Time should not erode the collective emotion aroused, three months ago, by the vision of a mechanical shovel perched on the roof of the Blue Room, the restaurant-cabaret of the Domaine-de-l’Estérel shopping center in the Laurentians. .
Shocking fact given the status of the building, whose bow and interior are listed under the Cultural Heritage Act. This destruction completed the leveling of the building dating from 1937, legally initiated five days earlier, with the demolition of its lower part.
In the aftermath, a petition was launched demanding its identical reconstruction which collected more than 3000 signatures, including several internationally. Welcoming the intention to rebuild of the owner, the real estate company Olymbec, expressed in a press release, the initiator of the appeal, Philippe Lupien, professor at the UQAM School of Design, underlined the need to proceed according to the best professional practices. To what extent is such a claim relevant, desirable, even possible?
This question concerns both experts and citizens. In view of the doctrine established by the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), the main professional organization in conservation since 1965, such an avenue should be excluded. The reason: the enhancement of the material, declared to bear the historical significance and guarantee the authenticity of the property.
Still widely shared by specialists, this principle has however been reconsidered in recent years, while the loss of assets is increasing as a result of armed conflicts or natural disasters. The reconstruction of buildings or built ensembles of heritage interest has become acceptable insofar as it contributes to the consolidation of the injured community, traumatized by the loss.
Such a reorientation stems from the evolution of the notion of heritage of Western origin, particularly under the effect of globalization. This contributed to the progressive ratification by the States of the Convention on the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, adopted by UNESCO in 1972, and the introduction of that on the safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage in 2003. Foreshadowing the doctrinal change, the reconstruction of the historic center of Warsaw after 1945, legitimized by its inscription on the World Heritage List in 1980.
Legitimacy
The patrimonialization of recent buildings has had something to do with the shift in doctrine. Several icons of innovative 20th century architecturee century disappeared have been rebuilt, mainly exhibition pavilions. The legitimacy of such a gesture, whether it concerns the entire building or a degraded or missing part, was affirmed in 1997 by Docomomo International, the non-governmental organization dedicated to the documentation and conservation of the architecture of the movement. modern founded ten years earlier. The argument put forward is that many representative buildings of this period are not very durable, responding to ephemeral uses or built with experimental construction techniques.
Professor Lupien defends reconstruction by emphasizing the particular nature of architectural practice. Unlike most artists, the architect does not produce the work, but his project in the form of drawings, the realization falling within the construction sector. In this respect, the architect is close to the musician whose compositions are interpreted by others on the basis of scores.
However, the execution plans of the shopping center are kept by the Sainte-Marguerite-du-Lac-Masson and Estérel Historical Society. It would therefore be possible to rebuild it identically, in principle at least. In addition, it should be noted that the building has not completely disappeared, the foundations and the entrance on rue du Baron-Louis-Empain remain.
In the case of one of the first and most famous reconstructions of modern heritage, the German pavilion designed by Mies van der Rohe for the Barcelona International Exhibition of 1929, similar traces were precious. This project was carried out with the greatest care. Admittedly, technical and functional adjustments were made to the building in order to meet contemporary requirements.
Some say that such an undertaking is not necessary to preserve the memory of the past, photographs, period drawings and stories of all kinds would suffice. Others retort that the reconstruction restores a fundamental aspect of architecture which is the visual, spatial, tactile, sometimes acoustic experience that it offers to users. This dimension of heritage value is not the only one that rebuilding can perpetuate.
Ten years ago, with the Auberge du Baron-Empain, the Hôtel de la Pointe Bleue and the Domaine de l’Estérel shopping centre, Sainte-Marguerite-du-Lac-Masson had an exceptional modern heritage which, piece by part, vanished into smoke or disappeared under the peak of the wreckers. If the reconstruction of the last can “repair the irreparable”, it will have to be carried out by professionals competent in conservation, that it be rigorously supervised and that it benefit from an adapted budget.
To support the preservation of the immovable heritage, the Ministry of Culture and Communications has set up a restoration assistance program. To what extent could the restitution of the shopping center benefit?