimoine. Un numéro spécial dans la série « Heritage at
Risk » pourrait peut-être constituer une idée de projet futur ?
Enfin, je tiens à remercier ICOMOS Allemagne de poursuivre
cette importante initiative. Commencer un nouveau projet n’est
jamais chose facile, mais le poursuivre est au moins tout aussi
difficile.
Toshiyuki Kono
Président de l’ICOMOS
7
PREÁMBULO
Me gustaría felicitar por el nuevo volumen de Heritage at Risk.
Esta serie de publicaciones comenzó en el año 2000 gracias a la
iniciativa de nuestro presidente de Honor, Michael Petzet, quien
lamentablemente falleció en 2019. Durante los últimos 20 años,
esta serie de publicaciones ha mostrado muchos sitios patrimoniales con problemas y dificultades, y ha llamado la atención de
una amplia audiencia sobre los riesgos causados por los diversos
tipos de desastres naturales, las actividades humanas destructivas
y el desarrollo económico excesivo. En concreto, este volumen
incluye numerosos casos en 23 países durante el periodo de 2016
a 2019. Me gustaría invitarle a tomar la publicación entre sus
manos y recordar a Michael y su éxito de 20 años de duración a
través de esta serie de publicaciones.
Mientras escribo esta carta he tenido conocimiento de que dos
explosiones han causado graves daños en Beirut. ICOMOS de-
bería ofrecer apoyo a largo plazo para que nuestros colegas libaneses puedan ayudar durante la recuperación. La contribución
a largo plazo de Michael a través de esta serie de publicaciones
me recuerda la postura fundamental de una organización experta
como ICOMOS.
Todos nosotros y en todas partes del mundo estamos lidiando
con un desastre sin precedentes. Los impactos de esta pandemia
pueden durar mucho tiempo, puesto que afecta a todas nuestras
actividades. Para identificar cómo la pandemia puede afectar al
patrimonio cultural y su conservación, ICOMOS ha puesto en
marcha una encuesta a largo plazo sobre la COVID-19 y la conservación del patrimonio. ¿Un número especial de esta serie podría ser quizás una idea para un futuro proyecto?
Por último, pero no menos importante, me gustaría dar las gracias a ICOMOS-Alemania por continuar con esta importante iniciativa. Comenzar algo nuevo es difícil, pero continuarlo es, por
lo menos, igual de complicado.
Toshiyuki Kono
Presidente de ICOMOS
8
INTRODUCTION
The ICOMOS World Report 2016-2019 on Monuments and
Sites in Danger (Heritage at Risk) is the latest volume of what
is already a whole series of World Reports started in 2000 and
followed by the volumes H@R 2001/2002, H@R 2002/2003,
H@R 2004/2005, H@R 2006/2007, H@R 2008–2010,
H@R 2011–2013 and H@R 2014/2015. The series has also been
complemented by four special editions: H@R Special 2006 Underwater Cultural Heritage at Risk / Managing Natural and Human Impacts, H@R Special 2007 The Soviet Heritage and European Modernism, H@R Special 2008 Cultural Heritage and
Natural Disasters / Risk Preparedness and the Limits of Prevention, and the new H@R Special 2020 Heritage Under Water at
Risk: Threats, Challenges and Solutions. The continuation of the
successful series, also widely disseminated via the internet, is
related to Resolution 26 of the 16th General Assembly of ICOMOS in October 2008 in Quebec, which resolved to “request the
Heritage at Risk Series to be continued and that actions be taken
to enhance its communication and impact so as to support protection and conservation of the cultural heritage world-wide and to
better serve ICOMOS and its Committees to define priorities and
strategic goals”.
The new World Report 2016–2019 consists of contributions
from 23 countries, among them reports from national and international scientific committees of ICOMOS, but also, as usual,
reports by individual experts, complimented by short information
on the World Heritage Watch network, founded in 2014, and by
press releases on the Europa Nostra programme “The Seven Most
Endangered Heritage Sites in Europe” launched in 2013.
Natural impact on cultural heritage
Very welcome is yet another report from the International Polar
Heritage Committee IPHC (pp. 140 ff.) on global warming, the
greatest threat to the polar regions, because the diminishing sea
ice produces coastal erosion by rising sea levels. Among the mitigation attempts digital documentation but also satellite technology for monitoring are mentioned (see also the UK report on pp.
163 f., which suggests that ICOMOS should consider establishing
an ISC on Space Heritage). Similar threats caused by rising sea
levels, for example floods or shore erosion are reported from the
San Francisco Embarcadero Historic District ( p. 124), the Tidal
Basin of Washington D. C. (pp. 126 f.), or from Turkey (pp. 121 f.).
Serious impacts of the global climate change (already subject of
a special focus in H@R 2006/2007, pp. 191–227) on the natural
and cultural heritage are extensive droughts and forest fires, reported from the Mediterranean, e. g. from Greece (2008) and Turkey (pp. 121 f.), or the devastating bush fires of 2019 in Australia
(pp. 18 f.). Other impacts are storms or cyclones, like the back-toback hurricanes of late 2017 in Puerto Rico ( pp. 125 f.), which
damaged 11 of 12 historic zones. Several earthquakes (from Izmir
1999 to Istanbul 2019) are reported from Turkey, some followed
by tsunamis and floods (pp. 121 f.), from San Francisco ( p. 124),
Mexico 2017 ( p. 89), Romania ( pp. 110 f.) with damages caused
by repeated seismic activities, and finally from Nepal ( pp. 95 f.):
The latter is a follow-up report on the post-disaster rehabilitation
process after the earthquakes of April and May 2015, confirming that a reconstruction of the settlements and the cultural sites
will only be possible by ensuring cultural continuity – through
knowledge and skills of the community being passed on from
generation to generation.
War and inter-ethnic conflicts
An analysis of the reports shows that, apart from the general risks
to heritage from natural disasters and physical decay of structures, there are certain patterns in human activity that endanger
our heritage, such as risks from war and inter-ethnic conflicts,
as documented in the previous volume H@R 2014/2015 where
reports focussed on the situation in the Near East ( pp. 63–101)
and Yemen ( pp. 141 f.). Unfortunately, the conflicts persist and
the ICOMOS Working Group for Safeguarding Cultural Heritage
in Syria and Iraq, established in 2012 and validated in November 2014 by resolution of the General Assembly in Florence, is
continuing all the activities of monitoring, research, formation
and training courses for cultural heritage professionals. A precarious and vulnerable situation of the heritage is reported from
Kosovo ( pp. 82 ff.), resulting from the consequences of the armed
conflicts of 1998/99, where due to lack of maintenance and improper management a significant number of sites are at risk of
being completely ruined. Professional and technical training in
the various fields of cultural heritage preservation is necessary as
well as a reform of the responsible institutions.
Development pressure
Human-made risks from development pressures caused by population growth and progressive industrialisation are reported
from all parts of the world, resulting in ever-greater consumption of land and destroying not only archaeological evidence, but
entire (even protected) cultural landscapes. Examples of such
development pressures are the various dam projects, some of
them already mentioned in previous Heritage at Risk editions,
e. g. Allianoi and Hasankeyf, both in Turkey (H@R 2011–2013,
p. 150), or Belo Monte, Brazil (H@R 2011–2013, p. 52). From
Mexico five dam projects from different parts of the country are
reported ( pp. 88 f.) which will cause the displacement of thousands of indigenous people. But also the opposite might happen,
as we learn from the report on the Estonian Watermills ( pp. 29 ff.),
where the Environmental Board of Estonia demands the unconditional demolition of the historic dams to restore the spawning
grounds of fish (part of the EU water policy since 2000)! And
a water infrastructure project is threatening the historic town of
Rassawek, Virginia ( pp. 130 f.). As already mentioned in previous
editions, large-scale mining projects continue to threaten cultural
Introduction
landscapes, like the open-cast gold mining in the archaeological
zone of Xochicalco (World Heritage Site) in Mexico ( pp. 87 f.),
or the silver mining, forestry, tourism and drug trafficking activities in the Sierra Tarahumara (state of Chihuahua) in Mexico ( pp. 90 f.). Other projects are threatening cultural landscapes
as well, like the annexation of 2.200 acres of land by the city
of North Charleston inside the protected historic landscape of
the Ashley River ( pp. 124 f.), the recently started oil-gas-development by drilling hundreds of new wells that will produce oil
through fracking inside the Chaco Culture National Historic
Park ( pp. 130), or the transmission line built in 2018 across the
James River inside the protected Colonial National Historic Park
(pp. 130 f.).
Tourism
Often it is also the political will that is missing, for instance if
the extant legal regulations and structures are not put in use, are
weakened or even changed, as happened with the Bears Ears cultural landscape in Utah, designated a national monument in December 2016 by President Obama, but revoked in December 2018
by President Trump. The original protected area was replaced
with two much smaller areas, one million acres of land with thousands of archaeological sites thus being unprotected and exposed
to looting, vandalism and incompatible use (pp. 128 f.). Less dramatic but with possible serious impact on the cultural heritage
is the governmental modernisation project of the Zhinvali-Larsi
traffic road through the Khada Valley ( pp. 48 ff.) in Georgia. And
the planned “Mayan railway” in South-Eastern Mexico ( p. 89),
which aims to connect different tourist points between Yucatan
and Campeche to boost tourism, will cross not only the ecological
reserve of Calakmul (World Heritage Site), but also vast archaeological remains that might be affected by the construction of this
railroad project. Tourist development facilities are planned inside
the Sintra cultural landscape (World Heritage Site) in Portugal,
including a palace of the 19th century that is to be converted into the new Quinta da Gandarinha hotel project ( p. 108), while
the eastern cloister of the Alcobaҫa Cistercian monastery (World
Heritage Site) has been granted to a private holding group for
transforming it into a luxury hotel ( p. 107). And from the historic centre of Porto (World Heritage Site), severe threats to the
property are reported ( pp. 108 f.), all characterised by faҫadism,
a result of depopulation and tourism pressures, explained in the
thematic report on “Airbnb Reshapes Historic Cities” ( pp. 138 f.).
The problems described in this report can also be applied to many
other cities worldwide.
f
Lack of use and maintenance
Neglect and /or lack of use and maintenance are very often the
source of possible deterioration or destruction. It applies to industrial buildings, like the Roundhouse in Berlin-Pankow ( pp. 59 f.)
or the ‘Tobačna tovarna’ (Tobacco factory), the mixed-use Kolizej building and the Bežigrad stadium, all in Ljubljana, Slovenia
( pp. 112 ff.), the Esplanade Mansion of Mumbai ( pp. 69 ff.) or the
Mitchell Park Domes in Milwaukee ( p. 124), but also to places of
worship, like the remains of the Temple Synagogue in the Neustadt of Hamburg ( pp. 52 f.) or the monastic building complexes
in Albania ( pp. 12 ff.) and the David Gareji monasteries in Georgia ( pp. 44 ff.); for both documentation initiatives are reported.
Unfortunately, very important church buildings may be damaged
either by lack of political will, as the illegal destruction of the
9
interior of Berlin’s St. Hedwig’s Cathedral shows ( pp. 57 f.), or by
fire, as happened on April 15, 2019 to the famous Cathedral Notre
Dame in Paris ( pp. 36 ff.). And on 12 November 2017, the archaeological World Heritage Site of Ventarrón, Peru ( pp. 104 ff.) was
also seriously damaged by fire.
Threats to urban districts
Even historic urban districts all over the world suffer from neglect, lack of maintenance or careless, often totally unplanned
renewal processes, like the demolition of urban residential neighbourhoods in Uzbekistan’s cities (even those in World Heritage
Sites) ( pp. 132 ff.), projects to ‘contemporise’ the sacred town of
Varanasi ( pp. 73 ff.) or Chandni Chowk, the Mughal Ceremonial
Avenue of Shahjahanabad ( pp. 76 ff.), both in India, or the plan
to build five skyscrapers in the historic harbour area of Batumi,
Georgia ( pp. 39 ff.). Visual impacts caused by planned or already
erected high-rise buildings are reported from Prague ( pp. 26 ff.),
from Amsterdam, where the city administration is planning the
new residential area of ‘Sluisbuurt’ with 14 high-rise buildings at
slightly more than two kilometres distance, just outside the buffer zone of the World Heritage canal ring area ( pp. 101 ff.), and
from Vienna ( pp. 21 ff.), where six high-rise towers are planned
within the buffer zone already on the List of World Heritage in
Danger. There the problems inside the core zone concern the illegal practice of converting empty roof spaces into apartments.
And the core zone of Amsterdam ( p. 100) is faced once again
with giant advertisements on scaffolding, as already reported in
H@R 2008 –2010 ( pp. 215 f.).
Focus: 20th century heritage
In this volume, special attention is given to reports focussing
on the built heritage of the 20th century, with the International
Scientific Committee on 20th Century Heritage (ISC20C) presenting examples of the “Heritage Alert” process, which provides
a method for assessing and publicising a range of modern risk
cases to focus international attention on alternative conservation
solutions. Launched in 2009, it has been quite successful for the
conservation of many modern heritage sites, but there are losses as well, as reported from the Palacio de Bellas Artes in San
Sebastian, Spain ( pp. 117 ff.) or the Y-Block in Oslo, Norway
( pp. 143 ff.), as well as unresolved cases like the Viking Ship Hall
in Roskilde, Denmark ( pp. 145 ff.).
Other reports from members of the ISC20C committee present
either losses, like the ‘Hall of Nations Complex’ from 1972 in
New Delhi, demolished in 2017 ( pp. 148 ff.), the Kala Academy
building in Goa under threat of demolition ( pp. 151 ff.), or threats
of ‘redevelopment’, as faced by the Central Vista of the British
Imperial Capital, New Delhi ( pp. 156 ff.). These reports are an
appeal to change the attitude towards our recent heritage.
A good example for the problem of attitude is the Buzludzha
building from 1981, a monument to praise the glory of the Bulgarian Communist Party, abandoned after 1989 and suffering
from vandalism and decay, as already reported in the previous
volume H@R 2014/2015 (pp. 32–34). After the reassessment of
this most iconic and significant building of post-war modernism
in Bulgaria an international team of experts started in 2019 to
develop a conservation and management plan ( pp. 24 f.). Similar
problems are reported from Chemnitz, former Karl-Marx-Stadt,
GDR ( pp. 62 ff.), where of the ensemble of the bus station of
1968, an outstanding example of Eastern Modernism (and con-
10
Introduction
sidered the most modern bus station in Europe), today only the
suspended pylon roof is protected. More delicate are the problems
reported from Peenemünde, Germany ( pp. 65 ff.) concerning the
remains of the former experimental plant, part of the Army Research Centre (from 1939 until 1943). And the Malmi airport in
Helsinki ( pp. 32 ff.), built from 1935 to 1938, an icon of Finnish
modernism (see DOCOMOMO catalogues of 1991 and 2017) is
under threat, because the city of Helsinki is consistently working
on transforming the ensemble into a residential area. In Germany, in the year of the Bauhaus centenary the city administration
of Bad Neuenahr decided to demolish the spa buildings from
1937 ( pp. 54 ff.), while in Berlin two iconic buildings of – not yet
protected – brutalist architecture, the Institute for Hygiene and
Microbiology (1966–74) and the Central Animal Laboratories
(1967– 81), nicknamed Mouse Bunker (Mäusebunker), are still
under threat of demolition ( pp. 60 ff.).
All these reports on threats (not only to World Heritage Sites) can
be considered as the result of continuous proactive observation,
a preventive monitoring of the state of conservation, which lies
in the responsibility of the National Committees of ICOMOS (article 4 of the Statutes), and, as explained in the Introduction to
the previous edition on p. 10, such preventive monitoring for the
World Heritage Sites is part of the responsibilities of the advisory bodies ICOMOS, IUCN and ICCROM. Despite the positive
results of some preventive monitoring groups for World Heritage Sites organised at national level a couple of years ago (e. g.
in Germany, Austria, and Hungary) and published in the H@R
editions since 2006/2007 (including this volume), further definition and improvement under the guidance of ICOMOS will be
welcome, as Resolution no. 31 of the GA 2017 resolved: Development of an ICOMOS Methodology on Preventive Monitoring.
Let’s hope we have it soon!
At the moment, all of us are suffering from the worldwide
COVID-19 pandemic, which affects all kinds of activities, including those related to the conservation of cultural heritage and all
the people involved, indifferent of their speciality or social status.
ICOMOS has started a long-term survey on the impacts of the
pandemic on cultural heritage conservation, and, as our president
of ICOMOS suggested in his foreword, this might become a special issue in our H@R series.
With this volume of Heritage at Risk we hope to have succeeded in giving a certain overview of the threats, problems and trends
regarding the protection of monuments in different regions of the
world in the period 2016 –2019. We are well aware of the gaps in
our work and of the limits of what we can do. Thanking all colleagues who have contributed to this publication and made their
pictures available to us, we would also like to note that, in line
with ICOMOS policy, the texts and information provided for this
publication reflect the independent view of each committee and
the different authors. Our special thanks are addressed to Gaia
Jungeblodt, our director at the International Secretariat, who over
the last years has collected all the relevant information for our
editorial work. At the secretariat of ICOMOS Germany in Berlin
we would like to thank John Ziesemer who was in charge of the
editorial work and the English translations, and Dörthe Hellmuth
for her administrative work. Finally, we wish to extend our thanks
to the German Federal Government Commissioner for Cultural
Affairs and the Media who once again provided the necessary
financial and organisational framework for this publication.
Christoph Machat
Introduction
NATIONAL REPORTS
11
12
ALBANIA
Monasteries of Albania, Abandoned
Monuments. Key Study on a Survey
and Documentation Initiative
Introduction
Most of the existing monasteries, mainly located in central
and southern Albania, date back to the post-Byzantine period
(16th–19th centuries)1. Historical records reveal that many of
them were founded in earlier times,2 but the buildings preserved
nowadays belong to post-Byzantine times, as a result of the ongoing reconstructions. The basis for these conclusions has also
been the recordings of various western travellers, who testified
to ruins mainly in villages after the stabilisation of the “Pax
Ottomanica”.3
Fig. 1: St. Mary of Driano monastery
Monasteries were founded in the countryside and in mountainous areas, and, especially during the first period of the Ottoman
occupation, along the communication routes.4 They were built in
dominant places as well as in the most protected and picturesque
spots (Fig. 1). The defensive character is a feature of the monasteries, which in the first period was more pronounced. They were
surrounded by high walls (Fig. 2) and equipped with turrets and
sometimes with guard towers. Over time this defensive characteristic abated.5
Constructions inside the monastery complex have different
functions; the following can be mentioned: the church, the dining
room, facilities for administrative and clergy accommodation,
guest houses or places of worship for believers, facilities for servants and the monastery, as well as auxiliary facilities, livestock
barn, pantry 6 etc.
Water supply was always a concern for monastic life. The
water was provided by wells or sterols (water cisterns) which
Albania
Fig. 2: Surrounding walls of the monastery of St. Mary of Driano
collected rainwater through gutters from the roofs of buildings.
Often sterols were treated with particular architectural care. An
example is the case of the Vanishta monastery sterol (Fig. 3), built
in the form of a high tower.7
Protection status
A considerable part of the monasteries in Albania are protected
by obtaining the status of cultural monument of Category I and
thus being included in the list of monuments by a joint decision in
1963.8 By this order, the Tirana State University Rectorate placed
under state protection a long list of religious monuments for each
district of the country, including all typologies that were of cultural or historical value for the country. Only Christian monuments in central and southern Albania were counted: 21 churches
in Berat, six churches and one monastery in Ersekë, five churches
and three monasteries in Fier, 19 churches and 14 monasteries
in Gjirokastra, 27 churches and one monastery in Korça, five
churches and one monastery in Lushnja, 20 churches and eight
monasteries in Saranda, 12 churches and three monasteries in
Vlora.
Cultural revolution
In 1967 Albania proclaimed itself to be the only atheist country in the world. In February 1967 the leader of that time, Enver
Hoxha, delivered a speech entitled “Further Revolutionizing the
Party and the Power”. Immediately afterwards, the only journal
of the time, The Voice of the People, published the article: “With
the sharp sword of party ideology, against religious ideology,
prejudice, superstition and backward customs”. This caused great
damage to the monuments of religious heritage, leading to the de-
Fig. 3: The water cistern of the monastery of the Annunciation
to the Virgin in Vanishta
13
14
Albania
Fig. 4: Students from the Department of Archaeology and Cultural Heritage
Albania
15
Fig. 5: Template for the inventorisation of monuments in FileMaker programme
struction of a large number of icons, frescoes, religious books and
so on. Due to their location in dominant areas, most monasteries
were converted into military bases. Moreover, many churches and
monasteries were removed from the list of protected monuments.
Berati numbered 15, Elbasani eleven, Durresi five, Erseka four,
Fieri four, Gjirokastra 25, Korca 27, Kruja two, Peshkopia two,
Pogradeci five, Permeti seven, Saranda 22, Shkodra three, Tirana
two, Tropoja three, and Vlora 17.
There was a contradiction in the following years, because on
the one hand there was a fight over the churches and other religious buildings; and on the other hand, a large number of churches were put under state protection, namely in 1970, 1977, 1980,
and 1983.
After 1991, with the political changes, the state policy towards
religious heritage changed immediately, although the damage
to religious culture heritage buildings had suffered a powerful
shock.
Monasteries at the beginning of the 21th century
Monasteries today are centres that have not retained their function, as their monastic life has for the most part been extinct
since the beginning of the last century. In these complexes today only the church has been preserved, while the konak-s are
mostly uninhabited and consequently damaged.9 Therefore, the
documentation of the monasteries is considered a priority step.
For this purpose, ICOMOS Albania has undertaken a documentation initiative, thanks to a project that has also been supported
by the Ministry of Culture, Institute of Cultural Monuments,
and made possible by the US Ambassador’s Cultural Heritage
Fund.10
The project that started two years ago deals with documenting
(214) churches and monasteries that hold the status of “cultural monument” and are located throughout Albania. For a better
organisation of the field work, we considered it appropriate to
include a team of experts from various professional fields: GIS
specialists, architect conservators, archaeologists, and art conservators. The survey team also includes three students from the
Department of Archaeology and Cultural Heritage assisting with
the field training. Also, this will help them to become familiar
with the religious heritage of the country through first-hand observation and field work.
In particular, the project will provide them with personal
knowledge and experience, thus enlarging the knowledge of the
16
Albania
Fig. 6: Graphic documentation of the iconostasis at St. John’s church
state of conservation of the materials in the historic buildings.
The student groups will change with each trip in order to give all
of them the opportunity of first-hand experience (Fig. 4).
The in-depth information will be accessible to all Albanian
institutions of cultural heritage (Ministry of Culture, Centre
for Cultural Heritage Inventory, National Institute of Cultural
Monuments, and the Regional Directorates of Cultural
Monuments) and will allow them to develop a national and comprehensive strategy of conservation, including setting preservation and conservation priorities.
Likewise, each site visit involves the participation of a GIS
specialist who is responsible for taking detailed coordinate data,
developing the coordinates on a GIS mapping system using the
Vector GIS Capabilities, transferring data, and training a specialist from the Institute of Cultural Monuments during the project
time.
The project aims to carry out a detailed photographic documentation, drawings, as well as other types of documentation regarding problems of deterioration, providing a report and fulfilling a
schedule for every single monument in FileMaker, one for the
building and the other for the mural art and other types of decoration (Fig. 5, Fig. 6).
The assembled materials for each site produced during the project will be deposited at the archives of the Institute of Cultural
Monuments, and at the archives of the Regional Directorates of
National Culture in six cities all over Albania, and another copy
with be deposited at the National Centre for the Registration of
Cultural Property. This comprehensive collection of technical fiches will constitute the entire survey. A 3D modelling solution has
aimed at creating professional quality 3D content from still images
by using Agisoft Metashape. At the end of the project, a catalogue
will be developed in order to reflect all the work done on site.
Edlira Çaushi
Department of Archaeology and Culture Heritage
Faculty of History and Philology
Tirana University (Albania)
Elio Hobdari
Department of Late Antiquity and Middle Ages
Institute of Archaeology
Academy of Albanological Studies
Tirana (Albania)
Albania
Footnotes
1
For inscriptions and dates see the publication: Popa, Th.,
Mbishkrime të kishave në Shqipëri, Akademia e Shkencave,
Tiranë, 1998.
2
Thomo, P., Manastiret e krahinave të Gjirokastrës, Tiranë,
Monumentet, 53/2015, fq. 147.
3
Kiel, M., Art and Society of Bulgaria in the Turkish Period;
Van Gorcum, Assen / Maastricht, The Netherlands.; 1985;
fq. 171.
4
Thomo, P., Manastiret e krahinave të Gjirokastrës, Tiranë,
Monumentet, 53/2015, fq. 147; see also Giakoumis, K., The
Monasteries of Jorgucat and Vanishtë in Dropull and of Spelaio
in Lunxhëri as Monuments and Institutions during the Ottoman
Period in Albania (16th –19th Centuries), Ph.D. thesis submitted in the C. B. O. M. G. S., The University of Birmingham,
Birmingham 2002, fq. 125; and Adami J., Rrugë dhe objekte
arkeologjike në Shqipëri, Shtypshkronja e re, Tiranë, 1983.
5
Thomo, P., Manastiret e krahinave të Gjirokastrës, Tiranë,
Monumentet, 53/2015, fq. 147; Meksi, Aleksandër - Thomo, P.,
Arkitektura pasbizantine në Shipëri – Bazilikat, Monumentet,
Tiranë, 1981/21.
6
7
8
9
10
17
Thomo, P., Manastiret, Tiranë, Monumentet, 2015/53, fq. 14;
see also: Giakoumis, Giorgo, Monuments of Orthodoxy in
Albania, (Mnimia Orthodoxias stin Alvania) Athina, 1994;
Thomo, P., “Kisha Pasbizantine në Shqiperinë e Jugut”,
KOASH, Tiranë, 1998.
Historia e Arkitekturës në Shqipëri, Tiranë 2016, fq. 595.
Most churches and monastery complexes in central and southern Albania have been put under the protection of the Rectorate
of the State University of Tirana, by joint decision No. 6 of
January 15, 1963.
Thomo, P., Monumentet, Shqipëria i ka humbur të gjitha manastiret; Pressreader, Janar, 19, 2013; https://www.pressreader.
com/albania/gazeta-shqiptare/20130119/281960310113693.
AFCP (Tirana) https://al.usembassy.gov/education-culture/educational-exchange-programs/ambassadors-fund-cultural-preservation-afcp/
Credits
Figs. 1–5: © Edlira Çaushi
Fig. 6: © Elio Hobdari
18
AUSTRALIA
Heritage at Risk
Australia has endured a ferocious summer in 2019/20, with crippling drought and massive bushfires, all of which have profoundly impacted cultural and natural heritage. Many now see this as
evidence of the climate emergency (Fig. 1).
The ocean surface around Australia has warmed over recent decades at a similar rate to the air temperature. Sea surface temperature in the Australian region has warmed by around 1° C since
1910, with eight of the ten warmest years on record occurring
since 2010. Australia’s climate is notorious for its volatility, but
the high temperatures of the current 2019/20 summer have been
at the extreme end of any scale. The country sits between two
major oceans and is buffeted by the shifting circulation patterns
of both. The weather over Australia can change drastically from
year to year and become hard to predict. The Indian Ocean Dipole, the cycle of the temperature gradient between the eastern
and western parts of the Indian Ocean, was in its positive phase
in 2019. That led to much less rainfall over Australia as prevailing
winds pushed moisture gathering above the Indian Ocean away
from the continent in the spring.
In addition to the dry spell, Australia set a new record for its
hottest day in December 2019, with temperatures over 40°C in
most of the nation’s major cities, with inland areas of Victoria,
New South Wales and South Australia eclipsing 50°C. Recently, researchers carried out an analysis of the impact of climate
change on the risk of wildfires happening all over the world.
The study looked at 57 research papers published since the last
major review of climate science in 2013. All the studies in the
review showed links between climate change and the increased
frequency and severity of fire weather. This has been seen in many regions, including the western USA and Canada, Scandinavia,
Portugal, Amazonia, Indonesia, and even the Arctic.
In Australia, while most are convinced, it is only now that consensus is beginning to form that the extreme weather events are
climate change-related. As of January 19, 2020, 80 percent of
the Blue Mountains World Heritage Area has been devastated
by bushfires. In the state of New South Wales alone, 21 human
lives have been lost, over half a billion animals killed, five million hectares burnt and more than 2100 structures destroyed. By
the end of the fire season, the figures are expected to be far higher. Heritage places are amongst the casualties and include urban,
rural and industrial heritage, Aboriginal heritage, archaeological
sites and cultural landscapes.
Weather conditions across Australia are changing due to human-induced climate change. We can expect ever increasing
droughts and bush fires, disastrous storm events, floods and
cyclones. The intensity of each of these will increase, though
perhaps not linearly each year, and prediction will prove difficult. Risk to heritage is clear and increasing. Mitigation and
preparedness are paramount and at the forefront of discussions
Fig. 1: Bushfires of 2019 (photo courtesy of ABC)
pertaining to heritage protection. While all bushfires cannot be
prevented, good preparation can assist in minimising the effects.
Adaptation and mitigation measures, emergency response plans
and actions, including removal of fuel through controlled or
cultural burning, will be critical to the survival of Australia’s
heritage. Australia ICOMOS is currently reviewing and updating guidelines for managing cultural heritage places affected by
disasters.
The listing and mapping of heritage places throughout Australia varies from state to state, and there are many places of heritage
value that have not been formally assessed or documented. Assessments are in accordance with the principles set out in the Australia ICOMOS Burra Charter. Management is guided by site-specific conservation plans. The identification and management of
disaster risk to Australia’s heritage places will add another layer
to current management practices. The collections and archives
sector are better prepared with disaster plans and response protocols in place for most major collections, and training is provided.
This is far less common in the heritage places sector, but must
become part of our common practice.
Australia
19
Fig. 2: “Current and emerging risks to Australia’s heritage”, Mackay R (2017). Australia state of the environment 2016: heritage, independent
report to the Australian Government Minister for the Environment and Energy, Australian Government Department of the Environment and Energy,
Canberra
Community expectations regarding the conservation of historic cultural heritage are debated and continually evolving within
Australia, as they should be. Legislative protection of cultural
property at the national level is under the auspices of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
(the EPBC Act). The Act was recognised at a time of significant
change in heritage policy. The EPBC Act established the National
Heritage List in 2004, which currently recognises the outstanding Indigenous, historic and/or natural heritage values of more
than 100 places across Australia. Also, of significance is the 2015
Australian Heritage Strategy pertaining to the recognition and
protection of cultural property, which recognises that heritage is
diverse and encompasses natural, historic and Indigenous values.
It considers ways in which Australia’s heritage places can be better identified and managed to ensure their long-term protection.
The Heritage Strategy will be reviewed in 2020 by the Australian
Government, with subsequent periodic monitoring, evaluation
and review of objectives and actions as required. In order for the
Strategy to be effective it will need to be embraced by individual
state governments, NGOs and community groups (Fig. 2).
In Australia, State of the Environment (SoE) reporting occurs
at both the national and state/territory level. The Commonwealth
(national) State of the Environment report prepared in 2016 identifies risks to heritage (with text prepared by Professor Richard
Mackay AM) (Fig. 3):
“Australia’s heritage continues to be under-resourced, and at
risk from both natural and human factors. Some risks, such as
catastrophic fire or extreme weather event, may not be easily
Fig. 3: Current and emerging risks to Australia’s heritage
20
Australia
The commitment to national leadership in Australia Heritage
Strategy should reduce the overall risk to Australia’s heritage.
However, continuing reduction in the public-sector resources allocated for heritage presents a growing risk to long-term conservation of heritage values”
Fig. 4: The Koonalda Cave contains within finger markings in the
soft limestone made over 22,000 years ago
(photo Department of the Environment)
mitigated, and instead may require post-event response. Events
such as the removal of statutory protection or large-scale resource extraction from reserved lands could have catastrophic
impact, but would arise from deliberate decisions and are unlikely. However, major risks arise from the effects of climate
change, such as damage from extreme weather events, more
frequent fires, loss of habitat or increases in invasive species. Indigenous cultural heritage continues to be at risk from some loss
of traditional knowledge and incremental destruction, because
development approval affords priority to site-specific heritage
impact, rather than cumulative incremental impact. Resourcing
is also a major risk factor, including lack of data to inform decision-making, limited funding, lack of incentives, neglect arising
from rural population decline, or the loss of specialist heritage
trade skills. Development and resource extraction projects continue to threaten the nation’s heritage at both a landscape and
individual site scale. Development impacts are at risk of being
exacerbated by inadequate pre-existing survey, assessment and
statutory protection.
In the context of climate change, globally, we are recognising
what must be done. “Appropriate design of policies, institutions
and governance systems at all scales can contribute to land-related adaptation and mitigation while facilitating the pursuit of climate-adaptive development pathways” (Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change [IPCC], August 2019). Australian Aboriginal
land management practices, having developed over many millennia, present a fine exemplar of adaptation to our nation’s harsh
climatic conditions. Responsibility for the continued survival of
all of Australia’s cultural heritage now rests with us.
In Australia, agencies and organisations, including Australia
ICOMOS, Blue Shield Australia, the Australia and New Zealand
Working Group on Risk Preparedness for Cultural Heritage are
all striving to communicate and highlight best practice to first
responders, while educating governing agencies on resourcing requirements and the importance of risk mitigation around cultural
property. In 2016, Blue Shield International expanded its remit
to include environmental disaster. Blue Shield is “committed to
the protection of the world’s cultural property and is concerned
with the protection of cultural and natural heritage, tangible and
intangible, in the event of armed conflict, natural-or human-made
disaster” (Article 2.1, 2016 Statutes). Current thinking is that
those in uniform are trained for both armed conflict/peacekeeping and as first responders following natural disasters, the issues
overlapping by 60 to 70 percent. Australia is a signatory to the
Hague Convention, but has yet to ratify Protocols One and Two.
Increased awareness of the Convention and our obligations under
the Convention, and increased discussion around protection of
cultural heritage will doubtlessly place potential ratification further in the spotlight (Fig. 4).
Dr Tanya L Park
Catherine Forbes
References
Walker, M. 2014 The development of the Australia ICOMOS
Burra Charter, APT Bulletin, The Journal of Preservation Technology, XLV (2–3):9–16
UNESCO 2016 The World Heritage Convention (http:whc.unesco.org/en/convention / )
Kerr, J. S 2013 The Conservation Plan, Seventh edition, Australia
ICOMOS, Burwood
Jerome, P. 2014 The values-based approach to cultural-heritage
preservation, APT Bulletin, the Journal of Preservation Technology, XLV (2–3)3:8
ICOMOS International 1964 International Charter for the Conservation and Restoration of Monuments and Sites (The Venice
Charter)
Ireland, T and Blair, S. 2015 The Future for Heritage Practice,
Historic Environment, 27 (2):8–17
Harrington, J. and Buckley, K. 2014 Marking four decades of
World Heritage – the view from Australia, Historic Environment, 26(2):16–17.
Australian Heritage Strategy 2015 available at: http://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/publications/australian-heritage-strategy
IPCC. Climate Change and Land. August 2019. (https://www.
ipcc.ch/reports)
Mackay R (2016). Heritage: Risks. In: Australia State of the Environment 2016, Australian Government Department of the Environment and Energy, Canberra, https://soe.environment.gov.
au/theme/heritage/framework/risks, DOI 10.4226/94/58b658bbe13a0
Australian Government: Department of the Environment and Energy. https://www.environment.gov.au/epbc/about
21
AUSTRIA
Historic Centre of Vienna on
UNESCO’s List of World Heritage
in Danger
In 2017, the Historic Centre of Vienna, inscribed as a UNESCO
World Heritage Site in 2001 under criteria ii, iv and vi, was put
on the List of World Heritage in Danger.
From the very beginning UNESCO and ICOMOS had warned
the responsible city authorities to avoid high-rise building structures within and around the World Heritage site. In 2001 the evaluation by the advisory bodies promoted the nomination for having kept “all the attributes that sustain its Outstanding Universal
Value, including its architectural and urban qualities and layout”,
and added that “the Historic Centre of Vienna has also maintained its characteristic skyline” (ICOMOS 2001). Parallel to the
preparation of the nomination file, the city authorities worked on
a significant infrastructural development project. The first plans
of the building complex, well known as “Wien Mitte” included
six high-rise towers within the buffer zone of the proposed World
Heritage site. Hence, the World Heritage Committee awarded the
inscription “with the recommendation that the project be evaluated in terms of its compatibility with the visual integrity of
the historic city”. It also “recommended that special attention be
paid to the observation of all changes in the morphology of the
existing historical buildings and emphatically recommended the
reduction of all larger re-vitalization projects within the buffer
zone in future.”
In spite of previous discussions and recommendations the
project Hotel Intercontinental / Heumarkt was launched in 2012.
This project is located within the core zone of the World Heritage
site and near the famous “Ringstrasse”, which represents the
“Gründerzeit” period, one of three key periods of European
cultural and political development, and one of the key elements
of the Outstanding Universal Value of the Historic Centre of
Vienna. Not only the advisory bodies of UNESCO but additionally the Austrian Chamber of Architects already warned during
the preparation of an international design competition that, if
high-rise structures replaced the existing Hotel Intercontinental,
the integrity and authenticity, as described in the nomination,
would be severely threatened. These warnings were ignored and
the competitors could choose between three scenarios, of which
only two were compatible with the OUV of the World Heritage
site as well as within the legal frame of the local planning regulations.
In scenario 1 the planners could choose to retrofit the existing
Hotel Intercontinental. In 1963, the construction of this hotel
complex had been influenced by contemporary US architecture.
It has some significant qualities of international modernism, but
it has not yet been placed on the national list of protected monuments.
In scenario 2 they could also hand in projects which assumed
the hotel to be torn down and replaced by so-called Viennese
duplex blocks; a building typology with strong reference to the
morphology of the “Ringstrasse”. In that case the built structures would be situated at the edge of predefined new cityblocks, densely grouped around small courtyards and limited to the height of the other buildings within the zone of the
“Ringstrasse”.
Scenario 3 allowed, even encouraged, to keep the Hotel
Intercontinental but “reshape” and “optimise” its urban qualities
through tearing down parts of it and replacing them with a highrise of double the height of the existing structure.
The winning project by Isay Weinfeld from Brazil was designed on the basis of the third scenario. Again, ignoring the
strong protests from all sides – NGOs, neighbours, architects,
even politicians – in June 2017 the city council changed the
spatial planning law to legalise the project. Even the city’s own
planning principles, e. g. a high-rise exclusion-zone concept, were
modified to make the project possible and a “Masterplan Glacis”
tried to argue in favour of high-rise buildings within the area of
the “Ringstrasse” (Figs. 1 and 2).
Systemic risk potential identified
In preparation for the UNESCO-ICOMOS Joint Advisory
Mission and in cooperation with experts and concerned citizens
ICOMOS Austria systematically analysed the wider context of
the project and discovered several serious issues of mismanagement which had accumulated over the years. These allowed the
situation to finally arrive at the current state.
First, the specially protected zones of Vienna (Wiener
Schutzzonen) do not match with the buffer and core zones of
the World Heritage site. The area of the Hotel Intercontinental /
Heumarkt is not located within these specially protected zones
of Vienna and is therefore not protected under Viennese law.
Second, the existing object, the Hotel Intercontinental, is not a
nationally listed monument, although it has monument qualities
according to new findings. Third, the management plan to protect the World Heritage site Historic City Centre of Vienna was
never ratified by the provincial authorities of Vienna (Wiener
Gemeinderat).
In addition, another project on a far smaller dimension
not comparable to the “Heumarkt Neu” project but within
the same core zone has raised public awareness concerning
the possible damage of the Outstanding Universal Value of the
Historic Centre of Vienna: an open-air restaurant in the privately owned and managed gardens around Palais Schwarzenberg.
This case was solved through an intensive dialogue between
ICOMOS Austria, the owners of the gardens and the planners.
The project was improved in a way that satisfied all stakeholders’ needs.
22
Austria
Figs. 1 and 2: The proposed project “Heumarkt Neu” within the core zone of the UNESCO World Heritage and its simulated impact on the site “Historic
City Centre of Vienna” (Source: v-cube / Philipp Tebart / michael kloos planning and heritage consultancy)
Outstanding individualistic architecture and heritage
Another threat to the more than a hundred historic town centres
of Austria in general is the still booming adaptive use of former
empty roof spaces. Certainly, the additional use of roof space under the usually pitched or hipped roofs enables the retrofitting of
the historic building structure underneath, as the profits generated
with these new apartments are much higher than with the other
spaces (especially as rents for apartments in older buildings are
strictly regulated). Hence, “ambitious” architecture of “outstanding individualism” (© Nicholas Clarke, ICOMOS South Africa)
quite often destroys the characteristic silhouette of the roofscape.
Austria
23
Figs. 3 and 4: The eroding traditional roofscape as part of the UNESCO World Heritage site “Historic Centre of Vienna” (photos Jaeger-Klein 2018)
ICOMOS Austria started campaigning for better practice in 2018
by intensifying the dialogue at eye-level with the site managers
about architectural qualities in general and the essential attributes
of their site in particular.
ICOMOS Austria reorganised the monitoring of heritage sites
from single-person observation to group-observation to accommodate for this shift. Emerging professionals are part of each
monitoring group. It also implemented workshops for students to
show them more modest and harmonious solutions for constructions within a historic context in general (Figs. 3 and 4).
Besides individual cases of inappropriate new building structures
within cultural heritage landscapes, ensembles and sites, various
systemic failures are currently threatening the cultural heritage
of Austria:
– The Federal Monument Protection Act has not embedded the
UNESCO World Heritage sites so far and is very weak in protecting historic gardens as well as cultural landscapes.
– The various building codes and spatial planning regulations in
Austria refer, if at all, to World Cultural Heritage and only deal
marginally with cultural landscapes. The natural sites and landscapes are much better protected through other legal frames.
– The Austrian monument protection authorities have not yet
been efficient enough in listing all monuments of the modern
movement to protect them from severe changes and/or destruction of industrial or technical heritage sites. It is obvious that
the monument protection authorities urgently need more capacities to fulfil their mission.
– Austrian universities neither provide a specific higher education in monument protection nor do any educational institutions train cultural heritage experts and /or conservation architects specifically on a professional level.
References
ICOMOS (2001). Advisory Body Evaluation (ICOMOS) http://
whc.unesco.org/document/151582.
UNESCO/ICOMOS (2019). Report on the Joint High level
UNESCO World Heritage Centre, ICOMOS Advisory Mission
to the Historic City Centre of Vienna, Austria [1033] from 11 to
15 November 2018. Paris-Vienna.
Wehdorn, Manfred (2004). Vienna. The Historical Centre:
UNESCO World Heritage Site, Wien-New York.
Synopsis
24
BULGARIA
The Buzludzha Monument
1
History
The Buzludzha monument is one of the most iconic and significant
buildings of post-war modernism in Bulgaria and in Europe. It is
located in the Central Balkans on a historically significant mountain peak with an altitude of 1 432 metres. Its purpose was to celebrate the history of Bulgarian socialism. Buzludzha was financed
with public donations – with the intent that it would become a nationwide cause. The project took more than seven years, starting in
1974, and over 6 000 people worked on the monument, including
Bulgaria’s finest architects, artists, sculptors and engineers.
The building was opened in 1981 and during the monument’s
eight years of use, it was visited by more than two million people
and served as a political museum and ceremonial venue. After the
political changes in 1989, the new democratic government had no
interest in maintaining the most significant symbol of the previous ideology. The following three decades of looting, vandalism
and neglect have left it in its present deteriorated condition.
Fig. 1: View of the Buzludzha monument today (photo Les Johnstone)
Social significance
Similar is the destiny of several hundred smaller monuments
built during the socialist regime in Bulgaria and the entire former
Eastern Bloc. The common young heritage in the post-socialist
countries is often traumatic or unfamiliar to the broad public. This
leads to the destruction of great human tangible achievements.
They are witnesses of a period that is not discussed, taught, or
remembered by museums and schoolbooks in Bulgaria. This lack
of open discussion and education regarding communism allows
for speculation, political manipulation and deep social polarisation. Buzludzha as the most iconic and controversial artefact of
Bulgaria’s socialist era can become an example for the rational
reassessment and preservation of Bulgaria’s and Eastern Europe’s
difficult heritage.
Artistic significance
In addition to its unique architecture and dynamic engineering,
it contains a real gem of 910 square meters of precious mosaics,
which make it also one of the largest mosaic artworks in Europe.
Bulgaria
25
Figs. 2 and 3: Impressions of the damaged interior (photos Nicola Miller and Dora Ivanova)
“While the architecture provokes and inspires emotions, the mosaics tell stories”, explained the architect of the monument, Georgi
Stoilov. The revival of mosaic art on and in functional modernist
architecture is one of the most prominent features and important
achievements of so-called East Modernism (Socialist Modernism).
It was widely used, not only in governmental buildings, but also
in apartment buildings, kindergartens, schools, hospitals, railway
stations, airports, stadiums, theatres, and museums. These mosaics were designed to inspire, instill virtue, and impart collective
community values. They are undoubtedly the representative form
of art for the generation born after the Second World War. The fine
art of the Buzludzha Monument is the most valuable and at the
same time the most vulnerable element in the building.
First steps of reassessment
In the last years the monument has increasingly gained international popularity. It was featured by media such as BBC, Discovery
Channel, National Geographic, CNN, Reuters, and many more.
Because of increased interest and illegal tourism, since April 2018
the regional administration of Stara Zagora has organised a roundthe-clock security police at the monument. This measure has
stopped people going inside the monument, thus preventing vandalism and accidents. Moreover, the listing process for a National
Heritage Site designation has also been initiated and is in progress.
In 2018, the Buzludzha Monument became one of the “7 Most
Endangered” heritage sites in Europe, a programme run by
Europa Nostra and the European Investment Bank Institute. The
result was an expert mission and a technical report recommending feasibility studies and urgent measures to be implemented as
soon as possible.
Conservation and management plan
Because of its significance and due to the quality of the proposed project, in 2019 the Buzludzha Monument was awarded
a 185,000 US dollar grant by the Getty Foundation within the
“Keeping it Modern Program”. Thanks to this grant a detailed
Conservation and Management Plan (CMP) is being created.
An international team of experts started the project in August
2019 and plan to complete it in September 2020 with a public
report. The project partners are ICOMOS Bulgaria and ICOMOS
Germany, the University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and
Geodesy (UACEG) in Sofia, the Technical University of Munich,
and the Buzludzha Project Foundation with Dora Ivanova as
on-site-manager.
The Getty project, which is still in progress (until autumn
2020) at the time of writing this report, includes the creation of
a database through archive digitisation, three-dimensional laser
scanning and model representation for mapping damages and
measures. The result is a detailed state-of-conservation report,
including restoration and financing proposals for the static-constructive consolidation of the building and for ensuring the preservation of the original surfaces. In addition, revitalisation proposals for a conversion of the disused property are to be made,
a business and marketing concept is to be developed and acutely
necessary emergency safety measures are to be pointed out to
prevent further damage and loss of the mosaics due to weather
and vandalism.
The restoration and revitalisation of the Buzludzha Monument
require highly qualified conservation measures and extensive investments in the coming years as well as sustainable development
and utilisation perspectives in the long run.
Contact: buzludzha.project@gmail.com
For further information: www.buzludzha-project.com
Footnote
1
The Buzludzha Monument was already introduced in Heritage
at Risk 2014 –2015 (published in 2017), pp. 32 ff. under the
chapter heading “Buzludzha. Forbidden History of a Neglected
Masterpiece”.
26
CZECH REPUBLIC
Heritage at Risk
Summing up the heritage conservation issues in the Czech
Republic within the period 2016–2019, definitely the greatest
concern was the proposal for a new Building Act. Ordered by
the Ministry of Regional Development and prepared by a group
of private attorneys, the proposal significantly reduces possibilities of state heritage conservation, namely the National Heritage
Institute, to interfere in the building practice. The same would
apply to conservationists’ NGOs. The ICOMOS Czech National
Committee carefully reviewed the proposal, but its objections,
just like different objections of many other professional boards
and even objections of the Czech Ministry of Culture, were mostly not taken into consideration. There is strong pressure from
building and development companies to push this act through,
deceitfully arguing that the proposed change helps to accelerate
economic growth and especially new residential building, insufficient until now. The professional debate on the act is ongoing;
the Czech government will discuss the current proposal during
the summer months of 2020, expecting its effect as from 2021.
Regarding individually protected landmarks, the Czech heritage conservation enjoyed great international recognition with
two new World Heritage properties listed in 2019 (Landscape
for Breeding and Training of Ceremonial Carriage Horses
at Kladruby nad Labem and Erzgebirge/Krušnohoří Mining
Region). Moreover, several first-class heritage buildings were
quite successfully renovated with the financial support of
European Union funds and governmental or local programmes.
Among these buildings is the 19th-century main building of the
National Museum in Prague. On the other hand, the “stock” of
interesting heritage items has suffered several considerable losses: two great industrial areas in Brno, the Zbrojovka vehicles and
firearms factory, and the Vlněna (former Stiassni) textile factory,1
the latter’s history dating back to the 18th century and operating until the 1990s, were almost completely demolished between
2016 and 2018, in order to make room for new commercial glass-
Fig. 1: Brno, to the left of the cathedral new office blocks replacing the former Vlněna textile factory
Czech Republic
27
Figs. 2 and 3: Prague, the city centre with highrises on its horizon
and-steel blocks (Fig. 1). Industrial areas seem the most endangered category of architectural heritage in the Czech Republic;
they were largely privatised in the 1990s after the end of production, without being listed. Unlike other countries (United
Kingdom or the Netherlands), the Czech Republic boasts very
few examples of clever re-use of authentic industrial remains or
constructions within a new architectural design.
The country’s capital, Prague, is constantly confronted with
demands for the erection of highrises on its horizon, which are
easily visible from historical view platforms (Figs. 2 and 3). The
recommendations of international conservationists’ missions to
safeguard the traditional panorama and vistas have been widely
debated in the press; however, without proper action of the municipal authorities.
Figs. 4 – 6: Olomouc, Romanesque Zdík’s Palace with roof and visitors’ bridge from the 1980s, both intended to be replaced by glass-and-steel
structures
28
Czech Republic
Although the Czech Republic generally does not support the
building of spectacular cultural temples designed by international starchitects, some institutions attempt to imitate this fashion,
albeit in a provincial manner with provincial capacities. In the
city of Olomouc, renowned for the second-largest protected historical core after Prague and for the baroque Holy Trinity column,
a designated World Heritage property, the Olomouc Museum of
Art together with the Archdiocese of Olomouc would like to
re-restore the unique Bishop Zdík’s palace from the 12th century,
used as part of a permanent exhibition of the museum since 2006.
Its unique Romanesque walls were conserved and presented to
the public in the 1980s, with an elevated wooden pathway and a
wooden roof designed by Jan Sokol, a distinguished period architect. His additions harmoniously integrated the medieval torso in-
to the cluster of buildings of the Olomouc cathedral hill. Because
of this sensitivity, as well as the thoroughness of research and
elaboration of details, the renovation of the 1980s belongs to the
most important achievements of the Czech architectural conservation of the post-World War II decades. In 2018 the Olomouc
Museum of Art as the present administrator published a controversial project by Jan Šépka, a Prague-based architect, for a
replacement of Sokol’s “aesthetically obsolete” elements by a
compact glass display window and a mono-pitched steel roof
(Figs. 4 – 6).2 The Czech National Committee of ICOMOS has
highlighted the value of the previous renovation and doubted the
arguments for the proposed intervention, unfortunately without
an answer.
The construction will take place from July 2020.
Martin Horáček
ICOMOS Czech National Committee
Footnotes
1
Area images of its demolition see here: https://encyklopedie.
brna.cz/home-mmb/?acc=profil_udalosti&load=5279
2
For the new project see: https://www.sepka-architekti.cz/
index.php?lang=en&page=project&name=new-presentation-of-zdiks-palace-olomouc-
All images by Martin Horáček
29
ESTONIA
Estonian Watermills are Threatened
by Fish
Estonia has been a country of watermills since at least the 13th
century when several watermills were mentioned in the early
written documents on Estonia. The mills became primary economic units of Estonian manors and thus important strategical
and economic landmarks that were marked on the historical
maps of Estonia. Watermills have shaped the Estonian landscape
to a significant extent – the dams with their bridges directed the
course of the roads; the dammed-up lakes characterised the manorial landscapes and the rural landscape to this day.
In the 1930s there were around 800 operating watermills in
Estonia. Even before World War II, many watermills were converted to produce electricity, with hydropower stations remaining important energy sources during the first decades after the
war. Nowadays, there are 96 objects related with watermills protected as national monuments and many more are recognised by
local people as important landmarks. However, most of them are
Fig. 1: Hellenurme watermill (photo Mae Juske)
no longer in operation. There are a couple of watermills where
the historical machinery has been preserved and only one of
them – Hellenurme – operates daily as a mill-museum. There
are a few that operate as hydropower stations producing electricity. The majority of the watermills and their dams are protected as elements of manor ensembles. A huge number of them
are empty and unfortunately in bad condition, because without
proper maintenance they are fragile due to the destructive power
of water.
While so far maintenance was considered the biggest challenge in protecting this important type of heritage, since 2013
there has been an unusual conflict between the National Heritage
Board and the Environmental Board of Estonia. The latter demands the unconditional demolition of the historic dams to restore the spawning grounds of fish. The Environmental Board
substantiates its demands with the Water Act: 1 “The passage
of fish both up- as well as downstream shall be ensured by the
owner or possessor of a dam on the dam built on a water body
that has been approved as a spawning area or habitat of salmon,
brown trout, salmon trout or grayling, or on a stretch thereof on
30
Estonia
Fig. 2: Linnamae hydrostation (photo National Heritage Board)
Fig. 3: Peedu-Nuti watermill (photo Mae Juske)
the basis of subsection 51(2) of the Nature Conservation Act.”
(§ 17(4)). The nature protection legislation is based substantiates
on the principles of the Directive 2000/60/Ec of the European
Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000 establishing
a framework for Community action in the field of water policy.2 The Directive states that Member States shall implement the
necessary measures to prevent deterioration of the status of all
bodies of surface water (art 4.1.1).
Despite years of negotiations between the Boards and the
Ministries of Culture and Environment, the problem has still not
been solved. The Chancellor of Justice gave his opinion as early
as 2015 proposing amendments in the Water Act to enable the
weighing of values.3
The enthusiasm of the Environmental Board is partly based on
the European Union funds provided to improve surface waters.
There are enormous subsidies to build passages for fish even in
small rivers. The European Parliament resolution on the protection of the European natural, architectural and cultural heritage
in rural and island regions4 that calls on the Commission and
Member States not to provide Community funding for projects
which will demonstrably result in the destruction of valuable
parts of our cultural heritage (art. 17) has been completely ignored.
By now several damns have been destroyed and in some rivers
passages for fish have already been built. However, there is no
substantiated data if the fish population in the rivers interrupted
by dams for 100 to 200 years has increased or been restored. As
mentioned before, the dams and dammed-up waterbeds have influenced the development of the cultural landscape, the landscape
and nature in general. They have also influenced the way of life
of local communities.
The National Heritage Board has agreed to a compromise for
some watermills, but there are several highly valuable mills and
dams where a compromise is not a solution and a choice has to
be made between centuries of man-made landscape and traces of history on the one hand, and the hypothetical restoration
of spawning grounds on the other. Historic mills threatened by
strict environmental regulations are for example Hellenurme and
Linnamäe.
Hellenurme dates from the 1880s and is still in operation with
the machines and equipment dating from the 1930s. The complex
also includes a sawmill and in the late 19th century there was
even a distillery. Hellenurme is now the only watermill in Estonia
operating daily. As a mill-museum it presents and continues the
tradition of mill work.
The issues of the dam are multilayered and thus the ongoing
conflict regarding the dam is even more confusing. First of all, it
is the most valuable of all existing watermills in Estonia as it has
preserved all its equipment and is still in operation as a traditional
flour-mill. Any long-term interruption in the work of the machinery influences the historic tools. For example, the belts may lose
their tension if they haven’t been used for a longer period.
The dammed-up lake is an integral part of the historicist manor
ensemble; the main building is reflected in the water. The lake
itself is relatively shallow and with very slow inflow of water.
Every reduction of the water level results in a long recovery period. The manor buildings house a local kindergarten and a nursery
home for nearly 300 people with special needs. These institutions
are heated by the ground heating system that takes the heat from
the lake. The lowering of the water level severely influences this
system. The river downstream the 2.9 m high dam is very narrow
and indented between the saw mill and the high banks, which
makes the potential construction of a passage extremely complicated.
Even if the changes are made, the operation of the mill will
become an economic burden for the owner as she also has to
maintain the very costly passage. Lastly, the proposed constructions will lengthen the spawning grounds of the fish only by eight
kilometres. So far there has been no significant increase in the
population of fish downstream the same river where dams were
already destroyed several years ago.
Linnamäe hydropower station dates from the 1930s and is significant both for its architecture and its function. The daily operating green energy station was carefully restored a few years
ago. The dammed lake is an important local recreation area. The
potential demolition of the dam would destroy the national monument and also one of the very few sites where the production of
green hydro energy on a larger scale in Estonia is possible.
Estonia
The above-mentioned watermills like the majority of others
are in private ownership. The conflicts have generated a situation where the owners are torn between different regulations. The
Conservation Act prohibits the alteration and demolition of a protected monument while the Water Act imposes it. Unfortunately,
the arguments of the National Heritage Board that cultural heritage should be handled as a primary value and the compromise
that a few dams out of many should be handled as exemptions
31
has not been accepted by the Environmental Board. The disagreement has been so significant that the owners of both watermills
turned to the court and the question of Linnamäe was discussed
in the Government of the Republic of Estonia on Oct 10th, 2019.
According to the statement of the Government, the environmental
interests have not proved to be more significant than social and
economic interests. All stakeholders are expected to further substantiate their positions.5
Riin Alatalu
Footnotes
1
Water Act. RT I 1994, 40, 655 https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/
eli/ee/Riigikogu/act/526022019001/consolide.
2
Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 23 October 2000 establishing a framework for
Community action in the field of water policy: https://www.
envir.ee/sites/default/files/veepoliitika_raamdir200060ecen.
pdf
3
Õiguskantsler Ülle Madise: Riik ei tohi sundida inimest seadust rikkuma https://www.oiguskantsler.ee/et/õiguskantsler-ülle-madise-riik-ei-tohi-sundida-inimest-seadust-rikkuma.
4
5
The European Parliament Resolution on the Protection of
the European Natural, Architectural and Cultural Heritage
in Rural and Island Regions (2006/2050(INI)) http://
www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//
TEXT+TA+P6-TA-2006-0355+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN
Valitsus leidis, et keskkonnahuvid pole Linnamäe paisul kõige
olulisemad
https://www.err.ee/991864/valitsus-leidis-et-keskkonnahuvid-pole-linnamae-paisul-koige-olulisemad.
32
FINLAND
Helsinki-Malmi Airport Under Threat
Malmi Airport is a versatile general aviation centre
Helsinki-Malmi International Airport (architects Martti Välikangas, Dag Englund, Onni Ermala and Vera Rosendal) was built in
1935–38, though operations at the airport began as early as 1936.
Experimental reinforced concrete wall construction enabled the
use of, for instance, strip windows around the entire cylindrical
main terminal building. At the centre of the three-storey building
with a circular floor plan is a terminal hall extending the height of
the entire building and lit by a skylight. Two low wing buildings
at right angles to each other protrude from the main building. In
Malmi Airport is one of the world’s best preserved, still functioning airports built before the Second World War. It provides a
venue for a broad range of aviation activities, special events, and
leisure and recreational activities. Not only is the airport used
by private commercial pilots; there are also five commercial
aviation schools and several aviation clubs. Parachuting and the
training operations linked to it, as well as hot-air ballooning have
provided interesting spectacles for residents of the neighbouring
areas.
Fig. 1: Aerial view of Malmi Airport in 1948. In the centre is the circular
terminal building with symmetrical wing buildings on the sides.
In the foreground is the aeroplane hangar with its mono-pitched roof.
(photo Veljekset Karhumäki 25. 9. 1948, Helsinki City Museum)
Fig. 2: Malmi Airport terminal building, with the aeroplane hangar in the
background, small planes in their own parking stands, 1972
(photo Sky-PHOTO Möller, Helsinki City Museum)
addition to the terminal building, the airport complex comprises
an aeroplane hangar and four runways. The reinforced concrete
pillars and steel lattice trusses of the hangars represented in their
time the latest in building technology.
Malmi Airport also possesses considerable symbolic significance in both aviation history and Finnish cultural history,
in addition to its architectural and structural engineering values.
Malmi Airport was established near the Tattarisuo marshes on
a watery ground, which at that time had no other use. Beneath the
runways is a 39-kilometre-long drainage system that still keeps
the runways dry. The area of the airport is approximately one
hundred hectares. The airport, with its runways and buildings,
is regarded as a cultural landscape, where over the years unique
flora and fauna have become established.
Various aviation service companies and aircraft repair and
maintenance companies operate at the airport. Approximately 300
people are in employment at the airport. In addition to the small
planes nowadays stationed in Malmi, there is a heliport offering
chartered flights. The airport is used by thousands of active pilots,
about 700 of them amateur pilots. With approximately 40,000 annual landings, Malmi is the second busiest airport in Finland.
Besides flying operations, Malmi Airport also offers training
opportunities for a variety of sports, public gatherings and testing activities that require a lot of space. It is possible to organise
large-scale events on the airfield, such as rock concerts, which,
due to noise problems, cannot be held in the city centre. Air
shows and various events aimed at the general public enliven the
area and entertain aviation enthusiasts.
The airport area provides an invaluable open landscape for local residents. The area is a regular destination for birdwatchers.
Finland
33
Fig. 3: Frame plan for Malmi Airport area, 1. 12. 2015. The terminal building and aeroplane hangar to be preserved are shown in black at the bottom
centre of the image. They are overshadowed by new buildings and the open field landscape is destroyed.
34
Finland
Friends of Malmi Airport was established in 2002 with the objective of preserving Malmi Airport for aviation use. The association has documented the airport’s operations and published an
in-depth history of its construction and operations. Furthermore,
the association has made a proposal to protect Malmi Airport under the Act on the Protection of Buildings, and has often appealed
against development projects that would lead to the airport’s destruction. In doing so, it has invoked international agreements and
commitments ratified by Finland, such as the Faro Convention.
The association has also launched a municipal initiative to hold
a consultative referendum to preserve Malmi Airport, as well as
a citizens’ initiative to establish a nature reserve there. Tens of
thousands of signatures have so far been collected. Friends of
Malmi Airport has proposed that a special law, Lex Malmi, be
created to protect the airport, but in 2018 the Finnish Parliament
dismissed the proposal. At the same time, however, the Parliament insisted that a substitute airfield would have to be found
so that aviation could continue. No replacement airfield has yet
been found.
The petition launched by Friends of Malmi Airport for preserving the airport has so far attracted almost 74,000 signatures. The
active association has not given up on its objectives, although
some of its initiatives and appeals have been rejected. It has maintained its optimism that the ongoing protection initiatives and appeals will be successful.
Controversial plans for the future
Fig. 4. Central hall of Malmi Airport terminal building in 1972
(photo Juho Nurmi, Helsinki City Museum)
Circumscribing Malmi Airport is a popular jogging track and
outdoor trail that offers interesting experiences and views of the
local nature.
Airport conservation values have been identified
and protection is actively pursued
Malmi Airport’s international cultural-historical value is undeniable. It has been included in the selection of works of Finnish modernism approved by the international organisation DOCOMOMO
(catalogues 1991 and 2017). In 2016 the airport was listed among
the world’s endangered cultural environments by the World Monuments Fund. In addition, in 2015 it was designated by Europa
Nostra Finland as the country’s most endangered cultural heritage
site.
Malmi Airport, including its runways, terminal buildings and
aircraft hangars, has been included in the Finnish Heritage Agency’s inventory of Nationally Important Cultural Environments
(RKY 1993 and 2009). The government decision requires that the
listed sites must be preserved. In addition to the Finnish Heritage
Agency and a number of other expert organisations, the unprecedented active civic engagement demands that Malmi Airport be
preserved for aviation use.
All stakeholders agree that Malmi Airport is a nationally important cultural environment, but their interpretation of the scope
of the protection differs significantly. The City of Helsinki is
consistently working on transforming Malmi Airport into a residential area, despite the fact that the Finnish Heritage Agency
and Friends of Malmi Airport are working to retain also aviation
operations there. The City of Helsinki has terminated the ground
lease contracts for Malmi Airport, coming into effect by the end
of 2019.
The city has a monopoly on land-use planning and intends to
draw up a development plan that would convert the airport site
into a dense area of apartment blocks (25,000 inhabitants and
2,000 jobs). The development planning defines the land-use of
the area. The city aims to fill the airfield with residential buildings during the period 2020–2045. The development plans would
preserve the individual airport buildings, although their functions
would change and they would lose their dominance in the landscape. Part of the runways would remain as roadways or vistas as
a sort of memory trace of the lost runways. Otherwise, the open
airfield would become enclosed. At the same time, the physical
conditions for flying would disappear from Malmi Airport. The
aviation operators’ lease contracts are being terminated, and thus
aviation operations are in danger of coming to an end in the near
future.
Although the Finnish Land Use and Building Act requires that
the Inventory of Nationally Important Cultural Environments
(RKY) must guide land-use planning so as to protect sites, and
the Finnish Heritage Agency in its statements and appeals has
emphasised the importance of aviation activities in Malmi, the
city authorities have not taken into consideration the overall conservation objectives of Malmi Airport.
Appeals have been made against the land-use planning decisions and the termination of contracts, and some of the appeals
are still pending.
Finland
As Malmi Airport has not been protected through land-use
planning, efforts have been made to protect the airport under special legislation. The state has a broader decision-making power in
the application of the Act on the Protection of Buildings, but here
too, disagreements have arisen. The conservation proposition by
the Friends of Malmi Airport was rejected in the summer of 2018.
When appealed, the Ministry of the Environment overturned the
negative decision and returned it for renewed preparation in the
summer of 2019. The ministry focused in particular on safeguarding the area’s original aviation operations. At the same time, the
ministry took a stand for maintaining the operations of the airport
by stating: “ The regulations, however, may indirectly prevent or
restrict some particular use. Protection may, in practice, also contribute to the preservation of the site such that it remains suited
for its original purpose.” The ministry required that the decision
be justified from the point of view of the Act on the Protection of
Buildings and not refer to the Land Use and Building Act (landuse planning).
In the summer of 2019, a new supplementary decision dismissing the protection proposal was adopted, again shifting the issue
to land-use planning: “It is possible, sufficient and appropriate to
protect Malmi Airport by means of land-use planning.” This new
dismissal is still subject to appeal. The Finnish Heritage Agency,
together with the citizens’ association, have been active in advocating for the preservation of Malmi Airport as a whole. The
appeals are pending.
Differing views on conservation objectives
The Finnish Heritage Agency, conservation experts as well as the
general public want to preserve Malmi Airport as a living and
functional entity, which includes the buildings with their interiors
and the surrounding areas, as well as the runway area with its
structures, equipment and underground drainage systems. This
would provide a framework for continued aviation operations.
The development planning proposal currently under preparation
is based, however, on the preservation of only parts of the airport
complex.
Behind the City of Helsinki’s objectives lies the need for building affordable housing with good traffic connections. What has
sparked debate, however, is the fact that building on the Malmi
Airport area would be expensive and difficult. The airport’s soggy
clay soil extends to a depth of 10 –25 metres and massive piling
would lead to expensive construction. It has been calculated1 that
a total of around 14,000 kilometres of reinforced concrete piles
would be needed, thus generating more than 350,000 tonnes of
carbon dioxide. More than two million cubic metres of earthworks would increase the project’s enormous carbon footprint.
The construction on Malmi Airport is thus at odds with Helsinki’s
aspiration for carbon neutrality. There is also a dangerous layer of
sulphide clay in the subsoil and the unexploded wartime aircraft
bombs left around the airfield would also pose a major risk to the
builders. Instead of replacing the soil and heavy piling, aviation
would be the optimum use for the watery and springy land. The
airfield could be developed into an intelligent aviation hub, with
diverse cultural and aviation services.
Citizen activists emphasise the nature and recreational values
of Malmi Airport and its importance as an airfield for both training and transportation. The opportunities offered by an operational airfield for a variety of recreational activities and large-scale
events have been highlighted. Many rare species of plants, birds
and insects are also an asset to the airport. All of these would be
lost if the airfield were redeveloped as a dense area of housing.
The conservation activists are worried that the residential
building on the airport grounds would permanently eliminate
Helsinki’s only airport and its immeasurably valuable, living cultural treasure. According to the Finnish Heritage Agency, the use
of Malmi Airport for aviation purposes would be the most natural
solution for safeguarding both international and national values,
and at the same time the correct premise for any decision about
its preservation.
Malmi Airport has indeed a future potential that, according to
conservation activists, the city has not sufficiently recognised.
If properly developed, the airport could also be a major cultural tourist destination. For example, it could be the site for the
Finnish Aviation Museum, which is currently looking for a new
location in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area. Various large-scale
cultural and nature-related events would also add to the attraction
of Malmi. The city has also not understood the importance of
Malmi Airport as a provider of non-scheduled air traffic services and as a stand-by airport in times of crisis. The pace of development in motor technology is staggering. In the near future,
electric aviation will eliminate the noise pollution of flying and
reduce adverse climatic effects. Might this enable finding a compromise? In any case, drone cargo deliveries are becoming increasingly common, and the unmanned piloting of clients (UTM,
Unmanned Traffic Management) will fundamentally change aviation operations. In such a case, an airport for small planes situated
in an urban area would provide an unparalleled competitive factor
for the city.
ICOMOS Finland
Maire Mattinen
Contact: maire.mattinen@icloud.com
References
Malmin lentoasema. Ympäristöhistoriaselvitys (2016).
Arkkitehtitoimisto Freese Oy ja Arkkitehtitoimisto Schulman
Oy 30. 6. 2016
Sipilä, S., Haikarainen, R. & Wahl, H.-M. (2008). Malmi –
Helsingin lentoasema. Hämeenlinna.
Plannings for Malmi Airport (City of Helsinki)
Inventories, statements and appeals of the Finnish Heritage
Agency
35
Footnotes
1
Suomen Kuvalehti, 30. 11. 2018.
Translation
Gekko Design, Helsinki; Kristiina Kölhi & Gareth Griffins
36
FRANCE
L’incendie de Notre-Dame de Paris
Point de la situation fin septembre
2019
Rappel des faits
Un important programme de travaux de restauration avait débuté
sur la cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris comportant entre autres,
la restauration de sa flèche. Fin 2018, un important échafaudage
avait commencé d’être installé. Le 15 avril 2019, un incendie ravageait l’édifice. Son départ, situé à la base de la flèche, signalé
une première fois à 18 h 18 par une alarme mal interprétée, ne sera
pleinement reconnu qu’une demi-heure plus tard.
Fig. 1: Travaux de consolidations provisoires, octobre 2019
Les premiers pompiers arrivèrent à 19 h 00. Rapidement, ils
constatèrent que le feu qui dévorait les combles ne pouvait plus
être maitrisé et qu’il fallait s’attacher à le circonscrire. Il sera déclaré sous contrôle à 22 h 30 et éteint à 2 h 00 le matin suivant.
Environ 600 pompiers intervinrent sur le feu.
Le combat qu’ils menèrent durant ces quelques heures est
connu, ayant fait l’objet de plusieurs récits et reportages. Outre
la parfaite organisation militaire du commandement et le professionnalisme de ces hommes et de ces femmes qui eurent à progresser dans le labyrinthe qu’est un édifice gothique, on retiendra
quelques points :
– En plus de drones aériens, l’utilisation de drones terrestres pour
installer des lances à eau dans des endroits inaccessibles car
trop dangereux,
France
Fig. 2: Croisée du transept, mai 2019
37
38
France
Pour les œuvres d’art, ils seront aidés par les services du
Ministère de la Culture, propriétaire de l’édifice, et les personnels de l’évêché, rapidement arrivés sur place. Leur évacuation
commença de se réaliser pendant que les pompiers luttaient
contre le feu. De fait, elles furent toutes sauvées et rapidement
mises en sécurité.
ont été protégées après un traitement d’urgence (grand orgue,
chaire, stalles, …) dans l’attente de leur remise en état.
La consolidation des parties accessibles des maçonneries les
plus fragiles a été réalisée, un parapluie provisoire installé, des
étais posés sous les arcs-boutants. Des planchers ont ensuite été
posés sur et sous les voutes afin de pouvoir commencer de les
examiner sans risque et de sécuriser les intérieurs.
Cette première phase, en cours de finition, permettra enfin et
seulement de commencer la dépose de l’échafaudage métallique
toujours en place au droit de la flèche. Cette dépose devrait être
achevée au printemps 2020. Un parapluie définitif pourra alors
être installé sur l’édifice et le diagnostic véritablement commencer permettant aux autorités de décider de la nature des travaux
à conduire.
Premiers constats
Le temps des polémiques
L’ensemble des couvertures hautes a été détruit. Le plomb fondu
s’est en partie rependu sur les voutes, a coulé par les gargouilles,
ou, en gouttelettes, est principalement parti avec les fumées en
les colorant en orange. L’effondrement spectaculaire de la flèche
à 20 h 00 a entrainé la destruction d’une partie des voutes de la
croisée du transept. Sauf ponctuellement, les autres voutes ont résisté à la chute des fermes désorganisées. Par ces ouvertures, des
gravois incandescents sont tombés sur le sol entrainant la destruction d’aménagements modernes du chœur et la rubéfaction
de piles de la nef. Pour des raisons de sécurité évidentes, l’auscultation des maçonneries des parties hautes (pignons, voutes)
étaient impossible à faire mais elles apparaissaient grandement
fragilisées à la fois par la disparition de la charpente et par les
importantes quantités d’eau utilisées qui ont longtemps ruisselées
des voutes.
Mais, passé le temps de l’émotion patrimoniale mondiale qui
s’était immédiatement exprimée, arriva naturellement le temps
des polémiques : Recherche des responsables, décisions de restaurer trop rapidement l’édifice, couts prévisibles des travaux,
soupçons sur l’affluence des dons et sur la nature des donateurs,
possibilité d’une intervention contemporaine, loi d’exception.
Celle-ci était destinée à déroger partiellement aux règles de droit
et créait une structure administrative apte à répondre efficacement
à cette situation.
Alors que cette dernière loi, après quelques modifications
consensuelles, avait fini par être votée en juillet, un évènement a
perturbé grandement ce protocole : la crainte de la pollution entrainée par la dispersion du plomb sous toutes ses formes. Alors
que les risques, bien réels, de ce matériau sous forme native ou
de sa présence dans d’autres composants comme la peinture ou
la pollution urbaine, sont maintenant connus des spécialistes, ce
n’était pas encore le cas du grand public. Une véritable hystérie
médiatique s’est alors emparée du sujet à la suite de révélations
alarmantes d’associations. Il en est résulté une interruption des
travaux de près de 2 mois.
Ensuite, des travaux de dépollution généralisés des abords au
sens large de la cathédrale et surtout une application inconsidérée
des précautions à prendre par tous les personnels travaillant sur
le chantier seront décrétés. Sans rentrer dans leur détail, on peut
estimer que le temps de travail sur le chantier est de fait réduit de
moitié, la nature des travaux ne permettant pas de mettre plus de
personnel.
Tel est l’état des lieux fin septembre 2019, la phase dite « d’urgence impérieuse » ne semblant pas pouvoir se terminer avant
la mi-2020. La cathédrale fait également l’objet d’un important
chantier scientifique associant de nombreux laboratoires de spécialités diverses qui accompagneront les travaux et enrichiront la
connaissance de l’édifice.
Précisons également que l’origine du sinistre n’est toujours pas
connue.
– La réalisation de croquis par des pompiers dessinateurs permettant des vues synthétiques immédiatement opérationnelles
contrairement au numérique,
– La proximité de la Seine qui a permis d’avoir l’eau nécessaire,
– Leur bonne connaissance du bâtiment et des œuvres qu’il abrite
par des exercices réguliers.
Premières interventions
Une première phase, dite « d’urgence impérieuse », est immé-diatement mise en place par l’administration du Ministère de la
Culture. Elle était conditionnée par plusieurs critères : la sécurité
des personnels, des œuvres et de l’édifice. L’accès aux parties
dites à risques, essentiellement la nef et le chœur, ont été strictement interdite aux personnels. Pour cette raison, des drones terrestres ont continués d’être utilisés cette fois-ci pour l’évacuation
des gravois.
Dès leur sortie de l’édifice, les services de police scientifique
procédaient à des investigations en recherche des origines du sinistre, puis les services de l’archéologie, le laboratoire des monuments historiques, les triaient en fonction de leur nature, de
leur intérêt scientifique et de leur éventuelle récupération. Les
vestiges sont actuellement encore entreposés dans des « barnum »
sur le parvis.
Les œuvres d’art toujours en place, grands tableaux, vitraux,
ont pu être déposées. Celles présentant un caractère d’immeuble
JF Lagneau
ICOMOS France
Photos © JF Lagneau
39
GEORGIA
Batumi Urban Heritage at Risk
The urban development of Batumi began in the second half of the
19th century. The city on the Black Sea coast of Georgia developed fast due to the increasing economic development processes
in the 1880s. “Porto Franco” operating in 1878 –1885 had greatly
contributed to the capital accumulation in Batumi. The most convenient way for oil transport from Baku to the rest of the world
The main challenge of Historic Batumi’s preservation is how
to protect its homogeneous urban fabric formed during one short
historical period. The so-called rehabilitation/reconstruction activity launched in Batumi in 2009 was based on a modernisation
of the cultural heritage, rather than on conservation principles for
historic buildings. Many listed buildings were altered and lost
their historic features. Some of them were demolished on purpose. In some places, old buildings were replaced by multistorey,
Fig. 1: Former post office before the modernisation of 2009
(© Shota Gujabidze)
Fig. 2: Former post office after the modernisation of 2009
(© Shota Gujabidze)
was via Batumi Port. The layout of the town was defined by the
setting and topographic features of Batumi cape. The settlement,
spread in the valley along the coast, was characterised by an unusual sense of place. The specificity and universal value of historic Batumi are defined by its homogeneous urban fabric, peculiar
landscape and coastal town identity.
From an artistic-stylistic point of view, the architecture of
Batumi features a variety and synthesis of styles – eclecticism
consisting of neo-classical, baroque, Renaissance or Gothic
motifs characteristic of the period. Later, these motifs were
replaced by motifs inspired by Romanticism, Modernism or
Constructivism.
Batumi’s urban pattern of the late 19th to the early 20th centuries consisted of a regular street network, uninterrupted blocks
of buildings, cosy streets, moderate buildings on a human scale
with plain, modest facades, “closed” indoor courtyards, and diverse exotic greenery, which are characteristic only of Batumi.
Therefore, Batumi belongs to the list of historic towns, which are
rich in cultural heritage and exceptional settings. The creation of
this extremely expressive artistic-architectural image of the city is
due to the harmonic conformity of these two components.
large-scale buildings inappropriate for this area. The moderate
and human scale of the historic town, the intimate environment of
the old quarters, the urban rhythm, stylistic simplicity, traditional
landscaping were sacrificed to the “renovation” of Batumi. The
historic context of old Batumi – the urban fabric created from
the late 19th to the early 20th centuries – which was the main
attraction of the old city, and the “spirit of the place” have been
greatly compromised.
The study and recognition of Batumi’s urban heritage have a
long tradition. The first Protection Zone for the historic district
of Batumi was designed in 1987 and expanded later. In 2007, in
accordance with the Law on Cultural Heritage, the Ministry of
Culture funded the elaboration of a “Historic-cultural Framework
Plan for Batumi Historic District”. The plan justifies further expansion of the Protection Zone borders and defines basic principles for the conservation of the historic district. 250 heritage sites
are recorded and listed in the cultural heritage list defined by law.
Despite this, processes have become unmanageable in the historic centre and the urban heritage of Batumi is at risk, which has
provoked protests in professional groups as well as in heritage
advocacy groups and among the local community.
40
Georgia
Fig. 3: Former bank building before and after the 2009 modernisation (© Shota Gujabidze)
Fig. 4: Former Hotel London before its demolition (© Shota Gujabidze)
Fig. 5: Former Hotel London, demolition of a listed building
(© Shota Gujabidze)
One of the key problems is that values of historic Batumi are
not clearly shared by all stakeholders and interested parties. This
is confirmed by the inconsistent position of the local authorities
and the weak political will, when it comes to the management of
the historic centre and decision-making processes. An example:
In October 2018 the fact was revealed that the City Hall had arbitrarily removed part of Batumi’s historic harbour area, so-called
Batumi Riviera, from the Protection Zone. The construction of
five skyscrapers and of an artificial channel for the yacht club are
planned in this area. One of the main attributes of the authenticity
of Batumi as a coastal town is Batumi’s old town harbour. The
Historic-cultural Framework Study attaches special importance
to this place for the preservation of old Batumi’s setting, its spatial layout, its harmonious connection with the historic core of
Batumi, and for the integrity of the historic district. The study also refers to the protection of the seaside panorama and concludes
that the construction of residential blocks in this area is unacceptable. The proposed plan will eventually destroy the identity
of Batumi as a historic coastal town and will block the only remaining open space, which connects Batumi’s historic core with
the sea and the surrounding environment. This issue provokes
justified protests permanently held by the local community.
Georgia
Fig. 6: Former Hotel London, imitating the reconstruction of a historic building (© Shota Gujabidze)
Fig. 7: Batumi historic harbour area, so-called Batumi Riviera (© Shota Gujabidze)
41
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Georgia
Fig. 8: Rendering of the proposed plan for the Batumi Riviera by Silk Road Group Presentation (Courtesy: NGO “Batomi”)
Fig. 9: Rendering of the proposed plan for the Batumi Riviera by Silk Road Group Presentation (Courtesy: NGO “Batomi”)
Fig. 10: Rendering of the proposed plan for the Batumi Riviera by Silk Road Group Presentation, view of the coast (Courtesy: NGO “Batomi”)
Georgia
43
Fig. 11: Batumi historic district in the 1920s (Courtesy: Shota Gujabidze)
An analysis of the institutional structure showed that the
management system of the urban heritage of Batumi is based
only on procedural issues and it is completely deprived of
any meaning. This system focuses only on issuing permits in
Historic District Protection Zones, which works without professional expertise. There is no management agency for Batumi
urban heritage that coordinates processes within the historic
district.
The conservation experts’ community and local heritage groups
demand:
– Establishment of the relevant management system/plan for
Batumi historic district, which will ensure the application of
those important management tools that fortunately are already
available;
– Establishment of a management agency for urban heritage
within the Batumi urban management framework;
– Encouragement of the local population to commit themselves
and considering their position in the decision-making process;
– Cancellation of the project to build skyscrapers on Batumi
Riviera and to stop the demolition of Batumi historic district.
Dr. Nino Inaishvili
Shota Gudjabidze
NGO “Batomi”
ICOMOS Georgia
References
Chichileishvili Maia. Urban landscape of Batumi in the XIX–XX
centuries, III, 2013, pp. 262–268.
Chichileishvili Maia. Some aspects of Old Batumi Reconstruction.
Batumi. Past and Present/Contemporaneity/ Modernity, IV,
2013, pp. 334–342.
Chichileishvili Maia. Streets of Old Batumi (Davit Kldiashvili
street neighbourhood). Batumi. Past and Present/Contemporaneity/Modernity, VI, 2015, pp. 307–316.
Historic-Cultural Framework Plan of Batumi. Insight of protection, rehabilitation and prospective development of historic
part of Batumi, Ministry of Culture and Sports of Georgia,
2007.
Tsintsabadze Nato. Analysis of challenges of Batumi Urban
Heritage Management. Systematic problems of Batumi urban
heritage management and solutions, 2019, pp. 5–26.
44
Georgia
Davit Gareji Monasteries and Hermitage
The Davit Gareji Monasteries and Hermitage are among the
most important Georgian cultural, religious and natural heritage
landmarks. They were founded in the 6th century and are located
25 km from Tbilisi, on the Iori Plateau in Eastern Georgia. The
site occupies a 100 km2 semi-desert area and consists of 22 independent rock-hewn monasteries and more than 5 000 sanctuaries
be emphasised: along with single-nave chapels, there are cases of
imitated dome churches, such as cross-domes, drum-less, etc. The
complex also includes several built churches like “ Lavra” and
“ Udabno”. Many of the Gareji Monasteries are characterised by
a significant number of preserved mural paintings ranging from
the 8th to the 18th centuries. The site is also notable for its natural
environment. Situated in the only semi-desert area of Georgia, it
is distinguished by its biodiversity, eco-system and landscapes,
which makes the site also a significant natural landmark. The
Fig. 1: Lavra, 6th century, general view (© Marita Sakhltkhutsishvili)
and caves/cells, some of which extend to the present territory of
Azerbaijan. The combination of historic rock architecture, medieval murals, prehistoric archaeology, rich paleontological fields
and bio-geographical features makes the site a masterpiece of
Georgian culture and an important part of Eastern Christian heritage. The monastery complex is registered as a Monument of
National Importance of Georgia and is included in UNESCO’s
World Heritage Tentative List. In 2018, it was listed among the
“7 Most Endangered” heritage sites of Europe within the programme run by Europa Nostra in cooperation with the European
Investment Bank Institute as founding partner.
Each of the Davit Gareji monastic complexes consists of main
churches, sanctuaries, cells and refectories hewn into the rock on
several levels. There is a variation of rock church architecture to
Gareji Monasteries were an important cultural centre for centuries. The earlier mural paintings testify that the development of
monastic painting in the 9th and 10th centuries was linked with
the emergence of a distinct school of painting in Gareji, which
founded one of the largest and most significant schools of medieval Georgia. Its best examples are represented at “ Bertubani”,
“ Udabno”, “ Didi Qvabebi”, “ Dodos Rqa”, and others, depicting
the medieval iconographic schemes as well as the royal portraits
of King Tamar and Lasha Giorgi. Gareji is also interesting from
the archaeological point of view. Discovered stone and bone tools
and remains of early Bronze-Age settlements reveal additional
data regarding the development and geography of inhabited areas
in this territory. Therefore, the site has a great academic value for
researchers working in the fields of cultural studies, archaeology,
Georgia
Fig. 2: Udabno Monastery, recent collapse along the cliff (© Mikheil Elashvili)
Fig. 3: Sabeerebi Monastery, slope façade with recent pillar collapse, situation in July 2019 (© Mikheil Elashvili)
anthropology, art and religious history, biodiversity, ecology, sociology, etc. However, more in-depth studies and investigations
need to be conducted.
The main problem the Davit Gareji Monasteries are currently
facing is the instability of the physical condition due to the disintegration of the rocks, which causes irreversible deterioration.
The intense erosion badly affects the rock-hewn churches, with
some structures partially collapsed, which aggravates the process.
During the second half of 2018, two separate field surveys
were carried out in the Davit Gareji monastic complex area. The
monasteries Dodo, Lavra, Natlismcemeli and Sabereebi were
jointly investigated by an Italian-Georgian team: the UNESCO
Chair at Florence University (Italy), the Italian National Institute
for Environmental Protection and Research (Italy), and the
Prevention and Sustainable Management of Geo-hydrological
Hazards and Cultural Heritage and Environmental Studies Centre
of Ilia State University (Georgia).
For each, the following has been carried out: laser-scanning
topographic survey and drone-based digital photogrammetry
Fig. 4: Mravaltskaro Monastery, rock collapse (© Mikheil Elashvili)
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Georgia
Fig. 5: Sabereebi Monastery, general view (© Marita Sakhltkhutsishvili)
Fig. 6: Sabereebi Monastery, 6th church, 9th century (© Marita Sakhltkhutsishvili)
Georgia
47
Fig. 7: Dodorka Monastery, 13th century (© Marita Sakhltkhutsishvili)
Fig. 8: Dodorka Monastery, upper level of the church, 7th to 9th centuries
(© Marita Sakhltkhutsishvili)
with UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle); structural and geo-mechanical surveys; infrared thermographic surveys and global kinematic analysis; samplings for laboratory tests. The distribution,
typology and frequency of the potential instabilities have been
identified, and possible triggering and/or predisposing factors
have also been highlighted, both endogenous (e. g. lithology,
structural setting) and exogenous (e. g. water infiltration, thermoclastism, weathering), as well as the triggering factors (e. g.
heavy rainfall).
During the missions, different monasteries were surveyed in
order to collect additional parameters, verify and calibrate preliminary stability models, define preliminary mitigation measures
and implement the monitoring system. IRT and global kinematics
surveys were carried out in all of the selected sites in order to
define landslide processes affecting the sites and potential factors
of damage (e. g. ledges-niches system, moisture sectors, erosional
patterns). As preliminary conclusion the following main predisposing factors were recognised:
a state of advanced deterioration. In general, the main problems
encountered affecting the mural paintings are:
– The Davit Gareji monastery complex area consists mainly
of soft sedimentary rock promoting instability processes and
weathering, especially under climate change conditions;
– Geo-structural setting, joint and stress release promote rock instability processes in all the investigated monastery complexes;
– Rock sample collection and laboratory tests are underway; they
will define the main strength and deformation parameters useful for future stability models;
– Geological and geomechanical models are useful tools to define landslide mechanisms and activities as well as the priority
of mitigation measures;
– A monitoring system is one of the main non-structural, sustainable and low-impact mitigation measures for the management
of the tourist use of the sites.1
The collapse of the rocky structure also results in the deterioration of the wall paintings, which are losing their foundation and
thus collapse: “In all the monasteries the mural paintings are in
– the collapse of some plasters that leaves visible the rock support
in areas that in some cases are wide (on the left Natlismtsemeli
and on the right Bertubani);
– the detachment of wide surfaces of the plasters from the rock
support with risk of collapse;
– the cancellation of the faces of the saints and the presence of
graffiti that in some cases, as in Bertubani and Sabereebi, cover all the paintings without any respect for their artistic and
cultural values;
– the fading of the paints that in many cases are not easily readable anymore as in Udabno;
– the deteriorations of the colour of the pigments that in some
cases appear very different from how they were originally (sadly some of these processes are not reversible);
– the presence of superficial deposits such as dirt, black smoke,
powders, salt concretions, etc.
In some cases, the eventual intervention is complicated by the
presence of two different layers of painting from two different
epochs that cannot be separated.
– the presence of cracks and the percolation of a solution of
water and mud. The main causes of deterioration for the mural paintings are strictly related to the context in which they
are inserted: the instability of the rocks, during time, leads
to cracks, collapses and water penetration and to the opening of some spaces that used to be closed, thus exposing the
paintings to the sunlight and, in some cases, also to meteoric
precipitations.” 2
Another important problem of the site is man-made destruction.
Since the Middle Ages the site was invaded numerous times and
ravaged by the invaders. However, the most recent substantial
damages were caused in the 1980s by the artillery range of the
Soviet Army, which contributed to the demolition of the rock,
thus speeding up the processes of destruction.
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Georgia
Another human impact is non-regulated tourism. Presently,
with no tourist trails, signage, guidance or monitoring the site is
completely open to tourists who access the site independently and
create the high risk of inappropriate handling. It is obvious that
the monastery complex needs significant improvements to meet
the requirements of its tourist use.
And finally, the site is affected by a territorial problem: as
part of the Davit Gareji complex is situated on the territory of
Azerbaijan, that part is less accessible for the Georgian researchers. The complex measures for the safeguarding of the site will be
subject to inter-state negotiations.
Taking into account the scale, number of objects and existing threats of Davit Gareji Monasteries and Hermitage, the full
conservation and rehabilitation of the site is a long-term process,
which apart from studies and rehabilitation works includes continuous maintenance every day. The measures to be taken include
providing a full inventory and a multidisciplinary study of the
complex for clarifying the existing situation and outlining the
priorities. The next step should be the elaboration of conservation and master plans of the site. Considering the significance and
potential of the site, it should be included in different regional and
national documents such as the regional development plans of
the Sagarejo, Sighnaghi and Gardabani municipalities, in strategy
documents of the Ministries of Education, Science, Culture and
Sports; Regional Development and Infrastructure; as well as in
those of the National Agencies of Tourism and Recreation, and of
Protected Areas. The fundraising for the implementation of emergency works and of the mentioned steps for the safeguarding of
the site has been started.
Mariam Dvalishvili
Georgian Arts and Culture Centre / Europa Nostra
Representation in Georgia
Khada Cultural Landscape at Risk
The Government of Georgia has initiated a Regional Development
Program (2018–2021) aiming to improve the country’s major
roads, including the modernisation of the Zhinvali-Larsi road that
crosses the Caucasus Mountains. It is to support transport and
transit of goods between Georgia and its neighbouring countries
and Russia.
The Zhinvali-Larsi road plan, developed by the Roads
Department of Georgia, consists of three stages. The first
“Kvesheti-Kobi Section” is the most difficult one and the implementation of its major part is planned in the in many ways exceptional Khada Valley. Thus, it is essential to study the impact of the
road plan on the cultural heritage in the area.
In July 2018, in response to a letter (No. 6049/01; 13. 07. 2018)
from Ms. Nino Tandilashvili, Deputy Minister of Environment
and Agriculture of Georgia, the National Agency for Cultural
Heritage Preservation of Georgia (No. 10/3026; 03. 08. 2018) underlined that the Khada Valley is characterised by an abundance
of important cultural heritage sites. At this stage, these sites had
not been completely identified and studied. The letter also stated
that an environmental impact assessment had not been carried
out and the documentation on the archaeological assessment
of the territory, required by the Georgian Law on Cultural
Heritage (Article 14, paragraphs 3 and 4), had not been presented to the National Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation
of Georgia.
In the framework of the project, a thorough assessment of the
impact on the cultural heritage in the Khada Valley – unique from
various perspectives – has not been undertaken to date. It should
be emphasised that the Khada Valley (Dusheti region) with its
early medieval defensive and ecclesiastical sites, and its high
concentration of epigraphic monuments plays a special role in
North Georgia’s cultural heritage. That clearly demonstrates the
actual importance of the Valley for the country’s past political
life. Furthermore, its largely untouched natural environment and
setting are of exceptional beauty.
Located near Tbilisi, the nine-kilometre-long Khada Valley
has a diversity of landscapes with scattered small villages and
remains with traditional housing patterns, as well as magnificent architectural monuments, such as Korogo Church (10th c.),
Tsetskhlisjvari Castle (9th –10th c.), Iukho Tower (9th –10th c.),
and more.
An outstanding example of the quality of the monuments in
the Khada Valley is the Korogo architectural complex, listed as
monument of national importance, which has a completely different spatial arrangement of the interior. The interior and its relief
on the west façade’s cornice reflecting the construction process
indicate that Korogo occupies an important place in the Georgian
architectural heritage and has no analogy.
Furthermore, archaeological remains accidentally found in
the Valley confirm the continuous life of man here from the
Eneolithic period. An abundance of rock castles and castles with
embattlements, scattered single towers, churches, memorial sites
(Kaishauri Valley, old cemeteries), inscribed stones and high
crosses create the harmonious unity in this magical, pristine natural environment, while its cultural and historical value has not yet
been studied and evaluated.
It should also be noted that the architectural heritage sites –
churches, five-to-seven-metre-high towers, stone walls and other
structures (9th–10th, 18th and 19th centuries) – are in very poor
physical condition and require serious maintenance due to their
age and the dry construction of slate slab masonry. According
to the proposed project, one group of historic buildings is only
50 metres away from the planned construction zone, which will
cause significant losses.
This issue is briefly pointed out in the stakeholder engagement
plan submitted by the Georgian Roads Department to the European
Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in March
2019. It states that most of the material and cultural resources are
more than 100 metres from the proposed road. However, “Along
the project corridor there are cemeteries, churches, towers, war
monuments, religious crosses that are 50 meters away and construction work may have some impact on them.”
According to the project, four tunnels (one of them on
Kaishauri plateau; nine-kilometre main tunnel beneath the mountain in Tskere), six bridges, and in addition to the highway three
secondary roads are to be constructed. Technical facility buildings
will be located at the south entrance of the tunnel (within Khada
territory), which will include storage facilities, a pumping station
and a ventilation room. Appropriate landfills will be arranged for
materials collected as a result of the tunnel and earthworks.
The risk is very high for the small valley and its unique cultural
heritage sites situated along the project corridor within 50 metres
of the roads, as there is no special inventory and no recording and
study of the sites. This raises serious suspicion towards the project.
Georgia
Fig. 1: Korogo complex, 10th century (© Natalia Chitishvili)
Fig. 2: Khada Valley, general view (© Natalia Chitishvili)
49
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Georgia
Fig. 3: Midelauri Castle and remains of the village (© Natalia Chitishvili)
Fig. 4: Holy Virgin Church of Korogo, apse conch (©: Natalia Chitishvili)
Fig. 5: Khada Valley, general view (© The National Trust of Georgia)
Fig. 6: Road plan: screenshot from the Road Department’s own video
of the proposed new road (© The National Trust of Georgia)
From the recent practice of implementing large-scale projects in Georgia, the case of the construction of the BP (British
Petroleum) pipeline in accordance with the Georgian Law on
Cultural Heritage (Article 14, paragraphs 3 and 4) should be
mentioned. Two years (2003 –2004) before the construction of the
BP pipeline and later throughout the whole construction period,
monuments above and below ground were studied and monitored
along the pipeline in a two-kilometre-wide corridor. This happened in less sensitive areas than the Khada Valley.
Considering the above-mentioned, without any special studies
it is clear that the road project Kvesheti-Kobi Section will create
an alarming situation for the Khada Historic Valley characterized by the abundance and integrity of undoubtedly remarkable
monuments of archaeology, nature, history and architecture. On
this territory with its high cultural and tourist potential, the implementation of the road project will seriously damage the natural environment, cultural heritage, and local communities, and
in the future will lead to an irreversible misuse of the resources
necessary for a sustainable economic development of the Valley.
The proposed plan provoked a number of protests from different
professional organisations and advocacy groups concerned with
issues regarding Khada Valley: Society for Nature Conservation
(SABUKO), Green Alternative, Public Art Platform, Georgian
Incoming Tour Operators Association, Georgian Young Lawyers’
Association, Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center
(EMC), Georgian National Committee of the Blue Shield, George
Chubinashvili National Research Centre for Georgian Art History
and Heritage Preservation, ICOMOS Georgia, and the National
Trust of Georgia. These organisations are considering possible
alternatives to the present road construction project. For example, the National Trust of Georgia has reviewed the plan and presented two alternative route options for the transportation road.
Detailed information is accessible at the following link: http://
www.nationaltrustofgeorgia.org.ge/landscape/. The severity of
the issue imposes a responsibility on all of us to protect and save
Georgia
51
Fig. 8: Tsetskhlisjvari Castle, 9th –10th centuries (© Shalva Lezhava)
Fig. 7: Kalaketi Tower (© Natalia Chitishvili)
Fig. 9: Villages in Khada Valley: Korogo and Tskere (© Shalva Lezhava)
the Khada Valley and makes it urgent to find an alternative decision to the “Kvesheti-Kobi section of Zhinvali-Larsi Road “,
which is putting the exceptional Khada Valley and its priceless
landscapes and cultural heritage at risk.
Dr. Manana Suramelashvili
Member of ICOMOS Georgia Board
Footnotes
1
C. Margottini, D. Spizzichino, G. Gigli, W. Frodella, M. Elashvili, S. Alberti, A. Valagussa, G. Crosta, Instability processes affecting the rupestrian monastery complex area of Davit
Gareji (Georgia), Paper at the International Conference “Davit
Gareji – Multidisciplinary Study and Development Strategy”,
April 18–20, 2019, Tbilisi, Georgia.
2
Technical report on the rehabilitation of the Davit Gareji
Monasteries and Hermitage in Georgia, published by Europa
Nostra, 2019, pp. 39– 42; link: https://www.europanostra.org/
wp-content/uploads/2019/04/7ME-2019-Georgia-DavitGarejiMonasteries-Report.pdf.
Fig. 10: Tskere complex (© Shalva Lezhava)
52
GERMANY
The Temple Synagogue in Hamburg’s
Neustadt
The remains of the former synagogue of the liberal “New Israelite
Temple Association” in Hamburg, threatened with decay, are of
international importance as an architectural and contemporary
document of Jewish history and must be preserved – also in view
of the current debate about the reconstruction of the synagogue
on Bornplatz – and be put to good use. The ruin was included
in the “Top 19 Watchlist” of the most threatened Jewish relics
in Europe by the Foundation for Jewish Heritage (London).
Hamburg’s Neustadt – an expansion of the city from the beginning of the 17th century – became the residential area for citizens
of other religious communities and thus the home of many Jews.
In the course of the Enlightenment, religious ties also loosened
within the Jewish community, so that liberal aspirations became
increasingly important there. On December 11, 1817, 65 Jews
from Hamburg founded the “New Israelite Temple Association”,
whose statutes aimed at reforming religious life and increasing
social integration. The temple association’s prayer book was the
first Jewish reform liturgy. The return to “Eretz Israel” in the
promised land and the re-erection of the temple in Jerusalem were
less important thematically. The texts were bilingual (Hebrew
and German), the organ was played in the service. Religious
services initially took place in rented rooms in Alter Steinweg,
which soon became too small, whereupon a property was acquired in Poolstrasse on which the new synagogue was to be built.
The foundation stone for the new temple was laid on October
18, 1842. There had been a delay in the building preparations because after the Great Fire in early May 1842, which
destroyed large parts of Hamburg’s city centre but not the
Neustadt, temporarily homeless citizens had to be accommodated in buildings that were already scheduled for demolition. The plans for the temple came from the architect Johann
Hinrich Klees-Wülbern (1800 –1845), who at the same time created the German-Israelite hospital in St. Pauli on behalf of the
banker Salomon Heine. Klees-Wülbern was a renowned architect who also belonged to the “Technical Commission” which
developed the plans for the reconstruction after the Great Fire.
The temple itself was carried out in a generously sized courtyard
and was shielded from the street by four multi-storey houses. It
was accessible via a passage in Poolstrasse 12-13, with house numbers 11 and 14 also belonging to the complex. The free-standing
synagogue building had a grand western front, which was flanked
by two slender towers. A tiered arcade arched a large round window and the entrance portal, which men and women were allowed
to use together. The tablets of law were placed on the top of the
gable. The shape of the round window was based on the Star of
David. The facades had Moorish ornaments and neo-classical and
neo-Gothic elements. The interior had three naves with two side
galleries on a rectangular floor plan. The organ was placed on the
Fig. 1: Poolstrasse 12–13, street facade
Fig. 2: Former west facade in the courtyard
west gallery, where there was also space for a choir. The reading
desk and the pulpit were arranged centrally in the prayer room. The
pews, arranged in two blocks, were reserved for 380 men, while
up to 260 women were to sit in the galleries. The inauguration
Germany
53
Fig. 3: Remains of the synagogue’s apse
took place on September 5, 1844 after two years of construction.
At the end of the 19th century, many Jews settled in the new urban
expansion areas around the Aussenalster in today’s quarters of
Grindel, Rotherbaum and Harvestehude. The main orthodox synagogue at Bornplatz (today: Joseph-Carlebach-Platz) was inaugurated in 1906; it was set on fire in 1938 and demolished in 1939.
Recently, the regional rabbi started a discussion about rebuilding
or reconstructing the orthodox synagogue. This also drew attention to the history of the temple synagogue and its decay that had
been criticised for some time.
In 1930/31 the temple association on Oberstrasse had a new
religious building erected in a modern architectural language.
This building replaced the temple synagogue in Poolstrasse,
which was initially used as a store, but then had to be sold in
1937. The synagogue in Oberstrasse was forcibly profaned in the
“ Third Reich” and passed into the possession of the city in 1941.
In 1950 the building was converted into the broadcasting hall
of the Norddeutscher Rundfunk (North German Radio). While
the exterior architecture of the building on Oberstrasse has been
preserved and, as an important example of Hamburg’s building
culture, was a major contribution to the Bauhaus year 2019, the
temple synagogue in Neustadt was largely destroyed by bombing
in 1944. Remains of the western porch, surrounding walls and the
eastern part of the building with the now visible apse niche have
been preserved. The ruins are used for instance by a car repair
shop and a gallery, but are subject to severe deterioration. In 2003,
Hamburg’s monument authority listed the remains of the building
together with the well-preserved buildings on the street front at
Poolstrasse 11–14. They were also designed by Johann Hinrich
Klees-Wülbern, have neo-classical facade elements and accommodated preachers and employees of the temple association.
Together with the remains of the temple synagogue, they represent
not only an important testimony of Jewish life, but the nucleus of
international liberal Judaism, as the monument protection office
emphasised in the justification for the listing. The current owner
is planning a new building on the property. He received a security
order from the monument authority at the end of November 2019.
The ruinous state of the remains of the temple has attracted attention and concern among the liberal Jewish communities in
Great Britain and the United States. In 2017, the 200th anniversary of the “New Israelite Temple Association” was celebrated in
Hamburg with guests from all over the world. Only since 2004
Hamburg has had a “Liberal Jewish Community Hamburg” once
again. It wants a public meeting place and place of commemoration to be created in Poolstrasse.
Jörg Schilling
54
Germany
References
Denkmäler Hamburg-Mitte. Poolstraße 11, 12, 13, 14: Ehemalige Synagoge mit Wohnhäusern, https://www.hamburg.de/
auswahl/nofl/177588/poolstrasse-11-14.html (last accessed
18/12/2019)
Denkmalverein Hamburg: Vergessener ehemaliger Tempel,
https://www.denkmalverein.de/gefaehrdet/gefaehrdet/vergessener-tempel (last accessed 18/12/2019)
Hipp, Hermann: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg. Geschichte,
Kultur und Stadtbaukunst an Elbe und Alster, 2nd ed. Köln
1990
Koglin, Michael: Zu Fuß durch das jüdische Hamburg. Geschichte in Geschichten, 3rd ed. Hamburg 2012
Lasst uns die Synagoge am Bornplatz wieder aufbauen, in: Hamburger Abendblatt, 28/10/2019, p. 13.
Wenderholm, Iris: Ehemaliger jüdischer Tempel, https:// kunsthistoriker.org/verband/rote-liste/ehemaliger-juedischer-tempel/
(last accessed 18/12/2019)
All images www.dorfmuellerklier.de
Great Frustration in the Bauhaus Year
The number of events celebrating the 100th anniversary of
the founding of the Bauhaus in 2019 was probably thousands
throughout Germany alone. Even if not everything is Bauhaus
that is cuboid and without ornament: the opportunity was very
welcome to recall the variety and range of modernity in the early
20th century. The number of buildings from this period that were
demolished in Germany in 2019 is – fortunately – significantly
lower. The Deutschlandhaus in Hamburg (although it was later
greatly altered) is one example: it gave way to a new building by
Hadi Teherani that is based on the historic model and certainly
has its qualities. In Bad Neuenahr, however, the spa buildings
from 1937 will give way to a green meadow. What has happened?
Taking a cure in Bad Neuenahr
The great period of the health resorts was the 19th century. In
Bad Ems, Baden-Baden, Wiesbaden, Karlsbad, Spa, and many
other famous places in Europe the noble, the middle-class and
the cultural elites took a cure, drank and bathed. This bathing
culture is a genuine European “shared heritage”, for which the
World Heritage title is also being sought. Around the healing
waters – whether one drank them or bathed in them – a lively
social life developed, which found its architectural expression
in spa houses, spa hotels, pump rooms, colonnades and other
historicist ensembles that still characterise many health resorts
today and represent an important asset in terms of value and
identification.
The famous Apollinaris Fountain, discovered by a winegrower,
was drilled in 1852 in the village of Wadenheim. Four years later
the healing springs were developed and in 1858 the first spa was
opened which was allowed to bear the name “Neuenahr” with
the permission of the Prussian government. The community of
Neuenahr was formed in 1875 by merging Wadenheim with two
other villages. In the last quarter of the 19th century it experienced its first heyday. The Ahr valley railway, opened in 1880,
ensured an influx of spa guests, and the infrastructure was further
expanded. Within a few years around 1900, the facilities that still
shape the townscape today were built, including the thermal bath
house (1899–1901), the spa hotel and the spa house (1903–05).
Especially the latter building, today a casino, represents the splendour of this health resort at that time. Its neo-baroque style shows
high design standards and draws on castle architecture. The thermal bath house is also richly decorated in the neo-classical style.
In historicism, many things were possible at the same time.
The attractive landscape and the spa gardens planned by Peter
Joseph Lenné offered opportunities for recreation in the fresh air.
In addition, guesthouses and hotels, as well as upscale apartment
buildings and villas, were erected. Unfortunately, especially many hotel buildings have fallen victim to a renewal of substance.
The town is currently enjoying an unbroken influx of pensioners,
and therefore accordingly equipped apartments or “residences”
are often on offer. However, their design quality leaves a lot to be
desired, but that is another story.
Late development project
The state recognition of the healing character of the Neuenahr
springs came surprisingly late, only in 1927, and since then the
community has been allowed to call itself “Bad Neuenahr”. A
unique building project, which had few parallels at its time, was
part of this development. In 1927, the Kur AG announced the
competition for a new spa complex. The spa gardens were also to
be redesigned, and a new pump room was to be built in the centre. The old cast-iron pump room was demolished and even the
course of the Oberstraße was changed. This was done to combine
the relevant facilities into one unit. The competition was well received throughout Germany. The jury was made up of important
representatives of the German architectural avant-garde of the
1920s – for instance, Ernst May, who two years earlier, as a city
planning officer, had proclaimed the “ New Frankfurt”.
The winner of the competition was Hermann Weiser, who, in
his time, was a well-known architect. As a master student of Peter
Behrens, co-founder of the Deutscher Werkbund, Weiser was influenced by the debates of the time on contemporary architecture.
Weiser originally planned a complex that art and travel guides
today would undoubtedly call “influenced by the Bauhaus”.
He dispensed with traditional stylistic devices and chose cubic
forms, large glass surfaces and flat roofs. No “Bauhaus”, but still
in the spirit of the Neues Bauen. Construction was delayed until
the 1930s, began in 1933 and was only completed in 1937. Now
the buildings were strikingly more traditional: The division with
cornices and pillars is more of an abstract neo-classicism, even
close to Behrens’ ideas from the 1910s. But this makes the relationship to the adjacent neo-classical thermal bath house all the
more interesting!
Time layers provide information
The complex has been preserved in this form until today; a café
wing was added in the 1970s. The Great Pump Room was given a graphic ceiling design of suspended concrete elements. The
frames and partitions of the large glass surfaces, providing a view
of the spa gardens, were replaced. In this process, the profiles naturally became wider. But regardless of such typical contemporary
changes, much of the spirit of the Neue Sachlichkeit is still evident in the buildings today. The complex is as important as a few
contemporary German ensembles, including Bad Mergentheim
and Bad Elster. Although many spas were ( partially) modernised
Germany
55
Fig. 1: Bad Neuenahr, spa park and spa buildings (photo Michael Lentz, 2019)
in the 1920s and 1930s, such extensive new buildings as in Bad
Neuenahr remained exceptional. Once again in the second half of
the 20th century, numerous spa facilities with a functional character were built. For its time, however, Bad Neuenahr can claim to
be special, even unique in quality and scope. The rotating concert
shell, which can be directed inwards as well as outwards – towards the open-air concert – is a detail of rare charm.
Bad Neuenahr thus is particularly interesting as here one can
trace the development of bathing culture from the 19th century
to the present: from the garden design of Lenné to the beton brut
additions of the recent past, for whose evaluation we are still too
close.
Demolishing and building new
However, the town of Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler does not wish
to subscribe to this complex cultural heritage; on the contrary, it
wants to have something new. Full of empathy one may have a
certain understanding for this attitude. It is clear that taking the
cures (in modern terms: wellness) today follows different procedures than in the 19th century or in the 1930s. Even the 1970s
are no longer a model for people’s demands today. Other services are expected today and the expectations, also of new target
groups, are high. However, to make such modernisations of existing buildings possible is precisely the core idea of monument
conservation. It does not want to preserve and use buildings like a
museum, but rather in a life-related and new way. In this respect,
monument conservation is always prepared to make changes and
allow appropriate further developments. And if nothing really
works anymore, a high-quality redesign is also possible.
However, there has been a fierce debate for years if nothing is
possible with the existing buildings. The town, which took over
the facilities from the Kur AG a few years ago, understandably
argues that there is a need for modernisation. Conservation is allegedly not possible for technical reasons. The basic attitude of
the town which is not prepared to commission an expert opinion
explicitly on the redevelopment options remains the crucial point.
On the contrary, the existing building was only examined for its
unfitness to be preserved, which gives the conflict its unpleasant
taste. Honi soit qui mal y pense of the fact that the new building would also increase the size of the accompanying buildings,
which could be rented out as upscale apartments, offices and
shops. With this knowledge, the town’s asserted wistfulness about
the loss of heritage is difficult to distinguish from false tears.
Years ago, the state monument authorities nolens volens approved the demolition, unfortunately a partial victory for the town
which thus further legitimised the decision to dispense with an
expert renovation report. It is hoped that the decision was made
in Mainz due to insufficient information. This could have been
remedied.
The demolition seemed to fit into the town’s plan all too well,
because at the state horticultural show planned for 2022, Bad
Neuenahr wanted to present itself with a new building. Why was
it never considered what added value a well-restored Bauhaus
ensemble – let’s call it that for advertising reasons – would have
had? These are questions that were asked, for example, by the
local citizens’ initiative “Lebenswerte Stadt” committed to the
preservation and renovation of the spa facilities.
“Where there is danger, saving measures will also
grow?”
It is obvious that the Neuenahr spa facilities need to be renovated
and modernised. At the same time their outstanding importance
56
Germany
Fig. 2: Inside the pump room (photo Michael Lentz, 2019)
is undisputed. Numerous nationwide monument organisations,
including ICOMOS Germany, therefore signed an appeal in
August 2018 for the preservation of this heritage and presented it to the town. The Deutsche Stiftung Denkmalschutz even
went as far as to promise financial support for an expert renovation report in order to achieve the long-needed change of perspective, possibly including further subsidies. The Rheinischer
Verein für Denkmalpflege und Landschaftsschutz and the
Arbeitsgemeinschaft deutscher Kur- und Bädermuseen offered
to support the town in order to establish helpful contacts and to
bring a positive narrative to a broad public.
Nevertheless, the town has not deviated from its basic attitude.
Even though it was prepared to hold several meetings with representatives of conservation advocates, a conservation report and
its possible consequences were clearly ruled out. It claims that
the non-sustainability has been proven and in addition, the state
monument authorities have already agreed... ha ha!
More than a year after the appeal, the town council invited
tenders for the demolition work and then awarded the contract.
This now hovers over the ensemble like the Sword of Damocles.
Perhaps the demolition will already be completed by the end of
2019. The fact that the investor has meanwhile disappeared: no
problem! Then there will be a green meadow for the state horticultural show at this site, so the mayor says. One has to bite one’s
tongue not to call this ignorance and barbarism. Subsidies from
the state capital are supposed to help with the conversion into a
kind of cultural centre, even the municipal library is supposed to
move into the new building.
In the dispute over the prerogative of interpretation, the town
naturally interprets the fact of the loss of cultural heritage quite
differently: With “the future project starts”, a municipal press re-
lease advertises for the redesign of the Kurpark properties, which
are now to be “significantly upgraded”. Apart from all the jingling of words about sustainability and public utility, the town
is at least honest enough to admit that the new building is meant
to shape the “modern townscape” and that it does not intend to
refer to the architectural heritage at all. For those in favour of
preserving the ensemble, it is absolutely frustrating that this important cultural heritage could not be saved, even though every
conceivable help had been offered. What remained was to physically oppose the demolition, to hope for a miracle or legal finesse.
Hoping for insight, on the other hand, might be in vain.
Fig. 3: Demolition of the spa buildings in spring 2020
(photo Michael Lentz)
Germany
Status of May 2020
In spring 2020, the Deutsche Stiftung Denkmalschutz once again
offered the city of Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler financial support for
a restoration report. The offer was rejected with the argument
that there was a damage survey and that the site could not be
restored. By April, the buildings were completely demolished, except for the rotating music shell, which is protected as an individual monument. The city then publicly presented the new building
plans of a Bonn architectural office. There has been no critical
discussion about this; a real architectural competition for this important new building project has never taken place. The funding
has not yet been secured. Instead of Bauhaus now: green field and
big plans in Bad Neuenahr.
Dr. Martin Bredenbeck
Illegal destruction of Berlin’s
St. Hedwig’s Cathedral Started in
October 2019
As suspected by Sabine Schulte (Berlin Conservation Authority)
in Heritage at Risk 2014 –2015, pp. 42 f., Archbishop Heiner Koch
decided in 2016 against the widespread protest of experts and lay-
57
men to destroy and replace the listed interior of Berlin´s Roman
Catholic Cathedral by a completely new design (the result of a
competition of 2013–14). The now abandoned post-war interior
designed by the West German architect Hans Schwippert, which
after the heavy air-raid destructions of 1945filled the 18th century shell of the domed Pantheon-type-building, was considered a
unique monument for several reasons: Consecrated in 1963 by
Cardinal Bengsch, it represented the unity of the Catholic Church
and the fraternal collaboration of Western and Eastern artists and
artisans during the Cold War and in the very heart of the socialist
satellite nations. The artistic expression in this extraordinary case
united features of functional Western post-war modernism with
a solemn neoclassicism, which in the late 1950swas still valid in
socialist architecture and crafts. Tradition and innovation were
perfectly balanced. Anticipating the final results of the Second
Vatican Council, Schwippert moved the altar closer to the centre, which allowed already to celebrate Mass versus populum.
Reflecting the old tradition of a circular confessio in front of the
altar, he also opened the floor of the nave and installed broad
stairs down to the crypt, which became a sanctuary for the beatified provost Bernhard Lichtenberg (1875–1943), a victim of the
Nazi terror. Martyrdom thus could be experienced as a profession
of faith in the abhorrence of current history.
The whole wealth of these artistic, emotional, historic and
theological values will be erased by the new interior (architects
Sichau / Walter / Zogmayer): The crypt is to be closed in favour of
a neutral circular space, while benches will be arranged around
the altar in the centre. The elaborate décor and furnishings, including the stained-glass windows, the organ and the bronze-crys-
Fig. 1: The interior of the Cathedral before the demolition (photo Wolfgang Bittner, 2014)
58
Germany
Fig. 2: The interior in August 2020 (photo Magdalena Thiele)
2017 denied the destruction permission, its political head, Berlin’s
Senator for Culture, gave the go-ahead in February 2018, referring to the constitutional autonomy of the Churches in matters of
their property (but of course not without a precise building and
destruction permission). Furthermore, his more or less political
decision is still dubious, because in 2014 and 2017 two leading
Catholic experts in matters of liturgy and also the appropriate
papal congregation in Rome had rejected the archbishop´s reasoning that the replacement of the interior was obligatory under
liturgical regulations.
The true motivation for this unique destruction scandal is a
strong desire for a new self-representation of the Roman Catholic
church in the German capital, fostered by Archbishop Koch, who
inherited the project from his ambitious predecessor Cardinal
Woelki (now Cologne). Financially supported by the Federal
Government of Germany and by Berlin’s Senate with considerable sums, the church dignitaries hope to compete with the new
architectural highlights around the historic centre and thus to
connect their names forever with history by eliminating theological and political memories of a critical epoch and providing a
would-be spectacular stage for pompous ecclesiastical festivities,
prominent burials and stately ceremonies. Instead, a professional restoration of the unique post-war invention – as demanded
by all experts and many parishioners for a long time –would not
only save about at least 60 million euros (to be spent for better
Christian purposes), but would also open the eyes of future generations for the once progressive and respectful role of the Catholic
Church in our divided world.
For detailed information on the battle about St. Hedwig´s preservation since 2014 cf. the website of “Freunde der Hedwigskathedrale”, including all relevant facts, documents and resolutions
[https://www.freunde-hedwigskathedrale.de/].
Fig. 3: Visualisation of the planned redesign of the circular communion
room with the altar in the middle (© Nightnurse Images, Zürich)
tal balustrades have already been dismantled since October 2019.
The monumental marble stele, which connected the lower altar
in the crypt and the main altar in the nave, has been irreversibly
destroyed. These destructions – declared as “preparatory measures” by the archdiocese –were illegal, because up to now the
archbishop has not presented a building-permit and so far has
no destruction permission. Moreover, a lawsuit about the titles
of the copyright-holders in regard to the interior and its furnishings was postponed to March and now again to July 2020. In the
meantime, the destruction and transformation of the widely intact
copper covering of the dome – matching the new project, but
declared only as an independent “energetic refurbishment” which
needs no planning permission – was started in March.
How does all that fit in with the monument protection laws?
While Berlin’s Landesdenkmalamt (Conservation Authority) in
Prof. em. Dr. Adrian von Buttlar
Former Chairman of Berlin’s Council for the Preservation of
Monuments (1996 –2009)
Member of ICOMOS Germany
Status of September 2020
The action brought by the copyright owners against the distortion
of the listed spatial creation by Hans Schwippert and cooperating
artists was dismissed by the Berlin Regional Court on 14 July
2020. In addition to the reference to a predominance of powers of
the property owner over other rights, the presiding judge Claas
Schaper justified the decision, stating: “Nothing will remain of
the work”. “We are of the opinion that this is a destruction.”
The demolition of interior structural elements, which had already begun in September 2019 and in the meantime had led to
an officially imposed building freeze, was subsequently partially
legalised by a building permit issued on 16 July 2020 for an application to convert St. Hedwig’s Cathedral, which had not been
submitted before 25 February 2020.
Germany
The Roundhouse in Berlin-Pankow *
The industrialisation that started in England reached Germany
in the middle of the 19th century. The railway network also
grew at a great speed. The trains became faster and longer – and
with them the locomotives. This meant that the young building
type of the roundhouse, which had been developed after 1860,
ended again before the turn of the century: The more advanced
steam locomotives with a tender required more space than such
a building could offer. Germany’s last roundhouse was built
in Berlin-Pankow in 1893. It remained in operation until 1997
and still exists today as one of two surviving examples in
Germany.
59
reconstructed in the 1990s) in Oranienburger Strasse is also a
Schwedler design. Thanks to his position as railway master builder and supreme Prussian building officer, Schwedler is considered
the most important protagonist of structural engineering in the
German-speaking countries in the second half of the 19th century.
The circular building in Berlin-Pankow offered space for 24
locomotives and is thus not only the last but also the largest of
all 25 locomotive sheds of this building type. Its roof spans about
40 metres; the surrounding pent roof is crowned by the dome
above the turntable. The filigree iron truss construction is made of
radially curved rafters and connecting horizontal rings. Bracing
cross members are located between the main beams in the dome
surface. This construction, in which each concentric ring forms a
solid system, is stable even under unequal loads. Remarkable is
The roundhouse in Berlin-Pankow ( photo D. Bartetzko)
After 1900, only ring locomotive sheds were built with a turntable in front of their gates. The roundhouse, on the other hand,
combined a central turntable and radially arranged sidings under
one roof: impressive buildings with brick walls decorated with
typical ornaments of the time, small iron windows and elaborate
steel dome roofs. These go back to the engineer Johann Wilhelm
Schwedler (1823 –1894).
In 1863, the “Schwedler dome” was used for the first time for
a Berlin gas tank. The roof of the Berlin New Synagogue (1863,
the low weight of the roof, which is still contemporary today, of
only about 30 kg per square metre.
After most of the steam locomotives had been taken out of
service, the roundhouse was used for repairs and as a material
store. The surrounding Pankow-Heinersdorf depot was used by
the GDR Reichsbahn after 1945, most recently by the Deutsche
Bundesbahn. Today there are only two roundhouses left in
Germany, both in Berlin: one in the Rummelsburg depot (1875)
and the other in Pankow. Others have been preserved in Poland
60
Germany
(Piła/Schneidemühl; Bydgoszcz/Bromberg; Tczew/Dirschau) and
in the Russian town of Chernyakhovsk (formerly Insterburg). All
of them are recognized as technical monuments, some have been
restored and converted. The German sheds are left to decay.
The Deutsche Bahn (German Railways) has shown little interest in the two technological monuments and has not protected
them against vandalism. There is a demolition order for the shed
in Rummelsburg. The building, surrounded by tracks in use, is in
a desolate state: its roof is largely uncovered – and right now it
offers the most fascinating view of the Schwedler dome. The basic
structural substance still seems to be savable, but a change of use
is problematic, as safe access to the building on the premises of the
Deutsche Bahn is hardly possible. As the building is located on a
railway site, the Eisenbahnbundesamt (Federal Railway Authority)
itself is responsible for approving the demolition application.
In Pankow the chances could be better – actually. Since 2009,
the plant, which was added to the Berlin monument list in 1996,
has belonged to the entrepreneur Kurt Krieger, who wants to
build around 2,000 apartments, a shopping centre and a furniture
store on the surrounding 400,000 square-metre site. Initially, the
engine shed was to be included in the project: as a multipurpose
hall or part of a school. Soon after that, there was no more talk
of this. Obviously, the owner now hopes to obtain the right to demolish the building as its decay progresses. After years of negotiations about the use – he wants more space for business, the state
of Berlin wants more apartments and space for schools and public
needs – the responsible district office in Pankow has ordered Kurt
Krieger to take measures for the emergency securing of the listed
buildings. His appeal against this failed in 2019 before the administrative court. It was found that the integration of the engine shed
was reasonable, as he had acquired the area with the knowledge
that the listed buildings had to be preserved. In addition, he could
compensate for the costs of this through building rights on the
400,000 square metre site. Krieger has appealed against the decision; the decision of the Berlin Supreme Administrative Court is
still pending at the end of 2019.
However, because the demand for apartments and schools in
the Pankow district is great, Krieger can continue to put pressure
on Berlin politicians despite his poor prospects in court: He is
offering to give up retail space and build more apartments, provided the school buildings are built in place of the roundhouse.
Despite the administration’s success in court, the responsible
Berlin politicians seem to be accepting the deal and sacrificing
the presumably last roundhouse on German soil, including other
listed railway buildings, to the development of the entire area.
In September 2019, the Berlin city government decided to work
towards a solution to the still open question of monument protection.
One can only hope that an interested public will dissuade the
political decision-makers from giving in to poker with Kurt
Krieger: the demolition of the Rummelsburg engine shed alone
would be sacrilegious. If in Pankow however the then last round
locomotive shed of Germany would also be sacrificed, one would
have to call this rightly scandalous.
Daniel Bartetzko
* The article, updated for this publication, first appeared in
January 2017 (in German) in the online magazine moderneREGIONAL (www.moderne-regional.de).
Berlin: Brutalist Icons Threatened
by Demolition
Berlin is in danger of losing two icons of post-war architecture
at once. Two large research facilities, both superb examples of
brutalist architecture, are facing demolition because their owner,
the Charité, one of Europe’s largest university hospitals, is questioning their aesthetics and their profitability. They were both
built for the Freie Universität Berlin during the 1960s and 1970s
and have since served as major sites of research and education:
the Institute for Hygiene and Microbiology, 1966 –1974, by architects Fehling + Gogel, and the Central Animal Laboratories,
1967–1981, by architects Gerd and Magdalena Hänska and Kurt
Schmersow. The Charité runs public hospitals as well as the research and education departments of Berlin’s university medical
schools. It recently earmarked the two sites for demolition and
redevelopment. Protecting both buildings as heritage sites is legally possible but would require swift action by Berlin’s senate
and the monument authority. They hesitate stepping forward because there was little sign of public interest in the past. However,
leaked demolition plans have sparked strong public response as
well as a whole list of newspaper articles, both local and international. A petition for rescuing both buildings has been able to
collect more than 1000 supporters within the first two weeks.
Will the heritage authorities reconsider their stance at the very
last moment?
The Animal Laboratories are one of the most radical examples
of high-tech brutalism. Their exterior is both iconic and highly
functional. Blue ventilation pipes protrude like cannons from a
futuristic battleship to ensure stable climatic conditions. Pointed
windows provide indirect, controlled sunlight for the laboratories. The various prefab façade elements make the internal
functions like the interposed floors for the building’s HVAC and
technical systems immediately legible from the outside. Due to
cost overruns, construction was completed only in 1981, after
more than a decade of work. Due to the structure’s appearance,
it quickly gained the nickname Mouse Bunker (Mäusebunker).
Today, the Mouse Bunker is only partially in use, since live
animal experimentation has been quite controversial, and this
field of research has been greatly reduced. In 2003, the Charité
took over this facility and renamed it Research Institutes for
Experimental Medicine, removing any hints at animal experimentation.
Vis-à-vis, hidden behind shrubs and trees, is the Hygiene
Institute. Its overall shape is much more sweeping and extravagant. With its lively, dynamic geometry and unapologetic use of
exposed board-marked concrete it is a prime example of organic
architecture and brutalism alike. The architects Fehling+Gogel
are known for their expressive and irregular designs. They followed the models of Hans Scharoun and Frank Lloyd Wright in
their desire to make their creations as varied and multi-parted as
possible. In contrast to the high-tech Mouse Bunker, the Hygiene
Institute is made of beautifully textured in-situ concrete. It certainly is Berlin’s largest and possibly most exquisite example of
béton brut.
Strict functional demands of specialised research institutions
have inspired great architectural innovation and given rise to
highly original buildings around the world. It is no coincidence
that some of the most celebrated works by Louis I. Kahn and
I. M. Pei are scientific research facilities. However, medical research methodologies have changed significantly and require dif-
Germany
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Figs. 1 and 2: Gerd Hänska, Magdalena Hänska and Kurt Schmersow, Central Animal Laboratories, 1967–1981, threatened by demolition
(photos Felix Torkar)
ferent types of spaces today. Concerns about the reuse of such
highly specialised structures are legitimate. There is no denying
that these buildings are difficult. However, they also feature some
true assets. The interior spaces of the Hygiene Institute are well
lit and allow for a multitude of flexible future uses. The Mouse
Bunker features a sturdy concrete structure and abundant ventilation. This building is quite well suited to serve as archival storage
space or as a data centre. The use of asbestos appears to be an
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Figs. 3 and 4: Fehling + Gogel: Institute for Hygiene and Microbiology, 1966 –74, threatened by demolition (photos Felix Torkar)
issue only at the Animal Laboratories. However, it was only used
in the technical installation rooms as insulation for HVAC piping and could thus be removed relatively easily. The construction
quality of both buildings is very high. Neither of them has had to
undergo significant repair or remodeling. Considering the cultural
heritage aspect of unaltered, authentic physical substance, this is
as good as it gets. The Mouse Bunker, in particular, has become
an icon of brutalist architecture in recent years. It was featured in
numerous publications and is a popular backdrop for film productions. An article in the British newspaper The Guardian named it
on its list of remarkable brutalist structures worldwide and the exhibition SOS Brutalism presented it as one of the most prominent
examples of brutalism in Germany. There is widespread public
appreciation for both buildings and their cultural significance.
But this recognition must now be condensed into visible public
action. It is not too late to protect the buildings from demolition
and preserve them for future generations. The coming months
will decide their fate.
Gunnar Klack and Felix Torkar
Focus Eastern Modernism:
The Chemnitz Pylon Roof
The bus station opened in 1968 in former Karl-Marx-Stadt (today again Chemnitz) was considered to be the most modern bus
station in Europe at its opening. After extensive renovation in
2000, only the dispatcher tower, the so-called “Klapperbrunnen”
(a fountain), and the architecturally distinctive pylon roof still
remain of the original ensemble. However, these components are
now also to give way to other projects. A translocation of the
suspended pylon roof is the current decision, but the feasibility of
preserving the existing building is doubtful. This is a plea for new
ideas and the preservation of the listed roof at the site.
The bus station as monument
Chemnitz, the “city of modernity”, welcomes bus travelers with
an extraordinary aesthetic statement and monument of the Eastern
modern art of engineering: the bus station with its pylon roof
known and appreciated far beyond Chemnitz as a rare construction
of this kind in Germany. The visually and architecturally striking
roof spans an area of over 1200 m² and is cantilevered by a cable
bracing and eight pylons made of reinforced concrete B 450.
The unquestionably cityscape-defining bus station is located
in the extended inner-city area of Chemnitz in Saxony, a city of
250,000 inhabitants. In 1966, the entire ensemble appeared for
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Fig. 1: The Chemnitz bus station with its striking pylon roof is currently
still in operation (photo Ernesto Uhlmann)
Fig. 2: The ensemble is embedded in natural elements so that the
visual connection to Schillerplatz has been preserved
(photo Ernesto Uhlmann)
the first time in the magazine Deutsche Architektur as “KOMBahnhof”. The building was planned and erected with a high
aesthetic and scientific standard: the “Bauakademie” of the GDR
had it constructed as a technical experimental building by architect Johannes Meyer and civil engineer Christian Weise. This was
an experiment in the theory of structures, an experiment in the
collaboration between architect and engineer, and last but not
least an aesthetic experiment whose impressive result has a high
identification value. In publications of the time from Karl-MarxStadt / Chemnitz, the bus station is repeatedly cited as an example
of outstanding architecture and lightweight metal construction.
The original ensemble included a roof spanned by steep ropes,
a waiting hall below, twelve arrival and departure platforms with
roofing, the dispatcher tower, a fountain and a snack bar in an
adjacent old building. The transparency of all building structures
should be emphasised, which harmoniously shapes the interplay
with the park “Schillerplatz” and preserves the park character of
the location.
In January 1968, the first buses started from the 12 departure platforms, in 1995 the suspended pylon roof was listed as
a monument, around the year 2000 the complex was completely
renewed and renovated. In this context, three of the former twelve
departure platforms disappeared and large parts of their original
roofing were replaced by a contemporary bus platform roofing.
which several thousand people travel every month to other places
in Germany and Europe, is centrally located – housing is combined with local recreation, transport and industry, recently supplemented by science and research.
The new university library serves as an anchor for the development of an inner-city campus of the Chemnitz University of
Technology. At the same time, the relocation of the bus station
from its present location to two new locations in the city area has
begun and the areas in front of the old “Aktienspinnerei” are free
for new construction. The development plan No. 96/23 of the city
of Chemnitz from 2017 is the basis for the construction of two
new auditorium and faculty buildings on the site of today’s bus
station. The individual cultural monuments “Klapperbrunnen” by
Johann Belz and the pylon roof would have to give up their original location.
According to the development plan, these buildings and objects are “in principle to be preserved in an appropriate form” and
should therefore not be demolished but moved to another location
near the central station. According to the explanations in the plan,
“intensive negotiations with the monument authorities” had already taken place. As a result, it is possible to relocate the pylon
roof. Evidence for this, e. g. in the form of expert opinions, has
not yet been published or named. The undertaking appears questionable, as it was stated as early as 1966 in the explanations on
the construction of the roof: “ The construction-related mobility
of the system as well as the precise adjustment of the construction
parts during assembly required special constructive measures at
the connections and at the foundation formation”. With this in
mind, it seems difficult to dismantle the structure and re-erect it
elsewhere. In addition to structural challenges, the question who
owns the pylon roof seems to be unresolved: In the comments on
the development plan, the operating company of the bus station
points out that the “feet” of the roof do not stand on the ground
spanned by the self-supporting roof.
Current plans: translocation and preservation
Around the bus station, functions and urban layers overlap in a
confined space. The architectural diversity and the high mix of
uses are representative of the processes shaping the cityscape
during the last 200 years in Chemnitz and Karl-Marx-Stadt.
Behind the bus station lies the Brühl-Boulevard, a socialist inner-city embedded in a Gründerzeit quarter during the GDR era.
For about ten years, it has been developing into an inner-city residential quarter. The former “Aktienspinnerei” situated west of
the bus station, a typical building of the golden age of industry, is
to be reopened as a university library in 2020. The Schillerplatz
as a natural monument functions as a green space between the
bus station and the edge of the city centre. The bus station, from
Concerns – reflection
The long development plan procedure (1996 / 2013–2017), inadequate or missing expert opinions on the feasibility of the
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Fig. 3: Site plan of the bus station in Karl-Marx-Stadt with pylon roof, 1969 (© Deutsche Architektur 1969)
translocation of the pylon roof, and the unresolved question of
ownership suggest that essential questions about the future of the
monument have been postponed to indefinite times and subordinate procedures of urban land-use planning.
According to the available documents, the discussion about
the monument has not yet been sufficiently detailed. The protection status of the pylon roof is emphasised in development plan
No. 96/23, but the option of preserving the pylon hanging roof at
the current location is not negotiated in any publicly accessible
statements on the site. A sensitive handling and a cautious contemporary further development of the existing stock in favour of
the university uses is not recognisable in the discourse and the
decision situation so far.
In the winning design of the urban planning ideas competition,
it is stated that “the arrangement of the bus station within this
sequence of squares was an urban sin that should be reversed”. In
terms of urban planning and urban development strategy, it seems
questionable to erect new buildings at a location whose immediate surroundings have numerous vacant buildings, which will also
generate further vacancies at another location.
Plea for rethinking
In an open letter of August 2019, the Initiative Kerberos e.V. as
well as well-known personalities, urban researchers, art and architectural historians, conservationists and other friends of the
pylon roof from Chemnitz and all of Germany called upon the
Free State of Saxony and the City of Chemnitz,
– to publish existing reports on a possible translocation,
– to commission an independent settlement opinion,
– to (re-)check the preservation, the restoration in accordance
with monument requirements and the conversion at the current
location as well as
– to revise the urban planning framework for the new development in front of the Aktienspinnerei in favour of preserving the
pylon roof.
At the editorial deadline of this article, the sender of the letter has
not received a statement from the institutions yet.
The 1200 m² roof, cantilevered and spanned by steel cables, makes the bus station, including its surroundings of
Klapperbrunnen, Aktienspinnerei, Schillerplatz and the facades
of the Brühl quarter in the background a unique and identity-cre-
Germany
ating building and a testimony to Eastern modern traffic and
architectural history. The central bus station and its immediate
surroundings are of significance in terms of architectural, urban
and transport history.
Here a new understanding and an adequate handling of the
cultural heritage of Eastern modern architecture is required: A
review of the decisions on the Chemnitz pylon roof need to be
carried out in the near future in order to seriously assess the added
value in terms of urban development and society and to examine
alternative solutions – with the aim of sustainably preserving the
ensemble and serving as a model for numerous other decisions on
the future of the heritage of this period.
Anna Galda, Verena Pfeiffer-Kloss, Lucia Schaub
Institut für Ostmoderne e.V., Chemnitz / Berlin
F1 (Fertigungshalle 1) and the
Material Remains of the Former
Heeresversuchsanstalt Peenemünde
‘F1’ (Fertigungshalle 1) denotes a monumental factory building at
Peenemünde on the northern tip of the island of Usedom/Germany.
It was erected as the main production facility of the experimental plant (Versuchsserienwerk), part of the Heeresversuchsanstalt
(Army Research Centre) Peenemünde (HVA), in the years 1939 to
1943, and was dedicated to the first serial production of the A4 aggregate missiles, also known as ‘V2’. In 1936, the HVA was established in order to provide research as well as large-scale production
and testing facilities needed for the German rocket programme. It
65
Structure, design and appearance of the building can partly be
conceived on the basis of archival material: F1 was designed as a
monumental, three-aisled building of 120 metres width and 245
metres length, in which the central production hall with an inner
height of 20.75 metres rose above a low, only four-metre-high
ground floor hall. The architectural language applied is essentially modernist, but also displays references to neoclassical detailing, typical of industrial buildings of the National Socialist
time. Significant in terms of the history of building technology,
the structure combined two innovative building techniques in a
previously not employed way: concrete construction shells and
prestressed concrete, both concepts that had been developed only
a few years prior to the erection of F1. The shed shell construction chosen for F1, based on the halls of the Volkswagen plant
in Wolfsburg as templates, can undoubtedly be regarded as one
of the most outstanding architectural achievements in terms of
structural design during those years. The building’s designation
as a factory hall in the context of missile production attributes a
historical-technical value to F1 that opens the field wide for critical discussion, addressing the reassessment of the problematic
role of science in the context of warfare and a totalitarian regime.
The fact that the building’s ground floor housed the concentration
camp Karlshagen II, which was set up inside F1 from May to
October 1943 for around 600 prisoners from Buchenwald, can be
considered exemplary for these issues. A Conservation Management Plan (CMP) for the remains of the HVA developed by the
Brandenburg University of Technology in Cottbus (BTU) classified F1 as ‘Category A’, implying that the inherent potential of the
building is of outstanding importance for communicating various
topics to the public. F1 as a site of archaeological interest can be
seen as symptomatic of the problems of preservation encountered
regarding the former HVA.
Currently, the whole site including F1 is listed as a monument
entailing all buildings, infrastructural elements, and ruins pertinent to it. Considered as a “Flächendenkmal”, protection refers
Fig. 1 Example of structural remains at F1 (© P. Schneider/C. Röhl)
consumed vast resources for the implementation of its building
programme. Like most of the architecture of the former HVA, F1
is now a ruin, due both to the Allied air raids of 1943–1944, and
to the dismantling, demolition and extraction of building materials
after the end of World War Two (Fig. 1). The area was also later
used as a military training ground by the National People’s Army
(NVA) and, simultaneously and unofficially, as a waste dumping
ground by residents from the surrounding municipalities.
to all categories of tangible heritage according to the law in
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (DSchG M-V § 2): single buildings,
partial building remains, building ensembles and entire complexes, including their aesthetically significant surroundings, as
well as archaeological features. After the German reunification,
the municipality of Peenemünde established the Historisch-Technisches Museum Peenemünde (Historical-Technical Museum
Peenemünde HTM) in 1991. The museum has been run by a
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Fig. 2: Demolished building structure next to the IW
(© P. Schneider/C. Röhl)
tory and variety of remains in and above ground constitute a challenging task when it comes to the application of methods from
archaeology and conservation. Further difficulties arise from
contamination issues. Potentially, health hazards could be caused
by contamination with ammunition stemming from World War
Two and the phases of later reuse by the Russian Army and the
NVA. The presence of hazardous substances from the production
process of the V2 or even toxic building materials cannot be excluded, either. These issues require the establishment of a methodology addressing practical problems that might be encountered
during fieldwork as a prerequisite for further investigation.
Drawing on principles and procedures promoted by the Burra Charter in its statement of polyvalent significance, the CMP
addresses major problematic aspects and threats and promotes
an appropriate policy concerning the basic understanding of the
actual bearers of significance, as well as of the relation of cultural and natural heritage. It further proposes guidelines regarding
both the role of the museum and its exhibition concept, and the
accessibility and interpretation of a selected number of 10 subsites located within the access-restricted area as well as several
sites outside it.
Connected to the classification of large parts of Peenemünde as
natural heritage, several areas totalling 2.021 ha and containing
substantial parts of the former HVA were handed over in 2010 to
the DBU Naturerbe Ltd.– a private body held by the Deutsche
Bundesstiftung Umwelt (DBU) established on state initiative and
dedicated to the protection of the environment. Thus, situated
within a nature reserve, the area of F1 requires attention to environmental issues on an equal basis to questions of archaeological
research and conservation.
Furthermore, the property situation in general – spreading over
the area of two municipalities, Peenemünde and Karlshagen – is
quite diverse with a number of private proprietors owning areas
that in some cases have already been designated for redevelopment.
Anthropogenic intervention in the landscape
Fig. 3 Damage caused by forest fire in 2019 in the area of F1
(© HTM Peenemünde Gmbh)
private body (Historisch-Technisches Museum Ltd.) of the state
of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and the municipality of Peenemünde since 2010. The mission of the museum is dedicated to
preservation, research and interpretation regarding the former
HVA and its history, for which it established the concept of the
‘Denkmallandschaft [monument landscape] Peenemünde’. Based
on this concept, single ruins and features are made accessible to
the public and used as a didactic means for the presentation of
structural evidence from the past.
Peenemünde and its potential as cultural heritage place the site
within a context of global significance. However, its complex his-
In 2018, after almost a decade of colliding interests between investors, politicians and citizens of Usedom, the planned flooding
of an area of 904 ha between Peenemünde and the neighbouring seaside resort Karlshagen was finally dismissed. The project ‘Kompensationsflächenpool Cämmerer See und angrenzende
Niederungen’ would have required dismantling the Peenestromdeich between Peenemünde and the Baltic Sea. Referred to as
the ‘Nazideich’ by the minister of environment, Till Backhaus,
the dyke in question had been built in the 1930s as part of the
HVA Peenemünde and therefore constitutes a historic site in its
own right. Even worse, the envisioned flooding, intended as a
compensation area for the industrial site of Lubmin, would effectively have destroyed large parts of the former HVA, including
architectural remains aside from F1 and archaeological features
(all information on the project taken from http://www.kein-deichrueckbau-usedom.de).
The potential negative outcomes of designating parts of the former HVA as compensation areas can also be seen in other places.
For example, a barrack formerly used by the NVA directly adjacent to the factory hall for repair work (Instandsetzungwerk)
next to F1 was demolished in 2019 without further notice, investigation or documentation. While the loss of the building at
first glance does not seem too severe, this architectural complex
included in fact reused structures from the HVA and was built
Germany
Fig. 4 Former ‘Wirtschaftsgebäude‘ at Karlshagen before arson in 2016
(© P. Schneider/C. Röhl)
67
Fig. 5: Former ‘Wirtschaftsgebäude‘ at Karlshagen after arson in 2019
(© P. Schneider/C. Röhl)
on foundations from the 1930s (Fig. 2). A documentation from
the viewpoint of a cursory architectural survey accompanying the
demolition process would already have been greatly beneficial for
further research on the HVA and its architectural remains.
Forest fires
In June 2019, a forest fire with three main sources caused by unknown factors threatened to also affect the area of F1 (Fig. 3).
While thankfully this wasn’t the case in the end, the fire continued for two days in an area of six hectares and at times was
declared out of control. Presumably, the fire which had not spread
to the fir trees and birches around the various concrete ruins in
the area, but only to the undergrowth was stopped around F1 by
the former cobblestone and concrete slab road system around the
ruins of the factory hall, as well as by game passes. As the main
risks for forest fires at Peenemünde are connected to the negligent
behaviour of tourists and actions related to trespassing into the restricted area, improvements in tourism management could prove
to be beneficial for creating awareness. A higher rate of acts of
law enforcement could act as deterrents to intimidate intentional
trespassers.
Vandalism
In early 2019, the ‘Wirtschaftsgebäude’ – a multipurpose building designated for administrative and other functions at the former ‘VKN-Lager’ in Karlshagen, a barrack camp erected for
the members of the Reichsarbeitsdienst (Reich Labour Service)
during the building phase of the HVA – was partially destroyed
by fire (Figs. 4 and 5). As it turned out later, arson was the cause
for this destruction, showcasing that even simple vandalism if
carried out with sufficient commitment can also eradicate solidly
built historic sites associated with the HVA, like the brick architecture of the former Wirtschaftsgebäude, now in a state that is
beyond any chance of conservation.
Looting
Looting – uninhibited by the threats caused by unexploded ordnance – poses a major problem at the former HVA (Fig. 6), as
Fig. 6: Looter’s trench at the IW (© P. Schneider/C. Röhl)
illicit dealing in V2 parts is a very lucrative business. Artefacts
that can clearly be attributed to F1 for example turn up regularly on eBay. So far, attempts to take legal action have led to no
major breakthrough. Nevertheless, numerous looters’ trenches
appearing regularly in and around F1 testify to the severity of the
problem. The issue continued even directly after the above-mentioned forest fire in June 2019, at a time when the fire was not
even completely under control again. Furthermore, the aftermath
of these illegal actions often seems to involve purposefully vandalising the surrounding surface scatter of artefacts, as proven by
distinctive items being moved across great distances within F1 or
broken to pieces on site.
Commercial interests
Parts of the former HVA have undergone destruction through
measures driven by economic (investors’) interests. For example, the infrastructure of the HVA also included civilian living
quarters for its employees. Built as a new settlement with all the
amenities of a small town, neighbouring Karlshagen, the former
‘Wissenschaftlersiedlung’, was heavily air-raided in 1943 and al-
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most completely destroyed. Nowadays, its scarce remains which
lie scattered in a forest next to the seashore have already in parts
been erased without prior documentation by the redevelopment
of the area into a holiday resort consisting of single housing for
vacationists (Fig. 7).
Conclusion
Fig. 7: Signpost detailing redeveloped areas at the site of the former
civilian settlement in Karlshagen in 2019 (© P. Schneider/C. Röhl)
Assessing the structural remains of the HVA in and above
ground on the basis of thorough examination and documentation on site can help to raise awareness of the value of the Peenemünde landscape for scientific research, which is often ignored
in its significance for the status of the site as cultural heritage.
Yet, contamination and inaccessibility pose challenges, in particular when it comes to archaeological reconnaissance. In cases
where neither the preservation of the site’s archaeological potential nor its architectural remains can be prioritised, documentation and further investigation consistent with the respective
feature or architectural structure are the minimum requirement
in order to pay heed to the site’s significance as global cultural
heritage.
Constanze Röhl and Peter Schneider
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INDIA
Case Study 1: Victorian Gothic and Art
Deco Ensembles of Mumbai and its
Esplanade Mansion
About the site
In the second half of the 19th century, the city of Mumbai became
a global trading centre. This led to the implementation of an ambitious urban planning project that resulted in the construction
of ensembles of public buildings around the open space, Oval
Maidan. The buildings on the eastern side of the Oval Maidan
were constructed in the Victorian Gothic style and, then, in the
early 20th century, the land on its western periphery was filled
up with Art Deco buildings. These two ensembles bear testimony
to the phases of modernisation that Mumbai underwent in the
course of the 19th and 20th centuries. In 2018, the entire group of
buildings on both sides of the Oval Maidan was inscribed on the
UNESCO World Heritage List as “Victorian Gothic and Art Deco
Ensembles of Mumbai” (Figs. 1 and 2).
This case concerns the grave threats faced by one of the component buildings of the World Heritage property, namely the
Esplanade Mansion, originally called Watson’s Hotel. At the time
of inscription in 2018, this building, though occupied by multiple tenants, was in a fairly dilapidated condition. Hence, one of
the recommendations in the Advisory Body’s evaluation was to
“undertake urgent conservation of the grade IIA building, the former Watson’s Hotel (known at present as Esplanade Mansions”
(Fig. 3).
The Esplanade Mansion
The Esplanade Mansion is a Grade IIA landmark historic building (as per DCR 67), with an undisputed local, national and global significance. The building is a work of brilliant engineering
and architecture of the Victorian era in Mumbai and is the only
Victorian Industrial component in “The Victorian Gothic & Art
Deco Ensembles of Mumbai” (Fig. 1). Built in 1867–70 by John
Hudson Watson as Watson’s Hotel, it is significant as Mumbai’s
first “well-equipped, European type” hotel, and is an important
testimony to the emergence of the city as a global commercial
centre. The Esplanade Mansion is a prefabricated structure, using a combination of cast and wrought iron. It was designed
by Rowland Mason Ordish, who had worked as an assistant
draughtsman with Charles Fox and Henderson for the design of
the Crystal Palace. Esplanade Mansion was fabricated and assembled by the Phoenix Foundry Company, Derby, England.
Today, it survives as “the only multi-storey, fully framed building, arguably the most ambitious and technically accomplished
of all the exported buildings of the 19th century”, also housing
India’s first power-operated elevator. It is recorded as the first
residential building in the world, using the said structure system
construction technology.1 As a unique example of ‘Shared Built
Heritage’, it represents the adaptation of a Western idiom to the
local climatic conditions. The openness in plan with central courtyard, break in the rear elevation and balconies allowed free circulation of air through the building. The building also interprets
Mumbai’s domestic vernacular architecture in a modern, industrial material. The building is also significant in the history of
Indian cinema as the location of the very first screening of motion
pictures in India.
With this cultural significance, the Esplanade Mansion contributes to the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the Victorian
Gothic and Art Deco Ensembles of Mumbai and to the criteria
(ii and iv) under which this World Heritage site is inscribed. The
Esplanade Mansion is also one of the 40 CESSED buildings in
the inscribed WH property (Fig. 2). CESSED buildings are governed by the CESS Act,2 under which the Maharashtra Housing
& Area Development Authority (MHADA) is responsible for the
repair and restoration of such buildings (Figs. 4 and 5).
Threats to the site
In May 2019, MHADA issued notices to all occupants to vacate the building for repairs. The Indian Institute of Technology
Bombay (IIT-Bombay) in Mumbai was also approached to undertake its structural audit. On 23rd May 2019, the ‘Mumbai Mirror’
reported that the IIT-Bombay had recommended demolition of
the historic structure, also reproducing the following excerpts
from the IIT-Bombay structural audit report: “ The rigidity of the
structure is lost. Several alterations have been made in the form of
rooms and mezzanine floors, which have increased load on structure. In our view, any kind of structural repairs are neither logical
nor economically viable. The repair of the building will be a dangerous job as many structural elements are not rigidly connected
to each other. The repairs also cannot make the structure habitable
under seismic conditions. Considering the above, it is of the opinion that it will be prudent to demolish the building.” MHADA, in
turn, submitted the report to the Bombay High Court for seeking
permission for the building’s demolition.3 On 4th June 2019, ‘The
Times of India’ reported that the Bombay High Court had asked
MHADA to list precautions for demolition (Figs. 6 –9).4
Action by ICOMOS India
On 10th June 2019, ICOMOS India wrote letters to all stakeholders, i. e. to MHADA, the Office of the Chief Minister of
the Government of Maharashtra, the Archaeological Survey of
India, the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (BMC), the
Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee (MHCC, an advisory
body to Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai), pointing out
the potential loss of the integrity and authenticity of the entire
World Heritage site that the intended demolition would cause,
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Fig. 1: Map showing various architectural styles of the World Heritage property where the Esplanade Mansion is highlighted under Victorian
Industrial style (Source: Maps, Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensembles, UNESCO World Heritage Centre website https://whc.unesco.org/en/
list/1480/documents/)
Fig. 2: Map showing CESSED buildings in the World Heritage property where the Esplanade Mansion is highlighted (Source: Management Plan,
Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensembles, UNESCO World Heritage Centre website https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1480/documents/)
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Fig. 3: Aerial view showing Esplanade Mansion on extreme right
(photo: Jehangir Sorabjee, Abha Narain Lambah Associates, 2010;
Source: Victorian Gothic & Art Deco Ensembles of Mumbai, WHC)
Fig. 4: Esplanade Mansion (photo: Nichalp, 2005; Source: Wikimedia
Commons)
Fig. 5: Esplanade Mansion in the 19th century
(photo: public domain, Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Fig. 6: Esplanade Mansion, main (north) facade, June 3, 2019
and the need for the conservation of the Esplanade Mansion,
while also offering technical guidance for the same. The letter
was also copied to the Director of ICOMOS.
The specific recommendations given by ICOMOS India included a conservation-led methodology for scientific conservation and retrofit of the Esplanade Mansion by experts in cast-iron
restoration, ensuring protection of the authenticity and integrity
of the said building, and consultations with all stakeholders for
sustainable management of the World Heritage site. ICOMOS
India also offered technical guidance through the experts in its
National Scientific Committee of Analysis and Restoration of
Structures of Architectural Heritage (NSC-ARSAH). It was
stressed that conserving the Esplanade Mansion would not only serve as an example for the conservation required of other
buildings of the “Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensembles of
Mumbai”, but would also serve as a catalyst for other similar examples of Shared Built Heritage, Industrial Heritage and Modern
Heritage in India.
Impact of ICOMOS India letter to stakeholders
On 13th June 2019, ‘The Times of India’ reported that the members of the Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee had unanimously suggested that the restoration of the Esplanade Mansion
should be considered.5 On 22nd June 2019, the same paper reported on the Bombay High Court’s direction to MHADA and
BMC to introduce safety measures, including creation of a pedestrian walkway outside the Esplanade Mansion to avert accidents (Fig. 5).6 On 6th July 2019, ToI reported that the Bombay
High Court had directed MHADA to take additional safety pre-
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Fig. 7: Esplanade Mansion, internal courtyard, June 3, 2019
Fig. 8: Main staircase, wrought and cast-iron details, June 3, 2019
Fig. 9: Esplanade Mansion, internal façade details, June 3, 2019
Fig. 10: Esplanade Mansion, barricading and provision for pedestrian
pathway by MHADA after Court Orders, July 5, 2019
cautions by covering the Esplanade Mansion with a net to avoid
any possibilities of collapse of parts of the building (Figs. 10 and
11).7 On 8th August 2019, ‘The Times of India’ reported that the
Bombay High Court had directed all the stakeholders, including
the Government of Maharashtra, BMC, MHCC, MHADA, landlord, and the Indian National Trust for Art & Cultural Heritage
(INTACH), which had filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL)
in the Bombay High Court for preventing the demolition of the
Esplanade Mansion, to state the possibility and the cost of structural restoration.8
the provisions under which UNESCO could take any action(s)
to prevent this.
In response, ICOMOS India highlighted commitments made
in the Site Management Plan9 by the State Party as well as by
other stakeholders such as MCGM and MHADA, who are responsible for the protection and the management of the CESSED
buildings such as the Esplanade Mansion.10 It was made clear that
the demolition, or any irreversible alteration / damage to Watson’s
Hotel / Esplanade Mansion, or the failure to control deterioration
processes or, implement measures for conservation of the historic
building would adversely impact the “Integrity” of the physical
fabric of Watson’s Hotel / Esplanade Mansion as well as the visual & physical relationships between various components of the
Ensemble. The “Conditions of Authenticity” and the “Statement
of Outstanding Universal Value” adopted during inscription of
the property on the World Heritage List would also be compro-
INTACH seeks advice from ICOMOS India
On 12th September 2019, INTACH Mumbai approached
ICOMOS India to advise on the consequences of the demolition
or its loss due to inaction and/or neglect, also asking details of
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73
estimate the cost of conservation. The Court has also directed the
owner of Esplanade Mansion to deposit the estimated amount as
a bona fide based on his willingness to pay for the restoration of
the building.
The matter is pending at the Bombay High Court due to the
lockdown imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Several commitments were made through the Management Plan
submitted at the time of the property’s inscription. Despite this,
as of today, the restoration and funding of the restoration work of
the Esplanade Mansion is still in question.
Ritika Jharia and Kiran Joshi
Members of ICOMOS India
Fig. 11: Esplanade Mansion, protection and netting done by MHADA
after Court Orders, July 23, 2019
mised. The loss of Esplanade Mansion could also be construed
as the State Party’s failure to stand by its commitment to protect
and conserve the World Heritage property, as well as, amount to
ignoring the ICOMOS recommendation to undertake its urgent
conservation.
It was also mentioned that any action leading to the demolition or a lack of urgent and appropriate conservation action with
regard to the Esplanade Mansion would increase the possibility
of the site being categorised as ‘under threat’, and setting up of
‘reactive monitoring.’ Mention was also made of the possibility
of inscribing the site on the “List of World Heritage in Danger”,
an action taken when a property faces actual or potential threats,
including serious deterioration of materials, structure and /or
ornamental features; significant loss of historical authenticity;
important loss of cultural significance; lack of conservation policy.
To conclude the letter, ICOMOS India reiterated the importance of undertaking a conservation-led methodology for sustaining the authenticity, integrity and cultural significance of the
World Heritage site.
Case Study 2: The Risk of ‘Contemporising’ Historic Urban Landscapes –
The Case of the Sacred Town of
Varanasi
Description of the town
Varanasi, also known as Benaras or Kashi, is situated on the
banks of India’s holiest river Ganga in Uttar Pradesh. It is said to
be the oldest living city in the world and is heterogeneous with
multiple layers of culture, religiosity and art forms. The urban
form of Varanasi is informed by the sacred geographies of various
religions and has a multitude of meanings underpinning its sense
of place.
The city is a famous centre for music and arts and is identified as part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network due to
its vision of a creativity-led development as a bridge to sustain and revitalise its rich cultural heritage. Cultural knowledge
embedded in the tangible and intangible heritage of Varanasi
continues to be transferred through rituals, festivals, fairs, processions, formal schools and informal interactions. The dense
labyrinthine historic core remains the epicentre of significant
activities of Varanasi.
Current status
Vishwanath Dham Corridor Project
On 14th August 2019, the ‘Mumbai Mirror’ reported that the
Government of Maharashtra wanted MHADA to get a fresh
structural audit of the Esplanade Mansion through a structural
engineer experienced in restoring heritage structures. A MHADA
official, at the same time, also spelt out their need for funding the
high cost of restoration. ‘Mumbai Mirror’ quoted MHADA officials: “ (…) If this building was a public-owned building like the
Gateway of India, then it would have been wise to spend public
money to restore it. It won’t be advisable for us to use public
funds and hand over the building to a private landlord. If MHADA spends so much money on repairing one building, it won’t be
left with any funds for other CESSED building.”11 Subsequently,
following the directions of the Bombay High Court, two conservation architects and a structural engineer were appointed to
The Vishwanath Dham Corridor Project was introduced in mid2018 with the intention to create an open vista in front of the most
visited and worshiped Vishwanath Temple. The Corridor Project
is spread over about 11.6 acres (47,000 square metres) extending
from the Temple to the three famous Ghats on the Ganga – Mahakarnika, Jalasen and Lalita (Fig. 1). The design envisages a large
Mandir Chowk (square), an open space fronting the Vishwanath
Temple, and a smaller open space that provides the foreground
for the Gyan Vapi Mosque adjacent to the temple (Fig. 2).
About 250 individual or family properties have been acquired
and cleared for redevelopment. There are 51 temples within this
area, most of which have come into public view during the site
clearance as several had been covered by the extensions to buildings (Figs. 3 and 4).
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Fig. 1: A view of the proposed ”redevelopment”, the Vishwanath Dham Corridor Project (Source: “Varanasi, by design: Vishwanath Dham and the
politics of change”, https://www.thehindu.com/society/varanasi-by-design-vishwanath-dham-and-the-politics-of-change/article26607193.ece)
Fig. 2: An artist’s rendition of the project(© HCP Design, Planning and Management Pvt. Ltd. Source: “Varanasi, by design: Vishwanath Dham and
the politics of change”, https://www.thehindu.com/society/varanasi-by-design-vishwanath-dham-and-the-politics-of-change/article26607193.ece)
Action by ICOMOS India
The ICOMOS India Annual General Meeting was held in
Varanasi in June 2019, along with the scientific symposium Interfacing Sacred Heritage, Cultural Landscapes and
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Exploring Reciprocity
among Tangible and Intangible Heritages in the Context of
Sacredscapes with the intention to deliberate upon issues of
urban development in historic cities of religious significance.
There was consensus among members that a memorandum must
be submitted to the concerned authority to bring to their notice
the lacunas in the processes of designing such projects and the
subsequent methodologies for their implementation. At present,
these processes do not require the presence of conservation pro-
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fessionals; thus, the loss of significance comes to light only when
it is too late. Outlined briefly below is the content of the memorandum:
It was felt by the General Body of ICOMOS India that, since
Varanasi is a globally significant, sacred historic centre of knowledge and culture, the current proposal for the ‘Vishvanatha Dham
Corridor Project’ also needs to address the multiple cultural,
historic and social sensitivities that are intrinsic to the city of
Varanasi, the significance of which is cherished by its residents
and visitors alike. It was felt that various scientific methods and
processes necessary to retain the integrity and heritage character
of this very significant area of Varanasi need to be adopted as
part of the said Project.
The General Body of ICOMOS India, therefore, proposes that
the following steps be taken up on an urgent basis by all concerned:
1. Establish a dialogue with citizens and local experts who have
done extensive studies to address multiple sensitivities of the
tangible and intangible heritage of this sacred city;
2. Make efforts to integrate the project area’s embedded knowledge systems of science and culture in the development plan as
well as the associated conservation works;
3. All intervention planned on the site should aim at conserving
and valorising the heritage artefacts found on site. Careful
Fig. 3: The streets of Varanasi at the time of the demolition of
residential fabric (© Gurmeet Rai)
planning and monitoring of the execution process, through involvement of conservation professionals, is required;
4. Varanasi is one of the cities in the Creative Cities Network of
UNESCO. ICOMOS, as an advisor on World Heritage matters
to UNESCO, recommends that a Heritage Impact Assessment
of the ‘Vishvanatha Dham Corridor Project’ be undertaken
Fig. 4: Temple foreground area after removal of residential fabric (© Gurmeet Rai)
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and, mitigation measures be carried out wherever possible;
ICOMOS India, as an association of heritage professionals
working towards conservation and safeguarding of tangible
and intangible heritage, extends its support and assistance, in
an advisory capacity, to the organisation executing the project
towards achieving the above.
Current status
At present the demolition of the private properties has been completed and the project is to be awarded to a contractor. ICOMOS
India has been informed through informal sources that conservation architects have now been included in the project team of the
consultant for preparing the conservation plans for the temples
and other features of historic and cultural significance. The project team has also introduced stakeholder workshops and interactions with local expert as a part of their process.
Dr. Jigna Desai
Scientific Counsellor, ICOMOS India
Case Study 3: Saving Chandni Chowk,
the Mughal Ceremonial Avenue of
Shahjahanabad
Shahjahanabad, founded by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, was
one of the three most important capitals in the world of the 17th
century. The city was planned on two rocky eminences situated
on the western bank of river Yamuna. The palace citadel called
the Lal Qila, or Red Fort, was built on the hillock northeast of
the city walls and the Jama Masjid on a higher hillock within the
city walls. ShahJahan had a highly cultivated aesthetic sense and
the city was planned on a noble scale. At the time it was planned,
it displayed an urban morphology that was unprecedented. It is
an exemplar of the sovereign city model of pre-modern cities,
conceived as axis mundi. The design of Shahjahanabad itself was
inspired by Isfahan. To quote Muhammad Salih, “neither Constantinople nor Baghdad could compare with Shahjahanabad’s
splendour”.
Shahjahanabad moved beyond precedents set by the earlier
Sultanate capitals to introduce grand vistas and dramatic planning. The walled settlement constituted a splendid ceremonial
avenue, a principal physical and visual east-west axis. “The main
artery of the city was 40 yards in width, 1520 yards in length.
Along this radial road lay Kotwali Chabutra, Urdu Bazar, Chawk
of Saadullah Khan and Chandni Chawk, latter measuring 100
by 100 yards”.12“This grand street was laid out by Jahanara Begam, daughter of Shah Jahan in 1600 AD. Through the centre
of the street ran the canal of Ali Mardan shaded on both sides
by trees.”13 This ceremonial way of the historic settlement was
flanked by bazaars and gardens with a channel of water running
on the central median. In the centre of the square fronting the sarai sat an exquisite octagonal pool reflecting moonlight (chandni)
which gave this square the name “Chandni Chowk”. The name
later extended to the whole avenue. The principle of Qarina, an
organisational axis which ensures balance and bilateral symme-
try without uniformity, i. e. Sawal-Jawab [Question-Answer],
was utilised consciously as a guiding principle for the layout of
Chandni Chowk. The axis was planned with trees and waterbodies, modulating the microclimate and providing an outdoor living
space for the inhabitants. Standing atop the gate of Red Fort, one
got an uninterrupted view of the promenade that culminated at
Fatehpuri Masjid. Chandni Chowk, which was an integral component of Shahjahanabad, the Mughal capital, was an important
bazaar street during Mughal times and remains so even today.
This famous ceremonial promenade, one of the most formally
complex and vital public spaces of Shahjahanabad, was used later as a model and emulated while designing many other historic
promenades and boulevards. The visual effect is extraordinary
and unique. Moving on foot along the centre from the vantage
point of Red Fort to the Fatehpuri Mosque at the other end creates an experience of varied architectural enclosures through a
constant dimensional variation in plan and section.
Today the avenue is flanked by shops on either side, punctuated
by iconic structures, mostly religious and institutional buildings,
built from the mid-17th to the early 20th century. The very inclusive nature of the city is reflected in the fact that shrines of
different religions coexist on the same street, imparting a strong
cultural harmony. The street and its squares are also the setting
for religious and secular celebrations and processions, some going back to the days when the city was founded. Gradually the
settlement began to evolve as a wholesale market. The shopping
experience retains its original charm of close interaction with
the shop owner and a sense of getting a great bargain. The footfall has increased because of the connectivity by the Metro rail.
Therefore, there is an urgent need to make this vast market street
safe and to provide public amenities while retaining its historicity.
The Shahjahanabad Redevelopment Corporation, (SRDC), a
Special Purpose Vehicle, was set up in May 2008 specifically
to promote conservation.14 Its vision for the redevelopment of
Chandni Chowk, as stated on its website, is as follows: 15
– The proposed project should be acatalyst for the future conservation and revitalisation of Shahjahanabad.
– It should generate a physical and visual continuity in the streetscape, which will augment the imageability of the streets.
– The main intention is to reinforce safe and free pedestrian
movement, by giving significance to pedestrians over vehicles.
– The multifunction of Chandni Chowk as a market street, a
gathering place for the public and a ceremonial axis for festive
processions will be considered and retained.
– To bring landscape back, trees will be planted along the two
sides of the road.
The scheme to prioritise the pedestrian, retrofit services and public amenities in Chandni Chowk was first formulated by SRDC in
2012. It was based on an understanding of the way the ceremonial
public space functioned in historic times and of the contemporary
needs. This scheme went through statutory approvals. However,
work on the scheme did not begin for multiple reasons related to
availability of funds, the technology to put in a service tunnel and
political will. The scheme was drastically altered at a meeting of
the Unified Traffic & Transportation Infrastructure (Planning &
Engineering) Centre, which was set up by the Delhi Development
Authority (UTTIPEC)16 in August 2018.
The current redevelopment scheme proposed by SRDC misunderstands the central axis, creates a physical divide with structures such as public amenities and transformers on this sacrosanct
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Fig. 1: Map of Shahjahanabad dated c. 1850, redrawn by E. Ehlers, T. Krafft, J. Malik (Source: from an original manuscript in the Map Section
of the Oriental and India Office Records)
axis.17 It places 23 transformers (3.5 x 4.5 metres each) along
with six toilets (3.5 x 11.2 metres each), three urinal blocks (3.5 x
4.8 metres each), three police booths (3.5 x 2.4 metres each), two
police posts (3.5 x 9.2 metres each) and two traffic police booths
(3.5 x 2.4 metres each) on the central verge of Chandni Chowk.
This intervention, under the guise of urban renewal, will destroy
the character of the central section of the axis mundi in the ceremonial wide historic public space. Incorporating such large intrusive service blocks on the central verge will compromise the
significance of this street along with destroying the uninterrupted
views along and across the central vista. This construction will
amount to making a high 3.5-metre-wide wall along the most significant part of the most important processional avenue of the
historic city of Shahjahanabad. This scheme will cut the avenue
into half, disrupting the integrity of the whole settlement.
However, the SRDC architect and proponents of this scheme
argue that historically, an asymmetrical road is not accept-
able; therefore, a symmetrical road having two carriageways
with central verge has been proposed, which will facilitate the
smooth movement of emergency vehicles, fire tenders, etc. This
argument is arbitrary and without any understanding of the
complexities or the attributes of authenticity embodied in the
settlement.
The redevelopment scheme could have been the best opportunity to reinforce the historic concept of this highly significant
Mughal ceremonial avenue through a conceptually balanced virtual symphony of diverging dimensions, an ode to asymmetry
and irregularity. The sidewalks could have been varied, with the
utilities placed in the sections that widen out. Unfortunately, the
historic hydro-engineering innovations have not been understood
or respected in the proposed redevelopment scheme. The river
Yamuna (along which Shahjahanabad is sited) was tapped up
north and water was brought in to the centre of this spine. To
quote Ebba Koch on one of the main water-works in the reign
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Fig. 2: Map of listed buildings on Chandni Chowk overlaid on Wilson’s Survey Map of c. 1910 (Source: Shinjhini Bhattacharya and Pratyush
Prateik, Design Innovation Centre, SPA, Delhi)
Fig. 3: Historic illustration of Chandni Chowk showing the Canal on
the central median seen from the Red Fort, 1857(Source: 1857 – A
Pictorial Presentation (15 August 1957), published by The Publication
Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of
India, Delhi. p. 13)
Fig. 4: Historic illustration of Shajahanabad showing the east-west
axis Chandni Chowk in 1857 (Source: 1857 – A Pictorial Presentation
[15 August 1957 ], published by The Publication Division, Ministry of
Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, Delhi. p. 8)
of Shahjahan: a “reactivation of the old canal of Firuz Shah
Tughluq, which ran from Khizrabad to Safidun was undertaken.
It was repaired and extended to Shahjahanabad to serve as the
main water supply for his new palace and capital.”18
The memories embodied in the original design of the central
canal will be completely violated by giving it a highway treatment and placing public utilities of such a massive scale. The
Octagon where the reflective pool once stood cannot be used just
as a crossing. There should be an attempt to interpret the octagonal hauz in the current scheme as a prominent public space. Any
intervention to retrofit utilities of this historic component of the
city must respect the above-stated significance and keep the central section free of any obstructions. Our concern is that now, in
an effort for urban renewal, the very character that made Chandni
Chowk so unique will be completely lost by locating numerous
utilities on the central section.
The risk to the heritage is first and foremost caused by the arbitrary way a proposal which was approved by all statutory bodies
is discarded in favour of another which treats Chandni Chowk
like a highway and insensitively places all utilities on the central
verge. This will set a bad precedent for other heritage renewal
projects in the country. Secondly, the stakeholders who support
the proposal are some shop-owners with political goals that benefit a select few.
Concerned citizens and heritage professionals, including
ICOMOS India, sent statements to the Delhi Government, and
held meetings with all the executing agencies, but without receiving any response from the authorities to modify the scheme.
As a last resort, a public interest litigation was filed in the Delhi
High Court to seek justice. The following points were the most
relevant:
1. Failure of the government mechanism to adhere to its own objective was pointed out to SRDC. The scheme chosen for implementation defies SRDC’s own vision, which is to “generate
a physical and visual continuity in the streetscape, which will
augment the imageability of the streets.”
2. A dossier has been prepared for placing the historic cities of
Delhi, including Shahjahanabad, on India’s Tentative List.
This dossier clearly states the attributes of authenticity for
the area.19 This information was shared with the Delhi gov-
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Fig. 5: Chandni Chowk, 1863–67 (Source: upload.wikimedia.orgwikipediacommonseeaChandni_Chowk%2C_Delhi%2C_1863-67.jpg)
ernment, but since their team consisted of only implementing
bodies and no heritage professionals, they could not understand the value of inheriting such an invaluable heritage resource.
3. The demographic profile of Shahjahanabad also had a role to
play in this culturally inappropriate intervention. The clustering of the original inhabitants of the historic city was based
on communities with artisanal skills, who lived and worked
in different mohallas, such as the Dariba Kalan, the Kinari
Bazaar and Balimaran. The Partition of India in 1947 resulted in a historic divide based on religion. Muslim artisans fled
to Pakistan, thereby destroying the peaceful co-existence of
communities which produced and sold items they created. The
abandoned built fabric was then occupied by people who came
to India from the Northwest Frontier in Pakistan. These historic
properties were then termed as ‘evacuee properties’ in the land
records, with undefined ownership, and issues resulting from
disputed ownership have been left unresolved to date. Along
with this an archaic Rent Control Act has led to neglect and
thus deterioration of the physical fabric. The second exodus
was of families becoming affluent and moving towards newer
areas with better amenities and more space. Both these factors
resulted in a lack of any attachment of local inhabitants to the
heritage or understanding of local values.
Despite having SRDC in place, the tailor-made site selection process for each segment of the street to retrofit public amenities
is bypassed. The historic maps made by Thomas Kraft (based
on a map of c. 1857) and Wilson’s detailed survey of c.1910 are
available to make sensitive decisions which prioritise the heritage
components in the settlements. Modern technology can be used
for accurate three-dimensional mapping of the area. The issues
are deeper than just providing pedestrian zones, electricity and
other public amenities. The historic structures in Shahjahanabad
were listed more than two decades ago but framing of regulations
for interventions are still pending. Hence the change that we see
is disruptive, with the skyline marred with aluminium panel facades.
Fig. 6: Historic photograph showing the Procession of King Edward VII
and Queen Alexandra as Emperor and Empress of India, 1903, Delhi
Durbar (Source: en.wikipedia.orgwikiChandni_Chowk#mediaFileDurbar_Procession_in_1903)
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Fig. 7: Current view of transformers being installed on the central median where the historic canal flowed (photo Smita Datta Makhija, October
2019)
Fig. 8: Historic facades being concealed and replaced by aluminium-clad discordant materials and forms (photo Smita Datta Makhija,
October 2019)
Fig. 9: The complexity of architecture on Chandni Chowk needing tailor-made solutions for facade restoration, upgrading and infill
(photo Smita Datta Makhija, October 2019)
India
After pursuing the case in court and the involvement of the
Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, a few issues have been resolved
by placing police booths, urinals and toilets away from the central median to government-owned locations. However, the relocation of transformers is still to be addressed along with the
appropriate technology selection for this densely populated heritage core.
To conclude, both the integrity and the authenticity of Chandni
Chowk’s grand historic vista, as well as the relationship of its
visual axis with the historic built mass is at high risk. There is the
likelihood of unparalleled loss of both historic memory and glorious meanings embedded in each segment of Chandni Chowk due
to the proposed interventions. The professional global communities comprising of conservation architects, historians, landscape
architects, town planners and engineers must raise their voice re-
81
garding the significance of Chandni Chowk. A Heritage Impact
Assessment must precede any implementation of ill-advised and
detrimental proposals on this magnificent heritage that our generation has inherited and is the custodian of.
Status of June 2020
The litigation for keeping the central verge of the Chandni Chowk
free of service infrastructure is ongoing in the Delhi High Court.
The petitioners, along with DUAC, have suggested nine feasible locations for relocation of the electric transformers and also
advised use of dry type pad mounted transformers instead of the
hazardous oil type ones. While the government has agreed to consider two of the suggested nine locations to fit 14 transformers,
the rest of the issues remain unresolved.
Smita Datta Makhija
North Zone Representative, ICOMOS India
Footnotes
1
Clarke, J. ‘Like A Huge Birdcage Exhaled from the Earth:
Watson’s Esplanade Hotel, Mumbai (1867–71), and its Place
in Structural History’, Construction History 18 (2002), 37–77.
2
131–134 the CESS Act, CESSED buildings under the nominated property from Annexure B Site Management Plan of
Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensembles of Mumbai, India,
submitted by Government of Maharashtra.
3
Mumbai Mirror article, IIT-B audit report sounds death knell
for 155-year-old Kala Ghodabuilding, says Esplanade Mansion
is dilapidated beyond repair, https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.
com/mumbai/cover-story/prudent-to-demolish-esplanade-mansion/articleshowprint/69449802.cms?prtpage=1.
4
TOI, Esplanade Mansion: Bombay HC asks Mhada to list
precautions for demolition, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.
com/city/mumbai/esplanade-mansion-bombay-hc-asks-mhada-to-list-precautions-for-demolition/articleshowprint/69649525.cms.
5
ToI, Esplanade Mansion can be restored: Heritage panel,
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/esplanade-mansion-can-be-restored-heritage-panel/articleshowprint/69765458.cms.
6
ToI, HC orders walkway outside Esplanade Mansion, https://
timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/hc-orders-walkway-outside-esplanade-mansion/articleshowprint/69901568.
cms.
7
TOI, MHADA gets seven days to draw up safety plan for Esplanade building, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/
mumbai/mhada-gets-seven-days-to-draw-up-safety-plan-foresplanade-building/articleshowprint/70100368.cms.
8
TOI, HC tells Maharashtra, INTACH to decide if Esplanade
Mansion can be saved, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/
city/mumbai/hc-tells-maharashtra-intach-to-decide-if-esplanade-mansion-can-be-saved/articleshowprint/70598205.cms.
9
Annexure B Site Management Plan of Victorian Gothic & Art
Deco Ensembles of Mumbai, India submitted by Government
of Maharashtra (a copy of the same is available on UNESCO
World Heritage Centre website https://whc.unesco.org/en /
list/1480/documents/).
10
Pages 112–121, Ownership and Stakeholders, from Annexure B
Site Management Plan of Victorian Gothic & Art Deco Ensem-
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
bles of Mumbai, India submitted by Government of Maharashtra.
Mumbai Mirror, A second chance for Esplanade Mansion: State
government orders fresh audit of city’s last surviving cast-iron
buildings https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/mumbai/cover-story/a-second-chance-for-esplanade-mansion/articleshowprint/70667409.cms?prtpage=1.
RE Frykenberg, Delhi through the Ages, p. 61, New Delhi
1993, p. 61.
Stephen Carr, Archeology and Monumental Remains of Delhi,
New Delhi 1876, p. 247.
The Mission of SRDC, as stated on its website, is:The main
objective of the Corporation is to promote conservation of built
and natural heritage in the National Capital Territory of Delhi
which needs to be protected, nourished and maintained by all
citizens, conservation as an attitude in city’s urban development
process, conservation of the civic and urban heritage which
would include architecturally significant and artisan works, historical landmarks and living monuments having socio-cultural
value not with the motive of profit.https://www.govserv.org/
IN/New-Delhi/118442228224828/Shahjahanabad-Redevelopment-Corporation
http://srdc.delhigovt.nic.in/wps/wcm/connect/DoIT_Shahjahanabad/doit_shahjahanabad/home/ongoing+projects/redevelopment+of+chandni+chowk
Notified under Gazette of India Extraordinary,see S. O.
No. 1903(E), dated 31. 07. 08. All transportation projects/
transport engineering solutions in Delhi by any agency having road engineering/infrastructure implication require
clearance of the UTTIPEC. https://www.govserv.org/IN/
New-Delhi/180371992031994/UTTIPEC-Delhi-Development-Authority
Drawings available at http://srdc.delhigovt.nic.in/wps/wcm/
connect/d9da3d8047f211bc914efbbbd1c31d3c/CC-Presentation-27-11-18.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&lmod=1939364257&CACHEID=d9da3d8047f211bc914efbbbd1c31d3c
Ebba Koch, Mughal Architecture, New Delhi2002, p. 124.
See “Delhi – A Heritage City”, Tentative List of India http://
whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5743/
82
KOSOVO
Heritage at Risk
Brief history of Kosovo
Kosovo is located inland on the Balkan Peninsula in Southeast
Europe. Its fertile highland valleys are separated from the Adriatic
Sea by the Prokletije Mountain range yet connected via the Drini
River. Kosovo’s history is deeply intertwined with neighbouring
regions. In the 1st century AD, the area was known as Dardania
and was part of the Roman province of Moesia. By the Middle
Ages the region was part of many empires: Bulgarian, Byzantine,
Albania and the Serbian medieval states. It was conquered by the
Ottoman Empire in 1455 and derives its name from the Kosovo
Plain, where the famous Battle of Kosovo was fought between
Serbia and the Ottoman Empire 70 years earlier.1
Fig. 1: Mosque in Deçan burnt during the 1998 –99 War
(© Riedlmayer, 2014)
The recent past
Until the second half of the 20th century, cultural heritage properties of Kosovo were maintained and protected by locals. In the
recent past, these properties have been looked after inadequately;
therefore, the loss is enormous. Especially during the 1998–99
War in Kosovo thousands of monuments and sites were burnt and
destroyed. Thousands of archaeological and ethnological collections, as well as the entire documentation of Kosovo’s cultural
heritage institutions are still being kept in Serbia.2
Well-preserved historic urban centres in Gjakova, Vushtrri and
Peja have suffered severe devastation.3 Artistic objects and important collections of material culture also perished in the flames
as Serbian forces burned down an estimated 70,000 homes, including more than 90 percent of Kosovo’s 500 kullas – traditional vernacular houses. In addition to that, Islamic sacral art
in Kosovo, including art objects as well as illuminated manuscripts, suffered large-scale devastation during the war. A major
part of the heritage of Kosovo’s 600-year-old Islamic tradition
was burned, vandalized or looted as more than 200 mosques were
destroyed or seriously damaged by Serbian forces. Furthermore,
museum collections in Kosovo have also been despoiled, not by
acts of deliberate destruction but by appropriation. By order of
the Serbian Ministry of Culture, hundreds of the most valuable
archaeological artifacts from three important museum collections
in Kosovo – the Museum of Kosovo, the Municipal Museum in
Mitrovica and the Regional Archaeological Museum in Prizren –
were removed to Belgrade at the beginning of 1999, ostensibly
for an exhibition.3 Until now, the official records on the cultural
heritage of Kosovo have not been handed over to the authorities
of Kosovo.
According to the ICOMOS Heritage at Risk Report elaborated
by Dick Sandberg in 2005 regarding the riots of 2004 in Kosovo,
a few orthodox buildings were damaged. About 35 churches,
chapels and monasteries in 17 locations were damaged.4 These
Fig. 2: The historic centre in Gjakova in 1999 (© Knight, 2018)
damaged buildings were immediately repaired or restored by the
Government of Kosovo with international support.5
The UNESCO World Heritage List contains four sites, the
so-called medieval monuments in Kosovo, which include the
Monastery of Decani, the Patriarchate of Peja, the Church of the
Virgin of Levisa and Gracanica Monastery. These assets were
put on the Tentative List in 2004, then in 2006 were designated and nominated on the basis of criteria ii, iii, iv and vi. The
World Heritage sites of Kosovo are owned and managed by the
Serbian Orthodox Church, Diocese of Raska. 6 The UNESCO
Convention of 1972 states that World Heritage sites should be
managed by the government administration, in this case the
Republic of Kosovo administration. In addition to that, conservation worksat these sites are carried out by the Institute for the
Protection of Cultural Monuments of the Republic of Serbia.7
Kosovo
83
The sites are guarded day and night by either Kosovo police
forces or KFOR.
In 2006, these sites were put on the List of World Heritage
in Danger in order to allow international support to address the
following benchmarks:
– Full and permanent protection of the property under secure and
stable political environment;
– Agreed medium-term plan for the restoration of wall paintings
(including preventive conservation regime) and conservation
and rehabilitation of the property; and
– Implementation of the management plan, and full establishment of buffer zone and boundary including its legal protection
(UNESCO WHC, 2007, p. 38).
These World Heritage sites are not actively managed by the
Serbian Orthodox Church although it is officially in charge; management plans don’t exist.8 On the other hand, Kosovar institutions are not allowed to monitor these World Heritage sites in
their territory, as they have been outside their area of responsibility since 1999.9
World Heritage sites in Kosovo are also protected by the Kosovo
Status Package.10 Annex IV on Religious and Cultural Heritage
states clearly the rights and preservation that Kosovo should give
to all effective protective zones (buffer zones surrounding the
perimeter of the protected heritage property) (Figs. 1 and 2).11
Fig. 3: An abandoned neighbourhood in Elez Han – designated cultural
heritage asset (© Cultural Heritage without Borders, 2017)
Legal protection of cultural heritage
It was not until after the Second World War that cultural heritage management as a state-organised activity was established
in Kosovo. In the second half of the 20th century when Kosovo
was part of the Yugoslavian state, cultural heritage was redefined
and managed according to the standards set by the political regimes.12 As in many Southeastern European countries, the protection system of cultural heritage in Kosovo does not fulfill the
requirements of international recommendations and guidelines.
This is a result of over half a century of political instrumentalisation and its subjective treatment by the former communist regime
dominated by Serbian experts and politicians. Despite the efforts
to improve the situation during the transition period, the cultural
heritage sector remains quite complex and fragile in the context
of the new general developments.13
There are 1567 cultural heritage assets included in the temporary protection list selected by the Ministry of Culture, Youth
and Sports. These assets are part of the List of Cultural Heritage
under Temporary Protection and include monuments and sites of
archaeological and architectural heritage, architectural conservation areas, movable objects, cultural landscapes and intangible
heritage. Since 2011, this List has been extended every year by
the Ministry of Culture. In 2017, the Ministry started to include
architectural heritage buildings of the 20th century. Only 23 cultural heritage buildings have been designated under the permanent protection, selected from thousands of heritage assets on the
temporary protection list.
The Kosovo’s authorities have started to pay attention to preservation through the application of preventive conservation or repair / restoration , the reinforcement of laws, the establishment of
the proper documentation and inventory system, and the modernisation of the administration and education system.14 However, the
process is very slow to effectively protect and preserve cultural
heritage assets in Kosovo.
Fig. 4: Novobrdo Fortress, 2019 (unpublished photo by Atdhe Mulla
taken for CHwB Kosovo, 2019)
Fig. 5: The collapse of walls after interventions (photo C. Jäger Klein,
2019)
84
Kosovo
Current condition and risks
In general terms, the cultural heritage assets in Kosovo are in a
precarious and vulnerable situation resulting from the dire consequences of the armed conflicts of 1998–99, natural aging processes, and decay greatly exacerbated by environmental pollution, significant long-term neglect and a chronic lack of heritage
policies, strategies, proper inventories, conservation plans, and
funds for preservation and rehabilitation, in accordance with international principles and standards.
The crucial problems to be addressed are:
– Identifying conservation areas (perimeter, protective zones,
protected areas) in spatial plans of architectural and archaeological heritage;
– Controlling (both legal and illegal) buildings in urban and rural
areas which affect the setting and context of cultural heritage
sites and landscapes;
– Reviewing the current list of protected heritage assets. Based
on the recent findings there are listed buildings that unfortunately don’t exist anymore;
– Establishing monitoring departments that will assess buildings
consistently and identify the risk factors that may endanger
heritage assets;
– Increasing the professional capacities in Disaster and Risk
Management (DRM), respectively in monitoring and implementing preventive measures;
– Establishing a taskforce of trained architects and craftsmen that
will intervene with temporary preventive measures in order to
prevent the loss of heritage assets;
– Increasing the cooperation between institutions on the central
and local levels in order to increase the efficiency in managing
possible risks;
– Prioritising funds for emergency interventions based on the assessment of needs;
– Establishing connections with owners of heritage assets to inform them about their role, train them to monitor their properties, where and how to report the damage and risk they notice,
and to possibly intervene with simple measures;
– Subsidising or rewarding owners who regularly maintain their
cultural heritage assets;
– Working closely with local and national NGOs to increase
the knowledge about the risk to cultural heritage and to raise
awareness of each stakeholder’s role by organising campaigns,
debates and public lectures.
A lack of basic information about cultural heritage assets with
legal protection status is also a crucial problem, which also
points out the need for each monument to be identified and
monitored. Mapping cultural assets strengthens the base of information that can be used to inform local and central authorities in future planning and decision-making. With regard to this,
Cultural Heritage without Borders Kosovo, a former Swedish
NGO, now a local NGO, has developed the project “Mapping
of Cultural Heritage Sites in Kosovo”, which identified on the
map 870 cultural heritage monuments of architectural and archaeological categories by gathering relevant data. During the
field research conducted, among other collected information,
special attention was paid to the assessment of the condition
of monuments. The physical condition of assets has been classified into six categories, including: good, fair, poor, very bad,
partially ruined, and completely ruined. This classification was
based on the condition assessment of cultural heritage assets
from Historic England.
In order to categorise an asset, an assessment was conducted to
evaluate the type of damage to the elements of the asset/structure,
including wall structure, roofs (covering, chimney, gutters and
downpipes), doors and windows, and the interior, where access
was possible. As a result, when different damage aspects of an
asset were combined, it was possible to come to a clear evaluation of the physical condition of the monument and consequently
list it under one of the six above- mentioned categories. This information was gathered in order to develop the Heritage at Risk
Register, which is an online digital platform consisting of a list of
assets classified in the three assessment categories very bad, partially ruined, or completely ruined. Relevant institutions working
with cultural heritage are responsible for creating and monitoring
the Heritage at Risk list, as well as for prioritising their investments based on the condition of these assets.
Among the 870 assets which have undergone assessment of
their physical condition as part of the wider project Mapping of
Cultural Heritage Sites in Kosovo, in total 139 assets are listed in
the Heritage at Risk Register. Therefore, this means that 17.2 %
of the designated assets in Kosovo are at risk of being demolished
due to their bad physical condition (Fig. 3).
The degradation of Novobrdo Fortress
The significance of the site
Novobrdo Fortress, a designated monument protected by the
Ministry of Culture in Kosovo, stands on a 1100-metre-high hill
of the Kopaonik Mountains. The fortress is a monument of great
cultural, historical, archaeological and architectural significance.
Its historical value derives from the fact that it is the biggest fortress from the Illyrian period, 4th–3rd centuries BC. Based on
the outstanding quality of the ceramic and metal findings and the
Cyclopean ashlars, it is assumed that at this very site the Illyrian
city of Damastion may have existed which was well-known for
producing silver coins.
Novobrdo is the best-preserved historic mining town in Kosovo
and in the region. It provides exceptional testimony to the area’s
international importance for the mining of lead, silver and gold
in continuity, since prehistory. Its landscape forms a multi-layered heritage site which has significant and important industrial,
historic, archaeological, architectural, and ecological attributes.
The terrain is rough and characterised by rock, mining places and
semi-natural grasslands. Overall, the location powerfully reflects
the distinctive culture that had developed in the lead, silver and
gold mining system of Kosovo and provides a complete picture
of the patronage and the social structure of the community. The
medieval town of Novobrdo was erected on the top of the hill, in
a dominant position of a very picturesque landscape. There has
been cultural stratification since Roman times and extensive parts
of the fortification architecture belong to the late Byzantine and
Ottoman periods. According to Roman coins and tiles found at
this site, some objects could belong to the Roman period.15
Current condition and recent developments
Starting in 2014, conservation activities were undertaken at the
fortress. The intervention was managed by UNESCO and financed by the European Union. Currently, the new reconstructed
structure has partially collapsed and there are other structures that
are about to collapse. The Ministry of Culture has closed the site
to visitors because it is considered a threat to them.
Kosovo
The current condition of the castle is very poor and unacceptable. It can be observed that the structure has many damages,
such as constructive cracks and masonry erosion. Therefore, the
safety of the structure and the people visiting it is of high concern
(Figs. 4 and 5).
Conclusion
Since 2001, there have been various international initiatives and
projects aiming to restore the damages in cultural heritage sites
that were caused by conflicts. The destruction at historic sites
caused by the riots of March 2004 was mostly repaired.
However, cultural heritage sites in Kosovo are in a degraded
state, mainly because of a lack of maintenance, awareness, and
improper management. Significant numbers of heritage sites are
at risk of being completely ruined. The primary legislation on the
cultural heritage of Kosovo has been completed. However, there
85
is still a lot of work to be done in the secondary legislation as well
as in the enforcement of existing laws.
The fragile institutions are heavily suffering due to the lack of
human capacities. They have failed to create a monitoring mechanism that would provide data of the current condition of heritage sites. The local communities are almost ignored in the decision-making process. This situation has resulted in investments in
the field of cultural heritage not being based on the actual needs.
The Kosovo institutions need to be reformed in order to be
efficient in the protection of cultural heritage. In addition, there is
a need to reform the education system so that young generations
are capable of understanding every aspect of cultural heritage
preservation, including the legislative and technical aspects. In
general, there is insufficient education provided in management,
professional and technical trainings in the various fields of cultural heritage preservation and management, sustainable tourism
development, restoration techniques, and promotion.
Kaltrina Thaçi, conservation architect/ program manager
at CHwB Kosova, member of ICOMOS Kosovo
Sali Shoshi, executive director at CHwB Kosova, member
of ICOMOS Kosovo
With additional comments from:
Gjejlane Hoxha, member of ICCROM and ICOMOS Kosovo
Arnisa Kryeziu, assistant teacher for architectural heritage
at UBT Prishtina, member of ICOMOS Kosovo
Verona Ymeri-Hoxha, member of ICOMOS Kosovo
Initiated by:
Caroline Jäger-Klein, Professor of Architectural History,
TU Wien, President of ICOMOS Austria
References
CoE – Council of Europe (2004) Integrated Rehabilitation Program Plan for Architectural and Archeological Heritage in
South-Eastern Europe. Preliminary Technical Assessment, PIL,
Kosovo/ UNMIK, 2004. Strasbourg: CoE.
Haliti, S., Thaçi, K. & Eppich, R. (2016) Interpretation and Management of Fortified Sites in the Mediterranean: The Case
of the Prizren Castle, Kosovo. Defensive Architecture of the
Mediterranean XV to XVII centuries/ Vol IV Giorgio Verdiani
(ed.) Proceedings of the International Conference on Modern
Age Fortifications of the Mediterranean Coast FOTRMED,
Florence, November 2016, http://www.fortmed.eu/OV/4- DEFENSIVE%20ARCHITECTURE%20OF%20THE%20MEDITERRANEAN_2016.pdf.
Herscher, A. & Riedlmayer, A. (2000) Architectural Heritage in
Kosovo: A Post-War Report. Archnet. Kosovo Cultural Heritage. Available at: https://archnet.org/collections/22/publications/4736
Historic England (2017) How to Assess Condition. Available
at: https://historicengland.org.uk/advice/caring-for-heritage/
help-historic-buildings/assess- condition-grade-2-listed-buildings/how-to-assess-condition/
Hoxha, Gj. & Thaçi, K. (2012) The Protection of Cultural Heritage Properties in the Republic of Kosovo, First International
Conference on Architecture and Urban Design, Epoka University, Tirana, Albania, April 19–21, 2012, available at: http://
www.icaud.epoka.edu.al/index.php?p=1_ICAUD_proceed_
book_1.
ICOMOS (2006) Evaluation of Cultural Properties. WHC06/30.COM/8B. Available from: whc.unesco.org/document/100760.
Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of Serbia
(2018) Report on the State of Conservation of Medieval Monuments in Kosovo (Serbia) Inscribed on the World Heritage
List in Danger. Available at: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/724/
documents/.
Kight, G. (2018) Evidence: War Crimes in Kosovo. Available at:
http://www.garyknight.org/evidencekosovowarcrimesgk/C:\
Users\chwbkosovo\Downloads\ 7A – Serbia – Monuments in
Kosovo 20180131 public.pdf.
MCYS – Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport (2007) Preliminary Technical Assessment, The Fortress Gumnishte, Novobrdo, 2007.
86
Kosovo
MCYS – Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport (2016) National
Strategy for Cultural Heritage 2017–2027. Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, Kosova, available at: strategjija- http://
mkrs- ks.org/repository/docs/eng_strategy_for_heritage.pdf
MCYS – Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport (2009) Prioritized
Intervention List Kosovo: Integrated Rehabilitation Project
Plan, Survey of the Architectural and Archaeological Heritage.
Riedlmayer, A. (2000) Museums in Kosovo: A First Postwar
Assessment. Bosnia Report, ns 15/16. [WWW] Available at:
http://www.bosnia.org.uk/bosrep/marjune00/museums.cfm.
Riedlmayer, A. (2014) “Introduction”, in Destruction of Islamic
Heritage in the Kosovo War, 1998–1999, by Sabri Bajgora; ed.
by Robert Elsie and Petrit Selimi. Prishtina: Interfaith Kosovo,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kosovo.
Sandberg, D. (2005) Heritage at Risk 2004/2005. ICOMOS.
Available at: https://www.icomos.org/risk/2004/kosovo2004.
pdf.
UNESCO (2018) Medieval Monuments in Kosova. World Heritage Center. Available at: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/724/
documents/.
UNESCO WHC (2007) WHC-07/31.COM/24. World Heritage
Committee: Thirty-first session Christchurch, New Zealand,
23 June –2 July 2007. Available from: http://whc.unesco.org/
en/list.
UNOSEK – United Nations Office of the Special Envoy for
Kosovo (2007) Kosovo Status Package: Ahtisaari Package.
Available at: http://www.unosek.org.
Footnotes
Haliti, Thaçi & Eppich, 2016, p. 426.
2
Hoxha & Thaçi, 2012, p. 1.
3
Riedlmayer, 2000.
4
Sandberg, 2005.
5
RIC, CoE, 2009.
6
MCYS, 2009, pp. 77–79.
7
Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of Serbia,
2018.
8
ICOMOS, 2006, pp. 242 f.
9
MCYS, 2009.
10
Ahtisaari Package, 2007.
11
UNOSEK, 2007.
12
Herscher, 2010.
13
MCYS, 2016, p. 21.
14
Hoxha & Thaçi, 2012, p. 19.
15
MCYS, 2007.
1
87
MEXICO
Introduction
The year 2017 was marked by a series of hydrometeorological
and geological events of different magnitudes that hit Mexico in
different parts. The earthquakes of September 7th and 19th, 2017
increased the destruction and left hundreds of families affected.
On September 7th, an earthquake of category 8.2 with an epicentre in the Gulf of Tehuantepec mainly affected the states of Chiapas and Oaxaca. The number of homes damaged were 63,335
in Oaxaca, 58,366 in Chiapas, and 712 in Tabasco. 1,075 schools
were affected in Oaxaca and 1,571 in Chiapas, 90 health units,
and 194 public buildings were partially or totally destroyed. On
September 19th, another earthquake of magnitude 7.1 with an
epicentre in Axochiapa, Morelos had an impact on eleven states,
including Mexico City. A total of 50,610 homes, 83 health units,
133 churches and 16,136 schools were damages and there were
a total of 369 deaths. The damages to the cultural heritage were
considerable (see Table 1).
Mexican States
No.
Puebla
465
Estado de México
344
Oaxaca
323
Morelos
260
Tlaxcala
133
Chiapas
111
Ciudad de México
92
Guerrero
83
Tabasco
26
Hidalgo
25
Veracruz
15
Table 1: Heritage properties affected by the 2017 earthquake
(Source: Government of the Republic, INAH, 2017)
In the eleven states, a total of 1,877 properties listed by INAH
(National Institute of Anthropology and History) were damaged
(see Table 2):
Type of property
Number of properties
Historic monuments
1796
Museums and cultural centers
56
Archeological Zones
22
Artistic monuments
2
Table 2: Moderately to severely damaged properties
(Source: Government of the Republic, INAH, 2017)
Three sources of funding for reconstruction have been
launched:
1. The FONDEN (Natural Disaster Fund); 221,556,215.00 pesos
(11,268,806.00 USD) have been approved.
2. The insurance sector has mainly supported the private and public sectors with the insurance contracted for the INAH Historic Monuments. According to the Mexican Association of Insurance Institutions (AMIS), the cost of earthquakes in 2017
rose to 16,449 million pesos (836.63 million USD), including
13,491 million pesos (686.18 million USD) mainly for damage
to buildings and 2,861 million pesos (145.51 million USD) for
disaster bonds of the Government of Mexico.
3. The private sector was organised in the face of the 2017 disaster with the creation of the Fuerza México private trust and a
contract with Nacional Financiera was signed a day after the
earthquake on September 20th. The Trust does not receive or
exercise public funds and is oriented to administer and operate the funds and donations made by business organisations
and individuals. This trust supports reconstruction (housing, schools, markets and temples) with 249 million pesos
(12.66 millon USD) in six municipalities in Oaxaca and two in
Chiapas.
To date, as regards the State of Morelos, of the 259 heritage properties under restoration following the earthquake of September
19th, 2017, 158 have been completed.1 These restorations have
been carried out thanks to different financial sources, such as
FONDEN (Natural Disaster Fund), the private sector (Slim Foundation), and insurances.
The Main Threats Identified for
Tangible and Intangible Assets as
of 2017
1. Mining activity
The archaeological zone of Xochicalco (World Heritage Site) is
in danger due to mining activity. The mine exploitation project is
being developed on the El Jumil and Colotepec hills, in an area of
696.92 hectares belonging to the community of Tetlama, Morelos,
half a kilometre from the archaeological zone of Xochicalco. The
Canadian company Álamos Gold (formerly Esperanza Silver)
operates the hills with an open pit mine and has caused fractures
as a result of explosive detonations in the hills near the archaeological zone of Xochicalco. In the north of Xochicalco, there
are large caverns whose unstable roofs are formed by horizontal
slabs of rocks. The vibration of the explosions could cause them
to collapse, which would destroy an important part of the city of
88
Mexico
Oaxaca coast. The curtain of said work, 155 metres high, would
be located approximately one kilometre above the Chatina community. Paso de la Reina and its reservoir would flood 3,320 hectares, owned by indigenous Mixteco, Chatinos and Afro-Mexican
peoples, affecting 17,000 inhabitants. This project requires an
investment of USD 1,100 million. Currently, the hydroelectric
project is in the phase of feasibility studies, without yet having
the study of environmental impact, nor the conclusion of socio-anthropological studies.
Fig. 1: Church of Los Remedios, Cholula, State of Puebla,
September 2017 (photo INAH)
Xochicalco, including the Observatory cave, located north of the
Acropolis. Water flow, both surface and underground, would be
one of the most severely impacted natural resources, and this not
only because of the huge amount of water that open-pit mines
require for the leaching of the mineral (which they perform with
cyanide), but also because once the exploitation is over (which
will occur in little over a decade), mineral remnants can severely
contaminate water and soils throughout the region.
2. The construction of hydroelectric dams
2.1. Dam project “Paso de la Reina” project, State of Oaxaca
CFE (Electric Federal Company) plans to build the Paso de la
Reina hydroelectric dam project on the Río Verde, located on the
2.2. Dam project “La Parota”, State of Guerrero
CFE intends to build the La Parota hydroelectric project in its
territories. The work would affect an area of 17,000 hectares,
belonging to four agrarian communities, 16 ejidos and a private
property, located in the municipalities of Acapulco, Juan R. Escudero, San Marcos, Chilpancingo, and Tecoanapa. The work would
have a high social impact, since it would cause the displacement
of 25,000 people and affect another 75,000. When flooding the
localities and affecting the traditional productive spaces located
on the banks of the Papagayo River and its mouth, the poverty
conditions of the population of the area would be exacerbated. In
addition, it would be against the riparian and mangrove ecosystems located in the coastal part when the natural flow of water is
disturbed.
2.3. Dam project “Las Cruces”, State of Nayarit
The Las Cruces hydroelectric project would be built on the San
Pedro Mezquital river in the state of Nayarit, as part of the Northwest Interconnected Hydraulic System (shino). The hydroelectric power plant would flood 4,547 hectares of communal lands
of five agrarian nuclei of the Coras, Huicholes and Mexicaneros
towns: the indigenous communities of San Pedro Ixcat, municipality of Ruiz; San Juan Corapan and Rosarito, municipality of
Rosamorada; San Blasito and Saycota, municipality of Acaponeta, Nayarit. According to CFE, it would only move to the town of
San Blasito in the area of the reservoir, which has 54 inhabitants
of the Cora people and 18 homes. However, the communities estimate that around 6,137 inhabitants would be affected, of which
80 % belong to these indigenous peoples.
2.4. Dam “El Zapotillo”, State of Jalisco (under construction)
If the El Zapotillo dam is concluded with a curtain of 105 m,
the communities of Temacapulín, Acasico and Palmarejo will
be flooded, which will mean the forced displacement of 1,500
inhabitants. The livelihoods of communities downstream and
upstream will also be destroyed or damaged, affecting more
than 15,000 people. The death of traditions and culture will be
accompanied by the loss of a unique historic and cultural heritage, constituted by the towns themselves with their squares,
their typical environment and their ancient architectures. There
is a statement by the Jalisco delegation of the National Institute of Anthropology and History according to which 70 % of
the buildings are cultural heritage. In addition, “El Señor de la
Peñita”, a figure painted by nature on the rocks surrounding part
of the town, would be destroyed. The historic monument of the
Basilica of Our Lady of Remedies from the 18th century would
also be destroyed.
Fig. 2: Church of San Juan Bautista, Tlayacapan, Morelos,
September 2017 (photo INAH)
2.5. Dam project “Veracruz”, State of Veracruz
The Veracruz hydroelectric project promoted by the private company Electricidad del Golfo is located in Veracruz on the Apatlahuaya River. The work includes the construction of a dam with a
Mexico
89
Fig. 3: Mayan railway route in Yucatan (Source: http://planoinformativo.com/605456/tren-maya-proyecto-para-impulsar-el-crecimiento-del-sur-de-la-peninsulanacionales)
30-metre-high curtain, a four-hectare reservoir and a three-kilometre-long tunnel. The Zongolica region affected by the project
has high biodiversity and is the source of the Blanco River. This
region has been inhabited since pre-Hispanic times by Nahua
groups and has approximately 150,000 inhabitants, living in 14
municipalities, of which twelve are considered to be highly marginalised: Mixtla de Altamirano and Texhuacan are among the
ten poorest municipalities in Mexico. The main productive activities are agriculture, forestry and livestock; there are very many
smallholdings so that private property is predominant. This work
will impact more than 20 communities, mostly indigenous Nahua
by violating their individual and collective rights to information,
consultation, healthy environment, health, water, housing, territory, etc.
3. Adobe houses destroyed by the 2017 earthquake
and not considered in the INAH / INBA catalogues
Following the earthquakes of September 2017, many traditional
adobe houses collapsed or were severely damaged, particularly
in the states of Oaxaca, Chiapas and Morelos. The balance of the
earthquakes of September 7th and 19th, 2017, was 184,000 damaged homes. The SEDATU (Ministry of Agrarian, Territorial and
Urban Development) provided the victims with bank cards with
120,000 pesos (6,000 USD) for the reconstruction of destroyed
homes and 15,000 pesos (762 USD) for the repair of partially
damaged homes. Not all damaged homes were made of adobe;
however, there were some companies that proposed that adobe
houses be replaced by houses of cement blocks, thus contributing to the disappearance of this traditional type of construction.
Nonetheless, there were some interesting experiences of reconstruction with clay, with technical advice from specialists for clay
constructions. But this did not happen in a massive way and most
of the reconstructed houses were made of cement blocks and
based on designs that were not traditional.
4. The construction of the Mayan railway
The so-called “Mayan railway” aims to connect different tourist
points between Yucatan, Quintana Roo and Campeche to boost
tourism and not only focus on the area of Cancun, which mainly
monopolises the flow of visitors. 1,500 kilometres of railroad are
to unite the main cities of the Mayan world in the five southeastern states: Yucatán, Quintana Roo, Campeche, Chiapas and
Tabasco. In total, these are 15 stations, of which Palenque, Calakmul, Mérida, Tulum and Bacalar stand out.
The route of the train that will cross the ecological reserve of
Calakmul, recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, has
raised concerns about the ecological impact this work could have
in the area. Given this, those responsible have said that the felling
of trees will be minimal, since already built railway lines will be
used, as well as roads and power lines.
The areas where the Mayan train will run have vast archaeological remains located along the planned route. In total, the Public
Registry of Archaeological and Historic Monuments and Zones
of Mexico has registered 1,709 vestiges located along the Mayan
train route. In addition to the archaeological remains, there are 24
cenotes that could also be affected by the construction of this new
railroad project. INAH will evaluate and classify the remains in
order of relevance and will determine if they could be moved to
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Mexico
avoid modifying the planned train route. Various organisations
have warned about the possible negative effects that this initiative
could have on an area of such archaeological wealth.
5. Proposals on the various threats
1. Mining activity: One of the proposals is that municipal councils declare themselves as mining-free territories and that the
current authorities, both at the federal and state levels, as well
as the elected politicians will modify the mining concessions
and permits. In the case of Xochicalco, the proposal is to expand the protection perimeter of the archaeological zone.
2. Construction of hydroelectric dams:
– Initiate a national audit by an independent body to assess the
financial, social and environmental cost-benefits of dams built
since 1972.
– Cancel all ongoing projects that are violating human rights,
particularly those that have not presented a public consultation
process.
3. Adobe houses destroyed by the 2017 earthquake: Create participatory housing reconstruction programmes exclusively for
traditional adobe houses with the support of professionals specialised in heritage construction.
4. Mayan train: The role of INAH would be to evaluate for each
section how the train route could be constructed without affecting the archaeological remains.
Joel F. Audefroy
Coordinator of the Mexican Scientific Committee
Heritage at Risk, Contact: eaudefroid@hotmail.com
References
Observatorio de conflictos mineros en américa latina – OCMAL
El Sol de Cuernavaca, 27 de julio 2019
“Presas, derechos de los pueblos e impunidad”, Dictamen final,
2012, Mapder, 59 p.
is a favourable place for drug production, because it is difficult
to reach and has few communication routes. It is located in the
so-called Golden Triangle, formed by sinuous mountains and ravines, in the limits of the states of Chihuahua, Durango, Sinaloa
and Sonora. Here narcotics have been produced by criminal
groups for several decades (Fig. 2), which has led to other problems not only against territorial sustainability. It has also caused
pressure to the millinery culture established there, redirecting it
into a process of transculturation and loss of identity.
The Sierra Tarahumara is the largest forest territory in Mexico
and has silver mines; so it is considered one of the most valuable natural areas in the country. In addition, due to its environment, it has a tourist potential of great national and international
relevance. As to the preliminary registration of the missionary
infrastructure that has practically been abandoned, this includes
80 Jesuit and 40 Franciscan missions, although it is possible
that the total number is close to 160 missionary settlements
(Fig. 3).
Relevance of cultural/natural heritage in the
Sierra Tarahumara
By its very nature, Tarahumara is extremely relevant for Mexico;
not only because it is one of the most beautiful areas in the entire
country, but because it is a unique biological region worldwide
(Fig. 4), generating water, oxygen, biomass and biodiversity.
These are aspects that not only benefit those who inhabit the area,
but also the states of Texas in the USA and the states of Sonora
and Sinaloa in our country, for the water generated there flows
into these territories.
The safeguarding of the built heritage and the environmental
wealth of the Sierra Tarahumara can be determining elements of
identity and basis for the development of the region. It even meets
the necessary conditions to submit a World Heritage nomination
to UNESCO for the recognition as cultural and natural heritage,
based on a dichotomy. However, the reality is that the loss of the
missionary infrastructure and the various threats to the habitat
threaten future development possibilities.
Current risks
Risks and Socio-cultural Impacts
in the Sierra Tarahumara, State
of Chihuahua
Introduction
The indigenous communities that settled in the region of the Sierra Tarahumara (Fig. 1) in the state of Chihuahua have had ancestral possession of their physical space since before the Spanish presence on the American continent. However, today they are
not legally recognised in this territory so that land dispossession,
transgression of their habitat, and the beneficial use of their natural and cultural environment are a constant struggle.
The megaprojects in the region with different lucrative purposes and interests for tourism proposed by the Mexican government
have not brought great economic benefits to the population, but to
national and transnational business groups. They have even commercialised the image of the Tarahumara indigenous people, but
not only that: the Tarahumara territory of low and high mountains
I. The current vulnerability of the built heritage is, to a large
extent, the result of insecurity caused by criminal groups and
drug trafficking, existing in the region for more than 30 years.
Among other aspects, this results in extreme poverty and displacement of the original population.
II. The region has a high degree of violence and insecurity, the
population competing with organised crime for physical
space.
III. Therefore, today there are problems of various kinds, both socio-economic and cultural, which are reflected in high levels
of migration, a low educational level, inequality, segregation,
unemployment, as well as racial discrimination and violence
resulting from a struggle for land tenure.
IV. Cultural policies have not helped prevent the deterioration
and loss of the historic infrastructure built during the 17th
and 19th centuries. This leads to different risks:
– There is no current survey of mission buildings still preserved.
– There are no conservation and maintenance programmes.
– There is no record of the deterioration and loss of historic
structures (Figs. 5 and 6).
Mexico
91
Fig. 1: Location map of the Sierra Tarahumara region, Chihuahua state, Mexico (taken from: ASCANIO, Lárraga, J. Alexis, Master’s Program in
Social Anthropology, CIESAS Southeast, CONACYT).
Fig. 2: Criminal groups arrested in the Tarahumara region,
September 23, 2016.
Fig. 3: Location of the mission settlements by municipalities
(Source: INAH Chihuahua Center, Jesuit Missions Project Archive
of the Sierra Tarahumara, 2007)
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Mexico
vision and attention of state and federal authorities, nor are
there sound policies of preservation. Therefore, the heritage’s
abandonment reflects “the lack of recognition and deep study
of its historical and natural values”.
The results on the impacts on the habitat of the territory have not
yet been determined; a general scheme of remediation of affectations and prevention of risks has been imposed, in which the
narco culture seems to stand out, while distrust in government
actions grows. It is a fact that the population has the right to claim
ownership of their land for the common good.
Impacts of modernity
Fig. 4: Commercialisation of the image of the Tarahumara indigenous
The current vulnerability of the built heritage of the region is the
result of insecurity caused by criminal groups and drug trafficking, among other equally important problems.
In the years 2014 and 2015, two megaprojects were proposed
that did not benefit the communities in the Sierra Tarahumara.
These were in addition to the Barrancas Cobre-Creel regional airport, although in a different way and without final results. The
indigenous population has manifested and defended its geographical space, after having suffered damage by other megaprojects,
especially for commercial purposes. This includes the Tarahumara culture, through the exploitation of the indigenous image
and of the natural and cultural resources.
Although the government rhetoric refers to efforts to reduce inequalities and international law protects indigenous populations,
with regard to indigenous rights the reality is that their cultural rights are rarely respected. The channels of communication
with the indigenous population have been fractured by imposing
several actions. Although the Mexican state has a huge historical commitment to the towns and communities of this region,
the Tarahumara people now struggle to maintain their traditional
lifestyle in the ejido, which is closely related to the isolated and
rugged land it occupies.
Final conclusions and actions in process
Figs. 5 and 6: Jesuit church of San Felipe de Jesus, Zaragoza Valley
V. Although the cultural heritage is made up of natural diversity
and material works of great relevance that together belong to
the cultural legacy of Mexico, its protection is not part of the
The Sierra Tarahumara is a region of great contrasts, coexisting
cultures and overlapping economic activities, including mining,
forestry, tourism, and drug trafficking. The forests of the Sierra
are home to approximately 280,000 individuals, of which approximately 20 percent are indigenous with unique cultures, such as
Tarahumaras o Rarámuri, Ópatas, Yaqui, Pimas, Papágos y Mayos.
The region also hosts large-scale mining and forestry projects,
so there would be no reason to strive for fairer social conditions
for the regional population. However, as long as these do not exist, social differences and conflicts will continue.
Similar delay conditions are also reflected in the cultural
sphere; this fact is also observed in the lack of serious studies
and historical documentation of the missions, of their evolution
and current physical state, of care and maintenance of the properties. This is accompanied by material loss and modifications to
the original structures, which is also a great damage to the built
historical memory of the region, so that the sum of efforts is not
only a necessity but a commitment to the historical future of the
Tarahumara territory. The main points for its preservation are:
I. Manage and preserve the physical space and material infrastructure of cultural or natural heritage value (Figs. 8–11).
II. Adapt policies and programmes to specificities of cultural
identity.
Mexico
93
Figs. 7 and 8: Missionary churches of San Antonio, Guazarachi, Balleza and San José Jicamorachi
Fig. 9: Missionary church of Santo Angel Custodio, Batopilas
Fig. 10: Missionary church of San Ignacio in Guachochi
III. Entry into cross-cutting policy areas concerning the organisation and connection of the towns in the territory.
IV. Regard the territory as something that generates economic
value, cultural identity and quality of life.
tainability, such as improving security, preserving their cultural heritage, reducing marginalities, social inclusion, improving
employment and educational opportunities, etc. And on the other
hand, there are the conditions for improving agricultural production and meeting the needs of families for basic food, in order to
create flows that will enable the social and environmental reconstruction of the community.
The final objective would be to be able to refer to these reflections that arise from communal or individual spaces where their
historical expressions are part of a new way of looking at their
buildings, customs or traditions, where specific changes in forms,
What is clear is that the population of the region have been violated in their physical space since the colonial era. So there must
be a resilient commitment to allow them to opt for other options,
such as the right of the population to settle on the basis of their
recomposition through the resilience of their living conditions,
through the analysis of risks or threats that compromise their sus-
94
Mexico
structures or organisations are emerging, which become options
for an initial resilience project focusing on induction, through the
establishment of a platform of participatory observatories, which
will enable the recovery of sustainable lifestyles based on their
cultural heritage and natural community environment before the
loss continues.
Francisco Hernández Serrano
PhD in architecture
Footnote
1
Source: Head of the INAH Morelos Center.
95
NEPAL
Overview of Heritage at Risk in Nepal:
Changing Perception and Approaches
Introduction – Nepal in transition
Nepal is in transition. After the second people’s movement in
2006 the monarchy was abolished and the country was proclaimed a republic. In the 2008 elections, the Maoist Party of
Nepal that had led a decade-long insurgency was elected into
government. Peacebuilding began by dissolving the People’s Liberation Army and reinstating the soldiers back into society. The
process of writing the new constitution was a contentious process.
Governments changed. It was however possible to incorporate
issues of cultural rights and cultural diversity into the new draft
Constitution. After the earthquake struck on 25 April 2015, the
draft Constitution was proclaimed on 20 September 2015 under
duress. This resulted in fierce protests by the opposing political
parties. The new Constitution has however become the basis for
post-disaster recovery as well as for the reorganisation of government in a decentralised system. The federal states as well as
many of the newly established local governments are promoting
infrastructure development with inadequate planning. Roads are
being built everywhere and many protected areas are becoming
vulnerable to environmental degradation, as well as to inappropriate tourism.
The 2015 Earthquake – devastation and recovery
The 7.8 magnitude Gorkha Earthquake struck central Nepal on 25
April 2015. “As a result of the earthquake, 8,790 people died and
more than 22,300 people were injured. Assessments showed that
at least 498,852 private houses and 2,656 government buildings
were destroyed. Another 256,697 private houses and 3,622 government buildings were partially damaged. In addition, 19,000
classrooms were destroyed and 11,000 damaged”.1 “According
to the assessment, the earthquake affected a total of 691 buildings
of historic value in 16 districts. Of these buildings, 131 were fully
destroyed and 560 were damaged”.2 Beyond the built heritage,
the earthquake affected museums and libraries as well as intangible heritage, particularly rituals linked to the monuments and
urban spaces now destroyed. The initial response phase included preparations for the onslaught of the monsoon rains. Within
two months a donor conference was arranged and the assessment
was that the cost of recovery and reconstruction added up to be
$ 205,668,646.3
The resilience of the local communities could be seen by their
tenacity to continue carrying out festivals and rituals, even under the pressure of trauma and devastation. Many temples that
were destroyed were either reinstated with the idol of the deity
under a temporary shelter or the idol was made accessible at a
different location. Particularly important was the continuation
Fig. 1a: Living Goddess Kumari being carried from her house to the
palanquin to be brought to a ritual site (© ICOMOS Nepal/Kai Weise)
Fig. 1b: Chariots being prepared for Indra Jatra, the main chariot
festival of Kathmandu, where three chariots are pulled around the city
(© ICOMOS Nepal/Kai Weise)
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Nepal
Fig. 2a: Carpenter working on a timber post for the reconstruction of
Kasthamandap, with the Kal-Bhairab statue in the background
(© ICOMOS Nepal / Kai Weise)
Fig. 2b: Woman working on the wood carving of a decorative timber
element, a recent development of training women for such crafts
(© ICOMOS Nepal /Anie Joshi)
of festivals, such as Indra Jatra in Kathmandu (Figs. 1a and 1b).
The chariot festival of Rato Machhendranath celebrates a special
event that recurs every twelve years when the chariot is pulled all
the way from the village of Bungamati to the city of Patan. The
temple housing the deity of Rato Machhendranath in Bungamati
was totally destroyed. However, after several months delay the
chariot festival was carried out and rituals were fulfilled. Since
the earthquake, such festivals seem to be getting a resurgence of
participants and general interest.
Over the past four and a half years many monuments have been
rebuilt. Rehabilitation Guidelines4 were prepared and adopted by
the government; however, procedures were never agreed upon.
The main conflict arose in respect to the Public Procurement Act
which required the government to tender out projects, which was
done without controlling whether the bidding contractors had the
knowledge and skills required for the restoration of historic monuments. This often led to traditional craftspeople being side-lined,
while shoddy work was carried out by unskilled workers. A further issue that was raised was the fact that there was inadequate
supervision of these projects.
ernance system was required and so the draft Constitution was
promulgated on 20 September 2015. This led to protests, particularly with the communities living in the south of the country, and
a blockade was set up closing the access road from India from
where most relief goods would have been trucked in.
The new Constitution of Nepal does however provide a means
for ensuring cultural diversity. It states clearly that Nepal is a secular state that protects and promotes “social and cultural solidarity, tolerance and harmony, and unity in diversity by recognizing
the multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, multi-religious, multi-cultural and
diverse regional characteristics”.5 This can be achieved through
the central government ensuring unity and the basic rights of the
people and allowing diversity to be the cornerstone of the federal
system. It allows for communities, through local government, to
safeguard their heritage.
The Ancient Monument Preservation Act of 1956 gives the Department of Archaeology the overall authority for the protection
and restoration of tangible cultural heritage. The change to the
federal system as well as changes to the local government structure by creating urban and rural municipalities through clubbing
together Village Development Committees was a cause for initial
confusion. Furthermore, a National Reconstruction Authority was
established to carry out post-disaster recovery; however overlapping responsibilities with the main government departments have
caused further confusion. Within these circumstances, there have
nonetheless been some good examples of community initiatives
and certain specific arrangements enabling monuments to be restored in an exemplary manner.
Adopting the 2015 Constitution – decentralisation
and diversity
0The positive momentum continued through the rainy season
between June and September. However, the government of Nepal was in transition from a constitutional monarchy to a federal
republic. For post-disaster recovery of the country, a clear gov-
Nepal
97
Fig. 3: The Kali Gandaki River Valley, the site of one of the main routes that crosses the Himalayas and is earmarked as a tentative sector of the
Silk Road (© ICOMOS Nepal / Kai Weise)
Recovering from the 2015 Gorkha Earthquake –
beyond reconstruction
Over the past four and a half years the reconstruction of numerous monuments has been carried out. This has been done through
various processes and under various authorities, making it difficult to carry out audits on quality and authenticity. Particularly
complicated has been the relationship between the National Reconstruction Authority, the Department of Archaeology and the
municipal authorities. Projects have been implemented by each
of these authorities and awarded to contractors. Other projects
have been carried out by international agencies using different
formats, each proving to lead to different outcomes. Furthermore,
there are local NGOs using foreign funding. There are also local
committees being set up that work on the basis of labour contracts
with local artisans.
The completed projects have not been assessed and the ongoing projects lack supervision. Many of the projects have been carried out with insufficient or no research at all. There is therefore
little information on why monuments that had survived the even
larger 1934 earthquake were damaged or even collapsed. This has
possibly been the greatest loss, since valuable knowledge could
have been gained from such research and this would have also
ensured the reconstruction to be carried out in the most appropriate manner. This is further linked to the lack of knowledge of the
traditional structure and its performance during the earthquake.
Many details that traditional artisans know have been ignored by
those preparing reconstruction drawings.
In the Kathmandu Valley, an interesting comparison can
be made between the three main historic cities. In Bhaktapur,
the local government together with the community have carried
out most of the reconstruction on their own, since they have
their own traditional artisans. They even rejected a multi-million-dollar German project in order not to be forced to follow
the prescribed procedures. In Patan, most of the reconstruction
is being carried out by an NGO with foreign funding and with
little involvement of the municipality or the community. In
Kathmandu, there has been a lack of clarity and in many cases local activism has defined the procedures. This has allowed
for certain monuments to be restored in an exemplary manner
using traditional artisans and materials such as with Kasthamandap (Figs. 2a and 2b). Issues have however also arisen where
community groups have protested against Japanese and even
the direct involvement of UNESCO in the restoration of sacred
temples.
Impact of connectivity – modern Silk Roads
The Trans-Himalayan corridors have always been the drivers of
economic and cultural interaction and will continue taking on this
role in the future. The development of infrastructure is also inevitable as already seen with the road along the Kali Gandaki as
well as in Rasuwagadhi. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) plan
of building the Trans-Himalayan railway is being pursued. Such
massive infrastructure projects are threats to the ancient cultures
that developed along these routes.
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Nepal
Fig. 4a: Professor Simpson from Sterling University in Scotland taking a wood sample for testing and dating while the traditional artisan and head
carpenter Laxmi Bhakta Rajchal looks on (© ICOMOS Nepal/Anie Joshi)
The initiative to inscribe the Silk Road on the World Heritage
List was promoted by UNESCO through the establishment of an
action plan prepared in 2006 during a meeting in Samarkand. This
has required a change in approach and methodology of defining,
inscribing and managing such enormous linear trans-boundary
heritage chains. China soon took the lead by establishing the Secretariat of the Coordination Committee in Xian. In the meantime,
the revitalisation of the Silk Road under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was presented by Xi Jinping in 2013. It might be
necessary to link the two initiatives to ensure that conflicts don’t
arise.
In Nepal three Trans-Himalayan corridors that link the Tibetan plateau with the Gangetic plains have been identified. These
would be the route along the Karnali to Mount Kailash, the Kali
Gandaki route (Fig. 3) through Mustang, and the route through
Kathmandu to the Kerung or Kuti passes. The heritage sites along
these routes need to be inventoried and safeguarded.
Conclusion – the lessons
Heritage conservation is greatly affected by natural disasters as
well as political uncertainties. Over the past four years Nepal has
had to deal with both these circumstances. There hasn’t been any
proper assessment of this situation other than the heated discus-
sions on Kathmandu Valley World Heritage property. Initially
the argument not to put Kathmandu Valley on the danger list was
that once the earthquake had caused the damage, the property
was not in danger any more unless the rehabilitation process was
not managed properly, and this could only be assessed after a
year or two. Even after the fourth World Heritage Committee
session, Kathmandu Valley has not been put on the danger list
and soon it will not make any sense, unless there is definite loss
of Outstanding Universal Value. This would need to be specifically assessed.
There are certain specific lessons that need to be learned from
this period of devastation and uncertainty. Most of the damages
caused to monuments were due to lack of maintenance as well
as to inappropriate interventions in the past. Very often past interventions focused on strengthening the structure, or making
certain parts more rigid, with the use of concrete or steel, which
was the very cause of collapse. This again proves how little we
understand of the traditional structures and the need for further
research. Along with this, the total lack of respect for traditional
artisans and a governance system that doesn’t allow them to work
unless they are registered as standard contractors makes it difficult to work on conservation.
The main lesson that has been learned from the destruction that
the earthquake caused and the chaotic circumstances created by
Nepal
99
Fig. 4b: Traditional artisan and head carpenter Laxmi Bhakta Rajchal trying out a resistograph, assisted by Project Manager and ICOMOS Nepal
Secretary Manindra Shrestha (© ICOMOS Nepal/Anie Joshi)
political upheaval is that conservation is not about reconstruction.
Conservation requires the continuity of traditional knowledge and
skills, which allows for monuments to be maintained and when
necessary restored (Figs. 4a and 4b). Where it is possible to ensure this continuity, science must take a back seat and be there
to assist and facilitate and, if necessary, bridge knowledge gaps.
Kai Weise
President ICOMOS Nepal / Member of ICORP
References
Government of Nepal. 2015a. Constitution of Nepal (official
translation into English)
Government of Nepal. 2015b. Post Disaster Needs Assessment
(PDNA), National Reconstruction Authority, Government of Nepal
Government of Nepal 2015c. Rehabilitation Guidelines 2072,
Department of Archaeology, Government of Nepal
Government of Nepal. 2016. Post Disaster Recover Framework
(PDRF), National Reconstruction Authority, Government of
Nepal
Footnotes
1
Government of Nepal 2016: 1.
2
Government of Nepal 2015b: 67.
3
Government of Nepal 2015: 72.
4
Government of Nepal 2015c.
5
Government of Nepal 2015a: 6.
100
NETHERLANDS
Amsterdam: Advertisements
on Scaffolding in front of Historic
Facades
In 2010, the 17th-century canal ring area of Amsterdam was added to the World Heritage List. As in the opinion of the World
Heritage Committee giant outdoor advertisements on scaffolding threaten the visual integrity of the site, “the application of
measures to eradicate aggressive advertising hoardings on scaffolding” were recommended. As Amsterdam did not follow
Fig. 1: Amsterdam, Rokin, October 2018
that recommendation, in 2011 UNESCO took the decision (35
COM78.100) that this “practice has to stop”. Moreover, Amsterdam was included in ICOMOS’ Heritage at Risk report.
Thanks to ICOMOS and UNESCO, and to the efforts of Amsterdam stakeholders VVAB and Wijkcentrum d’Oude Stadt
(Community Centre of the Old City of Amsterdam) from that
year on, the advertisements-on-scaffolding project stopped altogether. That’s to say until 2018.
To the surprise and shock of many, the giant advertisements
were back in full glory! The Amsterdam authorities, juggling with
percentages of advertisements covering the scaffolding, claim
Fig. 3: Amsterdam, Rokin, September 2018, giant advertisement on
scaffolding
that they are small in size now. That claim can simply be disputed
by these photographs. Moreover, the initial 2011 zero demand by
ICOMOS and UNESCO was clear: “eradicate” and “stop” this
practice.
In 2019, Amsterdam is actively no longer respecting, even violating the clear agreement made with UNESCO.
In early 2020 the Amsterdam authorities proposed to ban
(again) advertisements on scaffolding altogether. However, this
proposal still has to be discussed and decided by the Amsterdam
city council.
Fig. 2: Amsterdam, Dam Square, next to the Royal Palace,
December 2018
Rudolf Rijpma
Wijkcentrum d’Oude Stadt
All photos by R. Rijpma
Netherlands
High-rise Development Outside
the 17th Century Canal Ring
of Amsterdam
The municipality of Amsterdam has established a zoning plan
for the new residential area ‘Sluisbuurt’ with high-rise buildings
at slightly more than two kilometres from the World Heritage,
outside the buffer zone of the ‘17th-century canal ring area of
Amsterdam’. The new residential area has 14 high-rise buildings
between 30 and 60 metres and 10 buildings above 60 metres. The
two tallest towers are 120 and 125 metres high. Municipal impact
assessment reports are mandatory above 30 metres. The average
height of the old centre of Amsterdam is only 24 metres.
The impact assessment report shows that this high-rise cluster
has a major visual effect on the surrounding landscape and may
damage the visual integrity of the World Heritage. However, the
municipality considers this damage acceptable. It is admitted that
the high-rises are in theory visible from the World Heritage site,
but that would not affect the Outstanding Universal Value, because the towers disappear in the tree crowns.
101
The Friends of the Inner City of Amsterdam (Vereniging
Vrienden van de Amsterdamse Binnenstad, VVAB) do not agree
with that. The VVAB with its 3000 members, mostly inhabitants
of Amsterdam’s historic centre, is recognised by the municipality as a stakeholder of the World Heritage. According to the
VVAB, the high-rise cluster is in conflict with the municipal
high-rise policy. In this policy, for the location where the highrise cluster is to be built, only a single landmark of 60 metres
is possible, not a cluster of high-rise towers. Such a high-rise
is unprecedented for Amsterdam. An independent study, commissioned by the VVAB, also found that the visibility of the
highest towers is underestimated. It can be assumed that the
impact on the Outstanding Universal Value will be greater than
described.
The municipality has informed UNESCO in accordance with
paragraph 172 of the ‘Guidelines for the Implementation of the
World Heritage’. In its technical report ICOMOS suggested that
the State Party “prepare Heritage Impact Assessments to be carried out to consider the impact on the attributes of Outstanding
Universal Value, something the (municipal) assessments do not
examine, relying instead on purely visual measures”.
Fig. 1: The World Heritage of Amsterdam (photo credit: Bureau Monumenten en Archeologie, City of Amsterdam)
102
Netherlands
Fig. 2: Visibility of the high-rise development, in green, and the locations in the World Heritage where the highest risk is to be expected
(see purple circles) (from the independent VVAB study).
The municipality has determined the zoning plan prematurely
without awaiting a response from ICOMOS regarding the new
impact assessment report, which uses the same criticised methodology. The new assessment report does not meet the requirements
of a Heritage Impact Assessment as described by ICOMOS, either.
The VVAB has taken the step to appeal to the highest court in
the Netherlands, but hopes that UNESCO will respond as soon
as possible.
Walther Schoonenberg
VVAB
Netherlands
Fig. 3: Artistic impression of the Sluisbuurt high-rise development (from the municipality report on Sluisbuurt)
103
104
PERU
El sitio arqueológico Cerro Ventarrón se ubica al sureste de la
ciudad de Chiclayo, se encuentra conformado por varios sectores de los cuales uno se emplaza contiguo al centro poblado del
mismo nombre. Este sector limita por el suroeste con campos de
cultivo de caña de azúcar y por el noreste con un sector de viviendas del centro poblado.
Ventarrón es un templo de 4000 años de antigüedad ubicado
en el valle del rio Reque, en la región Lambayeque, en la costa
norte del Perú. Se caracteriza por presentar pinturas murales, halladas en buen estado de conservación, entre las que destaca una
representación polícroma de un venado aparentemente atrapado
en una red. Por los fechados radiocarbónicos obtenidos, es uno
de los templos más tempranos en el área Andina, y sus pinturas
murales serían las más antiguas descubiertas hasta la fecha en el
hemisferio occidental. Ventarrón es por lo tanto un lugar clave
para comprender el rol del ritual en espacios públicos en el desarrollo de la civilización, a nivel regional y global.
El día domingo 12 de noviembre del 2017, dicho sector sufrió
uno de los peores daños a causa de un incendio que se inició
aproximadamente a las 14:00 horas y se propago rápidamente,
ocasionando que el fuego consuma en primer lugar todo el material del cual estaban construido parte de estos ambientes que
cumplían la función de almacén tanto para herramientas, material
cultural mueble e información producto de las investigaciones
arqueológicas realizadas en los años 2011, 2012, 2013, (madera,
papel, cartón). La afectación se dio en un porcentaje aproximado
del 90 % ( Fig. 1).
A raíz de la propagación del fuego desde dichos almacenes
(sector que se presume desde donde se propago el incendio de
manera incontrolable hacia la plataforma principal), éste llegó a
alcanzar rápidamente las coberturas construidas con estructura de
madera y elementos de cubierta de plancha de fibra vegetal. Dado
las características de los materiales, las llamas consumieron la
integridad de la cobertura, y a la vez afectaron a la cobertura metálica ubicada en la parte central donde están expuestas pinturas
murales prehispánicas ( Fig. 2).
Como producto de la combustión de los materiales de cubierta
y su consecuente colapso, las estructuras arqueológicas sufrieron
desprendimiento, fracturas de algunos elementos, ennegrecimiento, calcinación de la capa externa de los paramentos e impregnación del material derretido sobre las pinturas murales. Asimismo,
la estructura peatonal instalada para la visita turística se vio afectada perdiendo la totalidad de las láminas de vidrio templado,
quedando expuesta la estructura metálica, la cual no sufrió daños
respecto a su estabilidad ( Fig. 3).
Una vez controlado el incendio, los especialistas realizaron
la respectiva evaluación e identificación de las áreas afectadas.
La Dirección Ejecutiva de la Unidad Ejecutora 005 procedió a
conformar un comité de atención para la emergencia encabezado por el Arqlgo. Alfredo Narváez. Las acciones implementadas
consistieron en proceder al retiro del material colapsado producto de la calcinación de las coberturas, con la finalidad de dejar
libre de escombros los espacios y recintos del área arqueológica.
Paralelamente se realizó la protección de los murales policromos
los cuales fueron cubiertos provisionalmente con plástico a fin
de evitar la incidencia directa de los factores ambientales, principalmente de los fuertes vientos que se presentan en la zona.
Seguidamente, en coordinación con la Dirección Desconcentrada
de Cultura de Lambayeque, se recogió el material arqueológico
que se encontraba a la intemperie bajo los anaqueles colapsados
de los almacenes ( Fig. 4).
Fig. 1: Incendio en el sitio arqueológico Cerro Ventarrón, en noviembre
de 2017 (Fuente: www.elpopular.pe, 2019)
Fig. 2: Afectación de la cobertura metálica donde están expuestas
pinturas murales prehispánicas (Fuente: www.andina.pe, 2019)
Sitio arqueológico Cerro Ventarrón
Antecedentes del incendio 2017 y
Medidas adoptadas por las Instancias
correspondientes
Peru
Con la finalidad de proteger las áreas expuestas se realizaron
trabajos de emergencia para rehabilitar parte de la cobertura perdidas. De esta manera, se colocaron planchas de calamina galvanizada sobre el sector donde se ubica un mural policromo y se
levantó un paño de cubierta en otro sector que alberga elementos
de las mismas características al anterior. Estas labores se realizaron a finales del año 2017, teniendo en consideración que una
de las grandes limitaciones fue de carácter presupuestal, lo que
no permitió proteger una mayor área con coberturas. A inicios
del año 2018, se programaron como prioridad, acciones para la
instalación de una nueva cobertura para toda el área afectada y la
rehabilitación de la pasarela peatonal.
La unidad de infraestructura y proyectos con el apoyo de la
unidad formuladora de la Sede Central del MC elaboraron un proyecto de inversión tipo de optimización, ampliación marginal, reposición y rehabilitación (IOARR) denominado “Renovación de
cobertura y pisos para accesos; en el ( la) plataforma principal del
complejo arqueológico Cerro Ventarrón – (map) en la localidad
Ventarrón, distrito de Pomalca, provincia Chiclayo, departamento
Lambayeque” por un monto de S/. 420,152.60, llevando a cabo
todos los procedimientos que conciernen para su ejecución dentro
de sus competencias ( Fig. 5).
Actualmente, la Unidad Ejecutora 005 cuenta con el expediente
técnico aprobado que contempla acciones complementarias relacionadas a la conservación de estructuras arqueológicas, entre
otros. Sin embargo, existen una serie de restricciones normativas
que impiden que estos trabajos se ejecuten dentro del marco de
otro proyecto de inversión (IOARR) como se tenía programado.
Por ello, la Unidad Ejecutora 005 viene evaluando implementar
acciones de emergencia que permitan realizar los trabajos programados y a su vez buscando las alternativas para que estas acciones se puedan desarrollar de acuerdo con la normativa y en
105
Fig. 3. Afectación de la estructura peatonal instalada para la visita
turística (Fuente: www.andina.pe, 2019)
el corto plazo ya que son una necesidad primordial máxime si
se tiene en consideración la importancia del sitio arqueológico
Cerro Ventarrón.
As ICOMOS Perú lamenta las demoras en la continuidad en la
implementación de las medidas correctivas, mientras manifiesta
nuevamente su compromiso con la conservación del Patrimonio
Cultural de la Nación y su disposición de brindar el apoyo técnico
que sea requerido por las instancias correspondientes para contribuir con la recuperación del sitio arqueológico Cerro Ventarrón.
Comité Nacional Icomos-Perú
Fig. 4: Recojo del material arqueológico encontrado a la intemperie bajo los anaqueles colapsados de los almacenes (Fuente: Archivo fotográfico
propio, 2019)
Fig. 5: Proyecto de inversión tipo de optimización, ampliación marginal, reposición y rehabilitación “Renovación de cobertura y pisos para accesos;
en el (la) plataforma principal del complejo arqueológico Cerro Ventarrón” (Fuente: Archivo fotográfico propio, 2019)
106
Peru
Pronunciamento
Statement
El Sitio Arqueológico de Ventarrón (en la costa norte peruana) es
uno de los más antiguos lugares patrimoniales en el continente
americano. Es considerado el origen de la alta cultura en la Costa
Norte del Perú, en la región Lambayeque. Con una antigüedad de
4500 años, Ventarrón es contiene la más antigua pintura mural
polícroma en América.
Este fascinante lugar ha sufrido el 12 de noviembre de 2017 un
incendio que lo ha dañado y casi destrozado. El gobierno peruano no está dando una clara solución al caso. Hay muchos temas
por los que protestar debido a la falta de prevención en el pasado reciente y el abandono que está sucediendo en nuestros días.
No hay duda que parte de una reacción ante lo sucedido debería
buscar las causas y a sus responsables. Sin embargo, luego del
desastre no se ha activado aún un bien diseñado programa de intervención. Estamos a inicios de la estación lluviosa, y el área de
desastre ha sido cubierta mecánicamente. El riesgo de perder lo
que sobrevivió al incendio de un sitio arqueológico verdaderamente impactante.
No se ha dañado solamente el sitio arqueológico mismo, sino
que numerosos objetos culturales que fueren recuperados en los
diversos programas arqueológicos que se desarrollaron en le área.
Salvar esos restos físicos y la información, debería ser considerado como una prioridad para el gobierno peruano. La falta de
acción resulta no sólo criticable sino inaceptable.
Los abajo firmantes, especialistas en la conservación y gestión
del patrimonio cultural, solicitamos al gobierno peruano:
Ventarron archaeological site is one of the oldest sites of cultural
heritage on the American Continent. It is considered the origin of
high culture in the northern coastal area of Perú, in the region of
Lambayeque. With an age of about 4500 years, Ventarron has the
oldest colour mural paintings in America.
On November 12, 2017, this amazing place was affected by a
big fire that almost destroyed the area. The Peruvian Government
has not given a clear solution to the case. There are many issues
to protest about because of the lack of prevention in the recent
past and the neglect that is happening today. There is no doubt
that a serious reaction should look for reasons and responsibilities. Nevertheless, after the disaster a well-designed intervention
programme is not being activated. The rainy season should start
any moment, and the area of disaster has only been mechanically
covered. There is the risk of losing the remains of what was a
really impressive archaeological site.
It is not only the monument itself which is very seriously damaged but many cultural objects that were recovered during the archaeological programmes that were developed in the area. Saving
these physical remains and data should be considered a priority
for the Peruvian Government. The lack of action after the lack of
prevention is not only regrettable but unacceptable.
The signers, specialists in heritage conservation and management, ask the Peruvian Government:
a) Proteger inmediatamente los restos dejados luego del infortunado incendio que afectó al área arqueológica de Ventarrón
b) Activar inmediatamente un plan de protección del área a fin de
evitar una destrucción mayor debido a la estación de lluvias
que ya ha iniciado
c) Elaborar y poner en vigencia un bien diseñado proyecto de
restauración que debería ser diseñado y conducido por profesionales altamente cualificados de todos los campos necesarios
de conocimiento, que debería incluir, entre otros, restauradores de pintura mural arqueológica, analistas estructurales y
restauradores de construcciones de tierra, arqueólogos, arquitectos, ingenieros y otras especialidades necearías que un plan
debidamente elaborado debería incluir.
d) Coordinar un marco de cooperación dentro del sistema de la
UNESCO, con sus Cuerpos Consultivos (ICOMOS, ICCROM
e ICOM).
(Este documento se firmó inicialmente en Nueva Delhi, el 15 de
diciembre de 2017 con la motivación de iniciar un recorrido de
apoyo entre los Comités Nacionales y Comités Científicos de
ICOMOS y los cerca de 10,000 miembros de nuestra familia en
el mundo entero)
a) To immediately protect the remains left after the unfortunate
fire which affected Ventarron archaeological area;
b) To immediately activate a plan for the protection of the area in
order to avoid further destruction due to the rainy season that
has already begun;
c) To develop and implement a well-designed restoration project
that should be prepared and conducted by highly qualified professionals from all necessary fields of expertise, which should
include, among others, restorers of archaeological wall paintings, structural analysts and restorers of earthen constructions,
archaeologists, architects, engineers and other specialists that
a well-prepared plan should include.
d) To coordinate a framework for cooperation within the
UNESCO system, with its Advisory Bodies (ICOMOS,
ICCROM and ICOM).
(This document was initially signed in New Delhi, on 15 December 2017 with the motivation to start a journey of support
between ICOMOS National Committees and Scientific Committees and the nearly 10,000 members of our family around the
world.)
107
PORTUGAL
Threats to the World Heritage
Introduction
Under Portuguese law, World Heritage is considered a National Monument and its buffer zone matches a “special protection
zone” (Lei 107/2001, 8 Sept. and Decreto-Lei 309/2009, 23 Oct.).
The municipalities, in partnership with the regional and central
administration, are required to draw up a detailed safeguarding
plan for the area to be protected. However, most of the properties are not protected by a safeguarding or management plan, and
some are not safeguarded by a special protection zone, which
does not comply with Portuguese law, the World Heritage Convention signed by Portugal in 1979, or the Operational Guidelines
for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention. This
is the case, for instance, in the historic centre of Évora that does
not have a management plan or a buffer zone to protect the property. In other cases, the buffer zone was recently published, as for
“Oporto’s Historic Centre, Don Luís Bridge and Serra do Pilar
Monastery”, legally protected since 2019, 21 years after being
listed as World Heritage.
Concerning the tourist pressure that Portugal has been experiencing in recent years, interventions are mainly focused on tourist activity, thus causing a reduction in the number of permanent
residents, while the number of short-term accommodation and
hotels is increasing. Vivid examples of this are: the monastery of
Santa Maria de Alcobaça, where about one third is being adapted
to a hotel; the cultural landscape of Sintra that is threatened by
the new construction of a hotel; the historic centre of Oporto, as
well as Sintra, both of which are in the process of gentrification,
with historic buildings being transformed in order to respond to
new needs and lifestyles of a wealthier population. None of these
properties are protected by a safeguarding or management plan,
just by a master plan.
In spite of several alerts from ICOMOS and the World Heritage
Centre (WHC) of UNESCO to the responsible authorities, work
is in progress with extensive demolitions and negative impacts.
ICOMOS Portugal wishes to highlight three main properties under
threat, taking into account the fundamental principles of the World
Heritage Convention, which those responsible for World Heritage
properties must respect in order for a property to be put on the
World Heritage List. Therefore, properties must retain the attributes that characterise the OUV of a property, protecting its criteria,
integrity, authenticity, legislative protection and management.
and the care with which it was built” (criterion i); “a unique infrastructure of hydraulic systems and functional buildings” (criterion iv); “no major changes that could affect the integrity of
the property”; “it has not suffered major renovation/ restoration
projects, maintaining the physical and intangible authenticity
of the property”. Since then, minor changes have occurred: refurbishment of the 18th-century cellar; electrical installations;
restoration of baroque terra cotta and wooden sculptures; infiltration repairs, and construction of the Saint Bernard exhibition
gallery.
The General Direction of Cultural Heritage (DGPC – Direção
Geral do Património Cultural), the Patriarchy of Lisbon, and the
Municipality of Alcobaça manage the monument. In 2015, about
one third of the property was granted to the private holding group
Visabeira, SA, for hotel operation with an annual rent of 5,000
euros over the next 50 years. The luxury hotel will occupy the
Rachadouro cloister and the east aisle of the Cardeal cloister.
These spaces will be transformed and will be inaccessible to the
public. The project endangers the OUV of the property, namely:
i) its integrity, with irreversible interventions, demolition of
domes and foundations, which were ingeniously constructed to
resist earthquakes and unstable soils; ii) the architectural authenticity, including breaking the relation between the two cloisters;
iii) the reduction of the “magnificent dimension” of the monument.
Due to the significance of the intervention, ICOMOS-Portugal
recommended in March 2019 that work be suspended and the
property be included in the List of World Heritage in Danger.
The project should be changed, not allowing demolitions of the
original monument; instead a use with lower requirements, excluding the construction of a swimming pool, a spa and shops,
but also intrusive infrastructures that are incompatible with the
World Heritage property. Furthermore, it is desirable to enlarge
the buffer zone, to protect the property from further constructions
and the hydraulic system located outside the actual limits. Be-
Monastery of Alcobaça
The Monastery of Santa Maria de Alcobaça, founded in the 12th
century, was listed as World Heritage in 1989, as a masterpiece
of Cistercian Gothic art, due to: “its magnificent dimensions, the
clarity of the architectural style, the beauty of the material used
Fig. 1: Santa Maria de Alcobaça monastery. Identification of the property (top left); Ongoing works (bottom left); Area occupied by the hotel in
red line (right, google maps).
108
Portugal
sides, according to paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines,
the World Heritage Committee should be informed as soon as
possible of any major restoration or new construction in an area
protected under the Convention (Fig. 1).
Cultural landscape of Sintra
Sintra cultural landscape was the first European cultural landscape to be listed as a World Heritage property. It was listed in
1995 under criteria (ii), (iv) and (v). The buffer zone comprises
946 hectares and 3,641 hectares. The “Parques de Sintra – Monte
da Lua – SA”, represented by DGPC, Institute for Nature and
Forest Conservation, Tourism of Portugal, and the Municipality
of Sintra address the management of the World Heritage property.
Since November 2017, ICOMOS Portugal has been alerted to
the progressive loss of integrity and authenticity of the urban tissue and its landscape. The most blatant case is the project of the
Quinta da Gandarinha hotel, occupying a palace from the 19th
century, located at the entrance of the historic centre. The new
project has 5,555 m2 of construction and 3,900 m2 of parking.
Considering its criterion (iv) “The landscape is a unique example of European Romanticism with the cultural occupation of the
northern slope of the Serra that has maintained its essential in-
Fig. 2: Gandarinha Hotel in Sintra: Work in progress (left); location at
one of the most important accesses to the historic centre (top right);
model of the project, including the palace of the 19th century and the
new buildings in white (bottom right, in http://www.serradesintra.net/
inicio/8-noticias/114-gandarinha, accessed in 29/12/2019)
Fig. 3: Demolitions and facadism in the WH property of Oporto, reported in February 2018; map location: completed works – yellow; ongoing
works – red; ongoing projects – blue (top); some examples of interventions: 2, 5, 6 and 7 (bottom).
tegrity (…) The villas and quintas with their gardens and parks
that cover the major area of the property correspond to a clearly
defined landscape designed and created intentionally by people
through landscape design”, the intervention undoubtedly endangers the OUV of the property.
When the project was assessed, ICOMOS Portugal recommended the elaboration of a Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA).
Unfortunately, it was not addressed. Now, an imposing construction is visible from various points within the classified area. In
spite of this project being rejected several times by the central
administration DGPC, the municipality allowed its construction
in 2005. A court case dragged on for several years and the work
was suspended until a final decision was made in favour of the
municipality. In 2017, the property was sold again and work restarted, despite strong popular protest and media reports. Finally, in early 2019, non-conformity with the approved project, in
particular with the construction area, led to an embargo on the
works, a situation that has been maintained until today.
Another substantial problem is the Municipal Master Plan
(PDM) which is currently under revision. It proposes an enhancement of the tourism sector, an increase of the construction index
on rural and urban ground, in coastal areas, in natural and forest
spaces. Furthermore, on urban ground, the construction of a lower
floor and the alteration of the roofs are allowed; in tourist areas,
any kind of use is allowed without restrictions.
ICOMOS Portugal recommends that the new PDM should
not change the rates and the constraints of construction in the
protected area, compared to those existing at the time when the
property was included in the World Heritage List. Any alteration
to the Master Plan should be submitted to the World Heritage
Committee for evaluation. Regarding the Gandarinha hotel,
ICOMOS Portugal recommends that the new building should be
demolished to safeguard the OUV of the property. Sintra must be
protected from overbuilding, especially in natural areas, to avoid
a negative impact on the cultural landscape (Fig. 2).
Historic Centre of Oporto, Luiz I Bridge and
Monastery Serra do Pilar
The management of the site is the joint responsibility of DGPC,
the Northern Cultural Regional Direction (Direção Regional da
Cultura do Norte), Oporto City, and Porto Vivo-SRU (Urban
Rehabilitation Society). The site was listed as World Heritage in
1996 under criterion (iv), on the basis of the exceptional urban
landscape, the overall integrity and the authenticity of the urban
fabric. However, at present, there is a gradual loss of its integrity due to massive demolitions of the historic buildings and new
constructions affecting the urban landscape. Related to this, and
due to the growing pressure from tourism since the property became World Heritage, the population of the Historic Centre has
decreased (by more than 50 percent), while the World Heritage
Committee recommended dealing with the issue of depopulation.
In 2018, ICOMOS Portugal reported and documented several
threats to the property, based on observations made on site, all
characterised by façadism (Fig. 3):
Completed works
(1) Demolition of structures of the 15th-century Lóios Convent:
all the 19th-century constructions inside the block, originally
composed of 42 plots, including the Cardosas Palace and the
17th century buildings (Hotel and luxury residence in Cardosas
block); (2) Complete demolition of the inside of the buildings
Portugal
dating from the 18th to the early 20th centuries (residence and
commerce at D. Carlos Alberto block); (3) Demolition of the
interiors, except the restaurant and the coffee shop “Brasileira”,
adding of three floors (Hotel); (4) Total demolition of the inside
(Hotel Eurostars).
Ongoing works
(5) Demolition of the inside, including a printing house in the
Art Deco style (Monumental Hotel); (6) complete demolition of
the inside (Seguros Garantia AXA/hotel); (7) Complete demolition of two 17th /18th century buildings (hotel, residence and
commerce, Casa Forte block); (8) Massive demolitions of buildings and interiors of the port wine cellars (end of 19th and 20th
centuries) originally meant for storage and bottling, with a total
of 19,187.34 m2 in the slope (City of Wine: museums, restaurants,
commerce); (9) Demolition of houses by the Douro River (hotel); (10) Demolition of the interior of the famous building of the
Araújo e Silva Stationery (hotel); (11) and (12) Complete demolition of interior of two buildings close to the São Bento Station.
Ongoing projects
(13) São Bento Station /Alteration of the south aisle into a restaurant, granted to Time Out: Demolition of the interior of the south
aisle and construction of a panoramic tour restaurant. ICOMOS
Portugal recommends an integrated project for São Bento station
(the north aisle is already occupied by a hotel). The project for the
existing building is an intervention focused on the maintenance
of the façade, the tour is well integrated, but not the entire area
should be occupied, since it will neglect the function and accessibility of the station. The train station should never be separated
from its urban mobility function, as this is of utmost importance
for the historic centre of Oporto, also as an entry to access other
World Heritage sites: Alto Douro Wine Region and the Prehistoric Rock Art Sites in the Côa Valley and Siega Verde. Taking into
account paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines, the project
was submitted to the World Heritage Centre. Notwithstanding,
the municipality recently approved the project, without restrictions.
(14) Morro da Sé (cathedral hilltop) / Student’s hostel: Creation
of approx. 100 rooms (to lodge 120 people) and common areas
(about 7,000 m2 ). The project is not clear in the available plans,
but the planning of 22 plots presumes unviable demolitions.
ICOMOS Portugal recommends that the WHC request a detailed
project for analysis, avoiding more facadism, as occurred in other
cases promoted by the same entity Porto Vivo –SRU (e. g. block
of Cardosas, and Casa Forte; in the case of Cardosas, the plans
sent were very general, without detailed information on demolitions and new constructions).
Conclusions and recommendations
The ongoing threats to World Heritage in Portugal are due to
a lack of application of national regulations and international
recommendations. The World Heritage Convention and its Operational Guidelines are not being respected, as previously presented. Several projects did not follow paragraph 172, were not
submitted to be evaluated by the WHC and its Advisory Bodies
(e. g. construction of Gandarinha Hotel in Sintra cultural landscape, and most cases in Oporto); one project was submitted too
late, with work already in progress (conversion of Alcobaça Monastery into a hotel); and one project was submitted on time, but
then approved by the municipality without considering the WHC
recommendations (e. g. conversion of São Bento Station into restaurants, in Oporto).
The responsible entities – managers, municipalities, regional
and central administration – should show more respect for the
OUV to be retained in order to ensure the protection of the properties. The elaboration of effective management and safeguarding
plans could help control potential threats.
The analysis presented here is not exhaustive and is based on
an analysis of architectural projects and observations on site. A
complete and detailed evaluation of the state of conservation of
the monuments and sites needs to be addressed. If in the very
short term, protective and emergency measures are not undertaken, the same type of random interventions will be applied, with
an expected increase in negative effects.
ICOMOS Portugal
All images: ICOMOS Portugal
109
110
ROMANIA
Some of the problems concerning the specific care for the preservation of the Transylvanian Saxons’ architectural heritage have
been mentioned in Heritage at Risk 2008–2010 ( pp. 145–147),
where the project “Fortresses, Rediscovered Treasures” was presented. Developed in 2008 for 18 Saxon church fortifications by
the “Coordination Bureau for Fortified Churches”, which was
created in 2007 within the Superior Consistory of the Lutheran
Church A.C. in Sibiu, it was implemented between 2011–2013
with funds from the European Union. The results are rather positive, as some selected examples presented in Heritage at Risk
2011–2013 ( pp. 122–126) prove. In the meantime, a second project for further twelve objects is being implemented.
The aim of the Coordination Bureau was to develop an emergency intervention programme to safeguard the fortified churches, focussing mainly on basic maintenance and repair works, as
they had been performed for centuries by the Saxon communities before their massive emigration from Romania in 1990 –91.
Therefore, all the projects focus on preventing decay expansion,
stopping degradations caused by water infiltration, but also ensuring an adequate use for their status as historic buildings, including them in the tourist circuit and, last but not least, fundraising. Bearing in mind that in Transylvania today about 150
(of formerly 300) church fortifications have survived, it will be a
huge (and long-term) but necessary work to examine their actual
state of conservation and develop priorities for future interventions.
First of all, it is essential to examine the structural condition
of the buildings, since the Transylvanian Basin, surrounded by
the Carpathian Mountains (of volcanic origin), has always been
a very active seismic area – and it would take a long time to doc-
Fig. 1: The church in Roades before the collapse of the tower
(photo C. Machat, 1998)
Fig. 2: The church tower of Roades after the collapse
(photo A. Schnell, 2016)
Transylvanian Saxon Architectural
Heritage: Two Towers of Fortified
Churches Collapsed
Romania
ument the damages to the built heritage caused by earthquakes
over the centuries. As usual unexpectedly the tower of the fortified church in Roadeş/Radeln collapsed partially on 14 February
2016, followed on 19 February 2016 by the tower of the church
in Rotbav/Rothbach, which collapsed completely, destroying also
a part of the western nave.
As a consequence, the newly established “Stiftung Kirchen-burgen” (Fortified Churches Foundation), which replaced the
Coordination Bureau in 2015, appointed a structural engineer to
examine the damages and develop a consolidation project for the
tower in Roadeş. In Roadeş, only the northwest corner of the tower partially collapsed down to the first level, revealing the two
wall layers: the inner one from the 14th century, reinforced in
1494 with a second one and raised to five floors with a wooden
defence gallery. As no other damages happened and the ensemble
of the church fortification (with surrounding circular walls and
three towers) is in good condition, the first consolidation interventions of 2017 with new wooden gallery on the upper level
(like the defence gallery from 1494) can be accepted as a first step
towards reconstruction.
The situation in Rotbav is different. There the church fortification is positioned directly at the main road between Central Transylvania (North-West) and the Ṭara Bârsei/Burzenland
(South-East). The church tower can be considered a landmark
on this road, fortified in the 15th century with a defence gallery
and machicolation, rebuilt after a fire in 1740 and shaped like
the famous towers of the Black Church in Braşov/Kronstadt and
the church in Feldioara/Marienburg. Being exposed all the time
to all the trepidations produced by the growing heavy traffic and
by the earthquake of 1977, which damaged large parts of Bucharest, the tower was seriously affected so that it had to be consolidated by a reinforced concrete structure. After the collapse,
the western part of the church was closed in 2017 by a provisional wall, but first attempts for a possible reconstruction have
already been made. The argumentation for this is based on the
function of the church tower as a landmark. One can only hope
that there will be no funding available for such a project as long
as the numerous other church fortifications have not yet been
preserved and consolidated. It will be interesting and important
to see the results of a special project for the examination of the
structural condition of 20 church fortifications developed by the
Foundation and the Viadrina Europe University in Görlitz. It
was funded by the German Federal Government and implemented in 2018 –19.
Fig. 3: The church in Rotbav before the collapse of the tower
(photo C. Machat, 1998)
Christoph Machat
ICOMOS Germany
Fig. 4: The church in Rotbav after the collapse of the tower
(© www.honigberger.com, Christian Chelu)
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112
SLOVENIA
Heritage of the 19th and 20th
Centuries at Risk
When speaking about the cultural heritage that is most at risk in
Slovenia, it is necessary first to highlight the heritage from the
19th and 20th centuries. Despite intensive efforts of a small group
of experts, this heritage remains to be misinterpreted and thus left
to intensive interventions, which in turn have a detrimental effect
on it and significantly change its testimonial value.
This year’s report is focused on a few cases from the capital
city of Ljubljana, where most of the construction activity takes
place and consequently the heritage is highly exposed as well.
Since the mid-19th century Ljubljana grew from a provincial
town on the margins of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy to a national capital and precisely the architecture and the bold urban
planning solutions of the major Slovenian architects influenced
its high-quality urban life and also its visibility. The spatial development of Ljubljana was importantly shaped by Camillo Sitte
(1843–1903) and Maks Fabiani (1865–1962) after the great 1895
earthquake, Jože Plečnik (1872–1957) between the two World
Wars, and Edo Ravnikar (1907–1993) in the second half of the
20th century. The work of other architects was significant as well:
France Tomažič (1899–1968), Vladimir Šubic (1894–1946), Edo
Mihevc (1911–1985), Danilo Fuerst (1912–2005), Stanko Kristl
(1922–), Savin Sever (1927–2003), and Miloš Bonča (1932–
2007), to mention just a few.
Nevertheless, the work that left the most indelible mark on the
city was that of Jože Plečnik, with his thoughtful planning, delicately connecting spatial ambiences and temporal layers into rich,
magnificent ambiences, never disloyal to the measure of man.
During his more than 20 years of intensive creation, he developed
solutions which provided the backbone of life in the city centre.
He designed the key city axes – the pedestrian routes in the city
centre – and upgraded them with architecture that complements,
upgrades, and connects them in terms of use and design. Prešernov trg (Prešeren’s Square) with Tromostovje (The Three Bridges) is one of the key locations of this connection and opening
outward and along the city paths and the Ljubljanica River, to
which he paid special attention. So today, after 100 years since
the design of the first plans and implementations of Plečnik’s Ljubljana, we speak of this design as a monument to timeless urban
humanity, which is also why the nomination of the most important monuments of this urban landscape for the World Heritage
List is being prepared.
The central figure of the second half of the 20th century was
Edvard Ravnikar, Plečnik’s pupil, who worked in Le Corbusier’s
office for a short period of time. His works include the Trg republike (Republic Square) as the new centre of the modern city, the
Ferantov vrt (Ferant Garden) residential quarter, and many studies and competition entries for the redesign of the city centre. His
pedagogical role at the University of Ljubljana was paramount;
there he taught generations of architects who with their work, particularly in the 1970s, laid the foundation for what is now called
the Ljubljana school of architecture.
The spatial development during socialism was planned and
manageable and many high-quality urban architectural solutions
were created as a result of the qualitative development of the
profession throughout Yugoslavia;1 these circumstances differed
considerably from the conditions witnessed in other Eastern European socialist countries. Nevertheless, after the change of the
political system in 1991 these conditions changed as well.
Democratisation also broke away with state-managed planning,
which was logical, but this also meant a discontinuity of appropriately guided spatial planning, at least for a while, i. e. until a
new system was set up. This greatly influenced the preservation
of quality in spatial design and architecture. Previously public
investments were replaced by private capital, which no longer
followed the previously set standards, while new ones took time
to take shape. In the 1990s, many private multiple-dwelling projects were built, which lacked outdoor green areas and the necessary social infrastructure (kindergartens, primary schools, shops,
health care centres). Life in the neighbourhoods built during socialism, which had an appropriate infrastructure, became less interesting, regardless of the quality. This was a period when large,
oversized industrial zones and commercial centres were established in practically every major Slovenian city, even in highly
unsuitable locations, because the state wanted to accelerate economic growth in this way. This irreparably marked spatial development. The sites of bankrupt industrial enterprises, on the
other hand, mostly ended up in the hands of private investors.
High-quality industrial architecture, often important examples
of industrial heritage, was torn down in many places, because
politics did not want to become an obstacle to the investment in
any way.
Conditions of transition resulted in the loss of many important buildings of the 20th century, particularly those that emerged
during socialism. This led to architects organising themselves
and to the first public campaigns to preserve the most significant heritage of modernism. The result is undoubtedly awareness-raising, at least among some of the professional community
but, as explained above, there are still not many efficient systemic
solutions in place at the state level, as public heritage protection
services do not have enough well-trained experts who could fulfil the current needs. A great problem has been unprofessional
implementation of energy-performance improvements, which we
have witnessed over recent years. Under the Ministry of Culture, experts have prepared guidelines to improve the energy
performance of cultural heritage buildings;2 however, buildings
of post-war modernism and industrial heritage are highly specific and require special refurbishment projects. These projects
are prepared on an exceptional basis, while the decisions about
the refurbishment of significant buildings, particularly apartment
buildings, are made by the owners and their managers. Experts
Slovenia
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from the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia are included only rarely, as this heritage still lacks proper
legal protection.
Case Studies
New political and economic conditions led to the first large-scale
private investments in cultural heritage sites, which have largely
proved to be problematic, particularly due to unrealistic investor
expectations and political support, even though the investments
generally did not consider urban planning conditions and conditions for the protection of cultural heritage. The projects were
mostly prepared in a way that necessitated subsequent coordination with the competent services and changes to the spatial documents. However, this finally resulted in making compromises at
the expense of heritage. It is difficult to comment how the many
solutions were accepted. Disagreement with intensive construction and professional decisions led to the establishment of various
civil initiatives. The most active were the initiative that opposed
the construction of underground car parks at Ljubljana Markets,
adjacent to the Plečnik Colonnade, the initiative to preserve
Plečnik’s stadium at Bežigrad in its original form, and the initiative committed to preventing the restoration of Vegova Street
in line with Plečnik’s project, as this would mean the removal of
trees that have grown to an extent where the urban design itself
is put at risk.
Many major investment cases in the city centre were stalled because of the financial crisis and investments that went beyond the
investors’ capacity. Nevertheless, the initiatives’ activities helped
everyone to reconsider the situation. City professional services
were also involved in the pursuit of quality solutions, at least in
some locations, as this was the only way to speed up the procedures and resume the work in many abandoned construction sites
in the centre of the city. The following cases need to be particularly mentioned: Kolizej, Tobačna tovarna (the Tobacco Factory)
and, the most notorious one, the refurbishment of the Stadium at
Bežigrad, which will be presented in more detail.
Kolizej
Kolizej was one of the earliest mixed-use building in the world.
Dating back to 1848, it was built to the design of the Graz entrepreneur and architect Johan Benedikt Withalm3 (1771–1865). It
was designed in the sense of a transitional barracks for the army
who occasionally came to Ljubljana as well as for the needs of
social life of the former citizens. Along with the barracks, the
building houses several halls for various events, areas for socialising, dining areas, and an inn. In the late 20th century, Kolizej
was in a very poor condition since nobody invested in it, except
for a few residents who lived in the apartments in the tract at
Gosposvetska. In 1995, part of the building with the main hall
collapsed because of the users’ interventions into the structure.
The building was then bought by a private investor and in 2004,
the investor held an international design competition for a new
construction in the area of the building that had the status of a cultural monument of national importance. Nonetheless, the existing
spatial documents and the cultural protection background were
not considered. Neutelings Riedijk Architects from the Netherlands won the competition. Their design greatly intervened with
Ljubljana’s traditional cityscape, so in the harmonisation phase it
failed to acquire the necessary construction permits. However, the
owner managed to tear down the building despite its exceptional
qualities already back in 2011, acquiring a new project that still
Fig. 1: Kolizej in the mid-19th century as depicted by Anton Jurmann
(Source: https://sl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kolizej,_Ljubljana#/media/
Slika:Kolizej_in_Ljubljana_in_middle_of_19th_century.jpg)
Fig. 2: The project for the Schellenburg Palace to be erected at the site
of the demolished Kolizej (Source: https://www.gravitas.si/projekt/stavbe/aktualno/palaca-schellenburg)
does not achieve the qualities that it should, given the significance
of the location (Figs. 1 and 2).
Tobačna tovarna
The revitalisation of the abandoned Tobačna tovarna, which was
built in the second half of the 19th century, then on the periphery
and now in the very centre, has led, because of the investor’s
ambitions and the insufficiently critical attitude of professional
services and the Chamber of Architecture and Spatial Planning
of Slovenia, to an over-dimensioned project, whose realisation
prompted the demolition of several original buildings at the heritage site, which had the potential to develop a content suitable
for the city centre. The selected competition entry from the 2006
competition accommodated the requirements of the investor as
much as possible; the project not only destroyed the important
buildings of this industrial complex but had an adverse impact on
the cityscape as well. This was not implemented because of the
investor’s bankruptcy, but here as well an open construction site
has remained for several decades with excavated underground
garages with 3,600 parking spaces. Nevertheless, in the mean-
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Slovenia
Fig. 4: The first-prize winning entry in the public competition for restoration of the Tobačna tovarna site (Source: https://radiostudent.si/
politika/offsajd/tobačna-mesto-postaja-center)
Fig. 5: The gloriette on top of the stadium was erected in 1935, when it
was adapted for the needs of the Eucharistic Congress (Source: Muzej
in galerije mesta Ljubljane)
Fig. 3: The Tobačna (‘Tobacco Factory’) as it once was
(Source: Muzej novejše zgodovine Slovenije)
Fig. 6: The stadium around 1965 (photo: Edi Šelhaus, from Muzej
novejše zgodovine Slovenije archives)
time the City Council has adopted a decree on designating the
preserved buildings as monuments of local significance, and there
are also discussions underway4 how to keep the uses that occupied the space in the preserved buildings and are important for the
city and adapt the project accordingly (Figs. 3 and 4).
The stadium was originally designed by Jože Plečnik in 1925
for the Catholic gym society Orel. The project was completed
by his student Ivan Pengov. In 1935 it was changed for the first
time to the design of Jože Plečnik and expanded for the Eucharistic Congress, when the one-storey gloriette and a visitors’ arena
were added. After the war, the stadium was intended for sporting events, a track was added and the stadium was adapted to
the needs of the Olimpija football club. The stadium fully closed
down in 2008 when the restoration was supposed to start to the
design of GMP architects (von Gerkan, Marg and Partners) from
Berlin who won the invited competition, which was held together
with the City of Ljubljana. The project includes the construction
of a high-rise on the south side of the stadium, three business
villas on its northern side, a two-storey gallery above the existing
stands, and the facilities for the athletes and an underground car
park below the stadium field. The jury comprising representatives
from the City of Ljubljana, Chamber of Architecture and Spatial
Planning of Slovenia, the Institute for the Protection of Cultural
Heritage of Slovenia, and the investor unanimously selected the
entry by the German GMP group. The investor acquired all the
necessary permits and according to the competition solution the
Municipal Detailed Spatial Plan (OPPN) was drawn.
Bežigrad Stadium
The restoration history of the Central Stadium Bežigrad began
with the bankruptcy of the central city football club Olimpija,
which in the 2004/2005 season also stopped playing in the premier league. In the bankruptcy proceedings, its central property,
i. e. the stadium, was bought by a Slovenian entrepreneur who
wanted to restore the stadium and upgrade it programmatically,
as the city was practically left without a central football facility
for major competitions, while the project also provided for an
extensive additional commercial programme. To that end, in 2007
a public-private partnership consortium was established, together
with the City of Ljubljana and the Slovenian Olympic Committee. The BŠP (Bežigrajski športni park) company was established,
which was, with the majority share by Joc Pečečnik (GSA), the
central investment vehicle. On its website, BŠP presents the project along with the project’s timeline.5
Slovenia
In 2009, ICOMOS Slovenia provided a statement regarding the
competition solution in a press release, underlining the following:
“Despite the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of
Slovenia’s confirmation of adequacy of the winning entry for the
restoration of Plečnik’s stadium, we demand a re-evaluation of
how cultural protection baselines are considered in order to allow
for the protection of Plečnik’s stadium in line with international
provisions and legal protection of the cultural heritage.”6
In 2011, a civil initiative was formed, headed by some of the
residents of the Fondovi bloki (Fund Apartment Buildings),
which are at the same time a party to legal proceedings in determining plot ownership on the eastern side of the stadium, where
the Slovenian Olympic Committee also has a claim. The initiative
is trying the restore the original form of the stadium, which is of
course not in line with the investor’s interests; such a solution
gives rise to professional concerns as well, as even the project’s
name itself does not take into account the 1925 expansion, when
the stadium was extended to hold public assemblies.
Given the length of the procedure and the many obstacles,
the investor put the stadium up for sale, but there are unfortunately no private or public resources that would allow for a restoration, which would be more appropriate than the one already
planned.
In 2014, a negative environmental report was prepared for
the project due to noise pollution during construction, as a result of which the proceedings were suspended until the new construction legislation was adopted in 2018. In line with this, BŠP
re-applied for a building permit, while new cultural protection
documentation is also being re-acquired, i. e. culture protection
guidelines. The fact is that in 2009 the Plečnik stadium was declared a monument of national significance. It is not clear how
this will be taken into account when acquiring new guidelines by
the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia.
It is necessary to thoroughly think about the admissibility of such
intensive interventions as those permitted by the 2008 conservation plan. It is particularly necessary to rethink the acceptability
of building the galleries above the stands and the extent of the
garages, whose construction will affect the structural stability of
the gloriette as the central motif of Plečnik’s renovation. During
the time when the necessary permits were being acquired, the
monument was not appropriately maintained and it deteriorated
(Figs. 5– 8).
When looking at the chronology and the duration of the procedures for the restoration of the Bežigrad Stadium, which has taken more than twelve years, it is necessary to establish a responsible attitude of everyone involved towards the investor, who,
despite everything, stood by the project that the expert committee
unanimously selected at the competition. And precisely the competition is the point to which we must return if in the future we
want to improve the conditions regarding the interventions into
cultural heritage. Professional services must have clearly-defined
criteria and assessments of the individual monuments or heritage
in the decision-making phase on the selection of the restoration
projects, and their voices must be heard and respected throughout
the procedure. In turn, they are given the responsibility to carry out high-quality professional work. The current adjustments
among investors – as this is the only way to understand some
professional decisions – have proven to be counterproductive in
all the cases presented – and also in other cases not mentioned in
this report, as they brought serious damage to everyone involved,
investors included, but mostly to heritage. ICOMOS stressed this
as early as 2009 in the aforementioned press release.
115
Fig. 7: Winning project of the international competition by GMP, 2008
(Source: http://bsp.si)
Fig. 8: The stadium in 2008 (Source:https://radiostudent.si/sites/default/
files/slike/2018-06-19-mnenje-kot-resnica-88515.jpg)
Conclusions
The role of the conservation profession in Slovenia must be
strengthened, and particularly adequate budget and staff must be
provided who will be able to prepare the necessary materials in
a professional manner. The work of both key ministries directly
involved with the restoration projects, i.e. the Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning and the Ministry of Culture, must
be coordinated. Also, the involvement of Slovenian researchers
from universities and research institutions concerned with heritage protection is too small, particularly in actual research tasks
of evaluating heritage and drawing-up protection guidelines.
ICOMOS Slovenia as a non-governmental organisation in the
public interest is trying to work in a connecting and constructive
manner as much as possible. We organise various conferences,
e. g. a 2016 conference on the topic of refurbishing Plečnik’s
stadium. We have also prepared several events open to both professional and general audiences, which expose the significance
of cultural heritage protection and the potentials that it offers
for development. In this context, it is important to mention two
documents that can be helpful to anyone involved in the planning or decision-making regarding restoration projects: firstly,
the European Cultural Heritage Strategy for the 21st Century of
the Council of Europe, and secondly, the European Quality Principles for EU-funded Interventions with Potential Impact upon
Cultural Heritage. The fact is that people are increasingly aware
(investors included) that heritage has an important economic po-
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Slovenia
tential and that it is important to understand all of its dimensions
and the necessity to invest in it – instead of short-term profits
this contributes in the long-term both to the economy and to
society. This report was also complied to create better conditions for heritage in the future. ICOMOS Slovenia also aims to
arrange for the earliest possible translation into Slovenian of the
European Quality Principles for EU-funded Interventions with
Potential Impact upon Cultural Heritage, which will particularly
support the designers of any projects concerned with heritage
protection, not only those financed by the European Union.
Sonja Ifko
President of ICOMOS Slovenia
Footnotes
1
This was stressed by the exhibition Concrete Utopia, which
was held in 2018 at the MOMA in New York. It included the
creation of the Yugoslav architecture of the second half of the
20th century in the worldwide context. An extensive monograph with the same title was published to accompany the exhibition.
2
Vendramin, Mojca et al. (2016). Smernice za energetsko prenovo stavb kulturne dediščine, Ljubljana : Ministrstvo za infrastrukturo : Ministrstvo za kulturo. Link: https://www.gov.si/
assets/ministrstva/MK/DEDISCINA/NEPREMICNA/smernice_kd-final.pdf.
3
The first building of this kind was built by Withalm earlier on
in Graz, which however deteriorated at the turn of the 19th
4
5
6
to the 20th centuries. His work also includes the Iron House
(1846), also in Graz, with a cast-iron facade construction. Part
of the building is integrated into the Kunsthaus complex by
Peter Cook and Colin Fournier.
A round table on the future of Tobačna was organised by the
Institute for Spatial Policies in April 2019. More at: https://
ipop.si/2019/04/04/kaj-bo-s-tobacno-preberi-tukaj/
http://bsp.si/
The full text of the press release is published at the ICOMOS
Slovenia website: www.icomos.si.
117
SPAIN
The Palacio Bellas Artes in
San Sebastian
Executive Summary
The Palacio Bellas Artes was built in 1914 in San Sebastian,
Spain. It is one of the earliest extant examples of a purpose-built
movie palace in the Basque Country and in all of Spain. Its rich
architectural, cultural and social history are a vital part of the history of San Sebastian. This was acknowledged by the building
being listed as Grade I cultural heritage in the master plan of San
Sebastian in 1995. It has also been declared an “Inventor Cultural
Property” with a monument category by the Basque Government
through a decree of March 4, 2015 (BOPV of March 6). This
should have been enough to protect the building. Unfortunately,
both the physical and political conditions surrounding this landmark have changed in recent years and the building is now severely threatened.
In 2014, the International Scientific Committee of 20th Century
Heritage (ICOMOS ISC20C) prepared a Heritage Alert to call
attention to the impending threat to the building. Rather than issuing the full Heritage Alert, letters were written by the President of
the ICOMOS ISC20C and the President of all of ICOMOS, asking for assurances that the Spanish authorities would protect the
building. The importance of the building was acknowledged, and
the Basque government agreed to protect the site with the highest
level in Spain, “BIC – Bien de Interés Cultural”. It seemed that
the building had been saved. Unfortunately, the building owner,
Sociedad Anónima de Deportes y Espectáculos (SADE), since
requested permission from the City Council of San Sebastian to
demolish the dome at the top of the building, which was granted. Not only was this one of the building’s most important characteristic features. Instead, it is now feared that this is only the
beginning of the complete demolition of the building. Therefore,
ICOMOS ISC20C and ICOMOS Spain are now issuing this Heritage Alert and requesting the authorities to protect and conserve
this invaluable landmark of Spain.
ICOMOS Spain and ICOMOS ISC20C are asking the authorities of San Sebastian and the Basque Country to honour their previous acknowledgement of the importance of the Palacio Bellas
Artes building and to protect and restore it. Future redevelopment
should be encouraged but should be done in an appropriate manner that does not adversely affect the architectural, historic and
cultural values of the building and the surrounding site.
Current regulations for building protection
Until recently, the Bellas Artes Palace enjoyed the highest grade
of protection granted by the municipality. It was included in a list
of “permanent buildings with special planning for their protection”, which meant that for those buildings “the historical-artistic
Fig. 1: Historic postcard of the Palacio Bellas Artes
(© archive of author)
values imply necessary preservation”. Moreover, in 1995 it was
designated Grade I in the Master Plan of San Sebastian, a classification reserved for those buildings that “possess a historic or singular architectural value or constitute fundamental irreplaceable
elements of the urban landscape and historic memory of the city”.
The current regulations that apply are part of the Special Plan
for Preservation of Constructed Urban Heritage (PEPPUC), a
document sanctioned after several proposals on February 27,
2014. It introduces a drastic change to previous regulations, as
for the first time it removes the obligation to maintain the configuration of the inside and even allows the demolition of complete
segments of the façade. On April 27, 2013, a citizen association
named ANCORA requested the government of the Basque Country to declare the ‘Palacio Bellas Artes’ as cultural heritage, with
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Spain
Fig. 2: Condition of the Palacio after the demolition of the dome in 2015 (© archive of author)
the object of avoiding its demolition. This application received a
favourable technical report on June 6, 2013. The Vice Counsellor of Culture announced the subsequent opening of a dossier of
cultural qualification on May 21, 2014. Its actual opening would
imply the application of a temporary protection regime, which
would automatically result in the suspension of municipal licenses for demolition or new construction in the affected area (Article
no. 22 of the Basque Cultural Heritage Law).
After the letters received from ICOMOS and the social press,
the Basque Government decided on March 4, 2015 (BOPV of
March 6) to declare the site as BCI Inventory Cultural Property
with the highest monument protection category of the Spanish
State. However, the property owner, Sociedad Anónima de Deportes y Espectáculos (SADE), filed an appeal against the Order
and the Basque Government decided that it should be dismissed
on May 26, 2015. “Coincidentally”, a short time later, on August
3, 2015, the SADE informed the City Council of the appearance
of a crack in an area of the dome and proposed that it be demolished, suspecting a danger to passers-by.
The City Council, citing public safety reasons, gave SADE the
order on October 8, 2015 to “remove” the dome of the building
and begin the replacement. This order, however, lacked deadlines,
the requirement for guarantees and the replacement project, as
established by the Land Law in its article 203.2.
Between October 20 and 30, 2015 SADE demolished the dome
of the Fine Arts Building and covered the building with a protec-
tive mesh – as a shroud – to give a sense of decrepitude. They
failed to comply with the municipal order to replace the dome
and it has not been replaced to this day. In addition, SADE filed
an appeal in court against the declaration of Cultural Property
by the Basque Government, and on April 21, 2017, the sentence
was issued: “Agreeing the retroactivity of the administrative file
to the moment immediately preceding the resolution issued, the
resolution that must be issued taking into account the de facto
situation of the Bellas Artes building”. In other words, the Basque
Government agreed with SADE and removed the protection. An
appeal could have been filed against the ruling, but the Basque
Government did not appeal and decided “to not include the Fine
Arts Palace of San Sebastián (Guipúzcoa) as a cultural property
with monument category” (BOPV Wednesday, October 25, 2017).
As a result, the City Council suspended the order that would have
required SADE to replace the dome and freed SADE to ask for
permission to demolish the building, which they have now done.
In this way, the building has ceased to be considered Cultural Heritage that is protected by the Basque Government. So, its
only protection now is the municipal PEPPUC, whose Grade C
classification allows for the demolition of the entire Bellas Artes building, except for the chamfer walls and the dome that no
longer exists.
As a culmination of this deliberate operation of destroying the
monument, the property owner, SADE, requested the City Council in 2018 to amend the General Plan of Urban Planning of San
Spain
Sebastian, with the purpose of converting the plot of land from
cultural to residential use, in order to allow them to build their
luxury apartments. For the time being, this request has been denied by the municipality, but there is no doubt that after the municipal elections in May the request will be made again.
Historical and cultural significance
Historical and social values
The historical and social values of ‘Palacio Bellas Artes’ are surely one of the most important and underappreciated aspects of the
building. It was not included in the Guide published by the College of Architects, or in the urban municipal file. Only recently
has the building begun to be appreciated for its true contribution as a pioneer of a new technology, cinema. Although the first
screening of the Lumière brothers took place in 1895, the “theatre” did not have fixed sites in its early stages. The movies were
shown in cafes, regular theatres and street pavilions. Permanent
buildings designed specifically as a place to show movies did not
became widespread until about 1907. Due to its early chronology this is - most likely – one of the oldest cinemas preserved in
Spain, and one of the few extant examples built before the First
World War in Europe.
Urban value
Its urban value is very remarkable because of its strategic location
and role as a city landmark that marks the city’s expansion at the
beginning of the 20th century. The property is of great importance
because it is located on a triangular plot that is the crowning element of the so-called Cortázar Extension. It is the entrance to the
city from the south. The narrow façade of the building is like a
chamfer that forms an open triangular urban space in front of it.
The bisector of the chamfer generates a significant compositional
axis, at the intersection of Urbieta and Prim Streets where some
of the best buildings of eclectic inspiration in San Sebastián can
be found. “Palacio Bellas Artes” constitutes the end of this journey, closing with a bright historical and stylistic culmination. It is
also an important nodal point of the city, serving as the extreme
limit and prospective link between the first 19th-century urban
expansion and the developments of the second half of the 20th
century (Amara Nuevo neighbourhood).
Architectural value
‘Palacio Bellas Artes’ was originally designed to house different
uses (cinema hall, headquarters of the choir room and concierge).
It was a remarkable and intelligent design that took advantage
of a triangular-shaped site and allowed it to accommodate the
needed facilities. It is a prominent building that occupies the head
of a triangular block, for which it was inspired by the now-demolished Gaumont Palace at the Place Clichy in Paris. The architect,
Cortázar, may have personally visited this cinema in Paris, or
would have known about it through one of the many architectural
publications to which he subscribed. Interestingly, it is an international benchmark which is not mentioned in the list of municipal
planning. ‘Palacio Bellas Artes’ is not a mere copy, but a unique
building with its own architectural value, whose prototype was
the flagship of the French film industry with the world’s largest
projection room at the time. It also demonstrates the strong Parisian influence on local planning that distinguishes the city of
San Sebastian. By its formal characteristics and the time of its
construction, is a unique infrastructure within the Basque architectural scene.
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Commemorative and symbolic value
‘Palacio Bellas Artes’ was erected to mark the furthest point
reached by the expansion of the city, a hundred years after the
fire and subsequent reconstruction (1813 –1913). Not surprisingly, the urban space that extends in front of the main facade bears
the expressive name of Centennial Plaza. It also represents the
effective culmination of a dream: the urban expansion plan conceived by Antonio Cortázar, father of the architect who designed
this cinema.
Experiential value
Given its centennial history and brilliant cultural past, the ‘Palacio Bellas Artes’ continues to enjoy great esteem among the
people of San Sebastián. Proof of this is demonstrated by the
10,961 signatures that have been collected to oppose its demolition (http://chn.ge/1lY89549). The building has been the scene
of many artistic and social activities, some of its own use and
other tangential to it such as theatrical performances, musical
performances, competitions, political rallies, celebrations and, of
course, film screenings. This building has always had a strong
familiar and popular character, being strongly rooted in the urban
landscape and the collective memory of citizen’s architecture. It
had a very important historical role as the registered office and
rehearsal location of the prestigious Orfeón Donostiarra for more
than six decades (1915–1977). Nor can it be forgotten that after
ceasing to function as a popular venue in 1982, it became the first
head office of the newly founded Euskadi Symphony Orchestra
and remained in that use until 1989.
Architect, date and use
The project designed by Ramon Cortázar is dated March 23, 1914
and the construction of the ‘Palacio Bellas Artes’ was completed
in the record time of five months and opened to the public with an
inaugural function held on September 12, 1914.
From the beginning, the property was designed and used as a
movie theatre. This is certified in the explanatory report attached
to the construction report and the work plan section, which contains detailed representation of the projection booth. No stage
was proposed initially, as a flat screen was enough for its use as
a cinema. However, a small orchestra pit was included, since it
is well-known that “silent films” were accompanied by various
sound effects and live music. Currently, the “Palacio Bellas Artes” remains closed to the public and is used by the owner as a
simple warehouse for material storage.
Current status
After being closed for 25 years, the condition of this hundredyear-old building continues to deteriorate. In January 2014, the
building was wrapped externally with a mesh as a precautionary
measure to keep debris from falling on to the street. The Department of Planning of the city is currently reviewing the existing
condition of the building, to determine exactly what the current
state of conservation is.
Letters of support, press articles, etc
A significant cast of intellectuals and professionals related to
the world of culture have wanted to show their appreciation of
this building, citing the need to bequeath it to future generations.
There are 151 qualified voices that support this position, which include 23 architects and 15 art historians, as well as artists, writers,
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Spain
musicians, publishers, etc. It includes such diverse personalities
as Ramón Saizarbitoria, Fernando Aramburu, Anjel Lertxundi,
José Antonio Sistiaga, Borja Cobeaga, Carlos Aurtenetxe, Jorge
G. Aranguren, Álvaro Bermejo, Marta Casares, Luisa Etxenike,
Clara Gangutia, Vicente Larrea, Juan Antonio Urbeltz, Frantxis
Lopez de Landatxe, or José Ignacio Linazasoro. The filmmaker
Victor Erice showed his support “as many citizens’ initiatives are
in place to prevent such nonsense”. The philosopher Fernando
Savater expressed his rejection of the demolition of the cinema
“for its historical, urban and cultural interest”. The painter Jesús
Mari Lazkano stressed that “it is a building that I love (...) I hope
they won’t make it become one more on the missing list, a list
already too long in our country”.
Recommended actions
– Communicate by letter to the Basque Government and the
City of San Sebastián that the International Heritage Alert of
the ‘Palacio Bellas Artes’ has been completed and will be issued.
– Communicate it to the media through a press conference.
– Our actions should be aimed at presenting a letter to the authorities that reminds them of their obligation to protect and
restore this 20th century monument, which had the maximum
protection of the State as BIC until it was recently removed.
It is urgent that the dome, its most character-defining feature,
be reconstructed to regain its cultural and architectural significance.
Fernando Espinosa de los Monteros
Architect
Expert Member ISC20C-ICOMOS
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TURKEY
Current Risks in Cultural and Natural
Heritage Protection
In Turkey’s 2011–2013 report for Heritage at Risk ( p. 150), the
impacts of dam constructions (i.e. Yortanli Dam and Ilısu Dam)
on the Roman bath complex of Allianoi and on the archaeological sites and historic cultural traces of Hasankeyf, were noted.
In the last years, development pressures have continued to affect
the heritage values of the country. Housing and commercial development, transportation and water infrastructure development
have been significant concerns for several World Heritage properties since 2016, as mentioned in several decisions of the World
Heritage Committee and in State of Conservation (SoC) reports
prepared by Turkey (WHC 2016, 2018, 2019) (see Table 1).
Sadly, threats to Diyarbakır Fortress and Hevsel Gardens Cultural
Landscape, a World Heritage Site in southeastern Turkey, in connection with civil unrest were also stated in the UNESCO World
Heritage Committee meetings, and the related SoC reports since
2016 (WHC 2019). The State of Emergency in the area has ended.
Primary factors
Management and institutional
factors
Buildings and Development
Transportation Infrastructure
Utilities or Service Infrastructure
Social/cultural uses of heritage
Other human activities
Sudden ecological or geological
Secondary Factors
Management and institutional factors (e.g. incomplete management plans, insufficient legislative protection, and need
to improve the monitoring system) have been other concerns
for several World Heritage Sites, including Historic Areas of
İstanbul (WHC 2018); Pergamon and its Multi-Layered Cultural
Landscape (WHC 2016); Archaeological Site of Ani (WHC
2018); and Ephesus (WHC 2019). It was noted in the World
Heritage Committee decisions that Turkey has made efforts to
address the main concerns of the Committee for each property
and has made progress with regard to the management and institutional factors affecting those properties. However, the country
needs to continue with the completion and implementation of
management plans, and with the improvement of the legislative
protection and the monitoring system. We should note that World
Heritage properties are generally better protected than other heritage properties because there are buffer zones and other management mechanisms. Several places of cultural importance have
been exposed to other human-caused risks, such as illegal construction, inappropriate use, neglect, lack of use and maintenance,
treasure hunting, and vandalism (TAY 2019).
World Heritage Sites and
the Years of SoC reporting
Historic Areas of Istanbul (2017,
2018);
Pergamon and its Multi-Layered
Management System/management
Cultural Landscape (2016);
plan
Archaeological Site of Ani (2018);
Diyarbakır Fortress and Hevsel
Gardens Cultural Landscape (2019) ;
Ephesus (2017, 2019)
Legal Framework
Ephesus (2017, 2019)
Historic Areas of Istanbul (2017,
Management activities
2018)
Diyarbakır Fortress and Hevsel
Housing
Gardens Cultural Landscape (2019);
Historic Areas of Istanbul (2017)
Commercial Development
Historic Areas of Istanbul (2018)
Diyabakir (2019);
Ephesus (2017, 2019);
Ground Transport Infrastructure
Historic Areas of Istanbul (2017,
2018)
Effects arising from use of
Pergamon and its Multi-Layered
transportation infrastructure
Cultural Landscape (2016)
Underfround transport
Historic Areas of Istanbul (2017,
infrastructure
2018)
Diyarbakır Fortress and Hevsel
Water Infrastructure
Gardens Cultural Landscape (2019)
Diyarbakır Fortress and Hevsel
Impacts of
Gardens Cultural Landscape (2019)
tourims/visitor/recreation
Diyarbakır Fortress and Hevsel
Civil unrest
Gardens Cultural Landscape
(2016,2017,2018)
Earthquake
Archaeological Site of Ani (2018)
Table 1: Primary and secondary factors affecting
the World Heritage properties in Turkey. Source:
Prepared by the authors based on the World
Heritage Committee decisions.
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Turkey
Fig. 1: Rainfall-induced landslide affecting rural settlements in Arhavi,
Artvin, November 2016 (photo: AFAD)
Fig. 2: Huge forest fire affecting more than 5,000 hectares of land in
İzmir, August 2019 (photo: İzmir Metropolitan Municipality)
Cultural assets in Turkey are not only threatened by various
human-induced factors but also by catastrophic natural events.
The prevalence and impact of natural disasters across Turkey are
a severe issue. According to the report of the INFORM Global
Risk Index (INFORM 2018), which measures the risk of humanitarian crises and disasters in 191 countries, Turkey is in the group
of countries with high levels of risk; it also has one of the highest
values in the hazard and exposure dimension. The hazard and
exposure dimension of INFORM measures hazardous events that
could occur and the people or assets potentially affected by them.
The three-year trend (2016–2018) of the INFORM Global Risk
Index shows that the level of risk in Turkey has increased.
Concerning natural disasters, the highest risk component is an
earthquake followed by a tsunami and flood (ibid). In 1999, we
experienced İzmit earthquake which occurred on 17 August in
the northwestern province of Kocaeli, killing 18.373 people and
injuring more than 500 (AFAD 2018a). The 2011 Van-Erciş and
Van-Erdemit earthquakes also caused devastating damage, killing
644 people and injuring 1.966 (AFAD 2011; 2019a). We have not
seen a major earthquake (magnitude 6 or higher) since the 2011
Van earthquakes (AFAD 2011). Experts have often warned that
İstanbul is at risk of a big earthquake ever since the 1999 İzmit
earthquake occurred. An earthquake measuring 5.8 magnitude
shook İstanbul on 26 September 2019 (BU 2019), slightly injuring
eight people and causing some damage to buildings. This earthquake triggered fears of an impending one and raised concern that
the next great earthquake striking İstanbul would have a devastating effect on the city which over the decades has developed with
uncontrolled urbanisation and population growth. Hence, we have
to be prepared for a major earthquake, which may strike İstanbul
or another earthquake-prone city in Turkey and may lead to severe
casualties and a loss of significant heritage values. Numerous cultural assets, historic settlements, including such World Heritage
sites as Historic Areas of İstanbul, Bursa and Cumalıkızık, the city
of Safranbolu, Xanthos-Letoon, Hierapolis-Pamukkale, Pergamon
and its Multi-Layered Cultural Landscape, the Archaeological Site
of Troy and their surroundings are located in earthquake zones.
Catastrophic losses of life and physical destruction are not only
caused by earthquakes but also by floods, landslides, avalanches
and mudflows, with disasters constantly occurring across the regions, while their frequencies and impacts change from one region to another (AFAD 2018b) (see Fig. 1). For instance, in 2019,
severe threats to lives, livelihoods and cultural and natural assets
were caused by forest fires in the Aegean region (IBB 2019) and
by flooding in the Black Sea region (TOB 2019; AFAD 2019b)
(see Fig. 2). We remain grateful that the impact on life has been
much less than that from previous disasters, while the economic impacts of these events, particularly in rural areas, have been
sorely felt. The lack of information on the extent of loss of significant cultural and natural heritage values as a result of natural
events is a significant issue. National statistics on cultural heritage sites destroyed or severely damaged by earthquakes or other
natural disasters do not exist.
Protection and management
A significant achievement occurred by the release of Turkey’s
first National Earthquake Strategy and Action Plan 2012–2023
on 18 August 2011 in the Official Gazette after its approval by the
High Council of Disaster and Emergency in 2010 (AFAD 2010).
The plan sets out national strategies and objectives, one of which
is to safeguard cultural heritage from earthquakes, and the actions
to achieve that goal:
–
–
–
–
completing inventories of historic buildings,
identifying the safety of their structural systems,
seismic retrofitting of structures that are not structurally sound,
developing and providing guidelines regarding methods, design and manufacturing of structural interventions, and
– developing methods for reducing vulnerabilities of museum
collections.
The leading public institution responsible for realising these actions is the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and the related institutions include the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, Disaster
and Emergency Management Presidency, the Pious Foundation,
the Union of Municipalities of Turkey, universities and professional associations (ibid). National-level emergency preparedness
and response planning are carried out by the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency. Turkey’s Disaster Response Plan
released by the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency
in 2013 identifies roles and responsibilities of service groups and
coordination units that will work during responses to disasters
and emergencies; it also sets underlying principles (AFAD 2013),
such as ensuring safety and protection of cultural assets and transport of movable components.
Turkey
The management of disaster risks for safeguarding cultural heritage is explicitly mentioned in the 10th and 11th
Development Plans of Turkey (MoD 2014, PSB 2019).
Following the goals, objectives and policies of the 10th
Development Plan (2014 –2018), the Ministry of Culture and
Tourism (MoCT), the principal public organisation that has the
authority and responsibility of conservation and management
of cultural properties in Turkey (Act no. 2863 1983), developed
its Strategic Plan (MoCT 2015). The Strategic Plan sets out the
Turkish Government’s strategic vision, objectives and priorities
and the actions it would take to support and promote Turkey’s
remarkable natural and cultural heritage. While in some cases
there has been an improvement in the state of conservation of
cultural assets in Turkey through the activities of the MoCT, key
threatening factors remain. Many have been identified above,
and those listed below remain, as additional issues, identified in
the Strategic Plan 2015 –2019:
– incomplete inventories;
– impacts from illicit excavations of archaeological sites and trafficking incidents;
– inadequate or lack of involvement with local communities;
123
– inadequate legal frameworks and difficulties in making essential legal changes within reasonable time;
– insufficiency of financial resources; and
– lack of adequate information and information systems management.
These managerial and institutional factors increase the vulnerability of cultural assets to both natural and human-induced hazards. Decreasing vulnerabilities and increasing the resilience of
historic environments through preparedness to cope with natural disasters have to be prioritised. While Turkey has a national
earthquake strategy and a national disaster response plan, they are
still at the policy level. Comprehensive risk management plans
and strategies for all heritage components are yet to be developed at local and property scales in collaboration with related
public institutions, local administrations, non-governmental organisations, local communities, and various other stakeholders.
Cultural heritage preservation laws and regulations need to be
strengthened for effectively managing disaster risks to cultural
heritage. Briefly, capacity development, collaboration with related stakeholders, preparation and implementation of disaster risk
management plans are essential topics to be considered.
Sibel Yıldırım Esen and A. Güliz Bilgin Altınöz
Middle East Technical University
References
Act no. 2863. 1983. Conservation Act on Cultural and Natural
Assets (in Turkish). http://www.resmigazete.gov.tr/arsiv/18113.
pdf
AFAD 2010. National Earthquake Strategy and Action Plan
2012–2023 (in Turkish). In Official Gazette of Turkey, 18. 08.
2011/28029, Ankara.
AFAD 2011. Van Earthquake Report (in Turkish). https://www.
afad.gov.tr/upload/Node/17944/xfiles/mudahale_-iyilestirme-ve-sosyoekonomik-acidan-2011-van-depremi-raporu_2_.pdf
AFAD 2013. Turkey’s Disaster Response Plan (in Turkish).
https://www.afad.gov.tr/tr/2419/Turkiye-Afet-Mudahale-Plani
AFAD 2018a. 1999 Gölcük Earthquake (in Turkish). https://deprem.afad.gov.tr/tarihteBuAy?id=37
AFAD 2018b. Disaster Management in Turkey and Statistics on
Natural Disasters (in Turkish). https://www.afad.gov.tr/upload/
Node/35429/xfiles/Turkiye_de_Afetler.pdf
AFAD 2019a. About Van Earthquake. https://www.afad.gov.tr/
en/2605/About-Van-Earthquake
AFAD 2019b. National Disaster Archive (in Turkish). https://
tabb.afad.gov.tr
BU (Boğaziçi Üniversitesi) 2019. Latest earthquakes in Turkey
and its near surrounding (in Turkish). http://www.koeri.boun.
edu.tr/scripts/lst0.asp
Heritage at Risk, World Report 2011–2013 on Monuments and
Sites in Danger, edited by Christoph Machat, Michael Petzet
and John Ziesemer, Berlin 2014: hendrik Bäßler verlag, berlin
ISBN 978-3-930388-24-0
IBB (İzmir Metropolitan Municipality) 2019. News (in Turkish).
https://www.izmir.bel.tr/tr/Haberler/izmir-deki-yanginda-kar-
siyaka-ilcesi-buyuklugunde-bir-orman-alaninin-yandigi-tahmin-ediliyor/40816/156
INFORM. 2018. INFORM Global Risk Index Results 2018.
https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/INFORM%20Annual%20Report%202018%20Web%20Spreads.
pdf.
MoCT (Ministry of Culture and Tourism) 2015. Strategic Plan of
the Period 2015-2019 (in Turkish). http://sgb.kulturturizm.gov.
tr/Eklenti/39219,stratejik-plan-2015-2019v3pdf.pdf?0
MoD (Ministry of Development) 2014. The Tenth Development
Plan 2014-2018. https://policy.asiapacificenergy.org/node/3168
PSB (Presidency of Turkey, Presidency of Strategy and
Budget) 2019. The Eleventh Development Plan 2019–
2023. http://www.sbb.gov.tr/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/
OnbirinciKalkinmaPlani.pdf
TAY (Archaeological Settlements of Turkey). http://tayproject.
org/haber_search_tu.html
TOB (Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry) 2019. Flood Disaster
in Trabzon (in Turkish). https://www.tarimorman.gov.tr/
Haber/3844/Trabzonda-Sel-Felaketi
WHC (UNESCO World Heritage Committee) 2016. Pergamon
and its Multi-Layered Cultural Landscape. https://whc.unesco.
org/archive/2016/whc16-40com-7B-en.pdf
WHC 2018. Historic Areas of Istanbul, the Archaeological Site of
Ani. https://whc.unesco.org/archive/2018/whc18 42com-18-en.
pdf
WHC 2019. Diyarbakır Fortress and Hevsel Gardens Cultural
Landscape, Ephesus. https://whc.unesco.org/archive/2019/
whc19-43com-18-en.pdf
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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Endangered Historic Places
“America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places” are compiled
annually by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The
National Trust is a major partner organization of US/ ICOMOS.
Here is a selection of sites that are currently endangered.
Mitchell Park Domes, Milwaukee
The Mitchell Park Domes need a thoughtful, long-term preservation solution that will ensure they remain a beloved Milwaukee
icon for generations to come. Working closely with local partners including the Milwaukee Preservation Alliance and Save
Our Domes, and with support from The Cultural Landscape
Foundation, the National Trust is advocating for a preservation
solution where all three Domes are rehabbed and reused, as a
community resource, with programming and sustainable financial operations.
A Milwaukee landmark for generations, a unique engineering
marvel, and a nationally significant example of Midcentury Modern architecture, the Mitchell Park Domes have been a center of
community life and an international tourism destination for more
than 50 years.
San Francisco Embarcadero, San Francisco
Fig. 1: Mitchell Park Domes (© Carol Highsmith, Library of Congress)
Fig. 2: San Francisco Embarcadero (© Tom Hilton)
In 1958, Milwaukee architect Donald L. Grieb won a national design competition for the Domes, which were constructed
between 1959 and 1967. His design featured three domes – the
Show Dome, the Tropical Dome, and the Desert Dome – which
contain a vast array of horticulture that one observer called “a zoo
for plants.” Located in Milwaukee’s Mitchell Park, the Domes are
one of the most recognizable landmarks in the adjacent Clarke
Square neighborhood (one of the city’s most diverse areas) and
are visited annually by nearly 250,000 people. The Domes are
marvels of modern engineering featuring the world’s first “conoidal” – or cone-shaped – domes.
The future of the Domes is unclear, and County officials have
previously considered demolishing one or more Domes. In summer 2019, the County-appointed Domes Task Force recommended a long-term plan that would rehabilitate all three Domes and
reinvest heavily in Mitchell Park, but the County has not taken
official action in support of a rehabilitation option. Inspiring,
innovative architecture often requires equally creative solutions.
supports the District, buffers major parts of San Francisco from
Mission Creek to Fisherman’s Wharf, including all of downtown
San Francisco and its public transportation infrastructure. Yet
this remarkable historic place is facing major physical threats
from earthquakes and sea level rise. A recent earthquake vulnerability study of the Embarcadero’s Seawall revealed greater than expected risk placing over $1.6 billion in Port assets at
risk. The Embarcadero’s buildings must also cope with climate
change-related sea level rise; the State of California estimates
sea level rise in 2100 to be between 3.4 (likely) and 6.9 feet
(1 in 200 chance).
Engineering options are being identified to minimize the impact of these threats, but they will be costly. The estimated cost of
needed seismic repairs is at least $2 billion. When sea level rise
is factored in, the cost is likely to double. The dual seismic and
climate change threats require a coordinated local, regional, state,
and federal response that embraces creative strategies that assure
long-term resilience for the Embarcadero’s rich heritage.
The Embarcadero Historic District is the historic interface between San Francisco and its beloved Bay and a major economic engine for the Bay Area. The Embarcadero Seawall, which
United States of America
Ashley River, South Carolina
As one of the most iconic places in the South Carolina Lowcountry, the Ashley River Historic District illustrates the Palmetto
State’s layered cultural heritage, from its colonial beginnings in
the 17th century through the mid-20th century. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, this nationally significant area
125
damage the historic landscape and forever alter the integrity of
this key piece of our nation’s history. The National Trust, along
with the City of Charleston, have brought a lawsuit to challenge
this purported annexation.
In addition to the National Trust’s participation in the ongoing litigation, the National Trust and its partners – including the
Drayton Hall Preservation Trust, Historic Charleston Founda-
Fig. 3: Ashley River, South Carolina (© Courtesy Middletown Place Foundation)
is traversed by the centuries-old Ashley River Road – thought to
be the oldest road in South Carolina still in use today. A mossdraped live oak tree canopy draped over the 11.5 mile stretch of
the Ashley River Road preserves its historic character and takes
visitors back in time. This historic district is also home to two National Historic Landmarks – Drayton Hall (a National Trust Historic Site) and Middleton Place. In addition, the historic district
includes former Native American trade routes, slave settlements,
cemeteries, rice fields, phosphate mining camps, archeological
sites, remnants of small tenant farms, and post-Civil War settlements formed by African Americans – all which help tell the full
history of this area.
Despite the historic significance of the Ashley River Historic
District to both South Carolina and the United States, a portion of
the historic district is under threat. Annexation of approximately
2,200 acres by the City of North Charleston could lead to zoning
changes, likely ushering in intensive development (along with
increased traffic, noise, and other impacts) that could irreparably
tion, Preservation Society of Charleston, Open Space Institute,
Middleton Place, and the South Carolina Coastal Conservation
League – are seeking additional, permanent ways to protect the
Ashley River Historic District through initiatives such as conservation easements or increased buffer areas along the historic road.
Puerto Rico
Back-to-back hurricanes in late 2017 took a heavy toll on Puerto
Rico’s rich architectural heritage, especially along the southern
coast where wind tore off roofs, windows and doors, and days
of rain flooded these structures from above and below. An inventory of hurricane-damaged historic resources funded by the
National Trust and undertaken by local partners indicated nearly
2,000 damaged historic structures in eleven of the island’s twelve
historic zones.
Since then, many of these sites have continued to fall further
into ruin as a result of delayed repairs, ongoing exposure to the el-
126
United States of America
Fig. 4: Puerto Rico, house destroyed by a hurricane in 2017
(© Parala Naturaleza)
Fig. 5: Tidal Basin, Washington DC (© Sam Kittner)
ements, and repeated storms. Municipalities and property owners
who attempt to stabilize and repair these properties on their own
have been met with further challenges: difficulties obtaining materials, lack of skilled tradespeople, complications with insurance
companies, and conflicting information on public assistance programs and compliance requirements. The effort needed to overcome these barriers has led some owners to abandon properties,
leading to blight and public safety concerns.
These circumstances continue to be exacerbated by the delayed
response of government agencies and promised federal recovery
funding. On Capitol Hill, the Trust successfully advocated to substantially increase the budget for the federal government’s Historic Preservation Fund to speed recovery of hurricane-damaged
historic sites. At the same time, more than $18 billion in federal
dollars was allocated to HUD’s Disaster Recovery grant program.
However, in both cases little of these funds has arrived and been
spent on the recovery projects so badly needed.
These problems were compounded when in the early days of
2020, the southwestern region of the island was hit by multiple
earthquakes. Already weakened by delayed hurricane recovery
work, many buildings experienced greater damage, and in some
cases, complete loss. In the historic center of Ponce, Puerto Rico’s second largest city, important monuments and dozens of
buildings were damaged by three substantial quakes and hundreds of aftershocks. Several National Register-listed sites and
prominent natural landscape features have been completely lost
in the surrounding rural areas.
In addition to providing roof tarps for hurricane-damaged
buildings, the National Trust continues to work closely with partners, local and federal agencies, and architectural professionals
to facilitate stabilization and rehabilitation. The eventual restoration of the island’s unique and irreplaceable cultural history
is essential to Puerto Rico’s recovery. Ongoing work is needed
to hold government agencies accountable, help local groups secure funds for rehabilitation, support workforce training in preservation trades, and incentivize investment in the island’s many
historic zones as the foundation for a stronger, more resilient
future.
Tidal Basin, Washington DC
The National Mall Tidal Basin, part of America’s front yard, is
a complex, iconic public landscape whose architecture and open
space captures individuals and events that have defined our nation. Comprising some of our most renowned monuments, the
Tidal Basin includes places of remembrance and reflection that
tell the history of our nation. The Jefferson Memorial reflects
America’s earliest American ideals; the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial demonstrates our country’s resilience; and the
Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial highlights the struggle for civil
rights we continue to face today.
But while this unique waterway connects disparate stories that
span centuries of American history, the instability of the land
underneath the Tidal Basin, daily flooding, and crumbling infrastructure threaten its sustainability and visitor enjoyment. To
ensure the National Mall Tidal Basin can meet the demands of
a changing modern environment, we need a bold, creative, and
integrated approach that respects, enhances, and revitalizes the
Tidal Basin. To do this, the National Trust for Historic Preservation has teamed up with the Trust for the National Mall to present
the Ideas Lab. Unlike a Design Competition, which typically selects a winner with a conclusive master plan, the Ideas Lab is a
platform for the exchange of solutions and approaches between
designers, stakeholders, and the public. Results will be provocative and innovative, presenting cultural landscape opportunities in
a new light, while tackling fundamental challenges in a comprehensive and respectful way.
Results of the Ideas Lab will be on view at a curated exhibition
in Washington, D.C. in spring 2020 and available widely online.
The results will showcase creative collaboration and design opportunities relevant for the Tidal Basin today and for generations
to come.
James River, Virginia
The James River flows through a landscape of cultural and natural resources of both national and international significance. The
United States of America
127
Fig. 6: James River, Virginia (© Sam Kittner)
waterway is the site where historical events stretching back before the founding of the United States occurred, including:
– Serving as the center of the Powhatan Confederacy of Algonquian-speaking North American Indian tribes;
– The location of the first permanent English colony in America
at Jamestown in 1607;
– The site where the first Africans in Virginia arrived in 1619 due
to the transatlantic slave trade;
– An important transportation route and battlefield during the
U. S. Revolutionary War.
The U.S. Congress has acted to protect and recognize the James
River’s many layers of history by including Jamestown Island
as a part of Colonial National Historical Park and designating
the James River as part of the Captain John Smith Chesapeake
National Historic Water Trail. Despite this, in 2013, Dominion
Energy requested a permit to construct a transmission line across
the river within the viewshed of Jamestown Island.
This type of project requires review under the National Environmental Policy Act and the National Historic Preservation
Act. The lead federal agency in this review process did not correctly apply these laws, which require that alternative projects be
considered. Tens of thousands of people weighed in urging the
agency to conduct a more thorough review and select an alternative that would avoid harm to the cultural landscape of the James
River. Ignoring this public outcry, and using a more abbreviated
review process, the agency permitted the transmission line project
in 2017.
The National Trust and Preservation Virginia (the owner and
steward of Jamestown Island) challenged this decision in federal
court. While the litigation was pending, Dominion Energy rushed
to complete construction on the project. In May 2018, the lower
court issued a decision in favor of the project, which was appealed. The transmission line was completed and energized on
February 26, 2019, but the appellate court issued a decision three
days later finding that federal law had been violated and ordering
the agency to more closely review alternatives by preparing an
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
Despite this decisive legal win for historic preservation and the
James River, the status of the already constructed project is still
in limbo. Dominion Energy continues to argue to maintain the
project in place. The courts have also declined to revoke the permit for the project prior to completion of the EIS. To maintain the
integrity of the National Environmental Policy Act and the National Historic Preservation Act, the federal agency must closely
review alternatives, avoid favoring the already built project, and
meaningfully consider public opinion in completing the EIS. This
decision will set a precedent for either protecting, or further industrializing, America’s founding river in the years to come.
Rosenwald Schools, multiple states
Julius Rosenwald was a nationally significant philanthropist who
helped transform educational opportunities for African American
children during the years of segregation. The son of Jewish immigrants who fled persecution in Europe, he transformed Sears,
Roebuck and Company into a retail powerhouse and acquired
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United States of America
Fig. 7: Mt Zion Rosenwald School (© NTHP)
Fig. 8: Shockoe Bottom, Virginia (© Ron Cogswell)
great wealth during his successful career that he subsequently
used for his visionary philanthropy. Rosenwald partnered with
Booker T. Washington and African American communities across
the South between 1913 and 1932 to provide funding for schoolhouses and related buildings – most often known as Rosenwald
Schools – serving children who otherwise would have had extremely limited access to public education.
The more than 5,000 Rosenwald Schools, located in mostly
rural areas in 15 states, were predominantly one or two-room
structures and state-of-the-art for the period. They educated onethird of all African American children in the South during the
years of segregation, producing markedly improved educational
outcomes for their students and bringing a sense of hope and civic
engagement to their communities. In 2002, the National Trust for
Historic Preservation named Rosenwald Schools to its 11 Most
Endangered Historic Places list after research estimated that only
10 –12 percent of the structures survive. The dwindling numbers
of Rosenwald Schools sparked a continuing preservation effort
to preserve the remaining schools and their stories for future
generations. Efforts are underway to advance legislation (H. R.
3250 / S. 1863) in the U. S. Congress that takes a critical first step
to establish the first National Park Service site to honor a Jewish
American, while also preserving a selection of iconic Rosenwald
Schools.
orating Shockoe and, importantly, presents an innovative model
for equitable development that ensures Shockoe will be an important part of Richmond’s 21st century future. The report was
commissioned by Preservation Virginia and Sacred Ground Project through a $75,000 grant from the National Trust’s African
American Cultural Heritage Action Fund. Conducted with the
Office of Mayor Levar Stoney and the City’s Shockoe Alliance,
the quantitative analysis was completed by Virginia Commonwealth University’s Center for Urban and Regional Analysis. The
model for equitable development was created by Ebony Walden
Consulting and an expert Resource Group, including Christopher
Coes (Smart Growth America), Chenee Joseph (Historic District
Development Corporation), Julie Nelson (Government Alliance
on Race and Equity), Kennedy Smith (Community Land Use +
Economics Group), and Khalil Uqdah (Cross Street Partners).
The quantitative analysis of Shockoe’s heritage tourism potential concluded that the transformative and lasting impact of
construction, on-going operation, and visitor spending represented a significant financial benefit to Richmond. Construction of
a memorial park and museum, estimated at $ 46.7 million, represents significant one-time impacts. Operations and visitor-related spending, estimated between $ 32 and $36 million, signify
impacts that are ongoing and more impactful over time. Memorial
park visitor spending, for instance, would generate between $ 3.7
and $ 7.7 million and support 43 to 85 jobs, depending on the mix
of in-town and out-of-town visitors.
Public release of the National Trust’s study comes at a critical
moment when the City of Richmond and Shockoe stakeholders
are engaged in an intensive dialogue about Shockoe’s future.
With community input, the City is drafting a Small Area Plan,
the first of its kind for Shockoe, that will roll up into Richmond’s
Comprehensive Plan. This economic analysis, which emphasizes
community engagement, inclusive land-use policies, and entrepreneurship, is intended to help inform public dialogue and influence the City’s city planning. (Please find the study at https://
preservationvirginia.org/our-work/shockoe.)
Shockoe Bottom, Virginia
Shockoe Bottom is an archaeological site in downtown Richmond,
Virginia, that was a center of the nation’s slave trade. Between
1830 and 1865, 350,000 people were bought and sold in Shockoe.
Now mostly razed for parking, Shockoe nevertheless is considered
sacred ground by Richmond’s African American community, and
is also considered to be a Site of Conscience by the International
Coalition of Sites of Conscience. The National Trust’s listing of
Shockoe Bottom on its list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places in 2014 helped stop a plan to sacrifice Shockoe for a
stadium entertainment district. Today, the National Trust is advocating for creation of an expansive memorial park that will marry
commemoration, education, and equitable development.
To that end, the National Trust has completed a two-part study
that quantifies the economic benefits of preserving and commem-
Bears Ears, Utah
Located on federally-owned public lands in Southeast Utah, the
Bears Ears cultural landscape includes archaeological sites, cliff
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129
Fig. 9: Bears Ears, Utah (© Donald J Rommes)
dwellings, petroglyphs, and ancient roads that tell stories of diverse people over the course of 12,000 years. In an effort to better protect this landscape, the Hopi Tribe, Navajo Nation, Ute
Mountain Ute Tribe, Pueblo of Zuni, and Ute Indian Tribe formed
the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition to formally propose a Bears
Ears National Monument. Following requests from the tribes,
numerous other organizations, and a robust public involvement
process, President Barack Obama designated Bears Ears a national monument on December 28, 2016, protecting 1.35 million
acres of land in one of the most significant cultural landscapes in
the United States.
Unfortunately, on December 4, 2017, President Trump issued a
proclamation to effectively revoke the Bears Ears National Monument and replace it with two much smaller monuments. This ac-
tion changed the conservation-focused management approach for
more than a million acres – approximately 85 % of the protected
landscape – that include thousands of extraordinary archaeological sites, making them more vulnerable to looting, vandalism, and
incompatible uses. The five tribes that make up the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition, the National Trust for Historic Preservation,
and other plaintiffs are actively challenging President Trump’s
unprecedented rollback of the monument’s land area in court.
Route 66, multiple states
Historic Route 66 stretches approximately 2,400 miles from Chicago, IL to Santa Monica, CA, passing through eight states and
more than 300 communities. This vital transportation corridor
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United States of America
Fig. 10: Route 66, Mural (© David Kafer)
Fig. 11: Greater Chaco Landscape, New Mexico (© JP 3)
between the Midwest and southern California has endured as a
symbol of freedom and mobility while epitomizing a new optimism that pervaded the nation’s economic recovery following
World War II.
Route 66 is internationally recognized as representing Ame-rica’s love of the automobile and open road. As a Dustbowl migration route, a World War II strategic military route, and a vacation
travel route, it has been celebrated in music, literature, television,
movies, and popular lore.
Route 66 was found by the National Park Service (NPS) to
be nationally significant in its 1995 Route 66 Special Resource
Study and numerous buildings along Route 66 are listed on the
National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). Route 66 has been
designated a National Scenic Byway in four states, including one
segment that has been designated an All-American Road – the
highest designation offered by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).
Despite this historical significance, the Route 66 corridor
and much of the idiosyncratic culture of independent businesses, kitschy roadside architecture, and unique attractions face
economic decline and numerous preservation needs. Such risks
prompted the National Trust for Historic Preservation to include
Route 66 on the 2018 list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places. A permanent, long-term solution for preserving the
legacy of Route 66, such as a national historic trail designation,
would ensure this iconic symbol and its heritage will endure for
future generations.
within the boundaries of Chaco Culture National Historical Park.
Chaco Canyon, and several outlying great houses, are UNESCO
World Heritage Sites that preserve the history and culture of the
Pueblo people.
Despite the protections offered by Chaco Culture National Historical Park, however, many cultural and sacred sites lie outside
the Park across the Greater Chaco Landscape and are currently
threatened by the ravages of oil-gas development. Increased oilgas development associated with the Mancos-Gallup Shale play
in northwest New Mexico has been threatening fragile Chaco-affiliated cultural resources across a large portion of the San Juan
Basin since late 2011.
The threat to sensitive cultural resources is heightened by several recent executive and secretarial orders from the current administration that aim to prioritize energy development on public
lands by minimizing environmental and historic preservation considerations, which will further fragment and degrade the Greater
Chaco Landscape. Rampant oil and gas development has resulted
in the drilling of hundreds of new wells across the area, producing
oil through the environmentally damaging process of fracking.
In addition, hundreds of miles of access roads and pipelines now
crisscross Greater Chaco and hundreds of hectares of land have
been heavily impacted. Worst of all, the reasonably foreseeable
development scenario for the Greater Chaco Landscape predicts
up to 2000 new oil and gas wells and associated facilities over the
next ten years. If this development happens, little will remain of
Greater Chaco’s fragile cultural landscape. Legislative efforts in
the House and Senate, namely the Chaco Cultural Heritage Area
Protection Act ( p. 1079/ H. R. 2181), would provide a permanent
withdrawal for approximately 316,000 acres of federal lands surrounding Chaco Canyon in recognition of the extensive and interconnected cultural resources across the landscape.
Greater Chaco Landscape, New Mexico
Chaco Canyon was the center of a thriving society that flourished in the Four Corners region of the American Southwest
from 850 to 1250 CE. The Chacoans and contemporaneous, affiliated Puebloan groups built hundreds of great house pueblo
structures across the region and connected many of these places
with kilometers of roads and other landscape features. This extensive ancient landscape is managed today by a variety of Federal, Tribal, and State agencies, as well as private owners. These
places have deep spiritual and cultural importance to the Native
peoples who are the descendants of the Chacoan people. Many sites associated with ancient Chacoan society are protected
Rassawek, Virginia
First recorded on John Smith’s 1612 Map of Virginia, Rassawek
was the historic capital of the Monacan Indian Nation and was
the town to which affiliated Siouan villages paid tribute. Located
at the confluence of the James and Rivanna Rivers in central Virginia, Rassawek contains deeply stratified archaeological deposits
and is also a known burial site.
United States of America
131
Fig. 12: Rassawek, Virginia (© Greg Werkheiser)
Rassawek is currently threatened by a water infrastructure project. The James River Water Authority, a partnership of Fluvanna
and Louisa Counties, has planned a water intake, pump station,
and pipeline that would damage several significant archaeological sites associated with Rassawek and the pre-Contact history
of Virginia. These sites are eligible for inclusion on the National
Register of Historic Places and they are of paramount significance for the Monacan Indian Nation.
The James River Water Authority has been heavily criticized
for their decision to locate the project on Rassawek and for a
variety of permitting and archaeological quality concerns. The
Episcopal Diocese of Virginia has adopted a resolution asking
for the project to be relocated, and several other state and local
organizations have also spoken out. Rassawek has profound significance for the Monacan Indian Nation, other Virginia tribes,
and the cultural patrimony of the United States.
132
UZBEKISTAN
Uzbekistan’s Historic Residential
Architecture in Danger
With the closing of the Institute for Conservation and Restoration
in the late 1990s, Uzbekistan lost its most important institution
and voice in the field of architectural heritage protection. Local
heritage administrations, although formally still extant, are sorely
understaffed. Decisions are often not based on professional expertise. The Methodological Council of the Department of Cultural
Heritage, as the relevant authority, certainly has the necessary expertise and has recently made some professional decisions on the
protection of residential buildings, such as the registration of a
1920s housing complex in Amir Temur Avenue in Tashkent, a fine
example showing the transition from colonial to constructivist architecture. In other cases, however, the Council is urged to refrain
from a scientifically based examination of the objects in question,
as with the neoclassical officers’ houses in Parkent Street, dating
from the late 19th century, which subsequently were lost.
Large-scale urban renewal projects threaten urban neighbourhoods even in the World Heritage cities of Samarkand, Bukhara,
Itchan Kala and Shakhrisabz. In 2014, a part of the historic centre of Shakhrisabz was destroyed in order to create a large pedestrian corridor lined by tourist businesses. Even listed historic
houses were razed, as the nomination documents reveal. Other
buildings that were demolished had been changed substantially
over the years, but in their layout and typology they still followed the traditions of Central Asian domestic architecture that
had survived for centuries. The remaining streets are hardly recognisable now as examples of medieval urban design, which
had been the basis for the city’s World Heritage designation. A
new wall has been erected along the borders of the old town,
so that the historic neighbourhoods (mahallas) are no longer
visible either from outside the historic centre or from the tourist
corridor.
In Samarkand, such screening walls have been erected since
2009 around the Gur Emir Mausoleum and north of the Registan.
While many of the medieval monuments are being ambitiously
restored, the surrounding traditional neighbourhoods are ruthlessly sealed off from them. Pathways through the old town, such as
Tashkent Street, are now lined with uniform souvenir shops which
contradict the introverted, private character of the old quarters.
Access routes into the mahallas are either fully abandoned or
closed with gates. At the same time, many of the buildings dating
from the second half of the 20th century, from the Café Tabassum
to the History Museum on the Registan, have fallen victim to urban purification. Because of the absence of management plans (a
draft has been under discussion since 2017) and the lack of investments into the infrastructure of traditional neighbourhoods, the
number of historic houses is continually decreasing. Unique old
buildings have been given up in the last years in order to erect new
hotels. Sometimes it is the owners themselves who demolish their
houses because they fail to understand their value. And not seldom
the decision-makers are directly involved; there seems to be a lack
of understanding as well as of funding for maintenance and repair
measures, even in the core zones of the World Heritage cities.
At its meeting in the summer of 2018, the Uzbek Delegation
to the World Heritage Committee declared a moratorium on all
demolition work at the Samarkand heritage site. Only a few
months later, the facade of the former Samarkand Pilot Plant of
Refractory Alloys on University Boulevard was demolished. It
was this elaborate front which gave the building its special his-
Figs. 1 and 2: Samarkand, wall separating the living quarters from the tourist route, seen from the open space around the Gur-Emir-Mausoleum and
from the neighbourhood (photos Jens Jordan 2010)
Uzbekistan
133
Fig. 3 and 4: Tashkent, area around the Hazrat-Imam complex in the centre of the remaining old town (Google Earth screenshots of 25 September
2017 and 16 September 2019, © Maxar Technologies)
134
Uzbekistan
toric and artistic values (according to article 3 of the Law of the
Republic of Uzbekistan on the Protection and Use of Cultural
Heritage). The mostly one-storey residential buildings in the
European part of Samarkand are no better off. More and more of
them are being torn down; sometimes only the façades are kept
and integrated into new multi-storey buildings.
In Khiva, where the designation of a buffer zone has been demanded for years, traditional neighbourhoods that had survived
around the urban centre Itchan Kala have been demolished in the
course of large-scale renewal measures since 2015. With its hotels and souvenir shops, the tourist corridor laid out from the new
train station to the old walled town resembles the modern axis
through the centre of Shakhrisabz.
The situation in Bukhara is just as dramatic. From the central
water basin Labi Khauz through the multi-domed market building
all the way to the fortress Ark, new buildings line a trivial tourist
corridor. Its new facades are covered with tiles in traditional décor, a treatment that mimics the medieval monuments instead of
being reserved for them. At the same time, numerous monuments
are deteriorating or even partly collapsing – as in the case of the
important Abdulaziz-Khan Madrasa with decorated rooms, vaults
and walls – because of vibrations caused by nearby construction
sites. No signs of restoration efforts are visible so far. Here, too,
the neighbourhoods – documents of a residential architecture and
urban design highly adapted to climate and cultural patterns –
are decaying. Residents complain that they are forbidden to enter
their own houses because of an acute danger of collapse. Decisive
assistance in the form of technical know-how or grants for repair
work seems unavailable. The closer houses are to the tourist corridor, the greater is the likelihood for them to be torn down and
replaced by new hotels.
All these developments are well known from other countries
and times. Preservation of vernacular heritage is one of the most
difficult tasks in the modernisation process, much more so than
the restoration of single monuments. Frequent losses are caused
by two related deficiencies that often accompany rapid urban development: On the one hand, there is the tendency toward purification, i.e. to isolate architectural monuments from their more
modest surroundings. But such monuments are in most cases
intricate formal and functional parts of a larger urban structure.
Devoid of this meaningful, small-scale context they morph into pure museum-objects and tourist commodities. On the other
hand, we see a general lack of acceptance of historic houses and
neighbourhoods as significant testimony of the country’s cultural
history. Even members of the former Board of Monuments of
Uzbekistan (now Cultural Heritage Department) considered the
historic neighbourhoods to be not worth preserving and the living conditions there to be unacceptable. Rehabilitation, upgrading and modernisation of houses, while practiced individually to
some degree, are practically unknown in professional planning
circles. Without question, the traditional houses do pose problems, such as rising damp and outdated infrastructures. Yet, the
reluctance to consider alternatives to large-scale, destructive urban renewal most likely stems from the ideology of Soviet times,
when the cities of Uzbekistan were chosen to be models for overcoming obsolete conditions in the socialist republics in the south.
The predicament of the traditional residential architecture is intensified if decision-making authorities profit from construction
activities and regard the very areas whose protection is entrusted
to them as their personal capital.
The losses described here are a phenomenon typical in the
whole country. Besides the four World Heritage cities, the capital
Tashkent with its historic neighbourhoods, which have no less
protected cultural heritage status, is particularly affected. Since
the late 1970s comprehensive inventories of residential heritage
buildings have been carried out; in the 1980s protected historic
areas (ensembles) were designated. These listings are no longer
to be found in the heritage inventories, which were revised after Uzbekistan’s independence (1991). Within the area of the old
town, from more than 800 courtyard houses that ought to be preserved as valuable heritage or at least be documented as historic
evidence, only one example is now to be found in the register.
Recent research by local architects, conservators and the authors
has shown, however, that numerous houses worth preserving as
registered buildings do still exist. These include traditional double-post wood-frame houses with typical niches in the rooms and
elaborate half-round timber beam ceilings, dating from the 19th
century.
The historic part of Tashkent with traditional housing that survived the earthquake of 1966 and was preserved in large parts is
now successively being razed. In 2014, a new ring road was built
and new development followed alongside it. In 2017 and 2018,
two mahallas were completely eradicated for the “Tashkent City”
project.
Besides the vernacular residential clusters, unique buildings
of Soviet modernism were also destroyed, such as the House
of Cinema with murals by Bakhodir Jalalov and the Palace of
the Pioneers. Fragments of the neighbourhood mosque, with its
notable Art Nouveau facade, were integrated into a new public
park as the only remnant of the old neighbourhood. Presently,
several mahallas are being demolished in the central part of the
remaining old town, between Hazrat-Imom and Chorsu Bazar. In
their place, an enormous museum is being erected. This Centre of
Islamic Civilisation, out of scale for this part of the old Islamic
town, absurdly seems to compromise the very heritage it is dedicated to.
Equally endangered are residential buildings erected in colonial times in European styles. An example is the officers’ houses
on Parkent Street, north of the former cadets’ institute (now a
hospital). The ensemble of nine buildings was distinguished for
its high-grade interiors, including parquet floors and tile stoves.
When the planned clearance was announced in spring 2019, such
elements were removed by the residents. Around the Lashkarbegi
(Niyosbek) Street and M.-Gandhi Street, numerous one-storey
colonial houses have survived. They show neoclassical or Art
Nouveau decorations and bear witness to the time of the tsars,
when Tashkent evolved into a double city. The entire area is now
acutely threatened by demolition.
Only a few buildings remain from the early Soviet period, and
they are equally threatened. The City Municipality has published
plans showing, for example, a business centre that will soon
replace the multi-family residence at Mustaqillik Street 2 from
1931. The building exhibits a close relationship to European
avant-garde architecture. Its facade is quite similar to Bruno
Taut’s Buschallee housing development in Berlin: rounded balconies define large niches, behind which the bathrooms and kitchens are located – a novelty at the time.
Housing projects from the 1940s and 1950s show regional
variations of the motto “neo-classicism plus regional style” prescribed by Moscow. They characterise the representative avenues
erected during those years, such as the tree-lined Navoi Street.
However, instead of being designated as historic ensembles (a
term and concept provided by the state preservation law), these
rows of apartment buildings are equally under pressure. Planning
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135
Fig. 5: Tashkent, housing block at Mustaqillic Avenue from 1931 (photo Jens Jordan 2019)
offices are commissioned to produce studies for business centres
in their place. Another example is the “Polkushka” housing development from the 1950s: it is threatened by demolition even
though the buildings, with elaborate neoclassical detailing, are in
good condition.
The continuing large-scale demolition projects, in which
the historic and cultural value of the existing heritage hardly
seems to play any role, have led to unrest among residents and
a strong protest movement in social networks. As a reaction,
projects were partitioned into smaller steps and the execution
time stretched over a longer period. Uzbekistan is in the process
of further losing its rich residential heritage, the built testimony
of the people’s long-time way of life. Once more, the reasons
are twofold: firstly, conservation and restoration efforts are too
narrowly focused on public buildings and tourist hotspots; sec-
ondly, all aspects of mundane, vernacular, traditional residential
architecture, in whose tight urban fabric the medieval monuments were integrated, are being surrendered to radical, largescale modernisation with the help and in the interest of capital
investment.
What is necessary in this situation is to strengthen the competence and the staffing of the heritage authorities, to promote the
ongoing dialogue and transfer of know-how concerning methods
of sustainable urban rehabilitation, to designate conservation
areas (ensembles), and to regulate urban development through
transparent expert advisory bodies. In times of rapid economic
and societal development processes, strong professional voices
are needed to make the arguments heard for the long-term advantages of preserving these valuable and most endangered parts of
the architectural heritage.
Jens Jordan and Thomas Will
ICOMOS Germany
Jens.Jordan@tu-dresden.de
Thomas.Will@tu-dresden.de
Uzbekistan
THEMATIC REPORTS
137
138
AIRBNB RESHAPES HISTORIC CITIES
Airbnb is an online marketplace for arranging or offering lodging, primarily homestays, and tourism experiences. The company originates from San Francisco where two roommates, who
could not afford their own rent, hosted short-term visitors on air
mattresses to earn income. The offer matched the need as there
were many visitors who were grateful for affordable lodging.
The website Airbedandbreakfast.com was launched in 2008. In
a relatively short period, the company that itself owns no rental
premises has listed six million rooms, flats and houses in 81,000
cities across the globe. The initiative has responded to many social, cultural and economic expectations. The most popular areas
for Airbnb are historic city centres; thus the additional income
helps to maintain protected monuments and sites.
However, this initiative has turned into an incurable cancer.
Airbnb is not the only of the kind. Also Booking.com and other
online booking platforms are actively promoting home rentals.
The extent of the problem is well reflected in the number of institutions and private initiatives fighting against sharing platforms.
Fig. 1: Example of a provider of holiday apartments in the old town
of Porto, Portugal (photo J. Haspel/ICOMOS.DE)
Probably the biggest protest is boiling in the USA. For example,
there are several Internet pages like insideairbnb.com or studies
like Unfairbnb that collect and share data on the negative aspects
of home rentals. Recently, ten European cities – Amsterdam,
Barcelona, Berlin, Bordeaux, Brussels, Krakow, Munich, Paris,
Valencia and Vienna – demanded more help from the EU in their
battle against Airbnb and other holiday rental websites. Many local authorities are implementing or exploring regulations to mitigate the negative impact of short-term rentals.
The majority of these negative assessments concern the raise of
rental prices for locals, the rapid decrease of local inhabitants in
historic towns, even the accusation that Airbnb has become a racial gentrification tool, etc. However, the flourishing rental business is affecting not only the social, economic and ethical values,
but also the valuable historic buildings and interiors. Airbnb’s
original temptation was to offer the opportunity to peep into local
interiors and experience local character and intimacy instead of
standardised hotel rooms. My own very first Airbnb took me to a
home of restoration architects in the historic area of Bologna just
after the ICOMOS General Assembly in Florence in 2014. This
was a privilege I had not even dared to dream of. The admirable
home had even more admirable hosts who shared with me their
experience in different sites in Italy. However, since then I have
stayed in the apartment where the host himself actually lived, only in a classy Art Nouveau building in Riga in Latvia.
Just within a few years, home rentals have changed from renting air mattresses or a free room to the rental of whole apartments, sometimes even houses. According to the data from insideairbnb.com the number of owners who rent out more than ten
flats simultaneously is growing. There are operators who handle
more than 100 apartments in one city. Even in the relatively small
Tallinn Old Town in Estonia there are owners that rent out 30
apartments. This means that thousands of apartments in historic
cities are bought up by investors, often of foreign origin, who renovate historic houses, with a focus on profitable solutions. This
has led to an intensive renovation of apartments. The preservation
of the interiors is a demanding challenge everywhere. It depends
on national and local legislation how entire buildings are protected. For example, the ICOMOS Europe Group witnessed during
their annual meeting in Porto/ Portugal in June 2019 how entire
historic houses were demolished, leaving only the facades while
the houses were newly built as rental apartments.
It is high time for all historic cities to study the situation on the
rental market and its effect on cultural heritage. As these rentals
operate on public websites and also as the mentioned critical studies are easily accessible, such a study would be relatively easy.
These tendencies affect the policy of Historic Urban Landscapes
as well as ICOMOS initiatives of Sustainable Development and
Rights-based Approaches.
Riin Alatalu
Airbnb Reshapes Historic Cities
139
Figs. 2 and 3: In the old town of Porto many half-decayed houses are luxuriously renovated and offered as holiday apartments
(photos J. Haspel / ICOMOS.DE)
References
Airbnb in NYC: The Real Numbers Behind the Sharing Story
https://skift.com/2014/02/13/airbnb-in-nyc-the-real-numbersbehind-the-sharing-story/
How Airbnb took over the world
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/may/05/airbnb-homelessness-renting-housing-accommodation-social-policy-cities-travel-leisure
Inside Airbnb insideairbnb.com
Ten cities ask EU for help to fight Airbnb expansion https://www.
theguardian.com/cities/2019/jun/20/ten-cities-ask-eu-for-helpto-fight-airbnb-expansion?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Gmail
Unfairbnb https://corporateeurope.org/sites/default/files/unfairbnb.pdf
140
INTERNATIONAL POLAR HERITAGE
COMMITTEE
Heritage at Risk in the Polar Regions
In the Heritage at Risk publications of 2001, 2002/2003, 2004
and 2006/2007 various threats to and challenges concerning the
conservation of monuments and sites in the polar regions were
presented. Unfortunately, none of these negative concerns have
been reduced during the past years; on the contrary, the challenges to the health and safety of polar heritage are only increasing.
Global warming is the greatest threat to the
polar regions
Where the history of human presence in the High Arctic can be
traced back to at least 28 000 years ago, when small groups began
moving into north-eastern Siberia from eastern Asia, human history in Antarctica began as late as the early 19th century and for
reasons of climate and logistics was only scattered and intermittent up to recent times.1 However, even though the global climate
has earlier seen both Ice Ages and interglacial warm periods, reconstructions show that the current global temperature is higher
than at least 75 % of the temperatures during the past 11 300 years
or so and that the current temperature increase is an almost vertical line on the graph.2 The latest Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on the impacts of global
warming estimates that human activities have caused from 0.8 ° C
to 1.2 ° C of global warming above pre-industrial levels.3 Over
Fig. 1: The historical trapping station ‘Fredheim’ in Svalbard was moved
in 2015 to the ridge to be seen on the left in order to escape from the
rapid shoreline erosion (photo Susan Barr)
and above this, the Arctic is warming at almost twice the global
average.4 In Antarctica the mean annual air temperature of the
Antarctic Peninsula has increased by nearly 3° C in the last 50
years, with parts of the Arctic being the only comparable region.
The temperature of the rest of Antarctica shows indications of
rising at a slower rate, but still rising.5 At the end of July 2019
the regular temperature observations in the Arctic archipelago of
Svalbard (Longyearbyen) showed 104 continuous months of average temperatures over the normal (= the period 1961–1990).6
Cruise tourism is a huge challenge
Therefore, our previous reports of the negative impacts of the
warming polar regions are still relevant, and at an increasing rate.
Diminishing sea ice has steadily opened areas to cruise tourism
at the same time as cruise tourism is becoming a global problem
with its fuel-consuming pollution as well as the impact of up to
several thousand passengers being disgorged at vulnerable sites
of both cultural and natural significance. New cruise ships were
being built in 2018 by “Just about every major cruise line”,7 while
41 new cruise ships designed for sea ice conditions are planned to
be launched between 2019 and 2022.8
There is a small consolation in the messages from some cruise
operators that they understand the challenges and are modernising and adapting the design of ships towards more “environmentally friendly” ships with regard to details ranging from fuel to
plastic spoons. However, the best way for cruise operators to
Fig. 2: Attempts to stop coastal erosion in Barrow, Alaska
(photo Susan Barr)
International Polar Heritage Committee
141
Fig. 3: Snow Hill historic hut in Antarctica showing an attempt to stop increasing erosion of the gravel mound it sits on (photo Mike Pearson)
help to protect polar heritage is to refrain from transporting large
numbers of people to these fragile areas, where even a few boots
walking around a modest heritage site can cause indelible tracks
and irreparable damage to the logs, planks, turf and whale bone
structures that are hardly comprehensible without knowledgeable
explanations, yet are unique bearers of information about earlier
human activity in these harsh regions.
Natural erosion threatens many polar sites
A large percentage of heritage sites in the polar regions are situated near to the coast. For many indigenous people in the Arctic
the sea was a major source of food and necessary materials for
much of what they needed in life through the food, skins, bones
and sinews they could get from seals, small whales, fish, shellfish
and polar bears. For explorers, trappers, scientists, sealers and
others who travelled to the polar regions, ships and boats were a
major means of transportation and dwellings and other structures
were naturally established by the coast. Coastal and riverbank
erosion has happened throughout time, but the recent accelerated
temperature rises, permafrost thaws and diminishing sea ice are
causing a rapid increase in erosion which is taking many heritage
sites with it to be lost in the sea or river. IPHC member Anne M.
Jensen has extensive experience with archaeological challenges
in the face of rapid coastal erosion on the north coast of Alaska,9
while Antarctic colleagues are anxiously debating how Snow Hill
hut, one of the six “Heroic Age” huts on the continent, can be
saved as the sediment mound on which it was situated in 1902
becomes destabilised owing to thawing permafrost.
Some mitigation attempts
Three methods currently used in the face of rapid erosion of cultural heritage sites are emergency excavation, digital documentation and physical intervention at the site. Jensen has worked for
many years out of Barrow, Alaska on emergency excavations to
salvage paleoenvironmental information and indigenous heritage
from the rapidly eroding coastline. Amongst several multi-year
projects, she has worked with local students to excavate a threatened major Thule cemetery (c. AD 1000 –1500) at Point Barrow,
Alaska, where the northernmost Ipiutak (c. AD 300 – 400) occupation in the world was recently discovered.10
Digital documentation – 3D scanning – is becoming more widely used as a detailed archival reference where the cultural heritage itself cannot be permanently saved. Currently in Norwegian
Arctic Svalbard the coal mining settlement of Sveagruva, which
was first established in 1917 but has now been closed down, is
being digitally recorded before an ambitious project to erase as
much as possible of the activity’s impact on the area is completed.
A previous ambitious project on the sub-Antarctic island of South
Georgia 3D-scanned the large industrial whaling sites that were in
use between 1904 and 1965. These industrial complexes cannot
be maintained and are closed to visitors owing to environmental
hazards such as decaying buildings and loose asbestos materials.
The results of the scanning project, which was financed in cooperation between British and Norwegian authorities, enable virtual
visits to the stations and detailed examination of the buildings
inside and out.11
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International Polar Heritage Committee
Physical intervention at an erosion-threatened heritage site can
consist of barriers of stone, concrete, sandbags, or other methods
to stop the water eating away at the shoreline. This may be effective but is certainly a huge impact on the appearance of the site
itself. In the polar areas, there are usually logistical challenges
that add to the infeasibility of this approach. In the last instance, if
the heritage is a standing structure and not an archaeological site
such as a burial area, the structure might possibly be moved to a
better-protected site nearby. Two such examples among several
are from Herschel Island, Canada in 2003 and Svalbard, Norway
in 2015. In 2003 a small building belonging to a whaling and
trading company that acted in the Canadian Arctic area at the beginning of the last century was moved back from the shore even
as the sea was already lapping around its base.12 In Svalbard a
highly-prioritised historical trapping station from 1927, consisting of three small buildings, was moved 37 metres in from the
erosion edge and placed in the same pattern on a raised ridge in
order to keep it for, hopefully, a good number of years to come.
Modern technology aids
IPHC Secretary General Bryan Lintott adds that polar heritage
work already also utilises satellite technology for monitoring
coastal erosion. This technology provides information on potential archaeological coastal sites at risk and allows informed
decisions on how limited heritage conservation resources are allocated. It can also be utilised to monitor illegal activity such
as pillaging of mammoth tusks and the destruction of associated
archaeological sites by thieves using high-pressure hoses to erode
riverbanks – the sediment generated producing a plume downstream. Illegal surface excavations are also visible.
At the terrestrial level, through motion analysis photogrammetry, images of historic sites and monuments can be used to
monitor processes of change caused by natural and anthropogenic
factors. Tour operators could contribute to this by ensuring that
with each site visit, they produce a set of images that are available
to heritage managers and researchers.
No immediate solutions
Although some may think of the High Arctic and Antarctica as
barren, icy wildernesses they in fact contain in sum thousands of
monuments and sites, mostly small and modest but all with an
important historical message for us today. At a faster rate than
ever before the “heritage population” is being reduced owing to
both natural causes and to the phenomenon well known amongst
us all of heritage being “loved to death”. Those with responsibility and feelings for the polar heritage are doing their best to
mitigate degeneration and destruction from either natural or human impact, but the most effective solution to all these challenges
would be to be able to influence a return to the frozen state of the
regions that we all considered some years ago to be the “natural”
state of these extremities on the globe. Unfortunately, it will not
happen on my watch!
Susan Barr
IPHC Arctic Advisor
Footnotes
1
Barr, Susan 2019: Polar Cultural Heritage, Too Important to
Lose (English and Chinese). Shanghai.
2
https://www.climate.gov/news-features/climate-qa/what%E2%80%99s-hottest-earth-has-been-%E2%80%9Clately%E2%80%9D
3
https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/
4
https://arcticwwf.org/work/climate/
5
https://coolantarctica.com/Antarctica%20fact%20file/science/
global_warming.php
6
Statistics from the Norwegian Meteorological Institute.
7
https://eu.usatoday.com/story/travel/cruises/2018/01/02/preview-hottest-new-cruise-ships-2018/985165001/
8
9
10
11
12
https://www.highnorthnews.com/en/french-cruise-ship-settravel-north-pole-2021
See for example her slides about this at https://iceandtime.files.
wordpress.com/2016/08/jensen-saa-2016-final-reduced.pdf
https://www.arcus.org/researchers/36204/display
http://www.shadowindustries.co.uk/south-georgia
See the article “Canada’s Yukon Territory – Heritage at the
Edge” by IPHC member Doug Olynyk, in: Cultural Heritage
in the Arctic and Antarctic Regions, IPHC publication 2004,
pp. 53 –56.
143
INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE
ON 20TH CENTURY HERITAGE
The Y-block in Oslo, Norway
In 2016, ISC20C and ICOMOS issued an international Heritage
Alert regarding the planned demolition of the so-called Y-block of
the Norwegian Government Quarter at the heart of Oslo, the capital of Norway. Prior to this, ICOMOS had issued a letter of warning and had a meeting with the Secretary of State, but to no avail.
Background
The Government Quarter was one of two sites subject to the terror attacks of 22 July 2011 in and outside Oslo. A bomb explosion
at the Government Quarter killed eight people and injured many
others. Outside the city at a political youth camp, 69 youngsters
were shot down in cold blood. Several buildings suffered serious
damage, including the H-block and the Y-block, two monumental
buildings central to the Government Quarter at the centre of Oslo.
Even though the H-block and the Y-block are designed as an in-
separable unit with exceptionally high cultural and architectural
significance, the Norwegian Government decided to tear down
the Y-block in 2014, to make way for a contemporary, high-security new Government compound.
The buildings
The modern Government Quarter is located next to Norway’s first
government buildings from 1891, close to the Parliament from
1866 and other important official buildings. The architect Erling
Viksjø (1910 –1971) planned two complementary, monumental
buildings, the H-block and the Y-block. The grouping of official
buildings in this area started in the mid-19th century, continuing
up to the latest government buildings of the 1990s.
The H-block was built first and finished in 1958. It is a Corbusier-inspired high-rise of 17 floors in a concrete and steel construction. The ground floor is recessed, exposing the bearing columns. The concrete is saturated with rounded river pebbles, then
sand-blasted to create a natural finish. Architect Erling Viksjø and
Fig. 1: Erling Viksjø: H-block and Y-block (photo Teigens Fotoatelier, 1969–1972. Copyright: Dextra Photo)
144
International Scientific Committee on 20th Century Heritage
Fig. 2: Pablo Picasso, work in progress (photo Carl Nesjar, 1958 – 60.
The National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Architecture
collections. Copyright: The National Museum of Art, Architecture and
Design)
Fig. 3: Y-block, 2014 (photo: Olaf Steen, ICOMOS Norway)
the engineer Sverre Jystad experimented during the 1950s with
concrete surfaces in order to achieve an ornamented surface with
colour and texture. The sand-blasted natural concrete became the
hallmark of Viksjø, and has been widely used since.
The Y-block was planned as a pendant to the H-block and was
finished in 1969. It is only four floors high, Y-shaped, and embraces one side of the high H-block, creating a very characteristic and inviting public space. The facades are rounded, in the
same sand-blasted natural concrete finish as the H-block. At the
main short end of the exterior and in the entrance hall there are
monumental decorations by Pablo Picasso. The execution was
a cooperation between Picasso and Carl Nesjar (1920–2015),
a Norwegian sculptor. There are also artworks by prominent
Norwegian artists in the public areas of the H- and Y-blocks. The
artworks were directly sand-blasted onto the concrete surface and
are an integral part of the building, both at the short end of the exterior facade and in the main interior spaces. These extraordinary
artworks were created in close relationship between the architect
and the artists.
The architect Erling Viksjø played a key role in developing
the modernistic architectural language in Norway, where form,
function, symbols, materials and decoration were to be totally
integrated. His pioneering research into the aesthetic qualities of
natural concrete inspired concrete work in monumental buildings
throughout the world. The international importance of Viksjø
and Jystad’s technical and aesthetical experiments with the use
of sand-blasted natural concrete is a very important part of the
architecture itself.
The intimate and inseparable integration of architecture and
artistic decoration make the H-block and Y-block in Oslo a modernistic masterpiece not only in a Norwegian, but also in an international context. Here, Picasso ventured on his first experiments with the active integration of creative arts and architecture.
His cooperation with Carl Nesjar, who physically sand-blasted
his decorations, was also the beginning of Picasso’s work with
monumental public decorations in New York, Paris, Barcelona,
Stockholm, and Jerusalem.
On 22 July 2011, a protection order according to the Norwegian
Heritage Act by the Directorate for Cultural Heritage was actually
only awaiting its final signature.
Significance
The complementary H- and Y-block are the most important
monumental expressions of the breakthrough of modernism in
Norway, within both architecture and the pictorial arts. Viksjø’s
government buildings symbolise Norway’s democratic and optimistic community with the rest of the world in the post-World
War II reconstruction, and the building of institutions for community and democracy. This belief was given an international
perspective in the fact that an artist such as Picasso was invited
and was himself inspired by Viksjø’s project. The fact that the
buildings survived the terror actions of 22 July 2011 strengthens
their historical significance.
The threat
When the precinct planning process started in 2013, the Ministry
for Environment gave the Directorate for Cultural Heritage the
mandate to make a report with updated assessments on protection
value and new use of these two modernistic buildings and the
rest of the Government Quarter. The report concludes: The main
construction and artwork of the H-block and the Y-block were not
damaged by the terror attack. The cultural heritage, architectural
and artistic values in the complex have not been undermined. The
Directorate for Cultural Heritage recommends preservation.
International Scientific Committee on 20th Century Heritage
In spite of the recommendations from its own directorate, in
May 2014 the Norwegian Government decided to collocate almost all ministries on the site of the Government Quarter. This
decision was based on concerns for security and efficiency.
Implicit in that decision and the future planning process was preservation of the damaged H-block and demolition of the Y-block.
The zoning plan presupposes a new, high building in place of the
Y-block.
ICOMOS approached the Norwegian government in 2014, stating that these decisions would seem incomprehensible only a few
years on. Not only is the Y-block a building with great architectural and artistic values in its own right, it is also an integrated
part of the Government Quarter.
The conclusion of the ICOMOS ISC20C was that because demolishing the Y-block had been a presupposition for all planning
work for the area, an informed discussion on a possible and sustainable use of the Y-block was excluded from the start. All feasibility studies that were presented in 2015 were made on this basis.
The inherent artistic qualities of the Y-block, in possible reuse or
as part of a rebuilding project, were excluded as point of departure. A group of students from the Oslo School of Architecture
and Design nonetheless presented a study where the Y-block was
integrated. The study was rejected as irrelevant. These political
decisions were made despite clear, well founded studies and recommendations made by the Norwegian Directorate for Cultural
Heritage in 2013, cited above, and the clear advice from the international expert body ICOMOS. A collected milieu of architects,
architectural students and other professionals renewed their claim
that the Y-block must be an integrated part of the feasibility study.
The Directorate of Cultural Heritage repeated and emphasised its
recommendations in March 2016.
The security claim is seen by ICOMOS as questionable, as up
to today the government has not shown any documentation as to
the necessity of demolishing the Y-block. Besides, parts of the
building, amongst which the northern wing, are actually today in
full use by government employees, who are very happy to work
in the building.
At the point when ICOMOS approached the minister, public
opinion was not yet raised, and the international Heritage Alert
issued in 2016 hardly reached any newspapers, though it was referred to in international press. In 2019, the Y-block was nominated among the most endangered European heritage sites by
Europa Nostra.
After the closed governmental process had finished and the demolition process started with local authorities, public opinion was on
the rise. At this point, ICOMOS repeated its arguments in letters to
the Government and local authorities, alongside the National Trust
and Norwegian Association of Architects. Today, there is an active
debate in most newspapers, The National Trust and Norwegian
Association of Architects are actively protesting, and an Action
Group holds weekly protest markings in front of the Y-block. The
present situation is a stalemate, where the Government states that
the process has come too far and is too costly to reconsider, and
upholding a rather passé idea of security, whilst the protesting bodies are arguing for a preservation of the Y-block.
The case has passed through the hands of the County Governor,
who could not stop the process on legal grounds, but actually
urged the Government to reconsider.
At present, the National Trust, the Norwegian Association of
Architects and the Action Group have received anonymous private funding for a lawsuit against the State. The charge is expected before spring 2020, complaining mainly on the undemocratic
145
process and the lack of consideration for all professional advice,
home and abroad.
Status June 2020
At this moment, the Y-block is being demolished. The lawsuit
against the State has been withdrawn, as the Government will
not postpone the demolition until a judicial decision is made.
Kirsti Gulowsen and Olaf Steen
ICOMOS Norway/ISC20C
The Viking Ship Hall, Roskilde,
Denmark
The Viking Ship Hall is the main exhibition hall for the Danish
Viking Ship Museum, situated about 30 km west of Copenhagen.
The museum is one of four in the world displaying Viking ships.
The Hall was built as a combined working and exhibition space
in 1968 at Roskilde after the discovery and excavation of six
flattened shipwrecks in the nearby fjord. It is considered a masterwork of modern Danish architecture. It was the second late
modern building being listed for protection in Denmark in 1997,
but was delisted in 2018 after a long period of political pressure.
It is now under threat of demolition.
ICOMOS’ arguments for preserving the hall as a part
of the new museum
The ICOMOS Heritage Alert states that “ISC20C and all Danish
heritage organisations consider this an alarming and unnecessary
loss of one of the most internationally significant modern buildings in Denmark.
ISC20C appeals for the preservation of the Viking Ship Hall,
stressing that the structural issues and the climate conditions of
the building site are not unique and can be addressed. The investment and the effort to preserve architectural masterpieces in concrete are widely supported and achieved in many places around
the world.
ISC20C appeals for immediate action to preserve the Viking
Ship Hall as an internationally outstanding architectural ensemble
that has significant future large socio-economic potential.”
“a unique structure that creatively integrates museum,
setting and archaeology in a way that transcends
historic definitions”1
Thus was the description of ICOMOS in 2018. The Viking Ship
Hall is an approx. 2000 m2 building sitting directly on the shoreline, the water hitting the north glass facade. It is a strict, almost
classical rhythmic structure of exposed concrete with large glass
facades and vast sculptured panels on the flat roof to reflect the
skylight into the exhibition space.
Inside, the architecture plays on the contrast between the
curved ships and the strictly orthogonal structure, the different
daylight effects, as well as the presentation of the ships in front of
their natural habitat, the sea. The interplay of the wooden texture
of the ships and the wooden board-marked finish of the concrete
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International Scientific Committee on 20th Century Heritage
Fig. 1: The large combined working and exhibition space of the Viking Ship Hall seen from the upper level platform. The drawing underlines the
interplay between the strictly orthogonal concrete structure and the dark, curved shipwrecks (drawing by Erik Christian Sørensen Architects,
1963 – 67, published by the Royal Danish Art Library inv. No. 52803)
adds to the delicacy of the design. The architect also stressed that
the doubling of the structure, such as the columns, was adding to
the spatial experience of the hall.
The building is dominated by the one large space which exhibits all five shipwrecks. The space is designed for the visitors
to see the ships from different levels and different angles and
without fences or glass. At the time of the inauguration, there
were no actual shipwrecks in the hall, only steel skeletons on
which the hull parts were to be mounted. For the first years, the
visitors could then follow the work of the archaeologists. The exhibition concept was a new one at the time. Today the mounting
of the ships is complete, and the hall is only an exhibition space,
but the concept of a working museum is still a trademark for the
Viking Ship Museum. It is one of the most important museums in
Denmark and welcomes 170.000 visitors and half a million users
as well 1000 volunteers per year.2
Architect and engineer
There is very little literature about the Viking Ship Hall as architectural oeuvre, although both the architect and the building
are very well known in Denmark. The Hall was designed by the
Danish architect Erik Christian Sørensen and the engineering firm
Ostenfeld (today COWI). Sørensen won the architectural competition in 1963 and the Hall was inaugurated in 1969.
Cultural significance and mentions
In the year of the inauguration, Sørensen was assigned an architectural prize from the Danish wood industry, recognising that
the hall “at some point of its development was a wooden house”3
and that “The heavy concrete walls and the clean structural lines
provide the best possible background for the ships’ light material
and fine curves. Many other virtues can be cited, including that
the structure can be extended, if new findings make that desirable.”
The national advisory board (DSB), which assesses all proposals for listings wrote: “In its overall character and setting in the
landscape, Erik Chr. Sørensen’s Viking Ship Hall, constructed
1966 – 68, embodies outstanding architectonic values that justify
the listing of a building that is less than 100 years old”. When
the museum applied for a delisting in 2016, the national advisory board reviewed the assessment. The board stressed that the
Hall was built upon structuralist principles and a to certain degree
could be transformed. It also described the Hall as a “(…) humane and easily understandable interpretation, in which the soft
curvature of the ships’ spans is enrichingly contrasted by the pure
building design built 1000 years later – without any decoration
and ornamentation.”
ICOMOS wrote a Heritage Alert in 2018. In 2019, the research
INNOVA CONCRETE-programme adopted the Viking Ship Hall
as one of the 100 most important European concrete masterworks
and it is now on the INNOVA CONCRETE “100-from-the-20th”
list.
Case history
The delisting of the Hall in August 2018 was the result of a long
history of challenges specific to the site, but it is also an issue that
is coming up for heritage all over the world.
International Scientific Committee on 20th Century Heritage
147
Fig. 2: The Viking Ship Hall situated directly on the shoreline with the
water hitting the north glass façade is one of the most suggestive features of the structure, bringing the natural habitat of the ships as close
to the wrecks as possible. From outside, the building meets the changing nature of the sea as did the shipwrecks centuries ago
(photo Grethe Pontoppidan, 2018)
Fig. 3: The interior of the museum overlooking the fjord
(photo Grethe Pontoppidan, 2018)
The museum was designed to be expanded and this has been an
issue for the growing museum since the listing. In 1997 the museum built the first expansion, a ‘museum island and harbour’ next
to the buffer zone of the then listed hall. The concrete construction of the Hall was painted in 1989–90. Erik Christian Sørensen
made a unrealised project for restoration in 2006. The museum
states that it has not been able to secure financial support for a
major restoration of the Hall and ordinary maintenance seems to
have been postponed repeatedly since 2010.4
In 2013 the discussion about the preservation of the Hall
took a dramatic turn. The water pressure of a major storm surge
threatened to break the north façade of the Viking Ship Hall. The
dramatic pictures were broadcasted and a few months later the
spokesman of the Danish Folks Party (DF) in agreement with the
museum made headlines in the media with a statement that the
Viking Ship Hall ought to be demolished and replaced by a new
museum in the ‘Viking style’. It created a national political debate and received a lot of attention from the media, resulting in a
discussion between the museum and the national heritage authorities. The discussions ended in 2018, when the minister of culture
delisted the Hall against the advice of her own department and
the national advisory board. The formal argument is the “Ministry
of Culture’s assessment that the maintenance obligation cannot
be extended to include the execution of the structural changes
and new measures that NIRAS considers necessary to secure the
building in a 50-year perspective.“
has donated DKK 150 million. It is planned to raise around DKK
360 million extra private funding. The risk of demolition is grave.
From a technical point of view, the Viking Ship Hall is in acute
need of maintenance and it must be fortified against climate
change, i.e. the rising of the sea level and increasingly common
storm surges. According to the museum and with reference to the
latest technical report from 2016, the maintenance and reinforcement needs are:
– Renovation/altering of the roof and its drainage;
– Renovation of the brick facades south, east and west (maintenance to protect against occasional floods, standard concrete
Risk
The future of the Hall is still not fully known. There is now no
formal regulation to protect the Viking Ship Hall or its surroundings as heritage.
With financial support from the state, the museum is about to
announce an architectural competition for a new museum. The
museum has declared that they are planning to tear down the hall.
Their argument is that “the Hall cannot be preserved as it is”.
They have until now rejected the idea of preserving the Hall as an
integral part of a new 7,500m2 large museum, for which the state
Fig. 4: The Viking Ship Hall seen from the museum extension built in
1997. The extension is a new harbour area laid out as a new working
museum, which reconstructs old Viking ships as those found in the
fjord. Museum guests follow the reconstructions as they once followed
the setting up of the wrecks. During summer time the reconstructed
ships can be seen sailing on the fjord from the exhibition hall
(photo Grethe Pontoppidan, 2019)
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International Scientific Committee on 20th Century Heritage
repairs, and consolidation due to chloride, different cracks,
etc);
– A new façade towards the sea (to secure it against the water,
and to control the UV of the daylight);
– Drainage of the cellar and foundation (to protect against upward thrust and eventually leaks in the membrane);
– A membrane/water barrier in the ‘podium’ of the Hall.
demolished in 2017 despite intensive global campaigns, and the
second is fighting against similar threats. The third example narrates threats of ‘redevelopment’ faced by India’s most celebrated
urban complex, the Central Vista of the British Imperial Capital,
New Delhi (Case Study 3), highlighting the need to frame appropriate policies for inclusion of historic properties in contemporary
development programmes.
The museum stresses that the above-mentioned renovation will
not comply with today’s rules for security, energy or accessibility. However, several technical reports that have been prepared
between 2010 and 2018 all conclude that it is perfectly possible
to renovate the Hall, only the cost estimates vary from DKK 25
to 65 million.5 This is still less than the DKK 150 million donated
by the state. The lack of maintenance and repair is more than a
serious structural issue. The lack of technical care for an icon
such as the Viking Ship Hall also reduces the common awareness of the special qualities and needs of concrete heritage, and
impairs the belief that it is perfectly possible to preserve concrete
structures.
Case Study 1: The Unnecessary Demolition of the Hall
of Nations Complex, New Delhi – When Heritage is
Subsumed under Urban Development
Grethe Pontoppidan
ICOMOS Denmark / ISC20C
Footnotes
1
ICS20C, “ICOMOS Heritage Alert. The Viking Ship Hall,
Roskilde, Denmark”, 2018, https://www.icomos.org/fr/
simpliquer/nous-informer/alerte-patrimoine/alertes-encours/53199-alerte-patrimoine-the-viking-ship-hall-roskildedanemark.
2
“Nyt Vikingeskibsmuseum. Foretræde for Folketingets kulturudvalg 20.11.2019” (Powerpoint, Folketingets kulturudvalg,
20. November 2019).
3
Poul Erik Skriver, “Træprisen 69 (Tale fra prisoverrækkelse
26. sept. 1969)”, Arkitekten 1969 (u.å.): 476 –77.
4
Kulturministeriet, “Kulturministeriets afgørelse vedr. klage
over Slots- og Kulturstyrelsens afslag på at ophæve fredningen
af Vikingeskibshallen”, 30. august 2018, 11–12.
5
Kulturministeriet, 11.
The ‘Hall of Nations Complex’, the world’s largest concrete
space frame and an undisputed marker in India’s post-independence architectural history, was demolished in April 2017 to
make way for a ‘State-of-the Art’ Convention Centre more suited
to contemporary needs and future vision. That this tragedy could
happen despite intensive public campaigns and litigations to safeguard the historic edifice, that no notice was taken of its national
and global significance, its sound physical state, the possibilities
of retrofitting, or the fact that it occupied merely 3 % of the total
site and could well be integrated into the new proposal – all illustrate the gravity of the situation and underscore the need to focus
on value-based assessment of 20thcentury heritage in India, if not
in all of South Asia.
The Challenge of Conserving
Post-Independence 20th-Century
Heritage of India
The project and its cultural context
The ‘Hall of Nations Complex’ was built in 1972 as the focus of
Pragati Maidan, a 130 acre permanent exhibition venue in New
Delhi that hosted India’s first International Trade Fair, with the
express aim to celebrate 25 years of India’s independence and
loudly proclaim its industrial achievement. The 1970s were a critical period of post-independence India when, though struggling
with resource limitations, the country was making every effort to
keep pace with the developed world and establish its own identity – blending the traditional and the modern in all spheres of
life, including technology and architecture. The ‘Hall of Nations
Complex’, designed by Raj Rewal (architect) and Mahendra Raj
(structural engineer), reflected such aspirations. With its immense
proportions and complex geometry, it was to become famous as
the largest cast-in-situ concrete space frame in the world. Created
as it was through rudimentary handcrafted techniques and inexpensive construction materials, without compromising efficiency
and precision of execution, the structure became a symbol of 20th
century India’s self-sufficiency, a marker of excellence in India’s
architectural and engineering history, charting out a specifically
Indian Modernity. These concrete structures remain unparalleled
in the world1
The inscription of Le Corbusier’s Capitol on the World Heritage
List and the placement of some other 20th century historic properties on India’s Tentative List has brought about a decisive change
in attitude towards the country’s recent heritage. However, a considerable ground remains to be covered to ensure its value-based
assessment, protection, scientific conservation and, especially,
its integration into contemporary and future development programmes. Given here are three recent cases that illustrate various
facets of the situation. The first two examples are cases of individual buildings, both iconic designs of India’s most celebrated
modernists– Raj Rewal’s ‘Hall of Nations Complex’ (Case Study
1) and, Charles Correa’s ‘Kala Academy’(Case Study 2) facing
the threat of ‘functional and aesthetic obsolescence’. The first was
Design intent, structural design and construction system
The fabric and form of the complex was unique, driven by desired versatility to display objects such as aircraft, earthmoving
equipment, tractors and cranes. It comprised two monumental
column-free, large-span space structures – the ‘Hall of Nations’,
a single, 6700 sq.m truncated square pyramid, and the ‘Hall of
Industries’ made up of four smaller similar forms covering 7500
sq.m – both connected through ramps and bridges above ground
and grouped to enclose a space for open-air exhibits. The ‘Hall
of Nations’ had a clear span of 78m, with internal height varying
from 3 m to 21 m. The four pavilions of the ‘Hall of Industries’
were raised on a 18m-high base of 40 m x 40 m, their height varied from 2.5 m to 15 m.
International Scientific Committee on 20th Century Heritage
The structural design –a space frame system with a truncated
pyramid as the basic module – was arrived at after investigating multiple alternatives, such as folded plates and hyperbolic
paraboloids. Both structures are composites of smaller unit pyramids. The units used for the ‘Hall of Nations’ have a 4.9 m x
4.9 m base and 3.5m height. Those for the ‘Hall of Industries’
are 2.6 m high and 3.6 m x 3.6 m at the base. The configuration
of both these basic pyramids is such that all members of the
square base and the four triangular sides have the same length,
finally allowing the same building slope and the angle of this
basic unit at 54°44’8”. Constraints of economy and technology necessitated the use of in-situ concrete and manual labour
in place of steel or pre-cast concrete. Careful conceptualisation
of construction stages helped reduce time and cost, as no scaffolding was needed before the construction of the roof.2 The
rhombic cross-section of the space frame members was an outcome of the search for a joint that would be easier to construct.
The hand-made structural drawings of the project were also of
unprecedented complexity and, in themselves, constitute documents of historic significance.3
The Halls were designed to be naturally lit and climatically
comfortable. In a modern interpretation of the traditional Indian
jali – a geometrical configuration of perforations that obstructs
harsh sun while permitting air circulation– the architect used the
depth of the structural space frame as a sun breaker.
Physical and legal status
Use and Condition: Since its construction in 1972, the Pragati
Maidan and the Hall of Nations Complex was the venue for large
annual exhibitions and cultural events, and a major activity node
popular with all citizens of Delhi, deeply embedded in their memories. No changes were made to the original design and layout.
The photographs taken (by the author herself) in September 2016
show that the buildings were structurally sound with only very
minor signs of distress in concrete members. The complex, thus,
fully satisfied the most stringent tests of integrity and authenticity.
Legal Protection: Delhi’s heritage laws are applicable only to
pre-1947, pre-independence structures.4 What this means is that
even the most significant heritage created after 1947 has no protection and can be damaged or demolished at will. Despite the
fact that the Delhi Chapter of the Indian National Trust for Art
Fig. 1: The Hall of Nations is the largest cast-in-situ concrete space
frame structure in the world, exemplifying an economic argument and
simple aesthetic of modernity by utilizing minimal resources and indigenous technology in post-Independent India. (© Kiran Joshi, personal
collection, September 2016)
Fig. 2a: Plan view of Hall of Nations, Hall of Industries connected at the
mezzanine level (Source: Mehta Vandini, Mehndiratta, Rohit Raj,Huber
Ariel (2016), The Structure –Works of Mahendra Raj,Zurich)
Fig. 2b: View of the complex around 1972(Source: https://web.archive.
org/web/20130611023242/http://www.rajrewal.in/projects/exhibition-hall-nations.html)
Fig. 3: View of the complex (© Kiran Joshi, personal collection,
September 2016)
4a and 4b: Interior view of an exhibition in progress (Source: https://
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pragati_Maidan)
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Fig. 4a and 4b: Interior view of an exhibition in progress (Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pragati_Maidan)
Fig. 5: Hall of Industries conceived as a combination of four square
pavilions with chamfered corners (© Kiran Joshi,personal collection,
September 2016)
Fig. 6: External view of the lattice framework inspired by traditional
jalis-sunbreakers and louvres (© Kiran Joshi, personal collection,
September 2016)
and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) had been pressing since 2012
for the protection of historic properties of the post-independence era, no legal protection was made available for the Hall
of Nations Complex.5 Delhi’s Heritage Conservation Committee
(HCC) and the Delhi Urban Art Commission (DUAC) who were
approached for recognition and notification as Heritage did not
respond, either.
Efforts at protection
Following reports of plans for demolition of this landmark
structure, architects and heritage professionals began making
all kinds of efforts to safeguard the structures. A number of
pleas were made to local authorities (such as Delhi’s Heritage
Conservation Committee and the Urban Arts Commission)
through various individuals, institutions and agencies to recognise and protect the Hall of Nations Complex. Intensifying its
The threat
The owners / management of the complex, the ‘Indian Trade
Promotion Council’ (ITPC),6 had been complaining that the
original design, facilities and infrastructure of Pragati Maidan,
as conceived in 1972, had become inadequate and obsolete to
hold expositions of the scale needed in the 21st century. An ambitious redevelopment plan conceived in 2006, ahead of the 2010
Commonwealth Games, was later translated into a concrete project for an ‘Integrated Exhibition-cum-Convention Centre’ spread
over the entire 123-acres site, with a seating capacity of 7000,
parking for 4800–5000 cars, a 500-room hotel, a large food and
beverages complex, pools, moving floors and helipad, besides
exhibition halls.7 The Hall of Nations Complex, along with other
permanent structures built in 1972, deemed obsolete, were slated
for demolition. The IECC, promoted as a flagship project of the
India Trade Promotion Organisation, was to open with the G20
Summit in early 2019.
Fig. 7: Interiors of Hall of Nations showing the system of natural lighting,
sound state of materials and structure (© Kiran Joshi, September 2016)
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efforts to gain protection of post-independence heritage, Public
Interest Litigations were filed against the HCC, DUAC, the three
Municipal Corporations of Delhi and the New Delhi Municipal
Council, seeking stay of the impending demolition.8 In 2015, a
proposal was mooted to convert the ‘Hall of Nations’ at Pragati
Maidan into a ‘Museum of Indian Design’.9 There were efforts to
draw global attention to the iconic exhibition structure.10 Letters
of support were received from leading Indian and global organisations such as Centre Pompidou, Paris, ETH Zurich, New
York’s Museum of Modern Art, and the International Union of
Architects, noting the architectural and engineering ingenuity
of the complex and appealing for recognition and upholding of
its historic and cultural significance. However, all efforts proved
futile as the provisions of the local Heritage Regulations do not
enable protection of structures built after 1947.The decision left
several other post-independence buildings in a legal vacuum of
sorts and vulnerable to being damaged irreversibly.
The demolition
On the morning of April 24th, 2017 India woke up in shock to the
news of the demolition of the Hall of Nations and the four Halls
of Industries during the previous night. Hier Abb. 8 und 9 The act,
widely believed to have been driven by real estate concerns alone,
was met with widespread condemnation by architects, historians
and conservation professionals, not just because of the loss of
an important piece of the nation’s heritage but of the manner in
which it had been undertaken. The adjacent Nehru Pavilion, another path-breaking design by Raj Rewal, was demolished sometime in the ensuing week. The architect of the structures called it
“an act of outrage” since the matter was sub-judice in the Delhi
High Court.
Lessons for the future
There is no contesting the fact that the demolition was an outright tragedy that deprived the coming generations of an important part of their cultural heritage, creating a legacy inconsistent
with history. The case is of special significance for the new republics of the 20th century, all actors in various nation-building
and modernisation processes, their territories being the stage for
a vast repertoire of highly significant 20th century heritage. What
lessons can be learnt by India and other nations that are struggling with issues of “age limit” and “value-based assessment” for
listing and protection of historic properties, and the need to consider retention of these as integral components of development
schemes. Very obviously, a change in attitude towards our recent
heritage is of prime importance, while modification of existing
heritage legislation is needed to ensure stringent legal protection.
Kiran Joshi
Former President ICOMOS India
Voting Member ISC20C
References
Bhatt, Vikram and Scriver, Peter. “After the Masters”. University
of Washington (1991)
Bibliothèque des Arts, Architecture Contemporaine / Contemporary Architecture, (Paris/ Lausanne) Vol. 7, 1984 – 85
Dalvi, Mustansir. “The demolished Hall of Nations was a terrific example of a young country’s Make in India spirit”.https://
scroll.in/article/835860/the-hall-of-nations-was-a-terrific-ex-
Fig. 8: A newspaper report post-demolition (© archive of Kiran Joshi)
Fig. 9: Hall of Nations Demolished (www.hindustantimes.comphotosindia-newsthe-hall-of-nations-a-lost-heritage-of-delhi)
ample-of-a-young-countrys-make-in-india-spiritRetrieved
1 November 2017.
Kagal, Carmen and Ganju, MN Ashish, (Eds), “Modernity –
Inventing the future.” In Vistāra – The Architecture of India,
Catalogue of the Exhibition, The Festival of India, 1986.
Lang, J., Desai, M., Desai, M. “Architecture and Independence”,
New Delhi: Oxford University Press (1997)
Langar, Suneet Zishan. “The Demolition of Delhi’s Hall of
Nations Reveals India’s Broken Attitude to Architectural
Heritage” 23 Jun 2017. ArchDaily. Accessed 30 Sep 2019.
<https://www.archdaily.com/874154/the-demolition-of-del-
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his-hall-of-nations-reveals-indias-broken-attitude-to-architectural-heritage/> ISSN 0719-8884.
Mehrotra, Rahul, “World Architecture 1900–2000: A Critical
Mosaic: South Asia”. Vienna: Springer (2000).
Mehta, Vandini, Rohit Raj Mehndiratta, and Ariel Huber. “Hall
of Nations and Halls of Industries, New Delhi, 1972.” In The
Structure – Works of Mahendra Raj, 152–179. University of
Chicago Press, 2016.
Menon, AG Krishna. The Contemporary Architecture of Delhi:
a Critical History. New Delhi, India: TVB School of Habitat
Studies, 2003.
Petersen, Britta, Sleepless in Delhi Threatened Indian building
culture, Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ, English: “ New Journal
of Zurich”) March, 2017, 4:54 pm.
Petition: SAVE HALL OF NATIONS, HALLS OF INDUSTRIES
AND NEHRU PAVILION at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi India
From Demolition and also to allow these buildings to be put to
active public use, Tuesday, March 31, 2015 – 07:04 archnet.org.
Rewal, Arun, Bulldozing Pragati Maidan’s buildings will extinguish our shared heritage and a million memories.
Stierli, Martino , Remembering the Hall of Nations, New Delhi
Posted on August 29, 2017 https://post.at.moma.org/content_items/1038-remembering-the-hall-of-nations-newdelhi.
Taylor, Brian Brace. “Raj Rewal”. Mimar Publications (1992).
The Hall of Nations: A lost heritage of Delhi Apr 26, 2017 21:02
https://www.hindustantimes.com/photos/india-news/the-hallof-nations-a-lost-heritage-of-delhi/photo-YR6omdd3ovZ5tMaQ26m5JI.html.
Zafar, Sadiq, Outrage: ‘To destroy India’s Hall of Nations is an
attack on society’, Architectural Review, 13 May, 2016 http://
www.architecturalreview. com/10006369.article.
Case Study 2: Kala Academy, Goa, India11 – Under
Threat of Demolition by the Government of Goa
The Kala Academy, Goa’s cultural centre, designed by the
world-renowned architect Charles Correa12 in the late 1970s, is
threatened with demolition by the State Government. It is an extremely important building as it serves as the venue for almost
every cultural event in Panjim. As an architectural icon of the
post-independence period in India, it is of significance not just
in the State of Goa, but also on an international platform. As it
was designed nearly 50 years ago, like most other buildings in
this coastal town of Goa it has suffered the vagaries of climate.
However, the situation is not so grave or the problem so insurmountable that professional advice and intelligent conservation
measures cannot address. A lack of empathy and appreciation for
20th-century heritage on the part of the Government seems to
have led to this situation.
Description of the building
The Kala Academy, a popular cultural centre, is situated on the
banks of the River Mandovi in Goa’s capital city, Panjim. It was
designed by Charles Correa, a world-renowned architect of Goan
origin, who has to his credit some amazing icons of the post-independence era in India.13
The building sits low on the ground, hardly visible from the
road. A prominent feature of the building is the concrete and bamboo pergola which is like an extension of the foyer of the auditorium and amphitheatre. The open plan has no plinth and very few
walls, lending the building a feeling of openness and giving it a
remarkable character where the building seems to welcome one
and all. Designed to cater especially to the performing arts, it has
a number of facilities – a 1000-seat auditorium, a 200-seat openair amphitheatre, and a special “black box” for recordings and
productions. There is some basic accommodation for performers
and, more importantly, facilities for holding dance classes as well
as for imparting training in Indian and Western classical music.
The walls of the auditorium have a mural by the renowned Goan
artist Mario Miranda, depicting a traditional Goan theatre, replete
with renderings of local people seated in the boxes.
Architectural significance
The Kala Academy in Goa is admired the world over as an architectural marvel. While Charles Correa, later in his career, did
design a couple of other buildings in Goa, this was the very first
project in his place of origin, to which he was deeply connected.
It was also the very first cultural centre designed by him, as both
the Bharat Bhavan in Bhopal and the Jawahar Kala Kendra in
Jaipur were built much later than the Kala Academy. According
to Nondita Correa Mehrotra, Charles Correa’s daughter, the architect’s deep emotional connection with the site influenced the way
the building could connect to Campal (neighbourhood in which
the site is located) and the River Mandovi. Because of the simplicity of the structure, one tends to think that not much thought
and creative energy was vested in the project; however, the truth
of the matter is that the architect did invest a lot of time and effort
in getting the right energy into this space.14
Most architectural critics comment that the Kala Academy is
characterised by the inclusive feeling that emanates from the
space. An almost poetic description by Himanshu Burte states,
“The foundational act of design at Kala Academy is that of opening up. The architecture (…) clears the ground; literally, letting
the gaze (and moving feet) sweep clean through from the pavement outside to the river beyond.” This character of being open
to the city is ideally suited to a public building and more so to a
cultural centre. As Himanshu Burte mentions, there is no perceptible ‘architectural sign of exclusion – apart from the gate which
is kept generously wide and low’.15
Ranjit Hoskote, art curator and critic, very eloquently says, the
building “dissolves the distinction of inside and outside, architecture and nature. The street is internalised by the building, which
opens itself to the sky, vegetation and the river. The ritualistic
pathway, the interplay of sightline and screen, the open-to-sky
spaces, the gradients linking various levels in a gentle terracing –
all these classic features of Correa’s architecture are present. And
let us not forget the laterite that forms its key medium – it articulates the flesh and blood of Goa’s architecture, it comes from the
soil of Goa, from the soul of Goa.”16
Cultural significance
Kala Academy has great cultural significance. Any Goan today
from the age of eight to 80 years would have either performed
at the Kala Academy or attended Konkani tiatrs (uniquely Goan
theatre form), mando competitions (music form that blends
Indian and Western music and culture), or film screenings. There
is a whole cross section of Goans, across all generations, who will
tell you why the Kala Academy is considered outstanding. For
some it is the wide diversity of programmes and events, for music
lovers it is the music competitions across all genres and languages, and for others it is the art and handicraft exhibitions and book
fairs in the foyer and the art gallery. It has to be recognised for
being the only government-run art institution in the country, with
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Fig. 1: The low-rise structure with a bamboo pergola extending across the entrance. The characteristic feature of this design is the open plan which
seems to welcome everyone (© Sharad Apte, received through Charles Correa Foundation)
separate faculties for both Western music, Indian classical music,
theatre and dance.
As stated by Vivek Menezes, “Few venues in India host such
diverse programming throughout the year, from the DD Kosambi
Festival of Ideas Lecture Series (speakers for which have included the Dalai Lama) to the nearly four-decade-old Surashree
Kesarbai Kerkar Sangeet Samaroha (which has featured virtually
every luminary from the world of Hindustani Classical music).
All these events run to packed houses in the 954-seat Dinanath
Mangeshkar Kala Mandir auditorium, named after the Goa-born
musician father of Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle, the most
famed of female playback singers in India. Countless signature
moments of contemporary Goan culture are connected to the Kala
Academy. In 1990, the all-time great fadista Amália Rodrigues
visited for the first time and sang for an emotional postcolonial audience overflowing with what the Portuguese call saudade (loosely: yearning). It was much the same in 2016, when
the 84-year-old genius of the Jaipur-Atrauli Gharana,17 Kishori
Amonkar, delivered what turned out to be her last concert in her
ancestral homeland”.
Issues and present state of conservation
Like many 50-year-old buildings that are subject to the vagaries
of weather in a monsoon climate, the building shows signs of
water leakage. And, like many government-owned properties, the
building has suffered a lack of regular maintenance or timely repair. A recent announcement by a prominent representative of the
Ministry of Art and Culture, issued on behalf of the government,
stated that the Kala Academy’s open-air auditorium could not be
repaired or renovated and that the structure is fragile. He further
expanded that for the last several months, the management had
stopped accepting bookings for the events and categorically expressed the need to demolish and reconstruct the venue.
The Charles Correa Foundation,18 on hearing the statements by
the Government, expressed that they would be willing to provide
technical advice and find a solution to the problems. Other professionals – including architects, conservationists and engineers
– who have studied the Kala Academy from the point of view of
the impending threat of demolition are confident that it can be repaired. The problem is far from being insurmountable and there is
absolutely no danger of it collapsing and causing harm to life and
property. Therefore, the decision on the part of the Government
of Goa to demolish parts of the building seems an over-reaction.
Heeding the protests in the media and signature campaigns passionately objecting to the demolition of this iconic building in
Goa, the High Court of Bombay at Goa had taken Suo Motu cognisance and requested that a response be filed in court. Following
this intervention, the Goa State Infrastructure Development
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Corporation (GSIDC) committed to undertaking a structural audit. The Goa Government has now also put on record that it will
not contemplate demolition of the Kala Academy until the report
is received and studied.
A number of professional bodies have also rallied around offering support. The Indian Institute of Architects (IIA), Goa Chapter,
along with the Institution of Engineers, Goa Chapter, have indicated their willingness to inspect the institution and review the
two reports by Goa Engineering College and Goa State Industrial
Development Corporation that advised demolition and, to assist
the Academy in restoring and preserving the threatened structure.
Conclusions and Way Forward
It is a pity that the Kala Academy, Goa, a building which is greatly admired by professionals and heritage enthusiasts worldwide,
is not appreciated by the Government of Goa who is the custodian of the site and duty-bound to maintain it. The last time any
major maintenance work was carried out was around 20 years
ago, during the late 1990s. Thereafter, only cosmetic repair and
refurbishment of interiors has been undertaken. Perhaps if a Site
Management Plan, with protocols for regular maintenance and
monitoring, was in place the current situation would not have escalated.
It would appear that we in India still have the strangest notions
of what constitutes our heritage. There seems to be complete apathy and a lack of appreciation for icons of the 20th century. Just
because a building was designed and built in the last century (and
is thus less than 100 years old), it is not considered worthy of preservation, however iconic, culturally significant and deserving it is.
The aspiration of the government in power is to display its
progressiveness to the world by building “world-class” facilities,
replete with chrome, glass and coloured cladding sheets. That
seems to have been the case with buildings in the national capital too, like the Hall of Nations and WHO Headquarters, which
were demolished to pave the way for ‘world-class’ facilities. The
government and bureaucrats need to be sensitised to the fact that
buildings of the 20th century too are as worthy of a heritage tag
and if the significant icons are not preserved for posterity, we will
have nothing to represent this period of our history.
Status of June 2020
In January 2020, the Charles Correa Foundation arranged for
an independent structural audit by experts who advised that unnecessary weight added by repetitive layers of non-performing
waterproofing should be removed and that a new, temporary waterproofing should be applied before the onset of monsoons, and
Fig. 2: Kala Academy, a cultural centre in Panjim, the capital city of
Goa, India, designed in the 1970s by award-winning architect Charles
Correa is threatened by demolition because of the poor state of conservation. (© The Charles Correa Foundation)
Fig. 3: Public spaces with built-in seating with very practical and easyto-maintain finishes like China mosaic, etc. (© Jefry Aniyara, received
through Charles Correa Foundation)
Fig. 4: A large amphitheatre, overlooking the River Mandovi, a venue
that is popularly used for casual gatherings and informal performances.
The leakage into the ‘black box’ below is through this amphitheatre
(© Sharad Apte, received through Charles Correa Foundation)
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until necessary conservation measures are completed. However,
no action could be initiated due to the outbreak of the COVID-19
pandemic. The court proceedings have also been adjourned indefinitely. In the meantime, the monsoon hit Goa on 8th June
2020 and we can only hope that the structure will not suffer much
further damage.
Annabel Mascarenhas Lopez
Heritage Management Consultant
Member ICOMOS India, ISC20C
References
Barbosa, Alexandre Moniz, ‘Hold it– rethink the demolition of
that pièce de résistance’, in the oHeraldo https://charlescorreafoundation.org/2019/07/30/hold-it-re-think-the-demolition-ofthat-piece-de-resistance/.
Burte, Himanshu, ‘Space for Engagement: The Indian Art place
& habitational Approach to Architecture’, Calcutta 2008.
‘Charles Correa: Architect in India’, Mimar, Singapore, London
& New York 1987, pp. 118–125.
Frampton, Kenneth, Charles Correa,Thames & Hudson; 1stedition (October 1, 1997).
Khan, Hasan-Uddin (ed.), „Kala Akademi.“ In: Charles Correa,
pp. 118–125. Singapore 1987.
Menezes, Vivek, ‘Trashing the magic of Charles Correa’, Live
Mint, 2 August 2019 https://www.livemint.com/mint-lounge/
features/trashing-the-magic-of-charles-correa-1564737541802.
html.
Murray, Irena, Charles Correa: India’s Greatest Architect, RIBA
Publishing; 1 edition (3 June 2013).
Silveira, Lester, Why Kala Academy is considered to be such an
important building?, August 14, 2019, https://thebalcao.com/
why-the-kala-academy-is-so-important/.
The Suo Moto order passed by the High Court of Bombay in
Goa, concerned about the discourse around Kala Academy,
Kala Academy, News, July 7, 2019.
Verghese, Shiny, Building Blocks: As demolition threat and court
cases cloud Kala Academy Goa, it stares at an uncertain future, September 1, 2019, https://indianexpress.com/article/
express-sunday-eye/building-blocks-as-demolition-threat-andcourt-cases-cloud-kala-academy-goa-it-stares-at-an-uncertainfuture-5951119/.
Viegas, Janice, Architecture for humans – why Kala Academy
should not be taken down, August 20, 2019, https://medium.
com/@janiceviegas7/architecture-for-humans-why-kala-academy-should-not-be-taken-down-ca93e5a31b31.
Case Study 3: The “Redevelopment” of the Central
Vista, New Delhi
The Central Vista, New Delhi, the most iconic part of India’s capital city, valued worldwide as an exceptional urban ensemble, is
proposed for redevelopment by the Government of India. New
Delhi, of which the Central Vista is the main axis, was designed
by world-renowned architects Sir Edwin Lutyens and Herbert
Baker and built between 1911 and 1931. Although conceived as
the core of the British Colonial Imperial City, it has been used,
since India’s independence in 1947, as the capital complex of the
Sovereign Republic of India. The Central Vista is one of the most
visited tourist places in Delhi. It is used for Republic Day parades
and various other functions organised in the lawns/green spaces
Fig. 1: The genius of the Central Vista is in its integration of vista and
verdure (greenery) (© Sondeep Shankar)
which showcase the capital to the world. It is also an important
open space for the public. Large crowds throng this area on a
daily basis.
Description of the Central Vista
The Central Vista, a grand ceremonial axis, is the most distinctive and visually striking feature of the National Capital City,
New Delhi. It is a landscaped stretch marked by imposing public buildings, forming a continuity between the Ridge19 and the
Purana Qila.20The Central Vista ensemble comprises the main
axis, Rajpath (originally King’s Way), a tree lined avenue that
runs east-west, radiating from the Rashtrapati Bhawan (originally Viceroy’s House) on Raisina Hill, flanked by the Secretariat
Buildings (North Block and South Block), and ends in the
Princes’ Park,21 where the palaces of the erstwhile princely states
in India can be found. At the foot of Raisina Hill, a road perpendicular to Rajpath forms a cross axis known as Vijay Chowk (the
Great Place) and marks the beginning of the Central Vista. This
road leads to the Parliament House towards the north. Rajpath
sweeps eastward to a hexagonal round-about with the India Gate22
and the Canopy.23 Another cross axis, the Janpath, meets Rajpath
at the midpoint between the Secretariats and Princes’ Place. At
this intersection, a group of four important public buildings mark
the crossing, viz. the National Archives, the National Museum,
the Indira Gandhi National Center for Arts (IGNCA) and the
Ministry of External Affairs.
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Fig. 2: Layout Plan, New Delhi (1934). Rajpath forms the main axis of New Delhi with the Rashtrapati Bhavan at the west end, the War Memorial
Arch (India Gate) and the Canopy at the east (© Surveyor General of India. LAY OUT PLAN OF NEW DELHI [map]. 6”: 1mile. Dehradun: Survey of
India Office, 1934)
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Fig. 3: Armature of the city identified as an important attribute that displays authenticity of form and material. This had remained unchanged over the
years (© Department of Archives, Government of Delhi)
Fig. 4: The impressive composition of the Rashtrapati Bhawan which is today the residence of the President of India and the North and South Block
of the Secretariat that today house ministries of the Government of India. When it was designed, it was one of the largest building complexes of its
time, three storeys high and covering an area of 1200 feet x 1300 feet (© Sondeep Shankar).
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Fig. 5: Canopy in the central Hexagon that once had a statue of King
George V, later removed (© Press Bureau of India)
Fig. 6: The tree-lined avenue of Central Vista soon after the plantation,
before the trees gained full height (© Press Bureau of India)
Outstanding Universal Value
New Delhi forms part of the area of Delhi proposed for nomination as a UNESCO World Heritage City. After wide consultation
with architects, urban designers, historians and other professionals, the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of New Delhi was
articulated. The following is an extract of the OUV from the nomination dossier:24
‘Delhi is an outstanding example of a city planning enterprise
which illustrates a significant stage in the history of the Indian
subcontinent. New Delhi reflects on a grand scale, hitherto unequalled, the fusion of two dominant themes of early twentieth
century city planning: the City Beautiful movement (vistas) and
the Garden City (verdure). The Central Vista, a broad ceremonial avenue, anchored by grand buildings, is expressive of pomp
and grandeur. The grouping of the palaces of the Princely estates
around the hexagon at the eastern end of the Central Vista symbolizes the diversity of the semi-independent political entities. In
no other Garden City until then had the tree-planting component
been as fundamentally integrated into the city plan as it was in
New Delhi’.
‘Its architectural style is an excellent example of an eclectic
style that developed during the late nineteenth to early twentieth centuries, which confidently drew inspiration from traditional Indian architecture. This eclecticism was a carefully wrought
combination of cherished mainstream ideals, the Classical canon and the European Renaissance with a very traditional Indian
architectural vocabulary-such as chattris, chajjas, and jaalis.
Forms and symbols of the Indian subcontinent that are both
Hindu and Buddhist in origin, like elephants, nagas and lotuses
were also liberally used.’
‘In their materials, the Rashtrapati Bhawan and the other
buildings designed as part of the core are an impressive example
of how two popular local building stones were used together. The
designer recognized the virtues of pink sandstone, and the cream
Dholpur sandstone, which was used so extensively, which had
been employed by the Rajputs the Mughals. Both are excellently
suited to Delhi’s climate. This combination of building materials
continues to be used even today by architects in the region.’
Design principles adopted for Central Vista
1. The design of the new creation was to be, in every way, worthy of the ancient and beautiful city of Delhi, absorbing the
traditions of all the ancient capitals.
2. The layout and setting of the Central Vista of New Delhi responded to the natural rise in the ground, with the highest terminal point Raisina Hill used to site the Rashtrapati Bhawan
and the Secretariat buildings, with the green backdrop of the
Ridge (now a designated green belt).
3. Political imperatives governed certain design elements in the
layout of New Delhi. Princely states were given prime plots
around the hexagon and palatial buildings came up in each of
these plots.
4. Prominent references to traditional Indian architecture were
made in the design of the monumental buildings. These ranged
from the liberal use of the distinctive red sandstone – widely
used in traditional Indian architecture – and many different
individual elements, forms, and motifs. At a visual level, an
important axis of the city connected new developments to outlying ancient monuments.
5. In recognition of the need for fostering growth of traditional Indian arts, a cultural complex was planned to occupy the
crossing of Rajpath and Janpath. Though only one building –
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the National Archives – was built at the time, the later addition
of the National Museum in 1960 is in keeping with the original
intention.
6. All administrative and public buildings were planned on the
avenue parallel to the Central Vista.
7. The central spine was reserved as a space for recreation of all
classes, a function it serves until this date. Natural features
incorporated in its design– indigenous trees and water – are
the focus of this central spine.
Existing development controls and heritage legislation
India has acknowledged that the Central Vista ensemble is an
irreplaceable architectural and planning icon. This has been
demonstrated in a number of ways:
– The iconic buildings along the Central Vista were declared
Grade I Heritage Buildings in 2010 by the New Delhi Municipal Council.
– The Master Plan of Delhi 2021 recognised this area, termed as
the ‘Lutyens Bungalow Zone’, as a Heritage Zone deserving
careful conservation.
– In 2012, the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, placed
New Delhi on UNESCO’s Tentative List of World Heritage
sites, along with the Mughal walled city of Shahjahanabad, for
consideration as a UNESCO World Heritage City.
– The Delhi Urban Art Commission (DUAC) is mandated to
scrutinise, approve, reject or modify proposals in respect of the
Central Vista.
– A Central Vista Committee is mandated to protect the significance of the area.25
The threat – proposal for ‘redeveloping’ the Central Vista
The Government of India has invited bids for comprehensive
architectural and engineering planning for the “Development/
Redevelopment of Parliament Building, Common Central
Secretariat and Central Vista, New Delhi”. The major objectives,
as stated in the Bid Document, is to ‘re-plan the entire Central
Vista area from the gates of Rashtrapati Bhavan up to India Gate,
an area of approximately 4 square kilometres’ and ‘draw up a
new Master Plan for the entire Central Vista area to represent
the values and aspirations of a New India – Good Governance,
Efficiency, Transparency, Accountability and Equity and is rooted
in the Indian Culture and social milieu’. The Master Plan, besides
giving concept, plan, detailed design and strategies for development/redevelopment works, refurbishment works, is required to
suggest demolition of existing buildings and design of new iconic
structures. The proposal specifically envisages development/redevelopment of the historic Parliament Building, development of a
‘Common Central Secretariat in the Central Vista area’, and the
upgrading of the public facilities, amenities, parking and green
space of the Central Vista to make it a world-class tourist destination.
The bid document cites several reasons why the present suite
of the historic buildings has become redundant. In the case of the
Parliament Building, the facilities and infrastructure are deemed
inadequate to meet the current demand. There is acute shortage
of office space and no chambers for members of Parliament, a
situation that is likely to worsen over the next few years. The security arrangements are inadequate and outdated, and the building
is not earthquake-proof. ‘Therefore, there is an imperative need
to redesign and redevelop the existing Parliament Building with
the same outer façade or construct a new state-of-the-art building
Fig. 7: Water was a key feature of the landscape
(© Press Bureau of India)
Fig. 8: Elements of Indian architecture such as chattris, chajjas, and
jaalis used as decorative elements. The use of stone in two colours
was also an inspiration from traditional Indian architecture (© Annabel
Lopez)
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International Scientific Committee on 20th Century Heritage
located in close vicinity.’ The offices of the Central Secretariat
(Ministries, Departments, attached and subordinate offices, etc.)
are spread over 47 buildings, leading to inefficiency and difficulty in coordination. Many of the existing buildings/plots are
under-utilised. There is a shortage of working spaces, parking,
amenities and services. Most of the buildings in the Central Vista
area are more than 40–50 years old and nearing the end of their
structural lives. ‘Further, Buildings constructed over 100 years
ago such as North and South Block are not earthquake safe.’ The
Central Vista, as a whole, lacks basic public facilities, amenities
and parking. The unorganized vending and haphazard parking
leads to congestion and gives a poor public perception. Therefore,
there is a need for its up gradation.’
Though the bid document asks the consultant to ‘adhere to
the Central Vista Committee Guidelines and Lutyen’s Bungalow
Zone Guidelines while carrying out the consultancy work for the
Redevelopment of Central Vista’, the stated objectives belie the
intention of upholding the cultural values of the site, and no such
guidelines are in place.
Cause for concern
The site proposed for redevelopment constitutes the most iconic
part of India’s capital city; it is valued worldwide as an exceptional urban ensemble. There is no doubt that spatial needs of the
Government have increased and many of the buildings constructed almost 40 years ago need to be upgraded and retrofitted to satisfy contemporary statutory performance standards and efficient
functional benchmarks for governance. The landscape elements
of the Central Vista too are in urgent need of refurbishment.
Further, the area is now under tremendous stress due increased
public use. Thus, on many counts, some interventions have become necessary and should not be deferred.
Given the immense significance of the Central Vista, the government’s concepts of redeveloping the area as a “world-class
tourist destination” has come like a bolt out of the blue, recalling
to many the case of the Hall of Nations Complex. As soon as
the plan became public, social media were inundated with outrage at the nature of this redevelopment proposal. Further, the
Government attempting to undertake this humungous task, without any consultations with experts, professionals or public discourse and debate, has not gone down well with many sections of
society. Professionals, heritage enthusiasts and concerned citizens
are rallying together to raise an alarm about this decision of the
Government of India.
As a democratic country, concerned citizens are expressing that
conceiving a project of this scope and vision needs wider public
and professional consultation. The major concerns raised by the
citizens include:
– The extraordinary haste with which the redevelopment is proposed – most projects are to be completed within the next two
to five years, the Parliament Building plans are to be ready by
July 2022, the Central Vista by November 2020 and the new
Central Secretariat by March 2024;
– A total absence of audit of the existing buildings to determine
the functionality of the spaces;
– The absence of ‘Guidelines of the Central Vista Committee’,
though the bid document states that the development will be in
conformity with these;26
– The lack of attempt at carrying out a Heritage Impact Assessment of the proposed redevelopment.
What is also particularly worrying are statements by potential
bidders such as, “what we do with our Parliament Buildings will
powerfully signify who we are, how we view our past and where
we see ourselves going”, leaving people to conjecture whether
this whole exercise is yet another attempt to wipe out the memory
of a colonial past, or the brainchild of individuals “who want to
make a massive mark on the city of Delhi?”27
Citizens’ initiatives
A major rebuttal has been issued by INTACH’s Delhi Chapter
that has been campaigning hard over the years to uphold the cultural values of the city’s heritage. INTACH’s primary concern
is whether this redevelopment would violate the protocols for
interventions in historic areas. It is worried that the absence of
“guidelines” of the Lutyen’s Bungalow Zone (LBZ) that particularly relate to the Central Vista by the Central Vista Committee
(CVC) leaves this iconic zone open to subjective interpretation/
misinterpretation.
INTACH, having prepared the dossier for “Delhi – a Heritage
City” and the “Comprehensive Conservation Management Plan
for Rashtrapati Bhawan and the President’s Estate”, is well versed
with the significance and character of the Central Vista and appurtenant areas and has thus proposed a set of guidelines to preserve the significance and ensure that its Outstanding Universal
Value is not compromised. The Guidelines generally address the
grandeur of the Central Vista and the need to retain the same, the
visual axis that was an important aspect of the design, the need to
preserve the notified heritage buildings, the importance of the tree
lined central spine and the important function it has as a green
open space for the common man.
Many more individuals, institutions and organisations are also
following suit. While there is no doubt that the area needs refurbishment and upgradation, with the concerted effort of professionals, one hopes that a viable solution can definitely be arrived
at and one would not lose an important marker of India’s cultural
history to vagaries of development and ill-founded notions of
modernisation.
Status of June 2020
Whereas on the one hand, the Supreme Court of India has refused
to suspend the project on the grounds that no progress can be
made under the conditions imposed during COVID-19, on the
other hand, the project continues to be developed at a tremendous pace, with the appointed architect making presentations to
several audiences. The detailed design of the new Parliament
building next to the present historic one has been completed. The
land use of several sites has been changed to allow new constructions, while some older historic buildings are to be demolished
or converted into museums. Of the almost 2000 objections raised
by the public to the change in land use, some 1,292 individuals
were selectively invited to a hearing, but each was given merely
2.5 minutes to make their point.
Annabel Mascarenhas Lopez
Heritage Management Consultant
Member ICOMOS India, ISC20C
International Scientific Committee on 20th Century Heritage
References
Delhi Town Planning Committee 1913. Final Report of the
Delhi Town Planning Committee on the Town Planning of the
New Imperial Capital. Delhi: Superintendent of Government
Printing.
Lutyens’ Delhi revamp: Govt plans redeveloped Parliament
building, makeover of Rashtrapati Bhavan–India Gate stretch,
Business Today, online edition September 13, 2019
Ridley, J. 1998. ‘Edwin Lutyens, New Delhi, and the Architecture
of Imperialism’. e_Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth
History.
Spear, Percival. 1943. Delhi: Its Monuments and History. Bombay: Oxford University Press.
Volwahsen, Andreas. 2002. Imperial Delhi. Delhi: Prestel, 2002.
Footnotes
The buildings have been acknowledged all around the world
as icons of modernity. An exhibition was held at the Pompidou
Centre, Paris in 2016; the Museum of Modern Art in New York
expressed interest in adding models of The Hall of Nations and
the Nehru Pavilion to its permanent collection, while the World
Monuments Fund (WMF) received the application for nomination of the Hall of Nations for 2017.
2
A system of scaffolding supported the structure until level
5, after which scaffolding was removed as the structure was
self-supporting.
3
Every effort was made to visualise and graphically explain
the complex intersections. For example, the 11-member nodes
were explained with up to three views, all hand-drawn.
4
The built heritage of Delhi currently enjoys protection at three
different levels, by three different agencies: (a) Buildings of
National Importance which have been in existence for not less
than 100 years as of 1958 are protected by the Archaeological
Survey of India Act of 1958; (b) Buildings of regional importance which have been in existence for not less than 100
years as of 2004 are protected by the Delhi State Department
of Archaeology Act of 2004; (c) Significant buildings of heritage value, not protected by either the Archaeological Survey
of India Act of 1958 or Delhi State Department of Archaeology
Act of 2004, but built before 1947 are notified as Heritage
Buildings by the New Delhi Municipal Council and the
Municipal Corporation of Delhi.
5
The campaign for the protection of Delhi’s “modern heritage” has been carried out by Prof. AGK Menon, a member
of ISC20C since 2018, ever since the demolition of Delhi›s
Chanakya Cinema in 2008. This prompted him to present,
through INTACH, a tentative list of sixty-two such buildings
in Delhi to the HCC for protection in 2013. The list was “under
consideration” by the HCC for over three years.
6
An agency of the Government of India, which organises exhibitions at the site.
7
“All new Pragati Maidan by 2010”. Financialexpress.com.
24 March 2006. Retrieved 18 June 2015; Pragati Maidan to
get new showcase”. The Times Of India. 30 August 2006.
Retrieved 18 June 2015.
8
Legal Interventions: (a) W.P.(C) 5271/2016, Indian National
Trust For Art And Cultural Heritage Vs. Heritage Conservation
Committee and Others; (2) Nath, Jayant. W.P.(C) 1146/2016
& CM. No.5060/2016 THE INDIAN INSTITUTE OF
ARCHITECTS AND ORS versus UNION OF INDIA AND ORS.
High Court of Delhi, 2016.
1
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
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‘Hall of Nations’ at Pragati Maidan could be made into museum By Baishali Adak, Published: 00:13 BST, 7 October
2015 https://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/indianews/article-3262322/Hall-Nations-Pragati-Maidan-museum.html
For example, the 2016 exhibition at the Pompidou Centre,
Paris, showcased, with numerous models, the technology and
large span exhibition spaces in modernising India; followed by
an application in 2017 for nomination of the Hall of Nations
Complex to the World Monuments Fund (WMF) Watch List.
The Kala Academy, Goa was established by the Govt. of Goa
on 28th February 1970 as an apex body to develop music,
dance, drama, fine art, folk art, literature, etc. and thereby promote the cultural unity of this State.
Though a Western-educated architect, with degrees from the
University of Michigan and the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, Charles Correa is known for introducing modernism to the non-western environment of India.
Charles Correa’s better-known works include the Jeevan
Bharati Building at Connaught Place, New Delhi; Vidhan
Sabha, Bhopal; Jawahar Kala Kendra, Jaipur; British Library,
New Delhi, etc. His most notable international works are the
McGovern Institute for Brain Research at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, the Champalimaud Centre for the
Unknown in Lisbon, and the Ismaili Centre in Toronto.
See ‘Trashing the Magic of Charles Correa’ by Vivek Menezes.
Himanshu Burte is an architect, urbanist, and associate professor at the Centre for Urban Science and Engineering (CUSE),
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT-B), Mumbai. See his
write-up in Art Connect, the biannual magazine of The India
Foundation for the Arts (2008).
See ‘Trashing the Magic of Charles Correa’ by Vivek Menezes.
An apprenticeship fraternity (gharana), founded in the late19th
century, a leading representative of Hindustani classical music.
The gharana is known for its distinctive vocal aesthetics, raga
repertoire, and technical aptitude.
The Charles Correa Foundation (CCF) is an initiative of internationally renowned architect and urban planner Charles
Correa. It is a not-for-profit public charitable trust to initiate
and encourage education and research in human settlements.
It was founded in August 2011 as a catalyst for architectural,
urban design, planning, and community-based projects that improve the condition of human settlements in India.
The spur of land forming the northern extremity of the Aravalli
Mountains and a designated green belt by the Ministry of
Environments and Forests. It is a ‘no-build zone’ in the Master
Plan of Delhi.
A fort built by the Mughals, the site is believed to be the site of
the first human habitation in Delhi.
Princes’ Park comprises the palaces of Indian princes who were
allotted plots with location and area determined by the `Warrant
of Precedence’. The most powerful states – Hyderabad, Baroda,
Mysore, Bikaner, Patiala, and Jaipur – were given lots forming
a hexagon around the canopy.
The War Memorial Arch commemorate martyrs, India’s dead
soldiers and the Unknown Soldier. The shrine is known as the
Amar Jawan Jyoti (literally: ‘flame of the immortal warrior’).
A slender structure which marks the centre of the hexagon. It
was built as the baldachin for the protection of a marble statue
of King George V, erected to serve as a monument to the founder of the city upon his death in 1936. The statue was removed
after independence.
162
24
25
International Scientific Committee on 20th Century Heritage
‘Delhi’s Imperial Capital Cities’, dossier for nominating Delhi
as a UNESCO World Heritage City, prepared by INTACH
Delhi Chapter, 2014.
The Central Vista Committee was constituted by the Central
Public Works Department to specifically protect the heritage
value of the area defined as the Central Vista.
26
27
The problem with the proposed redevelopment of Delhi’s
Central Vista, by A. G. K. Menon in The Telegraph, online edition on Friday, 4 October 2019.
As quoted by Ram Rahman in Leading Architects Concerned
About Central Vista Revamp Plan for New Delhi https://
thewire.in/urban/delhi-central-vista-revamp-plan.
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SPACE HERITAGE AT RISK
Humanity has journeyed beyond its home planet and sent robotic explorers beyond the Solar System, all within living memory.
A legacy of artefacts orbit the Earth, are present throughout the
Solar System and beyond, and sites of exploration and science
now exist on other celestial bodies. This Heritage at Risk report
considers these artefacts and sites.
Natural risks
Above Earth’s atmosphere is a harsh environment in which humans and their related technologies are exposed to extreme heat,
radiation, and the risk of impact. Artefacts in Space or situated on
celestial bodies may be at risk of cumulative or severe damage, or
destruction. Given the lead time necessary to make decisions and
implement a course of action (e.g. relocation of heritage artefacts
from a site that will be impacted by an asteroid or comet), there
is a risk that insufficient time would be available to plan, prepare
and implement a response.
Recommendation
Planning for potentially damaging or destructive events to Space
heritage artefacts/sites is undertaken in advance with ongoing reviews of the response plans.
Human risks
Lunar sites: Apollo missions by the United States of America
resulted in the first, and to date only, human exploration and
scientific research on the Moon. Several nations have undertaken robotic exploration and science on the Moon with the
International Space Station. Astronauts Christer Fugleman, Sweden and Robert L. Curbeam, USA (image courtesy of NASA)
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Space Heritage at Risk
former USSR1 and China2 landing rovers on the surface, Japan
deploying satellites, the European Space Agency deploying a
Swedish satellite,3 and India4 and Israel5 launching Lunar missions.
In recent years, technological advances by Blue Origin, SpaceX
and others have been enhancing access to Space through the utilisation of innovative reusable technology. The accumulation of
great wealth by individuals with interests in Space heritage has
resulted in the potential for non-government actors to visit and
engage with Lunar heritage artefacts and sites. The retrieval, on
Earth, by Jeff Bezos of an Apollo 11, stage one F1 engine from
the seabed demonstrated this interest and capability – also raising the issue of the interrelationship between Space and maritime
heritage.6
The current primary areas of interest are the Apollo mission
sites, and it is conceivable that robotic missions, followed in the
future by humans, will visit the Apollo sites on the Moon. In response to this possibility, due in particular to the Google Lunar
X-Prize, the United States of America’s National Aeronautical
and Space Administration (NASA) developed guidelines for
non-government entities who intend to visit an Apollo site.7 The
following was noted: some experiments on the sites are still active, the artefacts were of interest to scientists and engineers,
and there is no legal mechanism to prevent disruption of the site.
In response, Google agreed that all Lunar X-Prize competitors
would abide by the NASA guidelines.
The International Space Station (ISS) is a work of human genius. Many nations have worked together to establish the first
multi-national base for humanity in Space. In the near future, the
fate of the ISS must be decided. Can it remain in use or will its
operational life be concluded? When the decision is made to decommission the ISS, two choices arise: de-orbit and burn-up in
the atmosphere or relocation to high-orbit.
Recommendations
ICOMOS encourage and assist with the development of agreements that ensure that Space heritage sites of all nations are treated with respect, and managed in accordance with the highest standards in heritage conservation.
The retention of the ISS in orbit as a Space heritage structure
for future generations would be a worthy endeavour to commemorate all that the ISS programme will have achieved, and inspire
future generations about the value of cooperation in Space exploration and science.
Recommendation
When the International Space Station is decommissioned, it is
raised to, and retained in, high-orbit.
Space Heritage and ICOMOS
ICOMOS has a distinguished history of international scientific
committees (ISCs) that inform ICOMOS, international organisations, governments and heritage professionals of the latest
research and developments. The ICOMOS International Polar
Heritage Committee is a successful example of an ICOMOS ISC
that engages with heritage in extreme environments and, in the
case of Antarctica, beyond the boundaries of nation-states. Given
the role of ICOMOS as the leading international organisation in
these matters, and expertise that already exists among members
of ICOMOS, it is timely that ICOMOS formally engages with
Space heritage.
Recommendation
ICOMOS considers establishing an ICOMOS International Space
Heritage Committee.
Dr Bryan Lintott
ICOMOS United Kingdom / ICOMOS International Polar
Heritage Committee, Secretary-General
University of Cambridge / University of Tromsø
Footnotes
1
https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/lunarussr.html
2
https://phys.org/news/2019-07-china-mysteries-moon.html
3
https://sci.esa.int/web/smart-1/-/47714-esa-shares-smart-1-legacy-with-the-world
4
https://www.isro.gov.in/launcher/gslv-mk-iii-m1-chandrayaan2-mission
5
6
7
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/11/science/israel-moon-landing-beresheet.html
https://www.bezosexpeditions.com/updates.html
https://www.nasa.gov/pdf/617743main_NASA-USG_LUNAR_HISTORIC_SITES_RevA-508.pdf
Space Heritage at Risk
OTHER ORGANISATIONS
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EUROPA NOSTRA
The 2016 and 2018 Europa Nostra
Lists of the “7 Most Endangered
Heritage Sites in Europe”
“The 7 Most Endangered” programme of Europa Nostra was
launched in January 2013 as a bi-annual campaign to identify
threatened monuments and sites in Europe and mobilise public
and private partners – on the local, national and European levels
– to find a viable future for those sites. It is not a funding programme. Its aim is to serve as a catalyst for action. Europa Nostra
runs this programme in partnership with the European Investment
Bank Institute and with the support of the Creative Europe programme of the European Union.
Nominations for monuments and sites at risk can be submitted
by civil society or public bodies with the support of an organisation that is a member of Europa Nostra or directly by joining
the pan-European network of member and associate organisations
of Europa Nostra. The most threatened sites are selected by the
Board of Europa Nostra from 14 sites shortlisted by a panel of
specialists in history, archaeology, architecture, conservation,
project analysis, and finance.
During the period of the current “Heritage at Risk – ICOMOS
World Report on Monuments and Sites in Danger 2016–2019”
the Europa Nostra list was presented twice in 2016 and 2018. The
following is an extract of Europa Nostra’s press releases of 2016
and 2018, introducing the “7 Most Endangered Heritage Sites in
Europe” of these two years.
Fig. 1: Archaeological Site of Ererouyk and village of Ani Pemza,
Armenia (© Patrick Donabédian)
village of Ani Pemza, built in 1926, serving as a potential centre
for cultural tourism. The Centre of Studies and Documentation of
Armenian Culture in Italy (CSDCA) submitted the nomination
for “The 7 Most Endangered” 2016.
Europa Nostra’s “7 Most Endangered Heritage Sites
in Europe” in 2016
(listed in alphabetical order of their country)
Patarei Sea Fortress in Tallinn, Estonia
Patarei is a complex of buildings, originally built as a naval fortress under Tsarist rule in 1829–1840. It became a prison between
1920 and 2005, and contains monuments to victims of both Nazi
Archaeological Site of Ererouyk and village of Ani Pemza, Armenia
Ererouyk is a superb monument of Early Christian architecture,
an architecture of great variety and distinction, today often subjected to neglect, if not wilful destruction, in most of its original
homeland around the Eastern Mediterranean. Armenian religious
architecture, amongst the finest and most innovative, is well represented by Ererouyk. The monument dates back to the 6th century and lies on a rocky plateau close to the river that forms the
border with Turkey, in the vicinity of the ancient capital Ani. All
around the three-aisled basilica lay the remains of funerary and
other relevant monuments which deserve immediate study and
preservation. This is crucial for the understanding of a settlement
within a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural framework during the
Middle Ages, as demonstrated by relevant archaeological findings
that also need to be studied and displayed.
The site is at constant danger from earthquakes, a danger increased by the condition of the monument. Yet, if preserved and
well managed, it has the potential to give life to the whole region
as a site that will attract visitors, with the nearby Soviet-era style
Fig. 2: Patarei Sea Fortress in Tallinn, Estonia (© Andres Tarto)
Europa Nostra
167
and Stalinist rule. The site is thus closely linked to the sad vicissitudes of Estonia’s recent history. Its rapid deterioration is due to
a lack of maintenance in harsh climatic conditions.
The Estonian Heritage Society, which made the nomination
for “The 7 Most Endangered” 2016, proposes the conversion of
Patarei Sea Fortress into a central feature of the adjacent coastline, together with Tallinn Seaplane Harbour, a Grand Prix winner
of the EU Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Award in
2013, and the Old Town of Tallinn and the Suomenlinna Fortress
in Helsinki, which are both included on UNESCO’s World
Heritage List. If restored, the Fortress would serve as a centre
for cultural and creative industries and also as a lieu de mémoire.
Helsinki-Malmi Airport, Finland
Helsinki-Malmi Airport is a rare surviving example of pre-World
War II aviation architecture, built for the 1940 Olympic Games,
scheduled to be held in Helsinki but cancelled due to the war.
Malmi Airport, complete with its original hangar, terminal and
runways, is still in use with about 40,000 landings per year, offering the only free-schedule international service within 150 km.
The area has been declared a cultural environment of national
significance by Finland’s National Board of Antiquities. Its open
meadow has considerable biodiversity and makes the nature path
encircling the site very popular among locals. Helsinki’s new
General Plan proposes to fill the airport with apartment blocks to
be constructed in the early 2020s, while the state is to withdraw
its operations from the airport by the end of 2016.
Following the nomination for “The 7 Most Endangered”
Fig. 4: Colbert Swing Bridge in Dieppe, Normandy, France
(© Stephanie Fouache, CSPC)
Fig. 3: Helsinki-Malmi Airport, Finland (© Seppo Sipilä)
of 2016, Europa Nostra Finland, supported by the Friends of
Malmi Airport (FoMA), are seeking urgent support to persuade
the City of Helsinki and Finland’s new government to reverse
previous decisions, keep the historic airport, and eventually propose the site for the UNESCO World Heritage List as part of the
distinguished functionalist architecture built in Helsinki for the
Olympic Games, an idea put forward by the Finnish National
Board of Antiquities.
Colbert Swing Bridge in Dieppe, Normandy, France
The Colbert Bridge, built in 1889, is contemporary with the Eiffel
Tower and still functions with its original system of hydraulic
pression, carrying about 12,000 vehicles and 1,800 pedestrians
daily, which makes it an important example of the technical and
architectural achievements of the late 19th century. It swings six
to eight times each day for the harbour traffic and ensures greater
reliability than many modern bridges.
Although one of the earliest examples of “movable” architecture, a living memory of Dieppe’s cultural and social history and
potentially a tourist attraction, its owner, the Syndicat Mixte du
Port de Dieppe, is planning to demolish it and replace it with a
new structure in 2017.
Following a firm recommendation from Dieppe’s Colbert
Bridge Protection Committee, the Fondation du Patrimoine submitted the nomination for “The 7 Most Endangered” of 2016.
The Committee, which is also strongly supported by local public opinion, has requested urgent action to prevent the scheduled
demolition through classification of the bridge as a Historic
Monument, acceptance of the argument that restoration will be
architecturally, socially and environmentally preferable to demolition and, subsequently, the modernisation of the bridge’s mechanism.
Kampos of Chios, Island of Chios, Greece
The Kampos of Chios is a semi-urban, semi-rural area where the
islands’ wealthy families built beautiful mansions of local stone,
surrounded by citrus orchard estates. The 200 houses and towers
which have survived, combined with high stone walls separating
the estates and narrow surrounding lanes, create a poetic landscape. Being the sole surviving example of an originally Genoese
colonial order – although frequently rebuilt since the 14th century
due to earthquakes (as in 1881) – the Kampos is now in danger. Some mansions have been well restored either as homes or
as hôtels de charme (the Antouaniko received an EU Prize for
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Europa Nostra
1656 and 1661. The convent lies in the village of Garrovillas de
Alconétar, which has a long history and a wealth of monuments,
all in danger of dereliction as its inhabitants move on to larger
cities.
Given the importance and critical state of the site but also the
lack of resources in the current economic situation, Hispania
Nostra, which submitted the nomination for “The 7 Most
Endangered” of 2016, proposes to make the maximum possible
use of volunteers in order to restore the convent and other neighbouring monuments. This should prove an inspiring example of
broad social participation in the ongoing effort to protect our heritage, a trend as hopeful as it is necessary if the richness of the
European cultural tradition is to be preserved.
Convent of St. Anthony of Padua, Extremadura, Spain
The Convent of St. Anthony of Padua near Cáceres comprises
a late Gothic church, built in 1476 with some small additions in
the Renaissance period and, most notably, others from between
Ancient city of Hasankeyf and its surroundings, Turkey
Hasankeyf, sitting on the banks of the River Tigris, is one of the
most important architectural and archaeological sites in Europe,
boasting a rich biodiversity and 12,000 years of human history.
Masterpieces of Islamic architecture, dating from the 12th to
15th centuries C. E., make the town one of the best-preserved
witnesses to Seljuk urban culture, particularly from the Artukid
and Ayyubid dynasties.
A small town with a great heritage, Hasankeyf already attracts
about 500,000 visitors each year, a number expected to rise.
Given its historical, architectural and economic significance for
the region, public opinion supports its preservation. The area was
declared a First-Degree Archaeological Site by Turkey’s Supreme
Board of Monuments in 1978 and has been under the protection
of the Culture Ministry’s General Directorate of Antiquities and
Museums since 1981.
The urgent threat to Hasankeyf is posed by the Ilisu dam hydroelectric power project which, if implemented as planned,
would submerge the site under 65 metres of water by 2018.
The Government of Turkey has a vision for salvaging selected
monuments and developing the site as a prestigious destination.
However, Hasankeyf’s preservation in its original location might
prove more economically advantageous than the dam, and its cultural significance for Turkey is incomparable.
The Cultural Awareness Foundation nominated Hasankeyf for
“The 7 Most Endangered” of 2016 in an attempt to preserve it
and to promote dialogue about heritage conservation and sustainability.
Fig. 6: Convent of St. Anthony of Padua, Extremadura, Spain
(© Courtesy of Hispania Nostra)
Fig. 7: Ancient city of Hasankeyf and its surroundings, Turkey
(© Courtesy of Hasankeyf Matters)
Fig. 5: Kampos of Chios, Island of Chios, Greece
(© Elliniki Etairia-Society for the Environment and Culture)
Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Award in 2015). Despite two
official preservation decrees, however, protection has proven inadequate. Meanwhile the replacement of citrus with the thirstier
cultivation of potatoes and vegetables has led to serious problems
of water quality and quantity. Other threats are also increasing
through traffic and the partial demolition of stone boundary walls.
This site of magical beauty requires an inventory of its distinguished buildings and long-term funding of conservation work
so as to remain an outstanding example of Europe’s richly varied
cultural heritage. Elliniki Etairia – Society for the Environment
and Cultural Heritage in collaboration with The Society of
Friends of the Kampos of Chios nominated the site for “The
7 Most Endangered” of 2016.
Europa Nostra
169
Fig. 8: Venice Lagoon, Italy (© Uwe Arno Glockner)
Fig. 1: Post-Byzantine Churches in Voskopoja and Vithkuqi, Albania
(© K. Kallamata)
Special mention: Venice Lagoon, Italy
There could be no Venice and no Venetian civilisation without the
lagoon. Few historic sites in the world demonstrate so clearly the
interdependence of humankind with our environment, of nature
with culture.
Yet, just as the world contributes to the conservation of monuments in the city, unsustainable development is cutting the physical branch on which Venice has always perched.
Italia Nostra nominated the Venice Lagoon for “The 7 Most
Endangered” of 2016 as part of a long-term plan to save both
the lagoon and the city. In the short-term, it proposes: the exclusion of large-scale cruise ships from the lagoon; the suspension
of new projects to dredge channels; the cancellation of all major
commercial port projects; and the reconstruction of salt marshes.
And in the longer term: the transfer of major port activities to
Trieste; the rebirth of the abandoned and polluted industrial area
of Marghera to become a science and technology park; and incentives to bring inhabitants and companies to Venice. The challenges are huge, demanding a rare combination of conservation and
environmental and social sensitivity.
lights the urgency with which these remarkable churches need
to be protected. The nomination for the “7 Most Endangered”
programme of 2018 was submitted by “The Past for the Future”
Foundation.
Europa Nostra’s “7 Most Endangered Heritage Sites
in Europe” in 2018
(listed in alphabetical order of their country)
Post-Byzantine Churches in Voskopoja and Vithkuqi, Albania
A number of Post-Byzantine churches in Voskopoja and
Vithkuqi, situated in south-eastern Albania, are the most representative monuments of 17th –18th century ecclesiastical art in
the Balkans and masterpieces of the post-Byzantine style. War,
plundering and natural disasters have seriously damaged this
group of twelve churches. The surrounding Christian population
has greatly declined and a subsequent lack of clergy has resulted
in the majority of the churches remaining unused for most of the
year. The churches are under the responsibility of the Institute
of Cultural Monuments. The listed Church of Saint George in
Voskopoja, which won a Europa Nostra Award in 2011 for its
outstanding conservation, now faces the threat of theft and high-
Historic Centre of Vienna, Austria
The Historic Centre of Vienna has immense significance for
Europe’s tangible and intangible culture, as a city of great architectural importance and as an exceptional centre for the development of arts. In 2001, it was inscribed on the UNESCO
World Heritage List. In 2012, a high-rise development, which
will include the rebuilding and enlargement of the Hotel
Intercontinental, was planned at the site of the Vienna Ice-Skating
Club. The development would totally spoil the most famous view
of the city from the Belvedere Palace and Gardens. In 2014, the
City Council of Vienna issued a “High-Rise Concept” and a
“Glacis Master Plan” which permit the construction of high-rise
buildings at several points of the Ringstrasse area. These high-rise
buildings would spoil the urban character of this area as well as
the roofscapes and morphology of the Historic Centre of Vienna.
Following numerous and unfruitful exchanges with Austria and
the Vienna City Council, the World Heritage Committee inscribed
the Historic Centre of Vienna on the List of World Heritage in
Danger in July 2017. Europa Nostra Austria made the nomination
for the “7 Most Endangered” programme of 2018.
Fig. 2: Historic Centre of Vienna, Austria (© F. Neuwirth)
170
Europa Nostra
The Buzludzha Monument, Bulgaria
Located in the mountains in the heart of Bulgaria, the Buzludzha
Monument is an imposing example of 20th-century architecture. Built in 1981 to be the House-Monument of the then ruling Bulgarian Communist Party, the structure was in use for just
eight years. Soon after the end of the Communist regime, the
monument was abandoned and has since been victim to thefts,
vandalism and severe weather conditions. The ostentatious finish of its Brutalist architecture, the complex iconography and the
colourful mosaics have decayed. However, the building attracts
increasing international attention. No action has been taken by the
responsible authorities to protect the site so far. The Buzludzha
Project Foundation, which made the nomination for the “7 Most
Endangered” programme of 2018, proposes that the Buzludzha
Monument could become an example of appropriate preservation
and interpretation of other similar lieux de mémoire (places of
remembrance) throughout Central and Eastern Europe.
Fig. 3: The Buzludzha Monument, Bulgaria (© Roman Robroek)
Fig. 4: David Gareji Monasteries and Hermitage, Georgia
(© Shalva Lejava)
Fig. 5: Constanta Casino, Romania (© Roman Robroek)
David Gareji Monasteries and Hermitage, Georgia
The David Gareji Monasteries and Hermitage are located in
Eastern Georgia, on the semi-desert Iori plateau, and partly extend
into neighbouring Azerbaijan. Dating back to the 6th century, the
site consists of 22 rock-hewn monasteries and more than 5,000
sanctuaries and cave-cells. The combination of rock architecture,
medieval murals, prehistoric archaeology and paleontological
fields makes the entire ensemble a masterpiece of Georgian culture. It is registered as a Monument of National Importance. The
monastery complex faces the threat of irreversible deterioration.
The main problem is the disintegration of the rocks. The churches
and other spaces suffer extreme structural damage. The collapse
of the structures also threatens the wall paintings. The monastery
complex is under the ownership of the Patriarchate of Georgia.
It is still an active monastic centre with daily services, which
adds to its importance and underlines the urgency of its preservation. Increased tourism at the site is an opportunity but its sustainability needs to be addressed. The Georgian Arts and Culture
Centre submitted the nomination for the “7 Most Endangered”
programme of 2018.
Constanta Casino, Romania
Built in 1910, the Constanta Casino has become a landmark of
the Black Sea shore. Daniel Renard, the Swiss-Romanian architect who designed the building, opted for a lavish expression of
Art Nouveau to reflect Romania’s modernisation during the reign
of Carol I. Following many years of alternating commercial and
state-held responsibility for the building’s care, the Casino was
abandoned in the 2000s. It remains so to this day due to local authorities’ inability to find funding and to launch a rescue and restoration operation. There have been several transfers of administrative rights from the Municipality of Constanța, the last of these
being to the National Investments Agency within the Ministry of
Development. The main danger to the building comes from the
corrosion and rusting of structural metal parts. Sea storms and
winds have shattered most of the windows facing the sea. It is
very likely that the roof will collapse if this process continues.
The nomination for the “7 Most Endangered” programme of 2018
was submitted by the ARCHÉ Association.
The Prinkipo Greek Orphanage, Princes’ Islands, Turkey
The Prinkipo Greek Orphanage is considered the largest wooden
building in Europe and the second largest in the world. Located on
Prinkipo, on the Princes’ Islands off the coast of Istanbul, it was
Europa Nostra
171
Fig. 6: The Prinkipo Greek Orphanage, Princes’ Islands, Turkey
(© Baris Altan)
Fig. 7: Grimsby Ice Factory, United Kingdom (© Andy Marshall,
World Monuments Fund)
built in 1899 to the design of French architect Alexandre Vallaury.
The timber-framed structure features elaborately decorated wooden columns in the grand hall and panelled ceilings with decorative mouldings. The building functioned as an orphanage until its
closure in 1964. Since then, the neglected structure has deteriorated. Damaged by a fire in 1980, today the building is exposed to
adverse weather conditions. Sections of the roof and corner posts
have already fallen and the Orphanage is now at immediate risk
of further collapse. Europa Nostra Turkey submitted the nomination for the “7 Most Endangered” programme of 2018. The setting-up of a Centre of Environmental and Interreligious Dialogue
in the building, as conceived by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of
Constantinople, could figure as the most appropriate future use
of the Orphanage.
Grimsby Ice Factory, United Kingdom
The Grimsby Ice Factory is understood to be the oldest ice factory in the United Kingdom. Designed by the engineer W. F. Cott,
the factory dates from 1900 and is a substantial Grade II* listed
red brick industrial building. The site is arguably the most prominent physical reminder of Grimsby’s fishing and maritime heritage, the largest fishing port in the world at the start of the 20th
century. The factory has been in a state of serious decline since
its closure in 1990. The roof is now severely damaged, allowing
water into the interiors, and much of its metal work and electrical fittings have been stolen. Moreover, there have been threats
of demolition. The factory has remained in private ownership. A
mixed-use development proposal initiated by the Great Grimsby
Ice Factory Trust, estimated to potentially create upwards of 125
jobs, has so far been unsuccessful in securing funding, resulting
in the future of the Ice Factory remaining uncertain. The nomination for the “7 Most Endangered” programme of 2018 was made
by SAVE Britain’s Heritage.
172
WORLD HERITAGE WATCH
World Heritage Watch was founded in 2014 with the aim of
harnessing information from local communities, NGOs and indigenous peoples for the implementation of the World Heritage
Convention and thus strengthening the role of these actors in the
implementation of the Convention. The small non-profit organisation coordinates a worldwide network of now over 170 such
non-governmental actors on all continents and regularly participates in the sessions of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee.
The organisation’s self-imposed task was based on the practical experience that the reports that the State Parties submit
to UNESCO (i.e. the World Heritage Committee, the World
Heritage Centre and its advisory bodies ICOMOS, IUCN, and
ICCROM) on the state of conservation of the sites often give only
an incomplete impression of the actual situation, while UNESCO
itself has very limited opportunities to form its own opinion. This
is particularly true for threats to sites for which governments
themselves are responsible, but also for sites that are not or only
partially accessible to UN missions, such as Lhasa, Diyarbakir or
Libya. It was only through World Heritage Watch that UNESCO
became aware of the occupation of the Sukur cultural landscape
in northern Nigeria by the terrorist militia Boko Haram.
Due to their presence on site and through daily observations,
knowledge of the actors and understanding of domestic processes, civil society actors can supplement the state reports with information that is relevant for an appropriate assessment of the
situation and thus help UNESCO to make decisions that more
adequately address threats. Publishing such information is the
purpose of the World Heritage Watch Reports.
Thus, a few years ago, civil society in Gjirokastra, Albania, was
able to correct the report of an ICOMOS Reactive Monitoring
Mission that had not seen the town by daylight and had adopted
misleading statements from the municipality without checking
them. It could also correct false statements in the government’s
Periodic Report and make UNESCO aware of the actually dramatic situation of the town. In Carthage, a local activist was able
to reveal that the country report had used, among other things,
five-year-old photographs, and to compare these with recent photographs.
The World Heritage Watch network sees itself as a complement to the advisory bodies mentioned. ICOMOS, for example,
although set up as an NGO, is also limited in its possibilities due
to its statutory function under the World Heritage Convention.
Moreover, ICOMOS officials also hold government offices in
many countries, which – without prejudice to their personal integrity – impairs their independence and can lead to conflicts of
interest. Nevertheless, there is an increasing number of collaborations with ICOMOS on the individual or organisational levels.
Wherever ICOMOS accepts the expertise of specialists outside
scientific institutions, this development will increase.
The publication cycle of the reports follows the working cycle of the World Heritage Convention. The individual reports are
written after the national reports have been published and before
UNESCO’s World Heritage Panel discusses them and phrases
draft resolutions for the annual sessions of the World Heritage
Committee.
Of particular value are reports about sites on which UNESCO
has not received national reports for many years, such as Upper
Svaneti and the Medina of Tunis. In these cases, the reports are
meant to encourage UNESCO to send missions to these sites and
to put them on the agenda of the World Heritage Committee.
In addition, the World Heritage Watch Report also provides
space for reports on sites that are, or should be, on the Tentative
List in order to generate attention and to make sure that a potential future inscription will not be prevented due to harmful developments. In the case of the Podesennya cultural landscape in
northern Ukraine, World Heritage Watch is helping to ensure that
the local population is involved in the preparation of the nomination and will have significant benefits from it.
On several occasions, World Heritage Watch has been challenged by demands for verification of our information. The same
question could, however, be equally asked of the national reports.
Beyond the duty of care of the authors and editors, it remains
the principle responsibility of UNESCO to verify the information it receives, which it does, of course. So far, the information
provided by the authors of the World Heritage Watch Report has
consistently proved to be reliable. This is its greatest strength,
and it is precisely for this reason that the World Heritage network
has firmly established itself in the six years since its inception as
a respected partner for the statutory bodies of the World Heritage
Convention.
Stephan Doempke
Chairman
World Heritage Watch
World Heritage Watch
173
The Heritage at Risk Series
Heritage at Risk, ICOMOS World Report 2000
on Monuments and Sites in Danger,
edited by Dinu Bumbaru, Sheridan Burke, Michael Petzet,
Marilyn Truscott, and John Ziesemer,
Munich 2000: K. G. Saur Verlag
ISBN 3-598-24240-9
Heritage at Risk, ICOMOS World Report 2001/2002
on Monuments and Sites in Danger,
edited by Dinu Bumbaru, Sheridan Burke, Jane Harrington,
Michael Petzet, and John Ziesemer,
Munich 2001: K. G. Saur Verlag
ISBN 3-598-24241-7
Heritage at Risk, ICOMOS World Report 2002/2003
on Monuments and Sites in Danger,
edited by Dinu Bumbaru, Sheridan Burke, Jane Harrington,
Michael Petzet, and John Ziesemer,
Munich 2003: K. G. Saur Verlag
ISBN 3-598-24242-5
Heritage at Risk, ICOMOS World Report 2004/2005
on Monuments and Sites in Danger,
edited by Marilyn Truscott, Michael Petzet
and John Ziesemer,
Munich 2005: K. G. Saur Verlag
ISBN 3-598-24243-3
Heritage at Risk, ICOMOS World Report 2006/2007
on Monuments and Sites in Danger,
edited by Michael Petzet and John Ziesemer,
Altenburg 2008: E. Reinhold Verlag
ISBN 978-3-937940-47-2
Heritage at Risk, World Report 2016–2019
on Monuments and Sites in Danger,
edited by Christoph Machat and John Ziesemer,
Berlin 2020: hendrik Bäßler verlag, berlin
ISBN 978-3-945880-67-8
Special Editions
Heritage at Risk Special Edition:
Underwater Cultural Heritage at Risk –
Managing Natural and Human Impacts,
edited by Robert Grenier, David Nutley
and Ian Cochran,
Munich 2006
Heritage at Risk Special Edition:
The Soviet Heritage and European Modernism,
edited by Jörg Haspel, Michael Petzet, Anke Zalivako,
and John Ziesemer,
Berlin 2007: hendrik Bäßler verlag, berlin
ISBN 978-3-930388-50-9
Heritage at Risk Special Edition:
Cultural Heritage and Natural Disasters –
Risk Preparedness
and the Limits of Prevention,
edited by Hans-Rudolf Meier, Michael Petzet
and Thomas Will,
Dresden 2008: TUDpress
ISBN 978-3-940046-64-2
Heritage at Risk, ICOMOS World Report 2008–2010
on Monuments and Sites in Danger,
edited by Christoph Machat, Michael Petzet
and John Ziesemer,
Berlin 2010: hendrik Bäßler verlag, berlin
ISBN 978-3-930388-65-3
Heritage at Risk, World Report 2011–2013
on Monuments and Sites in Danger,
edited by Christoph Machat, Michael Petzet
and John Ziesemer,
Berlin 2014: hendrik Bäßler verlag, berlin
ISBN 978-3-930388-24-0
Heritage at Risk, World Report 2014–2015
on Monuments and Sites in Danger,
edited by Christoph Machat and John Ziesemer,
Berlin 2017: hendrik Bäßler verlag, berlin
ISBN 978-3-945880-26-5
Online at:
www.icomos.org/en/get-involved/inform-us/heritage-alert/heritage-at-risk-reports
ICOMOS ∙ Journals of the German National Committee
(see also https://www.icomos.de/index.php?lang=Englisch&contentid=200&navid=282)
H@R
HERITAGE AT RISK
WORLD REPORT 2016-2019
2016
2019
9 783945 880678
ICOMOS is dedicated to the development of common doctrines, the evolution and circulation of knowledge, the creation of improved conservation techniques, and the promotion
of cultural heritage significance. As an official advisory body
to the World Heritage Committee for the implementation of the
UNESCO World Heritage Convention, ICOMOS evaluates nominations and advises on the state of conservation of properties
inscribed on the World Heritage List. ICOMOS has built a solid
philosophical, doctrinal and managerial framework for the sustainable conservation of heritage around the world.
The ICOMOS Heritage at Risk Reports, first published in 2000,
are part of this framework. From a strictly preservation-based
approach this publication series offers world-wide information
about the dangers that are threatening our cultural heritage, in
order to provide help in the case of risks and to promote practical measures to avert or at least allay these risks. The Heritage
at Risk Reports are also addressed to the world public as an
urgent appeal to commit itself to saving our heritage. Available
also on the Internet, the reports furthermore serve as data base
for the ICOMOS Global Monitoring Network.
www.icomos.org
ISBN 978-3-945880-67-8
2016-2019
ON MONUMENTS AND SITES IN DANGER