Athens , 1931

What happened in Athens in 1931? The drachma was introduced? The Greek government defaulted on a debt to Barings Bank? The Greek monarchy was restored? The Greek monarchy was abolished?No, I’ve made all those up to give you a chance to think of an answer but unless you resort to Google I think you will be stumped.

The Athens Charter for the Restoration of Historic Monuments was published. It was the first international agreement to govern the excavation, preservation and restoration of historic buildings. Ironic that only eight years later the Second World War did so much to destroy them.

The Venice Charter in 1964 built on the foundations laid in Athens, as it were. These Charters were unquestionably very important and very good. However, the road to hell is paved with good intentions and Article 9 of the Venice Charter is an example. Here it is.

“Article 9. The process of restoration is a highly specialized operation. Its aim is to preserve and reveal the aesthetic and historic value of the monument and is based on respect for original material and authentic documents. It must stop at the point where conjecture begins, and in this case moreover any extra work which is indispensable must be distinct from the architectural composition and must bear a contemporary stamp. The restoration in any case must be preceded and followed by an archaeological and historical study of the monument.”

You’ve got the point already. Extra work must be distinct and must bear a contemporary stamp and this extra work must be indispensable. It is in the name of Article 9 that a “monstrous carbuncle” was designed for the National Gallery, although after that scathing criticism by the Prince of Wales the original carbuncle was scrapped and the present, less offensive, extension built. Some additions sometimes work. Some, like the glass pyramid in front of the Louvre are debatable. Many are deplorable.

The Serpentine Sackler Gallery in Hyde Park takes the biscuit. A huge white fungus sprouts from it to accomodate a cafe. Did the authors of the Venice Charter intend “indispensable” to mean adding on a cafe to a 1805 Grade Two Star Listed building?

This is not a rant against modern architecture. It is a rant against the desecration of historic buildings and, to be fair, it is not always black and white, there are sometimes grey areas. I was in Berlin last weekend and visited the Berliner Schloss which is being rebuilt after being badly bombed (I don’t suppose you can be well bombed) in the Second World War and then demolished by the GDR in 1950. The shell is being constructed in concrete but on three of the facades the brick cladding and Baroque decorative features will be a more-or-less reconstruction of the original palace largely built by the Hohenzollern Kings of Prussia. The fourth facade will be modern, resembling an office block. There is virtually no attempt to recreate the original interiors that will house a museum and a branch of the Humboldt University among other things, The architectural team do not rule out future generations recreating some of the original rooms and have allowed for this in their design. Clearly, many compromises have been made to get this project off the ground and financed. Is this an acceptable restoration of an historic building? I think so but with a note of doubt in my voice. Incidentally, two stonemasons from the City and Guilds of London Art School, in Kennington, will be working on the statuary.

Beside the building site is the Humboldt Box which houses a (free) exhibition about the work and has a fine cafe on the top floor with two terraces, one of which looks over the building works. This box is no cheap prefab., it cost 8 million euros, so I hope a new home can be found for it when the Berliner Schloss re-opens on 14th September 2019.

I assume that the UK was a signatory to the Athens and Venice Charters but I can find no evidence either way. If so, how was the destruction of city and town centres in the 1960s allowed to happen? Multi-story car parks and shopping centres must have been deemed indispensable, and now the same mistakes are being made in the City of London.