Track 3: Conservation of modern and post-modern heritage
Rosabella Alvarez-Calderon
Adjunct Professor
Department of Architecture, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú
Carlos Eduardo Comas
Full Professor
UFRGS Universidade federal do Rio Grande do Sul
Andrea Griletto
Technical Director
Assorestauro
Karen Kincaid Brady
The University of Texas at Austin
David Fixler, FAIA FAPT LEED
Lecturer in Architecture
Graduate School of Design, Harvard University
Pamela Jerome, FAIA, LEED AP, FAPT, FUS/ICOMOS
President
Architectural Preservation Studio, DPC
Modern Urban Plazas, Monuments, and Public Spaces
This plenary session explores the diversity of the modern movement’s relationship with landscape and urbanism. From completed urban examples of modern architecture within traditional environments and unfinished ensembles built with traditional materials, to the next frontier for preservation in outer space, this session will highlight the conservation challenges associated modern era buildings that contribute to complex cultural landscapes.
The session will begin with a presentation by Andrea Griletto about the School of Art in Havana, built following the 1959 revolution, using traditional brick and terra cotta. Conservation efforts, including documentation, a pilot study, and a Keeping it Modern-funded conservation management plan, will be presented to illustrate how the abandoned complex is being addressed.
The next two papers focus on urban examples of modernism in Brazil and Peru. The first, by Professor Carlos Comas, will analyze a series of interventions made to Oscar Niemeyer’s works in Brazil, including the Ouro Preto Grand Hotel, Ibirapuera Park Pavilions, and Museum of Modern Art. Next David Fixler and Rosabella Alvarez-Calderon will present some of the conservation challenges for modern era buildings located within the historic city center of Lima, Peru, a World Heritage Site (WHS). Many of the buildings within the WHS are commercial buildings that have been marginalized and lack guidelines for stewardship. The Atlas Building, completed in 1953, provides a case study for a sensitive rehabilitation strategy that is proposed.
The final paper will take attendees to the next frontier for preservation: outer space. Karen Kincaid Brady, a graduate student at the University of Texas at Austin, will discuss Tranquility Base, the lunar landing site for Apollo 11. This paper explores the challenges and opportunities of treating sites on the moon as a cultural landscape.