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Conservarea
arhitecturii din lemn în Suedia
Henrik LARSSON*
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Suedia este un tărâm al
arhitecturii lemnului. Ponderea mare a pădurilor a avut un impact important asupra arhitecturii locale vernaculare
care, cu câteva excepţii, este o arhitectură a lemnului. În ultimii
ani s-au realizat progrese remarcabile în domeniul conservării
construcţiilor, iar acest articol tratează atât aspectele actuale ale
acestui proces cât şi cele de viitor.
Ştiinţa
pierdută a meşteşugurilor tradiţionale
Asemeni multor
ţări europene, după al doilea război mondial, Suedia a
cunoscut o rapidă industrializare, proces care s-a reflectat şi în
sectorul construcţiei de clădiri, bazat înainte pe vechile
meşteşuguri. Apariţia materialelor prefabricate a marginalizat
până la dispariţie meşteşugurile tradiţionale, iar
sistemul educaţional s-a dezvoltat în acord cu acest proces.
În anii ‘40, ‘50, ‘60
interesul pentru păstrarea şi conservarea clădirilor istorice a
scăzut considerabil; mai mult, un mare număr de clădiri vechi au
fost demolate pentru a face loc noilor structuri, iar populaţia se
pregătea pentru intrarea într-o societate modernă în care vechiul
nu-şi mai găsea locul.
La începutul anilor ‘70,
Suedia se confrunta cu o dispariţie aproape totală a
meşteşugurilor tradiţionale. Ca urmare, chiar restaurarea
vechilor clădiri utiliza tehnici şi materiale moderne, iar rezultatul
era departe de a fi satisfăcător. Puţine voci s-au ridicat
împotriva acestei dramatice situaţii, iar şi mai puţine idei au
venit în sprijinul surmontării ei.
Recuperarea vechilor
cunoştinţe
În Suedia, mijlocul anilor
‘70 a marcat momentul unei turnuri pozitive în domeniul conservării
arhitecturale. Campania Europeană Pro Patrimoniu Arhitectural,
lansată de Consiliul Europei în 1975, a trezit interesul populaţiei
pentru păstrarea şi conservarea vechilor construcţii şi a
avut ca rezultat imediat înfiinţarea Asociaţiei Suedeze pentru
Conservarea Construcţiilor, ai căror primi membri au fost
arhitecţi, restauratori şi oameni interesaţi de istoria
locală. Numărul membrilor a crescut în urma apariţiei unei
publicaţii de profil.
O nouă abordare a
conservării
O prim nou mod de abordare a
conservării construcţiilor a fost lansat cu ocazia unui amplu proiect
de conservare a castelului Skokloster, situat în afara Stockholmului.
Arhitectul însărcinat cu conducerea lucrărilor, Ove Hidemark, a
dispus cu vehemenţă utilizarea doar a materialelor, tehnicilor
şi metodelor de lucru tradiţionale. Acest fapt a necesitat mai întâi
o susţinută muncă de cercetare, analiză şi reproducere
a compoziţiei materialelor, tehnicilor de tratare a suprafeţelor,
respectiv a uneltelor utilizate în trecut. La vremea aceea acest tip de
abordare a fost unic în Suedia, chiar dacă în alte ţări europene
idei similare fuseseră deja puse în practică.
Ca urmare, în 1976, s-a
înfiinţat şi un nou sistem de control al procesului de conservare,
care activa la nivel regional, fiecare consiliu judeţean fiind asistat de
către un specialist în conservare, profesie nouă statuată la
Universitatea din Gothenburg la sfârşitul anilor 70.
Situaţia actuală
Procesul de
reconstrucţie autentică – instrument al
redobândirii
cunoştinţelor
Modul de abordare a
procesului de restaurare utilizat în cazul castelului Skokloster a marcat
începutul chiar al unei noi mentalităţi în ceea ce priveşte
vechile clădiri cu valoare istorică. Scopul principal îl reprezenta
menţinerea caracterului original al clădirii; s-a constatat că
utilizarea materialelor şi tehnicilor moderne transformă
construcţia într-un surogat fără personalitate şi valoare
istorică, dar şi că fiecare clădire trebuie investigată
individual, aplicarea unor soluţii standard fiind imposibilă
datorită caracteristicilor uneori unice ale materialului şi
tehnicilor utilizate. Pentru a răspunde cerinţelor acestui nou tip de
abordare a fost, firesc, necesară o susţinută muncă de
analizare a fiecărei clădiri din perspectiva celor sus
menţionate.
Apelul la
meşteşugari
Restauratorii actuali au
înţeles că, pentru o aplicare corectă a vechilor principii de
construcţie, este absolut necesar concursul acelora care încă duc mai
departe tradiţiile ancestrale de ridicare a edificiilor, al acelora care pot
contribui cel mai bine cu informaţie şi tehnică:
meşteşugarii. S-a declanşat astfel un proces de recuperare a
cunoştinţelor în materie de meşteşug, prin înfiinţarea
programelor de formare profesională a meşteşugarilor şi
organizarea unor seminarii periodice în vederea schimbului de
experienţă şi al formării unor adevăraţi
specialişti în domeniu.
Puternica descentralizare a
structurii de control al patrimoniului
Încă din 1976 a început
procesul de descentralizare a autorităţii Consiliului Naţional
pentru Patrimoniu, înfiinţându-se consilii administrative regionale
şi organizaţii regionale de specialişti în restaurare, iar în
anii ‘90 coordonarea gestionării fondurilor alocate, a supravegherii
bisericilor protejate şi a catalogării clădirilor de patrimoniu
a trecut în sarcina organizaţiilor regionale. La acest nivel
activează astăzi birouri de profil însumând un număr de
până la zece specialişti din domeniile restaurării, arheologiei,
istoriei şi conservării mediului, specialişti care se
implică activ nu doar în procesul conservării în sine, ci şi în
informarea populaţiei asupra principalelor aspecte ale păstrării
moştenirii culturale.
Legislaţie şi
măsuri de conservare
În Suedia un număr
relativ mic de clădiri cu valoare istorică (în jur de 2000) sunt protejate
printr-un sistem legislativ puternic.
Se merge pe principiul trezirii în conştiinţa populaţiei
şi al proprietarilor de clădiri valoroase a dorinţei de a
păstra aceste clădiri (prin metode de informare în masă) şi
nu pe principiul constrângerii prin lege.
Există,
într-adevăr, o legislaţie generală referitoare la clădiri,
care stipulează că fiecare proprietar trebuie să ţină
cont de caracterul edificiului, indiferent de vârsta şi de valoarea
acestuia. Cu toate acestea, legea are o slabă influenţă, sancţiunile
pentru încălcarea ei fiind rare.
În aceeaşi
situaţie se află şi aşa numitele Zone de Interes
Naţional, în care se pot înscrie sate, sectoare ale unor oraşe, zone
rurale sau zone cu morminte vechi. Acestea nu sunt protejate legal, dar ele
trebuie avute în vedere la emiterea autorizaţiilor de
construcţie.
Bisericile însă, sunt
protejate prin lege, fiecare biserică construită înainte de 1939
fiind protejată prin măsuri ferme (este vorba de aproximativ 3000 de
biserici din totalul de 3800). Nici o acţiune de restaurare nu poate fi
iniţiată fără acordul biroului regional de conservare
şi restaurare.
Fondurile provenite de la
stat
Guvernul suportă
cheltuielile legate de conservare pe trei planuri. Primul cuprinde
clădirile particulare care au valoare de patrimoniu, cărora li se
alocă în jur de 25 milioane Euro anual, în al doilea plan se înscriu
clădirile proprietate de stat (castele, ambasade…), iar al treilea plan
cuprinde bisericile, a căror conservare este subvenţionată
printr-un sistem de distribuţie ce implică administraţia
eclesială locală. În acest fel se oferă o şansă
şi parohiilor sărace cu biserici valoroase. Mai mult, în cazul
bisericilor, tot activităţilor
de conservare li se alocă şi un procent din taxele pe care membrii
parohiei le plătesc periodic. În ianuarie 2001, când biserica s-a separat
de stat, s-a introdus un nou sistem de finanţare guvernamentală care
a pornit de la 5 milioane de Euro şi care va ajunge, în 2010, la
aproximativ 40 milioane Euro.
Conservarea şi
întreţinerea corectă a tuturor acestor edificii reclamă
cunoştinţe de specialitate şi îndemanare care, în ultimul timp,
au devenit esenţiale. Ca urmare, s-a creat o piaţă a micilor
companii specializate în acest sens şi au apărut adevărate
organizaţii regionale alcătuite din meşteşugari,
constructori şi consultanţi. Pe plan educaţional, Universitatea
din Gothenburg a creat programe şi cursuri de formare a
specialiştilor în conservare, exemplu urmat apoi şi de Universitatea
din Gotland.
Opţiunile de instruire
profesională a meşteşugarilor
De vreme ce
meşteşugurile şi metodele de construcţie tradiţionale
au dispărut din industria construcţiilor cam acum 50 de ani,
şansa ca un meşteşugar să beneficieze de instruire
profesională a fost practic nulă. În anul 1997 însă, au fost
implementate trei programe pilot de instruire pe o perioadă de 2 ani,
secondate şi de scurte cursuri. Programele au la bază câteva
principii fundamentale pe care ar fi bine să le menţionăm:
În primul rând, sunt
invitaţi să participe la aceste programe meşteşugarii
aflaţi deja în câmpul muncii, mai cu seamă cei ce activează în
domeniu; experienţa este şi semnul interesului viu pentru
lucrările de restaurare şi conservare, iar pentru iniţiatorii
programului reprezintă o garanţie a bunei lor investiţii. De asemenea,
aceste cursuri de formare sunt gratuite. În Suedia nu se prea investeşte
în cursuri de formare profesională în domeniul construcţiilor, iar
contractanţii lucrărilor de construcţie pur şi simplu nu
sunt încă pregătiţi să plătească în acest sens.
Durata acestor cursuri, mai
cu seamă pentru cei care au de lucru, trebuie să se extindă pe
perioade mai lungi, de pildă până la 8 luni pe an cu două zile
de curs pe lună, dat fiind că un angajat nu îşi poate părăsi
slujba foarte des. Locaţia pe care se desfăşoară aceste
cursuri este esenţială şi trebuie să fie în acord cu tipul
de schimb informaţional ce are loc. Cum, în cazul nostru, totul se
realizează la nivel practic, un şantier de restaurare şi
conservare este “sala de curs” ideală. În ceea ce priveşte metoda
pedagogică, aceasta trebuie să aibă în vedere principiul
egalităţii şi respectului reciproc între cursanţi, relativ
la tipul de meşteşug propriu fiecăruia. În cazul în care în grup
există şi cursanţi cu puţină experienţă sau
deloc, este preferabil să se combine modelul de pregătire bazat pe
egalitate cu cel în care există un meşteşugar foarte
experimentat ce îi învaţă pe ceilalţi.
Dacă toate
condiţiile sus menţionate sunt îndeplinite, este foarte probabil
să obţinem rezultatele dorite.
Materialele şi tehnica
Astăzi, procurarea
materialelor utilizate în construcţiile tradiţionale nu mai este o
problemă, tocmai datorită cererii în permanentă creştere.
Se pot uşor procura materiale ca: culori pe baza de ulei de in, var produs
prin metode tradiţionale, lemn de bună calitate, cărămizi,
unelte tradiţionale… au apărut şi centre care
comercializează aceste materiale precum şi manuale de utilizare a
acestora.
În ultimii 15 ani s-au
dezvoltat şi noi tehnici de conservare: de pildă, un sistem de
reparare a ferestrelor vechi, noi pigmenţi pentru vopselurile pe bază
de ulei de in sau modalităţi de înlăturare a straturilor vechi
de vopsea; de asemenea, în domeniul conservării construcţiilor din
bârne, acum se foloseşte o pârghie pneumatică ce permite controlul
sporit al ridicării unor greutăţi mari.
Aspecte legate de
dezvoltarea viitoare a domeniului conservarii
Creşterea nivelului de
profesionalism şi lărgirea pieţei
În domeniul
restaurării-conservării este nevoie de mai mult profesionalism.
Ţinând seama de perioada neagră prin care acesta a trecut din anii
‘50 pana în anii ‘70, este necesară implicarea activă a tot mai
multor experţi, din diferite zone conexe, la dezvoltarea şi
răspândirea tehnicilor şi metodelor tradiţionale de conservare.
De asemenea, este importantă creşterea rolului specialiştilor
şi îmbunătăţirea metodelor utilizate pentru analizarea
şi descrierea valorilor moştenite care trebuie protejate.
Acest fapt atrage după
sine şi necesitatea lărgirii pieţei pentru conservare-restaurare
spre a oferi unui număr tot mai mare de meşteşugari,
arhitecţi, ingineri şi restauratori o motivaţie economică
de a se specializa în domeniu. Cu toate acestea, deşi interesul personal
este important, trebuie să existe o cerere suficient de mare pentru a
putea susţine financiar activitatea companiilor specializate în
conservare-restaurare.
Turismul cultural
În Suedia turismul cultural
este relativ scăzut comparativ cu alte ţări, deşi nu ducem
lipsă de bunuri de valoare (arhitectură din lemn, peisaje cu valoare
istorică, descoperiri arheologice, biserici medievale…) ce pot intra în
circuitul turistic. Dezvoltarea turismului cultural este un obiectiv important
al procesului de repunere în drepturi a patrimoniului arhitectural
naţional şi din perspectiva ameliorării situaţiei
populaţiei din zonele rurale (posibilitatea apariţiei de locuri de
muncă pentru cei de la sate, unde rata şomajului este în
creştere).
Cercetarea şi
implicarea meşteşugarilor în cercetare
Organismele guvernamentale
şi alte instituţii abilitate trebuie să înţeleagă
importanţa cercetării în domeniul restaurării-conservării,
cercetare care a devenit indispensabilă în condiţiile unei
activităţi crescute şi apariţiei unui mare număr de întrebări
care îşi aşteaptă răspunsul. Nu mai puţin
importantă este implicarea meşteşugarilor în cercetarea
materialelor şi tehnicilor tradiţionale, zonă în care apar
probleme legate de cunoaştere cu fiecare clădire restaurată.
Modelul pilot de instruire
profesională a meşteşugarilor despre care am vorbit mai devreme
trebuie dezvoltat şi răspândit în întreaga ţară.
Sperăm ca acest lucru să se întâmple într-un viitor cât mai apropiat,
când universităţile şi instituţiile se vor hotărî
să elaboreze programe de formare profesională constând în scurte
cursuri de specialitate dedicate exclusiv meşteşugarilor care se
ocupă cu restaurarea şi conservarea.
De asemenea,
consultanţii şi contractorii de proiecte de construcţie trebuie
să continue organizarea în reţele regionale, să-şi
crească competenţa şi să fie la zi cu informaţia în
domeniu. În ultimii ani din ce în ce mai mulţi antreprenori se
organizează şi astăzi un număr de peste 300 de companii
sunt conectate la reţelele regionale.
De mare importanţă
sunt colaborarea şi schimbul de experienţă la nivel
internaţional, ca de pildă, proiectul Cultura Lemnului, condus
de Consiliul Europei, în care meşteşugari şi arhitecţi din
şapte ţări Europene colaborează la păstrarea unei
moşteniri culturale europene comune.
Concluzie
Conservarea edificiilor
este, la ora actuală, un domeniu în plină dezvoltare în Suedia.
După mulţi ani de luptă cu indiferenţa, muzeele regionale,
asociaţiile responsabile cu conservarea clădirilor, Consiliul
Naţional al Patrimoniului şi alte structuri implicate au reuşit
să crească interesul general pentru patrimoniul arhitectural
naţional; astăzi, proprietarii sunt bucuroşi să-şi
conserve clădirile cu valoare istorică, iar cumpărătorii
optează pentru un preţ ridicat când este vorba despre un edificiu
catalogat şi protejat. În ultimii 10 ani oamenii au devenit mai interesaţi
de problemele legate de patrimoniul cultural, se informează citind reviste
de profil, vizitând şantiere de restaurare, chiar participând la cursuri
şi programe educaţionale pe această temă. Uriaşul târg
de antichităţi de la Stockholm are acum şi un departament de
conservare a construcţiilor care are peste 35.000 de vizitatori doar la un
sfârşit de săptămână. Conservarea este astăzi la
modă.
Am văzut astfel cum, cu
perseverentă şi implicare activă, un domeniu care acum câteva
decenii se afla într-o situaţie critică este astăzi în
plină dezvoltare.
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Conservation
of Wooden Architecture in Sweden
Henrik LARSSON*
Like in many other European countries, the
former craft based building sector was rapidly industrialised after WW2. New
materials and production systems was introduced. Production became based on
assembly of prefabricated products. Few traditional crafts were needed. Skills
in many crafts were not maintained. The education system adapted to the new
situation. Training programmes in technical schools and engineering programmes
focused only on modern production techniques. The continuity of knowledge in
traditional crafts and materials vanished and was almost totally lost.
At this period, during the 1940-ies, 50-ies
and 60-ies, people in general had very little interest for preservation and
conservation of historical buildings, except for few, large historical
monuments. Thousands of old buildings were demolished. Many town-centres with
small, old buildings were knocked down during this period to give way to a new
structure. People were dedicated to build the new, modern society and leave the
old behind.
At the beginning of the 1970-ies, the
situation Sweden faced was difficult in the field of conservation of heritage
buildings. In only a few decades, almost all knowledge in traditional crafts
was lost. Few people cared for preservation of historical buildings. Few had
the skills for doing practical conservation work with the traditional materials
and techniques used when the buildings once were erected. Instead architects,
engineers and craftsmen used the new materials they were trained to use, also
when restoring the old buildings – even if the modern materials and techniques
was not developed for this purpose. They did not know of any alternative. The
result was not satisfying, with a loss of original fabric and technical problems.
Some people identified the problems, but there were few ideas of how to improve
the situation.
The mid 1970-ies was a starting point for a
positive development in the field of building conservation in Sweden. The
European Architectural Heritage Campaign, launched by the Council of Europe in
1975, made people more interested in preservation of heritage buildings. The
problems of preservation were noticed in a wider circle.
The establishment of The Swedish Association
for Building Conservation was an immediate result of the campaign of the
Council of Europe. It found its first members among architects, conservation
officers and people interested in their local history. The association started
to produce a journal and more people joined.
At the same time, a new approach for
practical building conservation was launched at a significant conservation project
at the Skokloster castle outside Stockholm in the mid 1970-ies. The architect
in charge, Ove Hidemark, demanded strongly only the use of traditional
materials, tools and techniques when restoring the castle. Modern materials
were banned. The main idea was that the optimal conditions for the old
construction could only be created if the very same materials as in the
original construction were used. The use of modern materials would result in
technical problems caused by differences in characteristics between traditional
and modern materials. The task was therefore to analyse the materials used in
the construction and in every detail copy composition, quality, construction
but also copy old tools. This approach caused a strong need for analyse and understanding
of the original construction, to make it possible to imitate the work in every
detail. Composition of mortars, quality of wood, construction and surface
treatment should be thoroughly investigated before starting the conservation
work. The principles used at this conservation project were published in 1974,
and has been a guiding star since then. This was of course not a unique
approach. Similar ideas have of course developed in other countries. But in
Sweden this occurrence was important. The architect in charge of the
conservation work became later professor in the arts of conservation at The
Royal School of Fine Arts and head of a new conservation training programme.
A new system of regional state inspection
offices was established 1976. Instead of relying only on The National Heritage
Board in Stockholm, each county administrative board was given a county
conservator. The purpose was to strengthen the position of heritage throughout
the country.
In the late 1970-ies, a new university
programme was established in Gothenburg – the conservation officers programme.
It introduced a new profession that still has a great impact on building conservation
today in Sweden.
All together, this was principally the
starting point of modern building conservation in Sweden. The conservation
approach introduced at the Skokloster castle has been developed and influenced
by many other countries. Norway – a country with outstanding wooden
architecture and very high skills in conservation of wooden buildings – has
labelled this approach ´authentic reconstruction process´. The foundation is a
very strong respect for the existing building and the materials and techniques
used when the building was erected, including changes. The central principle is
to try to use exactly the same materials, craft techniques, constructions,
tools surface treatment etc. as used originally when restoring. In some
aspects, this can be said to depart from The Venice Charter. One of the reasons
is to keep the character of the architecture. If modern materials and
techniques are used, the character of the building would change. A too explicit
presentation of new fabric added during a conservation work may cause the same
effect. The building becomes a patchwork. The use of the original materials and
techniques supports the preservation of the character of the building. But the
strongest argument for this position, is that it forces participating
professionals to carefully investigate each building. If the principle is used
in practise, it is not possible to apply a standard solution. This produces
continuously new knowledge. Or to be more exact; it gives us a possibility to
regain lost knowledge. Each building carries a lot of detailed information and
the principle of authentic process gives us strong motives for analysing every
little trace. Unfortunately, it is not always used. Instead, standardised
conservation solutions is often used without sufficient investigations from the
participants involved. The chance to gain knowledge is then lost.
However, this approach forces the
conservation process to focus a lot on the skills of the craftsmen. There are
several reasons for this. First, to produce a good conservation, all
professions participating in the work must be experienced and well trained.
Craftsmen is an important group, but has had a not so favourable situation
concerning for example training.
Second, it is of great importance to involve
craftsmen more in the conservation process. The explanation is that when local
craftsmen built most of the old wooden buildings, it is important that
craftsmen participate in investigation and analysis phase of the conservation
process today. They represent the same tradition of knowledge as the craftsmen
that once built these buildings, and can therefore contribute with more and
deeper information about the construction, than for example an architect or an
engineer. Therefore, we are working hard on revival of traditional crafts
related to wooden architecture, as well as the development of conservation
techniques based on traditional wooden crafts. The strengthening of the
competence and the position of the craftsman in the conservation process is
also an urgent subject. Further training programmes for craftsmen specialised
in conservation are therefore arranged in several provinces and also in some
new training conservation institutes. Special seminars adapted to craftsmen are
arranged every year so that they can meet and exchange knowledge and experience
and grow stronger in their own field. Actions are also taken to support craftsmen
and building contractors to establish networks and other measures to strengthen
their professional position.
In Sweden, rather few of all valuable
buildings are protected by strong legislation. Preservation depends a lot upon
the general interest in society and the interest among the owners. Only little
more than 2000 buildings are listed and have a strong legal protection. The
central principle is that it is not a long-term solution to try to force people
to preserve their buildings. The basic assumption is that buildings are best
preserved by interested and caring owners. Information and training are instead
the means used.
There is a general building legislation,
telling that every house owner – no matter the age and value of the building –
should considerate the character of his or her building. However, this
legislation is rather weak, and sanctions for disregarding this law is rare.
The local authorities can give certain signification to valuable buildings in
their plans. Unfortunately, this is also a rather weak protection, when it is
not a legal protection, only an indication to the local building committee that
a restriction in the use or changing of the building is desirable.
Churches have a strong legal protection.
Every church built before 1939 is protected by strong heritage legislation. No
change or major restoration can be carried out without permission from the county
conservators office at the County Administrative Board. Approximately 3000 out
of a total number of 3800 churches are protected in this way.
There is also something called Areas of
National Interest. There are almost 2000 such areas in Sweden. It can be a
village, a district in a town, a rural area, an area with ancient graves etc.
These areas are not legally protected, but the values in these areas are
supposed to be considered when the local building committees are deciding upon
building permits etc.
The government supports conservation mainly
through three channels. Some 25 million euros are granted to conservation of
privately owned buildings each year. The funds are distributed by the county
conservators offices.
The Governmental Real Estate Department is a
governmental body with a commission to preserve and manage a large amount of
heritage buildings owned by the state, all over the country and even abroad.
Castles, embassies and residences for the county governments constitute the property.
Capital is provided by leasing buildings to governmental departments and other
official purposes.
The conservation of churches is financed by a
distribution system within the ecclesiastical administration, in order to give
a fair chance also to poor parishes with valuable churches. All people who are
members of the church pay a tax that partly is used for this purpose. When the
church was separated from the state the 1 of January 2001, a new supportive
state funding system was introduced. Starting at 5 million euros 2001, the
governmental support will rise to 40 million euros by 2010.
The conservation and continuous maintenance
of all these privately owned buildings, official state buildings and churches
causes a great and important demand for skills that uphold and develop
important knowledge in the field of conservation and traditional skills. During
the long period since WW2, when nobody in the ordinary market demanded the use
of traditional materials and techniques and careful conservation work, the
state funding played a very important role in keeping up a little but constant
demand for these skills. When giving the grants, the state inspection had the
possibility to demand the use of traditional materials and methods. It has
produced a little market for small, specialised companies in different fields.
This has made skills to survive and even develop. Each year approximately
500-1000 buildings have been restored in a way worthy of imitation, giving an
example to people of how things should be done. Together with other activities,
this has been of fundamental significance for the general interest in society
for conservation and preservation of historical buildings.
The last five years, craftsmen, building
contractors and consultants have started to organise in regional networks. Some
are formalised, but most of them are still informal. Since three years there is
also a national branch organisation with some 50 members.
The increasing interest in building conservation
and the growing market has also augmented the demand for university education.
Since many years, Gothenburg University gives a conservation officers
programme. Nowadays it is a four years programme. Since last autumn, the
Gotland University gives a similar programme, but with a stronger emphasis on
knowledge in construction, crafts and materials.
Several universities give short courses, five
to twenty weeks, that can constitute a part of an university degree. The Royal
School of Fine Arts in Stockholm, has for long time offered a one-year
postgraduate specialist course in conservation for architects, engineers and
conservation officers. Now, also The Gotland University offers a similar
course.
Since traditional crafts and constructions
disappeared from the building industry some 50 years ago, the possibilities for
craftsmen to find training opportunities within this field was non-existent.
But the demand for vocational training has risen. Since 1997, three two-year long
training programmes have been established, plus some shorter courses.
The result of the conservation work depends
to a high extent on the skills of the craftsmen involved. They are actually
doing much of the conservation work. Therefore, the craftsmen’s further
training must improve. Some years ago there existed practically no further
training in the field of building conservation, adapted to the situation of
working craftsmen. To improve this situation, a further training model, adapted
to the conditions for working craftsmen, have been developed, tested and
improved in two counties where building conservation is strongly supported by
the regional authorities and where there is groups of craftsmen and building
contractors specialising in this field. The training system is very simple, but
it is based on some fundamental assumptions that we think is important to
consider:
– Start to invite craftsmen that already have
been working with conservation. It is a great advantage if the participating
craftsmen have at least some skills and experience from conservation work. And
most important; experience is often a sign of serious interest, which is a
crucial condition for training and learning more. People must not be ´forced´
to participate, because that will give no good circumstances to the training.
It is much better to start with a little, but enthusiastic group, than a large
where some people are not so very interested. Craftsmen and contractors already
working with conservation have also proved they have a sound economical
foundation and organisation and will probably stay in the business. This means
it is reasonable to assume that any investment in training, resulting in new
knowledge, new contacts and experiences developed during the training will immediately
be used in future conservation works. To primarily invite craftsmen and
building contractors already working in the conservation field is an insurance
for knowing the investment in training will be of valuable use and not wasted.
Training of unemployed craftsmen is unfortunately a more risky business. Being
selected for training by the only criteria a person is unemployed is not a very
good start. Experience, skills and interest must be judged and the basis for
invitation to training.
– The training must be free of charge. At
least in Sweden, there is a very weak tradition for investing in training in
the building industry. The building contractors are simply not yet prepared to
pay for training, even if it would be advantageous for their business.
– Working craftsmen cannot leave work more
than only few days a month. Irrespective of if they are employed or running
their own business, people cannot leave work for long. Their work and the
contractors business cannot be disturbed too much. There is also a very
important alternative cost for the company when the craftsmen are off work to
participate in training. When a craftsman is not working, the company are
loosing income, while there still is a cost for salary. We have found that two
days a month, up to 8 months a year is acceptable when running a long-term
training programme. Avoid summer holiday periods and Christmas. Also if there
is only a short course, two or three days are suitable.
– Practical skills cannot be written down and
transmitted between craftsmen in text or word alone. The vocational knowledge
is exchanged during practical work. Therefore, the training must be arranged in
a real working situation – often at a conservation/restoration site.
– To be considered meaningful, the training
must start out from a real problem at a conservation site. Each time we are
working with a clearly defined task or problem – choose the ones you find
important to train. A suitable building, containing the actual problems we want
to focus on.
– The pedagogical method used is based on the
assumption that the craftsmen have skills themselves that must be used in the
training situation. No professional would like to be taught in a one-way
communication. Among craftsmen like in other professional groups it is very
important that people can feel they are equals that are respected for their
skills. Even if skills of course varies between individuals. We are using a
system where we have a leader organising the training, but he or she does not
teach and are not always the most skilled professional. If the person
responsible for planning the training is a conservation officer, he or she is
actually the least skilled person within the group.
– There are always several purposes with the training.
One important thing is of course to practise certain traditional crafts or
conservation techniques. But our opinion is that there is equally important to
train the ability to judge different conservation measures, through analysis in
small groups, followed by discussions in a wider group.
– Even if the group consists of craftsmen
with little or no experience in restoration/conservation or traditional
materials and crafts, it is possible to use this training model, but it might
be preferable to combine it with more traditional training where an experienced
craftsman teaches the group.
– If all these conditions are fulfilled, it
is often very likely there is possible to initiate a very advanced and
stimulating discussion.
The supply of traditional building material
has also increased as a result of the growing demand. Today, there is no
problem in finding for example linseed oil paint, traditionally produced lime,
high quality wood, bricks, old window glass, and tools like traditional axes etc.
New specialised so called building conservation centres has been established,
where people can buy new and old spare parts and books, watch good examples of
maintenance with traditional materials and they can also find good advice.
The last 15 years, a number of new
conservation techniques and equipment have been developed. A new window repair
system for very careful conservation has been developed by a company in the
south of Sweden. Hundreds of craftsmen have been trained in this technique the
last 15 years. This company has also developed a special lamp for easy removal
of old putty.
Also in the field of painting on wood many
things have improved. The number of suppliers of linseed oil paint is
increasing and research is going on to compensate for the removal of lead
pigments. A special heating lamp for economical and harmless removal of old
paint layers has been developed by a company in Gothenburg.
In the field of conservation of log
buildings, a new pneumatic jack has been introduced, permitting good control of
heavy lifts. This technique was initially developed for use by the rescue
corps.
There are some issues that can be identified
as crucial for the future development in the field of conservation.
There is a need for greater professionalism
within the field of conservation. For long time – which unfortunately still is
the case in many provinces – building conservation was considered as something
concerning only the regional museum and the county conservators office. The
historical reasons for this can be found in the lack of interest in the entire
society during the 1960-ies and 70-ies. This must change and the process has
already started. To produce a higher quality and a spread interest and
knowledge throughout society, more experts from different professions must take
part in the conservation process. The conservation process cannot be run in a
professional way by a little number of conservation officers, trying to deal with
every different matter. Different specialists must be given the chance to
provide their skills throughout the process. As well as craftsmen, architects
and other professionals must specialise, there is a need for developing the
role of the conservation officers and improving the instruments used for
analysing and describing the heritage values that should be protected.
It is a fundamental task to continue to make
the market for conservation and restoration bigger, so there will be an economical
motive for even more craftsmen, architects, engineers, building contractors
etc. to specialise in this field. Personal interest is a good and almost
necessary asset, but it cannot replace a sound economical foundation. There
must be a demand, big enough to finance the business of the companies
specialising in conservation, for research and training etc.
The last five-ten years, the interest among
people in general and house owners in particular, has grown fast. More and more
people are getting interested in preserving their historical building. More
house owners are also prepared to conserve their building with traditional
materials and techniques. Some years ago, a listing of a building was regarded
as a problem, but today it is an additional value that gives a building a
higher price.
This positive development is very encouraging
for the future. We hope that it soon will be a natural thing for every owner of
a historic building to buy special competence when conservation works is
needed, in the same way it is considered naturally to hire specialists for
electrical work or plumbing. A growing demand for conservation skills is of
vital importance to make the market for craftsmen, building contractors and
consultants specialising in this field grow even more.
Heritage tourism is still a small market in
Sweden, compared to many other countries. Though the vast existence of assets
in the shape of a rich wooden architecture, prehistoric landscapes,
archaeological findings, medieval churches etc., the use of these assets for
different types of serious heritage tourism is very limited and must develop.
Then there would be an even greater interest for preservation of the heritage
in the future. Heritage tourism businesses have a potential of employing people
in rural areas, where the supply of employment is decreasing. It would also
reinforce the demand for specialist knowledge, which is favourable in many
aspects.
It is a crucial task to make governmental
bodies and other institutions realise the need for more research in the field
of conservation. There is unfortunately very little research going on at the
universities or at the architect schools. With a growing activity, more
questions and problems are identified that must find its answers. A development
must be provided with new knowledge. A crucial question is to make governmental
bodies and institutions grant money for a more extensive research than the
small amount allocated today.
The most important task is however to
organise and make it possible for craftsmen to do research about traditional
materials and techniques. This might seem as a difficult task, but must be
realised in the soon future. Continuously, there are problems or lacks of
knowledge identified in the ongoing conservation process, related to materials
and craft techniques. There is a need to invest in research to eliminate these
problems. It is not possible to continue to work without taking care of the
knowledge problems.
Development of craftsmen’s further training
The test model for craftsmen’s further
training described above, must be developed and spread geographically
throughout the country. The diversity of different courses must grow. Hopefully
this will happen in the close future, when some universities and institutes are
planning to collaborate in arranging a common offer of short training courses
in different crafts, intended for conservation craftsmen.
The consultants and contractors in this
branch of the building industry must continue to organise themselves and start
to work politically, market their competence and work with training facilities
to a higher extent. The few regional networks must be followed by others. In
1999, a national branch organisation was established and has now 50 member
companies. It must develop and learn from similar organisations in other
countries, for example Le Groupement National des Monuments Historiques in
France. This group of craftsmen and contractors constitutes of course a very
small number in relation to the total amount of building contractors in the
country. Nevertheless, the last years more and more contractors are organising
and today approximately 300 companies are connected to these networks.
Finally, a growing international exchange and
collaboration is of course of vital importance for a prosperous conservation
field. It is stimulating and gives references and cause reflections among all
participants. The project Wooden culture, managed by the Council
of Europe within the campaign Europe -
a common heritage, where craftsmen and architects from seven different European
countries collaborate, is from a Swedish point of a view very valuable for the
future development within the field.
Building conservation is a rapidly developing field
right now in Sweden. The general interest is growing after many years of promotion
from Regional museums, county conservators offices, The National Heritage Board
and The Swedish Association for Building Conservation. House owners are anxious
to preserve their buildings – which was not the case 15-20 years ago. In some
areas, a listed building is regarded very attractive and people are prepared to
pay a premium price. People in general have become distinctly more interested
in building conservation the last 10 years. They visit local conservation sites
and historical buildings, read articles, participate in short courses or
university education programmes etc. Many interior magazines have in almost
every issue some articles about families and their conserved buildings. The
annual, huge antique fair in Stockholm has developed a special building
conservation department that is very popular has some 35.000 visitors during a
weekend. Conservation has become in fashion. The education system has improved
in few years. More and more consultants and contractors are specialising in
this field and they are organising in regional networks and on the national
level. This trend can also be seen in the growing number of consultants and
contractors specialising in this field. Obviously, the growing interest among
people has resulted in a growing market for specialists in this field. I hope
this short description can show that a difficult situation can be changed in
short time.
inapoi________inapoi la cuprins________inainte
* Henrik Larsson este director de proiecte al
mai multor instituţii suedeze din domeniul patrimoniului cultural:
Consiliul provinciei Gaevleborg, Universitatea Gotland şi Timmerdraget.
* Henrik Larsson is a project manager working for different institutions within the conservation field in Sweden, for example The County Administrative Board of the Gaevleborg province, The Gotland University and Timmerdraget. E-mail: henrik@woodenculture.org