Badania i prace projektowe w zabytkach architektury w świetle ogólnej problematyki ochrony i konserwacji zabytków

• Authors: Tajchman Jan

Title variants

EN

STUDIES AND DESIGN WORK ON ARCHITECTURAL MONUMENTS IN THE LIGHT OF GENERAL PROBLEMS OF MONUMENTS PROTECTION AND CONSERVATION

• Languages of publication: PL EN

Abstracts

EN

The conservation of the complex or an individual monument of architecture is and should always be a uniform process representing the entity from the moment of its discernment, through design, research and executional work, until the accomplishment of post-execution documentation. Still, an inter-disciplinary nature of this process leads in practice to the „dispersion" of conservation problems, which finally brings about wrong decisions and thus about unsatisfactory execution. To large extent, problems of protection and conservation arise from the monument itself. They are inherent in its history, in individual character, value and also the „physical condition” it has preserved until today. A proper formulation of the conservators’ programmes is possible only through a full study of a given monument of architecture by all specialists participating in a conservation process and, first and foremost, by the persons setting out the programme for this process. I mean here the person or persons who carry out historic studies and the architect — the main designer. The first element in discerning monument of architecture by the designer is its correct conservatory cataloguing done by the designer or at least under his direction. The main basis for getting the knowledge of a monument of architecture should be complex historic studies. In practice we usually deal with three kinds of historic studies depending on the method employed and sources used. They include: 1. A historic-conservation study. This study covers research work carried out by means of humanistic methods through an analysis of written and iconographie sources and an analysis of the form and function of an architectonic work. The outcome of this analysis should always be confronted with general knowledge on the category of works to which a given monument belongs. 2. Archaeological studies: they are carried out by means of an excavation technique through an analysis of the stratigraphy of cultural strata and monuments of material culture contained in there. 3. Architectonic studies: these are studies on the examples of old architecture by means of surface and sounding techniques and by an analysis of building methods tand a stratigraphy of monuments substance. In addition to the above studies, other kinds of specialistic analyses are also employed. In some countries a term „archeometry" has been adopted for analyses made on the basis of natural sciences. Architectural studies in Poland are carried out by workers with different specializations: hence a number of incorrect measures can still be detected. The final goal of architectonic studies is to stratify a monument and to establish its absolute chronology. The final effect of comprehensive historic studies should be two kinds of conclusions: scientific and conservation ones. Conservation conclusions may be precised only after a given monument and its elements have been assessed. The assessment is a point of departure for all other activities. Basing on it as well as on full knowledge of the monument and the theory of the protection of cultural property a general conservation concept is being worked out. This concept determines a further vision of the monument as a unity. Unfortunately, in practice not many of measures undertaken are based on well-prepared and consistently executed conservation concepts. In the further part of conclusions one should deal with land layout (which should also be estimated) and specify the elements that have absolutely to be either preserved or restored. One should also single out less important elements of the layout which may be the subject of interference in order to adjust the monument to modern requirements. Only after a general concept has been solved and its relation to the spatial arrangement determined, other conservation problems can be dealt with. Architectonic studies have to be continued throughout building and conservation work. After conservation conclusions have been approved, further activities with regard to the monument depend on designers, including architects, who, apart from artistic abilities and technical knowledge, should also have additional predispositions such as affection and understanding of old architecture, ability to get subordinated to the monument, ability to work in a team, conservation knowledge and predilection for research work. The most common mistakes in conservation designing concern monuments’ substance and its creation (interpretation), As a rule, more attention is paid to artistic details, while monuments’ substance in form of technical elements as well as spatial or functional arrangements gets destroyed. A new function should be „inscribed” and not „cut in” the monument. Experience shows that the ways of using buildings get changed most often and therefore because these changes are frequent in a historic sense of the word, the old arrangement should not be destroyed. Mistakes concerning the creation are more difficult to be described. We should mention here a change in monuments' standard. How often rooms that were rather modest or had even a working nature are given an almost palace decor. This is a very serious but unfortunately also very common mistake. It changes completely a character of old architecture and is usually the result of an inability to get subordinated to the monument. The most difficult problem of the creation are additions. We speak then of the so-called reintegration. It is aimed at giving an incompletely preserved or deformed structure a certain architectonic form by combining its historic parts and indispensable complements into the uniform compositional entity. The method and scope of exposures of existing and uncovered historic elements should depend on the result of an assessing analysis made after the completion of studies. Integration work gives rise to broad discussions. It is associated with the problem of creative activity, a sense of composition and also of author’s rights with a simultaneous subordination to the monument. Building and conservation work requires a permanent author’s supervision, during which further designing takes often place. This supervision should be performed in a team with the participation of the author(s) of studies. An essential question of author’s supervision is the recording of discovered historic elements and consequent necessary changes in designing documentation. Apart from carrying out architectonic studies and compiling the material for post-execution documentation the implementation of author’s supervision is the best practical school of the conservation of architectural monuments.

• Publisher: Narodowy Instytut Dziedzictwa
• Journal: Ochrona Zabytków
• Year: 1985
• Issue: 3-4
• Pages: 157-163

Dates

published

1985

Contributors

author

Tajchman Jan

• dr inż. arch., Instytut Zabytkoznawstwa i Konserwatorstwa UMK w Toruniu oraz PP PKZ — Oddział w Toruniu

References

• M. Br y kows ka, Dokumentacja do prac konserwatorskich, „Prace Naukowe” Politechniki Warszawskiej, Budownictwo, z. 70, 1981, s. 135—154.
• J. T. Frazi k, Megaskopowa analiza materiału, techniki i stratygrafii murow oraz tynkow zabytkowych budowli (uwag i o metodzie), „Czasopismo Techniczne", z. 3, 1968, s. 1—8.
• W. H e n s e I, Archeologia żywa, Warszawa 1983, s. 13.
• J. R i e d e r e r, Archoometrie und Denkmalpflege, „Zeitschrift fur Stadtgeschichte Stadtsoziologie und Denkmalpflege” , z. 1, 1976, s. 22.
• L. K a j z e r, Wstęp do badań archeoiogiczno-architektonicznych, Łodź 1984, s. 13.
• А. В a r b a с с i, Konserwacja zabytkow we Włoszech (tłumaczenie H. Szymańska), ODZ, Warszawa 1966, s. 322,
• M. A r s z y ń s k i, J. T a j с h m a n, Wybrane zagadnienia słownictwa konserwatorskiego w dziedzinie zabytkow architektury (na tle analizy podstawowych pojęć), maszynopis, Toruń — Warszawa 1971 (referat wygłoszony w Sekcji Historii Architektury i Urbanistyki oraz Ochrony Zabytkow Wydz. Techniki PAN w Warszawie).

Identifiers

ISSN

0029-8247