Spatial Values and Remodelling

What should be borne in mind when speaking of architectural and spatial values? What are the important anchor points in re-purposing historical buildings, and how should the phenomeno-logical approach to space be used in the course of the restoration and reconstruction of valuable old buildings? According to the art historian Alois Riegl, the modern spectator does not find aesthetic gratification from the good preservation of a work but rather from its consistent and endless alteration.⁶⁵

The restoration of a valuable and unique building is regulated in Estonia by law, with special heritage conservation conditions that include: an overview of the history of the monument, a descrip-tion of the existing situadescrip-tion, conclusions of studies that have been conducted, an assessment of the building’s technical condition, an overview of the inventory drawn up of structures and details of cultural value, value judgements of parts, structural elements and details of the monument, as well as an assessment of the functions and changes planned for it, and the requirements and restrictions that apply to the project design.⁶⁶ At this point, it becomes appar-ent that only the building’s physical substance is protected, i.e.

regardless of the aspects listed above, it is not necessarily possible to preserve and achieve spatial values in the old building that can communicate with the new user in terms of their function, mode of use and aesthetics. This includes contemporary conserva-tion, restoraconserva-tion, renovation and remodelling. I use the terms here according to Brooker and Stone: ‘conservation’ is the art of con-serving existing structures in their present form or returning them back to the original state. ‘Restoration’ is the process of returning the condition of the building to its original state using materials and techniques of the original period to ensure that the building appears as though it has been constructed. ‘Renovation’ is the pro-cess of renewing and updating a building but the function remains the same; the structure is generally untouched, but the manner in which the building is used is brought up to date (e.g. heating and sanitary systems). In ‘remodelling’, the function is the most obvious change, but other alterations may be made to the building, such as

65 A. Riegl, The Modern Culture of Monuments. Its Essence and its Development [1903]. – Historical and Philosophical Issues in the Conservation of Cultural Heritage. Eds N. Stanley-Price, M. K. Talley Jr., A. Melucco Vaccaro. Los Angeles: The Getty Conservation Institute, 1996, pp. 69–83.

66 Heritage Conservation Act, §35. – Riigi Teataja no 27, 20 March 2002.

its structure, circulation routes and orientation. Additions may be constructed and some areas may be demolished.⁶⁷

The theory and practice of contemporary heritage conservation, the preservation of the distinctive features and values of the envi-ronment in the re-use of historical buildings in the course of res-toration, rely to a great extent on Riegl’s 19^th century philosophi-cal discussions of the concept of historiphilosophi-cal values. This Austrian art historian sought an answer at the beginning of the 20^th century to problems related to how to define the artistic and historical value of a monument and how to make sense of the inevitable contradictions of preserving a monument. The contemporary con-servator Barbara Appelbaum has expanded Riegl’s value theory by grouping the object’s non-material aspects.⁶⁸ These histori-cal and contemporary value judgements help to systematihistori-cally explain the points of departure of conservation, as well as to make sense of contemporary approaches to remodelling.

The greater and lesser destructions of the First and Second World Wars in cities brought on the expected vigorous modernisation. In the ensuing chaos, the question arose: what should be rebuilt and how should this be done? None other than Adolf Hitler organised the photographic documentation of valuable buildings and monu-mental paintings in Germany during the war years (1943–1945) so that if they were destroyed, it would be possible to authentically restore them. Several contemporary art projects have grown out of this documentation.⁶⁹

Slowing down the too thoughtless abandonment of the past in the post-war renovations became one of the guiding prin-ciples of the Venice Charter (1964).⁷⁰ The Charter formulated the fundamental principles of conservation, which should form

67 G. Brooker, S. Stone, Basics Interior Architecture, p. 172–174.

68 B. Appelbaum, Conservation Treatment Methodology. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann, 2007, pp. 86–119.

69 An interesting example of this is the video Everything Actually Depends on the Color of Light by the Swiss duo of artists Peter Köhle and Nicolas Vermot in Tallinn at the KUMU exhibition Jutustades lugusid. Šveitsi ja Baltimaade kunstnikud [Telling Stories. Artists from Switzerland and the Baltic States], 2014), which deals with interpretations of this kind of work process proceeding from different cultural contexts: the artists interviewed Rosemarie Nohr, who was a photography student at that time and participated in Hitler’s photo documentation campaign.

The script written on the basis of interviews is the basis for the installation.

70 International Charter for the Conservation and Restoration of Monuments and Sites. The Venice Charter 1964. 2^nd International Congress of Architects and Technicians of Historic Monuments, Venice, 1964. Adopted by ICOMOS in 1965, https://www.icomos.org/charters/venice_e.pdf (accessed 8 November 2016).

the starting point even today: for instance, copying should be discontinued and the original handiwork of the masters should be preserved as authentically as possible in order to avoid the distortion of history. The new, on the other hand, should bear the spirit of its own age. The Charter placed value in the contextual connections between monuments and history and in the integ-rity of ensembles as a whole. The theory of the Italian theoreti-cian of restoration Cesare Brandi⁷¹ served as the basis for draw-ing up the Venice Charter. Even so, a large number of charters concentrating on more narrow fields were adopted later on as well, arising from different categories of monuments: the Flor-ence Charter (1981), protecting historical parks, the Washington Charter (1987)⁷², dealing with urban construction, and the later Nara Document on Authenticity (1994)⁷³, which expands the material aspect of cultural heritage to the spiritual and intellec-tual sphere, ascribing a much broader meaning to authenticity.

In the case of the authenticity of cultural value, the document stresses focusing on the design, materials and function of the object.⁷⁴ In addition to material, considerably more attention should be directed to the meaning of traditions and heritage. In many cultures, building as a process is more valuable than the structure that is to be completed. The Nara Document places value on the role of studies and developments in order to under-stand the nature of different cultures in considering authentic-ity. Based on cultural context, the proposal for drawing up the

‘Development plan for preserving and appreciating Estonia’s cul-tural heritage until 2030’ has been constructively worked out.⁷⁵

71 ‘This theory was accused of directing attention to the conservation-restoration of the image, thus neglecting the structural concept altogether (particularly in the case of architecture).

Brandi’s theory has been treated more as a theory on the restoration of paintings, even though in his writings, he often refers it architecture in particular. (H. Hiiop. Cesare Brandi on restoration. Lecture at the Estonian Academy of Arts, 20 October 2014 (author’s notes)).

72 Charter for the Conservation of Historic Towns and Urban Areas. (Washington Charter 1987), https://www.icomos.org/charters/towns_e.pdf / (accessed 22 April 2017).

73 E. F. N. Ribeiro, A. Pal, S. Kasiannan, R. Sharma, M. Sharma Saxena and S. Saha, Appendix 01:

Nara Document on Authenticity. – Kangla Fort Archaeological Park Concept Development Plan:

Charter. Ed. N. Thakur. Kangla Fort Archaeological Park Team, 2003, https://architexturez.net/

doc/az-cf-21197/ (accessed 17 March 2017).

74 A wide range of sources of information is encouraged to be looked into when judging a cultural heritage’s authenticity, such as design, materials and functions. They can in turn shed light on different dimensions of the cultural heritage, such as the historical and social (Nara Document, 1994), https://architexturez.net/doc/az-cf-21197/ (accessed 17 March 2017).

75 Eesti kultuuripärandi hoidmise ja väärtustamise arengukava aastani 2030: koostamise ettepanek, https://www.riigikantselei.ee/valitsus/valitsus/et/valitsus/arengukavad/arengukavade-koostamise-ettepanekud/kultuurip_randi_arengukava_ettepanek.pdf / (accessed 8 November 2016).

In examining developments nowadays, we can observe tendencies in the field of cultural heritage protection directed at helping local people go from the position of observer to that of participant. At the same time, the retention of the original function is often more valuable in the case of heritage – as the contemporary stratum of continuity – than the establishment of a museum or reservation.

Here the self-evident nature with which the operation of the original function is considered is questionable.

Fig 12: Valuable private collection in the Byrd Hoffman Watermill Foundation, Long Island, New York 2016.

Old things are preserved because they are valuable. It goes without saying that an old house needs to be fixed up over time. At what point does renovation become restoration, and how should this term be understood? What do we mean by value and heritage? Values – both material and immaterial – that can be ascribed to an object / space are variable over time; they are not constant quantities. In his study, Riegl values not so much the good preservation of a monument, but rather its constant transformation as it ages; he discusses the frame-work of preservation to prevent destruction.⁷⁶ The emotionally percep-tible value of time is evident, compared to scientific historical value, the measure of which, however, depends precisely on authentic pres-ervation. Thus the concepts of preservation are contradictory. The pri-mary objective of contemporary theory concerning the preservation of monuments is to avoid conflict between temporal value and histori-cal value. Intentional memorial value, on the other hand, helps to stop time. The value of use is of irrefutable importance, which is justifica-tion for intervenjustifica-tion. Riegl is against the imprisonment of monuments in museums, which would liberate them from the need for restoration.

Riegl disapproves of the restoration of a work as a complete finished whole. According to him, the broad masses mistakenly ascribe artistic value to the new value. He sees the conflict between temporal value, historical value and new value as inevitable. Appelbaum has recently expanded Riegl’s theory and has discussed the non-material aspects 76 A. Riegl, The Modern Culture of Monuments, pp. 69–83.

of objects. She highlights the diverse and ambiguous scale of values and the different effect on restoration arising from their nature: art or cultural value, aesthetic value, historical value, use value and sen-timental value, research value, educational value, age value newness value, monetary value, associative value, commemorative value and rarity.⁷⁷ Thus, in modern times, an additional number of value catego-ries have appeared that highlight the sense of values. For instance, the shoes of the actress Marlene Dietrich and a plate that belonged to the pop artist Jeff Koons, both of which in the entirety of their meanings have most of the values listed above, being inseparable from each other, are side by side in the art collection on Long Island belonging to Robert Wilson, a contemporary director in experimental theatre.

Fig 13 : Bauhaus Masters’ Houses (UNESCO-World Heritage): perfectly renovated Kandinsky–Klee semi-detached house and the new Masterhouse Gropius (by BFM Architekten) – a new model emulating the destroyed one, Dessau 2015.

Appelbaum sums up by saying that the flexible relationship between the physical condition and value of an ‘object’ can be affected over time both positively and negatively. The conscious acknowledgement of its non-material aspects makes it possible to preserve the different values of the ‘object’ in the course of its treatment – conservation / restoration / reconstruction / re-purposing.⁷⁸

Public attitudes towards ways of preserving and making sense of monuments in the 21^st century have not changed significantly from Riegl’s era, so consideration of this theme is topical in every respect.

The most widespread attitude is new value as affection for the old and beautiful, which also leads to diligent restoration, particularly if financial means are available. I find that the conscious classifica-tion of non-material values as precisely as possible is important in 77 B. Appelbaum, Conservation Treatment Methodology, pp. 89–114.

78 B. Appelbaum, Conservation Treatment Methodology, pp. 115–119.

order to ensure a diverse relationship in the process of restoration and renovations. By virtue of this, flexibility is the key word and can be applied to both the use and the restoration of monuments. The perception of timelessness makes it possible to also see the potential of the monument in the event that the inconsistency and change inherent in the contemporary world dominate.

In today’s terms, heritage is a part of physical reality, as well as being an intellectual and spiritual phenomenon. Meanings are created and values presented to communities and more broadly to society by way of heritage. Other interest groups, such as local people as users, owners, museologists and artists, are also included more and more in conservation processes led by experts.⁷⁹ Thus the trend is towards involving the people around the process, but the danger remains that such cases tend to be put down on paper merely as a gesture to democracy. I hope in the creative part of this study to highlight and analyse the actual corresponding activities. How to share individual memory experiences among a group and to function as a commu-nity differs in each individual case. I have tried to systematically find possible repetitions of this as patterns. I see this as a trend away from traditional conservation customs towards contemporary solu-tions, which are undertaken to highlight heritage through new spa-tial approaches, the impetus for which, needless to say, is economic interest. On the basis of the principle of contrast, the authentic old differentiates from the added new as a necessary quantity from the viewpoint of the operation of the contemporary function. Various tan-gible examples confirm theoretical discussions on how to combine traditions and an innovative approach appropriate to the object as a dignified and functional solution. According to the Danish architect Trine Neble, by using heritage and adapting it to current needs, devel-opment is effected based on traditions, good examples of which are the redesigned manors in Denmark, where the design is ultramodern and minimalist, yet is implemented using traditional materials. In this way, the new design is not an ancillary layer added to an old house, but rather an independent quality, the realisation of which does not allow what has been done to be thoughtlessly replaced, even the original details.⁸⁰ Here it is important to expand the way the world is seen and inculcate corresponding directions of thought among both visionaries and decision-making bodies, which in Estonia are the National Heritage Board and State Real Estate Ltd.

79 K. Konsa, Tänapäevane konserveerimine: objektidest-väärtustest-subjektidest. Lecture at the Imavere Dairy Museum, 21 November 2014 (author’s notes).

80 T. Neble, Heritage, Contemporary Architecture and Design in Interaction. Lecture at the Latvian Academy of Arts, Riga, 12–13 March 2015 (author’s notes).