This is the final week of my first three months in France. By week's end, I will be at the mid-point of the fellowship, something that is hard for me to believe! I am getting used to wine with my daily lunch and dinner, am gradually learning the names and locations of the 22 regions and 95 departments, and have increased my architectural vocabulary in French thanks to my mini-Dicobat, a pocket architectural dictionary. Being short on time before the holidays, here's a brief recap of my 13th week.
Monday I was delighted to talk with Michèle Prats, ICOMOS France, the largest and most active section of the International Council on Monuments and Sites. As the adminstrative leader of ICOMOS, Michèle is on top of the current historic preservation issues, particularly for "patrimoine quotidien", or everything that is not a historic monument. One of their working groups deals with "Normes et Économies d'énergie", and they are beginning to develop a 2-day seminar for fall 2010. About a year ago, they held a seminar on "Patrimoine Bâti et Developpement Durable" (Built Heritage and Durable Development), resulting in a publication to be published in January or February 2010. [This publication is now available for purchase; click for link.]
Tuesday I was honored to meet Françoise Choay, a leading thinker on the philosophy of heritage. At the age of 84, her latest book, called "Le Patrimoine en Question: Anthologie pour un combat" (Heritage in Question: an Anthology for a battle) was just published; it is a collection of texts, with an introductory essay written by Mme Choay. Diego Rodriguez, RMHF2008, kindly introduced us. Mme Choay expressed concern that the current western system of "protecting" historic monuments has taken the life out of them. She posed perhaps it's better to let the people who live with the particular monuments decide how they should evolve.
The remainder of the week I have spent in the office of Benjamin Mouton, Architect en Chef and Inspecteur General des Mouments Historiques and Honorary FAIA. This time has been technically based, learning about non-destructive structural testing methods at the Hôtel des Invalides, experiments with glass in historic windows, color decisions in a 19th century interior, and various methods of cleaning stone facades. The work is also philosophically rooted. A class at the Institut du Patrimoine reinforced the base of the Charter of Venice and the Charter of Athens, as the basis of preservation decisions in France, as the Secretary of the Interior Standards are in the USA.
Many thanks to Michèle Prats, Françoise Choay, Diego Rodriguez, and Benjamin Mouton and all in the Agence Mouton for their warm welcome and open exchange.
I plan to add more photos and text, particularly of my time on the French west coast, over the holidays in the USA. I'll be returning to France January 18, 2009. Happy Holidays!
Monday I was delighted to talk with Michèle Prats, ICOMOS France, the largest and most active section of the International Council on Monuments and Sites. As the adminstrative leader of ICOMOS, Michèle is on top of the current historic preservation issues, particularly for "patrimoine quotidien", or everything that is not a historic monument. One of their working groups deals with "Normes et Économies d'énergie", and they are beginning to develop a 2-day seminar for fall 2010. About a year ago, they held a seminar on "Patrimoine Bâti et Developpement Durable" (Built Heritage and Durable Development), resulting in a publication to be published in January or February 2010. [This publication is now available for purchase; click for link.]
Tuesday I was honored to meet Françoise Choay, a leading thinker on the philosophy of heritage. At the age of 84, her latest book, called "Le Patrimoine en Question: Anthologie pour un combat" (Heritage in Question: an Anthology for a battle) was just published; it is a collection of texts, with an introductory essay written by Mme Choay. Diego Rodriguez, RMHF2008, kindly introduced us. Mme Choay expressed concern that the current western system of "protecting" historic monuments has taken the life out of them. She posed perhaps it's better to let the people who live with the particular monuments decide how they should evolve.
The remainder of the week I have spent in the office of Benjamin Mouton, Architect en Chef and Inspecteur General des Mouments Historiques and Honorary FAIA. This time has been technically based, learning about non-destructive structural testing methods at the Hôtel des Invalides, experiments with glass in historic windows, color decisions in a 19th century interior, and various methods of cleaning stone facades. The work is also philosophically rooted. A class at the Institut du Patrimoine reinforced the base of the Charter of Venice and the Charter of Athens, as the basis of preservation decisions in France, as the Secretary of the Interior Standards are in the USA.
Many thanks to Michèle Prats, Françoise Choay, Diego Rodriguez, and Benjamin Mouton and all in the Agence Mouton for their warm welcome and open exchange.
I plan to add more photos and text, particularly of my time on the French west coast, over the holidays in the USA. I'll be returning to France January 18, 2009. Happy Holidays!
