Progress Report on the Musashi-Ranzan Country Club Clubhouse Conservation and Repair Work

Abstract
This is a progress report on the plan to conserve and repair the Musashi-Ranzan Country Club clubhouse designed by architect Taro Amano. It is a valuable example of the conservation and repair of private company-owned modern reinforced concrete architecture without the use of subsidies. Project planning commenced in 2009, and minor construction has been carried out each year, with the third installment of work carried out in 2014. For carrying out the construction, the design content and course of construction are based on the results of an analysis and survey of the original building. The clubhouse, together with the conservation and repair work currently being carried out, was selected as one of the works in the docomomo Japan 174 in 2014.

Keywords
Modern Movement, Modern architecture, Reuse, Renovation, Restoration, Japanese modern architecture, Musashi-Ranzan Country Club Clubhouse, Taro Amano.

Issue 52
Year 2015
Pages 40-47
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.52200/52.A.GTMIQMDV

PDF (English)
Conversion of the Church of Sainte-Germaine-Cousin Reaching out to the Community

Abstract
This essay synthesizes a serious concern related to built ecclisiastical heritage in Quebec. Most of all, it intends to present the recent conversion of the church of Sainte-Germaine-Cousin in Montreal, built between 1960 and 1962 by architect Gérard Notebaert into a community center related to social housing and child care. Today, after a decade and as the project is nearly complete, it recounts a modern heritage tale that led to an exceptional outcome from social and cultural perspectives and, of course, from an architectural angle. On a larger scale, this project responded sensitively to fundamental issues by creating awareness and a sense of belonging toward modern built heritage.

Keywords
Modern Movement, Modern architecture, Reuse, Renovation, Restoration, Modern ecclesiastical heritage, Quebec modern architecture, Sainte-Germaine-Cousin Church, Gérard Notebaert.

Issue 52
Year 2015
Pages 34-39
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.52200/52.A.HGVHZBWH

PDF (English)
Luis Barragán’s House in Pedregal. A Successful Restoration

Abstract
Luis Barragán (1902–1988) produced few works in his prime, among which, other than his own house, in the Jardines de Pedregal only the Casa Prieto López (1950) has been preserved intact. It was successfully restored when Cesar Cervantes purchased it in early 2014 and hired architects Jorge Covarrubias and Benjamín González Henze. After extensive research, the architects, respecting the context and simplicity of design, eliminated additions and carefully conserved architectural details and furnishings; the color of the walls was restored based on stratigraphic findings that revealed surprising tones very different from the traditional Mexican palette.

Keywords
Modern Movement, Modern architecture, Reuse, Renovation, Restoration, Luis Barragán, Casa Prieto López, Casa Pedregal, Mexican modern architecture.

Issue 52
Year 2015
Pages 28-33
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.52200/52.A.FS1XG93Q

PDF (English)
Conservation and Renovation Project of Hizuchi Elementary School: First Challenge to Treat a Post-war Wooden Architecture as a Cultural Property

Abstract
Hizuchi Elementary School is an example of timber modern architecture completed between 1956 and 1958. It was recognized as one of the twenty representative modern buildings in Japan by docomomo in 1999, and from 2006 to 2009 it was meticulously restored. The consortium members for its conservation and renovation were awarded the Annual Award of the Architectural Institute of Japan and World Monuments Fund/Knoll Modernism Prize in 2012. This paper outlines the project of the Hizuchi Elementary School and the architect Matsumura Masatsune who designed it.

Keywords
Modern Movement, Modern architecture, Reuse, Renovation, Restoration, Hizuchi Elementary School, Timber modern architecture, Japanese modern architecture, Matsumura Masatsune.

Issue 52
Year 2015
Pages 20-27
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.52200/52.A.SV4RXBPF

PDF (English)
When the Oppressive New and the Vulnerable Old Meet; a Plea for Sustainable Modernity

Abstract
The following article is an edited version of the keynote presented at the 13th International docomomo Conference that took place in Seoul, Korea, on September 2014. The economic miracle, increasing transparency and growing emancipation are some of the striking advantages of modernity. However these meet their opposites in severe conflicts at both global and regional scales. Where the oppressive new meets the vulnerable old the damage is at its heaviest and often non-reversible. The history of modernity in the Western world, from the European Renaissance, the Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution to the Machine Age provides information of the root causes of these conflicts, such as the dominance of rationality, fragmentation, the linear and short term mind frame, devotion to constant newness and ever increasing scale. The history of East Asian civilizations shows the millennia old care for the environment and for dynamic tradition. Precisely the 14th International docomomo Conference in Seoul — for the first time organized entirely in an Asian country — offers the opportunity to widen our scope. docomomo has four advantages that make it particularly useful to contribute to soften these conflicts in the future. Today it is a global organization with many different cultural backgrounds, it is multidisciplinary, it concentrates on history and on the reuse of what is already existing and it shares communal enthusiasm. Until today we concentrated our efforts mainly on the history of the Modern Movement and the restoration of its icons. We could enlarge our scope to include the reuse and transformation of the ordinary Modern Movement heritage and to research the history of modernity as well in the various cultural regions. Some proposals will be made how we could change words into structured action, in order to contribute more effectively to a circular mindset of reuse, reduce and recycle, to arrive at a sustainable future for all.

Keywords
Modern Movement, Modern architecture, Reuse, Renovation, Restoration, Reduce, Recycle.

Issue 52
Year 2015
Pages 14-19
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.52200/52.A.TBI5OOGF

PDF (English)
Reuse, Transformation and Restoration

Abstract
In the period I was teaching at the Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands, from 1984–1998, I often had the privilege to welcome our first year students entering the faculty of architecture. After I had paid my compliments to the students for having chosen a fascinating study and future profession I told them that for environmental and climate reasons, it would be best not to build at all any longer. And since this was unrealistic, the next best thing was that we should learn how to renew the world with things that exist already. Laughter was always their response. Didn’t the nutty professor notice that outside an enormous boom of new building was going on as a result of the neo-liberal wave that was hitting Europe and North America? Besides, the ambition of most of them was to become the future Rem Koolhaas or Norman Foster. So please don’t spoil the party. Directly after my talk they were embraced by the faculty staff to fulfill their dreams.

Keywords
Modern Movement, Modern architecture, Reuse, Renovation, Restoration.

Issue 52
Year 2015
Pages 12-13
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.52200/52.A.7IUNFMD9

PDF (English)
National Museum of Western Art as Important Cultural Property of Japan: its Evolution and Historical Value

Abstract
Starting with the conception of the World Museum as part of the 1929 Mundaneum project, Le Corbusier continued to develop and refine that concept. The main building of the National Museum of Western Art completed in 1959, was also designed as a Museum of Unlimited Expansion prototype. NMWA has undergone conservation work and seismic base isolation work a number of times, and is therefore in generally good condition. The principal conservation works to the main building since its completion is summarized in this essay, along with other construction, extension and maintenance work carried out on the grounds.

Keywords
Modern Movement, Modern architecture, Le Corbusier, Conservation of modern architecture, World Heritage, National Museum of Western Art, Japanese modern architecture.

Issue 53
Year 2015
Pages 74-83
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.52200/53.A.GSNNOIXW

PDF (English)
The Couvent de La Tourette from 1960 to the present day. Future Discernibility of Past Interventions

Abstract
The La Tourette Convent, built by Le Corbusier in Eveux (1953–1960) was subjected to interventions very soon after its inauguration. The article presents a critical analysis of these interventions: those overseen by Fernand Gardien (until 1964) right after completion; those undertaken before the complex was listed and for which limited documentation is available (1964–1979); the restoration campaign led by the Architecte en Chef des Monuments Historiques (ACMH) Mortamet, who followed an approach based on the completion of Le Corbusier’s work; lastly the most recent campaign, overseen by the ACMH Repellin, who succeeded in devising intelligent alternative compliance measures thanks to the fire safety officials. The complex was returned to its original appearance, following an approach that has yet to come to terms with the aging of modern architectural works, but is nevertheless still widely used today in the conservation of 20th century architecture.

Keywords
Modern Movement, Modern architecture, Le Corbusier, Conservation of modern architecture, World Heritage, Couvent de La Tourette, French modern architecture, Modern monasteries.

Issue 53
Year 2015
Pages 64-73
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.52200/53.A.1IG880RF

PDF (English)
Renovation and Restructuring the Cité de Refuge by Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret. Preserving the Dual Functional and Architectural Identity of the Masterpiece

Abstract
The Cité de Refuge, for the Salvation Army, was built in Paris by Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret, in 1933. For Le Corbusier, it represented a formal, technical and mainly social architectural manifesto, as part of his idea of new society published in La Ville Radieuse, in 1935. Seventy years after, the building is deeply transformed because the everyday use is inadequate for the contemporary community standards for the reception of homeless and current climate standards. The challenge of the last restoration campaign (2007–2015) was to reconcile the current demanding standards while maintaining and upgrading the architectural qualities of the building.

Keywords
Modern Movement, Modern architecture, Le Corbusier, Conservation of modern architecture, World Heritage, Cité de Refuge, Paris modern architecture, Pierre Jeanneret, La Ville Radieuse.

Issue 53
Year 2015
Pages 56-63
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.52200/53.A.4R3OD13V

PDF (English)
The Restoration of the Paintings of Le Corbusier in the Villa E-1027, Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, Alpes Maritimes

Abstract
The restoration of the paintings of Le Corbusier in the Villa E-1027 was preceded by an important study phase including systematic sampling of the paintings. One purpose of the study was to determine the presence of the original paintings under the global over-paint made by a local craftsman in the seventies. Four of the eight paintings have been rediscovered, in a much better condition than expected. These paintings are a fragile testimony of the particular use of “Ripolin” by Le Corbusier, in the context of its use by others famous artists as Picasso or Picabia in the same period.

Keywords
Modern Movement, Modern architecture, Le Corbusier, Conservation of modern architecture, World Heritage, E.1027, French modern architecture, Architecture painting restoration.

Issue 53
Year 2015
Pages 48-55
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.52200/53.A.787TVMEV

PDF (English)