Slide Show
International Day for Monuments and Sites 2013: The Heritage of Education
Date: April 2013
Related Projects: SAN IGNACIO MINÍ, FRANCISCAN MONASTERY LIBRARY, SULTAN QA'ITBAY COMPLEX, SANTA MARIA DELLA VISITAZIONE (CHURCH OF THE PIETÀ), PALAFOXIANA LIBRARY, SALON DE MUSIQUE, BIBLIOTHÈQUE DE L’ARSENAL, FLORIDA SOUTHERN COLLEGE
Related Projects: SAN IGNACIO MINÍ, FRANCISCAN MONASTERY LIBRARY, SULTAN QA'ITBAY COMPLEX, SANTA MARIA DELLA VISITAZIONE (CHURCH OF THE PIETÀ), PALAFOXIANA LIBRARY, SALON DE MUSIQUE, BIBLIOTHÈQUE DE L’ARSENAL, FLORIDA SOUTHERN COLLEGE
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Over the past several decades, WMF’s field projects around the world have focused on the preservation of significant monuments, both humble and grand, many of which serve their communities as centers of education. From an opulent library in Mexico to a simple yeshiva in Belarus, WMF recognizes the role of educational institutions in shaping the built landscape as well as the minds of individuals. WMF has also twice honored those who have restored important centers of education with the WMF/Knoll Modernism Prize: in 2008 for the restoration of the ADGB Trade Union School in Germany, and in 2012 for the restoration of Hizuchi Elementary School in Japan.
As ICOMOS notes in its description for this year’s celebration, around the world, historic buildings related to education “are recognized as bearing not only social or institutional values but also historic or artistic ones, and have therefore become a significant part of cultural heritage. The protection and conservation of the heritage of education not only implies preserving cultural assets but also, at the same time, celebrating education as one of the fundamental human tasks.”
The following slides illustrate the diverse array of sites related to education where WMF has worked with partners to conserve the heritage of education.
Hizuchi Elementary School façade overlooking Kiki River, 2012.
Located in Yawatahama City, Ehime Prefecture, Japan, the school is a post-war functionalist wooden building designed by Masatsune Matsumura (1913–1993), a once little-known, but now greatly admired Japanese municipal architect. The school was completed between 1956 and 1958 and restored between 2006 and 2009. The consortium of architects and scholars who oversaw the restoration the building received the 2012 WMF/Knoll Modernism Prize. The conservation and renovation of Hizuchi is a model project because of the masterful approach to preservation of a modern architectural work that is expected to continue to serve a community’s daily use.
Hizuchi Elementary School façade overlooking Kiki River, 2012.
Located in Yawatahama City, Ehime Prefecture, Japan, the school is a post-war functionalist wooden building designed by Masatsune Matsumura (1913–1993), a once little-known, but now greatly admired Japanese municipal architect. The school was completed between 1956 and 1958 and restored between 2006 and 2009. The consortium of architects and scholars who oversaw the restoration the building received the 2012 WMF/Knoll Modernism Prize. The conservation and renovation of Hizuchi is a model project because of the masterful approach to preservation of a modern architectural work that is expected to continue to serve a community’s daily use.
Restored interior hallway of Hizuchi Elementary School, 2012.
Annie Pfeiffer Chapel at Florida Southern College, 2009.
Florida Southern College contains the largest collection of Frank Lloyd Wright buildings in the world, and although the architect’s master plan was never fully executed, the campus was his longest commission and client relationship, spanning 30 years. Conservation problems with Wright’s signature textile blocks prompted the inclusion of the campus on the World Monuments Watch in 2008 and led to WMF supporting an international conference to investigate the issue. The campus represents Wright’s educational vision and is an important monument in the history of modern architecture in the United States.
Florida Southern College contains the largest collection of Frank Lloyd Wright buildings in the world, and although the architect’s master plan was never fully executed, the campus was his longest commission and client relationship, spanning 30 years. Conservation problems with Wright’s signature textile blocks prompted the inclusion of the campus on the World Monuments Watch in 2008 and led to WMF supporting an international conference to investigate the issue. The campus represents Wright’s educational vision and is an important monument in the history of modern architecture in the United States.
Esplanades at Florida Southern College designed by Frank Lloyd Wright that link various buildings on campus, 2009.
ADGB Trade Union School gymnasium after restoration, 2008.
The former ADGB Trade Union School is a highly significant but, until recently, little-known Bauhaus-designed landmark in Bernau, Germany. The school’s purpose was to provide further education to administrators and leaders of the trade union movement on such topics as economics, management, labor law, and industrial hygiene. Its asymmetry responds to the topography of the site; it was designed to bring the surrounding forests into constant view. Architect Hannes Meyer (1889–1954), second director of the Bauhaus, was an ardent Marxist whose view of architecture as radically functional was informed by his political beliefs. The architects who restored the building received the inaugural WMF/Knoll Modernism Prize in 2008. The school, returned to use for trade union education, is an important educational legacy of the interwar period in Europe.
The former ADGB Trade Union School is a highly significant but, until recently, little-known Bauhaus-designed landmark in Bernau, Germany. The school’s purpose was to provide further education to administrators and leaders of the trade union movement on such topics as economics, management, labor law, and industrial hygiene. Its asymmetry responds to the topography of the site; it was designed to bring the surrounding forests into constant view. Architect Hannes Meyer (1889–1954), second director of the Bauhaus, was an ardent Marxist whose view of architecture as radically functional was informed by his political beliefs. The architects who restored the building received the inaugural WMF/Knoll Modernism Prize in 2008. The school, returned to use for trade union education, is an important educational legacy of the interwar period in Europe.
ADGB Trade Union School dining hall after restoration, 2008.
The façade of Bibliotheque de l’Arsenal in Paris, 2006.
The buildings housing the Bibliotheque de l’Arsenal were first converted from an arsenal to a library in the eighteenth century. During the French Revolution, the library was seized and opened to the public as the Bibliothèque Nationale de l’Arsenal. Under the leadership of author, intellectual, and librarian Charles Nodier from 1824 to 1844, it became a literary hub, with luminaries such as Alfred de Musset and Victor Hugo among the guests. The Salon de Musique in the library was restored with the support of WMF and opened to the public in 2008.
The buildings housing the Bibliotheque de l’Arsenal were first converted from an arsenal to a library in the eighteenth century. During the French Revolution, the library was seized and opened to the public as the Bibliothèque Nationale de l’Arsenal. Under the leadership of author, intellectual, and librarian Charles Nodier from 1824 to 1844, it became a literary hub, with luminaries such as Alfred de Musset and Victor Hugo among the guests. The Salon de Musique in the library was restored with the support of WMF and opened to the public in 2008.
(Photo ©User: Metro Centric/CC BY 2.0)
Restored interior of the Salon de Musique, 2008.
Palafoxiana Library interior view after restoration, 2005.
The origins of Palafoxiana Library in Puebla, Mexico, date to 1646 when a personal collection of approximately 5,000 volumes was contributed to the Colegio de San Juan y San Pedro by Bishop Juan de Palafox y Mendoza. Throughout the colonial period, large quantities of prints and manuscripts were donated by other bishops, different religious institutions, and private individuals, and the library grew to rival the finest libraries of eighteenth-century Europe. Damaged by earthquakes in 1999, WMF’s support in the subsequent restoration project has allowed for the library to return to use as an important educational center.
The origins of Palafoxiana Library in Puebla, Mexico, date to 1646 when a personal collection of approximately 5,000 volumes was contributed to the Colegio de San Juan y San Pedro by Bishop Juan de Palafox y Mendoza. Throughout the colonial period, large quantities of prints and manuscripts were donated by other bishops, different religious institutions, and private individuals, and the library grew to rival the finest libraries of eighteenth-century Europe. Damaged by earthquakes in 1999, WMF’s support in the subsequent restoration project has allowed for the library to return to use as an important educational center.
Restored façade of the Church of Santa Maria della Visitazione in Venice, 1978.
The Church of Santa Maria della Visitazione, also known as the Church of the Pietà, was affiliated with the Ospedale della Pietà, an orphanage and conservatory that, beginning in the fifteenth century, provided care for foundlings. The church functioned as a conservatory for the orphanage, which became famous for its musical program and, later, for its ties to the composer and violinist Antonio Vivaldi, who composed many of his major works while teaching at the conservatory. The church contains major works by Giambattista Tiepolo, and these and elements of the building were restored with WMF’s support in the 1970s. The church represents a moment in Venetian history when charitable action, art, music, and education fused together to create a sacred space that honored religion and the arts that glorified it.
The Church of Santa Maria della Visitazione, also known as the Church of the Pietà, was affiliated with the Ospedale della Pietà, an orphanage and conservatory that, beginning in the fifteenth century, provided care for foundlings. The church functioned as a conservatory for the orphanage, which became famous for its musical program and, later, for its ties to the composer and violinist Antonio Vivaldi, who composed many of his major works while teaching at the conservatory. The church contains major works by Giambattista Tiepolo, and these and elements of the building were restored with WMF’s support in the 1970s. The church represents a moment in Venetian history when charitable action, art, music, and education fused together to create a sacred space that honored religion and the arts that glorified it.
Restored interior of Santa Maria della Visitazione, 1978.
The portal of San Ignacio Miní in Argentina after conservation, 2007.
Some thirty missions were established in the lands of the Guaraní people in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in what is now Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. The missions protected the indigenous Guaraní people from enslavement and were centers of economic development and education. During this period the Jesuits converted the unwritten Guaraní language into print for the first time, effectively saving the language. Though abandoned following the expulsion of the Jesuits from the region in 1767, the remains of the missions are reminders of the role of education in saving an indigenous population from enslavement and its language from extinction. WMF’s work at several of the ruined missions has helped preserve that memory.
Some thirty missions were established in the lands of the Guaraní people in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in what is now Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. The missions protected the indigenous Guaraní people from enslavement and were centers of economic development and education. During this period the Jesuits converted the unwritten Guaraní language into print for the first time, effectively saving the language. Though abandoned following the expulsion of the Jesuits from the region in 1767, the remains of the missions are reminders of the role of education in saving an indigenous population from enslavement and its language from extinction. WMF’s work at several of the ruined missions has helped preserve that memory.
Aerial view of San Ignacio Miní, 2007.
Sultan Qa’itbay Complex façade after conservation, 1999.
Mamluk sultan Qa’itbay’s fountain and school complex was constructed in 1477 in central Cairo. It includes a two-story sebil (public fountain house) at the northern corner with a kuttab (boys’ Koranic school) above. The structure has been continuously occupied and used for to its original function since its construction. Lack of maintenance left the building’s important architectural elements—marble floors, wooden ceilings, decorated exterior masonry—in a severe state of degradation following the cessation of government financial support in the 1960s. An earthquake in 1992 further compromised the building. A restoration project supported by WMF included the installation of a tourist information office and space for community gatherings. Although not currently in active use, the complex is preserved and can easily serve the community in the coming years. This legacy of medieval Islamic education continues to serve the community as well as visitors in this historic quarter of Cairo.
Mamluk sultan Qa’itbay’s fountain and school complex was constructed in 1477 in central Cairo. It includes a two-story sebil (public fountain house) at the northern corner with a kuttab (boys’ Koranic school) above. The structure has been continuously occupied and used for to its original function since its construction. Lack of maintenance left the building’s important architectural elements—marble floors, wooden ceilings, decorated exterior masonry—in a severe state of degradation following the cessation of government financial support in the 1960s. An earthquake in 1992 further compromised the building. A restoration project supported by WMF included the installation of a tourist information office and space for community gatherings. Although not currently in active use, the complex is preserved and can easily serve the community in the coming years. This legacy of medieval Islamic education continues to serve the community as well as visitors in this historic quarter of Cairo.
The Franciscan Monastery Library and bell-tower, 1999.
The Franciscan Monastery Library in Dubrovnik, Croatia, founded in 1235, served scholars and pilgrims for centuries until fires caused by bombardment during the 1991–2 civil war nearly destroyed the building. WMF’s involvement in the restoration of the building has allowed the library to become once again a center of international study.
The Franciscan Monastery Library in Dubrovnik, Croatia, founded in 1235, served scholars and pilgrims for centuries until fires caused by bombardment during the 1991–2 civil war nearly destroyed the building. WMF’s involvement in the restoration of the building has allowed the library to become once again a center of international study.
Interior of Franciscan Monastery Library after conservation, 2004.