Interdisciplinary restoration

marco magliozzi

© photo by Marco Magliozzi

It is now widely acknowledged that present-day society is forced to answer increasingly pressing questions in an even more compelling and inclusive manner. The questions that one after the other pursue the young professionals of nowadays are stratified on all fields of knowledge, from the sciences to the arts.  These are questions that cannot be answered in a single discipline, but which intertwine and bring together several different but not alternative jobs and skills. Architecture has historically made this complementarity its strength, and the architectures that generations have today defined as the most complete and perfect, are physical proof of the union between notions of physics, proportion, science, art, ethics and erudition. Intellect and craftsmanship intertwine and merge to create a masterpiece. In this case the message that architecture wants to pass is fundamental. A message that goes beyond the ages. In the course of History, nothing lives forever. It happens in fact that these symbols, these totems of human genius must be preserved. Watch over an old building with caring attention; protect it as best you can and at all costs. That' s what John Ruskin said, because every stone destroyed is a lost memory. But when then these architectures are in danger, when the heritage that has been built over the centuries is at risk, who then is involved in this calamity? 

Is it only the architects who have to take care of restoring the buildings, or are the latter, being a reflection of human memory, in everyone's interest? Nothing is more multidisciplinary, intercultural, and intergenerational than restoration. Restoration theory and practice are matters in which all members of society play a role: politicians, citizens, historians, critics, scientists, writers, artists, everyone is involved. 

In spite of the scientific papers of the past centuries, it has been argued that ars sine scientia nihil est (art is nothing without science).  Only since the twentieth century has the attention of academics focused on the relationship between technology and art, a link that in the contemporary world is increasingly irreplaceable for the preservation of historical and artistic heritage. The combination of different disciplines, which would be the logical outcome of the problem, is not always easy to start, especially because of cultural difficulties. Often the comparison between disciplines, instead of stimulating discussion, remains at a superficial level, both for the kind of initial relationship and for the lack of knowledge, on both sides, of the possibilities and potential of a dialogue. The limited exchange of ideas and information lowers the level of research, and can mean that everyone practically continues to pursue their own disciplinary debate. On the other hand, interdisciplinarity is a very difficult practice to put into practice seriously, it takes a minimum of humility on both sides, to try to use understandable languages, and a continuous common verification. (G. Biscontin, la chimica del restauro: aspetti formativi e didattici, op cit. p 34.). It is important for the success of this approach to overcome the mutual segregation between the professional skills of the architect, engineer and other professionals (installers, fire prevention experts, ...) who contribute to the success of an intervention. The multidisciplinary approach that brings together self-referential, non-dialogue specialists, to which the translation of Taylorism from the factory to today's professions has accustomed us, must be replaced by the intellectual affinity between professionals with specific knowledge. The interaction between different disciplines/professions, which working together in research and knowledge exchange, converge in order to achieve the most complete and respectful work possible. A new way is therefore outlined, that of delegating to other competences the task of carrying out specific investigations: architects, art theorists, chemists and engineers, who put their academic and professional expertise at the service of the preservation of the work, and in some way also of the community, get in touch. The greatest difficulty is represented by communication and differences in language, but this obstacle can still be overcome. It must be accepted, however, that the disciplines involved in the field of restoration are not merely a support, but an integral part of the process. There is therefore no hierarchical idea that architecture is the mother of all sciences, and the other disciplines revolve around them like satellites, but they are the ones that, by working together, give birth to good architecture. We must never forget that buildings sometimes carry the name of their creator, but they are always choral works. They are like harmonious music played masterfully by a well-tuned orchestra.Overcoming the barrier between scientific culture and humanistic culture, recovering a real trans-disciplinary approach, making aesthetics converge with science, people with nature, the subject with the object: this is the main way to fight the single homologating Thought [...] its most evident consequence today is a uniformity that kills creativity (E. Tiezzi la Bellezza e la Scienza, 1998, p. 25). The task of the architect restorer is to protect the architectural message achieved in order to make it accessible to future generations. Having accepted the importance of multidisciplinary collaboration, one cannot make the mistake of evaluating it as the sum of different contributions (physicist, chemist, geologist,) that all intervene in a separate way on the architectonic object. Architecture must therefore be understood in its uniqueness and unity. Each single specialist intervention cannot therefore be independent, or separate from another. Any process implemented must be the reflection of a principle of uniqueness and organicity of intent. But just as in a musical performance, success will depend on the quality and good sound of the individual instruments, and on the conductor's managerial skills.