Theories of Historic Preservation II research case projects
graduate program of historic preservation stuart weitzman school of design university of pennsylvania hspv 661, Spring 2019 instructor: kecia fong editor: sung, di
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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AMERICA • “The Sautee-Nacoochee Valley” by Gabe HARPER Georgia, US • “Annapolis” by Adrian TREVISAN Maryland, US
p. 01 p. 05
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• “Pennhurst State School and Hospital” by Sarah KNAUER Pennsylvania, US
p. 09
4
• “Joe Frazer’s Gym & the Rocky Statue” by Maggie SOLLMAN Pennsylvania, US
p. 13
5
• “East Harlem Historic District” by Kimberley LA PORTE New York, US
p. 17
6
• “Gateway National Recreation Area: Jaimaca Bay Unit” by Kathie BRILL New York, US
p. 21
7
• “Newport, Rhode Island” by Abby DOLAN Rhode Island, US
p. 25
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• “Lazaretto of Goat’s Island” by Mónica P. ORTIZ-CORTÉS Puerto Rico
p. 29
9
• “Old San Juan: Economic Development, Heritage Exploitation, and Austherity” by Héctor J. BERDECÍA-HERNÁNDEZ Puerto Rico
p. 33
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10 & 12
13 17
15
20
14 16
10 11
18 & 19
EUROPE • “La Sagrada Família” by Noah YODER Catalonia, SPAIN • “Les espaces d’Abraxas” by Sarah LERNER Île-de-France, FRANCE
p. 37 p. 41
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• “E-1027” by Holly BOYER-MANDERS Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, FRANCE
p. 45
13
• “Mount Athos” by Elizabeth SEXTON Mount Athos, GREECE
p. 49
14 15
ASIA • “Lo Manthang” by Joe BACCI Gandaki Pradesh, NEPAL • “Hoh Xil” by LIN, Xue Fei Qinhai, CHINA
p. 53 p. 57
16
• “Bagan Temples, Myanmar” by Jyostna NAGA Mandalay, MYANMAR
p. 61
17
• “Maijishan Grottoes” by ZHANG Yujia Gansu, CHINA
p. 65
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• “North Kowloon Magistracy” by WU Chongke Hong Kong
p. 69
19
• “Kinmen 831, Military Brothel” by SUNG Di Kinmen, TAIWAN
p. 73
20
• “Jin Jia Fang” by NI Zhen Shanghai, CHINA
p. 77
1
The Sautee-Nacoochee Valley White County, Georgia
Gabe HARPER Project name: Sautee-Nacoochee Valley Location: White County, Georgia Keywords: Rural Preservation, community engagement, tangible history, changing landscapes
Background: The Sautee-Nachoochee Valley has been deeply treasured and cared for by its residents for centuries. Tribes of Cherokee and later settlers of Appalachia found incredible value in the landscape’s stretches of rich farmland and captivating beauty . In recent years the valley, which has maintained its unique rural identity for generations, has come under the threat of insensitive real-estate development. People have always been and will continue to be drawn to the Sautee-Nacoochee Valley for its bucolic scenery and tangible history. However, the fate of its cultural character now lies in the hands of those who do not simply pass through, but instead stay and engage in the difficult but important work of respectful community development and heritage conservation.
In his essay titled On the Cliff, author Wendell Berry address-
es the relationship between our bodies and the earth stating, “for no fig. 1, Sautee-Nacoochee Cherokee burial mound and pasture. fig. 2, Location in the United States.
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fig. 3, Location in Georgia.
fig. 4, Mid-19th century barn and corn crib, still in use.
matter how urban our life, our bodies live by farming; we come from
In 1976, the county recorded 7, 174 lots on 3,317 acres, which meant
the earth and return to it, and so we live in agriculture as we live in
that the average land parcel in White County had been reduced in size
flesh.”(Berry, 93)1 For many, especially agrarians like Berry, the ru-
significantly from the previous decade. As Georgia law requires that
ral landscape provides an irreplaceable source for both physical and
valuation for tax purposes be made on the basis of fair market value, it
spiritual nourishment. The Sautee-Nacoochee Valley in White County,
is then the landowner who is subjected to face the increased tax burden
Georgia is a quintessential example of such a powerful landscape. For
imposed by higher market prices. For many families who had farmed
centuries, communities there have engaged in sustainable farming
the valley for generations, and ultimately contributed to the Sautee-Na-
practices, leaving behind only what the next generation might need to
coochee’s survival as a farming community despite national trends to
continue their work. In recent decades however this unique scenery has
urbanize, it no longer made economic sense to hold on to their land.
attracted the attention of developers, intent on profiting off of the area’s
natural beauty and often leaving behind a far more harmful mark in the
States has romanticized the rural landscape, often placing a bucolic
form of seasonal housing projects and elevated land taxes. This scenar-
spin on the harsh poverty and hard labor that comes with making a
io is certainly not an isolated one and presents difficult but important
living on the land. As referenced at the beginning of this essay, we as a
questions as to how rural landscapes can be conserved with local com-
people have an attraction to these landscapes; perhaps a primal need
munity interests at the forefront, rather than insensitive change at the
to be immersed within the countryside and count ourselves as masters
expense of those communities.
of our own domain. However, when one’s need to work the land as a
means of survival is eliminated, and the landscape is taken advantage
In order to more fully understand the pressures driving change
Since the turn of the 20th century, the populace of the United
in the Sautee-Nacoochee Valley it is important to first understand
of simply for its mountain views, it ceases to be a working setting and
national trends of change in urban versus rural landscapes. The United
loses much of its authenticity within its greater rural context. This issue
States has experienced steady urbanization since the late 19th centu-
is near the top of the list of challenges which face the conservation of
ry. Between 1870 and 1920, it is estimated that eleven million people
large-scale landscapes such as the Sautee-Nacoochee Valley.
migrated from the countryside to urban areas, seeking better paying
industrial jobs and in many cases opportunity for upward social mo-
as its remaining working farmland have been the result of careful plan-
bility.2 Although not completely immune to this national population
ning and community organization. These efforts have been met with
shift, the Sautee-Nacoochee Valley maintained a relatively consistent
various degrees of success. In 1980, the Department of the Interior des-
population throughout much of the early 20th century, even experienc-
ignated the Nacoochee Valley Historic District, an area of approximate-
ing several slight increases following WWII. 3 According to a preser-
ly three-square miles, offering limited tax benefits for the rehabilitation
vation study of the valley completed in 1982 by landscape architect and
of historic commercial structures. Measures have been put in place
Sautee-Nacoochee native Allen Stovall, the area truly began to experi-
to protect the valley’s waterways as well as both public and privately
ence dramatic change in the 1970s. Between 1970 and 1980, there was a
-owned cemeteries. Restrictive covenants have also been utilized by
nearly 25% increase in White County’s population.4 This was accompa-
families in the sale of their land to developers, limiting construction in
nied by soaring land values, primarily as a result of speculative interest
the valley’s bottomlands. Despite these conservation victories, roughly
in the construction of second homes. The White County Tax Asses-
90% of the Sautee-Nacoochee Valley is still vulnerable to insensitive
sor’s office lists the total value of land in the county increasing from
commercial and residential development.
$3,731,000 in 1960, to $17,234,000 in 1970, and to 75,000,000 in 1980.
Efforts to protect the valley’s character defining features as well
When considering this particular case study and the challenges
2
it presents, one is met by a number of difficult theoretical questions. From a conservation perspective, the Sautee-Nacoochee Valley offers invaluable access to the cultural heritage of Southern Appalachia and should be preserved in its most intact and authentic state. However, it should first be asked if future preservation-based planning efforts align with the desires of the valley’s permanent residents. If they do not align, how different are preservationists from the developers threatening the valley in the first place? If a preservation plan is put into place that does not allow a farmer to sell his land to a developer who would offer him far more money to develop the land than for it be conserved, then whose interests are at the root of the conservation work? Rural heritage conservation is a particularly difficult task because it asks for those who have struggled for generations to grow a living from the land to make one final sacrifice, and not be bought out in many cases. It asks them to instead consider the benefit that saving their land could have for the education of future generations. Perhaps the deeper issue facing not only the Sautee-Nacoochee Valley, but also countless other rural communities is found in the lack of value which the United States places in those areas. Rural communities, particularly in Appalachia, face levels of poverty which far surpass the national average. Many are caught in cycles of unbreakable hardship, fueled by an inability to access the same recourses which are allocated to wealthier urban communities. Preservation efforts in these rural areas should always be carried out by first considering those who live and work there. Without a heightened level of respect and humility for the rural landscape and the people who live within it, we may as well be driving through and looking for the perfect spot to build our new vacation house.
fig. 5, Nacoochee-Station General Store.
fig. 6, Sprawling commercial and residential development meets historic pastureland.
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Endnotes 1 The Art of the Commonplace. Berry, Wendell. Counterpoint Print. 2002. Berkeley, Ca. pg. 93. 2 America Moves to the City. Khan Academy. https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/us-history/the-gilded-age/gilded-age/a/america-moves-to-the-city. 3 Sautee-Nacoochee Preservation Study. Stovall, Allen. 1982. University of Georgia. 4 Refer to endnote 3.
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ANNAPOLIS Adrian TREVISAN Project name: Historic Annapolis Responds to Climate Change Location: Annapolis, MD, USA Keywords: #Climate_Change Recognizing that the unique concentration of Georgian buildings from the early 1700’s in Annapolis Maryland is threatened by flooding due to climate change, the city government undertook an extensive effort to determine the extent of danger, identify potential mitigation actions, and plan to implement them. As a result Annapolis has been recognized as a world-class example of climate change preparedness.
Figure 1: Downtown Annapolis during Hurricane Isabel, 2003 (Landmark at Risk) Figure 2: Location in North America
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Figure 3: Location in the United States
Annapolis, Maryland is one of the oldest settlements in the United
within that zone. (Figure 5) This survey identified 104 historic and 43
States. It was founded in 1649 by Puritans expelled from Virginia
non-contributing properties within the flood zone. The team complet-
and became the capital of the province of Maryland in 1694 following
ed detailed FEMA vulnerability assessment worksheets, which included
colonial conflict related to the English Revolution and Restoration.1
both physical (building type, material, construction date, function,
The newly appointed governor, Francis Nicholson, designed a baroque
condition, etc.), and social (potential for economic loss, displacement
street plan which combined monumental circles with radiating streets,
cost, economic importance, owner interest in mitigation, and public
an orthogonal street grid, and the local topography. (Figure 4)2 The
sentiment for the resource) data for each building. They then priori-
two principal streets run between the docks and the two tallest hills,
tized the buildings, identified 47 of them as having “high community
one bearing the State House (capital building) and the other St. Anne’s
value,” and quantified their value by evaluating cost in four categories:
Church. As well as being the seat of colonial and then state govern-
loss to structure, loss of contents, loss of function, and relocation cost.
ment, the town also became a prosperous port, with many grand build-
The total value of potentially affected structures in these categories was
ings constructed in the 1700’s.
$183 million; no effort was made to estimate the loss of cultural value if these buildings were destroyed.
While Annapolis’ economic fortunes rose and fell in the ensuing centuries, war thankfully passed it by, and the state government acted as a
Having calculated the potential loss following an event, the team then
local industry, ensuing a constant, if modest prosperity. As the United
set out to develop a plan to prevent or minimize that loss, categorizing
States became interested in history, many recognized that Annapolis
activities under the following categories:
offered a unique concentration of Georgian buildings. Although a
• Reduce the risk of flood
New York businessman’s plan to construct a competitor to Colonial
• Reduce of the consequences of flood
Williamsburg was dashed by the Great Depression, the foundation of
• Improve existing and planned building stock and infrastructure
Historic Annapolis in 1952 ensured that this irreplaceable patrimony
• Build awareness and resilience in the community
was spared from demolition by “progress” as the town grew. 3 However
• Foster economic development while adapting to flood risk
Annapolis now finds itself threatened by nature instead of man, with rising sea levels leading to frequent flooding: while in the 1960s the
IMPLEMENTATION
town typically flooded three days per year, by 2018 this had risen to
In a section entitled, “Phase Four: Implementation,” The Weather it
between 30 and 40 days per years, and is projected to be a daily occur-
Together plan identifies nine potential projects to be undertaken, with
rence in 2045. 4
a total estimated cost of $2.2 million. The Weather it Together website describes three projects in the planning stage (described below). The
PLANNING SUMMARY
three are not directly transferred from the plan, however, making com-
Recognizing the long-term consequences of this flooding, the Mayor
parison difficult.
and the Chief of Historic Preservation of Annapolis assembled a coa-
•
lition of public and private stakeholders called Weather It Together to
grading modifications at the existing bulkhead, closure valves, and
prepare the city for the future. This coalition consisted of representa-
smaller/multiple underground/above ground pump stations.
tives from more than 30 city, county, state, and national agencies, local,
•
Stormwater and Flood Mitigation Design: a combination of
Non-Structural Historic Building Adaptation: 147 buildings
state and national preservations bodies, and local businesses near the city docks. Following FEMA guidance for hazard mitigation planning, this group began its work by gathered data from numerous sources and engaging the public. It raised public awareness through 31 Annapolis-based events—which drew 3,500 participants—and radio, print, and television coverage—which reached an addition 350,000 viewers, readers and listeners. The group also held 175 meetings over four years with those directly affected by flooding—local businesses, government offices, and non-profit organizations—to develop the planning model. These planning efforts resulted in the members of the Weather It Together team being included in the US/ICOMOS Climate Change and Heritage knowledge network to share best practices, and being one to two US communities invited to participate in the Pocantico Summit. The team both learned from these groups and shared the results of its ongoing efforts. Working with subject matter experts, the team next determined the expected flood levels, and then identified and surveyed the buildings
Figure 4: The 1695 Annapolis City Plan by Francis Nicholson, depicted in the 1718 survey by James Stoddard. (Bohl Architects)
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Figure 5: Present Day Historic Annapolis, with flood zone in yellow (Weather it Together, 2018)
were identified within the flood zone, 70 of these were determined to
the most short-term impact—Stormwater and Flood Mitigation De-
be historic, and 16 were chosen as prototypes. Three elevations were
sign and Non-Structural Historic Building Adaptation—are described
taken at the lowest opening and at first floor elevations in each of these
below.
16 buildings and dry and wet flood proofing and elevation of services and utilities were proposed.
As shown in Figure 5, much of the flood–prone portion of Annapolis
• Mobile LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) Collection: to cata-
surrounds the dock; this is also the center of much of the revenue-pro-
logue historic resources efficiently
ducing tourist activity. Annapolis was designed before the automobile, resulting in narrow streets which have been limited to one-way traffic.
Many of the plan’s projects involve adapting official policies and pro-
Traffic enters the dock from the north and leaves to the west and south.
cedures and educating property owners and the public. The two with
Consequently, protecting this area from flooding is one of the primary objectives. This area is separated from the bay by a “bulwark”—an elevated sea wall made from cement and wood. Flood water enters this area from two directions: from the bay as a result of tidal surge and from land as runoff from the hills containing Saint Anne’s Church and the State House. As shown in Figure 6, elevated sea water levels prevents storm runoff from flowing into the sea by blocking discharge pipes. To mitigate this two pumping stations are being planned to pump runoff into the bay through a system of bypass pipes. With these pumps in place to handle runoff from the land, increasing the elevation of the bulwark will prevent water from entering from the bay. Backflow valves will be installed to preventer seawater from entering through the storm drain runoff pipes.
Figure 6: Schematic of Annapolis floodwater discharge system (Landmark at Risk)
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5
Figure 7: Example of dry flood proofing and wet flood proofing (Landmark at Risk)
Simultaneously, methods are being studied to make historic buildings resistant to flooding should it still occur. Since in many cases these buildings cannot be elevated, each would be modified to mirror the docks in a smaller scale. The exterior of the buildings would be made waterproof to minimize water from entering from the outside, and pumps would be installed to evacuate any water that is able to enter. The buildings are in daily use, so the waterproofing is a combination of treatment of fixed surfaces (i.e. walls) and installation of temporary barriers in doorways and windows. Electrical systems (necessary to run the pumps) would be elevated to prevent shorting by flood water. While it is too early to determine if Weather It Together’s efforts will be successful, the process the team followed is a prime example of current historic preservation theory. Rather than being a top-down plan developed by distant bureaucrats and imposed on an uninformed community, Weather It Together involved affected community members and the public from the beginning, ensuring enthusiastic involvement from local property owners and wide-spread support for these measures among the general public who might have otherwise been irked by
Endnotes 1 Ridgely, D. ed. Annals of Annapolis. Cushing & Brother, Baltimore, 1841. pp. 34-85. 2 “The City Plan for Annapolis, Maryland,” Bohl Architects, accessed April 20, 2019, https://www.bohlarchitects.com/2018/01/25/the-city-plan-for-annapolismaryland/ 3 Smith, JW, A Search for the Liberal College, St. John’s College Press, Annapolis, 1983, p. 5-7. 4 “Weather It Together: A Cultural Resource Hazard Mitigation Plan for the City of Annapolis, April 2018,” Annapolis, accessed April 20, 2019, https:// www.annapolis.gov/DocumentCenter/View/10064/Consolidated-CRHMP-Report-April-2018, p. v. 5 “Landmark at Risk: Protecting the Historic Seaport of Annapolis, Maryland, Story Map,” Annapolis, accessed April 20, 2019, available at: https:// annapolis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=a8e43f5101d14748a037603e2a120520&folderid=70b9f5d6e4f54a2bae08ad3becbce954 Bibliography • Bohl Architects, https://www.bohlarchitects.com/ • “Landmark at Risk: Protecting the Historic Seaport of Annapolis, Maryland,” Annapolis, https://annapolis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=a8e43f5101d14748a037603e2a120520&folderid=70b9f5d6e4f54a2bae08ad3becbce954 • Ridgely, D. ed. Annals of Annapolis. Cushing & Brother, Baltimore, 1841. • Smith, JW, A Search for the Liberal College, St. John’s College Press, Annapolis, 1983, • Weather It Together: A Cultural Resource Hazard Mitigation Plan for the City of Annapolis, April 2018, https://www.annapolis.gov/DocumentCenter/ View/10064/Consolidated-CRHMP-Report-April-2018
inconveniences caused by flood mitigation work. Weather It Together’s deserves to be studied and emulated by other communities facing similar situations.
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Pennhurst State School and Hospital Sarah KNAUER Project name: Pennhurst State School and Hospital Location: Sping City, Pennsylvania, USA Operation Years: 1908 - 1987 Occupancy: 3,500, 10,500 total Keywords: #Site_Management #Public_History Abstract: Pennhurst is a site that embodies the theoretical questions that can split the field of Historic Preservation when addressing its Site management and Public History. Can a site be neglected due to its negative history? Can a site’s history be altered in order to bring more funding and visitors to the site? How can a site’s over shadowed positive history be portrayed to the larger community and should it? Or, should it be forgotten and erased in order to preserve the past memories and suffering of the community?
fig. 1, Image of Pennhurst Campu, 1921 - 1922 fig. 2, Location in the United States
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fig. 3, Location in Pennsylvania
fig. 4, 1967 Campus Map (Progress and Careers at Pennhurst, 1967)
Pennhurst was created in 1903 as part of a Pennsylvania Legislation act
ownership of the site, which has to this point prevented any tradition-
calling for and funding an Eastern Pennsylvania State Institution for
al preservation elements of the site in favor of constructing a haunted
the Feeble-minded and Epileptic to be erected that would “be entirely
attraction for the public.
and specifically devoted to the reception, detention, care and training
When considering Pennhurst from a historic preservation perspective
of epileptics and of idiotic and feeble-minded persons of either sex”
these factors of the history, community, and ownership raise theoretical
(PA Leg 1903)1. The facility opened in 1908 and would house over
questions about its Site Management and Public history aspects.
10,600 men, women, and children until the Pennsylvania Supreme
The Site Management conflict of “Should the negative history of a site
court mandated its closure in 1987 as a result of abuse and neglect. Ini-
be utilized for a profit?” is often brought up in determining the poten-
tially individuals who were institutionalized at Pennhurst ranged from
tial use of sites. Pennhurst has a dark past, that while it only reflects
the criminals, mentally deficient, certified insane, and all others who
a small portion of the site’s history has given it an overwhelming
posed a threat to society; inspired by the Eugenics movement of the
negative impression to anyone who talks about the site. The current
1920’s which aimed to weed the unwanted from the greater population’s
private ownership has uses this to their advantage in prompting the
gene pool. It would not be until 1967 with the Mental Retardation and
“Pennhurst Haunted Asylum”. Similar to Eastern State, these attractions
Disability act that regulated conditions and treatment would be admin-
allow money and visitors to flow to the property that help maintain the
istered to the care of the boys and girls at these institutions.
upkeep of the site. However, in doing so the owner of Pennhurst have manipulated the site’s history. Unlike Eastern State, Pennhurst was not
The site was built in what at the times was rural Spring City, Pennsylva-
a mandated site for the mentally insane but for the mentally retarded at
nia along the banks of the Schuylkill river, some 30 miles from Phila-
a time when society was not equipped to accept them. But, often times
delphia. The complex at the time of closing would have 18 constructed
a site’s history is tailored to make it more appealing to the public. Is this
buildings consisting of a hospital, men and women’s campuses based
something that historic preservation should allow: the upkeep of a site
on level of functioning, canteen, school, staff quarters, and administra-
at the expense of it’s true history?
tive buildings. In 2008 Nathaniel Guest, a preservation student at Cornell University Three factors are currently dictating the fate of the Pennhurst Campus:
put forth an adaptive reuse plan for the Pennhurst campus with the
Its history, the community that houses it, and the current private own-
expressed view that:
ership status of the site. The site is shrouded in a dark history due to the
“Pennhurst is about what we as a society chose to do with people who
lack of funding that led to a lapse of professional staffing and care for
were different—people defined as “the other.” As such, our reuse must
the 3,500 residents at Pennhurst resulting in cases of abuse and neglect.
include a place that interprets not only what happened, but why and
During the closure of Pennhurst, the community has been split in their
how” (Guest 20082)
impression of the site and what should be done with it. Many residents
Guest’s reuse plan outlines a new learning campus that would be the
would like to see the site fade away, while others would like the site to
Nation’s first facility for discussing and addressing the disability is-
be transformed into something the memorialized those who were in-
sues that are inseparable from the history of Pennhurst. Again, this is
stitutionalized there. A vast majority of the community members have
similar to the many adaptive reuse plans proposed for the Eastern State
worked at Pennhurst still reside near Spring City and its closure is still
Pen. site, which at a time was proposed to be converted into a shopping
fresh in their minds. The last factor is in regard to the current private
center.3 As of this moment no adaptive reuse plan has been put to prac-
10
tice on the Pennhurst campus, but should one? Guest put great thought
ed? The general consensus as of today is yes. This becomes a theoretical
and emphasis onto embracing the history of Pennhurst, however, is the
and moral question about what should and should not be saved. 4
community and region still not ready for that? One of the last theoretical challenges that faces this site in terms of The first Public History theoretically question is weighing what is
Public history is how the site’s history can be portrayed to the com-
gained and lost when a site is neglected, and is this appropriate for t
munity. As previously discussed, the site is currently owned and
Historic Preservation to do? In terms of Pennhurst and it’s community,
maintained privately and is barring the acting Pennhurst Preservation
it is a split decision. As discussed, many wish something to be done
alliance from accessing any portion of the property for interpretation.
with the site, and if nothing good can come of the site they wish it to
Therefore, the site’s history has to be presented from an external per-
disappear and not be used for a haunted attraction as it currently is.
spective either local or regionally. Currently locally efforts are being
Considering another question, can this story be told somewhere else or
made to collect oral histories from previous members of the Pennhurst
at a later time? Often sites are demolished because their story is told at
staff, similar to the work previously done at Eastern State Pen. and its
another location or a plaque stand in considered adequate interpreta-
prison guards, in hopes of someday telling their story of Pennhurst.
tion for many sites. Should the memory of Pennhurst be a long-fought
Regionally the Pennhurst Preservation and Memorial Alliance is
battle over ownership or can the site be neglected and forgotten? East-
aiming to go beyond the walls of Pennhurst and discuss the national
ern State Pen. prior to being taken up by historic preservationist was
victory that occurred at the site for the National Disability Act. This
left to a similar fate of being over grown and neglected in the middle
site prompts the question though of how can a site that is being barred
of a bustling area. And what of buildings that are threatened by climate
from presenting its history to be preserved by historic preservation.
change? Should those too be permitted to be abandoned and neglect-
fig. 5, Overgrown Pennhurst Campus Hall.
fig. 7, Adaptive Reuse into Office/Classroom (Guest 2008)
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fig. 6, Overgrown Pennhurst Campus Hall.
Endnotes 1 Act 424, Laws of Pennsylvania (May 15, 1903); Act 42,Laws of Pennsylvania (April 4, 1907). Section 10. 2 Guest, Nathaniel. Pennhurst: Planning a Community of Conscience Conceptual Plan for Reuse. September 2010. Accessed April 21, 2019. http://www.preservationalliance.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/ Pennhurst_CDC.pdf. 3 “Timeline.” Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site. Accessed April 21, 2019. https://www.easternstate.org/research/history-eastern-state/ timeline. 4 Annoymous. “Upenn: Pennhurst Staff and Associates Oral Histories.” Interview by author. April 5, 2019.
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4
Joe Frazier’s Gym & the Rocky Statue Philadelphia, PA
Maggie SOLLMANN Project name: Interpretation of Heritage Location: Philadelphia, PA Joe Frazier’s Gym (1968-2008), 2917 N Broad Street Rocky Statue (commissioned 1980, relocated 2006), Phila Art Museum Keywords: #cultural_heritage #interpretation #inclusion #diversity #philadelphia #legacy #fiction Abstract: The neglect of Joe Frazier and preservation of Rocky Balboa; how the historic designation around the achievements of a black man are overshadowed by a monument dedicated to the fictitious feats of a white man.
Fig. 1 [up. left] - Joe Frazier’s Gym in North Philadelphia. (Hidden City Daily, 2012) Fig. 2 [up. right] - Rocky Statue in Fairmount. (“The Rocky Statue and the Rocky Steps”) Fig. 3 - Location in USA, North America.
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Fig. 4 - Locations in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
There can be tremendous deflection in what we discern as
Brotherly Love”.3
valuable in heritage within the built environment. For Philadelphia, a
city inundated with locally and nationally recognized cultural heritage,
of Rocky, however, is the Philadelphia’s lack of initiative in celebrating
interpretation is an important asset to ensure what is intangible is kept
the achievements of Joe Frazier. Frazier is most significantly known for
in memory through the preservation of its physical place. Historical
his boxing match again Muhammad Ali in 1971, where the two unde-
prominence to this caliber, as Philadelphia has deftly proven, can be
feated heavyweight champions went head to head in the Fight of the
granted to both the real and the fictional. This is apparent in the paral-
Century for fifteen rounds.4 Frazier was declared victor in a unani-
lel drawn between Joe Frazier, a black boxer (1944-2011) who adopted
mous decision. In relation to Philadelphia, however, Frazier moved to
Philadelphia as his home at the start of his boxing career, and that of
the city in the late-1950s, where he worked a number of miscellaneous
Rocky Balboa, a fictional white boxer, who has been adopted by Phila-
jobs while building up the foundation of his professional boxing career.
delphia and made one of its most iconic persons.1 However, inclusion
in collective memory can be challenged when the fictitious takes on
Street in the Glenwood neighborhood of Northern Philadelphia for
larger than life attributes that overshadow the legacy of a real man. For
Frazier for use as a training facility (reference fig. 1). From 1968 until
Rocky, tourists will make the pilgrimage. For Frazier, his feats have
1975, Frazier practiced within this gym (including his training for the
become bogged down in the litany of history.
fight against Ali). Upon his retirement from professional boxing in
Departing from Philadelphia’s fanfare in preserving the legacy
In 1968, a sponsor purchased the property of 2917 N Broad
Rocky Balboa came to fruition with the film Rocky. Released in
1975, he purchased the property from the investors. 5 For over thir-
1976, it immediately was met with critical acclaim, showcasing the feats
ty-years, Frazier gave back to his adopted Philadelphian community
of an Italian-American from South Philadelphia earning his weight in
by opening the gym for the public, training several professional boxers
gold as the underdog, which subsequently developed into a film fran-
within the facilities over the decades, as well as providing a haven for
chise spanning decades. In 1980, Sylvester Stallone (Rocky Balboa)
youth of the area to participate in the gym organization and keep off
commissioned the Rocky Statue, which was used as a prop within the
the streets.6 Frazier sought no recognition for his contributions to the
1982 movie Rocky III.2 In the film, the statue was placed at the top of
city, and in return the city gave him none.7
the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum, the location of the iconic
scene in the first movie installment in which Rocky runs up the steps
debts he had accumulated and later passed away in 2011 due to liver
and victoriously throws his fists into the air.
cancer.8 In April of 2012, his gym was added to the National Register
of Historic Places; however, in June of that same year, the National
When filming was complete, the City of Philadelphia and the
In 2008, Frazier sold his gym in order to pay off decades of
Art Museum debated the legitimacy of the statue’s value in terms of its
Trust for Historic Preservation listed it as one of the nation’s 11 Most
relevance to Philadelphia’s heritage, and its artistic merit. After long
Endangered Places. Consequently in 2013, it was added to the Phila-
deliberation, the Rocky Statue was relocated outside of the Spectrum
delphia Register of Historic Places to ensure its safety from demolition
Stadium in South Philadelphia. In 2002 it was placed in storage for pro-
and major alteration in its future.9 Major motions were put in place to
tection due to demolition of Veteran’s Stadium across from Spectrum.
ensure the longevity of Frazier’s legacy rooted in the North Philadel-
Eventually, it found its way back to the Philadelphia Art Museum in
phia community, however, the common knowledge of his relationship
2006, where it was placed at the base of the steps. There it has remained
to the city is significantly lacking.
a fixation for tourists as a pop culture icon and “real-life monument to
a celluloid hero who endures as a favorite fictional son of the City of
the other in that of pop culture, there is an upset in the balance of what
Fig. 5 - Rocky Balboa vs. Apollo Creed. (Rocky, 1976)
Fig. 6 - Joe Frazier vs. Muhammad Ali. (Larry Morris, 1971)
While one man became ingrained in the fabric of history, and
14
is remembered as a part of heritage when a fictitious counterpart overshadows the feats a real person. The Rocky Statue is easily discernable as one of Philadelphia’s greatest tourist attractions, bringing in tens of thousands of people every year seeking to pose next to the statue or run up the Philadelphia Art Museum steps made infamous in the first movie installment. Yet Frazier’s boxing studio, though designated at the local and national level, does not see its life perpetuated beyond the paper declaring it of historical significance for its association to him.10
The lack of inclusion and representation in the public’s col-
lective memory is very much a multifaceted issue revolving around neglect of heritage imbedded within diversity and the tangible, and the fascination with sustaining fiction as plausible heritage. If one were to ask someone who has never ventured to Philadelphia what attributes they associate with the city, Rocky Balboa is likely a name to be thrown alongside William Penn, the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, and so on. The name Rocky has become synonymous with Philadelphia. The same cannot be said for Joe Frazier. Despite the fact Frazier used meat carcasses as punching bags while he worked in a slaughterhouse—as Rocky did in the movie. Despite the fact Frazier would end his running regimen through Fairmount Park by climbing the 72 steps to the landing of the Philadelphia Art Museum—as Rocky did in the movie. Events that transpired in history by the flesh and blood of a person, whitewashed and glorified in a movie produced over a decade later.11 And despite Frazier being Philadelphia’s true underdog, to rise from poverty, to defeat an undefeatable opponent, it is Rocky’s footprints embedded at the top of the Art Museum steps, and it is Rocky’s statue
Fig. 7 - Sylvester Stallone posing with the Rocky Statue. (Michael Perez, 2018)
that hundreds of people a day line up to see while Frazier’s boxing gym and statue humbly sit on the sidelines of history.
Fig. 8 - Joe Frazier pictured with his boxing gym. (“Joe Frazier outside his Philadelphia gym in 1996.”)
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Endnotes 1 “The Rocky Statue and Rocky Steps.” Independence Visitor Center Corporation. 2 “The Rocky Statue.” The Pop History Dig. 3 “The Rocky Statue and the Rocky Steps.” Visit Philadelphia. 4 Anderson, Dave. “Joe Frazier Beats Muhammad Ali in ‘Fight of Century’.” The New York Times. March 9, 1971. 5 Rivera, Ray. “Joe Frazier Wins Belated Embrace as Philadelphia Starts a Fight.” The New York Times. September 4, 2012. 6 Popkin, Nathaniel. “Joe Frazier’s Gym Marks New Path For Preservation.” Hidden City Philadelphia. December 11, 2012. 7 Goodtimes, Johnny. “Frazier vs. Rocky: Philly Got Its Hero Wrong.” Philadelphia: News & Opinions. November 11, 2011. 8 Wink, Christopher. “Joe Frazier’s Gym Closes Its Doors.” The Temple News. April 2, 2008. 9 “Joe Frazier’s Gym: 2917 N. Broad Street, Philadelphia.” Preservation Alliances for a Greater Philadelphia. 10 The National Trust for Historic Preservation states that “winning historic designation at the local and national level for the building Frazier owned and operated has demonstrated the power of communities to protect the places that tell their diverse stories and has promoted the value of diversity within this roster of our country’s most important historic resources;” however, this does not adequately the rectify the unbalance between Frazier and Rocky if at the social level people prefer to recognize the latter instead of the former in terms of who is Philadelphia’s underdog. “Joe Frazier’s Gym.” The National Trust for Historic Preservation. 11 “Quite honestly, that movie, that series, could have just as easily been named ‘Joe’ and it would be the same. It would be great. It would be about somebody who actually did something in this city, in this country and in this world.” Hickey, Brian. “Philadelphia (finally) Honors Legendary Non-fictional Boxer Smokin’ Joe Frazier with a Statue.” WHYY. September 13, 2015.
Fig. 9 - Rocky Footprints at the top of the Philadelphia Art Museum Steps. (“The Rocky Statue and the Rocky Steps,” 2011).
Bibliography • Hidden City Daily. Joe Frazier’s Gym. Digital image. 2012. • “Joe Frazier outside his Philadelphia gym in 1996.” Digital image. September 4, 2012. • Morris, Larry. “Joe Frazier Swinging at Muhammad Ali during Their March 1971 Fight at Madison Square Garden. Frazier Won by Unanimous Decision.” Digital image. June 10, 2016. • Perez, Michael. “Sylvester Stallone Poses in Front of the Rocky Statue at the Philadelphia Art Museum at a Photo Op to Promote “Creed II” in Philadelphia on Friday, April 6, 2018.” Digital image. April 6, 2018. • Rocky Balboa vs. Apollo Creed (Rocky, 1976). Digital image. • “Rocky Footprint Statue at the Top of the Art Museum Steps.” Digital image. March 5, 2011. • “The Rocky Statue and the Rocky Steps.” Digital image. Visit Philadelphia.
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5
East Harlem Historic District Kimberly LA PORTE Project name: East Harlem Historic District Location: New York, NY Keywords: #NYC #Rezoning #Immigration #Gentrification Abstract:
In March 2019, the New York State Board for Historic Preser-
vation approved the formation of the East Harlem Historic District and listed it on the New York State Register of Historic Places. The Board then recommended the designation of the area to the National Register of Historic Places. The recognition of East Harlem as a significant site was largely the result of several years of advocacy efforts led by the Landmark East Harlem coalition in response to the increasing displacement of local residents. This case study examines how preservation policy was leveraged to manage neighborhood change in the context of rezoning, gentrification, and intra-urban migration.
Figure 1. Third Avenue and East 116th Street, 1936. (Photographer unknown, courtesy The New York Public Library) Figure 2. Location in North America.
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Figure 3. Location in New York.
In March 2019, the New York State Board for Historic Pres-
ervation approved the formation of the East Harlem Historic District and listed it on the New York State Register of Historic Places. The Board then recommended the designation of the area to the National Register of Historic Places. The recognition of East Harlem as a significant site was largely the result of several years of advocacy efforts led by the Landmark East Harlem coalition in response to rising levels of displacement experienced by local residents. This case study examines how preservation policy was leveraged to manage neighborhood change in the context of gentrification and intra-urban migration.
East Harlem is a neighborhood in upper Manhattan in New
York, concentrated around a nucleus bounded by East 110th Street to the south and East 125th Street to the north, spanning from Fifth Avenue to the East and Harlem Rivers. Originally developed as a middle-class neighborhood after the Civil War, East Harlem would soon become characterized by waves of immigration. At the outset of the twentieth century, a sizeable Eastern European Jewish population made East Harlem their home. Not long after, Italian immigrants moved into the area. By the time of the 1930 census, first and second-generation Italians comprised 81% of the residents in the neighborhood, while a small enclave of Puerto Rican, Latin American, black, and African American residents accounted for the remainder.1
After the mid-twentieth century, “Italian Harlem” transformed
into “Spanish Harlem” or “El Barrio” as demographics shifted with the growth of the Puerto Rican and Latinx community. Around the same time, East Harlem became the target of urban renewal efforts. During
Figure 4. York Co. map with historic district overlay.
the 1950s and 1960s, this meant the demolition of older, residential tenements and row houses in favor of the construction of large-scale public housing projects. The New York City Housing Authority now manages 15,000 low-income apartments across 21 developments that dominate the visual landscape of the area. Though the city controls nearly one-third of available East Harlem apartments as low-income public housing, the average rents of market-rate apartments also remain some of the most affordable to be found in Manhattan.2 Therefore, the area – like many other historically working-class neighborhoods with low-rent housing stock – has been vulnerable to the forces of gentrification.
On the ground, newcomers to East Harlem were often blamed
for both the displacement due to increased apartment costs and the replacement of family-owned businesses with franchises. Over the past decade, East Harlem has seen an increasing number of young, white professionals moving in and out of the neighborhood, pushing rents up and displacing long-time residents. This trend is particularly fraught with tension, considering that some recent residents would have not long ago dismissed East Harlem as “rundown and dangerous.”3 Some East Harlem residents further argue that this perception of the neighborhood persists – claims are sometimes made that the young, upwardly mobile transient class moves out of East Harlem due to its proximity to public housing.4
In parallel to this narrative, however, another story has
emerged: East Harlem has gradually become a satellie neighborhood for former residents of Chinatown in lower Manhattan, themselves displaced by increased housing demands and rising costs. Attracted Figure 5. View of East Harlem. (Courtesy Google Maps)
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Figure 6. 112-118 East 116th Street, 2016. (Photgraph by Danny R. Peralta, courtesy The New York Times)
by the relatively inexpensive market-rate rentals and the proximity to public transportation with direct connection to downtown, the number of Asian-identifying individuals living in East Harlem, the majority of whom are Chinese, had increased seven-fold to approximately 11,000 since 1990, according to analyzed census data cited in a 2016 report from the Office of the New York State Comptroller.5 This flux, however, has not been without incident. In the 2013 New York Times article “Chinese Moving to East Harlem in a Quiet Shift from Downtown,� J. David Goodman notes how this wave of intra-urban migration has instigated cases of targeted violence.6
Despite the tension between new and long-time residents,
speculative development interest in the area did not recede. In 2017, the city took steps to invest in the potential of the neighborhood: they announced a plan to rezone East Harlem as part of an initiative that focused on redeveloping as many as fifteen New York communities within the next ten years to increase density and encourage new construction of rental units. Midori Wong of MIT analyzed the rezoning plan for East Harlem in 2018. Wong came to the conclusion that the total number of new residential units built would not be much greater than the amount of construction that would have occurred if no actions from the city were implemented. The real impact of rezoning came from the fact that the city could impose quotas for affordable housing on new buildings and increase stock for individuals and families within certain income brackets.7 However, community groups recognized that the rezoning plan would ultimately serve to compound experiences of displacement and result in the permanent loss to the built and cultural fabric of the area.
Amidst these circumstances, the Landmark East Harlem co-
alition, comprised of preservation-minded groups and individuals, formed. The group led efforts to methodically research and pursue local, state, and national historic designations in order to preserve the character of East Harlem ahead of its rezoning. The first success of Landmark East Harlem came at the local level. The group held the Landmarks Preservation Commission accountable in the designation process and ultimately, as a compromise, the city integrated the land-
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Figure 7. 112-118 East 116th Street, 1940. (Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives)
marking of three buildings into their rezoning plan: the former Richard Webber Harlem Packing House at 207-215 East 119th Street, the former Public School 109, now El Barrio’s Art Space PS109, at 215 East 99th Street, and Benjamin Franklin High School, now the Manhattan Center for Science and Mathematics, at 260 Pleasant Avenue.8
After the rezoning for East Harlem was approved and imple-
mentation began, Landmark East Harlem furthered their mission by advocating for the creation of the East Harlem Historic District. The nomination that was finally approved resulted in the creation of a district comprised of 677 contributing and 142 non-contributing buildings constructed between 1865 and 1966, clustered around sections of East 116th Street and Pleasant Avenue. The buildings are mostly row
Endnotes 1. William Shedd, Italian Population in New York (New York: Casa Italiana Educational Bureau, 1934), 3. 2. Office of City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, Manhattan Community Board 11, Community Voices Heard, Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer. East Harlem Neighborhood Plan. February 2018. 3. C.J. Hughes, “East Harlem: Bodegas, Botanicas and New Buildings,” New York Times, Oct. 5, 2016. 4. Valerie Vande Panne, “How Harlem residents found a unique way to fight gentrification,” Salon, Oct. 3, 2017. 5. Office of the New York State Office of the Comptroller. An Economic Snapshot of the East Harlem Neighborhood. Report 9-2018: Dec. 2017. 6. J. David Goodman, “Chinese Moving to Harlem in a Quiet Shift from Downtown,” New York Times, Feb. 24, 2013. 7. Midori Wong, “Rezoning New York City: A case study of East Harlem,” (S.M. in Real Estate Development, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2018), 66-70. 8. Landmarks Preservation Commission. LPC Designates Three East Harlem Buildings As Individual Landmarks. Press release: March 27, 2018.
houses and tenements built in the latter half of the nineteenth century, as well as some institutional buildings. The inventory of the district interprets the history of the area through its evolution as a base for the working class and newly-arrived immigrants at the turn of the century and beyond. The boundaries of the district preserve an historical narrative often overshadowed by the stories of the massive housing projects that bound East Harlem today.
The nomination for the East Harlem Historic District effectively
connected the current population of the neighborhood to communities of the past by anchoring the significance of the area in its vernacular architecture. It effectively outlined and illustrated the many-layered histories of East Harlem, inviting a range of local stakeholders to reclaim agency over their neighborhood. While the designation of the district does not come with robust protections, designation does convey to potential developers that the community is deeply invested in its character. Using preservation policies as tools within social equity practices is an effective way of managing the growth of urban areas in an holistic way and creating resilient neighborhoods.
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6
Gateway National Recreation Area Jamaica Bay Unit Kathie Brill Project Name: Gateway National Recreation Area: Jamaica Bay Unit Location: Rockaway Peninsula, Queens, New York City, New York Year Built: 1932 -1937 (Jacob Riis Bathhouse) #Climate_Change #Public_Accessibility #Recreational_Heritage Background: Jacob Riis Park, known as ‘The People’s Beach’, opened in 1912 in Rockaway, Queens. As of 1972 , the park is now a part of The Jamaica Bay section of Gateway National Recreation Area, managed by the National Park Service. Gateway National Recreation Area consists of landscapes and historic structures in Staten Island; Sandy Hook, New Jersey; and Jamaica Bay, Queens where Riis Park and the Rockway Beaches are located. Riis Park hosts several historic structures, but most prominent is a large Art Deco style bathhouse designed by Josh L. Plock, which was completed and opened to the public in 1932 .
Figure 1, Jacob Riis Bathhouse and patrons, 1969, By William E. Sauro, Source: https://gvshp.org/blog/2018/05/08/beyond-the-village-and-back-jacob-riisparks-art-deco-bathhouse/. Figure 2, Location of site in North America. Figure 3, Location of Site in New York City.
21
As the era of climate change progresses, a broader range of sites
begin restorations and improvements to the beaches and infrastruc-
are emerging as targets for Historic Preservation. In particular historic
ture along the Rockaway Peninsula. Such immediate reactions to the
sites and fabric along shorelines are feeling the effects of hurricanes,
disaster demonstrate the “you don’t know what you have until it’s gone”
higher tempuratures, and sea level rise. The Rockaway Peninsula and
complex that so often jumpstart major historic preservation efforts. In
Jamaica Bay in New York City serve as a barrier between the Atlantic
the case of the effects of Sandy on Gateway National Recreation Area,
Ocean and the dense urban setting behind it. Used as a an easy getaway
local Rockway and greater New York City residents were faced with a
for New Yorkers, Jacob Riis Park, the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, and
simultaneous realization of both the vulnerability and value of the park
Rockaway Beaches are all valuable cultural and recreational assets,
as a public resource. Many expressed their support and offered assis-
especially in the summer season. Struck by Hurricane Sandy in 2012,
tance for the restoration of the park as they felt it was important for the
and by Hurricane Irene in 2018, the beaches and infrastrcuture faced
site to exist for future generations.6
critical damage creating a heightened awareness of how climate change
is affecting heritage sites. As siginifacnt efforts have been made to not
a new start in light of criticism of the limited funding and resources.
only restore but, siginifcantly improve the park, beaches, and amme-
A description in the New York Times five years before the storm states
nities, new issues are arrising of how to simultaneously protect the site
“ ‘New habitats, restored marshes and modern recreation facilities are
from climate change while maintaining its access to the public.
needed to create an environment that is suitable for park visitors, native
Upon the opening of Jacob Riis Park, New Yorker flocked to the
wildlife and plants.’ ”7 After Sandy the Hurricane Sandy Recovery Fund
Rockaway Peninsula on hot summer days. The addition of the pavilion
created by the Department of the Interior8 catalyzed efforts to not only
in the 1920’s and then the bathhouse in 1932 were a testament to the
rebuild and restore The Jamaica Bay section of Gateway National Park
success of the site as they supplied a need for public infrastucture. In
but also the incorporation of resiliency plans and broader initiatives to
1937, Robert Moses led a renovation of the park that altered the beach
enhance the public resources and programming available on the site
The wake of Hurricane Sandy gave Gateway the opportunity for
facing façade of the bathhouse and added a parking lot and boardwalk to the site, all of which are still in existence today.1 The bathhouse became a national historic landmark in 1981. In 1988 the bathhouse was closed to the public due to the discovery of asbestos which resulted in the beginning of restoration work in the 1990s that was never completed due to a lack of funding. After money for the project ran out the building remained abandoned until the grand reopening to the public in the summer of 2018.
A second part of the Gateway National Recreation Area is the
Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge (figure 5) which lines the northern shore of the Rockaway Peninsula. It consists of a system of natural marshland and two manmade ponds. Historically known as the location of thriving oyster and clamming industries in the 19th century, exten-
Figure 4, Beach facing facade of Jacob Riis Bathhouse Source: Riisparkbeachbazaar.com
sive dredging and refuse infill have created the existing topography of Jamaica Bay.2 The Wildlife Refuge is now home to a diverse range of wildlife including plants, fish, and birds. As a location along the Atlantic Flyaway migration patterns, over 300 species of birds can be spotted in the bay throughout the year.3 As a unique nature hub in New York City, the refuge serves as not only as a wildlife protection area but as an educational platform for local students, ecology and biology scholars, and is also an attraction for bird enthusiasts.
In the fall of 2012 Hurricane Sandy devastated the Rockaway
Peninsula. At Riis Park, “the storm flooded the Jacob Riis bathhouse, buried playground equipment in sand, and tossed propane tanks, sailboats, and trees onto the shoreline”4 (figures 7 & 8). Additionally, the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge section of Gateway suffered as the storm breached the manmade ponds exposing them to the saltwater marshes.5 All of the existing ecosystems were severely compromised. The severe winds and flooding left the beaches covered in debris, and ripped buildings all throughout the Rockaways off of their foundations.
Figure 5, Crain at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge with New York City Skyline in the background. Source: https://www.nycgo.com/venues/jamaica-bay-wildlife-refuge
Jarred by the damage and loss to the Rockaway communities
and beloved public beaches, locals and officials jumped to action to
22
During the months immediately following the storm the Riis
Park parking lot was used as a temporary dumping ground for the exorbitant amount of debris from all around the peninsula (figure 8). Full months were spent filtering all of the sand up and down the coast line using industrial sized sifters.9 With such a broad scope of work to be done and a total of $180 million dollars of damage,10 initial efforts to clear the beaches and assess and stabilize the structures in the park were geared toward making sure the park would be open for the summer season, only 8 months after the storm. Full recovery was not possible in such a short period of time but despite the missing boardwalk and other wreckage The Park Service pushed on to make sure the beaches were open and safe.11 Prioritization of opening the beach in lieu of the incomplete recovery efforts portrays the intersection between the necessity for public use, and the excessive stress that the
Figure 6, Jacob Riis Park arial view Fall, 2010 Source: nps.gov
public puts on the natural and built environments.
After extensive restoration, the primary mode of integrated
storm resiliency in the bathhouse is to permanently open doorways on both sides of the structure so that in the case of storm surges and flooding, water will flow through the courtyard of the building and out the other side resulting in less potential damage from water retention. In 2016, NPS released a request for proposal for tenants to lease the different sections of the bathhouse, which is composed of 4 main spaces surrounding a central courtyard. To address issues of resiliency in conjunction with the need for improved beach amenities and public programming, the RPF required that proposals be responsive to the diverse crowds and unique site and also provide a flood plan for the interior functions.
Figure 7, Jacob Riis Park arial view Nov. 1, 2012 (A few days after Huurican Sandy) Source: nps.gov
https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2012/11/16/fema-sandy-rockaways
Figure 8, Debris from Hurricane Sandy piled in Jacob Riis parking lot, 2012. Photo By Mark Lennihan Source: https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2012/11/16/fema-sandy-rockaways
23
In 2017 Brooklyn Bazaar was chosen to occupy the bathhouse.
Locals greeted the news with enthusiasm, excited about the addition of food vendors, pop up experiences and even glamping1 (figure 9). While the desire for enhanced public assets was met at Riis park at the grand opening in July of 2018, concurrently, news of the closure of a half mile section of one of the most trafficked sections of Rockaway Beach. Despite the tons of sand added to the peninsula in 2014 as a part of Sandy recovery, erosion is still washing away the shore line.12 Park officials stated that the closure was necessary in order to prioritize safety.13 The decision was met with outrage from locals and frustration from officials. “Borough President Melinda Katz told the Post that it would hurt the local economy in what is essentially the peak season in this area.” Even a funeral for the beach was held by locals on what was supposed to be opening day.14
About a month later a new statement was released that the
beach would re-open by the end of June 2018 for the rest of the summer season. No information was given regarding the state of the eroding beach or how the situation had been managed, but that operating hours may be adjusted with the timing of the tides and conditional closures may occur.15 Along with the announcement of the re-opening was news of new public recreation areas such as a play spot for children, a skate ramp, seating, and sprinklers. The decision to reopen indicates the amount of pressure communities can generate in advocation for public resources despite the necessity for environmental preservation public activity took precedent. Is there a way that both demands can be met? How can we protect sites where functionality is necessary for the livelihood of the public and success of local economy, but is also
Endnotes 1 “Beyond the Village and Back - Jacob Riis Park’s Art Deco Bathhouse - GVSHP | Preservation | Off the Grid,” GVSHP, May 08, 2018, , accessed April 21, 2019, https://gvshp.org/blog/2018/05/08/beyond-the-village-and-back-jacob-riisparks-art-deco-bathhouse/. 2 Frederick R. Black, “Jamaica Bay: A History,” National Park Service, 2001, , accessed April 21, 2019, https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/gate/ jamaica_bay_hrs.pdf 3 “Jamaica Bay Places,” National Parks Service, , accessed April 21, 2019, https:// www.nps.gov/gate/learn/historyculture/jamaica-bay-places.htm. 4 “A Tale of Two Ponds: NYC Park After the Storm,” National Geographic, May 17, 2016, , accessed April 21, 2019, https://news.nationalgeographic.com/ news/2013/13/130426-gateway-national-parks-new-york-city-hurricane-sandy/. 5 Ibid. 6 Ibid. 7 “Rescuing Gateway,” The New York Times, December 30, 2007, , accessed April 21, 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/30/opinion/nyregionopinions/LIgateway.html?_r=0. 8 “Hurricane Sandy Recovery,” U.S. Department of the Interior, October 26, 2018, , accessed April 21, 2019, https://www.doi.gov/hurricanesandy 9 Lisa W. Foderaro, “After Hurricane Sandy, Cleaning Up Sand and Returning It to Beaches,” The New York Times, October 19, 2018, , accessed April 21, 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/10/nyregion/after-hurricane-sandy-cleaning-up-sand-and-returning-it-to-beaches.html. 10 “A Tale of Two Ponds: NYC Park After the Storm,” National Geographic, May 17, 2016. 11 Ibid. 12 Will Gleason, “Riis Park’s Historic Art Deco Bathhouse Is Getting a Major Upgrade,” Time Out New York, June 27, 2018, , accessed April 21, 2019, https:// www.timeout.com/newyork/news/riis-parks-historic-art-deco-bathhouse-isgetting-a-major-upgrade-062718. 13 Tanay Warerkar, “Section of Rockaway Beach Will Shutter This Summer to Beachgoers,” Curbed NY, May 22, 2018, , accessed April 21, 2019, https:// ny.curbed.com/2018/5/22/17379650/rockaway-beach-partial-closure-summer-2018. 14 Tanay Warerkar, “Section of Rockaway Beach Will Shutter This Summer to Beachgoers,” Curbed NY, May 22, 2018, , accessed April 21, 2019, https:// ny.curbed.com/2018/5/22/17379650/rockaway-beach-partial-closure-summer-2018. 15 Jen Carlson, “Rockaway Beach Reopening Stretch Closed For Erosion,” Gothamist, , accessed April 21, 2019, http://gothamist.com/2018/06/25/rockaway_ beach_reopening.php.
putting stress on the infrastructure and environment?
In this case study market-led revitalization capitalized on
environmental-led preservation. Consequently, the preservation and improvements to shoreline public parks such as the sites that make up Gateway are more highly trafficked than ever, but are facing increasingly persistent threats of erosion, flooding, and powerful storms. Perhaps it is time to start prioritizing ecological preservation over human occupation in order to protect these sites. A period of closure or limited access dedicated to the preservation of both natural and built elements may weaken the economies of surrounding communities, disappoint visitors and decrease recreational opportunities for local residents. But, may also significantly increase the longevity of the site, allowing it to exist as a thriving community asset for generations to come.
Figure 9, Riis Park Beach Bazaar summer 2018. Source: https://donyc.com/events/weekly/tue/locals-only-summer-residency-at-riis-park-beach-bazaar
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7
Newport, Rhode Island The Newport, Ocean Drive, & Bellevue Avenue Historic Districts
Abbey DOLAN Project name: Heritage Tourism in Newport, RI Location: Newport Rhode Island Founded in 1939 Keywords: Heritage Tourism Abstract Heritage tourism is a popular way to upkeep historic sites by providing a source of revenue to the areas that need preservation. Despite the benefit of the income for the sites’ upkeep, there is also the danger of turning the historic property into an ‘attraction’. The historic area of Newport, RI has a diverse and deep history of architetcure with a great need for resources to maintain them. The city actually has a history of being a liesure retreat since the late 1870s, and the whole city has become party to the tourist industry that sustains it. There are downsides to the increase in people as well, and what of the resources that are needed to handle the additional people in a city that is not designed to handle the dramatic influx of people just visiting. So is it a good desicion to try to maintain sites while also subjecting it to the potential threat of wear and overwhelming the city itself?
fig. 1 - The Newport Historic District fig. 2 - Location in United States
25
fig. 3 - Extent of city, Newport, location
fig. 4 - Tour around the Mansions of Newport
Newport is coastal city in Rhode Island that was founded in 1639 and
to commodity, lost authenticity, erosion of natural resources due to
has been a major port city throughout its existence. In its earliest years
increased traffic and exposure to desiccants.4 One has to weigh both the
it was a center of trade and home to a booming crafts industry. Rum,
positive and negatives.
candles, fish, furniture, and silver were all made in the city and shipped from the port. For three years it was occupied by the British and half
Looking at tourism data for the whole state, Rhode Island has a large
the town fled until it was freed by General Rochambeau. The occu-
tourist industry. Tourism is the fifth largest employer in the state and
pation forced the city to rebuild in a number of ways, particularly in
the second highest employer is Retail Trade, which can easily factor
the loss of its strong industrial presence. It soon built a reputation as a
into the tourism industry. It is a growing industry, with 24.8 million
resort and during the 1870s it became a popular retreat for the wealthy
visitors in 2017 marking a 23% growth for the state over five years.
industrialists of the Gilded Age. It also gained attention from intellec-
This industry does support almost 84,000 jobs, directly and indirectly,
tuals and became a cultural hub for everything from art to science to
equating to about one job for every 300 visitors to the state.5 The per-
theology. It continues today to be a popular retreat known for its sailing
centage of occupations related to the tourism industry in Rhode Island
and it’s historic structures. After the Second World War the city was
os strange considering other data that suggests it is one of the least like-
cemented as a place of historic culture due to extensive preservation
ly states to be visited by tourists. Virginia was listed as one of the top
efforts.1
ten states visited, largely for it’s historical locations, while Rhode Island was listed in the bottom five states.6
The National Trust for Historic Preservation has listed Heritage Tourism as the act of people going to places, artifacts, and activities to ex-
Of course, Rhode Island gets tourists, and Newport seems to have a
perience the culture, historic, and natural resources they have to offer.2
thriving economy of tourism and recreation due to its reputation as a
Several resources have been dedicated to the trade, including one by
popular summer retreat. The two largest employers in Newport, attrib-
the National Trust, which lists “Five Principles of Successful and Sus-
uting to approximately half the city’s population, are the Educational/
tainable Cultural Heritage Tourism”. These principles focus on a healthy
Social Services and Entertainment. Looking at these numbers, Enter-
system that includes collaboration, maintaining the existing communi-
tainment is about a quarter of the total population, meaning that tour-
ty, having animated experiences, focusing on authenticity and quality,
ism or at least recreation accounts for probably more than a quarter of
and above all preserving the resources of the site.3 Utilizing these ideas,
the jobs in the city. 7
places with a valuable cultural heritage can acquire income to maintain their cultural resources by attracting tourists. There are benefits
Mostly known for hosting a large collection of some of the grandest
to tourism including influx of employment, generation of revenue to
mansions built by America’s business elite, history itself is a commod-
sites and communities, encouraging preservation and conservation,
ity in Newport. There are three separate Historic Districts in the ten
and providing opportunities for learning. With these potential bene-
square mile radius of Newport, RI. The Newport Historic District,
fits there are also potential risks. Tourism is not a sustainable industry
Bellevue Avenue Historic District, and Ocean Drive Historic District
and can lead to over commercialization of cultural areas, displacement
contain only a portion of the cultural resources available in Newport,
of local business for larger corporations, loss of cultural communities
26
and there are about twenty National Historic Landmarks within the city’s limits.8 People of all interests come to learn as well as enjoy the splendor of the historic costal city with a diverse culture from colonial times to the large music festivals hosted in the summer. Despite the facts, that seem to indicate Newport is a thriving community based around a large tourist industry, there is still potential cons to look at. The biggest issue that is immediately apparent is the environmental affect, listed above, of a natural resource coming under threat from overuse and increase in people present. The mansions and other historic buildings were not built to handle an annual crowd of what are supposedly 3.5 million tourists.9 There has to be wear and tear on the floors and paths, not to mention the increase in carbon from both people and vehicles. Some of these places have delicate wood, plaster, and fresco features that could be severely damaged if they are not being properly cared for and looked after. Expecting that the historical society of Newport and the local community do care for these cultural artifacts, there are still potential ramifications. As stated previously, about a quarter, possibly a third, of all Newport jobs are related to tourism. This means that the town’s livelihood is almost directly proportional to the number of tourists it has. Having gone to Newport, the marketing is very strong for the mansion tours and you can’t walk or drive through the city without knowing of their existence. Despite this, there is little more effort put into the telling of the stories than your typical guided tours. The whole town almost feels like a staged set. It is not the level of Williamsburg, which is clearly a historical production, but in a very subtle way it misleads visitors. The historic sites seem to have lost their authenticity in favor of commodity. Furthermore, Newport is a relatively small city of approximately 12-13,000 local people working there. The fact that the city receives over 3.5 million tourists must cause issues of noise, traffic, pollution, and also the taking over of areas to build amenities for this temporary population. Hotels, restaurants, and parking are issues that turn the previously small, relaxed city into an urban enterprise. So while tourism is clearly helping to maintain and vitalize the city of Newport, at what cost is it being done. No one would want to deny the chance to visit these historic places, but it might be a good idea to have a study done on ways that can both preserve the sites, protect the town, and allow people to enjoy the history.
fig. 5 - Breakers Mansion, Newport, RI
27
HISTORIC DISTRICTS
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fig. 6 - Historic Districts Outline
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This map is not the product of a Professional Land Survey. It was created by The City of Newport GIS Program for general reference, informational, planning or guidance use, and is not a legally authoritative source as to location of natural or manmade features. Proper interpretation of this map may require the assistance of appropriate professional services. The City of Newport GIS Program makes no warranty, express or implied, related to the spatial accuracy, reliability, completeness, or currentness of this map.
City of Newport, RI 2014
Endnotes 1 “A Brief History of Newport.” Newport Historical Society. Accessed April 23, 2019. https://newporthistory.org/about/newport-history/. 2 Gibson, Jamesha. “[Preservation Glossary] Today’s Word: Heritage Tourism.” National Trust for Historic Preservation. June 17, 2015. Accessed April 24, 2019. https://savingplaces.org/stories/preservation-glossary-todays-word-heritage-tourism#.XLuv-y3MzOQ. 3 Five Principles of Successful and Sustainable Cultural Heritage Tourism. Publication. National Trust for Historic Preservation. Accessed April 22, 2019. http://vision3.com/stuff/culturalHeritage/ site/assets/resourcesSYH/FivePrinciplesDefinitions.pdf. 4 “Protect & Preserve: The Role of International Education in Heritage Tourism & Historic Preservation.” University of Minnesota. December 12, 2018. Accessed April 22, 2019. https://global.umn. edu/icc/conference/documents/PosterVanessa_V6.pdf. 5 The Economic Report of Tourism in Rhode Island. Publication. Accessed April 24, 2019. https://assets.simpleviewinc.com/simpleview/image/upload/v1/clients/rhodeisland/RI_Visitor_Economic_Impact_2017_state_results_client_002__d9158ebb-75534670-bffe-1aa8ae2d7729.pdf. 6 Polland, Jennifer. “A Detailed Look At How Americans Travel Within The US.” Business Insider. October 30, 2014. Accessed April 24, 2019. https://www.businessinsider.com/the-most-popular-us-states-for-tourism-2014-10. 7 Data Access and Dissemination Systems (DADS). “American FactFinder - Results.” American FactFinder - Results. October 05, 2010. Accessed April 24, 2019. https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/ tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?src=bkmk. 8 Lauro, Brittany. “20 National Historic Landmarks to Explore in Newport.” National Historic Landmarks in Newport | Discover Newport, Rhode Island. April 22, 2019. Accessed April 24, 2019. https://www.discovernewport.org/blog/post/national-historic-landmarks/. 9 “Economy.” Economy | City of Newport. Accessed April 24, 2019. http://www.cityofnewport.com/departments/planning-development/community-profile/economy.
28
8
Lazaretto of Goat’s Island Lazareto de Isla de Cabras
Mónica P. ORTIZ-CORTÉS Project name: Lazaretto or Leprochromium of Goat’s Island Location: Goat’s Island, Toa Baja, Puerto Rico Years used: 1877-1923 Actual use: Abandoned Keywords: #Climate_Change #Interpretation
Abstract The Lazaretto, was commissioned by the spanish government that ruled Puerto Rico from 1493 to 1898 to quarantine people and merchandise that were carrying diseases. Later when the United States got control it was used exclusively to house citizens with Leprosy and Yellow Fever; the site represents one of the only examples of a spanish construction in Puerto Rico for health related facilities. Today the complex is abandoned and a ruin and it raises the question of what can be done to share its significance with the rest of the world.
Fig 1. North facade Observation and Convalesence Building of the Lazaratto’s complex.(Arbelo,2011) Fig 2. North America, Puerto Rico.
29
Fig.3 Goat’s Island in San Juan Bay.
Every building can’t be saved because of many reasons that in-
no intention of being either conserved or managed. Major contributors
volve lack of resources, politics, effects of climate change, etc.; but does
to the destructions were two hurricanes that left the Lazaretto unin-
this mean that its story or significance has to also be lost? The Lazaretto
habitable.(Berry-Cabán, 2007) Patients were kept there, against their
of Goat’s Island is a good example. It consists of a historic structure
own will, until 1923 when the Health Board created new Public Health
from Spanish colonial times in Puerto Rico that has been left to be con-
regulations which declared the Lazaretto inadequate.
sumed by the effects of climate, but nothing has been done at the site to
educate visitors of what it was, how it was constructed, how it was used
island originally was transferred to the federal government because
and how were the conditions of the people staying there, during the
part of it is included as UNESCO World Heritage Site, but after some
years it was occupied.
negotiations it was passed to the Recreation and Sports department as
long as it would always be kept as a park.
The Lazaretto of Goats Island is a complex of buildings consist-
Today, the Lazaretto is part of Goat’s Island National Park. The
ing of a Hospital, an Observation and Convalescence building, an Ad-
ministration building, and a cemetery.(Shiappacasse, 2001) It is located
scribed as a ruin. From the three buildings that composed the complex
in the northern part of the small thin island called Goats Island which
only parts of them are still standing today. The hospital is under a clus-
is across Old San Juan Bay in Puerto Rico.
ter of sea grapes plants and can only be found if it’s explored for several
minutes and entering the bunch. The Administration building in 2016
During the Spanish colonial time in Puerto Rico a lot of ships
The Lazaretto or Leprochromium physical condition can be de-
and slave trades were happening through the fortified city of Old San
only had 3 walls but recently, Hurricane Maria from 2017, damaged
Juan. The Spanish started noticing the lack of population growth,
the north facing wall until it fell apart. The building also in ruinous
which was a consequence of not having adequate hospitals, lack of
form but holding its shape it’s the Observation and Convalescence
clean water and resources and diseases coming from shipments from
building, it still holds its major walls, some have fallen apart, but most
Spain and Africa. (Shiappacasse, 2001) It wasn’t until 1833 that the
of the damage is on the roof with the bricks falling apart and some of
Superior Board of Health issued an ordinance that all ships that entered
the wood also falling to the ground. At the moment the building can be
the bay, its passengers and merchandise had to go through quarantine
a hazard to any life with the possibility of any brick or piece falling at
at Goat’s Island once they arrived.(Shiappacasse, 2001) After several
any moment but the public still in “awe” and filled with curiosity go in
health epidemics the government decided to build a quarantine station
explore and even have photoshoots at the ruin.
to further protect the citizens inside the fortifications. The construction
lasted ten months and It finished in September 1877. After six years of
well-known spot but little is known about its history. The citizens are
use the Superior Board of Health decided to abandon the structure be-
attracted to the ruinous state, but most don’t look further to find out
cause of difficult and sometimes life-threatening access, which generat-
what it was. Some tourist site mentions it as a place to visit if you have
ed a renovation plan to give some maintenance and make the site more
extra time, or the spot where you can the fortifications of Old San Juan
accessible in the future.
from, or the park where the Canuelo is that is also part of the UNESCO
Heritage site, but rarely it is found as a must-see space since it hasn’t
After the Hispanic-American War the United States got control
Even though the physical conditions are precarious it’s still a
of Puerto Rico. During the 1900 the Lazaretto got to be known as the
been interpreted. The reality is that the Lazaretto is one of Puerto Rico’s
Leprochromium, its use now would house citizens with uncurable or
only examples of quarantine building constructions still in existence
infectious diseases, for example Leprosy.(Shiappacasse, 2002) During
today with the masonry Spanish construction style from colonial times.
that time the physical state of the buildings rapidly deteriorated with
These buildings hold architectural and public health development his
Fig 4. Inside view of the Observation and Convalesence Bldg. (ARCH3010,PUPR,2016)
Fig 5. South Facade view of Administration Bldg. (ARCH3010,PUPR,2016)
30
Fig 6.Lazaretto Buildings from San Juan. (Au, Michael. 2017)
tory that are significant in both Spanish and American control periods of the island; but for some reason it has been left untouched, and in some ways abandoned by the Parks and Recreation department that is supposed to manage it.
An important question right now is if it should be preserved,
reconstructed or be left how it is, but I think no matter what decision is made it should be Interpreted, even if it stays in ruinous form. Since the site is very popular because it’s an accessible ruin, that should be taken advantage of. People are coming to explore and find out what it was, but further explanation and should be developed so people can learn of how that space was used during Spanish control versus American Control. This space doesn’t only show an interesting architectural example of construction but the story of public health regulation development and how all this people with diseases were underrepresented, forgotten and basically left to die in an inadequate, inhumane space even though it was right next to the ocean and what it seemed to be a healthy landscape.
Mainly Baby Boomers are the generation that know what the
Lazaretto is but the generations coming forward barely find out its history and uses unless they further research online. This is why it’s important to use the space to show and explain in a park setting how the Lazaretto developed. The reality is that the ruin will fall and be gone in the future but its significance shouldn’t go with it.
31
Endnotes 1 Shiappacasse, Paola A. 2001. Estudios preliminares sobre el Lazareto de Isla de Cabras, Toa Baja, Puerto Rico. Departamento de Antropologia, Universidad de Syracuse. 2 Shiapaccasse, Paola A. 2013. “Isla de Cabras: hogar del Lazareto y el Leprocomio.” Revista del Instituto de Cultura Puertorriquena 66-74 3 Berry-Cabán,C. Leprosy in Puerto Rico, 1900-1930. The Internet Journal of Epidemiology. 2007 Volume 6 Number 1. 4 Historic American Buildings Survey, Creator, Roads School Of Engineers, Antonio Maria Guitian, Manuel Maese, Pedro Cobreros, Departamento De Recreation Y Deportes, Claudia Rosa-Lopez, et al. Lazareto Isla de Cabras, Parque Nacional Isla de Cabras, Toa Baja, Toa Baja Municipio, PR. Puerto Rico Toa Baja Toa Baja Municipio, 1933. Documentation Compiled After. Photograph. https:// www.loc.gov/item/pr1526/. Bibliography • Fig 1. Au, Michael. “Ruinas Del Antiguo Leprocomio.” Flickr. March 13, 2017. Accessed April 24, 2019. https://www.flickr.com/photos/mikndor3/33261202612/in/photostream/. • Fig 4. Rosa-Lopéz, Claudia. ARCH 3010 Conservation Studio. Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico. 2016. • Fig 5. Rosa-Lopéz, Claudia. ARCH 3010 Conservation Studio. Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico. 2016 • Fig 6. Irizarry, Norma Arbelo. “Ruinas Del Leprocomio, Isla De Cabras, Puerto Rico.” Flickr. March 15, 2012. Accessed April 24, 2019. https://www.flickr.com/ photos/26528068@N05/6983492965/in/photostream/. • Fig 7. Obras para habilitar el lazareto 1884. Archivo General de Puerto Rico. • Fig 8. Obras para habilitar el lazareto 1884. Archivo General de Puerto Rico.
Fig 7. Goat’s Island Plan, showing where the Lazaretto buildings are located. (Archivo General PR, 1884)
Fig 7. Observation and Convalesence Building Plan. (Archivo General PR, 1884)
32
9
El Viejo San Juan Economic Development, Heritage Exploitation, and Austherity
Héctor J. BERDECÍA-HERNÁNDEZ Project name: Viejo San Juan, Puerto Rico Location: San Juan, Puerto Rico Founded in 1521 by Juan Ponce de León National Historic Landmark District of the United States World Heritage Sites designated by UNESCO: La Fortaleza Castillo San Felipe del Morro Castillo San Cristobal Keywords: #UrbanConservation #Gentrification #PuertoRico
Abstract Since several important economic projects in the 1950s, the government of Puerto Rico has seen Old San Juan as a significant asset for economic development and tourism. Raising urban issues, such as gentrification, displacement and rapid deterioration of the historic infrastructure, are amongst the most pressing problems that face the old city today. This case study will look critically at how thinking of Cultural Heritage as a resource only for economic development poses a risk to cultural heritage threatening the social character, sense of place and the integrity of the built heritage in an urban space.
Fig. 1, View through El Cristo Street, Viejo San Juan, Puerto Rico (CEI, 2006) Fig. 2, Puerto Rico is the smallest island of the Caribbean greater antilles
33
Fig. 3, Old San Juan is localized on an islet on the northeastern part of Puerto Rico.
Since its conception as a historic city in the 1930-1940s, el Viejo San
Built heritage and exploitation
Juan in Puerto Rico has been subject to diverse economic and politi-
Cultural heritage is a public good that often needs protection from
cal forces which have, in turn, invoked detrimental consequences. Its
the state and can be used by the government or the private sector to
long history under the Spanish empire, and later with the invasion of
incentivize a market economy with tourism being one of the most
the United States in Puerto Rico, has created a distinct character apart
known tools. The danger arises when profit becomes the primary target
from other cities of the Caribbean and mainland United States. It is
for both parties privileging private interests, and, subsequently, when
mainly in the early 20th century that these forces influenced the city’s
the state completely loses (directly or indirectly) its responsibility to
conservation policies and the determination of worthiness through-
manage and protecting cultural heritage. This danger can manifest in
out the century. Since the development of several important economic
different forms: softening of regulations and protections established by
and cultural projects in the 1950s, the government of Puerto Rico has
law, failing to execute or follow regulations, developing projects and
perceived the city as a significant asset for economic development and
public policy that do not count on the best manners to preserve, and
tourism.
protecting cultural heritage.1 When consumption of a cultural asset is driven solely by market forces, it leads to exploitation of that resource.
Today, after different projects and economic changes throughout the
Exploitation leads to improper management of that asset leading to its
decades, economic development through tourism in the city remains
degradation.2
the main goal of the government, businesses and the public. Raising urban issues, such as gentrification, displacement and rapid deteri-
Cultural heritage, as a finite resource, is prone to being exploited. The
oration of the historic infrastructure, are amongst the most pressing
most common example is the effect of tourism in historic sites and
problems facing the old city today. The territory’s massive public debt,
districts, but also as property that can be misused and mismanaged
the economic depression, and the significant financial losses after the
for commercial use, among others – all leading to a short, economic
devastation of Hurricane Maria in 2017 persistently contribute to the
benefit for their owners. The social and cultural repercussions of the
exploitation and misuse of the historic city’s cultural heritage in the
effect of economic focus on tourism are not easily measured. Also, the
name of economic development. Still, there has been no discussion
economic degradation of a historic asset can lead to adverse effects to
among the authorities, residents, businesses and general public about
the built heritage: the pollution of water and air, noise pollution, visual
the consequences of these actions against the city’s-built heritage.
pollution, overcrowding and traffic congestion, accumulation of waste materials, parking problems, problems in land use, and disturbance of
Herein, questions arise: Is this a viable economic development plan
ecological equilibrium.3
and a sustainable approach for the historic city? How have the austerity measures applied by the territorial government contributed to the
Exploitation of cultural heritage as an economic asset leads to other
exploitation of the built heritage? Examining El Viejo San Juan as an
problems. Firstly, it has a physical impact (e.g., maintenance, regula-
example, this case study will look critically at how thinking of Cultural
tions, and preventive conservation), deterioration, and loss of historic
Heritage as a resource only for economic development poses a risk to
fabric. Moreover, the physical impact extends to issues of physical
cultural heritage threatening the social character, sense of place, and
accessibility to people (limiting the experience to some users/exclusiv-
the integrity of the built heritage in an urban space.
ity) and even looting and vandalism. If not implemented improperly, the construction of new access infrastructure can compromise the
Fig. 4, Zonning Plan of Old San Juan in 2016, representing how residential areas (yellow) are being eliminated by the expanding commercial areas (red). (ICP, 2016).
34
physical integrity of the site.4 Secondly, it has a social impact because it can drive to a loss of significance for different social groups.5 This issue can lead to significant questions about who has access to the asset and what values and narratives are mostly underlined. We can also ask what values are left behind, the erasure of structures of oppression and cultural complexities— all-encompassing socio-cultural environment degradation.6
El Viejo San Juan as Case Study In the 1940s, Viejo San Juan was a city of considerable deterioration. Abandoned buildings, prostitution, and bars were main features of the city. As part of the Popular Democratic Party’s economic program, ‘Operation Bootstrap’, different infrastructure projects to attract tourist were developed.7 In addition to these projects intended to comfort tourists from around the world, Old San Juan was thought as a ‘museum city’ where tourists in a ‘scenario’ can go and enjoy what they believed and perceived as the beauties of the island. The succeeding economic changes through the decades, along with poor practices in the management and maintenance of the built heritage, have led to increasing problems in the public administration of heritage.. El Castillo San Felipe del Morro, Castillo San Cristobal and surrounding fortifications are managed by the National Park Service. Still, the rest of the fortifications remain under jurisdiction of the
Fig. 3, La Fortaleza street collapsing after questionable reconstruction. (Rivera, 2016).
local and state government, where there are no resources for its maintenance. In another example, the historic bricked streets are under authority of the municipal government, who has no preservation office and has developed questionable decisions regarding its restoration.8 The increasing deterioration of these streets is problematic and have thus progressed with the continuation of traffic. Flexibility in zoning regulations is another concerning problem. A disproportional raise in the value of the properties displaced original tenants in the city because they could no longer afford to live there. Residents complain about the increased presence of boutique hotels and properties used for short-rent terms, mostly for tourism func-
Fig. 4., Historic bricked street damaged the weight of vehicles in the city. (Rivera, 2019)
tioning without proper hotel regulations. Corporations and investors 9
have bought dozens of historic properties for redevelopment failing to comply with, and purposely evade, current preservation regulations.10 Confirming the fears from residents, since 2016, investors plan open three big hotels & resorts in the core of the historic city.11 Another increasing problem affecting the city is the enhanced number of tourists and people flooding the city weekly, most notably in las Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastian. In a weekend, over a half million people engulf the historic city, day and night, to attend live performances and drink in bars. Mega stages are placed along the different plazas of the city, whilst the establishment of kiosks and most businesses turn to sell alcohol.12 The small residential community complains every year about how these festivities started as a local festival, to now altering the character of the city as a giant night bar. The great stages, trucks, loud music, pop-up kiosks, and the amount of people certainly have a negative impact over the city’s architectural heritage. The Municipal government
35
Fig. 5., San Sebastian street crowded during the annual Festival (Canario, 2017).
has some sort of control, but the focus on the enacted ordinances for the celebration of the festival only considers commercial and residential demands; enforcement of the existing protections or additional regulations for built heritage are missing every year.13 The Puerto Rico State Tourism Company monthly praises 4 to 6 cruises docked on the port and bringing over 12,000 tourists in a day.14 Major renovations to the city’s south port entrances, without any considerations of the historic landscape, have been done for several decades. Still, the economic impact of these tourist comes short of what businesses and restaurants expect.15 With the promise of economic movement, everything mostly falls as a lie in the end.
What is left Diverse efforts have been made to include el Viejo San Juan as a UNESCO World Heritage City in the past decades. Still, no agreement between all stakeholders in the city has been reached. For years, business owners have lobbied strongly against any kinds of project to convert the city to a pedestrian historic city, ignoring the positive outcomes of these kind of initiatives in heritage cities around the world. A bankrupt territorial government handling austerity measures continues to cut funding from the principal agencies that manage cultural resources in the islands. The difficulty to oversee the built heritage in the islands is alarming. What is more, the displacement of residents and the shrinking of the residential district are amongst the most pressing issues that the city faces. There are some necessary considerations to address these problems. First, the government should aim to develop a holistic approach and an emphasis in the social and cultural fabric to mitigate the negative impacts on tourism. Second, stakeholders must identify a carrying capacity of the city to manage tourists and prevent compromising of the environmental and cultural integrity or negatively affecting the visitors’ experience. Lastly, local community engagement is an essential tool for the process of economic planning and management. Alternatives to ways of seeing the built heritage must also be addressed. The value of heritage is not necessarily measured by the amount of revenue it can create. Cultural heritage possesses an increasing number of symbolic, political, religious, and cultural values for different societies. It is an expression of our history beyond books and documents. It is tangible history. As with natural resources, cultural heritage is a finite resource, irreplaceable and necessary for the urban character and sensibility of societies. The lack of a sustainable model to facilitate the equitable management of these resources makes them more vulnerable. Without a real preventive protection regulation, the beautiful and distinctive characteristics of el Viejo San Juan and Puerto Rico will disappear. Ultimately, if cultural heritage remains unprotected and pervasive exploitation persists, we will end consuming and destroying the very resources used to attract economic development.
Endnotes 1. The issue with the control conservation solely driven by market forces is as that “… redevelopment follows opportunity rather than a well-organized plan” … the focus will be mainly on financially viable projects. L. Dearborn, and J. Stallmeyer, Inconvenient Heritage: Erasure and Global Tourism in Luang Prabang (London: Routledge, 2016): 43. 2. See A. Economou, “Cultural Heritage, Tourism and the Environment”, Journal Sustainable Development, Culture and Traditions, vol. 1 (2012): 70. 3. Ibid., 73. 4. Agisilaos mentions that the massification of tourism reinforces the tendency to commercialize and, accordingly, tourist development creates a market of commodities and services exclusive to visiting tourists. In many cases the infrastructure consists of development of of hotels, roads, shops, among other facilities. Ibid., 72. 5. There are differences between significance of heritage for locals and heritage for tourist as Dearborn & Stallmeyer states “…Thus heritage functions to define who is part of that identity and who is an outsider. Sites connected to this heritage become revered places to those who take on the associated identity. Heritage tourism, however, puts such heritage on display for others”. L. Dearborn, and J. Stallmeyer, Inconvenient Heritage, p. 20. 6. Dearborn & Stallmeyer states “…The designation and maintenance of many cities… rely on the erasure of particular pasts or inconvenient heritages that are seen as potentially divisive to the local populations, unpalatable for tourists, incongruent with contemporary development, or that do not serve the political needs of the state party’s government. These erasures take place in both the physical and the sociocultural realms. it seems important to understand the process of erasure, the motivation for erasure in any particular case, and who has decided what aspects of heritage will be erased, what will be maintained, and what will be augmented. Finally, it can be quite revealing to examine what in particular has been left out or removed”. Ibid., 28. 7. J. Torres-Santiago, “La invención de los umbrales del Edén: Imágenes, arquitectura y contexto en el desarrollo hotelero de San Juan / The Invention of the Gates of Paradise: Images, Architecture, and the Context in the Development of Hotels in San Juan” in San Juan siempre nuevo: Arquitectura y modernización en el Siglo XX - Ever new San Juan: architecture and modernization in the Twentieth Century (San Juan: Editorial UPR): 150 8. Jose Delgado Rivera, “Adoquines del Viejo San Juan desata un pleito legal,” El Nuevo Dia, June 28, 2018, https://www.elnuevodia.com/noticias/locales/nota/adoquinesdelviejosanjuandesatanunpleitolegal-2431521/ (accessed April 15, 2019). 9. Dr. Carmen Maldonado-Vlaar, Professor of the University of Puerto Rico and resident of Old San Juan argues about the dangers of the continued expansion of businesses over the residential district in the city. See Carmen Maldonado Vlaar “El Viejo San Juan: Una Comunidad en Peligro de Extinción,” NotiCel, January 18, 2018, https://www.noticel.com/opiniones/inteligencia-social/el-viejo-san-juanuna-comunidad-en-peligro-de-extincin/687191122 (accessed April 20, 2019). Also, see Ileanexis Vera Rosado, “Auge en la venta de edificios del Viejo San Juan” El Vocero de Puerto Rico, April 8, 2019, https://www.elvocero.com/economia/ auge-en-la-venta-de-edificios-en-viejo-san-juan/article_0d9dddc2-57ea-11e9-abf9ffd23729679d.html?fbclid=IwAR1OpPI2BjYkK7epWEf8fH7jpRJAZFxPlmGq1eCCO-pNUpUtqWiKBRbgwNs (accessed April 20, 2019). 10. One of the notorious companies is Morgan Reed Corporation. The corporation was established in the island in 2014. The corporation has since bought over 30 historic properties in the old city and many more on other parts of San Juan. After a public outcry, the company settled a lawsuit with the local government and paid a minor fine. See Maritza Diaz Alcaide, “Se allana empresa que inició demolición en el Viejo San Juan,” Periódico Primera Hora, December 1st, 2015, https://www.primerahora. com/noticias/policia tribunales/nota/seallanaempresaqueiniciodemolicionenviejosanjuan-1123664/ (accessed April 15, 2019). 11. On May 13, 2016 Alberto Bacó, Former Secretary of Economic Development and Commerce of Puerto Rico, mentioned on a radio interview at local station WKAQ 580 that Morgan Redd Corporation was planning to open three hotels and a grocery store in the zone. 12. One of the pressing problems of the Festival is the amount of waste generated. Over 372,530 pounds of garbage was recollected alone this past year, See “Recogen 372,530 libras de basura en las fiestas de la Sanse,” Periodico Primer Hora, January 20, 2019, https://www.primerahora.com/noticias/puerto-rico/nota/recogen372530librasdebasuraenlasfiestasdelasanse-1322345/ (accessed April 15, 2019). 13. See “Llegaran 14 cruceros en medio de las Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastián,” El Nuevo Dia, January 16, 2019 https://www.elnuevodia.com/negocios/economia/nota/ llegaran14crucerosenmediodelasfiestasdelacallesansebastian-2471150/ (accessed April 15, 2019). 14. Carmen Alicia Morales, president of the Old San Juan Historical Association, mentioned that Old San Juan is said to be a city with a maximum capacity of 10,000 residents in the late 19th century… “A ville with 6 to 7 streets.” Post on the Historia de Viejo San Juan Facebook group on August 8, 2016. Also, see “Puerto Rico anticipates record breaking cruise season,” PR Newswire, September 29, 2016, https://www. prnewswire.com/news-releases/puerto-rico-anticipates-record-breaking-cruise-season-300336737.html?fbclid=IwAR07WtiTJqzPSelX5xwuXFsOcggxljKQ0eAcMQ71ADNySImgTVCWnByQHI8 (accessed April 15, 2019). 15. See Jose Delgado Reyes “Lentas las ventas en el Viejo San Juan a pesar de la visita de miles de turistas en Crucero,” El Nuevo Dia, November 20, 2018, https://www. elnuevodia.com/noticias/locales/nota/lentaslasventasenelviejosanjuanapesardelavisitademilesdeturistasencrucero-2460892/?fbclid=IwAR2GlP6ppHPuumqoqkVgGFNlSp494R5P2O8kK0mCD3NxKt6y8Kv23J87RkM (accessed April 15, 2019).
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10
LA SAGRADA FAMÍLIA ALTERATION AS PRESERVATION
Noah YODER Project name: The Expiatory Temple of La Sagrada Familia Location: Barcelona, Spain Year Built: 1882 - Present Original Use: Construction Site/Church Current Use: Basilica Keywords: #Construction #Antoni_Gaudí #use_value Abstract: La Sagrada Familia is an unfinished church attributed to Modernista architect Antoni Gaudi. Continued construction on the site is a contrversial decision that goes against normative preservation practices. Still, the ongoing project is an economic driver for Barceloana, an outlet for the region’s craftspeople, and part of a long tradition of intergenerational church building.
fig. 1, Exterior of La Sagrada Familia. fig. 2, Location in Europe.
37
fig. 3, Location in Spain.
Despite having been in a state of construction for well over 100
original construction.5
years, the Expiatory Temple de la Sagrada Familia remains Barcelona’s
most visited tourist attraction and is well regarded as a national symbol
between the new and original fabric of the structure are a primary
of Catalonia. The church has been both loved and reviled since the
source of contention for architectural purists who see Gaudí’s design
building’s most famous architect, Antoni Gaudí, first implemented
as immutable. Where Gaudí employed a swirling mass of decoration,
his eccentric designs in 1883. Thereafter the building has ignited
contemporary architects have incorporated austere sculpture in a
controversy for reasons ranging from its use as a tourist destination to
contrasting “underdeveloped” style. Gaudí, who was quite religious,
its stylistic evolution over generations of construction. Still, the project
saw stone as a natural material symbolically close to God. In an
surges forward with tourist funding and is expected to be completed
effort to accelerate progress, much of the upper interior portions of
in 2026, the centenary of Gaudí’s death.1 In many ways La Sagrada
the nave are constructed of precast concrete made to look like stone,
Familia diverges from conservative, art historical approaches to
a decision critics say is dishonest to original intent. Even standard
preservation. In exchange, however, the church, and even the process
architectural technology like computer generated models, 3D printing,
of its creation, has employed an alternate form of preservation that
and CAD drawings which incorporate Gaudí’s geometric innovations
privileges use and tradition over materiality.
are criticized as untrue to his “spirit” and overly apparent in the final
product.6
Preservation often follows a set of principles laid out in the
Ample differences in style, form, detail, and manufacture
Venice Charter which prohibit dramatic or distracting alterations,
repairs based on conjecture, and additions that bear no contemporary
little problem with conjecture and envision the completed church as a
stamp.2 The continued construction of La Sagrada Familia makes
higher goal than preserving the legacy of a single, visionary architect.
nearly all these requirements impossible to fulfill. Gaudí himself
Not only was the church intended to be completed and used, it was
designed the building in an impulsive unpredictable manner, and upon
born from a sense of Catalan Nationalism and a reverence for Spain’s
his death in 1926 few designs and models of the completed structure
medieval past amid the industrial revolution. The church still serves
were left to follow. Additionally, an anticlerical, militia broke into
as a symbol of Catalan Identity and a significant portion of donations
the church during the Spanish Civil War and burned the remaining
toward completion comes from locals. The endeavor is seen as a matter
documents, blurring Gaudí’s artistic vision further still.3 Following the
of pride, and a showpiece for generations of the region’s artists and
war, many people, including architects like Mies Van Der Rohe, and
craftspeople.7 Advocates are quick to point out that Gaudí worked
Walter Groupius, advocated for preservation of the incomplete ruins of
before the concept of “starchitect” and saw himself in the tradition
Gaudí’s work as a testament to his architectural ingenuity. Even today,
of a gothic cathedral builder: someone who played only one part in a
many believe La Sagrada Familia should be returned to its original
succession of creatives working toward a collective vision. He said of
state. Opponents of construction are diverse in their displeasure.
God: “my client has time” and expected later architects to put their own
Some refer to the designs of post-Gaudí building campaigns as
stamp on the project long after his death.8
“Disneylandia” and “mistake(s) of architecture and religion” which are
Complicating matters is la Sagrada Familia’s status as a world heritage
nothing more than a failed extrapolation of Gaudí’s plans.4 Others fear
site and the volume of tourism the church brings to Barcelona.
that newer portions of the structure are too large and undifferentiated
Anticipation of the building’s final stages is worldwide, and for some
from the original. When completed, La Sagrada Familia will be the
the site is not just a beautiful place to visit, but a religious pilgrimage.
tallest church in the world, only 25 percent of which will be Gaudí’s
The church’s many stakeholders, including the catholic church, locals,
fig. 4, Early construction of La Sagrada Familia.
Proponents of La Sagrada Familia’s continued construction see
38
and tourists have all influenced the building in either function or
falsification of history. Gaudí, however, was influenced by Viollet
design. Who, then, does La Sagrada Familia serve? When is not just a
Le-Duc, a theorist who was more cavalier about preservation, and
monument, but something the public has a right to use?
advocated the application of new technology to historic architectural
styles, as well as the completion of ruined or incomplete structures.
John Ruskin and his philosophies have long shaped
preservation practice. He believed that monuments and historic sites
Gaudí saw new technology as a way of accomplishing feats of
should be primarily left alone, famously writing:
engineering impossible to medieval masons. Parabolic arches and columns along with steel framing form a central part of La Sagrada
“We have no right whatever to touch them (buildings.) They are not
Familia’s core design.10 Though it flies in the face of accepted theory,
ours. They belong partly to those who built them, and partly to all the
the application of new technologies, like computer rendering, is
generations of mankind who are to follow us.” 9
perhaps truer to Gaudí’s own philosophy.
It would seem the traditions of medieval cathedral building
Those who stand by this sentiment would find alterations to such an
are hardly relevant to the modern day yet parallels between those
important monument to be an unwelcome distraction, if not outright
traditions and the construction of La Sagrada Familia can be readily found. Both were projects that spanned generations and adapted to changing fashions and technology. Though unified in appearance, Chartres Cathedral, for example, bears signs of a gradual shift from Romanesque to gothic style, and an unmatching variety of rooves, buttresses and details. Its long construction spanned 30 building campaigns and nine head masons.11 Gaudí saw himself working in this model and La Sagrada Familia’s succession of architects, craftspeople and changing perceptions over time keep medieval tradition alive.
Medieval cathedrals were also important pilgrimage sites that
supported thriving towns of craftspeople and builders. Tourism is seen by many as a disaster to La sagrada Familia, propelling construction forward at an incautious pace, and supporting “garish” architecture to please the masses.12 Tourism is a major part of how the church funds construction and does perhaps play a role in presentation and design, but tourism is an essential part of how the building functions and is a major economic boon to Barcelona and its craftspeople. From the standpoint of preservation, La Sagrada Familia is an unconventional case, but what it lacks in reverence to the building’s most influential architect is made up in other ways. The buildings history may be left vague, but the building belongs to the present and it’s continued use and change are what make it a valuable asset. The fig. 5, The nativity facade designed by Gaudí.
fig. 6, The passion facade, a post-Gaudí design.
39
church preserves a long tradition of visionary, generational building
projects and keeps arts like stone carving, stained glass and masonry alive while embracing new technology. It is a major economic support to Barcelona, a symbol of national pride, and a place of pilgrimage and tourism that is special for its eccentricity.
fig. 7, Jean Fouquet’s Building of a Cathedral showing multi-campaign construction.
fig. 8, Parabolic columns in the nave.
Endnotes 1 Carlos Giordano, and Nicolás Palmisano. Expiatory Temple of the Sagrada Familia: The Masterpiece of Antoni Gaudí. 1st ed. Barcelona, Spain: Mundo Flip Ediciones, 2006, 7-15. 2 International Council on Monuments and Sites. International Charter for The Conservation of Historic Monuments and Sites (The Venice Charter), Venice: ICOMOS, 1964. 3 David Cohn. “Gaudí’s Sacred Monster: Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, Catalonia.” Architectural Review. Accessed April 4, 2019. https://www.architecturalreview.com/buildings/Gaudís-sacred-monster-sagrada-familia-barcelonacatalonia/8633438. article. 4 Edward Schumacher, and Special to The New York Times. “Gaudí’s Church Still Divides Barcelona.” The New York Times, January 1, 1991, sec. Arts. https:// www.nytimes.om/1991/01/01/arts/Gaudí-s-church-still-divides-barcelona.html. 5 Giordano. Expiatory Temple… 107. 6 Schumacher. “Gaudí’s Church Still Divides…” 7 Giordano. Expiatory Temple… 107. 8 Schumacher. “Gaudí’s Church Still Divides…” 9 John Ruskin. The Seven Lamps of Architecture. London: Electric Book Co., 2001. 10 Heathcote, Edwin. Church Builders /. Chichester, West Sussex: Academy Editions, 1997, 21. 11 David Turnbull. “The Ad Hoc Collective Work of Building Gothic Cathedrals with Templates, String, and Geometry:” Science, Technology, & Human Values, August 18, 2016.https://doi.org/10.1177/016224399301800304, 317-319. 12 Ibid. Bibliography • Burry, Mark. Sagrada Familia s. XXI: Gaudí Ara/Ahora/Now /. 1. ed. Barcelon: Edicions UPC, 2008. • Cohn, David. “Gaudí’s Sacred Monster: Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, Catalonia.” Architectural Review. Accessed April 4, 2019. https://www.architecturalreview.com/buildings/Gaudís-sacred-monster-sagrada-familia-barcelonacatalonia/8633438.article. • Emerick, Keith. Conserving and Managing Ancient Monuments. Heritage, Democracy and Inclusion. Woodbridge: Boydell & Brewer Ltd., 2014. • Gimpel, Jean. The Cathedral Builders /. 1st ed. New York: Grove Press, 1983. • Giordano, Carlos, and Nicolás Palmisano. Expiatory Temple of the Sagrada Familia: The Masterpiece of Antoni Gaudí. 1st ed. Barcelona, Spain: Mundo Flip Ediciones, 2006. • Heathcote, Edwin. Church Builders /. Chichester, West Sussex: Academy Editions, 1997. • International Council on Monuments and Sites. International Charter for The Conservation of Historic Monuments and Sites (The Venice Charter), Venice: ICOMOS, 1964. • Marine-Roig, Estela. “Religious Tourism versus Secular Pilgrimage: The Basilica of La Sagrada Família.” International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage 3, no. 1 (July 21, 2015). https://doi.org/10.21427/D7KM6Z. • Ruskin, John. The Seven Lamps of Architecture. London: Electric Book Co., 2001. • Schumacher, Edward, and Special to The New York Times. “Gaudí’s Church Still Divides Barcelona.” The New York Times, January 1, 1991, sec. Arts. https:// www.nytimes.com/1991/01/01/arts/Gaudí-s-church-still-divides-barcelona. html. • Turnbull, David. “The Ad Hoc Collective Work of Building Gothic Cathedrals with Templates, String, and Geometry:” Science, Technology, & Human Values, August 18, 2016. https://doi.org/10.1177/016224399301800304. • Van Hensbergen, Gijs. The Sagrada Família: The Astonishing Story of Gaudí’s Unfinished Masterpiece /, 2017.
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11
Les Espaces d’Abraxas “Le Palacio,” “Le Théâtre” and “L’Arc” Sarah LERNER Project name: Les Espaces d’Abraxas Location: Noisy-le-Grand, France Year Built: 1978-1982 Architect: Richardo Bofill, Taller Bofill Keywords: #public_housing #modernism #french_politics Who is really at fault for the weathered concrete panels or shattered windows of a monumental postmodern piblic housing project? The marginalized community forced to live in a colossal housing complex; the avant-garde and self serving architect; or the negligent and under resourced governing body?
fig. 1, Les Espaces d’Abraxas fig. 2, Location in Europe.
41
fig. 3, Location in Paris subarbs
I was first introduced to Richard Bofill’s Les Espaces D’Abrax-
Bofill often referred to the Les Espaces d’Abraxas as, “A Ver-
as in 2015 as the set for the final film of the dystopian Hunger Games
sailles for the people,” a noble palace for the proletariat.8 It was spe-
trilogy. At its violent crescendo, spectators witness a small army of
cifically designed to oppose Le Corbusier’s whitewashed visions of
bulletproofed revolutionaries entrapped in the colossal complex. The
the 1950s, which Bofill deemed to be “devoid of style”.9 The 610-unit
monumental scale and extraordinary design of the set portrays a place
postmodern apartment complex was designed to mimic an imperial
of the past or the imagination, however, this could not be further from
Roman city.10 It is composed of three buildings: Le Palais d’Abraxas, Le
the truth: In reality, Les Espaces D’Abraxas is teeming with life. Behind
Théâtre and L’Arc (The Palace, The Theatre and The Triumphal Arch).
each window is a world inhabited by individuals and communities who
The Palace is 19-stories tall and U-shaped in plan. Its vast size, unusual
call this “City in Space” home.
proportions and classical details, intentionally blurs the line between
monument and palace, place and space.11 The Theatre is a semicircu-
In the mid 20th century the urban region of Paris experienced a
variety of problems related to immigration and the subsequent pop-
lar public space, framed by the curved walls of The Palace. Its shape
ulation growth. These issues included housing pressures in inner-city
closely resembles a Greek theatre.12 The Arch is located in the center
Paris, the loss of open space for development, and congestion in urban
of the interior space, surrounded by the panoptic palace. Although its
centers.1 A reactionary political committee, 1’Institut d’Amenagement
form resembles a triumphant arch, it functions as five-story housing
et d’Urbanisme de la Region Parisienne (IAURP), was established to
unit.13 The complex was strategically located at the western end of an
create a development policy for the future of the greater Paris city
intricately planned, fabricated, dense urban core, with a shopping mall
region.2 As a result, in 1965 the city planned to extend the suburban
and office developments piled above an RER train station.14 It was to be
railway network (RER) to reach five new suburban towns. These towns
conceived as a landmark, a point of reference, a habitable monument in
were referred to as Villes Nouvelles. In an article published by Arch-
a new commercialized suburban context.15
Daily, James Taylor-Foster recalls that these developments were ulti-
mately built “to house a migrant population of rural and foreign refu-
the buildings of Les Espaces d’Abraxas have fallen into disrepair. Jordan
gees” in the marginalized periphery of Paris.3
Teicher of The Washington Post stated that Bofil’s housing projects, “are
largely considered failed experiments — catalysts for the alienation of
In 1971 Catalonian architect, Richard Bofill, formed a com-
Today, under the jurisdiction of the municipal government,
plementary team in Paris in response to the developing French Villes
their populations and a slew of accompanying social issues.”16 Many
Nouvelles.4 Bofill viewed suburbs and public housing as an “urban
believe there to be a “melancholic air to the place, which constantly
cancer” with a “savage” presence.5 He believed that symbolic French
invokes the ghosts of a pre-modern past.”17 In a 2014 interview, Bofil
monumental architecture should be used to “sublimate” the blight of
commented on the “suffering” of the community and the consequential
the community and “rupture” its “working world” connotations.6 These
state of the housing complex, emphasized by the closed nature of the
ideologies are the crux of Bofill’s infamous Les Espaces d’Abraxas, a co-
structure.18 It has been noted that the unsettling paradox of life and
lossal public housing complex, the boldest architectural gesture in the
void in large housing projects are often criticized — they fascinate or
five Villes Nouvelles.7
bother but leave no one indifferent.19
Figure 4. The Palace and The Theatre, Le Espaces d’Abraxas, Noisy-le-Grand, Image http://www.ricardobofill.com
42
As for the residents of Les Espaces d’Abraxas, they might not
consider this place a palace, but it is their home. French artist Laurent Kronental’s photographs clearly demonstrate that in spite of any assumed architectural or urban failings, these houses have been appropriated by their residents as a place of comfort and security.20 In spite of the complexes’ atmosphere of emptiness, consciously captured by Kronental, his images illustrate the colorful communities and individuals that have transformed these private interior spaces.21 In a short film produced by NBC, an elderly resident reflects upon his experience living in Les Espaces d’Abraxas. He describes the tensions between residents and the municipal government of Noisy-le-Grand, France who own the buildings, “[Les Espaces d’Abraxas] has been forgotten by public policies. The mayor wanted to demolish this place. It is extremely violent to tell people who live in a space that you want to wipe it out.”22
In 2006, the town planned to demolish the 600 apartments of
The Palace, but the project caused a stir among the residents. In reaction, the residents united to form the The Anti-Demolition Collective, to advocate for the individuals living in the complex. Ten years later, encouraged by the persistent vindications of neighborhood associations and the support of Richard Bofill, Noisy-le-Grand has finally decided to preserve Les Espaces d’Abraxas.23
This is not a solely Parisian, or even European narrative. In
1933, American president, Franklin D. Roosevelt created the federal Housing Division, as part of the Public Works Administration (PWA). The PWA was responsible for the country’s first 51 public-housing developments. According to Ben Austen of the New York Times, public housing projects “treated poverty as a widespread social and economic
Figure 5. L’Arc, Le Espaces d’Abraxas, Noisy-le-Grand, Image http://www.ricardobofill.com/projects/les-espaces-dabraxas/
injustice that the country was obligated to right.” Like Les Espaces 24
d’Abraxas, under funded and over crowded, the majority of the projects fell into disrepair. In 1989, the United States Congress established the National Commission on Severely Distressed Public Housing to evaluate and ultimately revitalize egalitarian housing facilities of the New Deal. Three years later, the commission launched HOPE VI (Housing Opportunities for People Everywhere) program, which proposed the demolition, modernization and redevelopment of more than 80,000 public housing units around the nation.25 Now, a half a century later, over 250,000 public housing units have been demolished across American cities, leaving the former residents displaced or homeless.26
As is the case at Les Espaces d’Abraxas, grassroots tenant orga-
nizations have come to serve as the main advocate for preservation of public housing. Two of the most notable organizations are Tenants & Neighbors, a 501(c)(3) whose mission is, “to build a unified and powerful statewide organization that empowers and educates tenants; preserves affordable housing, livable neighborhoods, and diverse communities; and strengthens tenant protections;” and The DC Preservation Network, a partnership between Urban-Greater DC and the Coalition for Nonprofit Housing and Economic Development, “to manage a group of government agencies and community-based organizations working to preserve affordable housing in the District of Columbia.”27 The key to the success of public houisng complexes will be intentional collabroation between stakeholders (the government, the designer, and the tenants). For there are no faults to be had when there is consistent communication and communal trust .
43
Figure 6. Entrance, Le Espaces d’Abraxas, Noisy-le-Grand, Image http://www.ricardobofill.com/
Endnotes 1 Wilkes, David, Patrick Donoghue, and Carol Sutton. 1983. Marne-lavallée A new town or a new dormitory suburb for paris? Built Environment (1978-) 9 (3/4): 255-65. 2 île-de-France, IAU. “Institut D’aménagement Et D’urbanisme De La Région Île-de-France.” Institut D’aménagement Et D’urbanisme De La Région île De France. 2019. Accessed April 15, 2019. https://www.iau-idf. fr/. 3 James Taylor-Foster. “A Utopian Dream Stood Still: Ricardo Bofill’s Postmodern Parisian Housing Estate of Noisy-Le-Grand.” ArchDaily, ArchDaily, 1 Oct. 2015, www.archdaily.com/774578/a-utopian-dreamstood-still-ricardo-bofills-postmodern-parisian-housing-estate-of-noisyle-grand. 4 “Ricardo Bofill Levi – Ricardo Bofill Taller De Arquitectura.” Ricardo Bofill Taller De Arquitectura. 2019. Accessed April 15, 2019. http://www. ricardobofill.com/team/ricardo-bofill-levi/. 5 James, W. A. Ricardo Bofill, Taller De Arquitectura: Buildings and Projects 1960-1985. New York: Rizzoli, 1988. 88-89. 6 Ibid. 7 Abrahams, Tim. “Les Espaces d’Abraxas.” Icon., no. 187 (January 1, 2019). 8 Glancey, Jonathan. “Les Espaces D’ Abraxas, Marne-la-Vallee Versailles for the People, or Postmodern Parisian Ghetto?” In What’s so Great about the Eiffel Tower?: 70 Questions That Will Change the Way You Think about Architecture, 96-97. London: Laurence King Publishing, 2017. 9 Abahams, Tim. “Les Espaces d’Abraxas.” Icon., no. 187 (January 1, 2019 10 Glancey, Jonathan. “Les Espaces D’ Abraxas, Marne-la-Vallee Versailles for the People, or Postmodern Parisian Ghetto?” In What’s so Great about the Eiffel Tower?: 70 Questions That Will Change the Way You Think about Architecture, 96-97. 11 James, W. A. Ricardo Bofill, Taller De Arquitectura: Buildings and Projects 1960-1985. New York: Rizzoli, 1988. 88-89. 12 Ibid. 13 Perrault, Charles-Antoine. “Science Fiction in the Suburbs of Paris: When Mass Housing Meets Postmodernism.” Untapped Cities, 28 Dec. 2018, untappedcities.com/2012/01/26/science-fiction-in-the-suburbs-ofparis-when-mass-housing-meets-postmodernism/. 14 Abrahams, Tim. “Les Espaces d’Abraxas.” Icon., no. 187 (January 1, 2019). 15 “Ricardo Bofill and Leon Krier: Architecture, Urbanism, and History.” The Museum of Modern Art. 1985. Accessed April 15, 2019. https:// www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/1778. 16 Teicher, Jordan G. “A Poetic Vision of Paris’s Crumbling Suburban High-rises.” The Washington Post, October 01, 2015. Accessed April 11, 2019. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/in-sight/wp/2015/10/01/apoetic-vision-of-paris-crumbling-suburban-high-rises/?utm_term=.235039f3c8e2. 17 Glancey, Jonathan. “Les Espaces D’ Abraxas, Marne-la-Vallee Versailles for the People, or Postmodern Parisian Ghetto?” In What’s so Great about the Eiffel Tower?: 70 Questions That Will Change the Way You Think about Architecture, 96-97. 18 Camus, Elvire. “Ricardo Bofill : « Je N’ai Pas Réussi à Changer La Ville ».” Le Monde.fr. February 08, 2014. Accessed April 15, 2019. https://www. lemonde.fr/societe/article/2014/02/08/ricardo-bofill-je-n-ai-pas-reussia-changer-la-ville_4359887_3224.html. 19 https://www.dezeen.com/2016/01/03/laurent-kronental-souvenir-d-un-futur-photo-essay-paris-forgotten-housing-estates/ 20 Teicher, Jordan G. “A Poetic Vision of Paris’s Crumbling Suburban High-rises.” The Washington Post, October 01, 2015. 21 Ibid. 22 Inside France’s Most Unusual Housing Project | NBC Left Field. Produced by NBC News. Directed by Justine Bo. YouTube. July 15, 2017. Accessed April 15, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=h0WCpzdgQ2Y. 23 “Thirty-three Years after the Construction of His Landmark Project Les Espaces D’Abraxas Ricardo Bofill Re-visits Noisy-le-Grand – Ricardo Bofill Taller De Arquitectura.” Ricardo Bofill Taller De Arquitectura. June 30, 2016. Accessed April 15, 2019. http://www.ricardobofill.com/ thirty-three-years-construction-landmark-project-les-espaces-dabraxasricardo-bofill-re-visits-noisy-le-grand/.
Figure 7. Justyna Kuska, noisy-le-grand | l’espaces d’abraxaz, https://afterthewarblog. wordpress.com/
24 Austen, Ben. “The Towers Came Down, and With Them the Promise of Public Housing.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 6 Feb. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/02/06/magazine/the-towerscame-down-and-with-them-the-promise-of-public-housing.html. 25 NewsOne Staff. “America’s Most Famous And Now Extinct Housing Projects.” News One, October 6, 2011. https://newsone. com/1567685/americas-most-famous-and-now-extinct-housingprojects/. 26 Austen. “The Towers Came Down, and With Them the Promise of Public Housing.” The New York Times. 27 “About Us.” Tenants and Neighbors About Us. Tenants and Neighbors, 2019. https://tandn.org/about-us.; “DC Preservation Network.” DC Preservation Network | NNIP. National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership, 2011. https://www.neighborhoodindicators.org/activities/partner/dc-preservation-network.
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12
E-1027 La villa E-1027
Holly BOYER-MANDERS Project name: E-1027 Location: Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France 1929, Modernist Villa/French National Cultural Monument Keywords: #eileengray #womeninarchitecture #equityandinclusion #nakedphallocracy #mysogynist The modernist villa, E-1027, designed by Eileen Gray and constructed between 1926-29 is emblematic of women’s struggle for equity and equality in the architecture profession. The history of E-1027 is the narrative of sex-based discrimination against women and loss that Eileen Gray suffered at the hands of male architects. When their relationship dissolved, and she moved out of the villa, Badovici’s friend, le Corbusier painted eight murals of naked women on the walls throughout the interior; Gray considered the murals vandalism of her design. The theoretical issue embodied in this particular case is the potential reevaluation and preservation of a monument associated with discrimination and suppression of women in the context of the architecture profession. The villa was restored and opened to the public in 2016. E-1027 could be interpreted to help advance the dialogue toward greater equity within the architecture profession. Fig. 1. Modeling of the whole villa E-1027 designed by Eileen Gray. Model by Aristeas. With photo of Eileen Gray. Wikimedia commons Fig. 2. Location in Europe.
45
Fig. 3. Location in France.
Eileen Gray Eileen Gray, a furniture designer by training and an architect by participation, was born in Ireland in 1878. She began her studies in London, where she gained her first experience with lacquer work, then later moved to Paris and continued her studies there. She settled in Paris, during a period of great changes in the art world, including the birth of Cubism and the evolution of Art Deco. In Paris she practiced the craft of lacquer, under the tutelage of the expatriate Japanese artisan Sougawara, and produced decorative objects and furniture. Through her pursuit of a career as an independent woman, “Gray played a part in the processes of women’s liberation long before the movement acquired its full identity and momentum. She staked her right to a career whilst other were first questioning women’s right to vote.”1 After World War I, Gray expanded her sights beyond furniture design and began working on some larger projects involving interior designs. By the mid-1920s, these commissions had received negative reviews in France, but also had captured the attention of the Dutch avant-garde. Her ensuing exchange of ideas with the Dutch avant-garde redefined her priorities and drew her toward the field of architecture. Jean Badovici In the early 1920s, she became romantically involved with Jean Badovici, a Paris-based Romanian architectural critic, with whom she travelled to study the buildings of the Modern Movement. Beginning in 1924, the couple endeavored to “build and equip a house which would
Fig. 4. Exterior of Villa E-1027. Image Tim Benton. ArchDaily, June 11, 2015
be a pioneering statement, an intensely personal experiment in the forward-looking spirit of the Modern Movement.”2 She chose a site on the Côte d’Azur in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France, just up the coast from Nice. That house was E-1027. The house’s name, E-1027, is based on a numerical code that entwined her initials with Badovici’s: E was for Eileen; 10 for the J in Jean, the 10th letter of the alphabet; 2 for the B; and 7 for the G. In her design of the villa, she focused on the process of living – sitting, relaxing, reading, eating, conversing, entertaining, washing, dressing and sleeping – and carefully crafted solutions in space, furniture and fittings which met these needs with versatility and practicality. She and Badovici were very pleased with the result. When the villa was completed, Badovici published an article in L’Architecture Vivant, the magazine for which he was editor, taking credit as its joint architect. It has been rumored that the credit Badovici took was undue and was an affront to Gray. However, it is understood that because Gray had no formal training as an architect, Badovici lent the technical expertise to ensure constructability. The full extent to which Badovici contributed to the design is unclear, but he seems to acknowledge Gray’s primary authorship as he lists her name as the lead throughout his article. Shortly after E-1027’s completion in 1929, their relationship dissolved, and Gray abandoned the house. She started work on a new home, Tempe a Pailla in nearby Castellar, while he remained at E-1027.
Fig. 5. Interior of restored villa. Photo by Manuel Bougot. House & Garden Magazine.
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Divergent Modernist Philosophies Early in the 20th century, Le Corbusier, one of the leading exponents of the Modern Movement, was advancing the idea of a technocratic interpretation and mechanization of the modern architectural aesthetic. Corbusier famously declared “Une maison est une machine-à-habiter,” or “A house is a machine for living in.”3 Conversely, Eileen Gray stated clear reservations against formalizing a new thought process into a mechanically reproducible style and instead advocated for an architecture that would engage and embrace all of its users’ senses while exploiting contemporary means of production and design aesthetics.4 These divergent philosophies were manifest in the house designs of the two. Le Corbusier treated his houses as statements, or manifestos of his design intent; Gray’s approach was subtler, creating a house attuned to the environment and human occupants. Gray’s success in the result of E-1027 was at the center of a conflict between the two architects. Le Corbusier was a friend of Badovici and became familiar with E-1027 during his visits there. He so admired the design of the villa that in 1937 he invited Gray to exhibit in his pavilion at the Paris 1937 Exposition Internationale; she declined. Perhaps partly compelled by envy of her design prowess, or her rejection to exhibit jointly, le Corbusier acted out against her in an ostensibly sexist act of disrespect and oppression. He was seemingly so affronted that a woman could create such a fine work of modernism and responded by desecrating E-1027 with crude murals depicting nude women with creaturelike visages. To add insult to injury, le Corbusier created the paintings in the nude, “assert-
Fig. 6. Le Corbusier committing an act of naked phallocracy. Architect Magazine,
ed his dominion, like a urinating dog, over the territory.” Gray saw his
August 12, 2015
5
paintings as vandalism, as a violation of her design, and was furious. Le Corbusier didn’t stop there... he later attempted to purchase E-1027 but was unable to secure the property. Instead, he purchased a plot of land immediately behind it and constructed his cabanon, or shed, looming over her design. After this clash with le Corbusier, who was powerful in the design world, she was ostracized by the architecture establishment and, and lived reclusively until her work was rediscovered in the late 1960s.6
Fig. 7. In his murals at E-1027, le Corbusier depicted naked women to insult Eileen Gray. Photo by Manuel Bougot. House & Garden Magazine.
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Current Use & Interpretation It is important to understand that today, although 80 years have passed since le Corbusier’s acts of aggression against Eileen Gray, that sexual politics and ethics violations against women and other minorities within the architecture profession are still common. Over the past few years, the issue of the gender-disparity in the architecture profession has received some attention. In 2017, Dezeen Magazine conducted a survey of the largest 100 architecture firms globally: Only 3% are headed by women; only 2% are under predominantly female management; 10% of the highest ranking jobs are held by women; and 16% have no women in senior positions at all.7 In 2017 the American Institute of
Endnotes 1 Garner, Philippe. Eileen Gray: Designer and Architect. Germany: Taschen, 1993, 10. 2 Garner, 29. 3 Le Corbusier, Jean-Louis Cohen, and John Goodman. Toward an Architecture. Los Angeles, Calif.: Getty Research Institute, 2007. 4 Gray, Eileen., Caroline Constant, Wilfried Wang, Rosamund Diamond, Marietta Andreas, and Brooke Hodge. Eileen Gray: An Architecture for All Senses. Tübingen: Ernst J. Wasmuth, 1996, i-ii. 5 Moore, Rowan. Trouble in a Modernist Paradise. The Observer, June 30, 2013, 1. 6 Rawsthorn, Alice. The Tortured History of Eileen Gray’s Modern Gem. The New York Times, August 25, 2013, 3. 7 Fairs, Marcus. Survey of Top Architecture Firms Reveals “Quite Shocking” Lack of Gender Diversity at Senior Levels. November 16, 2017, 1. 8 American Institute of Architects. Equity in Architecture Commission Report. January 2017.
Architects announced the Institute’s “Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Commission Executive Summary,” an eight-page document of “recommendations for expanding and strengthening the profession’s commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion in every practice.”8 While things are improving for women in architecture, the process is glacially slow. The story of E-1027 is now taught in architecture schools, as being emblematic of sexual politics of the architecture profession. However, the opportunity is ripe to use the site to broaden the discussion to beyond the walls of academe. The villa was restored by the French government, with help from the Getty Conservation Institute, as a French National Cultural Monument and opened to the public in 2016. The site should not merely be interpreted as a cultural monument in the context of the Modern Movement, but within its social context. The public interpretation of the site should allow for possibilities of potential reevaluation and preservation of a monument associated with women’s struggle for equity and equality in the architecture profession. But it could also be extended to the broader context of various forms of sex- and gender-based discrimination across a wider range of disciplines.
Fig. 8. Bathroom of E-1027. Photo by Manuel Bougot. House & Garden Magazine
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13
MOUNT ATHOS Άγιο Όρος
Elizabeth SEXTON Project name: Mount Athos Location: Greece Keywords: #ClimateChange #ClimateHeritage #Culture4Climate #MountAthos #WorldHeritage Abstract: Mount Athos represents a World Heritage site at risk as climate change assessments anticipate increasing wildfires to the region. The site’s lack of a management plan to address these threats ultimately questions the role of UNESCO in confronting climate change issues, while exhibiting the need for wider awareness of heritage at risk in order to generate action.
fig. 1, Partial View of the Monastery of Dionysiou. (Theocharides et al. 1992, 65) fig. 2, Location in Europe.
49
fig. 3, Location in Greece.
World Heritage sites offer the opportunity of a public platform for presenting the effects of climate change and approaches to resiliency, as States Parties agree to “ensure the identification, nomination, protection, conservation, presentation and transmission to future generations of the cultural and natural heritage found within their territory” and thus must address increasing climate threats in order to meet these obligations.1 Yet the actual implementing of management planning can be difficult for prominent sites, as a variety of political, economic, and social pressures are involved and asked to be in agreement. This ultimately questions the role of UNESCO in guiding climate change issues, while reinforcing the need for a comprehensive resource of shared information for addressing its threats.2 An evaluation of Mount Athos, a natural and cultural World Heritage site with a wide range of criteria prescribing its “Outstanding Universal Value,” represents the challenges and opportunities of addressing climate change as it faces increasing wildfire risks.3 Mount Athos is an Orthodox Christian monastic community located across an isolated peninsula in northern Greece, approximately 100 miles southeast of Thessaloniki. It is the oldest surviving monastery complex in the world, dating to the tenth century, and today consists of roughly 2,000 monks across 20 monasteries. This male-only community preserves several forms of monasticism through its monasteries, sketes, and hermitages, that have failed to survive elsewhere.4 The monastery structures represent a quintessential Orthodox monastic layout and adhere to 10th century design principals, while vernacular
fig. 4, Interior View of the Skete of Ayios Andreas. (Theocharides et al. 1992, 52)
buildings demonstrate traditional Mediterranean agrarian architecture.5 It is furthermore purported that Mount Athos holds one of the largest collections of Byzantine art and manuscripts, much of which has been preserved for functional, religious purposes through the monks’ ongoing dedication to conservation duties and recent digitization efforts.6 The landscape of the peninsula itself holds natural value for its mostly untouched flora and fauna, exhibiting “how green the other provinces of the Roman Empire once were.”7
fig. 5, Partial View of the Monastery of Vatopedi. (Theocharides et al. 1992, 12)
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fig. 6, The Monastery of Hilandar During the Fire of 2004. (Friends of Mount Athos 2011)
Throughout history, fire damage, loss, and risk have been common to
mous governance coupled with Greece’s history of inadequate fire pro-
the site, located in a fire-prone Mediterranean region. Climate assess-
tection regulations and enforcement has produced a “lack of awareness
ments for the region anticipate an increased threat of wildfire generated
of the responsible persons…of the essence of necessity of fire protec-
by extreme weather conditions.8 The 2004 fire that severely damaged
tion.”17 In 2018, Greece passed new legislation addressing previously
the monastery of Hilandar and the 2012 wildfire that burned roughly
outdated fire regulations, which hopefully will contribute to advancing
12,000 acres of the site foreshadow future threats and question the site’s
Mount Athos’ management plan.18
continued protection.9 The structures’ fire risk was substantiated in a 2016 study that found roughly half of the monasteries to “have high fire
An elucidation of the complications of enacting a management plan at
potential in terms of fire intensity.”10 The burn capacity is attributed
Mount Athos ultimately questions UNESCO’s role in enforcing ac-
to timber elements and previous restoration efforts’ strict adherence
countability among States Parties in face of increasing climate threats.
to principals of material authenticity over adaptations for fire preven-
It asks if a site with various stakeholders could benefit from a heritage
tion.11
leader’s direction in climate adaptations, with enforcement centered on continued designation. Such parameters would not only serve the site,
Fire management practices have been slowly and sporadically imple-
but would pressure a State Party to take climate action in order to keep
mented throughout Mount Athos, although somewhat “superficially.”12
their prestigious sites designated.
With inclusion on UNESCO and the IUCN’s heritage lists, Mount Athos has been reviewed fairly frequently with both agencies repeat-
Mount Athos and its stakeholders furthermore embody a more gen-
edly flagging fire hazards and the lack of a corresponding management
eral social convention of approaching climate change which is a lack
plan to be of highest threat.13 UNESCO’s most recent State of Conser-
of responsibility and ownership. The need for larger awareness of the
vation report from 2012 draws attention to the continued failure to
threats that climate change poses to our heritage and the measures
meet a 2006 request for a comprehensive management plan that would
currently being taken to protect it would serve to inform and initiate
include fire prevention policies. The report sets a date of delivery for
ownership in safeguarding heritage sites. As Marcy Rockman, Adam
the plan in 2013, yet in reviewing the 2017 IUCN findings it is clear
Markham, and others propose, further shared research, comprehensive
that a plan remained to be delivered.14
assessments by leaders in the field, and inclusion of heritage in larger climate discussions would be beneficial to the heritage community and
Mount Athos’ failure to meet UNESCO’s requests and lack of fire protection policies can be attributed to a variety of pressures and conditions ascribed to the site. Mount Athos is governed as an autonomous polity within Greece, a member of the European Union. While management of the site is governed by the monasteries’ administration system, several public agencies are responsible for the ongoing preservation and protection of the site with funding coming from a variety of sources.15 The multitude of stakeholders appears to explain delays for producing a comprehensive management plan as the IUCN states there to have been “coordination deficiencies.”16 Additionally, its autono-
51
public at large in engendering widespread action.19
fig. 7, The Monastery of Hilandar After the Fire of 2004. (Athos Weblog 2007)
Endnotes 1 UNESCO, Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention, WHC.17/01 (Paris: Convention Concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage, 2017), 11, https://whc.unesco.org/en/ guidelines/. 2 “The Pocantico Call to Action on Climate Impacts and Cultural Heritage,” Pocantico Center of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, February 2-4, 2015, https:// www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/attach/2016/04/Pocantico-Call-to-Action-on-Climate-Impacts-Cultural-Heritage-4-11-2016.pdf.; George Hambrecht and Marcy Rockman, “International Approaches to Climate Change and Cultural Heritage,” American Antiquity 82, no. 4 (October 2017): 627-41, https:// doi.org/10.1017/aaq.2017.30.; Adam Markham, Elena Osipova, Kathryn Lafrenz Samuels, and Astrid Caldas, World Heritage and Tourism in a Changing Climate (Nairobi: United Nations Environment Programme; Paris: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Paris, 2016), 16, https://whc. unesco.org/document/139944. 3 “Mount Athos,” World Heritage List, UNESCO World Heritage Centre, accessed April 16, 2019, https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/454. 4 Hierodeacon Damaskinos, “Mount Athos and Orthodox Spirituality: History and Legacy Today,” Trinity Orthodox, August 2, 2018, https://www.ancientfaith. com/podcasts/trinityorthodox/ount_athos_and_orthodox_spirituality_history_and_legacy_today. 5 “Mount Athos,” World Heritage List. 6 Damaskinos, “Mount Athos.” 7 Emmanuel Amand de Medieta, Mount Athos: The Garden of the Panaghia, trans. Michael R. Bruce (Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, 1972), 38. 8 Giorgos Mallinis et al., “Assessing Wildfire Risk in Cultural Heritage Properties Using High Spatial and Temporal Resolution Satellite Imagery and Spatially Explicit Fire Simulations: The Case of Holy Mount Athos, Greece,” Forests 7, no. 2 (February 2016): 1-2, https://doi.org/10.3390/f7020046. 9 Nada Kurtovic-Folic, “Consequences of a Wrong Decision: Case Study of Chilandar Monastery Great Fire” (Structural Faults & Repairs, Edinburgh, 2014), https://www.researchgate.net/publication/301340306_consequences_ of_a_wrong_decision_case_study_of_chilandar_monastery_great_fire/figures; Mallinis et al., “Assessing Wildfire Risk,” 3. 10 Mallinis et al., “Assessing Wildfire Risk,” 1. 11 Kurtovic-Folic, “Consequences of a Wrong Decision,” 1. 12 Kurtovic-Folic, “Consequences of a Wrong Decision,” 2. 13 “Mount Athos,” World Heritage List; “Mount Athos: 2017 Conservation Outlook Assessment,” IUCN World Heritage Outlook, accessed April 16, 2019, https:// worldheritageoutlook.iucn.org/explore-sites/wdpaid/18863. In 1988, Mount Athos was made a UNESCO World Heritage site. A total of eight State of Conservation reports have since been made for the site, dating between 1992 to 2012. As a mixed site, it is furthermore assessed by the IUCN, with two reports being published, one in 2014 and a second in 2017. 14 UNESCO, “State of Conservation: Mount Athos (Greece),” WHC-12/36. COM/7B.Add (Paris: Convention Concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage, 2012), 87, https://whc.unesco.org/archive/2012/whc1236com-7BAdd-en.pdf; “Mount Athos: 2017,” IUCN. 15 “Mount Athos,” World Heritage List. 16 “Mount Athos: 2017,” IUCN World Heritage Outlook. 17 Kurtovic-Folic, “Consequences of a Wrong Decision,” 2. 18 Bianca Cerrato, “New Fire Protection of Buildings Regulation Comes into Effect in Greece,” Fire Safe Europe, June 22, 2018, https://firesafeeurope.eu/new-fireprotection-of-buildings-regulation-comes-into-effect-in-greece/. 19 “The Pocantico Call to Action,” 1; Hambrecht and Rockman, “International Approaches,” 627-41; Markham et al., World Heritage and Tourism, 16.
Image Bibliography • “152 – Chilandariou Hilandar Fire 2004.” Athos Weblog (blog), July 23, 2007. https://athosweblog.com/2007/07/23/152-chilandariou-hilandar/. • “The Restoration of Hilandar Monastery.” The Friends of Mount Athos, 2011. https://www.athosfriends.org/appeals/Hilandar/HilandarRestoration.shtml. • Theocharides, Ploutarchos, Pandelis Foundas, and Stergios Stefanou. Mount Athos. Athens: “MELISSA” Publishing House, 1992.
fig. 8, Partial View of Karyes. (Theocharides et al. 1992, 61)
52
14
Lo Manthang लोमन ् थाङ Joe BACCI Project name: Preserving the Lost Kingdom Location: Lo Manthang, Gandaki Pradesh, Mustang, Nepal. Founded: 1380 Keywords: #Climate_Change #Modernity #Tangible_Heritage #Intangible_Heritage #Preservation #Conservation Lo Manthang the capital of the former Kingdom of Lo was constructed in the 15th Century on a plateau at 3800 meters above sea level. The settlement is located on the ancient trade route that runs along the Kali Gandaki River that cuts through the Himalayas. The settlement is surrounded by a 6-meter high earthen wall. The inhabitants of Lo Manthang are closely related culturally and ethnically to the people of Western and Central Tibet. The culture is to a large degree defined by the Sakyapa traditions of Tibetan Buddhism and even today many of the ancient festival, rituals and ceremonies are being performed. Introduction of a trans-national roadway through the region has introduced a host of technological and cultural stressors on the city’s tangible and intangible heritage. In tandem with the growing effects of climate change, this living time-capsule is now faced with the challenges of preserving its self amidst an ever-encroaching, modern world.
fig. 1, Top left, Lo Manthang’s location in the greater scope of Easern Asia.1 fig. 2, Lower, the city’s location within the region of Mustang on the border of Tibet.2
53
The Kingdom of Lo, commonly known as Mustang, is a land-
locked peninsula within Nepal adjoining the boarder of the Tibetan Autonomous Region of China in the north. Many archaeological finds hint that the valley was once a longitudinal tributary of the silk road, providing a flow of material and religious culture from as far as South East Asia.3 This remote and incredibly high region is an arid mountain desert with patches of greenery in the areas of settlement along the oases of the Kali Gandaki River bank (see fig. 3).4
The region of Mustang is populated by people of Tibetan origin
known as Lo-pa in the north and the Thakali in the south. In 2011, the total population of Mustang was 13,452 in 3,354 households.5 Those of Tibetan origin are historically linked to Mustang through complex and ancient ethnic migrations. As a landscape and culture of impermanence, it is difficult for anthropologists to fully comprehend how many millennia humans have been present in the Mustang region.
The Sky Kingdom of Lo is divided into two broader cultural
and geographical categories: Lo (Upper Mustang) and Lo-smad (Lower Mustang). The most well-known of its seven settlements is the city of Lo Manthang, which is centered within the medieval walled city known as the Kingdom of Lo.6 These settlements have only modest modernizations pertaining to food production and transportation. Local roads have only just begun to develop since the opening of the restricted area of Upper Mustang for tourists in 1992.7
Being the only fortified city in Nepal, Lo Manthang serves as a
unique testimony to Nepalese medieval history and culture. In addition, it is concentrated with artistic monuments of extraordinary value,
fig. 3, Two chortens adorned with prayer flags overlook a mountainous river valley.20
such as Thubchen and Champa temples, housing some of the most precious 15th century wall paintings in the Himalayas.8
Lo Manthang has been fairly untouched by modernization or
political annexation, it is a precious sanctuary of an otherwise disappearing urban, religious, artistic, and living culture. It is also perhaps the only place that has managed to retain such aspects of Tibetan tangible and intangible heritage in such an integral and authentic way. For these reasons, the medieval earthen walled city of Lo Manthang was submitted to UNESCO for recognition as a World Heritage city, and has been list of tentative sites since 2008.9
The need for the sustained preservation of Lo Manthang is not
only warranted by its tangible cultural heritage of monuments, urban fabric, and landscape, but also by its living traditions of festivals and ceremonies (see fig. 4). The belief systems of the city are an invaluable portrait of a religion and spiritual practice that has helped shape the world. Holistically, the city itself has been molded by religion, as every monument and cultural element are sacred in their nature.10
Life in Lo Manthang functions much as it did over 500 years
ago. However, recent shifts in technology and climate have produced radical effects. In recent years, Lo Manthang has made previously unfounded connections to the modern world vis-Ă -vis construction of a road linking the Koral-la pass on the Chinese border and Jomsom, Nepal. What was once a three-day journey to the city now only takes one for the increasing number of trucks and tourists (see fig. 8) to reach the city.
Inside the walls, the changes are still marginal in terms of urban
morphology and architectural traditions, and much of the city retains
fig. 4, The Tiji Festival takes place in the main square about Dorje Jono, who battles his demon father to save the Kingdom of Mustang from destruction.19
54
its original character (see fig. 6). However, urban development outside
ternational conservation practitioners and performed by newly trained
the walled city has intensified, with more and more houses being built
locals (see fig. 7), the temple was brought back to life. People now come
outside the walls of the city (fig. 5).11
to worship and ceremonies are offered once again, after decades of
abandonment.17
Changes in Urban morphology are in part to blame on cement
trucked in from India. Allowing for fast execution, it is now the pre-
The link between tangible and intangible cultural heritage
ferred material for new constructions of both houses and religious
has to work in both ways—symbiotically.18 By restoring faith in local
structures. This is creating stark discontinuities within the city’s tradi-
heritage values and the revitalization of traditional craft-works, a form
tional architecture and threatens the integrity of Lo Manthang’s built
of cultural agency can be manifested that is far more sustainable than a
heritage. 12 With concrete’s relatively recent arrival to Lo, people are not
future predicated on the values and resources of a foreign culture.
yet aware that it is not suitable for the harsh and extreme climates of the Mustang region. Differences higher than 40°C in temperature between summer and winter cause cycles of freeze/thaw that weaken the new structures. And, compared to traditional earthen building materials it also tends to keep houses colder in winter.13 This is exacerbated by climate change’s effects on the once arid landscape that is now subjected to more rainfalls during the summer. As a result, the traditional flat earthen roofs face increasing water damage, further encouraging the use of concrete for waterproofing (see fig. 5).14
To help preserve the tangible authenticity of Lo Manthang,
steps must be taken to holistically safeguard and stabilize its cultural heritage. Efforts should be focused on the region’s traditional craftsmanship, such as weaving, carpentry, and building techniques. However, an unfortunate obstacle to overcome in preserving Lo Manthang is the reluctance of some of its inhabitants in fostering their own heritage.15 More and more, younger generations see tradition as an obstacle a more developed, modern life. However, development does not have to mean discarding 500 years of transmitted history and practice. On the contrary, a sustainable path to a modern and robust society is a harmonious link from the past to the future. Development, or modernization, without a tangible connection to a cultural past is a superficial path toward losing centuries of collective experience.16
By implementing sustainable conservation practices while
restoring the ruins of urban fabric, the traditions of the Kingdom of Lo may continue to exist. Success has already been realized since restoration of Thubchen temple and its paintings, circa 2013. Fronted by in-
fig. 6, A villager walks his livestock through earthen architecture of Mustang.22
fig. 5, As an enclave Tibetan Buddhist culture, prayer flags adorn the landscape. Juxtaposed is a modern concrete building adjoining two chortens, on the lower left corner. 21
55
Endnotes:
fig. 7, Newly trained locals carry out restoration on Thubchen temple’s murals.24
[Title Image] Hullot, Jean-Marie. Royal Palace in Lo Manthang. October 26, 2014. Photo. https://www.flickr.com/photos/jmhullot/15808430928/. 1 “Snazzy Maps - Free Styles for Google Maps.” Snazzy Maps. Accessed April 24, 2019. http://snazzymaps.com. 2 Ibid. 3 National Geographic. Sky Caves of Nepal, Part 2: The Scientist | Nat Geo Live. Accessed April 22, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1r7e7mhQ8s. 4 Regmi, Umesh. “Conservation of the Tangible and Intangible Cultural Heritage of Upper Mustang.” Accessed April 21, 2019: 5. https://www.academia. edu/8222260/Conservation_of_the_Tangible_and_Intangible_Cultural_Heritage_of_Upper_Mustang. 5 The population of Mustang District as a whole and the ethnic group is taken from: Government of Nepal, Central Bureau of Statistics. 2013. “National Population and Housing Census 2011 (Caste/Ethnicity and language) NPHC 2011”. 6 Regmi, Umesh. 2014. “Conservation of the Tangible and Intangible Cultural Heritage of Upper Mustang.”:5. 7 Ibid. 8 Kitamura, Maie. “‘Lo Manthang Has an Exceptional Value’ Says Maie Kitamura in UNESCO Interview,” August 19, 2013. http://www.unesco.org/new/en/kathmandu/about-this-office/single-view/news/lo_manthang_has_an_exceptional_value_says_maie_kitamur/. 9 UNESCO World Heritage Centre. “Medieval Earthern Walled City of Lo Manthang - Tentative List of World Heritage Nominations.” United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Accessed April 23, 2019. https:// whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5256/. 10 Kitamura, Maie. “‘Lo Manthang Has an Exceptional Value’ Says Maie Kitamura in UNESCO Interview.” August 19, 2013. 11 Ibid. 12 Ibid. 13 Ibid. 14 Ibid. 15 Ibid. 16 Ibid. 17 Ibid. 18 Ibid. 19 Ryan, Jerome. “Upper Mustang, Lo Manthang, and Tiji Festival Photo Gallery.” Accessed April 24, 2019. http://www.mountainsoftravelphotos.com/Mustang/ Main.html. 20 “Lo Manthang.” Accessed April 24, 2019. https://www.ecstatichimalaya.com/ package/lo-manthang-72/. 21 CreditGilles Sabrie for The New York Times in: Wong, Edward. “In Nepal, Buddhists Reconstruct Tibetan Murals.” The New York Times, October 19, 2018, sec. World. https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/24/world/asia/in-nepal-buddhists-reconstruct-tibetan-murals.html. 22 Richards, Cory. “The Ancient Mysteries of Mustang’s Caves,” May 8, 2013. http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20130501-the-ancient-mysteries-of-mustangscaves. 23 Richards, Cory. “The Ancient Mysteries of Mustang’s Caves,” May 8, 2013. http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20130501-the-ancient-mysteries-of-mustangscaves. 24 “Meet Luigi, the Maestro behind the Mural Renaissance in Mustang.” American Himalayan Foundation. Accessed April 24, 2019. https://www.himalayan-foundation.org/blog/2018-10-03-meet-luigi-the-maestro-behind-the-mural-renaissance-in-mustang. 25 Hullot, Jean-Marie. “Exploring Lo Manthang, the Capital of Upper Mustang.” Inside Himalayas, April 23, 2017. https://www.insidehimalayas.com/exploring-lo-manthang-capital-upper-mustang/.
fig. 8, A souvenir shop for pilgrams and tourists in the Heart of Lo Manthang.25
56
15
Hoh Xil 可可西里
ཨ་ཆེན ་གངས་ར ྒ ྱ ལ ། LIN, Xue Fei
Project name: Hoh Xil Location: Qinghai Province, China Keywords: #Cultural_Ownership #Preservation_and_Politics Abstract: The designation of Hoh Xil, a natural landscape in Qinghai Province, China, as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2017 received oppositions from Pro-Tibetan groups who believed the designation would trigger the forced displacement of local Tibetan population and threaten the natural habitat and wildlife. The tension between China and Pro-Tibetan groups reveal the complicated role politics plays in the field of historic preservation.
fig. 1, Tibetan antelopes in Hoh Xil. (Sohu, 2017) fig. 2, Location in East Asia.
57
fig. 3, Location in China
Hoh Xil, or Kekexili in Chinese, is a natural landscape located in
attempt to avoid addressing human rights issues and to free displace-
Qinghai province in mid-west China, in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.
ment of local Tibetan population from UNESCO regulations.7 They
The vast site, as inscribed by UNESCO, covers 3,735,632 ha (14,423.35
argue that displacement of Tibetan nomads has taken place even before
square miles) with a 2,290,904 ha (8,845.23 square miles) buffer zone.
the UNESCO application and is likely to continue after the designa-
The Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau is often referred to as the world’s “Third
tion.8 According to Pro-Tibetan arguments, resettlement policies in
Pole” and encompasses a unique geography with extensive stepped
the area are often forcefully implemented without consultation with
mountains of elevations over 4,500m above sea level. The remarkable
or consent from the local population.9 Such resettlement policies, they
geographic features contribute to extraordinary climatic conditions
argue, force the Tibetan pastoralists to abandon their traditional way of
with sub-zero average temperatures year-round and reaching -45°C
life to adapt to a more urban lifestyle in nearby towns.10 While Hoh Xil
in extreme occasions. Hoh Xil received its designation as a UNESCO
is recognized as a natural landscape, pro-Tibetan groups also argued
World Heritage Site in 2017 for its natural beauty and exceptional bio-
that the UNESCO designation overlooked some scared cultural sites
diversity and ecological system. A significant proportion of plants and
within the defined boundary. 11 They point out that although a pre-des-
wildlife found in Hoh Xil are endemic to the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.
ignation evaluation by the International Union for Conservation of Na-
There are 74 species of vertebrates in Hoh Xil and the site is the home
ture (IUCN) acknowledged Hoh Xil’s cultural significance and recog-
to 40% of the world’s Tibetan antelope and 50% of the world’s wild yak.1
nized its intimate linkage with the site’s nature conservation values, the
Despite Hoh Xil’s significance as a natural habitat, the site involves a
nomination did not expand its scope to impose additional conditions
sensitive political dispute that challenges human rights and UNESCO
and planning strategies.12
values behind its designation. According to UNESCO, the lack of mod-
Resistance from pro-Tibetan groups also raised concern that an exist-
ern human activities and inaccessibility to Hoh Xil, in addition to its
ing engineering corridor would impose threat on Hoh Xil’s wildlife.
extreme climatic conditions, was a major factor that contributed to the
The Qinghai Tibet Engineering Corridor (QTEC) contains the only
protection of the site’s natural integrity.2 China has long been adopting
railway connecting the inland with Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR)
similar narrative in the representation of Hoh Xil and the site is com-
and a major highway. Opposition points out that although the UN-
monly accepted as “no man’s land”. However, when Hoh Xil received
ESCO nomination recognizes the challenge the railway imposes, the
its UNESCO designation in 2017, protests sparked from pro-Tibetan
impact is only defined as being four km (2.5 miles) wide, despite the
groups who believe designation would trigger forced displacement
250 km (155 miles) running through Hoh Xil.13 Pro-Tibetan views ar-
of local Tibetan population and disrupt the protection of wildlife.3
gue that the mapping of the World Heritage area establishes a political
Pro-Tibetan views argue that Tibetan nomads have had pastoralist
boundary that deliberately excludes UNESCO from regulating human
activities in Hoh Xil for centuries and their involvement offers steward-
activities within the corridor.14 Despite that argument, the Chinese gov-
ship for sustaining Hoh Xil’s ecosystem.4 China’s nomination proposal,
ernment has also always acknowledged the challenges imposed by the
according to Pro-Tibetan arguments, requires UNESCO committee
Qinghai Tibet railway and highway. Special corridors were designed to
to acknowledge pastoral land use as a threat for the protection of the
facilitate the migration of Tibetan antelopes. The UNESCO nomination
natural landscape.5 China’s nomination recognizes grazing and nomad-
suggests that the Tibetan antelopes and other species were able to adapt
ic activities as a major pressure on the pristine ecosystem of Hoh Xil as
to the changes quickly with the facilitating plans and no evidence of
they raise incidences of human-wildlife conflicts.6 Pro-Tibetan groups
adverse impact on migration patterns has been yet found.15 Monitoring
believe China’s depiction of Hoh Xil as “no man’s land” is a deliberate
the impact of traffic and construction development is, nevertheless, a
fig. 4, Tibetan antelope in Hoh Xil during the winter.
58
major consideration in UNESCO’s management plan for Hoh Xil.
tion between culture and nation. While the mission of UNESCO aims
Hoh Xil and the Qinghai province that it situates within are part of the
to recognize World Heritage Sites that embody universal values, its
autonomous territory claimed by the Tibetan government in exile. The
decisions can often be interpreted to reinforce or undermine political
tension between PRC and the Tibetan government in exile involving
stances. While the influence of politics is evitable in making preserva-
contested territory and sovereignty has long been a sensitive political
tion decisions, it should not become the determinant force. It prompts
controversy on the international level. The UNESCO nomination was
international organizations such as UNESCO to exclude itself from
interpreted by pro-Tibetan groups as PRC’s anti-Tibetan efforts. The
political controversy and develop an approach that separate culture
complicated political situation in the case of Hoh Xil pushes historic
from strict national boundaries. Although UNESCO carefully indicates
preservation beyond its boundary as a public good and raises a theoret-
on its official page for Hoh Xil’s that the nomination and appendices
ical question pertaining to the field: although the Tibetan government
are submitted by the State Party and do not reflect UNESCO’s opinion
in exile do not have territorial ownership, do they still own the heritage
or commitment to the proposed plans, how to adopt a more neutral,
and associated sites? When preservation is introduced into political
cultural-based approach to the designation, interpretation, and repre-
discussions, it can often become a tool for making a political statement.
sentation of world heritage sites should continue to be an important
Culture, which is of the utmost significance to the field of preservation,
consideration.
encompasses a much broader scale than the notion of nations. How-
ever, as nations attempt to create a certain national image or political statement, “culture”, the most intangible value of society, can be highly constructed. The questions largely concern with how we define heritage association, who actually owns heritage, whose values are represented, and who are responsible for the preservation of such heritage. Hoh Xil was designated a provincial nature reserve in 1996 and was elevated to the national level in 1997 by the State Council. In 2001, the Hoh Xil National Nature Reserve forestry PSB was founded for the management of legal affairs associated with the site.16 The UNESCO management plan of Hoh Xil explicitly recognize the pastoralism of local Tibetan nomads as a major challenge and aims to encourage Tibetan nomads to gradually transition to a more urban lifestyle.17 Pro-Tibetan groups, however, continue to condemn the lack of participation of local Tibetans in the management planning and the ongoing relocation of Tibetan populations to Lhasa. The displacement of Tibetan populations in Hoh Xil and other natural reserves around Qinghai and Tibet are often termed “ecological relocations” that are intended for the protection of natural landscapes and wildlife. Hoh Xil presents the complication politics introduce to the field of historic preservation. The underlying challenge points to the distinc-
fig. 5, Train passing through Hoh Xil on the Qinghai-Tibet railway. (Vision China Group, 2016)
59
fig. 6, A conservator taking care of Tibetan antelopes in Hoh Xil.
Endnotes 1 “Qinghai Hoh Xil,” UNESCO, accessed April 23, 2019, https://whc.unesco.org/ en/list/1540/. 2 “Qinghai Hoh Xil.” 3 “Nomads in ‘no man’s land’: China’s nomination for UNESCO World heritage risks imperilingTibetans and wildlife,” International Campaign for Tibet, last modified June 30, 2017. https://www.savetibet.org/ nomads-in-no-mans-land-chinas-nomination-for-unesco-world-heritage-risks-imperilling-tibetans-and-wildlife/. 4 “Nomads in ‘no man’s land.” 5 “Nomads in ‘no man’s land.” 6 “World Heritage Nomination: Qinghai Hoh Xil,” The Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of The People’s Republic of China, 2016. Accessed April 23, 2019. 7 “Nomads in ‘no man’s land.” 8 “Nomads in ‘no man’s land.” 9 “Nomads in ‘no man’s land.” 10 “Nomads in ‘no man’s land.” 11 “Nomads in ‘no man’s land.” 12 “Nomads in ‘no man’s land.” 13 “Nomads in ‘no man’s land.” 14 “Nomads in ‘no man’s land.” 15 “World Heritage Nomination: Qinghai Hoh Xil.” 16 “World Heritage Nomination: Qinghai Hoh Xil Management Plan,” The Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of The People’s Republic of China, 2016. Accessed April 23, 2019. 17 “World Heritage Nomination: Qinghai Hoh Xil Management Plan.”
60
16
Bagan Temple, Myanmar ပဂ ု ံဗ မ ိ ာနျ တျ ေ ာမ န ြ ်မ ာ Jyotsna NAGA Project name: Effect of Human Rights on Heritage Policy and Practice, Bagan Location: Mandalay Region, Myanmar Year Built: 11th -13th Century Built By: Pagan Kingdom Original Use: Cultural and Religious Site Keywords: #humanrights #socialjustice #worldheritagenomination #worldheritagesite #unesco #bagan #myanmar #tourism #humanrights violation #birthrights #displacement #conservation #restoration Abstract: The site has been subjected to cataclysmic episodes of repeated earthquakes of which the largest being the 1975 quake. Many structures fell apart during this time. Then on, this archaeological site has received much attention from international organizations and the year 1995 saw major ramifications undertaken through restoration and reconstruction endeavors. With Bagan having geared itself towards World Heritage Nomination 2018, through this case study, would like to unravel the challenges this site faces with Human Rights and Social Justice, leading to Poverty, Displacement, Dislocation and understanding the phenomenon of ‘Conservation Gentrification’. fig. 1, Hot air balloons flying over the temples of Bagan, Myanmar, March 2017. Credit: Minzayar Oo for The New York Times fig. 2, Location in Asia.
61
fig. 3, Location in Myanmar
In the Mandalay region of central Myanmar, east of the Ayeyarwady river, sits an ancient city and capital of the former Pagan Kingdom, Bagan. Bagan’s Archaeological Zone reached its peak between the 11th – 13th century. It encompasses hundred square kilometers of around 10,000 historical structures of which less than 3000 remain as on today1. The World Heritage Nomination of Bagan has brought about developmental related concerns that marginalizes issues related to human rights and social justice. In the process of protecting the monuments, forced relocations and displacements are causing discomfort and increasing poverty levels in the region. It is gentrification in a way, where conservation efforts are the driving factors towards displacement. There seems to be a visible disconnect between Human Rights and Conservation Research, Policy and Practice2. Since the impact of Human Rights is not covered in World Heritage Conservation framework, this discourse addresses the complexities and challenges when it comes to entrenched Ethics, Practices and its associated aftermaths on Social Justice. World Heritage sites world over are facing concerns with respect to social inequalities. By preparing Bagan for a World Heritage status, it engenders contentious discussions and raises discernable questions on human rights, conservation, equitable development and social justice of the indigenous populace. Communities around monuments add to the cultural landscape, religious activity and thence intangible heritage
fig. 4, Tourists in e-Bikes. Credit: Minzayar Oo for The New York Times
of a region. When they are excluded from it, the alienation dislodges them of their cultural and religious birth rights and intern devaluates its intangible quotient. Although it is a known fact that active religious sites receive criticism as they are non-compliant with International Conservation Standards, critically analyzing lacunas may help decipher ‘Rights’ related conundrums. The history of Bagan entailed an incompetent military rule and week International connections in the past. This resulted in poor tourism percolation, curbing the otherwise potential economic development; however, with a neo-democratic government in 20113, tourism levels have risen from 792,000 in 2010 to 4.7 Million in 2015 and is expected to increase to 7.9 Million by 2020 4. With poverty being a major concern in Bagan, as per UN, 1986 ‘Declaration on the Right to Development’, subscribes equal socio-cultural-political-economic opportunity benefits to all, until freedom is achieved 5. If tourism infiltration can bring about economic freedom, then it is deemed as a cognizant framework towards fostering human rights development. However, tourism has its merits and demerits as one cannot ascertain as to what extent it can alleviate poverty. For example, only two percent of the proceedings6 of the entrance ticket of US $20 goes towards the maintenance of the site, which does not necessarily help with the current problems in the region. Non-transparency in governance, corruption in proceedings and threats from other emerging neighboring economies are some of the key factors that debilitate economic progression in Bagan 7. The mitigation plan developed by the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism 2013, is to ensure socio-economic benefits from tourism fig. 5, Horse carts carrying foreign tourists. Credit: Minzayar Oo for The New York Times
62
be distributed equally 8. All of this is dependent on the impetus with which the government of Myanmar steams towards appropriation and rightful functioning of the policies devised 9. It is to be understood that Heritage and Tourism go hand in hand and hence the complexity of human rights violations with respect to poverty, inequality and impact of capitalistic markets are deep-rooted global concerns. World Heritage nomination of Bagan does not come with a disclaimer to eliminate these problems 10. Concerns with tourism and human rights continue to be an unresolved area where exploitation, child labor and ingrained poverty cannot be mitigated without working with other actors in tandem. In 1990, the government ordered 5000 people to relocate from Old Bagan to New Bagan (4 km away) 11. Some people considered this as a human rights violation while some were happy with the compensation received. In 2007, a document released by the UN Human Rights Council talks about permissibility of Development based Evictions and Displacements based on ‘exceptional circumstances’ as a criterion that oversees general welfare, fairness and reasonable compensation for the people while safeguarding the ‘Outstanding Universal Value’ of the site. Such deliberations are essential in conserving the architectural material, archaeological ruins and integrity of the landscape. Although the underlying guidelines are not crystal clear, the ambiguity continues to prevail universally. The implication of eviction and developmental restriction owing to World Heritage Nomination has negative implication on the livelihood, economics and land rights of the people, further inducing poverty as unskilled people find no other means to sustain themselves e.g. Angkor Wat. Contrarily, it aids in the conservation of cultural and spiritual rights of the people. In conclusion, as we touch upon the significance of Human Rights, as Architects, Anthropologists, Sociologists, Archaeologists and Historians, it is imperative that we address not just the ‘Tangible’ aspects of conservation but also look through the lenses of ‘Intangible’ heritage via. human rights and social justice to curb violations inflicted upon
fig. 7, Restoration at earthquake damaged Pyathat Gyi Temple. Credit: Minzayar Oo
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fig. 6, Restoration of Thatbyinnyu Temple. Credit: Minzayar Oo
people, directly or indirectly. This will ensure a well girdled sustain able narrative as opposed to a parochial one. With the right legal framework, conservation endeavors can go a long way in addressing and ameliorating people’s grievances of fundamental rights to overall wellbeing. Although existing frameworks continue to remain ambivalent in the given construct, it is upto us to redefine conservation in a way where it is not curtailed to the fabric of monuments and sites, but is perceived beyond.
Endnotes 1 Pichard, P 2013, ‘Today’s Pagan: conservation under the generals’, in M Falser & M Juneja (eds), “Archaeologizing” Heritage? Transcultural Entanglements between Local Social Practices and Global Virtual Realities, Springer-Verlag, Berlin-Heidelberg:, pp. 235–249. 2 Kraak, Anne Laura. 2017. “Impediments to a Human Rights-Based Approach to Heritage Conservation: The Case of Bagan, Myanmar.” International Journal of Cultural Policy. https://doi.org/10.1080/10286632.2015.1066782. 3 UNWTO 2016. Tourism Highlights, 2016 Edition. http://www.e-unwto.org/doi/ pdf/10.18111/9789284418145 Accessed 24/10/16. 4 Ministry of Hotels and Tourism 2013. Myanmar: Tourism Master Plan 20132020. Nay Pyi Taw: Ministry of Hotels and Tourism http://www.myanmartourism.org/images/handbooks/myanmar-tourism-master-plan-english-version.pdf Accessed 24/10/16. 5 Ebbe, K, Licciardi, G & Baeumier, A 2011. Conserving the past as a foundation for the future:China-World Bank partnership on cultural heritage conservation, World Bank, Washington DC. Samuels, KL 2010, ‘Material heritage and poverty reduction’, in S Labadi & C Long (eds), Heritage and globalisation, Routledge, Abindgon, Oxon, pp. 202–217. Starr, F 2012, ‘Poverty alleviation through World Heritage conservation: encouraging corporate partnerships at Temple of Preah Khan, Angkor’, in M-T Albert, M Richon, MJ Viñals & A Witcomb (eds), Community Development through World Heritage, UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Paris, pp. 100–106. Throsby, D 2012, Investment in urban heritage: economic impacts of cultural heritage projects in FYR Macedonia and Georgia. Urban development series; knowledge papers no.16, World Bank, Washington DC. Timothy, DJ & Nyaupane, GP 2009, Cultural heritage and tourism in the developing world: a regional perspective, Routledge, Abingdon, Oxon. 6 Hampton, MP 2005, ‘Heritage, local communities and economic development’, Annals of Tourism Research, vol. 32, no. 3, pp. 735–759. 7 See http://www.transparency.org/country/MMR Accessed 11/5/17 8 Ministry of Hotels and Tourism 2013. Myanmar: Tourism Master Plan 20132020. Nay Pyi Taw: Ministry of Hotels and Tourism http://www.myanmartourism.org/images/handbooks/myanmar-tourism-master-plan-english-version.pdf Accessed 24/10/16, p. i) 9 Ministry of Hotels and Tourism 2013. Myanmar: Tourism Master Plan 20132020. Nay Pyi Taw: Ministry of Hotels and Tourism http://www.myanmartourism.org/images/handbooks/myanmar-tourism-master-plan-english-version.pdf Accessed 24/10/16, p. 20) 10 UN 1948. Universal Declaration of Human Rights. http://www.un.org/en/universaldeclaration-human-rights/ Accessed 24/10/16. 11 Hudson, B 2008, ‘Restoration and reconstruction of monuments at Bagan (Pagan), Myanmar (Burma), 1995-2008’, World Archaeology, vol. 40, no. 4, pp. 553–571.
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17
Maijishan Grottoes 麦积山石窟
ZHANG, Yujia Project name: Maijishan Grottoes Location: Tianshui,Gansu, China Year Built: Construction began in the Later Qin era (384–417 CE) Original Use: Used in Buddhist ceremonies Current Use: Tourist attractions Abstract: As one of the four caves in China, Maijishan Grottoes was built starting at Late Qin are at 384 to 417CE, located at Tianshui, Gansu Province in northwest China. It has a very ancient history and rich Buddhist culture. The grottoes are famous for their beautiful clay sculptures and are known as the “Oriental sculpture hall.” Compare with other three great caves were nominate by world cultural heritage center, Maijishan Grottoes was not taken seriously because Maijishan Grottoes is one of the groups of 33 sites in the “silk road corridor” listed on the world heritage and the geographical remoteness. Though these we can know that Maijishan grottoes are not as famous as the previous three grottoes. Therefore, the maintenance of the grottoes was not taken seriously, and climate affect and tourism influence cause many injuries to the Buddha statue.
Fig. 1, Front of Maijishan Grottoes. Fig. 2,China
65
Fig. 3,Tianshui,Guizhaou,China
Maijishan Grottoes was located at Tianshui, Gansu Province in northwest China. Majishan, also called Maiji Mountain, Maiji in Chinese
Maijishan Grottoes is unique evidence exists in the Silk Road.
Since Han dynasty, The silk road has been seen not only the many cam-
called stack of wheat, because of the shape looks like Stack of wheat, therefore the mountain called Maiji Mountain or MaijiShan. The grottoes are carved on the cliffs of the mountains in the southwest, south,
el teams and the merchants from western to do the business in Ancient China but also seen the movement from monks who are come from the country from the west. Those people are the witness of the Silk Road,
and southeast. The trestle road along cliff connect the hundreds of caves. In A.D 405, Yao Xing, who is the emperor of the later Qin dynasty, he invited the eminent monk kumaros to chang ‘an to build a vast grottoes on the land of the later Qin dynasty. Yao Xing set up the location at the southeast of Qinzhou which is the ancient name of Tianshui. The early stage grotto Buddha statue took years to build. Over a dozen dynasties, even the yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties later were continued to construction. After finished, there are vast numbers of Buddhist devotees came in to pay their respects to the Buddha in their minds.
1
even though the Maiji Mountain’s Buddha, we can find the Buddha culture from western and China. 2
Also, Maijishan grottoes are one of the representatives of
ancient Chinese grotto art, which has been preserved relatively intact compare other grottoes. Therefore it can reveal the development of Buddhist statues and Buddhist art in different dynasty. There are 221 numbered caves in Maijishan grottoes, which preserve more than 7,800 sculptures of different styles and characteristics from different periods in Ancient Chinese history. The northern Wei dynasty was the peak time to build the Buddha statue, and we can find many Northern Wei
dynasty art styles in many Buddha Status. Because Maijishan rock is a conglomerate composed of red earth and sand, only niches can be carved, not statues. Therefore, the statues in Maijishan grottoes are clay sculptures. The decline of the Maijishan grottoes
In the 22nd year of kaiyuan in the Tang dynasty (AD 734),
a 7.0-magnitude earthquake hit qindi, which caused the collapse of a large area of cliff body in the central part of Maiji Mountain. The mountain was divided into east and west cliffs, and sculptures and murals were damaged to varying degrees. Since the Qing dynasty, Maijishan grottoes almost no one cares. Therefore a large number of Buddhist statues in Maiji mountain are well preserved.
Until now, the climate influence and tourism effect, deeply
break the balance of the environment of the Maijishan Grottoes. Under the harm of nature and people made, how we can save the precious Fig. 4,Full view of Miji Mountain
sculpture, that is the challenge for protactor from Maiji Mountain.
Fig. 5,The Maijishan Grottoes along the cliff
66
Due to the influence of water seepage, most of the caves have
Maiji mountain grottoes which are open-air niches to bring a conser-
been damaged to varying degrees. To effectively alleviate the water
vation problem. Due to the influence of factors such as water seepage,
seepage in the grotto cracks, since 2003, Maijishan grotto art research
environmental humidity, and pests, most of the grottoes are now in the
institute invested more than 1 million yuan in implementing the water
state of sculpture defects and peeling murals.4
seepage treatment project.3 The harm of water seepage to the grottoes is mainly manifested in four
Because the water seepage after precipitation, the clay sculp-
aspects:
tures in the caves are getting aged, decayed and broken. And The
First, water seepage in the grotto increases the humidity, re-
increasing number of visitors puts great pressure on the protection of
sulting in accelerated weathering of stone carvings in the grotto and
cultural heritage. These disturbances are threatening their existence.
peeling of murals. Second, water seepage in the grotto directly endan-
The seepage of many caves has become an urgent problem, according
gers the bottom mud skin and mud statue of the mural, resulting in the
to the report from preservation research office of the Maijishan grot-
disintegration and falling off of the mud status skin. Third, long-term
toes art research institute said, the maijishan grottoes are located at the
seepage causes the weathering speed of rocks in the seepage site to
edge of the forest region at the western end of the qinling mountains,
intensify, which makes the cultural relic layer in the cave lose its depen-
with an average annual rainfall of about 800 to 1,000 millimeters and
dence and causes the sloughing or collapse of clay sculpture , Fourth,
an average yearly humidity of about 90 percent. This gives most of the
long-term weathering will gradually destroy the stability of the rocks around the caves and the cliff face where the caves are located. 5
The way that conservators protect the heritage is that the grotto
is protected by a sturdy barbed wire fence, as opposed to regular museum glass. Because the local climate in tianshui is humid, and clay figurines are very sensitive to humidity. If protected by glass, the water in the grottoes will not quickly evaporate after rain. The caves are made of barbed wire, which prevents birds from damaging the clay sculptures and ensures that moisture is evaporated quickly after heavy rains.
Beside the water seepage, this heritage brings huge tourism rev-
enue to the region, but they are victims of economic development due to overdevelopment and inadequate protection. Many world heritage sites are threatened by uncontrolled tourism and excessive tourism development. In the absence of a strict legal system, tourists fail to realize the importance of heritage conservation.
In the Maijishan Grotto, we can fund many Black traces of in-
Fig. 6, Masterpiece of cave architecture – The Maijishan Grottoes. Gansu Province,
cense burned by visitors on the ceiling of the grottoes, because Tour-
China.
ists pray to the Buddha statue. And many visitors are surprised in the beautiful buddhist sculpture and wall painting, they use their hand to
Fig. 7, Maiji mountain grottoes in winter
67
Endnotes experience the beautiful art cause many damages to the caves. To prevent theft and damage by tourists, the management of the Maiji
1 2
Mountain selected the small and medium-sized grottoes with small mesh iron gate to lock and seal them. It makes the visitor hard to take
3
photos, and some even have obstacles to watch. But it is not a good
4
way to solve the tourism problem. Limited tourism carrying capacity and adequately manage the open areas is essential for Majishan Grotto.
5
Ugc. (2011, August 15). The Astounding Maijishan Grottoes. Retrieved from https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/maijishan-grottoes The Incredible Maijishan Grottoes An Unknown Gem In China. (2018, April 10). Retrieved from https://www.unusualtraveler.com/tianshui-maijishan-grottoes 2006.8.20, Tainshui newspaper, http://www.tianshui.com.cn/news/tianshui/2006080219463243151.htm Maijishan Grottoes. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.travelchinaguide.com/ attraction/gansu/lanzhou/maiji.htm 2009.9.18, Tainshui newspaper, http://www.tianshui.com.cn/news/tianshui/2006080219463243151.htm
And educated the visitors about how to protect the caves when they watch it. Although tourists’ awareness of cultural relics protection has been increasing, We always need to prevent and control the human influence on the statues in the grottoes.
In the past, salvage protection was the primary way to protect
cultural relics, and preventive protection was playing an increasingly important role. Ues technology to forecast weather and number of visitors can help us to manage tourism. Scientifically the analysis is facing the risk of natural and human-made factors, the use of the Internet of things technology and sensor technology, to do the data analysis, risk monitoring, integrated forecasting, early warning, and timely processing. The five steps can help Maijishan grottoes by early warning monitoring and early warning system of early detection, statues, carved stone body and subtle changes in the environment, analysis of the mechanism of these diseases, and to implement measures as soon as possible, the Maijishan grottoes dynamic monitoring and information management.
Maijishan grottoes are not only the Chinese Buddhist art trea-
sure but also is precious religious and cultural heritage in the process of human civilization, the relevant planning of scientific and effective management and protection is also our responsibility and obligation, to manage and protect the maijishan grottoes.
68
18
North Kowloon Magistracy 北九龍裁判法院
WU, Chongke Project name: North Kowloon Magistracy Location: Hong Kong, China Year built: 1960 Type: Grade II Historic Building Original use: Magistracy court Current use: The Savannah College of Art and Design(Hong Kong) Keywords: Rehabilitation; Value enhancement; Background: The North Kowloon Magistracy is a historic building. The building was erected in 1960. It was closed in 2005 due to cost saving policy of the government and consolidation of magistracie.1 In February 2009, the government declared that the building will be converted into the Hong Kong campus of the Savannah College of Art and Design. It has opened in Septembaer 2010. aNorth Kowloon Magistracy is featured by the Neo-classical architecture and Stripped Classicism, a form of neo-classicism from which most of the traditional mouldings, ornament and details have been elided, visually emphasizing the structural and proportional systems. The Magistracy building is the only surviving example of this building type and therefore can be considered as a rarity.2 fig. 1, photograph of the North Kowloon Magistracy. fig. 2, Location in East Asian.
69
fig. 3, Location in China.
In the 1990s, the Hong Kong Antiquities and Monuments Office, the
After the “Revitalization Program” was launched, the committee re-
Historical Committee and “the Historic Sites Regulations” were suc-
ceived a total of 21 institutions’ applications. After many discussions
cessively established and promulgated. Hong Kong’s historic heritage
and research, the Savannah College of Art and Design finally obtained
protection changed from a small number of amateur and academic
the right to use this building as its Hong Kong branch. It is hoped that
practices to projects involving government and professional academic
this conversion will drive the development of Hong Kong’s art and the
institutions.3 Since then, Hong Kong has adopted a historical building
development of its community. This private colledge from the United
grading system similar to that of the United Kingdom. According to
States planed to open its first Asian campus in Hong Kong. It will pro-
the value of the heritage, the Antiquities and Monuments Office de-
vide the college degree or above to train local talents in Hong Kong and
fines it as a statutory monument, a tentative monument, and a his-
it also had a wealth of experience in revitalization program. All cam-
torical building rated as Grade I, Level 2 and Level 3. The statutory
puses are converted from historic buildings. When the architects of the
monuments are legally binding and cannot be arbitrarily destroyed or
college visited the North Kowloon Magistracy, they had already noticed
changed without the permission of the supervisor. The rating is only
the spatial form and the artistic potential of the community environ-
used as an internal guideline and is not legally binding. The protection
ment. Therefore, the design of the rehabilitation not only preserved the
of historical buildings in Hong Kong during this period was mainly
original historical value of the court, but also focused on excavating the
based on the assessment of historic buildings. The main task was to
artistic and social values embodied in the the court and its community.
assess and classify ahistorical value protection without extensive reuse practices.4
Because it was a magistrate’s court, there are some special spaces in the exterior and interior space, such as courts and interrogation rooms,
In 2008, the Hong Kong government launched the “Revitalising His-
and the hexagonal stairs and foyer outside the gate are also very dis-
toric Buildings Through Partnership Scheme” seeking adaptive reuse
tinctive, giving people a serious impression. Therefore, the architect’s
of government-owned historic buildings. The goal is not only to make
proposed rehabilitation scheme runs through a basic strategy, which
good use of architectural heritage, but also to create new cultural land-
will retain these special spaces but change their cold and serious style
marks or economic carriers through the rehabilitation of these build-
to show the public its unique characteristics. In the design, after careful
ing heritage, to provide new vitality for urban development. For those
analysis and transformation, the architect gives the original building
building heritages whose value is not very prominent, how to enhance
space new functions. The first court was used for the exhibition; the
their value, not just to preserve or restore its value, is a question that
other courts were changed to classrooms; the dining hall was turned
must be considered in the revitalization of the architectural heritage. As
into an art gallery; the prisoner’s column was connected to the prison,
the first completed “revitalization heritage”, the North Kowloon Mag-
and they were changed to the activity rooms and office rooms; the place
istratracy provided an answer to explore ways to enhance the value of
where the fine was paid was changed to the library and opened to the
building heritage.
community; The scheme requires that all the original walls, decoration, equipment and architectural features should be preserved as much
fig.4, the North Kowloon Magistracy under rehabilitation.
70
as possible. The public and user routes should be simple, and various
these rehabilitation are: First, in the use of resources, the public partic-
art items should be set along the corridor to let the public feel the old
ipation in the process of protection and regeneration of architectural
environment and make the building interior space and the character
heritage is strengthened, the public’s attention to architectural heritage
of the college echo each other. The new magistracy formed a stronger
is raised, and the resources of all parties are more rationally utilized.
modern art atmosphere, which is in line with the personality of the art
Secondly, in the design of the project, considering the social needs,
college. These changes to the original space has increased the appeal
building structure, spatial form and other conditions, the new func-
and affinity of the magistracy.
tions suitable for historic buildings are selected by the government and public to activate them, and the characteristics of historic buildings are
Cases of such rehabilitation in the “Revitalising Historic Buildings
regarded as new historical and cultural resources and artistic resources.
Through Partnership Scheme� include the Jockey Club Creative Arts
In order to enhance the attraction of the region, promote the develop-
Centre (Shek Kip Mei Factory Building), the Mei Ho House Youth Hos-
ment of the region, and through the reconstruction, the architectural
tel (the only remaining public housing estate) and the Tai O Cultural
heritage that did not have a very high historical value will become a
Relics. Hotels, etc. (Old Tai O Police Station), etc. The characteristics of
new landmark.
fig.5, The prison cells were transformed into an office and activity room. fig.6, some courts were changed to classrooms
71
epilogue: Since the 1970s, the practice of urban architectural heritage conservation in Hong Kong has gone through four phases: protection – conservation and activation – value enhancement – historical re-creation. Through nearly 40 years of practice, the content and scope of urban building heritage preservation in Hong Kong has gradually expanded,
Endnotes 1 Anquities and Monuments Office, Leisure and Cultural Services Department. “Introduction to 1444 Historic Buildings”, p.338 Archived 11 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine 2 Conserve and Revitalise Hong Kong Heritage - North Kowloon Magistracy Resource Kit 3 田恒德 “作为未来发展资源的香港都市遗产” World Architecture, 2007.10 4 Siu King Chung, Laurence Liauw. “Review of built heritage conservation controversies in Hong Kong”. World Architecture, 2007.10
and the concepts and techniques have been continuously enriched, and the understanding of urban architectural heritage has been deepened. Through the implementation of a series of new projects, including “conservation-activation”, “Revitalising Historic Buildings Through Partnership Scheme”, etc., the preservationists no longer stick to the dogma-style preservation concept, but make full use of the history resources and social resources of the city to protect and reshape urban fabrics. People become pay more attention to the values, lifestyles and environmental needs of modern people and toexpressing respect for history in a concise, clear modern way or even a reversible approach, although in a different way, is to find a more reasonable way to integrate the old and new preservation systems. Although Hong Kong has paid more and more attention to the protection of architectural heritage in recent years, there are still many unreasonable and imperfect aspects due to its late start. In the preservation of traditional dwellings, rural areas are weak; there are no restrictions on the use and development of the surrounding areas of historic buildings in the regional planning, resulting in the isolation of historic buildings in high-rise buildings; in the grading system, some historic buildings other than legal monuments are not protected by law, resulting in the destruction of a large number of historic buildings. China mainland urban construction is entering a period of rapid development. The situation is similar to that of Hong Kong in the 1970s and 1980s. Hong Kong’s experience and lessons should have certain reference value for the sustainable development of cities in China.
fig.7, Special stairs
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19
“Kinmen 831”, Military Brothel 金門八三一特約茶室
SUNG, Di Project name: “Kinmen 831”, a Cold War Military Brothel Location: Kinmen County (Quemoy), Taiwan Original Use: Kinmen Contract Teahouse, Xiao-Jing Branch Years in Use: 1950’s - 1990’s Current Use: Exhibition Hall, Kinmen National Park Keywords: #Cold_war #Gender #Military_prostitutes Abstract: After the Communist Party won the Chinese Civil War, the Nationalist Party retreated to Taiwan across the Strait. The Nationalist lost the Continental China but still controls some islands along the Chinese coast, Matsu Islands, Kinmen Islands (Quemoy) and Penghu Islands (Pescadores) , until today. In the Cold War era, these islands were heavily stationed with military personnel. The infiltration spiked the gender ratio on the islands. The government established military brothels to mitigate hooliganism caused by impetuous soldiers. The Nationalist government recruited women to “service for their country.” Today, half a decade later, their means have yet to be thoroughly examined rectified by the mass public.
fig. 1, Courtyard of the Exhibitional Hall, former Xiao-jing Branch. (Huang, ChienHsien) fig. 2, Location in East Asia.
73
fig. 3, Location in Taiwanese Strait.
Political Background: In 1945, The Second World War ended with the Axis Power Imperial Japan ceding its colony, island of Taiwan to the Allies Power Nationalist China. In 1949-50, Communist China, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) regime, was established, and took over Continental China. Simultaneously, Nationalist China, the Republic of China (ROC) regime, retreated to its newly-acquired territory, Taiwan, across Taiwanese Strait, and held onto several groups of smaller islands in between. There are three clusters of islands, Penghu Islands, which situated right in the middle of China (PRC) and Taiwan (ROC); Kinmen Islands (also known as Quemoy in Hokkien) and Matsu Islands. Both Kinmen and Matsu are immediately adjacent to Chinese coastline. Kinmen Islands (Quemoy), are right next to Xiamen (Amoy), a major coastal city in Fujian Province of China (PRC). After 1949, the Kinmen Islands bore most of the battles between China (PRC) and Taiwan (ROC). The most prominent conflicts were the Battle of Guningtou (1949), September 3rd Artillery Bombardment/First Taiwanese Strait
fig. 4, historic photos of soldiers firing bombs in the trench.
Crisis (1954-1955), and August 23rd Artillery Bombardment/Second Taiwanese Strait Crisis (1958). The Cold War between China (PRC) and Taiwan (ROC) unofficially began two months after the August 23rd Artillery Bombardment in 1958, when China (PRC) decided to deescalate and only symbolically bombard Kinmen every other day. This ceremonial bombardment lasted for two decades until China (PRC) fired toward Kinmen for the very last time in 1978. Contract Teahouses: In 1949, Chiang Kai-Shek, the president of Nationlist China, conducted one of the greatest migration in history. He retreated about 1.3 millions of Chinese to Taiwan, where the population was only 6.5 millions before 1949. The Chinese spoke Mandarin and other Chinese languages, but the Taiwanese only spoke Hokkien and Japanese. Such a sudden increase of almost 20% in population, with the language barriers, lead to rough assimilation. The majority of the new immigrants were young soldiers. The population and gender disproportion was significant in Taiwan. The population discrepancies were most severe on Kinmen
fig. 5, historic photos of officials coming out from a contract teahouse.
and Matsu. There were 50,000 military personnel deployed on Kinmen in the early 1950’s, living in civilian housing mostly. In order to prevent the harassments of locals, means were employed, including strict boundaries between military and civilians, and the business of military brothels countrywide. The earliest documentation of brothels on Kinmen dates back to 1930s.1 However, for the military brothels established by Taiwan (ROC) , they were only allowed under the now-abolished Prostitution Man-
agement Act, a new law since 1950’s. The first and main military brothel in Kinmen opened in 1951. Additional branches opened across Kinmen soon after. These military brothels were officially named “military
paradises”, and later rebranded as “contract teahouses” in euphemism. The soldiers colloquially referred to them as “831”, coining from the pager code of the vulgar term for female genitals.2 The contract teahouses were administrated by ROC Army’s Kinmen Defense Command and civilian businessmen jointly. According to the Act and following regulations, the military prostitutes were recruited fig. 6, current entrance of the exhibition hall. (Huang, Chien-Hsien)
74
fig. 7, aerial view of Qionglin Village, 10 minutes drive from the Exhibitional Hall. (Tseng, Yi-Jen)
mainly from Taiwan proper rather than locally in Kinmen. Ironical-
governmental publication that challenged the universal injustice of the
ly the recruitment office, named Jianghuai Travel Agency, is located
military brothels.
on Xiamen Street in Taipei City.3 In the regulation, it appeared to be
A quarter area of Kinmen was designated as the 6th Taiwanese Na-
well-organized: regular medical examination, military-style manage-
tional Park in 1995, for its Fujian style traditional villages, battlefield
ment, internal merit system, stipend and bonus for relocation and
cultural landscapes and other historic monuments. 15 years after the
attendance, etc.4 In the publication from official military reports, the
inauguration of the National Park, one of the former contract teahouse
workers were thoroughly vetted and respected by the administration.
branches, Xiao-jing Branch, was included in the Nation Park with a
The workers were able to terminate the contract at their wish. However,
plaque saying “Military Brothel Exhibition Hall.”
according to oral history and interviews, suggesting that there were un-
Both in the governmental publication and the exhibition hall signage
derage workers, domestic compulsion, financial hardship among other
generalized the history of the site. There is a blank from individual
unspeakable reasons to join the institution.5 Moreover, some were ille-
documentation for the public to access, and due to such negligence, it
gal prostitutes caught by the police, and working at contract teahouses
is not advocated by the mass public to facilitate issues to be discussed
was the only option besides prosecution. In contract teahouses, the
in a national-level platform. Taiwanese do advocate against the Japa-
environment was often depicted as hostile, whether among the girls or
nese government, demanding formal apologies for enforcing women to
from the administration.6
serve as “comfort girls,” sex slaves during WWII. The contrast for the demand of the so-called “truth,” makes people wonder if this is manip-
Decommission:
ulated by political propaganda and ideologies?
After 1978, there was no more direct military conflicts, the Martial
In 2014, a Taiwanese movie, “Paradise in Service”, directed by Doze
law was eventually lifted on the main island of Taiwan and in 1987 and
Niu, used a Cold War setting of 1969, a whole decade after the last
on Kinmen and Matsu islands in 1992. The justification for military
battle on Kinmen. It brought to light numerous aspects of lives within
brothels became obsolete. On the clientele side, contract teahouses
a contract teahouses, however, the love story plot was an biased depic-
were serving the large migrants from China in 1949, the bachelors who
tion of history.
left their hometown and had difficulties assimilate into Taiwanese so-
For Taiwanese, the Cold War is in the past Kinmen is far away, thus it
ciety. After three decades, these bachelors decommissioned, and their
had never been raised to a platform to thoroughly examine our own
younger replacements had stronger familial ties in Taiwan. Therefore,
doings and proper amendment are yet to be made.
the need for prostitutes gradually decreased. The international trends of ending the Cold War and the rise of feminism were embraced by the Taiwanese public. Owing to the factors mentioned above, the contract teahouses on the main island of Taiwan were all abolished no later than 1974. In the early 1990’s, all teahouses ceased to exist on Kinmen and 1992 for Matsu.7 Interpretation: In 2006, Cultural Affairs Bureau of Kinmen County published “Kin-
men te yue cha shi (Kinmen Contract Teahouses).” This was the first
75
fig. 8, a currently restored room in the Exhibition Hall. (Huang, Chien-Hsien)
Endnotes 1 1930, “Xiang ying” 顯影 [The Shining Weekly], Kinmen: Zhushan Publishing. 2 National Quemoy University, 2004, “Kinmen zhang di zheng wu de fa zhi yu shi jian” 金門戰地政務的法制與實踐 [Regulation and Enforcement of Battlefield Administration in Kinmen], Kinmen: Kinmen County Government, p. 472. 3 Cheng, Chang-Ching, 2005, “Shi guang yi zou yuan” 時光已走遠 [Time Long Gone], Taipei: Da zhan Publishing, p. 162. 4 Kinmen Defense Command, 1986, “Contract Teahouse Mangagement Regulations” 金防部特約茶室管理條例. 5 Lin, Yu-Fang & Cai, Bi-Yue, 2016, “Taiwan shi guang ji” 台灣時光機 [Time Machine of Taiwan], Taipei: Yu shan Publishing. 6 Yu, Jie, 2016, “I’ll Go Your Way Too: Map of Taiwan’s Democracy, Volume II” 我 也走你的路： 台灣民主地圖第二卷, Yilan: Lordway Press. 7 2005, “Warfare Documentation and Research in Kinmen, Volume II”金門戰事 紀錄及調查研究二, Kinmen: Kinmen National Park, p. 159-178.
fig. 9, a fictional restored room in the movie, “Paradise in Service.” (Honto Production)
fig. 10, movie poster of “Paradise in Service.” (Honto Production)
76
20
Jin Jia Fang 金家坊
NI, Zhen Project name: Jin Jia Fang Location: Zhong Hua Rd, Huang Pu District, Shanghai Year Built: 1920s Keywords: #Gentrification #Public Good #Relocation Abstract: Different controversial topics are focused at the 1920s Li Long residential district. From the Chinese version of state-led gentrification to the essence of the public good, and to people’s role in urban redevelopment, Jin Jia Fang is like China’s historic preservation in a nut shell.
fig. 1, Bird’s eye view of Jin Family Neighborhood area fig. 2, Location in Asia
77
fig. 3, Location in China
Lao Cheng Xiang, a living history
ting or playing chess with friends on the streets; they would wait for
After 1845, Chinese community and Concession community in Shang-
their grandchildren come home from school at bedroom windows on
hai had a great difference in development and population. Gradually,
second floor. It is like a isolated village with its own way of living.
the concession community took place of Chinese community and
There are also many significant architecture in this area. Some are the
became the center of city development. Lao Cheng Xiang was located
former residences of famous people in Shanghai, and some have rep-
in south-east part of today’s Shanghai.
resentative features of art-deco architecture, others represent elegant
It was the origin of modern Shanghai city. It has more than 700 years’
craftsmanship of carpenters and builders. A few of these architectures
history. It used to be Shanghai’s political, economic and cultural center,
have been registered to the local list of Excellent Historic Architecture,
and the most populated area in Shanghai. There were nine city gates
but there are more that are not on the list.2
and a circumferential city wall. Now it is still the one of the most popular and historic tourist destina-
Relocation and redevelopment policy
tion in Shanghai. There are places like Yu Garden, Cheng Huang Miao
Three years ago, local government initiated a plan to redevelop this area
Temple and Confucious Temple in Old City that have been fully devel-
into a modern commercial and office area, and meanwhile to relocate
oped into a commercial tourism mode. Except for those places, the rest
residents to newly-built residential area in peripheral Shanghai so that
area are most Li Long houses where a good number of people still live
they can afford to buy or lease new houses with money provided by the
in.
government for their cooperation.3 Some residents signed the contract
Lao Cheng Xiang was designated to the register of The Areas with His-
with the government shortly after the policy came out, and moved out,
torical Cultural Features by local government in September 2003.1
leaving their Li Long houses unattended. And more and more people are doing so, so it is estimated that by 2020, the whole Jin Jia Fang area will be empty and ready for the demolition. As for these significant and
Jin Jia Fang, the isolated village
valuable architectures that are not on the list, unfortunately their lives
Jin Jia Fang is located at the north-west side of Lao Cheng Xiang. It
are in control of the developer.
used to be and now still is a residential area with traditional Li Long houses and small markets. It is the continuity that makes this area have
Preservation Related-Different Voices
a strong historic value. Streets and alleys are barely changed, so we can
The government’s decision on this area ignited a series of discussion in
clearly figure out the original spatial pattern and tell one block from
preservation field. Many university scholars, researchers and architec-
another. Buildings are nearly the same as they were built decades ago,
tural historians are surprised and mad at the redevelopment plan. Some
except from some contemporary man-made additions which are easy
felt pity because they will lose a great piece of land of urban morphol-
to recognize. People who now resident in those houses are mostly the
ogy study; some say it is a tragedy of Shanghai’s historic preservation
descendants of those who lived here from the very beginning. When
because Li Long is no longer a kind of architecture, that it represents a
entering Jin Jia Fang area, we can feel a strong atmosphere of the tradi-
lifestyle, a disappearing lifestyle; some felt sorry for these buildings that
tional breath of living that contradicts with today’s modern life. People
had not been registered to the list.
wake up much earlier than white-collar workers every day. They would
However, when I was doing on-site architectural documentation, what
buy ingredients from the marketplaces in the neighborhood and cook
I heard from local residents was totally another end of extreme. People
at the public kitchen space; they would spend a whole afternoon chat-
couldn’t wait to move into their new homes because they couldn’t bear
fig. 4, Street view
78
current living condition anymore. I couldn’t understand how this kind
be precise, it is nearly a “mandatory” redevelopment instead of a state-
of feeling emerged until I had the chance to have a look at their homes.
led gentrification.
Corridors were not wide enough for two normal man to pass at the same time; air-conditioners were not allowed due to this area’s obsolete
What is the public good?
electric system; five families shared a tap and a “kitchen” beside it. To
Another debatable issue in this case study I want to talk about is the
be honest, I would also decide to move out as long as I have the chance
public good. Public good means the benefit or wellness of the public.
if I live in such a condition.
How do we apply this concept into the case of Jin Jia Fang? Who is the public? Is it these residents or people of Shanghai? To clarify this con-
Is this gentrification?
cept is important because how we define “good” is definitely based on
This is the first issue embedded in the case. Some think it is a process
its target population. For residents in Jin Jia Fang, what they want is a
of gentrification that is inevitable for present Shanghai. But it is hard to
better living condition where they can have the infrastructure and basic
tell whether it is gentrification in its true sense. The starting point and
resources that other residents do have. They don’t care about whether
the anticipatable result of the redevelopment is similar to gentrification:
their original house was a historically significant building in Shanghai’s
change of population structure, rise in income and so forth. But these
history, and we cannot blame them on that. While for or the city and
are achieved by an imposed relocation by government. Rich people do
its people, according to these scholars’ points of view, “good” is to keep
want to come to this community, but it’s not because the community
this historic area alive, to save this traditional Li Long area.
has become better, it’s because the community has totally changed. To
If we try to preserve this area through either architectural conservation
fig. 5, Different families’ electricity meters in a single building
fig. 6, Detail of a corner dou gong (Chinese bracket)
79
or restoration or other methods, to try to improve their living condimany things in this area that we cannot change, i.e. plan configuration,
Endnotes 1 上海市规土局. 《上海市老城厢历史文化风貌区保护条例》, 2006 2 上海市规土局. 上海市优秀历史建筑地图 3 中华人民共和国国务院. 《国有土地上房屋征收和补偿条例》, 2011
number of stories, FAR, population density, and these are the key fac-
•
tion, there will be two following problems: first is that there are too
tors leading to poor living condition: too little resource trying to meet a
All images are from 城市中国杂志. 16 February 2019, https://mp.weixin. qq.com/s/e078JUVugzT5YWEOJs--Vw
huge demand. Maybe the result is not to follow one group’s public good, but to find a balance in between. How to balance historic preservation with modern development? Then comes the question: how to find such a balance? Shanghai is already in a fast-pace development, but it needs more. More skyscrapers and urban complex will be built. They are threatening those historic buildings. Demolishing them to provide more space for new construction until there are no historic districts is certainly a wrong thing to do. But is it a right thing to leave these old buildings within a concrete and steel fence? Historic preservation is long-term, dynamic process. What seems okay today may cause damage twenty years later. Historic and modern is not a pair of antonyms; historic buildings and heritage should find their meanings in a modern world.
80