ACTIVITIES
The 1994 Congress will feature Robertson Collins from Singapore as keynote speaker. Mr. Collins is Chairman of the Cultural Tourism Committee for ICOMOS International. The Congress will also feature presentations and workshops on the following topics:
The Impacts of Tourism on Host Communities
Packaging of Tourism Products
Product Marketing
Cultural Authenticity
On October 21 motor coach tours to the following Alberta cultural
tourism facilities will be offered:
Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology in Drumheller
Reynolds-Alberta Museum in Wetaskiwin
Remington-Alberta Carriage Centre in Cardston
Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump near Fort Macleod (site on the World Heritage
List)
Frank Slide Interpretive Centre in the Crowsnest Pass
Banff Townsite in Banff National Park
On Sunday morning, October 23, a tour of the Historic Stephen Avenue (8th Avenue) Mall in downtown Calgary will be offered.
COURSE OFFERING
On October 23 and 24, the University of Calgary, through the Certificate in Heritage Resource Management Program, will offer a two-day course entitled Cultural Tourism: Product/Market Matching. Course instructors will include Robertson Collins, and international tourism consultant and former Deputy Minister of Alberta Tourism, Bernie Campbell.
REGISTRATION FEE
Full registration: $180.00 (includes motor coach tours on October 21, luncheon on October 22, and ICOMOS Canada membership for 1995).
Student Registration: $30.00 One Day Registration: $75.00
For more information, please contact: ICOMOS Canada Annual Congress, c/o The Centre for Livable Communities, Faculty of Environmental Design, University of Calgary, Calgary AB T2N 1N4. Tel.: 403.220.8669.
The story of a small, cash-strapped Anglican parish struggling with the responsibility of caring for a national historic site.
Saint George's Church on Brunswick Street in north end Halifax was built in 1800, when Edward, Duke of Kent commanded the garrison. His fondness for the Palladian style, with its classical roots and tendency towards circular forms, gave Haligonians a legacy which includes the Town Clock, a love nest for his mistress Julie de Saint Laurent and Saint George's Church. Folk history has always hinted that the church was designed by Edward, but this seems unlikely. We know, however, that his Hanoverian ancestry made him keenly interested in the Lutheran congregation which was struggling to build a new church. Saint George's eventually became an Anglican parish and prospered for more than 100 years. In 1917, the explosion in Halifax Harbour destroyed the north end of Halifax. Families, who could afford it, moved to the newly developed south end of the city, leaving an architectural tragedy in the making. Today, the few fine houses that remain on Brunswick Street serve as youth hostels and rooming houses. Saint George's church also fell on hard times. By the late 1970s, the congregation had dwindled to the point where the Bishop was threatening to close it, and the building needed major repairs.
In the early 1980s, the Saint George's Foundation was set up, separate from the parish, to undertake this work. Architects and surveyors were hired; an ambitious plan to "restore" the church to 1912 was drawn up, a fine book about the proposed restoration was produced; and plans were made to raise funds. Cosmetic work was done to the interior before the Prince and Princess of Wales attended morning service in the church in 1983. In other words, a great deal of money was spent before any was raised. There was a promise of funding from the federal government, but when the Liberals fell, the new government did not recognise those promises and all efforts to restore the church ceased.
The Foundation was over $100,000 in debt. Much of this was later paid by the provincial government, but the Foundation's legacy was a negative attitude towards restoring the church both in the community and among parishioners. Although not technically liable for the Foundation's debts, many parishioners felt morally responsible.
This disaster did not, however, remove the urgent need for conservation. The parish continued to patch and paint on a crisis-by-crisis basis and in 1987, money was borrowed to repair a leaking roof. The leaks stopped, but the contractor was not sensitive to heritage concerns and the work did nothing for the long-term health of the building.
NEW HOPE
In 1988, the federal government, through the Canadian Parks Service, put in place the National Cost-Sharing Program, which pays half the cost of conservation work done on "sites and structures of national historic and/or architectural significance". In announcing this program it listed 10 "priority sites" including Saint George's.
Also in 1988, a new rector, the Reverend Gary Thorne, came to Saint George's. One of his first actions was to set up a Conservation Task Force to study the condition of the church and consider the possibility of restoring it in time for its 200th anniversary in the year 2000.
Meetings with historians, members of government and local fund-raising professionals taught the Task Force what it would have to undertake if its goal was to be achieved. Unfortunately, the parish was in bad financial shape and there was no money to fund the the Task Force. However, a benevolent provincial government, manifested in the shape of Brian Cuthbertson, Head of History, and Wade Brown, ICOMOS representative for Nova Scotia, funded an initial examination of the building and a modest stabilization program was undertaken.
By this point, Mac Mackay, of Fowler Bauld and Mitchell, the architects who designed the ill-fated restoration, had brought his knowledge of the church to the new project. Mac became the guiding hand of the Task Force.
In April 1990, the project received a boost when the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada unveiled a plaque declaring the building to be a national historic site. The Task Force received another morale raiser in 1993, when ICOMOS held part of its conference on the Conservation of Public Assembly spaces in the church and used a drawing of it to advertise the conference.
Saint George's was still on the Canadian Parks Service's list for possible cost-sharing and Rob Thompson, head of National Historic Parks Planning, advised the Task Force on how to meet the conditions of the program. But no matter how generous its terms, a cost-sharing agreement can only be negotiated if the parish can raise the rest of the money.
The province continued its support by funding a preliminary conservation plan and, in 1992, an architectural history entitled "Considerations Prior to the Conservation of Saint George's Church" by Marina Cavanaugh, a master's student in architecture at the Technical University of Nova Scotia.
Up to this point, the congregation had indulged in endless discussions about what form the "restoration" should take, and what date the church should be "restored" to. Some members considered historical accuracy to be all-important, while others put the needs of the congregation first. Cavanaugh's report stated that it was impossible to know exactly what the church was like in any of its four main structural periods and quoted the Venice Charter: "valid contributions of all periods to the building of a monument must be respected, since the unity of style is not the aim of restoration." She recommended, "that Saint George's church be preserved in its existing 1992 form through the repair of the physical fabric of the building and the provision of continuous protective care of the building fabric."
The philosophy of heritage protection had changed since the early 1980s and the type of project proposed by the Foundation was no longer either financially possible or historically desirable. At this point, the name of the Task Force was discreetly changed from "Restoration" to "Conservation".
TORPEDOED!
The project, now known as "Saint George's 2000" seemed to be going well. However, the church organ had been giving trouble for years. In December 1992, the new organist and the choir made it clear that they could no longer cope with a dying instrument and began to raise the $85,000 needed to restore the organ. Faced with an obvious conflict of interests and the probable failure of both campaigns, the Conservation Task Force assumed responsibility for restoring the organ and decided to make it Phase I of Saint George's 2000. It hoped that the organ could be the congregations's contribution to Saint George's 2000 and that the outside world could later be appealed to for funds for the church itself.
With no money for professional fundraisers, a do-it-yourself campaign was launched, based on three-year pledges. Parishioners gave generously, knowing that this was their only contribution to conserving the church. The money was raised, the organ was restored and will be paid for by September 1994. A highly successful campaign; but where did it leave the conservation of the church? In the hole!
Because parishioners had given so generously to the organ, church finances were still weak and there was still no money in the budget for the conservation project. However, the province came up trumps again and funded the completion of the preliminary conservation report, so by the end of 1993, the Task Force knew that a modest conservation project would cost between $500,000 and $700,000.
FEASIBILITY STUDY
Equipped with this information, the Task Force set out to discover whether it was possible to raise the money. Again unable to afford professional fundraisers, it set up a do-it-yourself Feasibility Study Committee whose first job was to break the news to parishioners that the one-time-gift idea was too optimistic they must think of giving again to conserve their church. This was explained at a parish meeting and, judging by the lack of opposition, was not entirely a surprise. Some parishioners even offered to continue their organ payments indefinitely.
The committee then prepared a statement of the case for conserving the church, a questionnaire and a list of key parishioners, members of the heritage and corporate communites and private individuals. Its chairman, parishioner John Edmonds, wrote asking these people to talk to a representative of Saint George's. Edmonds is a well-known entrepreneur with a reputation in the city as an environmentalist prepared to fight for his beliefs. His letters opened doors for interviewer Beverly Miller, herself a long-time fighter for heritage and planning issues in the city. For a small honorarium, Beverely, who is not a parishioner, is conducting 50 interviews which are beginning to give a clear view of how the task of conserving Saint George's is viewed. She is finding a lot of moral support for the project, and many individuals and organizations keen to help, but (this is 1994!) no easy money! It is no surprise that the campaign is shaping up to be one of many small donations, meaning a lot of hard work. It is no surprise either to learn that there will be a yard sale in June to pay for the study!
The Task Force has six years left to achieve its goal. Saint George's is still a beauitful and important building, and the need for conservation is urgent. At present, fund raising is scheduled to start in September 1994, cost-sharing negotiations with the federal government should begin the following spring and work commence in late 1995 or 1996.
Anne West is a member of the Saint George's conservation task force.
Mr. Stumes has written this article in response to articles in the last issue of the ICOMOS Canada Bulletin (Vol. 3 No.1):
To counter the misconception that only grand or ancient buildings should be preserved, and to protect our "recent heritage," we should learn from our American colleagues. They have developed the expertise of convincing the public that the preservation and rehabilitation of those buildings is important and advantageous for everyone. Since it is rare that newer buildings are preserved as historic assets by governments or public institutions, Americans place the preservation of recent heritage in the hands of the private sector. They (in turn) smartly exploit all opportunities where the cooperation of entrepreneurs and heritage buffs can mean profit for both parties. The best example for such fruitful partnership is the Art Deco district in Miami, Florida.
Art Deco architecture was introduced in the U.S.A. during the 1920s. Later, from the early 1930s to the 1940s, it became very popular around Miami. Gradually, under the influence of the easy lifestyle of the place, Art Deco in Miami became more and more colourful and exuberant. So much so that after a while it developed into a sub-class, frequently called "Southern" or "Tropical" Art Deco.
Over nearly 20 years, hundreds of Art Deco buildings were erected along the seashore, including homes, apartments, hotels and business blocks. While each one was designed to look distinctly different, they were all recognizably a product of the Art Deco era. Today this huge assembly of 40-to-60 year-old buildings certainly qualifies as "recent heritage."
After World Was II, due to various social upheavals, the economy of the Miami Art Deco district seriously declined. As a result, the once dazzling buildings became dilapidated and many were abandoned. Several buildings were demolished to make room for new construction, and the rest just waited for the wrecking ball. The disappearance of this special architectural group seemed to be inevitable.
In 1976, a new turn of events changed the luck of the district for the better. In that year the American Society of Interior Decorators held their annual conference in Miami. The sensitive eyes of the participants quickly recognized the historic and aesthetic significance behind the decaying facades. They immediately initiated a rescue operation, and in 1977 the Miami Design Preservation League was organized. As the result of their intensive lobbying, some 20 city blocks, containing 400 buildings, were listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Being on the Register provided some protection for the buildings, but it did not necessarily ensure preservation or restoration. The revival of the district was achieved by the concentrated efforts of volunteer agencies and certain authorities sympathetic to the cause.
To demonstrate the aesthetic values behind the grime, governments and institutions began restoring their properties. Contrary to Canadian traditions of abandoning century-old post offices, the U.S. Post Office restored their building in Miami. This was followed by the renovation of municipal and other public buildings.
Volunteer agencies played a major role in promoting the resurrection of the entire district. Instead of emphasizing abstract concepts, like art or beauty, they developed pragmatic arguments to attract various groups on their side:
Although the artistic merits of Art Deco architecture are open for discussion, this unique collection of recent heritage generates worldwide attention. The district creates a people-friendly environment in a visually interesting ambiance. It must be emphasized that the Miami Art Deco district is not a museum of embalmed buildings. It is a living historic district which provides comfortable homes for residents, recreation for tourists and profit-making opportunities for businesspeople.
The success of the Miami Art Deco district proves that the preservation of "recent heritage" can be good for everybody, not just for the few heritage buffs. Many jobs can be created and lots of money can be made with such an enterprise. Just ask the local Chamber of Commerce.
Whether the preservation of heritage generated the profit, or the profit motive preserved the heritage buildings, is an irrelevant question. Only the end results count!
What can Canadian preservationists learn from the Miami experience? First, we must learn to read, understand and interpret the Venice Charter, in this case especially Article 5. Secondly, we must abandon the confrontational attitude when advocating the preservation of a monument. Telling our opponents how wrong they are rarely brings results. Smart preservationists must search for, and find, common ground and common interest with businesspeople, real estate developers, politicians and the indifferent public. We must emphasize how important and profitable preservation of recent heritage will be for them.
Paul Stumes is an Ottawa-based heritage conservation consultant.
The ICOMOS Canada Scientific Committee was set up in order to coordinate the activities of the various specialized committees within ICOMOS Canada. The Committee provides a forum for the exchange of ideas and the coordination of activities between various committees. In addition, the Committee also allocates budgets for various committees based on discussion among committee chairs and the ICOMOS Canada Board.
Up until recently, there was a requirement on the part of ICOMOS Canada that each specialized committee have a chair, vice chair, and a treasurer. It became clear that this particular structure was often not necessary and in some instances got in the way of the establishment of creative groups for the exchange of information both nationally as well as internationally. The Board therefore decided that there can be a number of different types of groupings within the Scientific Committee. These include:
It is our sense therefore, that committees and groups will, in many cases, be quite different both in terms of mandate as well as their administrative structure. In some cases, ICOMOS Canada feels that it is important to have a representative at various international ICOMOS committees to ensure that the Canadian perspective is put forward and that Canadians learn from international experience.
This function has been well handled in the past and in particular by certain chairs who have represented Canada in an effective way. Given the tight budgets we are facing, we must constantly reassess how we might ensure our international presence but it is still a policy of the Board to provide modest support for committee representatives to attend international committee meetings. It is important to note that in every instance, either the individual or his employer has to subsidize travel and accommodation, sometimes up to fifty percent. It has been by no means a "free ride".
We are also becoming aware that interests come and go. We have decided not to artificially maintain committees and interest groups if there isn't participation from ICOMOS Canada members. Therefore, particular committees may disappear. In other cases an interest group may come together for a short task oriented activity. It may be to put together a symposium or publication or to respond to particular initiatives out in the larger preservation environment.
The process for setting up a committee is fairly straight forward and simply requires notifying the Chair of the Scientific Committee of the interest. We ask for a short description of the group's activities and objectives. Any of these groups are eligible to apply for funding to support their particular initiatives.
The Scientific Committees should be seen as vehicles for more intense and specialized participation within the larger ICOMOS Canada and ICOMOS International environment. I can speak from personal experience that the opportunity to meet with professionals in Canada and internationally has been an invaluable experience for me. We are certainly always interested in ensuring that the process is more responsive to the membership and I welcome any questions or suggestions that you may have.
One initiative that we are now in the midst of exploring is the idea of what might be termed "super committees" which may bring together the interests of several committees at various points. The initiative that we are involved in is a Cultural Landscape Committee but would bring together the potential interests of the Gardens Committee, Historic Towns Committee, Vernacular Committee and the Cultural Tourism Committee and provide a strong focus to some of our deliberations and activities.
In future newsletters we will be providing you with more information on this initiative.
Walter Jamieson, Chairman, ICOMOS Canada Scientific Committee, The Centre for Livable Communities, Faculty of Environmental Design, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive N.W., Calgary - AB T2N 1N4. Tel: (403) 220-9669 Fax: (403) 284-4608.
Around christmas 1998, I was offered, by the United Nations Volunteers / United Nations Development Programme, a position on the Nicosia Master Plan Team. This team consisted of two groups of professionals from both sides of divided Cyprus who were advised to care for the development of the capital of the island and to preserve its 2,000 year old heart -- the Walled City.
The team was composed of sociologists, economists, architects town planners, civil engineers and United Nations experts. We were to prepare conservation projects for buildings and open spaces of the Walled City, and later supervise its implementation.
Since 1974, Greek and Turkish communities have been separated by a buffer zone extending through the whole island, cuting the Walled City in half. They call the city "walled" because it is surrounded by circular fortifications, that have a diameter of about 200 m, and was built by Venetians in the 16th century. It was a huge enterprise. All structures that existed outside the Wall were dismantled to provide a clear foreground. Acquired materials were used to construct the new 10 m wall. Eleven bastions were equally spaced around the town. It could now only be entered through three gates.
Almost the entire structure still exists today! It is badly neglected, and was partially dismantled to allow contemporary asphalt roads to penetrate the network of historic streets. The streets of old Nicosia appear to be a perfect trap for the inexperienced tourist. Although order is not readily apparent, it is amazing what harmony has been achieved by its historic builders. The town was built of sandstone, adobe and wood, its walls are covered with white gypsum inside and outside. There are plenty of beautiful architectural details richly elaborated by craftsmen of Turkish or Greek origin.
In historic descriptions, Nicosia was described as a city of gardens, and often compared to the "pearl of the East" Damascus. A lot has been changed since then. Modern-day progress and the political tug of war have hidden the glamour of the Walled City. There are plenty of concrete, flat-roof buildings, asphalt and "fancy" street pavements, oversized edifices, small industry, garages, and the ubiquitous automobile. Old buildings are extremely neglected because it is a risky business to invest in this uncertain land.
Amazingly the city is still very busy. Although people live in these buildings, few go beyond a temporary protection of the collapsing structures. Buildings on main commercial streets are dressed up to attract clients, the rest shows signs of ruthless exploitation. Most of businesspeople do not even live here. They come from comfortable, concrete houses in the new town to make money mainly on tourists. Those who live inside the Wall are too old or too poor to move out.
There is also a small complex of new buildings inside the Wall. It was constructed by a single developer in the space where existing structures had been cleared. It looks quite nice, but does not fit with its surroundings, and gives an impression that something valuable has been forever lost. This method of improving living conditions in old towns is rarely recommended by conservationists.
When I arrived in Cyprus, the restoration plan for the Walled City was in an early implementation phase. The office of the team was located on both sides of the buffer zone, therefore team members could not meet each other while working. Only one weekly meeting inside the buffer zone was held in the building controlled by the United Nations peacekeepers. It was used when problems of coordinating the plan were needed. Foreign specialists who occasionally worked with the team became a sort of link that helped to stitch the two parts of the Nicosia Master Plan into one project with two options: with and without the buffer zone.
I learned there that graduation from the ICCROM school does not always give a patent for a good conservation practice. Sometimes the ambitions of architects or their sponsors appeared to be more important than the historic authenticity of an object. New forms and patterns were introduced in places where they never existed before (for example multicoloured mosaic pavements, underground parking, fountains, etc.). American, Japanese and West European architectural standards were widely used as an inspiration for modern forms to be implemented inside the Wall. During the first phase of the project, principles of professional conservation were violated despite broad references to the Venice Charter and the Amsterdam Declaration.
It is, however, fair to admit that a number of restoration works performed inside the Wall by various institutions including the Nicosia Master Plan Team were executed with respect to the conservation charters. I saw good examples of sensitive conservation thinking that could be followed by all conservationists (eg., a great care for the fabric of old architectural details or the old local architectural form echoed in new buildings of the Walled City).
The Walled City is a small town with tremendous problems. Apart from political instability, conservationists suffer from a deficiency of proper materials and equipment, tenure problems, shortage of qualified conservation staff, lack of a clear system of heritage protection, and a lack of proper coordination of institutions involved in the restoration, but they want to work. They want to work together for their common city. Their endeavors are strongly supported by the United Nations. Results are spectacular, but not always praiseworthy. Interventions inside the Walled City change its unique character. The ancient heart of Nicosia is being transformed into an attractive and picturesque site at the cost of its historic authenticity.
The entire Walled City is a monument of the highest historic value, and it cries out for help. But who will confront the social and political forces, who will stop the steam-roller of "progress" and challenge our industry-oriented welfare to save few historic buildings?
I am afraid that the ancient glamour of the Walled City has passed away, but I really do not want to be right.
Boleslaw Lucki is a free lance building conservation specialist, and member of the Canadian Association of Professional Heritage Consultants.
Cette rencontre a été organisée par l'UNESCO et la Réunion international des laboratoires d'essai et de recherche sur les matériaux et les constructions (RILEM), avec le concours du Centre international d'études pour la conservation et la restauration des biens culturels (ICCROM), du Conseil international des musées (ICOM), du Conseil international des monuments et des sites (ICOMOS) et d'EUROCARE, l'un des projets d'EUREKA, Réseau de coopération européenne pour la recherche et le développement.
Le congrès s'est prononcé en faveur d'une révision du code d'éthique actuel de la conservation, notamment en ce qui concerne la définition de la notion fondamentale d'authenticité. Il a recommandé d'entamer des consultations internationales afin d'établir un code d'éthique spécifique à la conservation des monuments et respectueux des multiples particularités.
Les experts ont signalé les points qui nécessitent une compréhension plus approfondie, comme les méthodes de diagnostic et la quantification des conséquences des agents de pollution sur l'intégrité des monuments. Ils ont insisté sur le caractère pluridisciplinaire des programmes de recherche qui vont de l'archéologie et de la géologie à la chimie et à la biologie, et ont recommandé de favoriser l'échange des connaissances entre ces disciplines.
Ils ont déclaré qua la situation pouvait s'améliorer à condition de créer des réseaux entre les laboratoires concernés et de mieux diffuser l'information par l'intermédiaire de manuels et de revues spécialisées.
Le congrès a étudié le rôle de l'industrie qui s'intéresse vivement à la production de matériaux et de matériel utilisés dans les travaux de conservation. Il a constaté qu'en raison des limites des connaissances actuelles, certains produits et procédés non satisfaisants subsistent encore.
Il a soulevé le problème de la dégradation de l'environnement pour notre héritage bâti qui englobe le patrimoine culturel et les constructions et matériaux contemporains.
Les experts ont suggéré de prendre un certain nombre de mesures pour améliorer la situation. Ils ont exprimé le souhait qu'une consultation avec les représentants des industries permette d'accorder une attention particulière aux exigences d'efficacité formulées par les conservateurs et autres utilisateurs, de sélectionner un personnel technique spécialisé dans la conservation des monuments et d'obtenir un plus grand engagement d'une recherche s'appuyant sur le marché de façon à élaborer des procédés et à fournir des produits qui satisferont aux exigences de durabilité et de maintenance.
Les experts ont souligné le besoin d'une prise de conscience plus large du public dans la mesure o— la conservation des monuments est réalisée dans l'intérêt de toute la société. La qualité de vie et le développement durable sont assurés grâce à la conservation des trésors culturels. Par conséquent, ont-il déclaré, les services publics comme les gouvernements et les organisations internationales sont tenus d'apporter leur soutien à la fois moral et financier à l'égard des efforts longs et systématiques consentis pour la conservation des monuments. Quelques actions possibles ont été proposées à cet effet, comme la production d'un matériel éducatif destiné aux écoles primaires et secondaires, l'organisation de colloques régionaux sur le rôle de l'enseignement primaire et secondaire pour sensibiliser le public aux problèmes du patrimoine et l'encouragement des contrats entre spécialistes de la conservation et représentants des médias afin d'améliorer la compréhension mutuelle, mieux informer les journalistes sur les aspects techniques de la conservation et obtenir des spécialistes de la conservation qu'ils diffusent l'information sur leurs activités.
De telles initiatives, ont estimé les experts, contribueraient à sensibiliser le public et permettraient de trouver d'éventuels mécènes pour financer certains travaux de conservation.
Le congrès a suggéré que les scientifiques qui abordent cette discipline reçoivent une formation spécialisée, sachant que la conservation des monuments fait appel à différents corps de métiers : artisans, techniciens qualifiés, ingénieurs, architectes, scientifiques et conservateurs-restaurateurs. Le congrès a recommandé qu'une consultation entre professionnels de différents secteurs soit organisée afin de déterminer les mesures à prendre dans des cas ponctuels de restauration monumentale mais aussi pour définir les orientations relatives à la recherche et à ses méthodologies.
Publié par le Service de presse de l'UNESCO Vol.3 No. 16, 23 juillet 1993.
Famed New York Times correspondent Harrison Salisbury had reported after a trip to North Vietnam in December 1966, that officials displayed remarkable aplomb concerning the future of Hanoi. They expected their capital to be wiped out, yet they were not despondent. Architectural plans had already been prepared for the construction of a new capital which would be erected elsewhere once the war was over. After all, the officials said, Hanoi is a small, ugly old city.
Visitors to the city today would strongly disagree with this assessment. Hanoi did not undergo urban renewal, and it retains much of its ancient and colonial heritages. Yet today, these structures are under threat from a variety of socio-economic pressures.
A Canadian effort to appraise and redress the destructive effects of development on Hanoi's 1,000 year old urban fabric was instituted by the Université de Montréal's Institut d'urbanisme assisted by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). One of the components of this effort "Forum on the Restoration of Historic Quarters" co-sponsored with the Hanoi Architectural Institute. This conference provided a regional scope to evaluate the issues of preserving ancient quarters and urban transformation of the major cities in Indoohina - Hanoi, Halphong, Ho Chi Minh City, Hue, Danang, Luang Prabang, Phnom Penh and Vientiane.
Each of these cities, although differentiated by language and culture, share a somewhat common ancient traditions, the experience of French influence and the consequences of modern warfare that have shaped substantial elements of their urban heritages. Elections and relative stability in Cambodia, the new bridge over the Mekong River, increasing Thai investment into previously sealed Laos, the accumulation of recently introduced economic reforms, and the lifting of the American aid and trade embargo in February 1994 in Vietnam may become regional catalysts for development that will spur on urban change and modernization.
The conference will address regional historic preservation issues by looking at the impacts of population, environmental, commercial and artisinal activities, and their effects on historical buildings and monuments.
The Forum took place at the Hanoi Architectural Institute on May 23-24, 1994.
Fergus Maclaren, a Master's candidate in the University of Calgary's Faculty of Environmental Design, presented a paper at the conference.
Sur les 175 états membres que compte l'UNESCO (au 30 juin 1993), 165 ont institué des Commissions nationales. Elles se composent d'éminentes personnalités de la communauté intellectuelle et scientifique de leur pays et forment un lien essentiel entre l'UNESCO et ses états membres.
Unique en leur genre au sein du système des Nations Unies, les Commissions organisent leurs propres activités : diffusion de l'information, publication d'ouvrages en langue nationale, expositions, conférences. Des réunions -- régionales, sous-régionales et inter-régionales -- sont régulièrement organisées pour leurs responsables afin de confronter les aspirations et les besoins qu'elle perçoivent et d'en faire part à l'UNESCO. Mais surtout, elles participent activement à l'élaboration, la mise en oeuvre et l'évaluation des programmes de l'Organisation. Ainsi, pour associer plus étroitement encore les communautés intellectuelles aux activités de l'UNESCO, les crédits alloués aux Commissions nationales devraient être doublés en 1994-1995.
LE SYSTEME DES NATIONS UNIES
Tout en n'étant soumise qu'à l'autorité de ses États membres, l'UNESCO appartient au système des Nations Unies. Elle partage donc le même idéal et entretient des relations étroites avec les organismes qui le composent.
Elle participe aux mécanismes communs de ce système et grâce à une concertation régulière travaille à l'amélioration de la coordination et à une meilleure définition des activités inter-agences. En particulier, elle échange information et savoir-faire avec ses consoeurs dans des domaines tels que l'environnement, l'éducation de base, les droits de l'homme ou le développement.
Avec les autres agences, l'UNESCO mène des projets conjoints ou s'en voit confier l'exécution. Elle reçoit alors des financements "extrabudgétaries", principalement des Programmes des Nations Unies pour le développement (PNUD) et l'environnement (PNUE), des Fonds pour la population (FNUAP) et l'enfance (UNICEF), ainsi que la Banque mondial et des banques régionales de développement.
LES ORGANISATIONS NON GOUVERNEMENTALES (ONG) ET FONDATIONS
Des ONG de dimensions régionale et internationale regroupent les milieux professionnels ainsi que les mouvements associatifs : éducateurs, scientifiques, artistes, auteurs, bibliothécaires, muséologues, journalistes, éditeurs, militants des droits de l'homme, etc. Ces milieux se sont également appuyé sur des fondations.
L'UNESCO entretient des "relations d'association, de consultation et d'information" avec 581 ONG et 20 fondations pour les associer à l'élaboration et à la mise en oeuvre de son programme. À titre d'exemple, on peut citer des organisations aussi différentes qu'Amnesty International ou le Conseil international des unions scientifiques. Des contrats ont été conclus en 1992-1993 pour exécuter des activités spécifiques avec plus de 200 organisations pour un total d'environ quatre millions de dollars. Comme pour chaque exercice, l'UNESCO accordera en 1994-1995 des subventions à hauteur d'environ 3 millions de dollars à une vingtaine d'ONG "qui apportent une contribution particulièrement efficace à la réalisation des objectifs de l'Organisation".
LES ÉCOLES ASSOCIÉES ET CLUBS UNESCO
Plus de 2,900 établissements de 116 pays, de la maternelle à l'école normale d'instituteurs, appartiennent au Système des écoles associées (SEA), qui fête cette année son 40e anniversaire. Ce réseau international met en oeuvre des initiatives originales afin de renforcer le rôle que peut jouer l'éducation pour préparer les jeunes à vivre dans une communauté mondiale.
Souvent en liaison avec le SEA pour des projets conjoints, comme l'alphabétisation ou l'environnement, les Associations, Centres et Clubs UNESCO sont plus de 4,000 répartis dans 110 pays. Ils s'adressent à tous les groupes d'âges et sont établis dans des écoles, des universités, pour un public plus varié (les Associations), voire sous forme de Centres permanents. Pour concrétiser leurs idéaux de l'Organisation, la gamme de leurs activités est presque sans limite : reboisement, protection du patrimoine culturel et naturel, éducation aux droits de l'homme, promotion de la condition féminine etc. Depuis 1981, ils sont regroupés au sein de la Fédération mondial des Associations, Centres et Clubs UNESCO.
Tiré du magazine Sources UNESCO No. 50, septembre 1993.
CULTURAL PLURALISM, as a manner of conviviality, rests on the conviction that mankind has a common origin and a common destiny. The principal problems afflicting human society today: wars, racism, poverty, environmental degradation, authoritarianism, drugs, infantile mortality, as well as inequality and injustice in trade, finance, scientific and technical progress, will not find universal solutions without new forms of governmental and radical change in international relations and co-operation. In essence, those solutions, which are ever subject to controversial economic and political interests and different cultural outlooks, demand a pluricultural dialogue, national and international, open and egalitarian. Such a dialogue, where Ibero-America is concerned, must include the indigenous peoples of Afro-American and Asian and European birth.
The globalization of the economy, the migration of the work-force and the evolution in communications have created a worldwide area where trends towards a standardization of values are matched by a vigourous reassertion of national, ethnic, cultural and regional particularities. The reassertion of the diversity of cultural identities and their consolidation are bulwarks against the danger of a technological society, which succumbs because it is powerless to achieve that democracy towards which mankind, strives, because it is incapable of creating efficient instruments to attain a pattern of development that places the individual and his values at the centre of its concerns. Identities, in short, that propel history, that are not frozen legacies but living syntheses, perpetually changing, thriving on inner differences, admitting and reworking contributions form outside.
A worldwide area needs common values derived from the specific characteristics of each nation, each ethnic group and each region. The conception of human rights as a formula open to new enrichment based on experience and understood in the widest sense as cultural, social, economic, political and civil individual rights; and, in so far as it stands for the rights of peoples to peace, development, self-determination and decolonization, as a sound foundation for building true democracy in Ibero-America, democracy that will find new syntheses for old aspirations, such as freedom and social harmony, growth and equity, efficiency and legality, sovereignty and interdependence.
We mean participational democracy, where demagogy, corruption and impunity are alien, a social and political construction that looks towards the future, that is rooted in the specific characteristics of each society and in the exchange of those values and institutions which man, in all historical latitudes, has forged in answer to his need of freedom, prosperity, equity and the reassertion of diversity. The full development of cultural pluralism will only be possible once respect for the equal dignity of all cultures has been implanted in Ibero-America, governed by understanding, dialogue and concertation as the alternatives to intolerance, exclusion and violence.
An ethics of the environment implies the co-responsibility of the developed and the developing countries in the management and use of natural resources. Respect of indigenous cultures, for their special relationship with nature and the decision of the industrialized countries to take up their particular technical and financial duties in preserving the biosphere, will be the cornerstone of a new ecological awareness, reconciling environmental rights and development in accordance with Agenda 21 as adopted at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro.
Education in itself is a cultural fact based on work and work is the means whereby man transforms his surroundings, organizes his life and builds his history. Globalization, economic adjustment and the management of production have radically altered the economic, social, educational, cultural and vocational scenario of the countries of our America. It is necessary, out of respect for cultural pluralism, to alter educational concepts and practices and to incorporate deliberately and organically those aspects which are related to productive work, seeking to draw upon the traditions of indigenous people so as to utilize, re-create and preserve nature in the production process.
Widespread technological change has altered the character of work and is bringing about substantial modifications in the ways production is organized and in the rules and regulations which, historically, safeguarded workers' rights. It is indispensable to define educational strategies, vocational policies and legal directives for the guidance of immigrant and settled workers so as to prevent technological modernization from continuing to be a social curse. If they are not to lose legitimacy, the objectives of increased competitiveness together with improved quality and productivity cannot continue to be factors of social inequity, as hitherto.
The participants at the Seminar express their satisfaction at the important agreements achieved at the previous Ibero-America Summits, in Guadalajara and Madrid, in the light of point 8 of the Guadalajara Declaration, where the Heads of State and Government affirm:
"We recognize the immense contribution of indigenous people to the development and plurality of our societies and reiterate our commitment to ensure their economic and social welfare, as well as our duty to respect their rights and cultural identity."
They therefore agree to:
The interior decorations were created by the Browne family one of the most prolific church decorating firms in Ontario history. This particular interior were done in 1936 by Peter Charles Smith Browne and his sons, Thomas and Peter Jr. The decorations were commissioned as a memorial to a daughter of the Harris family who were partners in the Massey Harris Farm Machinery Company.
Unfortunately the art work in the nave was damaged when it was cleaned by unskilled people. Thomas G. Browne Church Interiors, however, were able to carry out the conservation of these decorations in 1983.
The Historic Sites and Monument Board of Canada has recommended that the plaque marking the church as a national historic site be placed on the church grounds, rather than as an intrusive element in the interior of the building.
En collaboration avec l'ambassade de France, la Commission de la Capitale nationale et le musée des beaux-arts du Canada, ICOMOS Canada participe à l'organisation d'un colloque international sur l'Art Déco. Il se tiendra à Ottawa les 18 et 19 novembre prochain.
Cette manifestation se déroulera dans les salons du Sénat et sera ouverte, sur invitation, à des personnalités scientifiques et politiques intéressées par la connaissance, la préservation et la mise en valeur de ce patrimoine. Le but poursuivit par les organisateurs est la sensibilisation des participants à la valeur des monuments et des sites de cette époque dans le but d'en assurer la conservation selon les plus hauts standards.
®Ce que l'on désigne sous le terme "Art Déco" correspond à une époque et à un style également équivoques ou confus, mais riches en ambitions et marqués dans tous les domaines de l'art, de la technique et de la pensée, par de nombreuses découvertes, des idées et des réalisations neuves. Cette période trépidante, déséquilibrée, individualiste en diable qui a suivi la victoire de 1918 est caractérisée par un furieux appétit de vivre facilité en Europe occidentale par la prospérité économique, le développement des communications et des échanges, le rayonnement de Paris et de sa vie de plaisir, une frénétique envie de changement qui touche non seulement les créateurs, mais les classes aisées et que certains veulent étendre aux moins favorisés. Mais, quelles que soient les velléités sociales de 1920-25, ce sont l'insouciance, l'élégance, l'agitation, qui évoquent à nos yeux cette époque que l'on a également qualifiée d'"années folles", ce qui ne justifie qu'une part infime, mais turbulente, de son comportement.
Une période euphorique, c'est vrai. Les noms qui viennent les premiers à la mémoire, Joséphine Baker, Revue Nègre, Jazz Band, Montparnasse, Bugatti, Charleston, Poiret, Mistinguett, Phi-Phi, Ballets Russes, surréalisme, Cocteau, Chanel, Van Dongen, Le Corbusier, Picasso, Boeuf sur le Toit, expriment la trépidation, l'insolence, le bonheur, le luxe, la fête, la griserie de la nouveauté.¯ Somogy, Encyclopédie Art Déco, Paris, 1986.
Le programme prévoit la participation de conférenciers français, canadien, américain et anglais. Une conférence publique sera offerte le vendredi 18 novembre en soirée au musée des beaux-arts du Canada, rue Sussex à Ottawa.
Font partie du comité organisateur:
1. COOPTATION AU COMITÉ EXÉCUTIF
Suite aux délibérations de Versailles, j'ai pu obtenir l'accord de : Professeur Saleh Lamei du Caire (Égypte); M. El Hajjami de Fès (Maroc); M. Mamadou Berthe, de Dakar (Sénégal).
Les tensions internes du Comité argentin, exprimées à travers plusieurs lettres et coups de téléphone, en rapport avec la proposition de cooptation de Mme Arias Incolla doivent être examinées en Bureau.
2. RELATIONS AVEC l'UNESCO
De bonnes relations sont à nouveau assurées,
Avec Henry Cleere, l'entente est bien établie. Pour mieux assurer l'importante coordination des opérations, il doit déléguer et "faire faire", de manière à impliquer un maximum de personnes. Un schéma général a été établi qui, avec la liste des "nominations" de 1994, sera diffusé aux membres des Comités Consultatif et Exécutif. En principe, chaque site sera visité.
Pour le choix des experts spécialistes des différents sites, une concertation a été établie avec l'UNESCO. La décision finale appartient au Secrétaire général.
3. RELATIONS AVEC LES AUTORITÉS FRANÇAISES
Il convient de mentionner le soutien apporté par le Comité national français, avec lequel nous tenons à garder un contact régulier.
Les assurances sociales ASSEDIC sont en voie de normalisation. Nous cotiserons mais sans effet rétroactif complet et sans amande de retard.
Les négociations continuent pour ce qui concerne les impôts sur les salaires en liaison avec les ONG de catégorie A, et en particulier l'ICOM. À présent, les paiements sont tenus en suspens.
Peu de progrès en ce qui concerne l'aménagement du siège à Versailles, nous avons clairement exprimé notre accord sur le transfert, et tout aussi clairement indiqué que nous ne pouvons en couvrir les frais. Quelques documents intéressants ont été retrouvés dans les archives, établissant l'invitation des autorités françaises, en 1965, à établir le siège à Paris, et notamment copie du télégramme du Ministre de la Culture (André Malraux).
4. PATRIMOINE EN PÉRIL
Pour relancer cet important dossier, après le séminaire d'octobre 1993 à l'Hôtel Saint Aignan, une réunion s'est tenue à Bruxelles, en février. Les rapporteurs néerlandais feront le point pour le Bureau.
5. RELATIONS AVEC LE CONSEIL DE L'EUROPE ET L'UNION EUROPÉENNE
La liaison est régulière avec le Conseil de l'Europe, à Strasbourg, et les quelque 40 pays-membres, en vue de nous manifester avec dynamisme. Nous sommes associés aux projets d'"ateliers" en Europe centrale et orientale, et notamment à St-Pétesbourg. Contact est aussi établi avec le Parlement européen, à travers la Fondation Pégase.
L'importance des enjeux plaide pour la constitution d'un comité pour les relations avec l'Union européenne afin de coordonner la contribution des professionnels de la Conservation aux programmes à mettre en oeuvre. Une réunion de travail aura lieu à Paris, le 16 mai, à l'invitation des pays nationaux de France, Royaume Uni, Allemagne, Espagne et Grèce; pour les 16 pays de l'Union.
6. DÉVELOPPEMENT THÉORIQUES
Diverses problématiques font l'objet d'études, de séminaires ou de travaux dont il est prévu d'assurer une large diffusion.
a. Authenticité : séminaire de Bergen, en janvier, dont le succès appelle un approfondissement à Nara, en novembre 1994. L'idéal étant que les membres des Comités Exécutif et Consultatif puissent y prendre part.
b. Étude globale : à Paris, en juin, en collaboration avec le Centre du Patrimoine mondial, avec une dizaine de personnalités de premier plan, présidence Mme C. Cameron.
c. Paysages culturels : projet de séminaire aux Philippines (avec Augusto Villalon), avec accent sur les sites de rizière, qui pourrait être reporté début 1995.
d. Itinéraires culturels : séminaire accueilli par les autorités espagnoles (septembre 1994), et organisé par l'ICOMOS, en liaison avec l'UNESCO (M. D. Diene) et le Conseil de l'Europe (M. Ronconi).
e. Monitoring : - ad hoc, sous la coordination de Herb Stovel (Kizhi Poghost, Asie, Kathmandou...).
- systématique, sous la coordination de Daniel Drocourt. Projet de séminaire à Paris, le 30 mai, en vue de proposer une méthode commune aux Comités nationaux (exemple de ICOMOS U.K.).
f. Tourisme culturel : contacts avec les fédérations d'agences de voyage pour une action de sensibilisation des touristes des pays riches; opportunité d'une mise à jour de la Charte de Manille?
g. Patrimoine en péril : voir point 4.
7. RELATIONS EXTÉRIEURES
a. Signature d'un protocole de coopération avec le Saint-Siège, à expliciter dans un programme de travail.
b. réunion de coordination avec l'ICCROM, en janvier, au siège de l'ICOMOS.
c. Contacts avec l'ICOM et perspectives de coopération dans certains pays (Afrique, par ex.).
d. Contacts avec l'Organisation des Villes du Patrimoine mondial (siège à Québec).
e. Coopération avec "Europa Nostra" (Lester Borley), notamment pour les projets "tourisme culturel".
f. Contact avec Mme Bonnie Burnham du World Monuments Fund (New-York).
8. RELATIONS INTERNES
a. Plusieurs contacts (difficiles) en vue de l'organisation d'un atelier pour l'Ouest africain; l'idée d'une réunion simultanée du Comité Exécutif à Dakar, début juin, n'a pas encore pu être concrétisé.
b. participation personnelle, sur invitation des autorités suédoises, à l'assemblée générale de l'ICOMOS Suède, fin mars; occasion de contacts personnels, notamment avec la direction des Affaires culturelles en vue de la prise en charge, totale ou partielle, d'une édition du Bulletin.
c. contacts avec le Comité national de Bulgarie (Todor Krestev), en vue de l'organisation de la prochaine assemblée générale.
We reproduce the following excerpt from "ICOMOS in the Information Age:"
In what is probably a first in the history of the World Heritage Convention, a daily newsletter of the proceedings of the annual meeting of the World Heritage Committee, held last December in Cartagena, Columbia, was transmitted electronically to several hundred people and organizations around the world. The electronic distribution of these newsletters was an experiment conducted by the writer to demonstrate the potential of electronic communication for ICOMOS. Through ICOMOS Canada, the reports were distributed to Canadian heritage site managers and other Parks Canada offices. As a result of this distribution, newsletter readers were the first to know of the decision to place the Everglades National Park on the List of the World Heritage in Danger, and of the thirty-two new sites on the World Heritage List.
To a small non-government organization with committees all over the world, the role of communications can be a critical one in the timely dissemination of ideas, policies, press releases and a wide variety of other types of information. An organization such as ICOMOS thrives on its ability to disseminate information to its constituent bodies, the global preservation community and the world at large.
News forms of internal communication were a frequent refrain in ICOMOS' Future Plan approved by the General Assembly in Sri Lanka.
The new information technology also allows the "posting" of information for more widespread consumption about the work of the organization. One of the most promising developments since mid-February has been the establishment of an ICOMOS "gopher" by members of ICOMOS Canada. A gopher, named after the mascot of the University of Minnesota where it was developed, is an extremely user-friendly information tool on the global Internet. It has the capacity to hold the newsletters of all the national committees, the handbooks of the specialized committees, charters and resolutions adopted by the General Assembly and virtually any other type of graphic or text information the organization might want to display. At the current time, newsletters from Paris, the U.S. and Canada are available, as well as most ICOMOS charters and resolutions, ICOMOS' Future Plan, the Eger Principles and the Training Guidelines. Recently, with the agreement of its editor, we have included the text of recent bulletins from the International Council on the Conservation of the Industrial Heritage (TICCIH). Since it was established in mid-February, logs have reported increasing use by readers in Australia, North and South America and Europe.
by Jean Klotz
Economics is ruling many conservation decisions in many locales. Below, we reproduce an excerpt from an article, "Highlights of the Fez Symposium," which was published in the first issue of News from the Organization of World Heritage Cities:
"Financing presentation initiatives in World Heritage Cities: Why, by whom and how?"
The theme adopted for the fez Symposium, held in September 1993, was broached by way of concrete examples, including, obviously, the example of Fez, and through the testimony of representatives of political and financial institutions. Discussion revealed that a wealth of projects are open to the Organization of World Heritage Cities.
The presentation initiatives evoked in the theme do not focus on isolated monuments, but on neighbourhoods or entire cities. The sites to be protected are not empty. They are living ensembles, inhabited by memory and by men and women who must continue to adapt to them. Each country and city has a different heritage and a different urban, cultural, economic, social and political context. This is what accounts for the diversity of the world heritage and makes it imperative to protect it everywhere.
Economic situations vary widely from one continent to another, although the economic climate is growing increasingly difficult, which makes it more important than ever to strive for national and international solidarity so that each city can preserve its identity and memory. One of the goals of the Organization of World Heritage Cities, which was established in September, is to foster cooperation between cities and their residents and with specialized international organisations. It remains for us to find the funds necessary to do so...
Through cooperation, cities can develop information, training, technical and educational tools that the residents of each site need to adapt to il. Moreover, cities can encourage national and international agencies to contribute to this effort, but they must count, above all, on their own initiatives.
The Mayor of Strasbourg, Catherine Trautmann, has suggested that European cities immediately join her in committing themselves to the restoration of Sarajevo.
Human history proceeds in cycles. In the past, cities have associated freely with one another. At other times, centralization has prevailed and hegemonic power has been imposed on cities. Democracy and cooperation prevail by and large when cities are strong and fully exercise responsibilities.
Perhaps we are moving toward a new era of peace in cities around the world. I would be pleased if it were so.
Jean Klotz is the assistant to the Mayor of Strasbourg, France.
UNESCO's international Commission on Education for the Twenty-first Century, which is chaired by Jacques Delors, President of the Commission of European Communities, will hold its fourth working session in Vancouver from April 11 to 15, 1994. The Commission was created to answer the question: what kind of society of tomorrow? It is hoped that it will provide landmark recommendations, much like the influential UNESCO-sponsored Faure report of 1972, Learning To Be.
Its three-day working session will be preceded by a two-day working group meeting (April 11-12) on education in North America, which will be organized into three workshops: the educational process: methods and actors; training teachers and teacher trainers; and lifelong learning and recurrent education.
The Canadian Commission for UNESCO will publish various briefs submitted to the Delors Commission by Canadian educational and other authorities. The Canada Council will be submitting a brief on the importance of making the arts an integral part of both formal and non-formal education.
The new Organization will work to establish close co-operation among the cities and reinforce the links with governmental and non-governmental organizations. It will also help the cities on the list to undertake research, training, promotion and fund-raising.
At the Fez meeting a constitution for the Organization was adopted, which among other things underlines the objective of implementing the 1972 Convention on World Heritage.
The steering committee which prepared the meeting in Fez was chaired by Mr. L'Allier, and included the mayors of Bergen (Norway), Cartagena (Columbia), Cuzco (Peru), Dakar (Senegal), Evora (Portugal) and San Juan (Puerto Rico).
The National Historic Parks and Sites Directorate of the Department of Canadian Heritage has been an important supporter of this initiative.
Michel Bonnette, an urban planner, who until June 1993, was director of the Vieux-Québec division in the Quebec City urban planning department, helps to keep headquarters humming. He is an expert in municipal management of historic centres and has been seconded by the City of Quebec to assist the secretary general in launching various initiatives of the Organization of World Heritage Cities. Mr. Bonnette is responsible for research and development.
The College operates on a semestered basis, but in recognition of mailing time, Distance Learners have six months to complete a course. The professor who marks or tutors the course provides assistance by mail, fax, or through the marked assignments. The courses are marked and graded to the same standards as in-class programs.
Course fees are $105.40 which includes a manual. Textbooks are another $106.63.
To receive information on these courses, contact: School of Lanark County, 7 Craig St., Perth, Ont. K7H 1X7.
The ICOMOS Documentation Centre also announces a number of new publications which resulted from the proceedings of the ICOMOS 10th General Assembly which took place in Colombo in 1993. Among the titles of interest are: Architectural photogrammetry/ Photogrammétrie architecturale, 189 pages; International Scientific Symposium on Archaeological Heritage Management, 148 pages; Historic Towns/Villes Historiques, 178 pages; and Vernacular architecture/Architecture vernaculaire, 124 pages. For ordering information and a full list of available titles, contact: ICOMOS, Hôtel Saint Aignan, 75 rue du Temple, 75003, Paris, France. Tel.: 42.77.35.76 Fax: 42.77.57.42.
The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada has published its annual directory. It has been expanded to include a listing of all architectural practices across Canada, a listing of all registered architects, RAIC members not registered with provincial associations and international associates. As well, the directory contains a guide to various sources of information related to technical, regulatory, funding or professional practice matters. For more information, contact: The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, Suite 330, 65 Murray St., Ottawa, ON K1N 5M3 Tel.: 613.241-3600 Fax: 613.241-5750.
The editor of News from the Organization of World Heritage Cities
is calling for articles for this newsletter. Submissions may include research
findings, reports, design evaluation, book reviews or papers dealing with
the demands of the emerging information society all related to the management
of historic cities. The newsletter is published in English, Spanish and
French. Contact: OWHC, 56, rue Saint-Pierre, bureau 401, Québec,
QC G1K 4A1 Tel.: 418.692.0000 Donhead Publishing has released a number of new titles of interest
within the area of building conservation from a British perspective. Treasures
on Earth: A good housekeeping guide to churches and their contents is edited
by Peter Burman, Director of Conservation Studies at the University of
York. The selections explain the techniques and artistry involved in cleaning,
repairing and caring for the fabric and contents of churches - stained
glass, sculpture, textiles, metalwork, floors, decorative plasterwork,
etc. Measurement and Recording of Historic Buildings by Peter Swallow,
David Watt and Robert Ashton provides a practical guide to measures building
surveys with a special emphasis on recording the fabric of historic buildings.
Stone Cleaning and the Nature, Soiling and Decay Mechanisms of Stone, edited
by Robin G.M. Webster, contains the proceedings of the International Conference
on stone cleaning held in Edinburgh in 1992. Another offering also focused
on cleaning historic buildings : Cleaning Historic Buildings, 2 volumes,
by Nicola Ashurts offers essential practical guidance on appropriate cleaning
techniques which are supported by case studies. To receive the entire list
of offerings and pricing and ordering information, contact: Preservation
Resource Group, Inc. P.O. Box 1768, Rockville, MD 20849-1748 U.S.A.
English Heritage has recently published a brochure entitled Street
improvement in historic areas to help conservationists with treatments
of streets and public spaces. The main message of the publications is do
less, do it better and in phases, and to it to a higher standard rather
than compromise on quality and appearance.
The key principles are:
The brochure is available from English Heritage, Room 207, Keysign House,
429 Oxford St., London W1R 2HD.
24 October 1994 : phs