international working party for documentation and conservation of buildings, sites and neighborhoods of the modern movement Restoring Postwar Heritage preservation technology dossier 8 August 2008 Theodore H.M. Prudon FAIA Kyle Normandin Editors Cover Design Technology Seminar Sponsors Unjoo Noh The original seminars were supported by ISBN 978-0-9820365-0-1 many fi rms, companies and individuals. DO- COMOMO US acknowledges gratefully their © 2008 DOCOMOMO US support. PO Box 230977 New York, NY 10023 This publication has been made possible Email- [email protected] through a grant from the Getty Foundation, the www.docomomo-us.org Conproco Corporation and the generous sup- port of Brent Harris. Cover Photographs View of the United Nations Campus, c. 1953. Photo courtesy of the United Nations Archive. www.conproco.com The editors have exercised their best efforts to identify the source of all illustrations and obtain permission for publication. Any discrepancies should be brought to our attention. Technology Seminars: Restoring Postwar Buildings was offered by DOCOMOMO US in conjunction with the VIIIth International DOCOMOMO Conference: Import/Export: Postwar Modernism in an Expanding World, 1945-1975 September 30 to October 2, 2004, New York City international working party for documentation and conservation of buildings, sites and neighborhoods of the modern movement Restoring Postwar Heritage View of United Nations, c. 1952. Courtesy United Nations Photo Archives preservation technology dossier 8 August 2008 Theodore H.M. Prudon FAIA Kyle Normandin Editors DOSSIER 8 CONTENT Restoring Postwar Heritage: Selections from the 2004 DOCOMOMO US Technology Seminars (New York) 1 Introduction Theodore Prudon, Kyle Normandin, Editors Plenary Stone and Technology in the Modern Movement 5 University of Chicago Preservation Guidelines for 93 Experiencing Stone, Structure and Cladding Contemporary Architecture Ola Wedebrunn Harry J. Hunderman, David S Patterson and Richard C. Blumstead 99 Renovation of the Marble Cladding at Finlandia Hall Martii Jokinen 15 Restoration and Rehabilitation of the Zollverein XII Coal Mine Complex: 107 Deterioration of Thin Marble Cladding- Strategies, Problems, and Perspectives for a Observations from the Inspections of Buildings with World Heritage Site of the Modern Movement Marble Cladding in Europe Juliane Pegels Bent Grelk and Bjorn Schouenberg The 20th Century Metal and Glass Curtain Wall 113 Conservation of Stone Facing in Modern Italian Architecture 27 Comparing the Preservation of the 1920s Metal Sergio Poretti, Rinaldo Capomolla, Tullia Iori, and Glass Curtain Walls of the Sanatorium Stefania Mornati and Rosalia Vittorini ‘Zonnestraal’ (1928-31) and the Van Nelle Factories (1928-31) 119 The Restoration of Juan O’Gorman’s Central Library Wessel De Jonge of University City, National Autonomous University of Mexico 37 The United Nations Secretariat Curtain Wall History, Louise Noelle Gras Current Condition, and Future Restoration Robert Heintges Chroma: Color and Conservation in Modern Buildings 49 Some Notes on the Conception, Implementation, 125 The NCS (Natural Color System) and its Use in and Future of the Curtain Wall Recording Historic and Contemporary Elwin C. Robison Architecture Harald Arnkil 61 The History of the 20th Century Metal and Glass Curtain Wall and the Evolution of 131 The Public Spaces of Luis Barragan: Losses and Curtainwall Standardization and Performance Recovery Testing Louise Noelle Gras Daniel J. Lemieux and Martina T. Driscoll 137 Mural Painting vs. Architecture: Concrete Restoration in Modern Buildings Le Corbusier vs. Eileen Gray Caroline Constant 74 The Role of Precast Concrete Panel Technology in Postwar Building Appendix Construction Jack Pyburn A Editors Biographies 80 Postwar Building in France: Le Havre B Authors Biographies Frederic Seitz C Seminar Program 84 Pier Luigi Nervi’s Work: Technological Values, Typical Degradations and Conservation D Seminar Organizers and Committees Criteria Nicola Ruggieri and Gennaro Tampone DOSSIER 8 Restoring Postwar Heritage Introduction In the fall of 2004 the VIIIth International These seminars as well as the conference would DOCOMOMO Conference titled Import-Export: Post- not have been possible without the help of a large war Modernism in an Expanding World, 1945-1975 number of institutions and individuals, all of whom took place in New York City. This was the fi rst Inter- have been identifi ed in the various appendices at national DOCOMOMO meeting fully devoted to the the end of this dossier. The preparation of this dos- postwar period and the fi rst to evaluate the reciprocal sier presented an additional challenge stretching out relationship and its consequence between modern- over several years. That publication would not have ism and preservation. The ubiquity of modernism in been possible without the help of many but particu- postwar architecture is a sign of its signifi cance and larly of Flora Chou, Olivia Klose and Deirdre Gould. to achieve meaningful preservation requires the cre- The editors are extremely grateful for their insights, ative exploration of the on-going tension between perseverance and diligence. design, preservation and materiality in modern struc- tures. This publication was fi nancially made pos- sible through a grant from the Getty Foundation, the In conjunction with this international confer- sponsorship of the fi rm Conproco and the generous ence DOCOMOMO US saw the need to address sep- support of Brent Harris. arately the much neglected or misunderstood techno- logical challenges presented by modern architecture. A series of technical seminars was organized around Theodore H. M. Prudon and Kyle Normandin the conference’s general theme but focused specifi - Editors cally on technology. While the international confer- ence was hosted at Columbia University, the techni- cal seminars occurred at Baruch College in midtown Manhattan from September 30 through October 2. The program consisted of fi ve different components. Aside from several general introductory presenta- tions, four separate seminar tracks addressed tech- nical issues quintessential to the understanding and preservation of modern architecture and its technolo- gies. Focusing on postwar building technologies and their particular technical and conservation is- sues, professionals from different parts of the world presented their expertise and experience within the four technical topic areas, which were titled: The 20th Century Metal and Glass Curtain Wall, Concrete Restoration in Modern Buildings, Stone and Technol- ogy in the Modern Movement and Chroma: Color and Conservation in Modern Buildings. Most of those pa- pers are included in this dossier. 1 DOSSIER Restoring Postwar Heritage Plenary The following papers illustrate the pres- ervation challenges and commensurate oppor- tunities presented by large collections of modern buildings. In the case of the Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex, designated a World Heritage Site in 2001, a balance was struck between new design to accommodate new uses and maximum retention of historic fabric. Since the 1932 steel- and-brick industrial complex was never intended to outlive the heavy industry that called it into being, the new program of uses responds to the idea and spirit of technological production in a 21st century sense by transforming interior and exterior spaces into venues for creativity in industrial design, the arts, cuisine, and cultural heritage education. At the University of Chicago’s campus, where the purpose of the academic buildings dating from the World War II period remains the same, an initiative is underway to apply maintenance guidelines ap- propriate for the innovative building technologies and materials represented in buildings designed by Eero Saarinen, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and Edward Durrell Stone, among others. 3 DOSSIER Restoring Postwar Heritage PLENARY University of Chicago age. The university’s goal is to maintain these buildings as functional parts of its physical plant, Preservation Guidelines for while recognizing them as an important part of its Contemporary Architecture architectural heritage, complementing the Collegiate Gothic structures generally associated with the campus. Broader awareness of the signifi cance of Harry J. Hunderman, David S. Patterson, buildings from this era demands sensitivity to their Richard C. Bumstead value as architectural and historic artifacts, as well as technical sophistication in their maintenance, repair, and renovation. After World War II, the University of Chicago and The Preservation Guidelines for similar institutions faced a different social, economic, Contemporary Architecture were developed to and educational climate than had existed during the provide a basis for future decision making for 1920s and 1930s. Within a changing urban context, the contemporary campus buildings. The project, funded university began planning for the physical expansion by the Getty Conservation Institute Campus Heritage of its campus and the design of its new generation of Grant Program, was undertaken to provide university buildings. Ten of the contemporary landmarks on the administration, maintenance staff, building users, and University campus, designed by renowned architects outside design professionals and contractors with a and constructed between 1949 and 1974, were selected better understanding of the architectural signifi cance as the subject of a study to develop preservation and the nature and condition of the materials and guidelines