by Ljubinka Stoilova, M.Arch., Ph.D.
Chief Expert Emerita, Immovable Heritage
Protection Department,
Sofia History Museum, lju_sto@yahoo.com
On April 10, 2009, in accordance with the
current EU legislation, a new modern Law of the Cultural Heritage came
into force in Bulgaria. It identifies in detail the types and scope of cultural
heritage, as well as the national system of institutions responsible for
cultural heritage conservation. The conservation and protection of different
types of cultural heritage, concerning also the twentieth-century immovable
properties of separate sites/buildings, groups of buildings, ensembles and
complexes of buildings, cultural itineraries and landscapes, is defined as a
system of measures for ensuring their security and consistency in the interest
of society. It forms a comprehensive process of research, identification,
documentation, conservation-restoration and socialization of cultural heritage
and should include the training of experts in the relevant fields.
The law does not define an appropriate
time distance which would allow the listing of immovable properties as
monuments of culture and their legal protection. This problem is
particularly valid for the post-WW II heritage. Such was the case with the
modern Yavorov housing estate in Sofia constructed until 1959, which was
included in the DOCOMOMO international register (already in 1999), however, the
proposal for its listing in the national register of monuments of culture in
2004-2005 failed due to the then requirement for historical distance of 50
years (though the law did not mention exact number of years).
Such is nowadays the case with the former New Otani Hotel in Sofia by the Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa [http://sofiazanas.blogspot.bg/2016/05/new-otani-hotel-by-architect-kisho.html]. This only building in Bulgaria by a world wide known architect is rejected of listing in the national register of monuments of culture due to lack of sufficient historical distance. The complex was designed in the distant 1974 and built until 1979. Several years sago it was bought by a local businessman who renamed it to his wife Marinela and started drastic changes with uprooting the frontal symbolic grove of morello-trees and replacing the original interior furnishing. In attempt to rescue the unique complex the city chief architect initiated a procedure of listing it in the national register of monuments of culture but it was rejected by the present Minister of Culture due to lack of the historical distance (only 42 years). In fact this obstacle is in favour of the present owner's ambition to add another 10 storey high body to the existing structure regardless the decisive disagreement of experts and of the Chamber of architects in Bulgaria.
Such is nowadays the case with the former New Otani Hotel in Sofia by the Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa [http://sofiazanas.blogspot.bg/2016/05/new-otani-hotel-by-architect-kisho.html]. This only building in Bulgaria by a world wide known architect is rejected of listing in the national register of monuments of culture due to lack of sufficient historical distance. The complex was designed in the distant 1974 and built until 1979. Several years sago it was bought by a local businessman who renamed it to his wife Marinela and started drastic changes with uprooting the frontal symbolic grove of morello-trees and replacing the original interior furnishing. In attempt to rescue the unique complex the city chief architect initiated a procedure of listing it in the national register of monuments of culture but it was rejected by the present Minister of Culture due to lack of the historical distance (only 42 years). In fact this obstacle is in favour of the present owner's ambition to add another 10 storey high body to the existing structure regardless the decisive disagreement of experts and of the Chamber of architects in Bulgaria.
The protection of the entire
twentieth-century cultural heritage in Bulgaria has undergone several stages of
loss of modern cultural valuables. WW II and the post-war period resulted in
the destruction of huge fragments of the historical centers of bigger cities
already in 1950s. The socialist realism doctrine considered artistic
achievements from the recent past, notably the style of Art Nouveau/Secession,
Art Deco and the inter-war Modern Movement, decadent. Due to that
underestimation, a number of unique local examples never entered the registers
in the 1960s and 1970s. Part of that heritage was destroyed during the massive
reconstructions of vast city areas in the 1980s. Another loss was manifested in
the forgotten knowledge of traditional construction materials and methods due
to the long-lasting period of insufficient education and the lack of
development of traditional building crafts. Following the political changes in
the 1990s, the criteria for assessment and registration changed gradually,
however, many exemplary sites no longer met the requirements for cultural
heritage evaluation which prevented them from being listed. The small
remaining part of preserved cultural valuables became a target for new investment
initiatives which measured the corporate profit potential, taking into account
mostly rational indicators, such as number of floors, price of a square meter
built area and use of technological innovations.
Key issue of the cultural heritage conservation is the
preservation of a site, as a complex or an ensemble in its entirety and aesthetic integrity. Another important
aspect is authenticity (of structure, constructive materials and
technologies, details of proportions, scale, materials, colours and
atmosphere). The dynamic lifestyle, adaptations of properties for new
functions, bad quality of renovations and
conservation with extraneous construction materials and technologies excused
with the lack of finances result in deterioration of specific stylistic
features and initial design. More recent local trends in conservation practices
include the destruction of listed monuments of culture followed by an overall
imitative rebuilding as well as the so-called “integrative reconstructions”
which incorporate original fragments into entirely newly planned and
constructed parts. The majority of such illegal activities are due to low level
of control, lack of public involvement and sensibility regarding the
disappearing cultural valuables and loss of the city’s memory. In some cases,
national registers contain items are totally redesigned or no longer exist.
The listing and protecting of cultural
heritage of the twentieth century is more complicated in comparison
with that of previous epochs due to the big diversity of functions and new
aesthetic trends, technology and materials as well as due to the large number
of designers. The everyday use and the rapid change of the physical environment
are also serious obstacles for the protection of its exterior and interior
authenticity. With the upgrade of living standards and requirements for
sustainable energy effectiveness, owners face additional maintenance
challenges. Problems deepen further with the recent changes of the Law for Cultural Heritage which empowered local and regional administrations to manage monitoring and conservation of immovable monuments of culture of local value with their available staff regardless possible lack of expertise.
Ways of improving the twentieth century
cultural heritage conservation include courses for experts’ qualification at
local higher educational institutions or through cooperation with foreign
organizations. For instance, the ATRIUM project (Architecture of Totalitarian
Regimes in Urban Managements), elaborated by 18 SEE partners from 11
countries and conducted by the Municipality of
Forli, Italy focused precisely on the history, heritage and memory of different totalitarian regimes [http://www.atrium-see.eu/]. Detailed case
studies of buildings, urban landscapes, parks, memorial monuments and ensembles
vary in historical context from the 1920s and 1930s in Fascist Italy to the
1950s-1960s and 1970s-1980s in Eastern European communist societies. The final
outcome is an international cultural route [http://www.atrium-see.eu/upload/atrium-towards-route-brosura-a5-14.pdf] exploring the traumatic twentieth-century cultural relics in European cities. This route
has been recognised by the European Institute of Cultural Routes in Luxemburg
with perspective for further business and educational development.
The ISC20C Madrid Document and the proceedings of The Colloquium
to Advance Practice in the Conservation of Modern Heritage of 2011 have established comprehensive requirements for selection of immovable monuments of culture. Based
on my own experience with modern architecture heritage assessment, I consider
that the DOCOMOMO International scientific committee on registers (ISC/R) has
developed a coherent fiche (2003) with full building classification and
abbreviated codes for documentation, a full register fiche, a fiche-minimum
also containing guidelines for registration. The derived criteria fit the
entire diversity of twentieth-century urban and architectural heritage.
These documents [http://www.docomomo.com/com/momo_register_guidelines.htm] are created with the goal of providing uniformity in recording and assessment of all types of twentieth-century heritage as well as supporting the ambitions of ISC20C “Madrid Document” (2011) to modernise the methods of registration and protection.
These documents [http://www.docomomo.com/com/momo_register_guidelines.htm] are created with the goal of providing uniformity in recording and assessment of all types of twentieth-century heritage as well as supporting the ambitions of ISC20C “Madrid Document” (2011) to modernise the methods of registration and protection.
Based on my practical experience as an expert in protection
of twentieth-century architecture in Bulgaria, I am convinced in the urgent
necessity to update the local registers of immovable heritage. This process
would require the involvement of interdisciplinary teams of experts and
students conducted on a regional basis and through centralized state control.
The preventive care in terms of maintenance and control by the state and
municipal institutions is of primary importance. Decisive efforts are needed to
overcome the neglect which leads to loss of cultural valuables and furthermore deteriorates the societal hierarchy of moral
and cultural values. Last but not least, in order to provide flexible
innovative approaches and appropriate maintenance solutions it would be
necessary to reform the technical high school education, as principles and
methods of conservation and restoration of twentieth-century heritage. In this
regard, preliminary programs and obligatory territorial distribution of
technicians should cover the desperate necessity of repair and renovation all
over the country and would prevent from emigration of specialists.
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