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129-642: The Dublin Civic Trust is an architectural conservation and educational organisation founded in 1991 that works to identify, record, preserve and publicise Dublin's architectural heritage. The trust also comments and assists to a lesser extent with other buildings outside of Dublin. The trust regularly appears in national print media lobbying on conservation and architectural heritage issues as well as contributing annual budget submissions. An earlier Dublin civic group had been set up in December 1966 with similar aims to

258-402: A building is not to maintain it, repair it or remake it: it is to re-establish it in a complete state which may never have existed at any given moment." He then explained that it had to meet four conditions: (1) The "re-establishment" had to be scientifically documented with plans and photographs and archeological records, which would guarantee exactness. (2) The restoration had to involve not just

387-474: A building is the value and knowledge that can be gained from the material remaining within the building. The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings has a unique approach to the preservation of historic buildings, which focuses on the materials that were used in the building's construction and what knowledge can be learned from the remaining material. One of the biggest challenges to building restoration

516-408: A castle begun by Louis of Orleans in 1396, then dismantled in 1617 after several sieges by Louis XIII of France . Napoleon bought the ruin for 5000 francs in 1812, and Mérimée declared it an historic monument in 1848. In 1857 Viollet-le-Duc began designing an entirely new chateau on the ruins. This structure was not designed to recreate anything exactly that had existed, but a castle which recaptured

645-543: A dispute with the doctrines of the École des Beaux-Arts , the leading architectural school of France, which he refused to attend as a student, and where he taught briefly as a professor, before being pressured to depart. In 1846 he engaged in a fervent exchange in print with Quatremère de Quincy , the Perpetual Secretary of the French Academy, on the question, "Is it suitable, in the 19th century, to build churches in

774-461: A fault; for us, this is a quality which we too often neglect in our modern construction....Why should we build expensive walls two meters thick, if walls fifty centimeters thick [with reinforced supports], offer sufficient stability? In the structure of the Middle Ages, every portion of a work fulfilled a function and possessed an action." During the entire career of Viollet-le-Duc, he was engaged in

903-497: A general audience. He also devoted more time to studying the geography of the Alps around Mont-Blanc. He spent his summers hiking in the mountains and writing articles about his travels. He launched a public campaign for the re-forestation of the Alps, and published a detailed map of the area in 1876. He spent more and more time at La Vedette , the villa he constructed in Lausanne, a house on

1032-500: A handful of new buildings. He tired of the confrontations and resigned on 16 May 1863, and continued his writing and teaching outside the Beaux-Arts. In response to the Beaux-Arts he initiated the creation of the École Spéciale d'Architecture in Paris in 1865. In the beginning of 1864, he celebrated the conclusion of his most important project, the restoration of Notre-Dame. In January of

1161-430: A high level of authenticity, accurately replicating historic materials and techniques as much as possible, ideally using modern techniques only in a concealed manner where they will not compromise the historic character of the structure's appearance. For instance a restoration might involve the replacement of outdated heating and cooling systems with newer ones, or the installation of climate controls that never existed at

1290-453: A lightness needed in a building of such great dimensions. We can still see (and this is only found in Gothic architecture) that human proportions are the one fixed rule." Viollet-le-Duc was often accused by certain critics, in his own time and later, of pursuing the spirit of the Gothic style in some of his restorations instead of strict historical accuracy. Many art historians also consider that

1419-561: A new project for restoration of the Cathedral of Clermont-Ferrand , a project which continued for ten years. He also undertook an unusual project for Napoleon III; the design and construction of six railway coaches with neo-Gothic interior décor for the Emperor and his entourage. Two of the cars still exist; the salon of honour car, with a fresco on the ceiling, is at the Château de Compiègne , and

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1548-482: A new site. The buildings are often built to better standards and as mentioned above have unique architectural elements that can increase business. Cultural significance - One of the most important reasons that a site is restored is because of its cultural significance. Certain sites are tied to a nation’s identity making the site more valuable for what it provides to the culture than if it were demolished. According to Building Talk , “the renovation of heritage buildings

1677-457: A new spire, ornamented with statuary, which was taller than the original and modified to resist the weather, but in harmony with the rest of the design. In the 19th and 20th century, his flèche was a target for critics. He was also criticized later for his modifications of the choir of Notre-Dame, which had been rebuilt in the Louis XIV style during the reign of that king. Viollet-le-Duc took out

1806-436: A number of private residences and new buildings in Paris. He also participated in the most important competition of the period, for the new Paris Opera . There were one hundred seventy-one projects proposed in the original competition, presented the 1855 Paris Universal Exposition . A jury of noted architects narrowed it down to five, including projects from Viollet-le-Duc and Charles Garnier , age thirty-five. Viollet-le-Duc

1935-450: A republic to an empire. The coup accelerated some of Viollet-le-Duc's projects as his patron Prosper Mérimée had introduced him to the new Emperor. He moved forward with the slow work of restoration of the Cathedral of Reims and Cathedral of Amiens . In Amiens, he cleared the interior of the French classical decoration added under Louis XIV, and proposed to make it resolutely Gothic. He gave

2064-473: A result of the ravages of time and use. Building restoration can be thought of as that set of activities which are greater than year-to-year maintenance, but which by retaining the building are less than a demolition and the construction of a new building. Not all building conservation seeks to follow the original design of the building. It is reasonably commonplace for the shell of a building — its external walls — to be retained whilst an entirely new building

2193-399: A site of unknown significance. Although rare, there are times when a site would be demolished or reconstruction is chosen over restoration. This decision is made primarily when the resources to restore the site are unavailable. The challenge to reconstruction is that there is an element of conjecture in the process that can easily alter the site unintentionally. Another reason not to restore

2322-586: A subset of preservation with some variation to account for the different requirements of the building and the needs of the institution. The reasons to restore a building most frequently fall into five main categories. Value - Buildings hold intrinsic value not only in the history of the building, how it was used, but also how it was built. Historic buildings, notably pre-WWII, are built with higher quality materials and built under different standards than modern buildings. Architectural Design - Buildings have personalities, specific architectural elements that make

2451-417: Is complete, the next step is a thorough measured survey with a tape, rod and level. Modern measuring techniques, such as photogrammetry (the use of aerial photographs to make maps and surveys) and stereophotogrammetry, are also used today to increase accuracy. Once the measurements are complete, there is an analysis of the structural stability of the building and its living pattern of movement. No building

2580-558: Is constantly evolving as new sites of cultural significance are added. Another great resource for restoration of cultural heritage sites is the World Monuments Fund , which focuses on working with local groups around the world providing support for restoration, preservation, and stewardship. Restoration of Historic Buildings Restoration of historic buildings varies from country to country, just as with cultural heritage sites and other building restoration projects. Before any work

2709-404: Is constructed within. This approach is also referred to as adaptive reuse . Although techniques of architectural conservation are improving, the action of cleaning or repairing buildings can, with hindsight, be seen to cause problems that at the time were unforeseen. A good example is the unrestrained use of sandblasting to clean smog deposits from soft-stoned buildings — a technique employed in

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2838-501: Is done on a historic building, conservator-restorers should consult local requirements. Best practices listed above still apply. One example of restoration of historic buildings is the work conducted by the National Park Service which owns and maintains thousands of historic buildings and has been a leader in historic preservation for over 100 years. The standards were developed in 1975 and updated in 1992. The standards deal with

2967-411: Is essential to the permanent residence of history and culture in the nation’s psyche.” One chance rule - When a building is demolished what is lost cannot be measured. The site could hold a one of a kind design element or a historically significant past currently unknown. The One chance rule is guided by the idea that there is only one chance to restore a site and missing that opportunity could destroy

3096-438: Is often only a beginning as many of the original materials are either unstable or in many cases environmentally unsound. Many eighteenth century greens were made with arsenic and lead, materials no longer allowed in paints. Another problem occurs when the original pigment came from a material no longer available. For example, in the early to mid-19th century, some browns were produced from bits of ground mummies . In cases like this

3225-433: Is permanently still; soil and wind can affect building stability and need to be documented. Finally, the architect or surveyor tests the electrical connections, plumbing, and other utilities present in the building (this is more for historic and re-purposed buildings). For both ancient and historic buildings, lightning conductors and fire-fighting equipment are checked to make sure they can provide sufficient protection. At

3354-419: Is that each country has their own terminology, standards, regulations and oversights which impact every restoration process. As a result, there are no international set of standards. Conservators often follow best practices in the restoration approach. Every restoration project will adhere to the standard that the property is to be used as it was originally intended. This standard will guide all other decisions in

3483-513: Is the process by which individuals or groups attempt to protect valued buildings from unwanted change. As a movement, architectural conservation in general, and the preservation of ancient structures specifically, gained momentum during the 18th and 19th centuries. It was a response to modernism and its corresponding architectural perspective, which eschewed sentimental attachment to old buildings and structures in favor of technological and architectural progress and change. Prior to this time most of

3612-659: The Arts and Crafts movement . At the International Exhibition of 1862 in London , the aesthetic works of Edward Burne-Jones , Christina Rossetti , Philip Webb , William Morris, Simeon Solomon , and Edward Poynter were directly influenced from drawings in Viollet-le-Duc's Dictionary. Viollet-le-Duc was born in Paris in 1814. His grandfather was an architect, and his father was a high-ranking civil servant, who in 1816 became

3741-677: The Bronze Age , like Egypt's Great Pyramids , still stand today. Ancient buildings such as the Egyptian pyramids, the Roman Colosseum , and the Parthenon face common preservation issues. The most prominent factors affecting these structures are the environment, pollution, and tourism. As the Earth's climate patterns change, so too do the environmental conditions governing these buildings. For example,

3870-514: The Franco-Prussian War , and the city was now part of Germany. The German government invited Viollet-le-Duc to comment on their plans for the restoration, which involved a more grandiose Romanesque tower. Viollet-le-Duc informed the German architect that the planned new tower was completely out of character with the original facade and style of the cathedral. His advice was accepted, and the church

3999-543: The July Revolution of 1830. The new spire was completed, taller and more strongly built to withstand the weather; it was decorated with statues of the apostles, and the face of Saint Thomas, patron saint of architects, bore a noticeable resemblance to Viollet-le-Duc. The spire was destroyed on 15 April 2019, as a result of the Notre-Dame de Paris fire . When not engaged in Paris, Viollet-le-Duc continued his long tours into

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4128-624: The Paris Salon , and began making a travel book, Picturesque and romantic images of the old France , for which, between 1838 and 1844, he made nearly three hundred engravings. In October 1838, with the recommendation of Achille Leclère , the architect with whom he had trained, he was named deputy inspector of the enlargement of the Hôtel Soubise , the new home of the French National Archives. His uncle, Delécluze, then recommended him to

4257-537: The Tuileries Palace , where his father was now governor of royal residences. His family again urged him to attend the École des Beaux-Arts, but he still refused. He wrote in his journal in December 1831, "the École is just a mould for architects. they all come out practically identical." He was a talented and meticulous artist; he travelled around France to visit monuments, cathedrals, and other medieval architecture, made detailed drawings and watercolours. In 1834, at

4386-502: The Vermont State House and Boston Public Library are examples of this type of heritage restoration. Historical conservation is the "preservation and repair of archaeological, historical, and cultural sites and artifacts". When dealing with building conservation, there are four primary types of treatment, or ways in which a property can be managed. Each one has their own objectives and limitations. The next two treatments are

4515-430: The "...materials, features, finishes, spaces, and spatial relationships..." of historic buildings and are divided into preservation, rehabilitating, restoration and reconstruction. As buildings can sustain various forms of damage and deterioration over time, understanding the cause of this damage and finding the best way to treat and prevent it is an important aspect to building restoration. The Agents of Deterioration are

4644-490: The British architectural writer John Ruskin and William Morris were ferocious opponents of Viollet le Duc's restorations. But Ruskin never criticised Viollet le Duc's restoration work in itself, but criticised the principle of restoration itself. Indeed, at the beginning of his career Ruskin had a very radical opinion on restoration: "a building should be looked after and if not it should be left to die". Viollet le Duc's position on

4773-588: The Cemetery of Bois-le-Vaux (Section XVIII) in Lausanne. Viollet-le-Duc married Elisabeth Tempier in Paris on 3 May 1834. The couple had two children, but separated a few years after marriage, and spent little time together; he was continually on the road. The writer Geneviève Viollet-le-Duc (winner of the prix Broquette-Gonin in 1978) was his great-granddaughter. Viollet-le-Duc famously defined restoration in volume eight of his Dictionnaire raisonné de l'architecture française du XI au XVI siecle of 1858: "To restore

4902-523: The Colosseum has already faced lightning, fire, and earthquakes. The changing climate increases the accumulation of salt crystals on the outside of monuments like the Colosseum and the Parthenon. This phenomenon increases the deterioration of these buildings. The salt crystals further contribute to the black effect that man-made pollution has on these buildings. The Parthenon is especially exposed and many of

5031-614: The Commune had been suppressed and saw the ruins of most of the public buildings of the city, burned by the Commune in its last days. He received his only commission from the new government of the French Third Republic ; Jules Simon , the new Minister of Culture and Public Instruction, asked him to design a plaque to be placed before Notre-Dame to honor the hostages killed by the Paris Commune in its final days. The new government of

5160-541: The Emperor a tour of his project in September 1853; the Empress immediately offered to pay two-thirds of the cost of the restoration. In the same year he undertook the restoration of the Château de Vincennes , long occupied by the military, along with its chapel, similar to Sainte-Chapelle . A devotee of the pure Gothic, he described the chapel as "one of the finest specimens of Gothic in decline". In November 1853, he provided

5289-526: The Emperor was captured at the Battle of Sedan , a new Republican government took power, and the Empress Eugénie fled into exile, as Germans marched as far as Paris and put it under siege. At the same time, on September 23, Viollet-le-Duc's primary patron and supporter, Prosper Mérimée, died peacefully in the south of France. Viollet-le-Duc supervised the construction of new defensive works outside Paris. The war

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5418-881: The French Third Republic made little use of his expertise in the restoration of the major government buildings which had been burned by the Paris Commune , including the Tuileries Palace , the Palace of the Legion of Honor , the Palais-Royal , the library of the Louvre , the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Finance. The only reconstruction on which he was consulted was that of the Hotel de Ville . The writer Edmond de Goncourt called for leaving

5547-500: The French provinces, inspecting and checking the progress of more than twenty different restoration projects that were under his control, including seven in Burgundy alone. New projects included the Basilica of Saint-Sernin, Toulouse , and the Basilica of Saint-Denis just outside Paris. Saint-Denis had undergone a restoration by a different architect, Francois Debret, who had rebuilt one of

5676-502: The Gothic style?" De Quincy and his followers denounced the Gothic style as incoherent, disorderly, unintelligent, decadent and without taste. Viollet-le-Duc responded, "What we want, messieurs , is the return of an art which was born in our country....Leave to Rome what belongs to Rome, and to Athens what belongs to Athens. Rome didn't want our Gothic (and was perhaps the only one in Europe to reject it) and they were right, because when one has

5805-625: The Pension Moran, in Fontenay-aux-Roses . He returned to Paris in 1829 as a student at the college de Bourbon (now the Lycée Condorcet ). He passed his baccalaureate examination in 1830. His uncle urged him to enter the École des Beaux-Arts , which had been created in 1806, but the École had an extremely rigid system, based entirely on copying classical models, and Eugène was not interested. Instead he decided to get practical experience in

5934-524: The UK in the 1960s and 1970s — which has damaged the external faces of stonework to the extent that in some cases, later, the stonework has needed to be replaced. Contemporary building codes recognize such problems, and (it is to be hoped) mitigate poor outcomes. Most ancient buildings are constructed of stone and have survived from antiquity as a result of the stability of this building material. However, stone can deteriorate rapidly without protection, particularly in

6063-643: The Windsor Great Hall in Windsor Castle after a destructive fire in 1992. The 1985–1989 removal of 38 layers of paint and the cleaning and repair of the exterior sandstone walls of the White House in the United States are an example of building restoration. Buildings are structures which have, from time to time, particular purposes. They require ongoing maintenance to prevent them falling into disrepair as

6192-563: The age of twenty, he married Élisabeth Templier, and in the same year he was named an associate professor of ornamental decoration at the Royal School of Decorative Arts, which gave him a more regular income. His first pupils there included Léon Gaucherel . With the money from the sale of his drawings and paintings, Viollet-le-Duc set off on a long tour of the monuments of Italy, visiting Rome, Venice, Florence and other sites, drawing and painting. In 1838, he presented several of his drawings at

6321-490: The ancient buildings that were still standing had only survived because they either had significant cultural or religious import, or they had yet to be discovered. The growth of the architectural conservation movement took place at a time of significant archaeological discovery and scientific advancement. Those educated in the field began to see various examples of architecture as either being "correct" or "incorrect". Because of this, two schools of thought began to emerge within

6450-425: The appearance of the monument, or the effect that it produced, but also its structure; it had to use the most efficient means to assure the long life of the building, including using more solid materials, used more wisely. (3) the restoration had to exclude any modification contrary to obvious evidence; but the structure could be adapted to conform to more modern or rational uses and practices, which meant alterations to

6579-519: The architect Jean-Baptiste Lassus he began the restoration of Sainte-Chapelle in Paris, which had been turned into a storage depot after the Revolution. In February 1843, King Louis Philippe sent him to the Château of Amboise , to restore the stained glass windows in the chapel holding the tomb of Leonardo da Vinci . The windows were unfortunately destroyed in 1940 during World War II. In 1843, Mérimée took Viollet-le-Duc with him to Burgundy and

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6708-477: The architectural offices of Jacques-Marie Huvé and Achille Leclère , while devoting much of his time to drawing medieval churches and monuments around Paris. At sixteen he participated in the July 1830 revolution which overthrew Charles X , building a barricade. Following the revolution, which brought Louis Philippe to power, his father became chief of the bureau of royal residences. The new government created, for

6837-469: The armed force of the Paris Commune who subsequently condemned him to death. He escaped to Pierrefonds, where he had a small apartment before going in exile in Lausanne , where he engage in his passion for mountains, making detailed maps and a series of thirty-two drawings of the alpine scenery. While in Lausanne he was also asked to undertake the restoration of the cathedral. He returned later to Paris after

6966-450: The building unique and more valuable. Saving these unique traits within original building are ideal. Sustainability - Historic buildings store a lot of embodied energy. Hence, it is better to preserve or re-use them rather than demolition. Restoring a building for another purpose than its original intent is called adaptive reuse . Financially, businesses are better off restoring a building and adapting it for modern use than constructing

7095-452: The choir built under Louis XIV. Viollet-le-Duc himself turned down a proposal to add two new spires atop the towers, arguing that such a monument "would be remarkable but would not be Notre-Dame de Paris". Instead, he proposed to rebuild the original medieval spire and bell tower over the transept, which had been removed in 1786 because it was unstable in the wind. Once the project was approved, Viollet-le-Duc made drawings and photographs of

7224-460: The construction and reported to Mérimée: "The young Leduc seems entirely worthy of your confidence. He needed a magnificent audacity to take charge of such a desperate enterprise; it's certain that he arrived just in time, and if we had waited only ten years the church would have been a pile of stones." This restoration work lasted 19 years. Viollet-le-Duc's success at Vezelay led to a large series of projects. In 1840, in collaboration with his friend

7353-424: The continued restoration of Notre-Dame. Viollet-le-Duc was also to replace the great bestiary of mythical beasts and animals which had decorated the cathedral in the 18th century. In 1856, using examples from other medieval churches and debris from Notre-Dame as his model, his workshop produced dragons, chimeras, grotesques, and gargoyles, as well as an assortment of picturesque pinnacles and fleurons . He engaged in

7482-582: The costs and plans for the medieval ramparts of Carcassonne which he had first begun planning in 1849. The first fortifications had been built by the Visigoths ; on top of these, in the Middle Ages Louis ;XI and then Philip the Bold had built a formidable series of towers, galleries, walls, gates and interlocking defences that resisted all sieges until 1355. The fortifications were largely intact, since

7611-416: The danger of fires, as long as the new structure was not heavier than the original, and kept the original balance of forces found in medieval structures. "The monuments of the Middle Ages were carefully calculated, and their organism is delicate. There is nothing in excess in their works, nothing useless. If you change one of the conditions of these organisms, you change all the others. Many people consider this

7740-514: The defence platforms, roofs on the towers and shelters for archers that would have been used during a siege. He found many of the original mountings for weapons still in place. To accompany his work, he published a detailed history of the city and its fortifications, with his drawings. Carcassonne became the best example of medieval military architecture in France, and also an important tourist attraction. Napoleon III provided additional funding for

7869-514: The destruction of ancient structures. One of the most ardent supporters of this school of thought in the 19th century was the French architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc . Victorian restoration of medieval churches was widespread in England and elsewhere, with results that were deplored at the time by William Morris and are now widely regretted. The Department of the Interior of the United States defined

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7998-555: The dining car, with a massive golden eagle as the centrepiece of the décor, is at the Railroad Museum of Mulhouse . Napoleon III asked Viollet-le-Duc if he could restore a medieval chateau for the Emperor's own use near Compiègne, where the Emperor traditionally passed September and October. Viollet-le-Duc first studied a restoration of the Château de Coucy , which had the highest medieval tower in France. When this proved too complicated, he settled upon Château de Pierrefonds ,

8127-475: The emotional connection to the cultural ancestors. The conservation and restoration of cultural heritage sites pose different challenges and often follow different guidelines because of designation of a heritage site. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is a guiding resource in the conservation of cultural heritage sites. UNESCO's mission is to identify, protect, and preserve World Heritage Sites . The World Heritage List

8256-399: The end of this assessment process, the conservator will analyze all the collected data and decide on a conservation plan based on available funding sources.. The phrase covers a wide span of activities, from the cleaning of the interior or exterior of a building — as took place at St Paul's Cathedral in London — to the rebuilding of damaged or derelict buildings, such as the restoration of

8385-486: The entire structure, and always have an aspect of resistance, of force and stability which reassures the eye and the spirit; The vaults, built with materials that are easy to mount and to place at a great height, are combined in an easy disposition that places the totality of their weight on the piles; that the most simple means are always employed...and that all the parts of these constructions, independent of each other, even as they rely on each other, present an elasticity and

8514-500: The entirety of the cultural and built environment . This broader scope recognizes that society has mechanisms to identify and value historic cultural resources, create laws to protect these resources, and develop policies and management plans for interpretation, protection, and education. Typically this process operates as a specialized aspect of a society's planning system, and its practitioners are termed built or historic environment conservation professionals. Architectural conservation

8643-531: The exact battlefield. Viollet-le-Duc conducted excavations at various purported sites, and finally found vestiges of the walls built at the time. He also designed the metal frame for the six-metre-high statue of the Gallic chief Vercingétorix that would be placed on the site. He later designed a similar frame for a much larger statue, the Statue of Liberty , but died before that statue was finished. In 1863, Viollet-le-Duc

8772-405: The existing decorative elements; then they were removed and a stream of sculptors began making new statues of saints, gargoyles, chimeras and other architectural elements in a workshop he established, working from his drawings and photographs of similar works in other cathedrals of the same period. He also designed a new treasury in the Gothic style to serve as the museum of the cathedral, replacing

8901-402: The field of building conservation. Preservation/Conservation were used interchangeably to refer to the architectural school of thought that either encouraged measures that would protect and maintain buildings in their current state, or would prevent further damage and deterioration to them. This school of thought saw the original design of old buildings as correct in and of themselves. Two of

9030-404: The first modern architects, Frank Lloyd Wright , Mies van der Rohe , Auguste Perret , Louis Sullivan , and Le Corbusier , who considered Viollet-le-Duc as the father of modern architecture. The English architect William Burges admitted in his late life "We all cribbed on Viollet-le-Duc even though no one could read French". His writings also influenced John Ruskin , William Morris , and

9159-399: The first time, the position of Inspector General of Historic Monuments. Eugène's uncle Delécluze agreed to take Eugène on a long tour of France to see monuments. They travelled from July to October 1831 throughout the south of France, and he returned with a large collection of detailed paintings and watercolours of churches and monuments. On his return to Paris, he moved with his family into

9288-474: The flaws of construction that had caused the building to start to collapse in the first place and to construct a more solid and stable structure. He lightened the roof and built new arches to stabilize the structure, and slightly changed the shape of the vaults and arches. He was criticized for these modifications in the 1960s, though, as his defenders pointed out, without them the roof would have collapsed under its own weight. Mérimée's deputy, Lenormant, inspected

9417-508: The following treatment approaches to architectural conservation: Other nations recognize some or all of these as potential treatments for historic structures. Canada recognizes preservation, rehabilitation, and restoration. The Burra Charter , for Australia , identifies preservation, restoration, and reconstruction. The earliest building materials used by ancient peoples, such as wood and mud, were organic. Organic materials were used because they were plentiful and renewable. Unfortunately,

9546-426: The geology and geography of the region around Mont Blanc in the Alps. While on his mapping excursion in the Alps in July 1870, he learned that war had been declared between Prussia and France. As the Franco-Prussian War commenced, Viollet-le-Duc hurried back to Paris, and offered his services as a military engineer; he was put into service as a colonel of engineers, preparing the defenses of Paris. In September,

9675-430: The good fortune to possess a national architecture, the best thing is to keep it." "If you study for a moment a church of the 13th century", he wrote, "you see that all of the construction is carried out according to an invariable system. All the forces and the weights are thrust out to the exterior, a disposition which gives the interior the greatest open space possible. The flying buttresses and contreforts alone support

9804-653: The government decided to preserve the Renaissance facade, but otherwise to completely demolish and rebuild the building. Throughout his life Viollet le Duc wrote over 100 publications on architecture, decoration, history, archeology etc.... some of which would become international best-sellers: Dictionary of French Architecture from 11th to 16th Century (1854–1868), Entretiens sur l'architecture (1863–1872), L'histoire d'une Maison (1873) and Histoire d'un Dessinateur: Comment on Apprend à Dessiner (1879). In his Entretiens sur l'architecture he concentrated in particular on

9933-531: The interior: rebuilding two of the bays to their original medieval height of four storeys, and removing the marble neoclassical structures and decoration which had been added to the choir during the reign of Louis XIV. Mérimée warned them to be careful: "In such a project, one cannot act with too much prudence or discretion...A restoration may be more disastrous for a monument than the ravages of centuries." The Commission on Historical Monuments approved most of Viollet-le-Duc's plans, but rejected his proposal to remove

10062-433: The largest iconography on the subject to this day. In 1844, with the backing of Mérimée, Viollet-le-Duc, just thirty years old, and Lassus, then thirty-seven, won a competition for the restoration of Notre-Dame Cathedral which lasted twenty-five years. Their project involved primarily the facade, where many of the statues over the portals had been beheaded or smashed during the Revolution. They proposed two major changes to

10191-476: The main proponents of preservation and conservation in the 19th century were art critic John Ruskin and artist William Morris . Restoration was the conservationist school of thought that believed historic buildings could be improved, and sometimes even completed, using current day materials, design, and techniques. In this way it is very similar to the Modernist architectural theory, except it does not advocate

10320-414: The metalwork foundry Gaget, Gauthier & Co., Viollet-le-Duc chose the metal which would be used for the skin, copper sheets, and the method used to shape it, repoussé , in which the sheets were heated and then struck with wooden hammers. An advantage of this choice was that the entire statue would be light for its volume, as the copper need be only 0.094 inches (2.4 mm) thick. He became engaged in

10449-446: The mission of restoring and reconstructing the church so it would not collapse, while "respecting exactly in his project of restoration all the ancient dispositions of the church". The task was all the more difficult because up until that time no scientific studies had been made of medieval building techniques, and there were no schools of restoration. He had no plans for the original building to work from. Viollet-le-Duc had to discover

10578-438: The model of a Savoyard chalet, but with a minimum of decoration, illustrating his new doctrine of form following function. He made one last visit to inspect Carcassonne, whose work was now under his son's direction. After an exhausting summer of hiking in the Alps in 1879, he became ill and died in Lausanne on 17 September 1879. He was buried in the cemetery of La Sallaz in Lausanne. In 1946 his grave and monument were transferred to

10707-400: The modern era of pollution and climate change. There are many organizations that work to raise public awareness of the necessity to preserve ancient and historic buildings and areas, across communities, users and government. In addition to promoting the cultural value of these buildings, and encouraging appropriate policies and strategies for conservation, the organizations can help in raising

10836-418: The new Commission of Historic Monuments of France, led by Prosper Mérimée , who had just published a book on medieval French monuments. Though he was just twenty-four years old and had no degree in architecture, he was asked to go to Narbonne to propose a plan for the completion of the cathedral there. The project was rejected by the local authorities as too ambitious and too expensive. His first real project

10965-422: The new gargoyles and monsters on examples from other cathedrals of the period. He was later criticized also for the stained glass windows he designed and had made for the chapels around the ground level of the cathedral, which feature intricate Gothic designs in grisaille , which allow more light into the church. The contemporary view of the controversy of his restoration is summarized on a descriptive panel near

11094-517: The old choir, including the altar where Napoleon Bonaparte had been crowned Emperor and replaced them with a Gothic altar and decoration which he designed. When he modified the choir, he also constructed new bays with small Gothic rose windows modelled on those in the church of Chars , in the Oise Valley. Some historians condemned these restorations as non-historical invention. His defenders pointed out that Viollet-le-Duc did not make any decisions on

11223-483: The organic materials used were also very susceptible to the two most significant impediments to preservation and conservation: the elements and life (both human and animal). Over time inorganic materials like brick, stone, metal, concrete, and terra cotta began to be used by ancient people instead of organic ones, due to their durability. In fact, we know that these materials are durable because many ancient structures that are composed of them, even some built as far back as

11352-430: The original plan; and (4) The restoration should preserve older modifications made to the building, with the exception of those which compromised its stability or its conservation, or those which gravely violated the value of its historical presence. He drew conclusions from medieval architecture that he applied to modern architecture. He noted that it was sometimes necessary to employ an iron frame in restoration to avoid

11481-402: The original tiles. He was also criticized for the materials and ornaments he added to the towers, including gargoyles. His structural design was preserved, but in 1925 his gargoyles and original ornamentation were removed, and the spire was recovered with tiles. His reputation had reached outside of France. The spire and roof of Strasbourg Cathedral had been damaged by German artillery during

11610-463: The overseer of the royal residences of Louis XVIII. His uncle Étienne-Jean Delécluze was a painter, a former student of Jacques-Louis David , an art critic and hosted a literary salon, which was attended by Stendhal and Sainte-Beuve . His mother hosted her own salon, which women could attend as well as men. There, in 1822 or 1823, Eugène met Prosper Mérimée , a writer who would play a decisive role in his career. In 1825 he began his education at

11739-713: The planning and construction of the Paris Universal Exposition of 1878 . He proposed to the Minister of Education, Jules Ferry , that the Trocadéro Palace , the main building of the Exposition on the hilltop of Chaillot, be transformed after the Exposition into a museum of French monuments, displaying models of architecture and sculpture from landmarks around France. This idea was accepted. The National Museum of French Monuments opened in 1882, after his death. The Palais

11868-459: The preservation of structures such as historic sites, houses, monuments, and other significant properties through careful maintenance and upkeep. Restoration aims to create accurate depictions of these locations and protect them against deterioration that could make them inaccessible or unrecognizable in the future. In the field of historic preservation , building restoration is the action or process of accurately revealing, recovering or representing

11997-459: The press, and was elected to the Paris municipal council. While planning the design and construction of the Statue of Liberty ( Liberty Enlightening the World ) sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi interested Viollet-le-Duc, his friend and mentor, in the project. As chief engineer, Viollet-le-Duc designed a brick pier within the statue, to which the skin would be anchored. After consultations with

12126-591: The public due to the deterioration that has been caused by tourists. The pyramids in Giza have also encountered problems due to large numbers of tourists; more tourists mean greater humidity and water presence, which can lead to erosion. All of the above factors complicate the conservation options available to treat these buildings. The first step in any building conservation project is a sensitive assessment of its history and merits. As noted architect Donald Insall states, "Every building has its own biography. A knowledge of

12255-401: The relationship between form and function in architecture had a fundamental influence on a whole new generation of architects, including all the major Art Nouveau artists: Antoni Gaudí , Victor Horta , Hector Guimard , Henry van de Velde , Henri Sauvage and the École de Nancy , Paul Hankar , Otto Wagner , Eugène Grasset , Émile Gallé , and Hendrik Petrus Berlage . He also influenced

12384-402: The remaining marbles are eroding to the point that they may no longer be identifiable. The pollution from corrosive agents in the air has also attributed to this deterioration. The third factor affecting ancient building conservation is tourism . While tourism provides both economical and cultural benefits, it can also be destructive. The Egyptian tomb of Seti the 1st is currently off limits to

12513-423: The required funding to implement conservation initiatives and plans, and often serve as a link between the community and local/federal governments to advance conservation projects. A brief list of architectural conservation organizations is below: Building restoration describes a particular treatment approach and philosophy within the field of architectural conservation and historic preservation . It emphasizes

12642-479: The residence of the Archbishop, which had been destroyed in a riot in 1831. The bells in the two towers had been taken out in 1791 and melted down to make cannons. Viollet-le-Duc had new bells cast for the north tower and a new structure built inside to support them. Viollet-le-Duc and Lassus also rebuilt the sacristy, on the south side of the church, which had been built in 1756, but had been burned by rioters during

12771-468: The restoration of Amiens Cathedral , one of the largest in France, which had been built over many centuries in a variety of different styles. He wrote, "his goal should be to save in each part of the monument its own character, and yet to make it so that the united parts don't conflict with each other; and that can be maintained in a state that is durable and simple." The French coup d'état of 1851 brought Napoleon III to power and transformed France from

12900-594: The restoration of Notre-Dame by himself; all of his plans were approved by Prosper Mérimée, the Inspector of Historical Monuments, and by the Commission of historic monuments. He was criticized for the abundance of Gothic gargoyles, chimeras, fleurons, and pinnacles which he added to Notre-Dame Cathedral. These decorations had existed in the Middle Ages but had largely been removed during the reign of Louis XIV. The last original gargoyles had been taken down in 1813. He modelled

13029-438: The restoration process. This would include which materials are selected, to methods of construction, and finishing touches to the building such as fixtures. The property being restored is considered a record of its time. Any work undertaken will only be to restore the site to the specified time period and no removal of those historical elements will be made, however this does not exclude removing elements not historically accurate to

13158-469: The ruin of the Hotel de Ville exactly as it was, "a ruin of a magical palace, A marvel of the picturesque. The country should not condemn it without appeal to restoration by Viollet-le-Duc." The government asked Viollet-le-Duc to organize a competition. He presented two options; to either restore the building to its original state, with its historic interior; or to demolish it and build a new city hall. In July 1872

13287-560: The same year he completed the first phase of the restoration of the Cathedral of Saint Sernin in Toulouse, one of the landmarks of French Romanesque architecture. Napoleon III invited Viollet-le-Duc to study possible restorations overseas, including in Algeria, Corsica, and in Mexico, where Napoleon had installed a new Emperor, Maximilian, under French sponsorship. He also saw the consecration of

13416-405: The site. Best practices are as follows: Cultural heritage sites Cultural Heritage is the physical and emotional reflection of a society, their legacy, and what they value. Tangible or physical representations include the material of the culture, locations of cultural significance, and the community associated with the culture. Intangible representations include oral stories, traditions, and

13545-401: The south of France, on one of his long inspection tours of monuments. Viollet-le-Duc made drawings of the buildings and wrote detailed accounts of each site, illustrated with his drawing, which were published in architectural journals. With his experience he became the most prominent academic scholar on French medieval architecture and his medieval dictionnary, with over 4000 drawings, contains

13674-588: The spirit of the Gothic, with lavish neo-Gothic decoration and 19th-century comforts. Pierrefonds and its inside decorations would not only influence William Burges and his Cardiff and Coch castles but also the castles of Ludwig II of Bavaria ( Neuschwanstein Castle ) and the Haut-Kœnigsbourg of the Emperor Wilhelm II . While most of his attention was devoted to restorations, Viollet-le-Duc designed and built

13803-494: The standards allow other materials with similar appearance to be used and organizations like Britain's National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty will work with a historic paint color re-creator s to replicate the antique paints in durable, stable, and environmentally safe materials. In the United States the National Trust for Historic Preservation is a helpful resource. The polychrome painted interiors of

13932-503: The state of a historic building, as it appeared at a particular period in its history, while protecting its heritage value. Restoration work may be performed to reverse decay, or alterations made to the buildings. Since Historic Building Conservation is more about fostering a deep appreciation for these famous structures and learning more about why they exist, rather than just keeping historic structures standing tall and looking as beautiful as ever, true historic building preservation aims for

14061-484: The subject was more nuanced: "if a building has not been upkept it should be restored". The existence of an opposition between Ruskin and Viollet le Duc on restoration is today questioned by new research based on Ruskin's own writtings: "there is no book on architecture which has everything correct apart from Viollet le Duc’s Dictionnary". And at the end of his life Ruskin expressed the regret that "no one in England had done

14190-406: The surroundings of the city were still a military defensive zone in the 19th century, but the towers were without tops and a large number of structures had been built up against the old walls. Once he obtained funding and made his plans, he began demolishing all structures which had been added to the ramparts over the centuries, and restored the gates, walls and towers to their original form, including

14319-654: The ten primary sources of damage to heritage objects and buildings comprised in a comprehensive list by the Canadian Conservation Institute. The Agents are physical forces, fire, pests, light (ultraviolet and infrared), incorrect relative humidity , thieves and vandals, water, pollutants, incorrect temperature and the dissociation of objects. While each of the ten agents can affect a historic building, some agents cause more common types of damage that may be addressed through building restoration. Eug%C3%A8ne Viollet-le-Duc His writings on decoration and on

14448-436: The term refers to the "professional use of a combination of science, art, craft, and technology as a preservation tool" and is allied with – and often equated to – its parent fields, of historic environment conservation and art conservation . In addition to the design and art/science definition described above, architectural conservation also refers to issues of identification, policy, regulation, and advocacy associated with

14577-425: The third church that he had designed, the neo-Gothic church of Saint-Denis de l'Estree, in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis . Between 1866 and 1870, his major project was the ongoing transformation of Pierrefonds from a ruin into a royal residence. His plans for the metal framework he had designed for Pierrefonds were displayed at the Paris Universal Exposition of 1867 . He also began a new area of study, researching

14706-509: The time of building after careful study. Tsarskoye Selo , the complex of former royal palaces outside St Petersburg in Russia is an example of this sort of work. Exterior and interior paint colors present similar problems over time. Air pollution, acid rain, and sun take a toll, and often many layers of different paint exist. Historic paint analysis of old paint layers now allow a corresponding chemical recipe and color to be re-produced. But this

14835-496: The trust although the trust is not its direct successor. Architectural conservation Conservation and restoration of immovable cultural property describes the process through which the material, historical, and design integrity of any immovable cultural property are prolonged through carefully planned interventions. The individual engaged in this pursuit is known as an architectural conservator-restorer . Decisions of when and how to engage in an intervention are critical to

14964-415: The two towers. However, in 1846, the new tower, overloaded with masonry, began to crack, and Viollet-le-Duc was called in. He found no way the building could be saved and had to oversee the demolition of the tower, saving the stones. He concentrated on restoring the interior of the church, and was able to restore the original burial chamber of the kings of France. In May 1849, he was named the architect for

15093-541: The ultimate conservation-restoration of cultural heritage . Ultimately, the decision is value based: a combination of artistic, contextual, and informational values is normally considered. In some cases, a decision to not intervene may be the most appropriate choice. The Conservation Architect must consider factors that deal with issues of prolonging the life and preserving the integrity of architectural character, such as form and style, and/or its constituent materials, such as stone, brick, glass, metal, and wood. In this sense,

15222-416: The use of iron and other new materials, and the importance of designing buildings whose architecture was adapted to their function, rather than to a particular style. The book was translated into English in 1881 and won a large following in the United States. The Chicago architect Louis Sullivan , one of the inventors of the skyscraper, often invoked the phrase, "Form follows function." Lausanne Cathedral

15351-456: The whole life of a building brings an essential understanding of its features and its problems. He gives the Parthenon in Athens as an example; built between 447 and 432 BCE to serve as a temple dedicated to the goddess Athena, its purpose over time changed to Christian church, mosque, and powder magazine before it became one of the most famous tourist attractions in the world. Once the assessment

15480-417: The work that Viollet le Duc had done in France". Viollet-le-Duc's restorations sometimes involved non-historical additions, either to assure the stability of the building, or sometimes simply to maintain the harmony of the design. The flèche or spire of Notre-Dame de Paris, which had been constructed in about 1250, was removed in 1786 after it was damaged by the wind. Viollet-le-Duc designed and constructed

15609-462: The work to the finest details, including the floor tiles, the gas lights in the salons, the ovens in the kitchen, and the electric bells for summoning servants. In 1874 Viollet-le-Duc resigned as diocesan architect of Paris and was succeeded by his contemporary, Paul Abadie . In his final years, he continued to supervise the restoration projects that were underway for the Commission of Historical Monuments. He engaged in polemics about architecture in

15738-459: The years that remain to me in study and in the most modest possible life." Always the scholar, he wrote a detailed study of the effectiveness and deficiencies of the fortifications of Paris during the siege, which was to be used for the 1917 defense of Verdun and the construction of the Maginot line in 1938. In May 1871 he left his home in Paris just before national guardsmen arrived to draft him into

15867-685: Was a disaster as he wrote in his journal on the 14th December 1870: "Disorganization is everywhere. The officers have no confidence in the troops, and the troops have no confidence in the officers. Each day, new orders and new projects which contravene those of the day before." He fought with the French army against the Germans at Buzenval on 24 January 1871. The battle was lost, and the French capitulated on 28 January. Viollet-le-Duc wrote to his wife on February 28, "I don't know what will become of me, but I do not want to return any more to administration. I am disgusted by it forever, and want nothing more than to pass

15996-614: Was a restoration of the Vézelay Abbey , which many considered as impossible. The church had been sacked by the Huguenots in 1569, and during the French Revolution, the facade and statuary on the facade were destroyed. The vaults of the roof were weakened, and many of the stones had been carried off for other projects. When Mérimée visited to inspect the structure he heard stones falling around him. In February 1840 he gave Viollet-le-Duc

16125-455: Was finally eliminated and this put an end to Viollet le Duc's wish to construct public buildings. Napoleon III also called upon Viollet-le-Duc for a wide variety of archeological and architectural tasks. When he wished to put up a monument to mark the Battle of Alesia , where Julius Caesar defeated the Gauls, a siege whose actual site was disputed by historians, he asked Viollet-le-Duc to locate

16254-447: Was his final major restoration project; it was rebuilt following his plans between 1873 and 1876. Work continued after his death. His reconstruction of the bell tower was later criticized; he eliminated the original octagonal base and added a new spire, which rested on the walls, and not on the vaulting, like the original spire. He also added new decoration, crowning the spire at mid-height with gables, another original element, and removing

16383-505: Was named a professor at the École des Beaux-Arts, the school where he had refused to become a student. In the fortress of neoclassical Beaux-Arts architecture there was much resistance against him, but he attracted two hundred students to his course, who applauded his lecture at the end. But while he had many supporters, the faculty professors and certain students campaigned against him. His critics complained that, aside from having little formal architectural training himself, he had only built

16512-559: Was reconstructed into the Palais de Chaillot in 1937, but the Museum of French Monuments was preserved and can be seen there today. In his final years his son Eugène-Louis became the head of the Commission of Historic Monuments. He took on just one new project, the restoration of the cloister of the Augustines at Toulouse. He completed his series of dictionaries of architectural periods, designed for

16641-410: Was restored to its original form. In 1872 Viollet-le-Duc was engaged in the reconstruction of the Château d'Amboise , owned by the descendants of the former King, Louis-Philippe. The chateau had been confiscated by Napoleon III in 1848 but was returned to the family in 1872. It was a massive project to turn it into a residence, involving at times three hundred workers. Viollet-le-Duc designed all

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