Controversial Heritage - Issues in Contemporary Architecture Essay

Controversial Heritage Word Count - 3274

How do we conserve controversial architecture to surpass historical stigma and highlight the architectural value?

Abstract Conservation of Controversial monuments and heritage has once again become relevant after BLM protests in the UK have questioned the place of Colston’s statue in the city. This argument is brought to the culturally vibrant country of Italy, where the large amount of Fascist architecture still standing today is used to analyse the theory of conservation in regards to the initial Venice Charter written in 1964 and more recent studies into the practise of conservation. Ultimately, conservation can be manifested through both the tangible and intangible elements of a heritage, and the most successful practises analyse the monuments on a case by case basis to establish the most important values of a monument that should be conserved, and at what cost.

The case studies of the Casa del Fascio in Como and Il Palazzo della Civiltà’ Italiana in Rome show how the theory comes into practise with a strong focus on removing a heritage controversial stigma through the re-purposing of the structure and careful consideration of how to put the architectural elements in the forefront.

Key words: Fascism, Conservation, Heritage, Architecture

Contents Introduction..............................................1-2 The Theory of Conservation....................3-6 • The Venice Charter...............................3 • Tangible and Intangible Cons. ...........4 • The Semantic Values.........................5-6 Case Study and Discussion...................7-11 • Fascism in Italy......................................7 • Casa del Fascio.................................8-9 • Il Palazzo della Civilta Italiana......10-11 Conclusion.................................................12 Bibliography...............................................13

1 - Introduction In the early summer of 2020 the tragic murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer was a catalyst for the Black Lives Movement which overtook society all over the globe; reaching Britain where 130,000 demonstrators protested against racism throughout the country. The culmination of these gatherings happening in Bristol where 10,000 protesters gathered to topple Edward Colston’s statue, a slave trader of the 17th century, on the 8th of June 2020. (Branscome, 2021) This was merely the start of a movement which sought the removal of multiple statues erected in the UK which had negative connotations that did not agree with our updated morals. However, the symbolic act of dumping the Colston’s statue in the very same docks where he had overseen the trade of so many slaves was meerly the start of what was to come. It sparked an important debate on the presence of controversial heritage in our cities and more specifically their place within our society and by consequence whether these heritages should be completely removed and forgotten, fully preserved or alternatively conserved as a middle ground.

Figure 1 - protesters toppled a statue of the slave trader Edward Colston and pushed the figure into the River Avon. - Reuters, 2020.

It is therefore important to firstly define these terms as they will be central to the discussions to come. Conservation in architecture stands for “protection and maintenance, [...] to conserve the valuable architectures or architectural values [of a building]” (Taher Tolou Del, Saleh Sedghpour and Kamali Tabrizi, 2020). Preservation on the other hand, stands for the protection of historical or architectural heritage to its truest form.

In other words while conservation allows for physical alteration to be done to a heritage, preservation is strictly against any interventions on the subject in matter.

Finally, heritage can be defined as an “artefact, where its elements are witnesses of the culture [...] and events occurred during the life of the building.” (What is Architectural Heritage | IGI Global, n.d.)

Rodney Harrison, an expert in heritage studies, believes “heritage is mostly about how we want to live in the future. [he] doesn’t think of the past as a real place that is independent of the present. [he] thinks of the past as a space that is constantly reworked in the present … It is important for us to think critically about Heritage and the work it does in society” (Harrison, cited in Branscome, 2021).

Ultimately this essay will shine a light on the deciding factors which determine whether a site of heritage deserves to be remembered and celebrated through an exploration of the theory of conservation. From this, a set of values will be extracted to assess the overall importance of a heritage in our society. A close look at Fascism and its strong architectural presence in Italy will be used as a case study to determine whether the outlined theory of conservation is applicable to controversial architecture with a close analysis of la Casa del Fascio in Como and Il Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana located in Rome.

Physical values have the aforementioned tangible quality to them and are of lesser importance to conservation according to the authors and Fielden since the meaning of the architecture is of higher importance than its structural truthfulness.

As they state: “Semantic and intangible values are the most fundamental aspects of the social and intellectual life of the nations, the origin of identities, diversity, and creativity” (Taher Tolou Del, Saleh Sedghpour and Kamali Tabrizi, 2020).

Figure 2 - Colston’s Statue in the M-Shed - Meroni, A, 2022

2 - The theory of conservation 2.1 - The Venice Charter Conservation of heritage plays an important role in our society in facilitating a better understanding of social and economic changes, political tensions and urban development by studying the heritage. It can therefore be said that the practice of conservation, is a mediator for sustaining the values and aesthetic qualities of past architecture. This practice gained attention in the mid 19th century, when a congress composed of architects and historical technicians wrote down a set of guidelines for conservation of historical monuments in 1964: The international charter for the conservation and restoration of monuments and sites; often referred to as The Venice Charter.

(Gazzola and Lemaire, 1964) The 16 articles included in the charter describe a common interest of striving for authenticity whenever a heritage undergoes conservation work; with a strong emphasis in clearly distinguishing any additions from the original structure but ultimately believing no changes should be carried out unless inevitable for the structural security of the monument.

Furthermore, article 8 states that “Items of sculpture, painting or decoration which form an integral part of a monument may only be removed from it if this is the sole means of ensuring their preservation.”

(Gazzola and Lemaire, 1964) To paraphrase the charter, nothing should be added or removed from a heritage unless it directly benefits the wellbeing of the structure or the history enclosed within it; either case, the architecture must remain authentic and true to its history.

2.2 - Tangible and Inta Conservation

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angible

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Mohammad Sadegh Taher Tolou Del, Bahram Saleh Sedghpour and Sina Kamali Tabrizi, use Fielden’s theory as a starting point to further establish and describe these set values in The semantic conservation of architectural heritage:the missing values.

In the paper they refer to these values as “physical” and “semantic”.

Physical values have the aforementioned tangible quality to them and are of lesser importance to conservation according to the authors and Fielden since the meaning of the architecture is of higher importance than its structural truthfulness. As they state: “Semantic and intangible values are the most fundamental aspects of the social and intellectual life of the nations, the origin of identities, diversity, and creativity” (Taher Tolou Del, Saleh Sedghpour and Kamali Tabrizi, 2020)

2.3 - The Semantic Values Del and Tabrizi identify 40 of these semantic values; each of varying importance, and while all play a role in establishing the importance of a heritage, only the values which are relevant to Fascist architecture, as per the case study, will be broken down in this paper.

Cultural value: This is the most fundamental and broad value a heritage can have and by consequence also the least clearly definable one. It reflects the “lifestyle, quality of life, rituals and traditions, beliefs, values, norms and finally, the culture of every society” Economic value: This refers to the capability of a heritage to generate income be it through tourism, commerce or general use.

Historical value: The older a heritage is the higher its historic value; consequently, tangible changes to the heritage physical properties deter its historic value.

Integrity value: This refers to the current architectural state of the heritage when compared to its original one; therefore, decay and corrosion over time pays a toll on its “purity” and consequently its integrity.

Aesthetic value: This is perhaps the most obvious one but important nonetheless as it refers to the fundamental beauty and appeal of the heritage.

Authenticity value: Architectural interventions on the heritage in any tangible way will bear an impact on its authenticity as it would have been altered from its original form.

(Taher Tolou Del, Saleh Sedghp

Functional value: This is very simply achieved through the active use of the monument

Architectural value: Applies to the importance of the heritage in accordance to architectural elements, styles and movements.

Political value: The power of a heritage which makes it a subject of interest for political authorities.

Educational value: The ability of a heritage to convey information regarding culture and history.

Unwanted value: A heritage representing an outdated school of thought which negatively showcases a society; often has political connotations.

Resilience value: The ability to change, adapt and recover from a troubling history through improvements and interventions on the original structure and function.

pour and Kamali Tabrizi, 2020)

Having defined these semantic values, Del, Sedghpour and Tabrizi go on to discuss how they can be used as a criteria to judge whether a heritage has any value in society and is therefore worth the cost and efforts of conserving it. After having identified the semantic values specific to the heritage, appropriate interventions can be undertaken that don’t damage these characteristics but rather enhance them. In the case of overlaps one must decide which values are more important and should be focused on more. Ultimately there are two main driving factors for the conservation of heritage: one is interested in the building as an economic resource, while the other is preoccupied by the comprehensive cultural significance.

3 - Case Study and Discussion 3.1 - Fascism in Italy Italy has been the home of civilizations since the 700s BCE, making it a very culturally rich and diverse place. (Macbeth, 2018) So much is evident by the sheer amount and size of heritage sights spread throughout both the metropolitan cities and urban landscapes; therefore conservation of monuments has always been a top priority and concern of the nation. However, not all its heritage necessarily paints Italy under a bright light: as of today, there are many Fascist buildings still standing, and given they cannot be displayed in a museum as was the case with Colston’s statue, a very thoroughly considered practice of conservation has to be carried out when dealing with such controversial structures.

Firstly, one must understand the historical and political context surrounding such heritage.

Fascism is a far right-wing political ideology characterised by dictatorial power, extreme nationalism and natural social hierarchy. It grew presence in Italy in 1922 under the rule of Benito Mussolini, who was the dictator until its fall in 1943.

During these 21 years (ventennio) Mussolini used architecture to lead the movement in Italy, imprinting Fascist ideologies on the landscape and developing a new architectural language; “No period of modern Italian history left a greater legacy of state-sponsored architecture than the ventennio.” (Jones and Pilat, 2020) However, architecture was not solely

3.2 - Casa del Fascio A common set of fascist buildings spread throughout Italy were the Case del Fascio (CDF). These were office buildings which hosted local representatives of the party to overview civic life and political action in the neighbourhood. 5000 CDFs were built over the span of the fascist regime.

Most of these were realised with classical language and are recognizable by the presence of the Lictor Tower : “the most representative landmark in the fascist city”. (Jones and Pilat, 2020) Often endorsed in the imperial eagles, the main symbolic emblem of the regime, the tower provided a balcony for fascist authorities to give speeches.

While these traditionally designed CDFs have very evident connotations with Fasist ideologies, and are therefore categorised with an unwanted semantic value two particular CDF’s were designed under the theory of rationalism by Giuseppe Terragni resulting in a more experimental style which stands out from the rest. In particular la Casa del Fascio of Como is a well renowned piece of architecture considered one of the regime’s highest artistic achievements.

The lack of Fascist propaganda and symbolism in this building meant that no intervention on the structure had to be done to remove the emblems. Thus far, it follows the guidelines of The Venice Charter; specifically Article 7 “A monument is inseparable from the history to which it bears witness and from the setting in which it occurs.” (Gazzola and Lemaire, 1964) Or in Del’s and Tabrizi’s terminology, by not performing any physical changes to the structure, for the purpose of removing fascist emblems, it increased the overall Authenticity and Historic values without having to sacrifice any other value in its place. The absence of both controversial insignia and by consequence interventions

Figure 4 - La Casa del Fascio, Como, front Facade - Meroni, A, 2022

to the exterior façades allows the viewer to place a stronger focus on the architectural qualities of the heritage without the negative connotations of the building overshadowing the design factor.

“Simple geometric compositions, abstract volumes, minimal ornaments – with elements of classicism, such as columns, pilaster strips, pediments, and niches.”

(Jones and Pilat, 2020) All come together to demonstrate the skilful craftsmanship of Rationalism. As discussed the interplay between modernism and neo-classical vernacular architecture was the language of the ventennio, and terragni designed a building which showcases these qualities at their highest potential. The architectural and aesthetic value is evident; and the ability of the structure to inform and proudly display theories of Rationalism and the architectural movement which overtook Italy in the early 20th century provide the heritage with a further educational value.

However, the structure hasn’t remained completely true to its history; tangible interventions in terms of maintenance, as well as equipping the structure with updated services was necessary to make it a functional building again. The structure is currently hosting the headquarters of the finance police and while interventions had to be made to make the building habitable. While this complies with The Venice Charter article 5 “The conservation of monuments is always facilitated by making use of them for some socially useful purpose.” (Gazzola and Lemaire, 1964) And 12 “Replacements of missing parts must integrate harmoniously with the whole, but at the same time must be distinguishable from the original so that restoration does not falsify the artistic or historic evidence.” (Gazzola and Lemaire, 1964) It experiences a resulting drawback to its Authentic Value in favour of an increase in Integrity Value, (no visible signs of age weathering) function value and economic value. The last two being a result of the modern day use of the building. In 1986 the Ministry of Cultural Heritage officially classified the structure as cultural heritage of great historic and artistic interest. A prime example of “good” architecture born under a controversial regime. As well as being an excellent example of conservation which made use of The Venice Charter guidelines as well as skilfully identified the most fundamental values of the heritage and carefully balanced them accordingly.

Figure 5 - Palazzo della Civilta’ Italiana arch proportions- Meroni, A, 2022

3.3 - Il Palazzo della Civilta’ Italiana The second example of prime Fascist architecture which will be analysed is the Palazzo della Civilta Italiana (PDCI).

Constructed in 1938 as part of the EUR complex; a world fair trade where Mussolini was to display the official style of the Fascist regime. However, the start of the war left the plans unfinished until 1960 when the quarter was completed and re branded into a sports and business district. The structure’s design is an “abstract, modern stylization of the main architectural features of Roman architecture” (Jones and Pilat, 2020) with strong neo-classical roots it was positioned in the approximate vicinity of an ancient Roman archaeological site and purposefully designed to connect with the Roman empire and recall their strength and control over the Mediterranean as symbolism for the Fascist strength: “A constructed mythology that evoked Italy’s ancient heritage allowed the Fascist regime to justify its violence as a noble attempt to return to the glories of former Rome.” (Jones and Pilat, 2020) Having successfully achieved this. The PDCI is often referred to as the “square Colosseum” which is no surprise given the 4 identical façades composed of 216 arches deeply emblematic of classical Roman architecture. However, given the structure was built as a statement of Fascist innovation, beauty and greatness, it makes conservation of the heritage very challenging, especially when abiding to The Venice Charter since fascism is deeply embedded in both the tangible and intangible elements; the physical and semantic.

Firstly, the structure wears an inscription on the front facade of the building, quoting an extract from Mussolini’s speech before the invasion of Ethiopia in 1935 where war crimes were committed by the Italian army. Secondly, the neoclassical style, as previously mentioned, assimilates Fascism with the greatness of the Roman empire.

Lastly, the arches are displayed in a six

Figure 6 - Palazzo della Civilta’ Italiana front Facade - Meroni, A, 2022

by nine grid, representing the number of letters in “Benito Mussolini”. Not only the Fascist symbolism is very evident, but also impossible to remove through intervention given its deep relationship with the architectural form itself. Therefore any attempt at doing so would have detrimental impacts on the Authenticity, Integrity, Architectural, Historical and Aesthetic values. Therefore a different approach to conservation must be taken then the Casa del Fascio. This mainly considers indirect intervention used to change the meaning of the building and its symbolism without physically altering the architecture. This came through the form of literally re branding the symbolism through a new purpose/use: Article 5 of The Venice Charter “The conservation of monuments is always facilitated by making use of them for some socially useful purpose. Such use is therefore desirable but it must not change the lay-out or decoration of the building.” (Gazzola and Lemaire, 1964)

Nowadays, the heritage houses the fashion brand Fendi’s headquarters, as an attempt to conserve the architectural importance of the heritage by attempting to disguise the original meaning of the building. Fendi has adopted parallel symbolism of itself with the PDCI forms to distract from the original symbolism.

Therefore, it can be argued that Fendi is attempting to change the cultural value of the heritage into a symbol of high fashion by taking advantage of its inherent Aesthetic Value through its arches, rhythm, shadows and grandioseness, as a backdrop for Fendi’s publicity campaigns.

Essentially capitalising on the architecture.

Therefore, there is a very strong Economic Value which the conservation of PDCI has brought through the re branding

Figure 7 - Una nuova Roma - Fendi, 2020.

of the building into a capitalist symbol.

Furthermore, before Fendi adopted the space, the structure was left vacant for the majority of 7 decades since WW2 hence the re purposing of the structure provided the heritage with a Function Value which, for the vast majority of the building’s life, never had. Thus, the conservation has seen the increase of Economic, Function and Resilience Values without a compromise of any other values. Additionally, the restraint from physically removing fascist symbolism and instead deterring the attention away from them has consolidated the Authenticity, Architectural, Integrity and educational value and complied with Article 8 and 5 of The Venice Charter.

4 - Conclusion To conclude, there isn’t one specific way to practice conservation of heritage, but rather, as seen through the case studies, by firstly analysing the Values of the heritage one can then make an informed decision on why the monument is significant and what should be prioritised during its conservation. This is extremely important when the conservation of heritage with a controversial past is in question. However, As the Casa del Fascio showed, often it is impossible to simultaneously embrace all the values of a structure and compromises to the Authenticity and Integrity of the structure had to be sacrificed in order to put the Architectural form at the forefront above its Fascist ideologies. Furthermore, conservation does not necessarily involve physical or tangible changes to the architecture. Through the Palazzo della Civilta’ Italiana, no noticeable tangible changes were conducted to the façades or interiors. Instead the conservation adopted a more subtle approach where the intangible, semantic qualities of the building were changed. This was achieved through the careful re purpose under the brand Fendi which successfully re branded the strong fascist symbolism into a statement of luxury, high fashion and capitalism.

Given the constant struggle for fighting for a cleaner, greener earth, it is crucial we recycle buildings whenever possible; but this cannot be limited to architecture which we agree with. Demolition of controversial heritage not only is an unsustainable practice, but it seeks to erase history and hide the mistakes of the past, damaging society’s understanding of history as well as our ability to learn from the past. Therefore, as discussed, not only is it possible to practise a conscious and culturally aware conservation of controversial heritage, but the most efficient way to remove stigma over a building is by providing it with a new identity through purpose.

6 - Bibliography 6.2 Figures Figure 1 - Figure 1 - protesters toppled a statue of the slave trader Edward Colston and pushed the figure into the River Avon. - Reuters, 2020.

Figure 2 - Meroni, a., 2022. Colston’s Statue in the M-Shed. [image].

Figure 3 - Natalizia, S., 2015. La Facciata. [image] Available at: <https://www.istantidibellezza.it/il-palazzo-della-civilta-italiana.html> [Accessed 15 December 2021].

Figure 4 - La Casa del Fascio, Como, front Facade - Meroni, A, 2022 Figure 5 - Palazzo della Civilta’ Italiana arch proportions- Meroni, A, 2022 Figure 6 - Palazzo della Civilta’ Italiana front Facade - Meroni, A, 2022 figure 7 - Fendi, 2020. Una nuova Roma. [image] Available at: <https://mvcmagazine. com/en/fendi-choose-rome-for-their-next-fashion-show/> [Accessed 16 December 2021].

6.1 - References Ben-Ghiat, R., 2017. Why Are So Many Fascist Monuments Still Standing in Italy?. The New Yorker, [online] Available at: <https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/why-areso-many-fascist-monuments-still-standing-in-italy> [Accessed 10 November 2021].

Branscome, E., 2021. Colston’s Travels, or Should We Talk About Statues?. ARENA Journal of Architectural Research, [online] 6(1). Available at: <https://ajar.arena-architecture.eu/ articles/10.5334/ajar.261/>.

Gazzola, P. and Lemaire, R., 1964. INTERNATIONAL CHARTER FOR THE CONSERVATION AND RESTORATION OF MONUMENTS AND SITES (THE VENICE CHARTER 1964). In: International Council on Monuments and Sites. Venice: ICOMS, pp.1-3.

Jones, K. and Pilat, S., 2020. The Routledge companion to Italian Fascist architecture. 1st ed. London: Routledge.

Macbeth, A., 2018. Four civilizations in Italy that pre-date the Roman Empire. [online] The Local. Available at: <https://www.thelocal.it/20180911/four-civilizations-in-italy-that-predate-the-roman-empire/> [Accessed 10 December 2021].

Taher Tolou Del, M., Saleh Sedghpour, B. and Kamali Tabrizi, S., 2020. The semantic conservation of architectural heritage: the missing values. Heritage Science, [online] 8(1). Available at: <https://heritagesciencejournal.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40494-02000416-w#citeas>.

Taylor, J. and Cassar, M., 2008. REPRESENTATION AND INTERVENTION: THE SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIP OF CONSERVATION AND VALUE. Studies in Conservation, 53(sup1), pp.7-11.

Igi-global.com. n.d. What is Architectural Heritage | IGI Global. [online] Available at: <https://www.igi-global.com/dictionary/architectural-heritage/48665> [Accessed 18 November 2021].