Speaker
Description
With the adoption of the National Document on Authenticity at the 1994 National Conference, a definition of "authenticity" was codified as a requirement to be inscribed on the World Heritage List. But even before authenticity was defined for these judgments, it was a concept that had long been embedded in Western architecture.
Authenticity is deeply linked to materiality in Western perception. The Corinthian marketplace where the Apostle Paul supposedly preached had become a holy site, and a piece of the Berlin Wall is a monument that sells for a fortune. Every single column, beam, and facade of a historic building is protected as heritage. When renovating a listed heritage, the materials of each element, as well as the production and construction methods, are important.
The historically agreed upon Western concept of authenticity is first challenged in the case of Ise Shrine. Every twenty years, Ise Shrine is built, torn down, and replaced the same temple on neighboring land. The value of Ise Shrine cannot be explained in traditional Western notions of authenticity. Ise Shrine, which is being restored every 20 years, can be said to be authentic because the old and new shrines are connected by ritual tradition.
The crisis of authenticity brings an extension of its definition. In the process of reconstructing a building, the focus is on continuity from the past to the present, rather than maintaining the formal values of the original. The Athenian Charter states that the newly restored part should be distinguished from the original. The modern layer is placed in a new way on a building with hundreds of layers from the past. Jakob Kleihues argued for a critical restoration of urban space at the 1987 IBA. Reconstructing urban space means preserving the memory of a building's footprint, volume, façade, and so on - in other words, reconstructing its atmosphere. Authenticity is linked to atmosphere.
The question, "Does authenticity remain when material is converted?" can be answered by asking, "Does atmosphere remain when material is converted?" And the answer is yes. The great architects of Greek temples built stone structures by mimicking timber structure. The transition of materials in architecture is a very old topic. This session will introduce the changing view of authenticity from the perspective of architecture and materials, and discuss the contemporary meaning of authenticity, especially in the case of building reconstruction.
References
Stumm. A. (2017). Architektonische Konzepte der Rekonstruktion. Basel: Birkhäuser.
| Keywords | Architecture, Material, Authenticity |
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