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Mariela Salado Lacerda de Oliveira Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (DARF / UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Professor
Mariela Salado Lacerda de Oliveira graduated in Architecture and Urban Planning at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro in 2012. In 2013 she received an award by the Institute of Architects of Brazil in Rio de Janeiro (IAB-RJ) with her Final Graduation Work, an Institute for the Arts and Architecture. She completed, in 2017, her master’s Degree in the Professional Master’s degree in Project and Heritage by the Post-Graduate Program in Architecture of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (PROARQ
- FAU / UFRJ). She also has a professional experience in Architecture and Urbanism and works with emphasis on research in Cultural Heritage and Contemporary Architecture. She is currently a substitute professor in the Department of Analysis and Representation of the Form at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (DARF / UFRJ), where she teaches the discipline of Conception of the Architectural Form II (2018), having taught the subjects of Visual and Digital Graphic Design (2017).
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Figure1 Location map
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Cine Teatro Edgard: a modern building. Proposal for restauration and reuse of a modern movie theatre in Cataguases, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Abstract
This work deals with the preservation of modern architecture from a specific case of a public building located in the city of Cataguases, Minas Gerais, Brazil. The building known today as Edgard Cine Theater was built in 1953 and listed by the National Historical and Artistic Heritage Institute (IPHAN) in 1994. It is intended to address the need to develop a design methodology to guide the decisionmaking around the restoration of the building that is in an advanced state of deterioration with the objective of reintegrating it to the daily life of the city.
Keywords Modern architecture; preservation; cultural heritage; street movie theatres
Introduction
This work stems from the concern about the growing state of abandonment of one of the most important public and cultural buildings in the city of Cataguases, located in the State of Minas Gerais, southeastern region of Brazil. The Cine Teatro Edgard, was designed by the architects Aldary Toledo and Carlos LeĂŁo in 1946 and inaugurated in 1953 and listed by the Institute of National, Historical and Artistic Heritage - IPHAN in 1994. The architectural features of the building contributes to its monumental character; its connection to the public space makes it an extension of the street, belonging, therefore, to the public realm. The building occupies the same grounds as the former Cine Teatro Recreio built in 1896 and since then, has been an important meeting point for residents and a place of countless cultural events from its inauguration to the date of its interdiction in 2013. In this sense, it is important to highlight the need to carry out a global project of restoration and re-use of the building to reintegrate it into the daily life of Cataguases. This 175
Figs. 2,3,4 Main façade and interiors
article intends to point out some reflections that may support this process. In this sense, we try to present a brief introduction that highlighting the importance of the building, and the values assigned to it from a historical, social, architectural and cultural point of view. We also present a intervention guidelines based on its actual state of conservation. In this case, it is sought to investigate the applicability of current preservation principles, considering the contributions of DOCOMOMO and the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), through patrimonial Charters, especially the Venice Charter (1964) and the Nara Document on Values and Authenticity (1994).
1. Cine Teatro Edgard: a modern building
The Cine Teatro Edgard is located in the central area of Cataguases, more specifically in the primitive nucleous that had been established in 1828 as a result of the Portuguese colonization campaing of territories that had not yet been occupied in southeastern Brazil. 176
This central area is inscribed within the protected perimeter that was established by the Institute of National Historical and Artistic Heritage (IPHAN) in 1994 and has a great relevance in the socio-cultural context of the city. The main façade of the building faces one of the city’s most significant public spaces, Rui Barbosa Square, which strengthens the building’s public character.
2. Architectural characterization and autenticity
The Cine Teatro Edgard constitutes an important source of cultural memory to the city of Cataguases and its people. In this context it is important to highlight its sociocultural, architectural, urban and affective values. The social context of the construction of the building made possible the use of a vocabulary that was typical of modern architecture in Brazil during the second half of the 20th century such as the use of pilotis; the monumentality of the interior spaces; the use of transparency in the façades and visual permeability between the interior and exterior and the independence between the structure
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and interior walls. The internal spaces stand out by its enphasis on the void and the curved elements that runs through the interior spaces with fluidity in contrast with the orthogonality of the structural modulation. It is also important to highlight the attention to the visual continuity between the floors, the mezzanines that amplify the scale of the interior spaces and the transparency of glass windows and doors ensuring natural lighting and ventilation to the interior of the building.
3. Project guidelines
These guidelines seek to point out the necessity of preservation of the material and immaterial aspects of the building. The material issues relate to the constructive aspects, infrastructure, property installations, surfaces, accessibility and furnishings, and the immaterial issues relate to the social aspects such as the integration to the adjacent public space of Rui Barbosa Square (Figure5). About the preservation of the building and its essential qualities, it is considered indispensable to maintain it as a democratic public and cultural equipment. On the aspects that are liable to change, the digitalization of the room is highlighted by taking advantage of the space destined to the projection booth; replacement of the
Figure5 Section through Rui Barbosa Square and the building
stage flooring and other wood elements that are totally deteriorated; creation of mechanisms aiming at meeting the criteria of accessibility and fire safety in any way possible; update the sanitary facilities; repair of electrical, hydraulic and fire installations. It is also emphasized that the issue of accessibility is one of the biggest barriers to the full use of the building. The project proposal seeks to align itself with the restoration principles placed in the Venice Charter (1964) with special attention to additions and substitutions. In this sense, elements intended to replace missing parts or new elements inserted must be harmoniously integrated into the whole but distinguishing from the original parts so that the restoration does not fake the historical document. The additions should seek to respect the existing parts of the building, its traditional scheme, the balance of its composition and its relations with the environment. Electric, lighting, hydraulic and fire installations The upgrade of the installations should consider the minimum intervention in the building. The system of electrical installations should be replaced because they have a risk of fire and are extremely damaged by the lack of conservation and maintenance. The hydraulic installations must be rigorously inspected to detect the level of 177
document. The additions should look for respect the existing parts of the building, its traditional scheme, the balance of its composition and its relations with the environment (Venice Charter, 1964).
Figure6 Brise-soleil and new cover above the terrace.
deterioration by proposing less invasive solutions as possible. The new air conditioning equipment should be on the rooftop avoiding the visual interference in the reading of the volumetric shape of the building. The lighting, projection and acoustic systems must relate in harmony with the original aspects of the building. Surfaces and materiality The texture, colors, dimensions and fitting patterns of the finishing and painting parts are important aspects of the authenticity and originality of the building, which express the passage of time and characterizes its identity. Therefore, it is indicated the maintenance of original flooring and finishes where they are in a good state of preservation and whenever it is possible to repair or restore, as an example, the marble floor of the foyer. The replacement of surface elements is indicated only in case irreparable damage. The elements destined to replace missing parts or new elements inserted, must integrate harmoniously with the whole, but distinguishing from the original parts so that the restoration does not fake the historical 178
Faรงade It is important to maintain a controlled cleaning of the facade, with special attention and respect to the surface already altered by the time, treating the pathologies that are not to be confused with the marks of the passage of time, as the original materials and their textures and colors, the ceramic tiles lining the main staircase and the wooden and glass frames, all these elements together are the expression of the historicity and age of the building. In addition to these main guidelines, we suggest some specific interventions for the preservation of the building: wooden frames with irreparable damage are to be replaced preferably by new frames with in the same dimensions and design of the original parts. In places where the frames are not extremely damaged, it is recommended to restore the existing to maintain the original tissue of the building to the maximum. It is recommended to maintain the transparency of the facade and the visual permeability between the exterior and the interior, from the cleaning and repair of the metallic railing and the installation of glazing frames to maintain the air conditioning that should be installed for the purposes of greater thermal comfort inside the building. It is also proposed to insert a new system of brise-soleil to improve the protection of the interior of the building in relation to the incidence of sun rays and rainwater that has been causing damage on the existing hardwood floor. This proposal refers to the
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original architectural project but does not copy it. It is also proposed to build a roof cover to protect the posterior façade of rainwater and infiltration (Figure6). Accessibility Considering accessibility, interventions should complement and diversify the possibilities of access to the upper floors that now rely only with one main ladder. It seeks to solve the issue of accessibility proposing the installation of elevators connecting all the floors. It is emphasized that it is necessary to observe the limit of interventions, and, because it is a protected building, some requirements of the current legislation should be eased to keep the aspects and attributes that give the building its originality and authenticity. Auditorium – furniture and acoustics The volumetric shape and the spatiality of the auditorium must be respected and preserved. The wooden chairs must be restored; in terms of acoustics it was found that the main causes of noise inside the building are given by the precarious condition of the door and window frames, the lack of acoustic treatment between the roof and a covering slab and the discontinuity of lateral and frontal closures, which would serve as sound barriers. It is also possible to affirm that the high rate of reverberation perceived in the environment is given by the relationship between the characteristics of the spatial dimension of the auditorium and the materials used in its construction, which are mostly low absorption. There is no indication of any type of acoustic treatment aiming to decrease this high perceived reverberation
index inside the building. To improve the acoustic performance of the auditorium, the new elements installed must be removable in order to preserve to the maximum its original form and spatiality. In relation to the external environment, the circulation of vehicles near the building are responsible for intense mechanical vibrations that are a constant source of nuisance and degradation of the building and becomes even more sensitive by being directly in contact with the street and due to its use that requires silence and concentration. Such vibrations are propagated through several sound sources, such as: the friction between the tires of the vehicles and the cobblestone floor, loudspeaker, cars of sound, high concentration of people in the square. It is therefore recommended to restrict car parking spaces immediately ahead of the building and acoustic treatment through removable panels on the interior surfaces of the auditorium aiming to dampen the impact of sound sources from the streets in their immediate surroundings to lessen the discomfort produced by these noises as preconized by heritage charters such as the Washington Charter (1987). 4. Final considerations This work sought to present a series of guidelines for the restauration and reuse of the Edgard Cine Theatre emphasizing its historical and symbolic importance to the city, beyond its importance as modern architectural heritage. It was also sought to expose the attributes and values intrinsic to the building that characterize its authenticity and originality. In this sense the material and immaterial aspects of the building were analyzed, highlighting the elements of 179
volumetric and structural composition, as well as the characteristics of the coating materials, which express the marks of the time in the building. The immaterial and cultural aspects are given by the main actors and agents of transformation that occur with the passage of time. Considering the aesthetic and use values of the building, it is concluded that the permanence of the damage found causes significant losses, as well as endanger the physical integrity of the users, unable to fulfil their functions as shelter by compromising its use value. Finally, it is proposed a series of guidelines considering the recognition of values assigned to the building that carries the identity that is to be preserved. It is understood here that this identity is related to an architecture of generous spaces, which privileges the emptiness, transparency and visual relations between exterior and interior and that sought to take advantage of the technological possibilities of the time from the use of the structure in reinforced concrete. Such characteristics are fundamental to the apprehension of this building and should be preserved. It is concluded that, from the thorough understanding of the building and the premises and recommendations for the preservation of the cultural heritage present in the documents of ICOMOS and DOCOMOMO, it is possible to establish an intervention methodology for this building, guaranteeing, in large part, the safeguarding of the values of this heritage.
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References Figure1 Location map l Credit: Intervention by the author on Google Earth image, 2018 Figs. 2,3,4 Credit: Guide to the Cultural Heritage - Modernist architecture of Cataguases l Available in: http://sv2.fabricadofuturo.org.br/guiamodernista/ Figure5 Section through Rui Barbosa Square and the building. Prepared by the author, 2018 Figure6 Brise-soleil and new cover above the terrace. Prepared by the author, 2018 Literature ALONSO, Paulo Henrique. A construção de um patrimônio cultural: o tombamento federal de Cataguases, Minas Gerais. 2010. ALONSO. Paulo Henrique (org.). Cataguases – arquitetura modernista. Guia do Patrimônio Cultural. Belo Horizonte: Instituto de Estudos do Desenvolvimento Sustentável, 2009. INSTITUTO DO PATRIMÔNIO HISTÓRICO E ARTÍSTICO NACIONAL – IPHAN. Processo 1.342- T-94. Tombamento Cataguases. Rio de Janeiro. Arquivo Noronha Santos. 3 volumes. MELLO, Fernando Antonio Oliveira. Cataguases e suas modernidades. 2014. CARVALHO, Claudia Suely Rodrigues de. Preservação da arquitetura moderna: edifícios de escritórios no Rio de Janeiro construídos entre 1930-1960. 2006. Tese de Doutorado. Universidade de São Paulo. OLIVEIRA, Mariela Salgado L. de., Projeto de Restauração e Readequação de Uso do Cine Teatro Edgard. 2017. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro.