The Evolution of Intervention Criteria in Modern Movement Resto- tation: Essential Problems and Circumstantial Problems GATCPAC’S CONSERVATION PROJECTS AS A CASE STUDY Matin Copeluto and Maria Tull FISAB, Universitat Pofcnica de Catolunye, Spoin ‘unl copelutediecae net GATCPAC heritage is usvolly considered in relation to its historical context of the Second Republic cd the Spanish Civil Wer {1936-39]. We propose fo clso review the reconstruction and preser votion of the group's work in light ofthe international revaluation of Medem Movement projects. THE REPRESSION OF THE GATCPAC ARCHITECTS AND ARCHITECTURE ‘The Group of Catolan Architects and Technicions forthe Progress of Contemporary Architecture, wich was headed by Sert and Torres Clavé, broke up towards the end of the Civil War. Some Inembers died on the batlefront and some were forced ints exile, whereas others joined the ‘Nationalists’ side. During the Franco dictatorship, repression fell not only on these militant archi Jc whe were expelled from he Architectural Associaton ond ha ter profestnalcences revoked, but also on their works and projects, especially those which most directly represented the polical platform ofthe Second Republic. One example is the Caso Bloc compen, « worker's hovsing prototype; another is the Dispensari Central Anttuberculés of Barcelona, « clinic which served as a model of the democratization of health core; ond a third isthe Pavillon of the Repub- fe, politcal and cultural manifest. The Cosa Bloc had been conceived as a social housing prototype based on the ‘minimum dwell ing! concep, and it was located in the then highly-polilicized working class neighbourhood of Sant Andreu. At the end of he Civil War, the complex was seized by the new regime, leaving it ino state of deterioration due fo alterations and lack of maintenance. The southern block was converted into a Residence for War Widows ond Orphans. The vertical circulation tower, which onnacted that block tothe adjacent block, was sealed off from the rest ofthe complex. The elevo- tos in the remaining towers were disossembled and transferred to other buildings under consiruc- tion a the time. The common areas on the ground floor were comparimentalized and privatized, ‘APolice Unit occupied © large part ofthe south patio for siables and other purposes, sealing it off from the street, The ground floors in the north side blocks were converted into a school, occupying and sealing off most of the north patio. The construction between 1940 and 1945 of a sixth block tnhoute police officers’ families completed the takeover of the complex. ‘The Control Anti Tuberculosis Dispensari of Barealona was intended to address the unsanitary conditions found in the Raval neighbourhood, which athe fime was the most degraded in the «iy and the most densely populated in Europe. The building also represented beliefs regard: ing hygiene tho! were held by the Group, which resulted in a proposal to improve the sanitary condiions ofthe urban fabric. However, athe end of the wor, the neighbourhood continued to delacorate ond the building ise sifered from continual modifications and o lack of maintenance for more than fity years, io as fg Dag he ayo ian ve? ‘Kom i vel tn es, dl 8, et omens Cs) Sas, 208, © 200005 esate tis. ab sedThe ilo ntratian i i Maden leet eta: Esetl Pron and reams Poles GAPS Cansei Pj CS Foe Co 9238, oan So eo Se ee 15 Mt In February 1937, with the Civil Wor raging but with hopes of suppressing General Franco's ilitery insurrection sill alive, the government of the Republic decided to participate in the Paris Werld Fair. A pavilion, whose main objective wes to exhibit the values and aspirations of the Second Republic, was erected to showcose a country in full process of mademization ond innova tion, despite the difficulties imposed by the circumstances of war. This wos fully expressed in the coniras! between the austerity of the materials used for its construction, such as the Uralitafbroce- ‘ment ponels and the quality and abundance of the artwork exhibited inside. Once the event hod. finished, the building was demolished and forgotten while the ortworks it housed were dispersed, due fo the war. Pablo Picasso's ‘Guernica’ would not return to Spain unil 1981. ‘THE VINDICATION OF THE GATCPAC AS AN ACT OF RESISTANCE AGAINST THE FRANCO REGIME A litle lass then twenty years after the end of the Spanish Civil War, Joan Prats orranged a meet ing with © group of young orchitects and students fo view the documents and material which he himself had rescued fram the GATCPAC premises after Franco's oops entered Barcelona. This event, omong others, could be considered « first step towards vindicating a type of architecture strongly dedicated to the social and politcel principles ofthe Second Republic. Such inleres! grew in the sixties, with the frst classification of material from the archive, and the publication of sev eral articles about this issue, especially those regarding Sert, who had become an international figure.The Frotion oF interven Citi in Hoda Moret Resor: Exel Pebsand Constant Pcblas ATPL Cnsrein Fj Cnty 1971 marked the high point ofthis period of vindication with the stoging ofthe first exhibition on GATCPAC at the headquarters of the Architectural Association of Catalonie and the Balearic Is- lends in Barcelona, even though it was ‘camouflaged’ behind Uralito panels. the documents were placed in the Association’s historical archives and issues 90 and 94 of the architectural journal Cuadernos de Arquitectura, which were published in 1972 and 1973 respectively, were devoted tothe first historical research concerning this subject. GATCPAC’S VINDICATION THROUGH RECONSTRUCTION AND PRESERVATION OF ITS WORK UPON REINSTATEMENT OF THE GENERALITAT The Generalitat of Catalonia — an avionomous government body dissolved in 1939 upon Franco's viclory - was restored in 1977 within the framework of the democratic transition. This new context wos especially favourable towards furthering the initial vindications of the 1960's and 1970, the first positive steps taken towards recovering the constructed masterpieces, ‘Asies of interventions illustrate the period covering the early 1980's through to the late 1990's, In 1982, work began on recovering the stucture and on the reconstruction of the Dispensari roof In 1986 « pilot project was begun in one of the blocks of the Caso Bloc, coinciding with the reconstruction period of the Barcelona Pavilion by Mies van der Rohe (1981-1986). This was fol lowed by the reconstruction, in Barcelona, of the Pavilion of the Republic in 1992, taking advan. tage ofthe city’s stoging of the Olympic Games, and a thorough intervention in the Dispensar Then, inthe late 1990's, work began on the second intervention phase in the Casa Bloc. This period coincided with © growing number of intervention projects to recover and conserve Modem architecture in various other counties. Specific problems common fo the restoration ofthis type of architecture started to become evident during this period. So, despite having cvercome the problems related fo the political and social value of the GATCPAC work, such inervetion projects have fo be understood within a context in which the discipline specific to Modern Movement architectural restoration was just beginning to be developed. This is why itis currenly relevant fo onalyze the infervention criteria applied, and to distinguish between essential problems — those that ore inrinsic to the conception and materialization of these works ~ and circumstantial problems - hese thal are charecleristic of @ historically and politically determined conjunclute, in order to understand the consequences they have on longlerm preservation Fe Gece th ie gman Cae bs 17507), ns St ns dod In bb i Sn he 90he bin of ate tr in Meer vem Resear: Ese olla nd Gms bls HTH Conair os Cos Sty Ant i967), As i 29 Solan (ann doa, INTERVENTIONS CARRIED OUT ON GATCPAC PROJECTS AS A REFLECTION OF THE ESSENTIAL PROBLEMS AND CIRCUMSTANTIAL PROBLEMS OF RESTORING THE MODERN MOVEMENT The intervention projects carried out in the Casa Bloc largely consisted of pragmatic repair work, the main objective being the preservation ofits original social composition and function. In the complex’s common areas, it was decided to reverse the imposed modifications, alhough a part of the South Pato remains privatized for the exclusive use ofthe former Residence for War Widows fand Orphans. Despite the fact that during the first phase ofthe refurbishment the demolition ofthe Sinth block was taken into consideration, i remained standing until July, 2008, when demolition ‘work was begun. In the apariments hemselves it was decided to consolidate the changes they hed undergone over fime. The ‘minimum dwelling’ standard set in the 1930's, was no longer considered applicable tothe standards of comfort in the 1980's and 1990's, 30 the enclosing of the opariment terraces, which all the residents had taken upon themselves to do over a number of yeors, was nol reversed, Nevertheless, all ofthis entailed alterations to both the morphology and the original materiality of the complex The works corried out in the Dispensari also involved a high degree of reconstruction, including the rooftops, port ofthe structure, part of the South facade and the plosterwork, Furthermore, ‘original motetials representing a health hazard, such as the fibrocement panels, had 10 be: replaced. With regard fo the conservation of the original relationship between form and function, the conversion ofthe Dispensori Anftuberculds into a Primary Care Centre did not result in signif cant spatial or volumetric alterations in adapting i tothe new programme wih one imporient fxceplion: it proved to be impossible te maintain the original function of the rooHterrace, which had been used for heliotherapy tealment and was @ space central to the concept ofthe building. I become « service area, As for the Pavilion of the Republic, the initial objective for its reconstruction was te remain as foithful as possible a the original design, not only by reconsitucting the building exactly as the original, but also by returning the att works that were once part of its cultural content and1h volt of leven erin Modem Movement Restore: Exel Potions ond Cicunstenil Problems ATA Consrvatn Pj Cr Soy sropaganda, However, the complexily ofthe equipment required by a contemporary exhibition fall was not compatible with the characteristics ofthe originel building. As it was a new build ing, fictional changes were imposed and new building codes were applied which gave rise to considerable formal, constructive and spatial modifications, such as the addition of an originally tonexistent basement (opproximately 300 m7] to house the offices of the company sponsoring ihe new project. This modification fo the original morphology was justified by the fact that the row location had a pronounced slope, unlike the original pet. In spite of the modifications in the fxection of the details and the oppiicotion of contemporary standards, the reconstructed Pavilion, has had to undergo various repoits in litle more than 15 yers Upon onalyzing these eorly cases of intervention, itcan be seen that the fundamental principles of preservation ~ minimum intervention, maximum retention of original fabric, conserving as found, teversbilty of new interventions, or ruling out of any reconstruction work — were all radically ‘wetioned. Infact, many ofthe points, which the Venice Charter determined as exceptions, were recurent in these interventions, Furthermore, the profound difficulties in retaining the original ma tality ofthese buildings helped to allow 0 certain amount of freedom in terms of the introduction chmojor alterations and the application of ireversible intervention methods, or the application of inerertion mothods without sufcient knowledge of their mid-or longterm performance. In some cates tis resulted in the distortion of the material design of the original work This distortion was diretly related to the main essential problems regarding the restoration of these works: the fragility ofthe original materiality ~ due to either the use of new materials without suficent knowledge oftheir performance or durability, or the vse of traditional materials in new vay or in. @-combinotion with new materials, fo atain a new architectural expression ~ the rapid evelopment oF new metetials and olso their rapid supersession; the life expectancy ond rapid tpiration ofthe buildings’ functional programmes coused by the close relationship between form ere funetion, and the projects’ experimental condition However he circumstantial problems posed specific dificulties for he success ofthese inter- vertions. Problems related ta the evolution of socioculurel appreciation of the works include ‘alural and technological proximity, making it dificult to identify the works as being part ofthe archtecurol heritage; changes in building codes; changes in accepted standards of comfort; or changes in the buildings’ surroundings. Problems reloied to developments in the specific discipline af Madera architectural restoration include lack of experience, lack of points of reference for res loraion of Modern Movement works es well as lack of research into Modern materials ond their longterm repair. Ulimately, the most serious problem was the lack of concepival clarity behveen the pracice of renovating 0 contemporary building and that of restoring « heritage building, Thus theze interventions were characterized as having os their primary objective the recovery of the criginol artistic value along with functional and formal aspects, whils the outhentcity of the «riginal materials was undervalued UNDERSTANDING CONSERVATION AS AN ONGOING PROCESS Despite the aforementioned difficulties and dilemmas, in a relatively short period of ime it has proven possible to restore or reproduce Modern materials; to Find functions which ore compatible wiih the original spatial concept ofthese buildings; to gain the appreciation of the nonprofes- sional public, ond so on ~ all issues which ot other limes seemed unresolvable. Evan though this ‘ouion hes taken place and there are a number of cases today where intervention work stands ‘ifr its quality and ie considered exemplary, only 20 years havo passed since the sec change inativdes,cepresented among other things by the creation of DOCOMOMO. This is why we tus! be aware that in comparison to ‘radilional restoration practice, the restoration of the Modern Movement is til nits ecry stage of developmentThe Btn certo ewan Haden oven Rest: Esl role and Gansta Poles ACCS Csr Pj os Ce Sadly Faced with the present state of affairs, ond if Modern resioration does in fact present inher- tent characteristics ond specific problems, itis important to identify which of these are essential problems and which respond to circumstantial slvations that have now begun fo be resolved. It is therefore fundamental to understand conservation as an ongoing process, not as a complete action in ond of itself, and take the experience acquired through restorations catried out on works from preceding periods as @ concephial reference. In this sense, itis necessary to prioritize the Use of non-destructive, riedandtested and reversible methods of intervention os a way to the conservation of both the originality of the materials as well as the original architectural concept, REFERENCES: Corea-Monnino-Gollardo, 1995, “Rehabiltacién del Dispanserio Central Antiuberculoso de Barcelona’, ON Disono 161 ExpinetUbachHoméndez leén, 1993, “Reconstuccién del pabellén espaol en lo Exposicién Universcl de Paris de 1937", ON Disefo 140, Pizza, Antonio Rovira, Josep Matia, feds), 2006, *EIG.ATC.PA.. y su tiempo: paltica, cure y arqul fectura en los aos rein’, 5h Iberian DOCOMOMO Conference Proceedings, Fundacién DOCOMOMO Ibétic. Pizza, Antonio Rovira, Josep Mara, eds), 2006, “GAT.C.PAC. 1928-1939: a new architectre foro new ciy", Museu d'Hiséria de la Ciutat de Bareolona, Snmart-Tores, 1997, "La restauracién de la Caso Bloc", in DOCOMOMOJunta de Andalucia feds), Lo ‘Arquitectero Modern 9 en Andolicia: un parimonio por documentary conserva. Torteg8, Sehedor- Anesto, Antonio - Toes Clevé, Josep and others, 1980, “Josep Torres Clové: arquitecto yrevelucionerio", in 2¢ Congruccién de la Ciudad 15-16. Torragé, Selvador- Roc Francesc Torres Clavé, Josep and others, 1972, "GAT.C.RAC. 1", in Cuadernos de Arquitectura y Urbenismo 90. Torrags, Selvador- Roce Francese -Tevres Cleve, Josep and othors, 1973, "GAT.C.PAC. 2", in Cuadernos de Anquitectra y Usbonismo 94,