Xander Vermeulen Windsant (XVW architectuur, ’s-Hertogenbosch, NL)
Jean-Paul Jaccaud (Jaccaud + Associés, Geneva, CH)
Transformation as challenge, transformability as potential
Numerous mass-produced and prefabricated buildings were constructed during the economic boom of the 1960s and 1970s and form an important part of the architectural history of our cities. Today, some of them are even listed as 20th-century built heritage.
Despite this growing appreciation, many renovations to date have involved replacing façades, which has often led to a loss of the building fabric’s qualities. The scope for alteration seems to be broader than for buildings from other time periods. Even monument preservation encounters difficulties when attributing architectural, artistic and social values, and maintenance and renovation also present various challenges.
This online-discussion presents two recent refurbishment projects, the housing estates Cité du Lignon (Geneva) and Kleiburg (Amsterdam), to ask: What is the value of these buildings and what does this mean for their repair and adaptation? How can such large-scale housing estates be preserved and developed as testimonies to the era in which they were built? Do new strategies and methods need to be developed for both preservation and adaptation to today’s demands and needs?
Moderation: Birgit Knauer (Docomomo Austria, TU Wien), Lorenzo De Chiffre (TU Wien)
Registration: by email to info@docomomo.at