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Documenting and Preserving Postmodern Heritage: Challenges and horizons

Introduction
Benjamin Chavardès, Audrey Courbebaisse et Léa-Catherine Szacka
Traduction de Danya Kiernan
Cet article est une traduction de :
Documentation et conservation de l’héritage postmoderne : enjeux et perspectives [fr]

Texte intégral

  • 1 Whether it be popular culture and its associated aesthetics—i.e., the juxtaposition of materials, s (...)
  • 2 Three major publications on postmodern architecture were published in 1966: Aldo Rossi, L’architett (...)
  • 3 While 1989 is associated with the end of communism, new architecture emerged from the 1990s onwards (...)
  • 4 Jean-François Lyotard, La Condition postmoderne. Rapport sur le savoir, Paris, Minuit, 1979.
  • 5 Mary McLeod, “Architecture and Politics in the Reagan Era: From Postmodernism to Deconstrutivism,” (...)
  • 6 This refers to terms used by Robert Venturi in the first part of his book.
  • 7 Liliane Voyé, “Postmodern Architecture and Urbanism: An Expression of Contemporary Relativism?,” Eu (...)

1When Charles Jencks demolished the Pruitt-Igoe housing projects in 1972, he ironically proclaimed the demise of the modern movement, welcoming the birth of postmodern architecture. Yet, despite postmodernism’s elusive nature and manifold references,1 changes could already be identified before 1972, the origins of the movement being linked to the years 19662 and 1989.3 In keeping with Jean-François Lyotard’s4 definition of the end of grand narratives, along with the pervading neoliberalism of the 1970s,5 postmodern architecture encompassed a range of viewpoints: taking into account the voice of minorities, it promoted the “complex,” the “hybrid,” “the quirky,” and the “ambiguous,”6 opposing so-called rationalism and the dogmatism of the international style.7

  • 8 Mario Carpo, “The Postmodern Cult of Monuments,” Future Anterior, vol. IV, n  2, The University of (...)
  • 9 Denise Scott Brown, “Sainsbury Wing: Objection from Denise Scott Brown,” Mas Context, 2022, [online (...)

2Some fifty years after its apparition, postmodern architecture has today been sparking controversy regarding its conservation.8 In 2014, for example, Michael Graves spoke out against the potential destruction of the Portland building, a project inaugurated in 1982, and which had been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 2011. In 2017, debates erupted over the Snøhetta agency’s renovation of the AT&T building in New York, designed by Philip Johnson. More recently, in 2022, Denise Scott Brown penned an article opposing Annabelle Seldorf’s9 alterations to the National Gallery’s Sainsbury Wing. This raises an important question: what can these recent debates teach us?

  • 10 Among them are the Sainsbury Wing of the National Gallery by Venturi, Rauch and Scott Brown, along (...)
  • 11 In the January 21, 2023 issue of Le Monde, the mayors of Cergy, Metz, Montpellier, Noisy-le-Grand, (...)

3Given the changing times and growing threats to postmodern architecture, protective measures and symbols of recognition have been emerging. For example, in 2018, as many as 17 postmodern buildings were awarded Grade I status on the UK’s National Heritage List, its highest level.10 In Italy, the Paolo Portoghesi’s archives were stated to be of notable historical interest in 2006 by the Superintendency of Archives of Lazio. In France, the Antigone district of Montpellier was awarded the Architecture Contemporaine Remarquable label in 2018. And when its architect, Ricardo Bofill, passed away in early 2022, the French municipalities in which he had carried out urban design projects came together to honor him with a full-page tribute in Le Monde.11

  • 12 See Jean-Louis Violeau, Paris postmoderne: architectures 1973-93, Paris, Pavillon de l’Arsenal, 202 (...)
  • 13 Joint lecture of the Bauhaus University Weimar (Chair of Monument Conservation and Building History (...)

4Alongside these heritagization and restoration efforts, there has been a growing body of research documenting this architecture and questioning its preservation.12 In 2020, Bryan Clark Green proposed a panel at the Society of Architectural Historians conference entitled “Preserving the Postmodern Past.” In 2022, the University of Weimar and ETH Zurich focused on German postmodern architecture in a conference entitled “Denkmal Postmoderne: Erhaltung einer ‘nicht-abzuschliessenden’ Epoche.”13

5This issue thus seeks to provide an initial overview of the challenges faced by so-called postmodern heritage, a subject of relevance as seen through the growing number of studies and debates over proposed interventions.

6Three key themes have been raised, constituting the main lines of thought behind the different contributions.

7The first concerns the recognition, identification and visibility of postmodern heritage. In a comparative study of France, Italy, Spain and the UK, Bastien Couturier explores the diverse approaches adopted in recognizing a heritage that remains recent and elusive. The research highlights the lack of protection for this heritage, which itself fails to claim postmodernity, making recognition difficult. Maxime Coq and Claudine Houbart, however, offer insights suggesting that certain literary theories might help to grasp the complex language of postmodern architecture. Thus, in this work, language serves as a defining element and an interpretation key, echoing the semiotic investigations carried out during the postmodern period.

8The second line of inquiry examines heritagization processes and potential ways in which values relating to postmodern architecture can be updated. In a Soviet context rarely identified with postmodernism—which is often associated with Western capitalism—Ksenia Litvinenko raises the question of unfinished works, along with the need to uphold original visions of a design project.

9The last theme involves the more practical questions of authenticity and materiality. Along these lines, Pablo von Frankenberg readily describes the preservation of protected postmodern buildings as a paradox: “how can we maintain structures designed for a transient existence using the rigorous standards of historic monument protection?” In a case of ephemeral architecture, this contribution rethinks how tensions between the new and the old are perceived when it comes to building materials and conservation approaches. Lastly, Julien Correia and Grégory Azar both present researches drawing on practical experiences. Correia offers a careful analysis based on five case studies of postmodern buildings, questioning the authenticity of materials and ideas through concerns over user comfort and the over-complexification of architectural details. Azar explores the preservation of Gino Valle’s work in La Défense, focusing on building envelope interventions and failures related to economic and ecological imperatives that are far removed from any sense of heritage.

10It is interesting to note that little attention has been granted to the heritagization of postmodern architecture. This absence can be explained by a lack of understanding for this relatively recent architecture, thus providing insufficient hindsight for institutions and the public to ensure its preservation. Nevertheless, the contributions in this issue reveal the challenges, and the urgency, of dealing with this architecture.

Understanding

  • 14 André Micoud, Jacques Roux, “L’Architecture en procès de réhabilitation : Réflexions sur l’appropri (...)

11Informed knowledge can prevent the kind of irreversible interventions described by Coq and Houbart in the case of Charles Moore’s work. Litvinenko also shows that, given the complexity and diversity of this architecture, it is important to study both the history of the building and its original intent. This is even more crucial if the project is implemented over a prolonged period and is likely to undergo change. Several authors explore the need to focus on a project’s meaning, particularly in the case of ordinary, unrecognized architecture. However, while the transformation of a physical object sometimes seems legitimate, where does this leave an object’s preservation in terms of its various meanings: historical, symbolic and use?14 Finally, the link between architecture and the city—which is particularly important in certain types of architecture, as shown in the articles by Azar and Litvinenko—remains to be considered. Thus, although the present contributions focus on the architectural object, a broader approach including urban and landscape aspects has yet to be undertaken.

Challenges to intervention

12Another challenge facing our knowledge of this architecture is redefining suitable norms and requirements. Up until now, the traditional historic monument legislative framework has been applied, creating a paradox, as Pablo von Frankenberg points out. Indeed, how can we speak of authenticity and originality when it comes to buildings that were not intended to last over time and/or were built using unsustainable materials? Furthermore, maintaining this architecture along today’s comfort standards poses major obstacles. For example, as Grégory Azar illustrates through Gino Valle’s architecture, energy requirements leave little room for customized rehabilitation projects, which is also the case for other recent architectural heritage.

Horizons

13There are three areas of focus which must further be addressed. Firstly, clarification, definition and identification of postmodernism should be undertaken at the academic, legislative and professional levels. Grégory Azar shows the extent to which identifying the inherent values of a building still depends on the personal efforts of the architect in charge of the renovation project. Secondly, further efforts should be devoted to promoting the building to a variety of audiences. Solene Scherer’s interview with Theresa Krenn and Beni Eder highlights the difficulties involved in promoting architecture to young architects, especially when previously rejected by its own generation. Further, there is a need to “make do with,” given that history is only visible from a present-day perspective and has no bearing on what has already been done. Finally, a process of identifying postmodernist landscape and urban design projects should be carried out. In fact, the absence of contributions dealing with landscape components of postmodern heritage reveals that recognition of landscape heritage is still in its infancy, and thus deserves greater attention.

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Notes

1 Whether it be popular culture and its associated aesthetics—i.e., the juxtaposition of materials, shapes and colors—history, vernacular and local specificities, or forms of the traditional city.

2 Three major publications on postmodern architecture were published in 1966: Aldo Rossi, L’architettura della città, Venice, Marsilio, 1966; Robert Venturi, Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture, New York, Museum of Modern Art; Vittorio Gregotti, Il territorio dell’architettura, Milan, Glanglacomo Feltrinelli Editore.

3 While 1989 is associated with the end of communism, new architecture emerged from the 1990s onwards, with the democratization of the internet and the development of numeric tools within architectural agencies.

4 Jean-François Lyotard, La Condition postmoderne. Rapport sur le savoir, Paris, Minuit, 1979.

5 Mary McLeod, “Architecture and Politics in the Reagan Era: From Postmodernism to Deconstrutivism,” Assemblage, n° 8, February 1989, p. 22-59; Martin Reinhold, Utopia’s Ghost. Architecture and Postmodernism, Again, The University of Minnesota Press, 2010.

6 This refers to terms used by Robert Venturi in the first part of his book.

7 Liliane Voyé, “Postmodern Architecture and Urbanism: An Expression of Contemporary Relativism?,” European Journal of Social Sciences [Online], XLI-126, 2003, [https://doi.org/10.4000/ress.542], accessed on 17/02/2023. See also the definition of postmodernism by Regna Darnell and Jean-François, “Postmodernisme et sciences humaines,” in S. Mesure, P. Savidan (eds.), Dictionnaire des sciences humaines, Paris, Presses universitaires de France, 2006, p. 875-879.

8 Mario Carpo, “The Postmodern Cult of Monuments,” Future Anterior, vol. IV, n  2, The University of Minnesota Press, 2007, p. 50-60.

9 Denise Scott Brown, “Sainsbury Wing: Objection from Denise Scott Brown,” Mas Context, 2022, [online] [https://mascontext.com/observations/sainsbury-wing-objection-from-denise-scott-brown].

10 Among them are the Sainsbury Wing of the National Gallery by Venturi, Rauch and Scott Brown, along with Charles Jencks’ Cosmic House.

11 In the January 21, 2023 issue of Le Monde, the mayors of Cergy, Metz, Montpellier, Noisy-le-Grand, Paris and Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines penned a full page in tribute to the Catalonian architect.

12 See Jean-Louis Violeau, Paris postmoderne: architectures 1973-93, Paris, Pavillon de l’Arsenal, 2023.

13 Joint lecture of the Bauhaus University Weimar (Chair of Monument Conservation and Building History, Prof. Dr. Hans-Rudolf Meier) and the ETHZ Zurich (Chair of Built Heritage and Monument Conservation, Prof. Dr. Ing. Silke Langenberg), 3-5 March 2022. Kirsten Angermann, Hans-Rudolf Meier, Matthias Brenner, Silke Langenberg, Denkmal Postmoderne: Bestände einer (un)geliebten Epoche, Basel, Birkhaüser, 2024.

14 André Micoud, Jacques Roux, “L’Architecture en procès de réhabilitation : Réflexions sur l’appropriation patrimoniale des traditions constructives,” Les Annales de la recherche urbaine, 72, 1996, p. 136-143.

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Benjamin Chavardès, Audrey Courbebaisse et Léa-Catherine Szacka, « Documenting and Preserving Postmodern Heritage: Challenges and horizons »Les Cahiers de la recherche architecturale urbaine et paysagère [En ligne], 21 | 2024, mis en ligne le 30 novembre 2024, consulté le 19 mars 2025. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/craup/15679 ; DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/12x52

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Auteurs

Benjamin Chavardès

Benjamin Chavardès est maître de conférences à l’École nationale supérieure d’architecture de Lyon et membre de l’UMR CNRS 5600 Environnement, Ville et Société. Ses recherches portent sur l’histoire et la théorie de l’architecture postmoderne, sur l’intervention sur le patrimoine bâti et sur l’architecture religieuse. Il est titulaire de la chaire SACRES (Solutions architecturales pour la conception et la reconversion des espaces sacrés. Il a été coordinateur du réseau international scientifique et pédagogique « Architecture Patrimoine et Création » de 2016 à 2023. Il est l’auteur de Quand le post-modernisme s’exposes (Éditions de l’Espérou, 2015) et de L’Italie postmoderne. Paolo Portoghesi, architecte, historien, théoricien (Presses universitaires de Rennes, 2022). Il est coauteur de L’École d’architecture de Lyon. Un manifeste architectural (Libel, 2020). Il a codirigé L’Avenir des églises. État des lieux, stratégies et programmes de reconversion (Presses universitaires de Lyon, 2019), Les Enjeux théoriques de la réhabilitation (Presses architecturales de Lyon, 2019), le dossier "Héritages théoriques"/ "Theoretical legacy" (2019) des Cahiers de la recherche architecturale, urbaine et paysagère, dont il est membre de la rédaction, Ici par ailleurs (Éditions du Patrimoine, 2020) et Entre Rome et Las Vegas (ENSA Paris-Malaquais, 2021).

Articles du même auteur

Audrey Courbebaisse

Audrey Courbebaisse est maîtresse de conférences associée à l’École nationale supérieure d’architecture de Bretagne et membre du Groupe de recherche sur l’invention et l’évolution des formes (GRIEF). Elle est également membre associée du Louvain Research Institute for Landscape, Architecture and Built Environment. Ses recherches portent sur le vieillissement des habitats collectifs construits au XXe siècle et les paradoxes induits par leur réhabilitation/patrimonialisation. Elle est l’auteure de « L’Habitat horizontal de Georges Candilis. Questionner la série pour une patrimonialisation ouverte » (Cahiers LACHT, 2022), « Les Grands Ensembles, patrimonialisation alternative pour un patrimoine alternatif » (In Situ, 2022), « The Renovation of Tower Blocks in Large Housing Estates, From Unity to Disparity, the Case of The Mazades Tower Block (1958-2020) » (Docomomo, 2020).

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Léa-Catherine Szacka

Léa-Catherine Szacka est Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) en études architecturales à l’université de Manchester, directrice du Manchester Architecture Research Group (MARG) et vice-présidente du European Architectural History Network (EAHN). Son travail se concentre sur l’histoire des expositions d’architecture ainsi que sur l’histoire et la théorie de l’architecture postmoderne, notamment dans son interaction avec les médias. Szacka est l’auteure de Exhibiting the Postmodern: The 1980 Venice Architecture Biennale (2016), pour lequel elle a recu le Alice Davis Hitchcock Medallion en 2017, et de Biennials/Triennials: Conversations on the Geography of Itinerant Display (2019). Elle est également coauteur de Le Concert : Pink Floyd à Venise (2017); Paolo Portoghesi: Architecture Between History, Politics and Media (2023); et It’s About Time: The Architecture of Climate Change (2024), ainsi que coéditrice de Mediated Messages: Periodicals, Exhibitions and the Shaping of Postmodern Architecture (2018) et de Concrete Oslo (2018). En 2022, elle est cocommissaire de la 10e biennale internationale d’architecture de Rotterdam. Elle prépare actuellement l’exposition Histories Croisées : Gae Aulenti, Ada Louise Huxtable, Phyllis Lambert sur l’architecture et la ville qui sera présentée en 2025 au Centre culturel canadien à Paris.

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