by Jon Lackman | 1 March 2007 | Architecture, Books
In the most recent Bulletin Monumental (Tome 164-3), Patrick Ponsot reviews two recent books from France on the restoration and adaptation of architectural monuments: “The ‘theoretical essay’ that introduces [Dominique Rouillard's Architectures contemporaines et monuments historiques] sets out to give a clear overview of state practices of the last 25 years. The brilliant and admittedly paradoxical text is sometimes inadvertently comical … The order of words in the [book's] title is apparently not accidental: creation is the issue here, monuments serving only as pretexts. Monuments should be ‘valued’ and brought to light’ but also serve to ‘improve citizens’ quality of life’ … Having established that ‘monuments’ are no longer to be considered as ‘archival documents” … why not reflect more seriously [on the matter]? … Since the second publication [reviewed here] reaches the same impasse … I’d like to interrogate a couple of the authors’ assumptions: a monument must be homogenous to be ‘legitimate’ [and] decisions concerning monuments are only the domain of the state, of the culture minister.”
