World Heritage Site Olinda in Brazil: Proposals for Intervention

World Heritage Site Olinda in Brazil

Proposals for Intervention



Research Institute Modification, Intervention and Transformation.

Scientific Commitee Chairman: - Assoc. prof. Leo G.W. Verhoef Members: - Prof. dr. ir. Paul Meurs - Ingval Maxwell DaDun RIBA FRIAS AABC FSAScot, Director Historic Scotland, Edinburgh - Prof. Roberto Di Giulio, Università di Ferrara, Italy - Prof. André de Naeyer, Higher Institute of Architectural Sciences, Antwerpen - Prof. dr. Abílio Guerra, Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie, São Paulo - Prof. Hugo Segawa, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo

ii

Proceedings of the Third International Symposium on Restoration

World Heritage Site Olinda in Brazil

Proposals for Intervention

Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands 26 & 27 October 2006

Editors: Paul Meurs Leo G.W. Verhoef

Published by IOS Press The Netherlands 2006

iii

Editors -Paul Meurs -Leo G.W. Verhoef Editorial Assistance and Production -Elisabeth Boersma General Assistance -Lorraine van Dam-Foley All photos: students and teachers Studio Olinda, except for page 51-56, 59, 72-84, 88-90, 93-103, 112-120, 124-130, 131-133, 136-138, 144-148, 150-154, 164-168, 178-184, 187, which were provided by the authors of the articles concerned.

© 2006 The authors and IOS Press All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without prior written permission from the publisher. ISBN: 1-58603-692-0 Published by IOS Press under the imprint Delft University Press Publisher IOS Press BV Nieuwe Hemweg 6b 1013 BG Amsterdam The Netherlands tel: +31-20-688 3355 fax: +31-20-687 0019 email: [email protected] www.iospress.nl www.dupress.nl LEGAL NOTICE The publisher is not responsible for the use which might be made of the following information. PRINTED IN THE NETHERLANDS

iv

Preface A Site belonging to mankind Luciana Santos Mayor of Olinda

    Olinda was the first major Portuguese urban nucleus in the new lands of America. It was built to promote trade and to generate wealth, serving the aims of the Portuguese occupation of the New World. Mostly thanks to the production of sugar in the engenhos (sugar mills) of Pernambuco, Olinda became one of the most important trading centres of the Brazilian colony, rivalling the Portuguese Court in the late 16th century in luxury and ostentation, and raising the interest of other Europeans. This interest was such that in 1630, the Dutch West Indies Company conquered Olinda and dominated a good part of the Brazilian Northeast, until 1654.   Olinda was also the scene of historic events which were fundamental to the formation of the Brazilian nationality. Nevertheless, in 1827, the city lost forever its power struggle with Recife and ceased to be the capital of Pernambuco Province. Still, Olinda continued to be a cradle for the arts and culture. The cultural roots of the city blossomed through the religious processions, the liturgical manifestations, the Carnival parades, the folkloric expressions and the creations of its artists and popular handicraft makers, both native to the city and coming from outside – all of which contributed to further strengthening its tourist potential.   Olinda’s historical centre has the largest concentration of the city’s urban cultural heritage. There can be seen the original urban nucleus of the city, the records of which can be found in the citations of the 1537 Portuguese Regal Regulations and in 16th and 17th century maps. It consisted of buildings and green areas of an outstanding architectural, historical, archaeological, ethnographic, aesthetic and socio-cultural value. Its 16th century monuments, along with its architectural and urban setting, which bear witness to its 471 years of age, give Olinda the characteristics of a city which is alive and in a continuous evolutionary process. The historical site of Olinda covers the hills and the low areas adjacent to the sea, where the first settlements were established and where the monuments, the centuriesold houses and the narrow, steep and sinuous streets are to be found. Olinda is



the most important tourist and cultural attraction of the Brazilian Northeast. Predominantly residential, it also has tourist shops and small-scale services, as well as cultural and leisure activities consistent with its identity as a historical urban centre.   In 1982, the Historical Site of Olinda was placed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, which raised national and international interest in our city. This has contributed to improving its opportunities and economic development, but most of all, to publicizing the immensely rich, diversified and creative cultural production of its inhabitants, revealing Olinda’s hospitable and determined character, historically forged through the encounter and intermingling of peoples from the “four corners” of the world and in the libertarian struggles that occurred here.  

Prefeita de Olinda

vi

Table of Contents 1

Photo Essay: Introduction of Olinda

11

Urban conservation; How to transform Olinda

25

Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen and Dutch Brazil

49

Olinda in Brazil: Technical Cooperation under the World Heritage Cities Programme of UNESCO

Paul Meurs

Carlos Alberto Asfora

Ron van Oers

63

Olinda and IPHAN

71

Sustainable Cultural Tourism Planning

87

Landscape Aspects in developing a Botanic Garden

105

Frederico Faria Neves de Almeida

Frans Schouten

Suzanne Sharrock

Degradation of wall surfaces and their treatment: biological growth Rob van Hees & Olaf Adan

123

The Maria Nobrega Foundation Origins Co-funding and co-management

135

Management and Conservation of the historic site of Olinda: 1938-2006

161

The Masterplan for the Franciscan Complex, Olinda, Brazil

185

The use of the artificial reef at Olinda for leisure

197

From Olinda to ®MIT

213

Graduation Studio Olinda

Michael Carrington

Silvio Mendes Zancheti & Vera Milet

Fernando Diniz Moreira

Leo G.W. Verhoef & Marcel J.F. Stive

Jo Coenen

Elisabeth Boersma

229

Studio Olinda: Projects

261

Colofon

Elisabeth Boersma

vii

Olinda, the green suburb of Recife

viii



Olinda, an overwhelmingly green environment





Olinda, a city with many beautiful monuments





Olinda, its picturesque residential





Olinda, just one of its cultural images





10

World Heritage Site Olinda in Brazil Paul Meurs and Leo G.W. Verhoef (Eds.) IOS Press, 2006 © 2006 The authors and IOS Press. All rights reserved.

Urban conservation; How to transform Olinda Prof. dr.ir. Paul Meurs

®MIT, Delft University of Technology

The World Heritage List contains more than 200 historic cities, including nine cities in Brazil. Olinda is one of them.1 All sites on the World Heritage List are by definition unique for their irreplaceable values. By nominating them, the national and local authorities express their pride in this inheritance, as well as their commitment to the maximum safeguarding of their value. Once listed, the cities become part of an ‘imaginary collection’; a family of exclusive places – spread all over the world – with different backgrounds but with a common destiny as treasures of all mankind. 2 These heritage sites are, however, very different from being part of a museum collection. Museum pieces can be kept in conditions that highly favour their preservation. Historic cities cannot survive without a spatial context and socio-cultural dynamics. They need a contemporary urban condition to remain authentic. Without social and cultural life, cities are dead - like Pompeii, an urban museum that exposes an echo of daily life. Urban conservation is therefore paradoxical. It requires continuous adaptation and renewal. The question is not whether historic cities should change, but how they should change.

Historic Olinda The old centre of Olinda, in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco, became a national monument in 1980 and was included on the World Heritage List in 1982. If

11

Paul Meurs/ Urban Conservation; How to transform Olinda

one focuses on the city within the boundaries of the preservation zone, it is easy to recognize the essential qualities of this place. Olinda is one of the first cities in Brazil, blessed with large monuments, abundant vegetation, a smallscale urban core and a vivid popular culture (arts and crafts, music, dance). No major historic city in Brazil offers such an extended landscape within the city itself. The location of Olinda, on a hill next to the ocean, makes up a beautiful townscape, in particular when seen from Recife. If one zooms out to the larger context, the picture changes dramatically. The homogeneous historic city forms only a tiny fraction of the heterogeneous metropolitan region of Recife. The direct surroundings contain highways, spontaneous settlements, polluted rivers, invaded riverbanks and large-scale urban developments like shopping malls, office buildings and high-rise apartment towers. The municipality of Olinda consists of the small historic town and a large urban area, which bears all the features of the Brazilian periphery, with poverty, unemployment, lack of urban facilities and precarious infrastructure. So far the direct visual impact of the metropolitan developments on the historic city of Olinda has been limited. The slope with its monuments stands out from a distance and the green character of Olinda makes a sharp contrast with the surrounding areas. Yet, the invasion of open spaces by illegal settlement and the conversion of gardens into buildings are causing a gradual erosion of the

12

Paul Meurs/ Urban Conservation; How to transform Olinda

essential quality of Olinda, as Silvio Zancheti points out in his contribution to this book. Despite the strong public support for the conservation of Olinda and the tremendous efforts of both the municipality and the heritage institutions to take care of the historic centre, it seems to be impossible to control the urban developments with the current legislation, the existing master plan and the control mechanisms. It is difficult to respond to these developments, which are closely related to the metropolitan context, by simply using instruments that were designed for the preservations of monuments. In this respect Olinda is not exceptional. Olinda illustrates the general task of urban conservation, which is to balance the safeguarding of irreplaceable values with the need for continuous changes and adaptations for contemporary use. For a fruitful debate on the impact of transformations in historic urban landscapes it is essential to list the constancies that build up the value of a site. These values must be addressed very precisely on different scales, from the scale of the landscape down to the scale of the architectural detail. This set of maps and recommendations will help to define the space for intervention, again on different levels. It is striking to realize that European instruments for urban conservation hardly give tools to develop or judge the margins for interventions in the historic context. The challenge is to search these margins and come up with a thorough justification for any intervention. The key in such cases is the interpretation of the past. For instance this interpretation can be seen as a

13

Paul Meurs/ Urban Conservation; How to transform Olinda

blueprint for planning, as experience for consumption or as underlying fabric for gradual transformation.

The past as blueprint Interventions in historic cities, as carried out during the end of the 20th century all over the world, often tried to wipe out certain layers of history and get back to what is believed to be a more ‘authentic’ configuration of the site. Then the motto was “Bring back the past” or even “Rescue the past”. In Dutch cities, canals and harbours that were filled in about a century ago to give way to the car are now being reopened in order to restore the ancient urban configuration (for instance in Utrecht, Amsterdam and Breda). Similarly the reconstruction of demolished buildings, lost gardens and bombed bridges has been carried out, as can be seen in Mostar, Dresden and Moscow. On the scale of the building or parts of buildings, reconstruction is widespread. It is a common practice to rewrite or to reinvent the past and there is absolutely nothing wrong with this, as long as it is done carefully. Restoration tends to make buildings look more ‘authentic’ and of course in a better state of repair. The utmost success of this approach is to restore buildings up to the patina. The point is that restoration should not be condemned as falsification and something immoral.

14

Paul Meurs/ Urban Conservation; How to transform Olinda

The reconstruction of monuments and historic cities means that townscapes gradually become more homogeneous and city centres appear older than before. At the same time, the urban use does not return to a previous phase of urban development. The clock of form ticks backwards, whereas the clock of functions ticks forwards. The characteristic functional diversity of inner cities is being replaced by monocultures of shopping, housing and tourism. This development can reach a point, where cities turn into living museums. In such cases the historic form and the museological exploitation of the city for tourism dominate the scene. The ‘hunger’ for the past can lead to unexpected forms of blueprint planning. Historic maps turn into visions of a future that is reconstructed bit by bit. Ever since the days when Viollet-le-Duc redesigned the citadel of Carcassonne, numerous other European towns have followed this example.3 The reconstruction of defence lines in walled towns has been a common practice, in the Netherlands it is visible, for instance, in cities like Bourtange and Heusden. These extreme cases of bringing back an ‘authentic’ townscape meant the destruction of numerous historic buildings that were constructed after the deactivation of the citadels. But the old armies never returned: instead, tourists take the cities. They come to shoot the beauty with their cameras and attack the dishes in the restaurants. Having the past as blueprint for the future leaves architects and urban planners

15

Paul Meurs/ Urban Conservation; How to transform Olinda

with a difficult challenge: to reconstruct a historic form and at the same accommodate a post-modern functional program in the historic cities. The past has to be shaped, reshaped and manipulated in order to achieve this. A general problem of urban reconstruction is the clash of scales. New use, whether it is a home for the elderly, a hotel, museum or office building, hardly ever fits into the small scale of a historic urban fabric. Besides this, historic reconstruction on a large scale and by today’s construction industry can never meet the standard of craftsmanship, artistic skills, individual accents, small idiosyncrasies and the differentiation that occurred over time. In reality the clock can never be turned back, since living cities are never static in form, use and meaning.4 There is even a danger that reconstruction of the past not only destroys later additions to a building or a site, but also wipes out invisible or unrecognised tracks of older layers of occupation. The historic city of Olinda embodies almost five centuries of organic historical growth. There is no such thing as ‘an authentic’ situation. Olinda has phases in an ongoing development. Olinda is a historic city in a modern setting. The question is how the past can speak in the ‘noisy’ metropolis. What is the ‘maximum urban load’ the city can handle? How should the city stand out in its surroundings? In this respect, reconstruction of certain elements and features can be a strategy for Olinda. An example is the embedding of the town in the surrounding landscape.

16

Paul Meurs/ Urban Conservation; How to transform Olinda

One can imagine the reconstruction of the green riverbanks of the Beberibe, the route along the coast, the mangroves of the zone in between old Recife and Olinda and the green landscape of the slopes and the gardens that suffer from recent settlement. In this way, the silhouette of Olinda, as seen from the sea, Recife and the highway (PE 15) could be improved. The green image inside the city perhaps requires landscape reconstruction, as the actual plan for the Alto da Sé area illustrates. Reconstruction can also be an issue in regard to some buildings that have been lost over time, like the eroded blocks of buildings along the seashore and perhaps even the convent of Carmo, although that is certainly a controversial subject.

The past as experience A second general phenomenon in urban preservation is that the past is not just a blueprint for construction, but also a theme for experience. Destinations all over the world are competing for tourists and are eager to offer new attractions to returning or first time visitors. The right ‘story’ of a place is crucial in this respect, as is explained by Frans Schouten in his essay. The presentation of old buildings, skylines and landscapes alone is not enough. There should be something to experience, something to tell and something to buy. 5 Moreover, historic cities should offer exactly the services tourists might need, at any

17

Paul Meurs/ Urban Conservation; How to transform Olinda

moment during their visit. Museological use is not static and has a great impact on cities. Tourism means parking problems, congestion, invasion of the public spaces by outdoor cafes, public urination, noise pollution and constant product innovation.6 Restored and reconstructed cities have a lot in common with theme parks.7 In some cases the concept of a ‘living museum’, combining tourism and housing, tends to mutate into the concept of ‘living history’, in which actors recreate historic situations in order to give the tourist the illusion of travelling in time.8 The re-enactment of historic battles in fortress cities is a temporary way of experiencing the past that attracts many visitors to historic cities all over the world.9 In the major tourist centres, the experience of culture is disruptive to the spatial and social structure of historic cities. The housing function is put under pressure, as can be seen in Venice or Salvador da Bahia. Tourism is a vital source of income for Olinda. To the European eye this is happening in a surprisingly unorganised manner. The revenues of Olinda could be much greater if tourists were to spend more time in the city than the average 90 minutes they are spending now and if other target groups could be attracted to come. Olinda has many stories to tell and experiences, for local, national and international guests. But their experience is now mainly restricted to a small

18

Paul Meurs/ Urban Conservation; How to transform Olinda

area (Alto da Sé) and a short interval in time (carnival). Despite the problems (peripheral conditions, deterioration of monuments, uncompetitive tourism, illegal occupation of the green space, poor economic return) the historic city of Olinda has a big potential for the future. The challenge is to sell the historic city better and make Olinda more attractive in terms of services and infrastructure. The historic centre could be a vehicle to make Olinda less peripheral and more central. Tourism and business tourism have opportunities to develop, generating more profit over the year and a better distribution of income for the inhabitants. For this to happen it is necessary that Olinda secures the monuments and green spaces, restores its relation with the sea and improves the accommodation for tourists. The strength of Olinda is that every ‘Pernambucano’ feels related to this tiny city, with its large monuments and small residences, exuberant nature and the popular arts and music. Improving this experience can still go a long way before Olinda turns into a Disney world.

Transforming the past The reconstructed historic cities in Europe and America show how preservation can lead to anti-urban conditions, as architect Rem Koolhaas calls them.10 He says that preservation is the overture to rehabilitation and gentrification. Traditions are

19

Paul Meurs/ Urban Conservation; How to transform Olinda

divested of their potential for development so that eventually only a simulacrum remains. Koolhaas wonders whether preservation and modernisation can also go hand in hand, if one does not hold onto a static form dogmatically, but works on the principle of authenticity, not in form but in concept. His idea is not new. As long as historical preservation has existed, people have sought ways to reconcile urban dynamics with historical constants. However, it is striking that a leading architect like Koolhaas is now speaking out on preservation. The alternative to making a museum of historic cities is to seek authenticity in inspiration and cultural vitality, in what has become known as the ‘intangible heritage’. The tradition of re-use as a matter of course is being revived, although it is no longer quite so self-evident. The aim is to achieve a synthesis of renewal and preservation. The result is a layered city in which the present is visible but does not overpower the past. The blueprint of the past makes way for a contemporary interpretation of the essential qualities of that past. The historical dimension may be found in the balance of monument, city and landscape. Cities like Olinda are a coherent system of buildings and infrastructure. In the broader landscape, the large scale and the openness predominate. The city, in contrast, has a fine texture with scope for individuality, public spaces and tailoring. Olinda is facing a future of conservation through transformation.

20

Paul Meurs/ Urban Conservation; How to transform Olinda

This implies that development and change are the key components of any conservation plan. Subsequently, the crucial qualities have to be precisely determined, on the levels of their respective scales in order to ensure that the city survives as a universal heritage. We have to acknowledge that change is an integral part of conservation. This requires a shift in mentality. The protagonists of change, who are active in both the public and private sectors, have to start imagining the future from the present situation, including the past as a quality for the future. This also requires a shift in mentality. The third requirement to balance continuity and change is the existence of an effective body that ensures that the vision of a master plan is kept within the bounds of the reality of everyday life. As can be understood from Silvio Zancheti’s paper, achieving this undisputed local authority might be the most difficult task for Olinda. For some Olinda is the capital of the church, for others the capital of carnival or music. Some people will consider Olinda as a relaxed living environment that offers an escape from the metropolis. For many people the old city brings employment and hope for a better future. The challenge for Olinda is not to just to repair or reconstruct the historic ambiance, but to improve Olinda as a stage within the metropolis where people with different backgrounds, origins and positions can meet. There are many good ideas and detailed plans, but reality is tough. Perhaps this should urge us not to plan the ideal future for Olinda, but

21

Paul Meurs/ Urban Conservation; How to transform Olinda

rather to define the absolute essential quality of the city (on different scales) and to concentrate all efforts, budget and communication on these aspects. These values are the soul and the secret of Olinda.

References 1

2 3 4 5 6 7 8

There are 16 World Heritage Sites in Brazil. Despite the overwhelming natural beauty of the country, UNESCO has listed only seven natural properties so far. Nine cultural sites reflect the different phases of Brazil’s development, first as colony and since 1822 as independent nation. UNESCO has listed three colonial cities along the northeastern coast (São Luís, Olinda, Salvador), three sites related to the mining of gold and diamonds in the 18th century (the cities Ouro Preto and Diamantina, as well as the sanctuary Bom Jesus de Matozinhos in Congonhas do Campo), a Jesuit mission post in the very south of the country (São Miguel das Missões) and two modern inland cities: Goiás and the national capital Brasília. http://whc.unesco.org. Carcassone has been a world heritage site since 1997. Gert Jonker, ‘Heusden en de hachelijkheid’, Bouw 26 (1971), 1300-1301. Dennis R. Judd and Susan S. Fainstein, The tourist city, New Haven and London, 1999 David Lowenthal, The Heritage Crusade and the Spoils of History, Cambridge 1998. Joseph Pine II and James H. Gilmore, The Experience Economy, Boston 1999. Besides Heusden and Bourtange, additional examples of living museums are the Zaanse Schans near Zaandam and the farming village of Orvelte in Drenthe.

22

Paul Meurs/ Urban Conservation; How to transform Olinda

An example is provided by the annual battles performed by the Napoleonic society in Bourtange. 10 Koolhaas, ‘Skyscrapers and Sledgehammers: Urban Renewal in China’ (lecture, 15 December 2005), reviewed by Bert de Muynk for Archined. See also Rem Koolhaas10 AMO/OMA, ‘Beijing Preservation’, Content, Cologne, 2004, 454-467. 9

23

Paul Meurs/ Urban Conservation; How to transform Olinda

24

World Heritage Site Olinda in Brazil Paul Meurs and Leo G.W. Verhoef (Eds.) IOS Press, 2006 © 2006 The authors and IOS Press. All rights reserved.

Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen and Dutch Brazil Carlos Alberto Asfora Minister of the Brazilian Embassy, The Hague

At all latitudes Colonial history has recorded more or less the same script: exploitation, greed, egotism, disregard of diversity. I could call it a kind of distorted give-and-take situation: the colony gives, and what it doesn’t give, is taken forcefully by the colonial power. 17th century Brazil witnessed a brief period of illumination, under the rule of Governor-General Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen, for seven extraordinary years (1637 to 1644), when a different type of colonialism was allowed to thrive, one in which most everyone was happy. Some background information: after the successful establishment of the East Indies Company, in 1607, several factors contributed to the formation, in 1621, of a West Indies Company. Most of all, sugar was behind it. Amsterdam had 25 sugar refineries in 1627, out of the 29 existent in the Northern United Provinces, and it exported sugar to Britain, France and the Baltic states. Sugar was becoming more and more accessible outside the aristocracy and there was a growing demand for it. At the time, the world’s number one sugar producing area and the richest portion of Brazil was the area known as Pernambuco. It stretched further than the present limits of the State of Pernambuco, in Northeastern Brazil, and had

25

Carlos Alberto Asfora/ Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen and Dutch Brazil

Fragment a of Dutch house, Museu do Estado de Pernambuco, Recife

been one of the first areas or “Capitanias” of Brazil to achieve economic growth and success. Almost half the entire Portuguese or mixed-race population of Brazil lived there, some 30 thousand people, out of a total of around 70,000 (now Brazil has over 180 million inhabitants). Actually, Pernambuco was called at the time “Nova Lusitania”, after Portugal’s Latin name. In 1627, there were 137 engenhos de açúcar, that is, sugar mills, in Pernambuco and two other neighbouring capitanias (Itamaracá and Paraíba). Besides its sugar plantations and mills, Pernambuco had a big production of tobacco, cotton and Brazil wood, which gave Brazil its name and is still known to this day as Pernambuco, used in the best violin bows - just ask any violin player in the orchestra of the Concertgebouw what his bow is made of. The capital of Pernambuco and the center of its sugar production and export was the city of Olinda, one of the first to be founded in Brazil (1537), and certainly the most beautiful one at the time, with several imposing Catholic churches and convents, as well as a rich population that, according to descriptions of the time, was more luxurious and vain than the one in Lisbon. The Jesuits were particularly powerful there, dedicated to education and also to the protection of the Indigenous peoples, but other Catholic orders thrived, such as the Carmelites, Franciscans and Benedictines.

26

Carlos Alberto Asfora/ Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen and Dutch Brazil

Fragment of Dutch house, Museu do Estado de Pernambuco, Recife

Brazil was catholic, indeed, because it was discovered in the year 1500 by the die-hard Catholic Portuguese. In 1580, for dynastic reasons, Portugal lost its independence to Spain, against which the United Provinces fought its eightyyear war of independence. At the time, the fact that Portugal and the United Provinces had a common Spanish foe made the Dutch very active in the trade between Brazil and Europe. They could count on the complicity of the Portuguese to violate the rules set out by the hated Spaniards, and managed to get ½ to 2/3 of the profitable Brazilian trade. Besides doing much of the exports from Brazil, the United Provinces exported threads and textiles to it. Pernambuco was not the only area where sugar was grown in Brazil: Bahia, which was the capital of the entire Brazilian colony - because it was more centrally positioned than Olinda - also had sugar plantations and mills, and was the second richest Capitania. The first attempt of the WIC to conquer Brazil happened in 1624, in Bahia, under the leadership of Admiral Willekens and Vice-Admiral Piet Heyn, the famous Dutch naval hero. On May 10, 1624, they managed to conquer Salvador, Bahia, without having to face much resistance from its defenders. It was such an easy conquest that Willekens left in July and Piet Heyn in August. Only 11 ships remained in Bahia. The ruler installed to run Bahia on behalf of the WIC was killed very soon. His successors gave themselves to heavy drinking and were easily defeated by a Spanish-Portuguese Armada

27

Carlos Alberto Asfora/ Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen and Dutch Brazil

Igreja N.S. da Conceição dos Militares, Recife, painting of the battle of Guararapes, 1648

of 52 ships on Easter Sunday, 1625. Portugal, which was part of the Spanish Kingdom but wanted at all costs to regain its independence, was afraid to lose its biggest colony, and Spain feared the possibility that the Dutch might try to set out from Brazil to conquer silver-rich Peru, so they joined forces to oust the Dutch. On April 30, the United Provinces accepted the defeat and left. Piet Heyn still captured 38 ships in Brazilian waters in 1626/27, but his highest achievement was to conquer the Spanish silver fleet at Matanzas Bay, Cuba, on September 7, 1628, along with Hendrick Loncq. This provided the WIC with 12 million guilders, which allowed it to make plans to take over sugarrich Pernambuco. The WIC, mirroring the Dutch Republic, had a very complex organization, in which Amsterdam and Zeeland had the largest shares. It was run by a board of directors called the Heren XIX, or the nineteen Lords, nine of which represented Amsterdam. The 19 Lords never seemed to agree on anything and took forever to reach decisions. This was one of the causes of their final failure. The WIC lasted until 1674. Since the late 1500’s, Dutch cartographers had done an extensive survey of the Brazilian coast, and Dutch navigators were quite familiar with it, so they knew a lot about Brazil. Pernambuco was not very heavily guarded, because the Portuguese were busy with their Spanish problems, and Spain had other

28

Carlos Alberto Asfora/ Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen and Dutch Brazil

Igreja N.S. da Conceição dos Militares, Recife, painting of the battle of Guararapes, 1648

wars to fight. The Dutch arrived on 14 February 1630 and on March 3rd, Olinda capitulated to Admiral Hendrick Loncq. The WIC decided that Olinda, situated on a hilltop, was not easy to defend, and decided to settle in Recife, a small village some 6 km South of Olinda that had a good harbour, protected by the reef that gave the place its name (Recife means “reef” in Portuguese). In November 1631, the Dutch set fire to beautiful Olinda. Though this act has been repeatedly justified by Dutch scholars with the need to use the stones from Olinda’s monuments in the buildings of Recife, and supposedly because Recife would be easier to fortify than Olinda, it seems to me more likely that it had its roots in the religious beliefs of the fanatically strict Calvinists that ruled the WIC, who considered Catholic churches, with their profusion of statues and riches, as unacceptable. The Portuguese governor, Matias de Albuquerque, was forced to retreat to a fortified village called Arraial do Bom Jesus, a few kilometers inland, from which he set out guerrilla-type excursions against the Dutch. Before retreating, Albuquerque had time to set fire to 24 ships moored at Recife, containing 8,000 containers of sugar, cotton, Brazil wood and tobacco. Many engenhos (sugar mills) were also burned and destroyed by their owners, to avoid their falling into Dutch hands. While the WIC took complete control of the port and the coast, the

29

Carlos Alberto Asfora/ Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen and Dutch Brazil

Ponte Maurício de Nassau, built in 1917,Recife

Portuguese were familiar with the land and were not easily defeated. The Dutch could hardly venture outside of Recife. It was only in April 1632 that a mixed-race, Brazilian-born man called Domingos Fernandes Calabar, from Porto Calvo, in Southern Pernambuco, betrayed the Portuguese and started helping the Dutch, sharing with them his extensive knowledge of the land. Thanks to Calabar, the WIC managed, by 1634, to submit not only Pernambuco, but also Itamaracá, Paraíba and Rio Grande do Norte. The WIC domains now stretched Southwards, past the Cape of St Augustine, to Porto Calvo, and Northwards, some 250 km from Olinda. On June 8th, 1635, the Arraial, center of Portuguese resistance, capitulated, after a 3month siege by the Dutch. Matias de Albuquerque fled towards Bahia, and on his way down he stopped at Porto Calvo, defeated the Dutch garrison there and had Calabar hanged for high treason. Albuquerque went on to Bahia. Portugal had tremendous economic problems at the time, and Spain was busy fighting wars in Europe, so the Dutch conquest of Brazil was quickly accepted by the Iberian kingdom. The Brazilian Northeast, with Recife for capital, became known as New Holland - under control of the WIC. As set in the WIC Charter, the new rulers respected private property and established freedom of conscience, as well as a reduction in taxes. There was a

30

Carlos Alberto Asfora/ Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen and Dutch Brazil

Forte do Brum (de Bruyn), Recife

limited freedom of worship, which by the way did not apply to the Jesuits, who were deported from Dutch Brazil. Of course, the Jesuits were the Order founded by the Catholic Church to fight the Protestant Reformation, which explains their expulsion by the Dutch as unacceptable heretics. In June 1636, the WIC invited 32-year old Count Johan Maurits van NassauSiegen to be Governor General of New Holland for a period of 5 years. He was born in 1604, a grand-nephew of William of Orange, and had distinguished himself as a warrior in battles against the Spanish foe. He used to fight wars in the Summer and spend Winters in The Hague, at the court of his cousin, the Stadhouder Frederik Hendrik. Johan Maurits was offered a monthly salary of 1,500 guilders, a lump sum of 6,000 guilders as installation costs, plus an interest in the sugar trade, and the promise to keep his pay as Colonel in the United Provinces’ armies. He was heavily indebted at the time, because he was building a fancy palace in The Hague, the present-day Mauritshuis, projected by van Campen and Pieter Post. It didn’t take Maurits a long time to accept the attractive offer. On 23 January 1637, he arrived in Brazil, and immediately fell in love with the place. Nassau’s motto was “Qua patet orbis”, meaning “As far as the world stretches”. Already in February 1637, he set to expand the Dutch territories, and reconquered

31

Carlos Alberto Asfora/ Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen and Dutch Brazil

Forte das Cinco Pontas, Recife

Porto Calvo. He stretched the WIC’s possessions down to the S. Francisco river, upon whose Northern bank he built Fort Maurits, at present-day Penedo (Alagoas State). In 1638, he failed to conquer Bahia, where the Portuguese or LusoBrazilians had concentrated their military might, but he did manage to conquer Ceará to the North and Sergipe del Rey, to the South of the S. Francisco, between Pernambuco and Bahia. The defeat of the Spanish-Portuguese fleet of the Count of Torre in January 1640, off the Brazilian coast, further strengthened Nassau’s and the WIC’s control of Northeastern Brazil. In 1640, after 60 years under Spanish rule, Portugal became independent again, under king D. João IV. In 1641, a ceasefire of ten years was established between Portugal and the United Provinces. The official news of it only reached Recife on July 3, 1642. Of course, news was slow to spread at the time, but Johan Maurits heard about it long before. Nonetheless, he took advantage of the ceasefire to conquer Luanda, in Angola. The importance of Luanda and Western Africa was paramount, because it was from there that came the labour to work the sugar plantations, in the form of black slaves. In spite of some initial, pious thoughts on the subject of slavery, it didn’t take the Calvinist rulers of the WIC a long time to attribute more importance to the huge profits of the slave trade than to moral considerations about slavery. The WIC already controlled the main production of sugar in Brazil, the refineries in Amsterdam and sugar trade in

32

Carlos Alberto Asfora/ Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen and Dutch Brazil

Well, Forte do Brum (de Bruyn), Recife

Northern Europe. By controlling labour, it now controlled the entire cycle of sugar. Nassau’s armies also conquered the Fort of Elmina, also on Africa’s West coast, from the Portuguese. Further to the African conquests, Maurits stretched his domains to Maranhão, in Northern Brazil, in November 1641. He was thus violating the ceasefire, and he was also perfectly aware that, since March 1641, the Portuguese-Brazilian central Government in Bahia had set an end to the guerrillas against the Dutch. Still he chose to expand the WIC’s domains. He was a very ambitious man. Now Nassau controlled seven of the fourteen Brazilian Capitanias: Maranhão, Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba, Itamaracá, Pernambuco and Sergipe del Rey. During the seven years of his rule, in which sugar production grew considerably, Brazilian trade constituted a very important factor in the economic life of the United Provinces. In 1637, when he arrived, Pernambuco exported 66,000 arrobas of sugar, around 1,000 tonnes, but in 1641 this climbed to 447,500 arrobas, almost 7,000 tonnes. The Portuguese and mixed-race planters and engenho owners, who still predominated in the sugar industry, got large loans from the WIC, through Johan Maurits’ interference, to expand sugar production. Such loans were for the most part never paid back. We’ll talk about that later. Besides his remarkable military prowess Johan Maurits established a new

33

Carlos Alberto Asfora/ Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen and Dutch Brazil

Dutch tiles, convento São Francisco, Recife

pattern of government in the colony, one that made him very dear to the local inhabitants, so much so that, after a while, the Brazilians started referring to him as “Santo Antônio”, Saint Anthony, who happened to be the most popular Catholic saint in the Portuguese world. Though Maurits only became a Prince of the Holy Roman German Empire some years after his return to Europe, most people in Recife liked to call him Prince, finding that the title of Count was too little for such an extraordinary character. According to a British author, N. Deer, Johan Maurits was “the most remarkable of all people ever involved in the sugar industry”. He traveled to Brazil with a retinue of 46 scientists, artists and University graduates. He established the first Legislative Assembly in South America in August/September 1640, one in which the local planters, traders, religious leaders and the such could voice their requests. He fostered the cultivation of manioc, besides sugar cane, because it was the staple food of the locals. He possibly established the first beer factory in the new world. He further reduced taxes, let the Portuguese language be used in juridical matters, and established credit lines so that the plantation owners could rebuild their engenhos and foster production of the white gold, as sugar was known at the time. He also introduced the most modern methods of cultivating sugar and tobacco. Furthermore, he really established freedom of conscience and the practice of religion, and even befriended some of the most distinguished Catholic leaders in the land.

34

Carlos Alberto Asfora/ Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen and Dutch Brazil

Forte do Brum (de Bruyn), Recife

Of course, the Jews were also there. After their expulsion from Spain in 1492, many sephardic Jews moved to Portugal, where they were allowed to convert to Catholicism and adopt new, Christian names, instead of being burned alive as heretics by the harsh tribunals of the Catholic Inquisition. Such Jews were called New Christians, or marranos, and they had a large share of the trade in Portugal and in Pernambuco. The Jews that had fled the Iberian peninsula to the Northern Netherlands also felt safe in Recife, and they flocked in large numbers to New Holland, where they were now even allowed to practice their rites. Furthermore, Jewish traders were also among top investors in the WIC. One of the main streets in Recife at the time was the Rua dos Judeus, Jodenstraat, now called Rua do Bom Jesus, and the first Synagogue in the Americas was built there, in 1640, after having occupied since 1636 a rented house. It’s been restored recently and is now a Jewish cultural center. It’s called “The great synagogue of the Rock of Israel”, which of course may refer to a rock because of its strength but may also relate to the reef that gave Recife its name. By 1644, around 1,500 Jews lived in Recife, where they ruled most of the trade. By comparison, there were around 3,000 “free citizens” at the time. Jews could openly practice their rites in Recife, while in Amsterdam they were only allowed in the late 1670’s. Johan Maurits is seen to this day as the best ruler Brazil had in the colonial

35

Carlos Alberto Asfora/ Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen and Dutch Brazil

Island of Antônio Vaz, Recife

period, which ended in 1822. The painters that came to Recife with him, Frans Post and Albert Eckhout, recorded extensively the landscape, the nature, the flora and fauna, the local inhabitants, the architectural styles, the monuments, the geography. Their works represent the most important visual arts legacy related to Brazil in the first 3 centuries of European rule of the country. Frans Post, who was in his twenties when he sailed to Brazil with Nassau, achieved immense commercial success upon his return to the Netherlands in 1644 and painted Brazilian scenes until his death, a type of landscape totally unfamiliar to Dutch viewers, dotted with exotic plants and animals, paintings that would fetch high prices. Though he was later neglected and almost forgotten, he has been revalued recently and his paintings now sell for millions of dollars. An exhibition dedicated to his oeuvre painted in Brazil was presented in 2005 in the Louvre, and the Haus der Kunst in München had another one in 2006. Interestingly – and sadly - enough, the Netherlands hasn’t shown any interest in exhibiting his work. Post’s accurate description of the land, acquired through intensive travels in Brazil, his interest in the fauna and flora, his charming, somewhat naïve style, all have contributed to his fame. His biggest collector nowadays is an industrialist from Pernambuco, Ricardo Brennand, who owns fifteen of his paintings and built a few years ago in Recife a magnificent, state-of-the-art museum dedicated to Post and the Dutch period in Brazil. Albert Eckhout was perhaps a better painter, but his oeuvre is limited, and

36

Carlos Alberto Asfora/ Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen and Dutch Brazil

Island of Antônio Vaz, Recife, palace of the governor, former location of ‘Vrijburg’

the fact that Maurits donated the better part of it to his relative, the King of Denmark, makes him unavailable to the world of Sotheby’s and Christie’s and other auction houses – consequently, he is outside the market and does not have the appraisal of his oeuvre influenced by high prices. Nassau actually gave to the Danish King his beautiful Eckhouts in exchange for the Order of the White Elephant, which included a handsome stipendium that helped him sustain his expensive lifestyle. The gigantic Eckhout paintings are tucked away nowadays in the Ethnological Section of the National Museum in Copenhagen. They were shown at the Mauritshuis in 2004, the year of the 4th centennial of Nassau, and traveled extensively in Brazil (Rio, São Paulo, Brasília and Recife) in the early 2,000’s, having attracted huge crowds, proud to rediscover their land as seen through the sharp eyes of a skilful, talented painter. Some beautiful drawings by Eckhout were included in Nassau’s gift to Louis XIV, and Gobelin tapestries were made from them for 120 years. After the Dutch had burned Olinda, Recife did not provide enough housing space to the thousands that moved there, and rentals became impossible. So Johan Maurits decided to build a new city. He chose Antonio Vaz island, across from the original Recife village, to erect his new city: Mauritsstad, Maurícia or Mauritiopolis, also refered to sometimes as “Grootkwartier”. Between 1637 and 1642, Nassau personally supervised the construction of squares, streets,

37

Carlos Alberto Asfora/ Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen and Dutch Brazil

Ponte Maurício de Nassau, Recife

markets, canals, gardens and bridges. He drained the marshy delta around Recife, established canals and sponsored intensive building in Mauritsstad, using the most up-to-date urbanism available at the time, based on the ideas of Simon Stevin. Then, between 1642 and 1645, Nassau had the New Mauritsstad built, for the less priviledged part of the population. Mauritsstad became the official seat of the WIC government of Brazil on 14 November 1639 At Antonio Vaz’s northeastern tip, he built Vrijburgh palace, possibly on plans by Pieter Post, Frans Post’s brother and one of the architects of the Mauritshuis. It is certain that Pieter Post designed the French Calvinist church in Mauritsstad, built in 1642, and there are references to his presence in Recife in 1639. Anyway, Vrijburgh palace, so named in honour of the Dutch liberation struggle against Spain, was for a long time the biggest and most beautiful civilian building in Brazil. Later, Portuguese nationalism and sheer neglect allowed it to fall into ruins. But the site Maurits chose for Vrijburgh is occupied since the 19th century by the palace of the Governor of Pernambuco. Nassau planted hundreds of coconut trees around it, and had a botanical and zoological garden installed nearby. In this garden, Maurits and his scientists collected all kinds of animals and plants, both from Brazil and other parts of the world, many of which were given to him by the adoring inhabitants of Recife, or by Dutch navigators.

38

Carlos Alberto Asfora/ Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen and Dutch Brazil

Ponte Maurício de Nassau, Recife

In one of the towers of Vrijburgh, Nassau had an astronomical observatory installed. It was there that Georg Marcgraf, an extremely talented scientist that came with Nassau, took the first systematic astronomical observations in the new world. He registered rain and wind patterns, in what was probably the first scientific such record in the Western world – only in 1653, a few years later, Ferdinand II of Tuscany did this in Europe. Nassau also requested every ship’s captain to keep a record of eclipses, winds and rainfall during the Atlantic crossings. Georg Marcgraf didn’t stop there: when Nassau went back to Holland, in 1644, this outstanding scientist sent to the Patria his collections of plants and animals, which became the fodder for studies until the 19th century. In 1648, his friend Johannes de Laet published, in Leiden, Marcgraf’s Historia Naturalis Brasiliae, which was the first scientific study of the Brazilian flora and fauna, to which was added a detailed geographical description of Dutch Brazil, plus the previously mentioned astronomical records. Marcgraf was also a mathematician and cartographer. This genius died in Angola, at only 34 years of age. Another scientist that accompanied Johan Maurits to Recife was his private doctor, Willem Piso, who once saved the Count’s life using native plants. Piso published a second edition of Marcgraf’s work in 1658, to which he added a long section called “De medicina brasiliensi”, considered a most authoritative work in medicine and hygiene until the 19th century. After his return to the Netherlands,

39

Carlos Alberto Asfora/ Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen and Dutch Brazil

Rua Bom Jesus (former Rua dos Judeus), Recife

Piso was twice Dean of the Collegium Medicum of Amsterdam. All the work of Nassau’s team was personally supervised by himself, and everything was based on an extremely strict canon of scientific exactitude. Nassau had other artists working for him. There are mentions to six painters in total, but the best known of them, besides Post and Eckhout, was Zacharias Wagener, a German soldier who proved to be a very talented and meticulous recorder of fauna, flora and ethnographic types. He went on to become ‘Commandeur’ of Capetown, South Africa, and distinguished himself as well in the service of the East Indies Company. Another important presence in Nassau’s retinue was the poet and Latinist Franciscus Plante, who later wrote verses in praise of the Count. Besides his gifts to the Danish King and to Louis XIV – the French monarch received 27 paintings by Frans Post - Nassau gave away parts of his collection to the Elector of Brandenburg, in exchange for some lands along the Rhine valley, in Germany. Further to his extravagant gifts, which much depleted his collection, many extremely valuable items were lost in the fire that ravaged the Mauritshuis in the early 18th century. The majestic Mauritshuis staircase, which was built of Pernambuco or Brazil wood, an extravagant, celebrated masterpiece, was lost in the fire. A famous piece that was also lost is a portrait of Johan Maurits

40

Carlos Alberto Asfora/ Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen and Dutch Brazil

surrounded by Tapuia Indians. The Tapuias were a fierce, perhaps cannibal tribe, that the Portuguese had never managed to subdue, but somehow were coopted by the Dutch and became their allies. There is a very curious episode related to them. After his return, Nassau used his marvelous Mauritshuis on many a social occasion. One of them caused a commotion among the puritanical Calvinists: he had six stark-naked Tapuia Indians perform a ritual dance in the Mauritshuis, in what was probably one of the most original and shocking moments in the sedate life of The Hague, ever. With his tolerant attitude, his statesmanship and his achievements, soon virtually everybody in Pernambuco loved Johan Maurits, who managed to please practically all sectors of society. Nonetheless, this didn’t mean that he had no problems. He never received from the WIC the reinforcements of the troops that he was constantly asking for, to allow for the conquests that were expected of him, and for the good protection of the vast Dutch Brazilian territories; another problem was caused by the fact that the Dutch and other new settlers of Recife didn’t manage to survive on local food, which resulted very often in depleted warehouses of the WIC in Recife, and in Nassau’s constant request for more food and wine. This state of affairs at some point made Johan Maurits so weary that he wrote to the WIC that he would rather resign. Of course nobody wanted him to, much less himself. But he did send in a letter of resignation.

41

Carlos Alberto Asfora/ Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen and Dutch Brazil

We must remember that the WIC had been founded by die-hard, militant Calvinists, who called the Catholic church “the big harlot of Babylon” and despised the Jews. The Chamber of Zealand was the bastion of fundamentalist Calvinists, who would usually refer to the “hated Papists, the despicable Jews”. Interestingly, besides being fanatical Calvinists, the Zealanders were famous for being the most accomplished pirates in the Republic. They paid special attention to a crime of sorts that was publicized by some of the hundreds of pamphlets published at the time in the Netherlands, in which all sides expressed their views about different matters. According to some pamphlets, the Councillors of Justice in Recife were accused of the crime of changing clothes every day. For anybody who has been to Brazil, it’s a known fact that since pre-Columbian times and until today, Brazilians like to take showers frequently, due to the hot climate. One shower a day is never enough. But the poor Councillors were being accused because they were sinning twice, according to the Calvinists: a sin of excessive luxury, to change clothes every day, and a sin against chastity, because to undress and to touch one’s body, even to bathe, was regarded as very sinful. Anyway, the freedom of worship established by Johan Maurits soon started to bother the fanatical Calvinists that ran the WIC. Furthermore, the attempts to convert the locals to the Reformed faith were hardly ever successful, though a few conversions of high-profile citizens were registered. On the contrary, it

42

Carlos Alberto Asfora/ Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen and Dutch Brazil

was much more common that soldiers on the service of the WIC converted to Catholicism, if only because it was the religion of their wives and girlfriends. Soldiers of the WIC were recruited on a voluntary basis, with the promise of a reasonable salary and the possibility to make it big in the new world – something that seldom materialized. The armies of the WIC had Dutch, Belgian, English, Scottish, French, German and Scandinavian soldiers, most of whom were Protestant. They seemed to prefer to marry local Brazilian or Portuguese women, supposedly not as pretty as Dutch girls, but considered to be better wives and mothers. Of course, not many women were willing to face the perilous journey from Holland to Brazil, which meant there was a limited availability of them; besides, Dutch women in those days were seen as the freest in Europe, and, according to British historian Charles Boxer, they “drank like men, betrayed their husbands and neglected their children”. So - many soldiers converted to Catholicism, to the dismay of the Calvinists. Besides the mentioned religious matters, the Heren XIX, who never seemed to agree on anything, did agree on the fact that Nassau was spending too much. Of course, he paid some expenses out of his own purse, but the WIC had to foot the bill in many cases. We go back to the opening of this text: colonial rulers don’t want to spend on colonies, they just want to profit hugely from them. So, when the ceasefire was signed with the Portuguese in 1641, the Heren XIX

43

Carlos Alberto Asfora/ Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen and Dutch Brazil

decided to bring Nassau back. They ordered the military garrisons in Brazil to be reduced and accepted Nassau’s resignation. The States General and the Prince of Orange protested against such a decision, but this only delayed the final outcome. In April 1642, the Heren XIX wrote to Johan Maurits ordering his return to Holland in the spring of the following year. In September, Nassau wrote back, asking them to reconsider, but the Heren XIX had already lobbied with the States General and obtained their agreement to bring Nassau back. In September 1643, Nassau received his final orders to return, but managed to delay until May 1644 the departure from his beloved Brazil. He went by horse from Recife to the port of Cabedelo, some 100 km to the North. Along the way, people flocked to the road, crying, begging him to stay and trying to touch his robe, as if he were a kind of saint. To this day, Brazilians consider him as one of the best rulers of the country, ever. Many go so far as to claim that, staying in Dutch hands, Brazil would be a much better place than it is now, a rather disputable belief. Actually, it seems clear that Johan Maurits was an enlightened and brilliant ruler, who did make a difference and left a perennial legacy. The fact that he worked for the WIC is only a detail. He, as an individual, made all the difference. To this day, Recife is often refered to locally as Cidade Maurícia and its inhabitants are particularly proud of Johan Maurits’ time, seen as a golden age. His political testament is a marvelous, wise and valuable document, balanced

44

Carlos Alberto Asfora/ Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen and Dutch Brazil

and filled with recipes for good governance, which would apply to every place in the world, nowadays. To quote an excerpt of it that should be taken into account by everybody, in this unholy year of 2006: “It’s much better to benignly tolerate people from other religions”, because “it would be a great disrespect of the secular powers to intervene in religious questions, thus mixing up worldy affairs with the Divine”. Just to think of how many millions of lives would be saved throughout history if people followed this advice! A similarly impressive resolution, put by the Calvinist Consistory in Recife, soon after Nassau’s departure, which was unanimously approved, sums it all up: “Given the fact that we live quietly and in piece in these conquered lands, while in Germany, England and everywhere people are wailing under bloody wars, shouldn‘t we give public praise to the Lord God for the conquests He bestowed upon us, and pray for the suffering Christendom of Europe?” That he established peace in his domains seems to have been Nassau’s greatest legacy, along with the riches of artistic and scientific treasures that fill up archives and museums in many countries. Not surprisingly, by the end of 1645 the Dutch had lost almost all of Brazil, except Recife, Itamaracá, the oceanic island of Fernando de Noronha and the coastal forts of Cabedelo in Paraíba and Ceulen in Rio Grande do Norte. The Portuguese and Brazilian landowners, who had been at peace during Nassau’s rule, organized the revolt. Many people think that it was because they were

45

Carlos Alberto Asfora/ Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen and Dutch Brazil

heavily indebted to the WIC and found that it would be easier to expel the Dutch than to repay their debts. Anyway, it didn’t take them very long to defeat the Dutch, having put together an army that had whites, mestizos, Blacks and Indians, in what is considered the beginning of the Brazilian nationality. Presently, the Brazilian Army celebrates its day on the 19th of April, date of the first battle of Guararapes, won by the Brazilians, of course, like the second battle, which settled the war once and for all. The Brazilians received little support from the Portuguese king and managed their victories against the Dutch practically on their own. The WIC, on their side, were lost in the usual disagreements between Amsterdam, Zealand and the other chambers, and were not eager to spend more money, nor to send troops to Pernambuco, though they did dispatch in 1648 the famous Admiral Witte de With, who spent almost two years in Recife but ended up deserting his position. Back in Holland, this famous Dutch hero was tried for treason and received a death sentence, but managed to go free by paying a fine. Most of Mauritsstad and New Mauritsstad was destroyed by the Dutch themselves, in a last-ditch effort to protect their position: they demolished some buildings to make room for their own batteries, and destroyed some others to keep the Brazilians from fortifying themselves. None of this worked, and the Dutch lost everything. At some point, the WIC realized the paramount importance of Nassau

46

Carlos Alberto Asfora/ Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen and Dutch Brazil

and offered him back his old position. He declined, though he never forgot his dear Brazil and is still known as “The Brazilian”. There isn’t a lot to be seen today in Recife and surroundings of the Dutch buildings, except some forts, revamped by the Portuguese, of which the most famous one is Forte Orange, in Itamaracá, visited by HM Queen Beatrix in 2003. The Forte do Brum (Bruyns) is also still there, as well as the Forte das Cinco Pontas, which houses the Museum of the City of Recife. Other forts are still to be seen, though Fort Maurits, at Penedo, has never been found. The style of the old houses along the Capibaribe river, in downtown Recife, as well as those on the Rua do Bom Jesus, is also reminiscent of Holland. Olinda was later rebuilt by the Portuguese and regained most of her previous splendours – in 1982, it was included on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. Recife has been, for centuries, one of the biggest and most important cities in Brazil. The final Dutch surrender was signed in 1654 at the Campina do Taborda. Diplomatic negotiations dragged on and on and Portugal ended up paying to the United Provinces, in the early 18th century, a gigantic compensation for the loss of Brazil, which was never more part of the Dutch empire. Even then, most people in Brazil to this day feel strongly positive about the Dutch period, keeping in mind the prodigious legacy of Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen.

47

Carlos Alberto Asfora/ Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen and Dutch Brazil

48

World Heritage Site Olinda in Brazil Paul Meurs and Leo G.W. Verhoef (Eds.) IOS Press, 2006 © 2006 The authors and IOS Press. All rights reserved.

Olinda in Brazil: Technical Cooperation under the World Heritage Cities Programme of UNESCO Dr. Ir. Ron van Oers Coordinator World Heritage Cities Programme, Paris

Background to the Olinda Project The Historic Centre of the Town of Olinda in Brazil was inscribed in 1982 under cultural criteria (ii) and (iv). With over twenty Baroque churches and monasteries located on rolling hills, with backdrops of swaying palms and deep blue seas, it is picturesque and has important ensemble value (criterion iv). Its history closely linked to the Brazilian sugar industry, Olinda was the formal town where the Portuguese sugar barons had their lavish residences (criterion ii), while port facilities and related informal activities were located further away in then little Recife. Its charm is largely derived from the harmony between built and nonbuilt spaces, i.e. the churches and convents and their gardens, and its seaside location. Founded in 1537, Olinda was the Portuguese capital of Pernambuco and economically the most important capitania (district) of Brazil. Due to this importance, the Dutch captured Olinda in 1630, but it became too difficult to defend the city against the constant guerrilla attacks waged against it by the Portuguese from the surrounding countryside. Not only was Recife the main harbour where sugar and other goods were bartered and shipped back to Patria, but the Dutch felt that they were much better able to defend this tiny ‘townlet’ against the natural elements and the enemy. So they decided to use scorched-

49

Ron van Oers/ Olinda, Brazil: Technical Cooperation, World Heritage Cities Programme, UNESCO

earth tactics and in November 1631 they burned beautiful Olinda to the ground, taking away all the useful building materials and starting an impressive building programme to defend and develop Recife and its surroundings.1 Since then, Recife has grown to become the fourth largest city in Brazil, while Olinda has remained a backwater suffering from lack of attention and investment – indeed, this may well have contributed to the preservation of the town’s eighteenth and nineteenth century urban and architectural heritage. Today Olinda is situated in the periphery of the urban agglomeration of Recife and, despite its World Heritage status and sea-side setting, the town lacks a focus to attract tourists and entertain them for longer than the average day-visit. Lack of investment has resulted in a lack of building maintenance and restoration, giving the place a rather run-down look and feel. Poverty and unemployment, especially among the youth, are running high. At the start of 2003 the Maria Nóbrega Foundation (based in London and Recife) contacted the World Heritage Centre with the proposed initiative to set up a revitalization project for Olinda, aiming to attract investment for restoration and tourism development and to build capacity among local youth. It was decided to develop this initiative as an integrated conservation project, within the framework of the World Heritage Cities Programme of UNESCO.

50

Ron van Oers/ Olinda, Brazil: Technical Cooperation, World Heritage Cities Programme, UNESCO

The Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet (China) was registered on the World Heritage List in 1994. Unfortunately the monumental structure of the Palace was cut-off from its surrounding urban landscape by large infrastructure works, which reduces a proper understanding of historic setting and meaning, as well as the visitor experience.

Fig.1 The Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet (China)

UNESCO’s World Heritage Cities Programme With over 200 properties inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, amounting to 300 if historic towns and cities within cultural landscapes are included, the category of “cities” is the most numerous and diverse of humankind’s common heritage.2 Regarding their constant need for upgrading or further development of infrastructure, housing and office space, the World Heritage Cities Programme aims to address the permanent challenge of how to accommodate the needs for modernization and investment in historic cities and city centres, without compromising historic character and identity (Figure 1). The World Heritage Cities Programme was set up after the 25th session of the World Heritage Committee, held in June-July 2001, as part of a new multiyear programming approach by the World Heritage Centre. Programmes, it was proposed, would address thematic concerns of conservation and provide for a framework to facilitate States Parties to seek international assistance, as well as to donors offering technical and financial support that would be in conformity with a set of defined needs. This would avoid dispersion of resources and lack of coherence in implementation. Through sponsored activities and coordinated actions with partners, urban conservation and development activities were implemented in a number of World Heritage Cities, among which were Luang

51

Ron van Oers/ Olinda, Brazil: Technical Cooperation, World Heritage Cities Programme, UNESCO

Through the Cities Programme of UNESCO, the Dutch Government is sponsoring the development of a ‘value-led management plan’ for the Historic Inner City of Paramaribo (Suriname), which was registered on the World Heritage List in 2002.

Fig. 2 The Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet (China)

Prabang in Laos, Saint Louis de Senegal and Mexico City. At the start of 2005, the WH Cities Programme was re-structured. While the overall framework and focus on themes and partnership arrangements have remained, the current set-up aims to address those issues and cases that are on the radar screen of the World Heritage Committee and require urgent attention. Therefore, the current Programme is structured along a two-way process: 1) development of a theoretical framework for urban heritage conservation; 2) provision of technical assistance to States Parties for the implementation of new approaches and schemes. The development of a theoretical framework relates to the challenges posed by urban heritage conservation, as urban heritage is considered to be a human and social cultural element that goes beyond the notion of “groups of buildings”, as defined under the Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention. Cities are witness to the fact that the accumulation of cultures and traditions, recognized as such in their diversity, are the basis of heritage values in the areas and towns that these cultures have produced or re-used. These values must be made clear from the outset and serve to define urban development strategies, policies, programmes and actions (Figure 2).

52

Ron van Oers/ Olinda, Brazil: Technical Cooperation, World Heritage Cities Programme, UNESCO

The city of Brasilia (Brazil) was put on the World Heritage List in 1987 as a testimony to modern urbanism that emerged at the start of the 20th century. Under the Cities Programme support has been provided to establish management guidelines seeking to facilitate urban growth within the city plan, without compromising its original design.

Fig.3 Brasilia, Brazil

In addition to initiating research on the subject, in particular under the cooperation schemes with universities, the development of approaches to and methodologies in conservation management of historic urban ensembles will include the organization of international seminars and conferences to facilitate debate on specific themes and to establish or update international standards such as the May 2005 Vienna Conference on “World Heritage and Contemporary Architecture”. The provision of technical assistance to States Parties for the implementation of new approaches and schemes will focus on those cases that were discussed by the World Heritage Committee, and those that require urgent attention, such as Olinda in Brazil. Selection of cases in different regions of the world allows a broad spectrum of current urban conservation challenges to be addressed, with different social, cultural and economic contexts, but all under the umbrella of the World Heritage Convention (Figure 3). To exchange and improve on-going initiatives a constant cross-reference between the various regions and different projects is envisaged.

53

Ron van Oers/ Olinda, Brazil: Technical Cooperation, World Heritage Cities Programme, UNESCO

Development of Theoretical Framework: Vienna The 27th session of the World Heritage Committee in July 2003 included a severe debate on the planned construction of high-rise towers at the “Wien-Mitte” project site in Vienna that was considered a threat to the outstanding universal value of the inscribed World Heritage property. Following this debate and relating to the recurrent problems involving high-rise construction activities in or adjacent to World Heritage cities around the world, the Committee requested the World Heritage Centre to organize a symposium on the subject with a view to develop principles and guidelines for regulation and management. After intense diplomatic and professional engagements, the Austrian authorities took the decision to elaborate a new project that would be compatible with Vienna’s World Heritage status (Figure 4). Following this successful negotiation and at the request of the World Heritage Centre, the City of Vienna agreed to host the international conference “World Heritage and Contemporary Architecture – Managing the Historic Urban Landscape”, which took place from 12 to 14 May 2005. Over 600 experts and professionals from 55 countries attended the conference, which consisted of a series of 13 keynote presentations commented upon by 15 specialists, and in total 70 case studies were discussed involving high-rise or contemporary architectural interventions in historic cities and urban

54

Ron van Oers/ Olinda, Brazil: Technical Cooperation, World Heritage Cities Programme, UNESCO

The Historic Centre of Vienna, with its 19th century classicist style, was put on the World Heritage List in 2001 and caused a heated debate in 2003, because of a high-rise construction project that threatened to destroy the visual integrity of the city.

Fig. 4 The Historic Centre of Vienna

landscapes of heritage value. The principal negotiated document that was developed during the conference, the so-called “Vienna Memorandum”, contained a first outline of recommendations promoting an integrated approach linking contemporary architecture, urban development and heritage landscape integrity. It introduces a working definition for the concept of “historic urban landscape” and emphasizes the need to enhance the quality of (urban) life without compromising the existing values of the historic city. It contains guidelines for both urban development and conservation management, as it proposes a dialogue between the two to respond to development dynamics in order to facilitate socio-economic changes and growth, while simultaneously respecting the inherited townscape and its landscape setting. Decision-making for interventions and contemporary architecture in a historic urban landscape demand careful consideration, a culturally and historic sensitive approach, stakeholder consultations and expert know-how. Such a process allows for adequate and proper action for individual cases, examining the spatial context between old and new, while respecting the authenticity and integrity of historic fabric and building stock. The Vienna Memorandum was presented to and much welcomed by the World Heritage Committee at its 29th session (10-17 July 2005 in Durban, South

55

Ron van Oers/ Olinda, Brazil: Technical Cooperation, World Heritage Cities Programme, UNESCO

Africa) and during the 15th General Assembly of States Parties to the World Heritage Convention, taking place on 10 and 11 October 2005 in Paris, it formed the basis for the adoption of the “Declaration on the Conservation of Historic Urban Landscapes”. The World Heritage Centre is currently engaged, through its Cities Programme, in a thorough evaluation of the “UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Safeguarding and Contemporary Role of Historic Areas” (26 November 1976) to determine whether there is a need for an update that includes the notion of Historic Urban Landscape. In the near future, development of similar standard-setting instruments through international conferences are foreseen on the subject of “World Heritage and Tourism Management”, and “World Heritage and Public Works”.

Provision of Technical Assistance: Olinda As part of the strategic partnership established between Delft University of Technology and UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre in 1999, which was reinforced on 12 April 2006, a project proposal was formulated in 2003 for the revitalization of Olinda World Heritage site in Brazil. The proposal comprised an integrated conservation project based on a fundraising programme developed by the Maria Nóbrega Foundation and INTBAU (International Network for Traditional Building, Architecture & Urbanism), and with HRH The Prince of Wales (London)

56

Ron van Oers/ Olinda, Brazil: Technical Cooperation, World Heritage Cities Programme, UNESCO

as patron. The central idea was to revitalize the local arts & crafts industry and develop tourism to generate income for local inhabitants and revenue for investments through restoration and re-development of the cultural assets of Olinda, these being its churches and convents, botanical garden, residential houses, public squares and beach front. In the context of the project important partnerships and agreements in principle have been established between the Maria Nóbrega Foundation and the Inter-American Development Bank, the Vatican, the Archbishop of Olinda and Recife, the Brazilian Ministry for Culture, the Municipality of Olinda and the Federal University of Pernambuco, to name the most important ones. At the end of 2004 an agreement was reached with the Archbishop of Olinda and Recife on a long-term lease (999 years) on the Sao Joao Batista dos Militares Church in Olinda for restoration and adaptive re-use. The Centre for Urban and Territorial Studies of the University of Pernambuco (CECI – Prof. Dr. Silvio Zancheti) has conducted a feasibility study for the restoration project and the installation of a school for heritage conservation techniques, a school for English language and for information technology. Leases were also negotiated for the Nossa Senhora das Neves Church and Soa Francisco Convent, and the Nossa Senhora da Graça Church and Olinda’s Seminary, with plans to restore the buildings and convert them into top-end pousada’s (guest houses). Negotiations

57

Ron van Oers/ Olinda, Brazil: Technical Cooperation, World Heritage Cities Programme, UNESCO

are on-going for the Botanical Garden of Olinda, currently in private hands, to be transferred to the Municipality, which will give a 125 years lease to the Foundation for its exploitation. CECI has prepared a Conservation Development Plan for these monuments, which will serve as a benchmark for the overall vision and approach to Olinda’s restoration and development. Despite these initial successes, the Olinda project has also experienced some set-backs. Stakeholder involvement is broad, thus introducing complications associated with longer decision-making processes, because more time is needed to reach consensus. Furthermore, operations on an international scale, involving parties in Brazil, the USA, the UK and the Netherlands, have given rise to additional challenges on project coordination and implementation. However, what needs to be remembered is the importance of the process related to integrated conservation, which aims to foster cooperation, create understanding and maintain dialogue among various parties, since this concerns the essence of sustainability. The modern concept of integrated conservation means giving an active role to cultural properties in the modern life of local populations, which is based on an integrated approach to the historic environment and engaging a multidisciplinary team of institutions and individuals in the rehabilitation process.

58

Ron van Oers/ Olinda, Brazil: Technical Cooperation, World Heritage Cities Programme, UNESCO

Paris (France) has been very successful in integrating new architectural projects in its urban landscape setting without losing historic character and identity; the Banks of the Seine were put on the World Heritage List in 1991.

Fig. 5 The Historic Centre of Vienna

This requires proper integration of conservation and rehabilitation in the process of urban planning and design, which implies considering rehabilitation at all levels of planning, including general master plan (long-term plans on national, regional and town level) and conservation and management plan for the specific area of the historic town (detailed plans for mid- and short-term periods).3 (Figure 5) Whatever the pace of implementation and the eventual number of buildings restored, with regard to the Olinda project can already be considered a role model.

Conclusion In February 2005 a group of 10 students from Delft University departed for Olinda to do fieldwork for their final Master of Science thesis, a design project in Olinda based on the Masterplan, and the following report contains their proposals. While the project for Olinda is still in full swing, in particular where it concerns fund-raising to start the actual restoration projects, this publication serves as an important contribution, marking not only the international cooperation aspect, but also the importance of education and capacity building in heritage conservation management. In fact this particular aspect has become a main focus for Dutch Government sponsoring of conservation projects in the context of their support to UNESCO.

59

Ron van Oers/ Olinda, Brazil: Technical Cooperation, World Heritage Cities Programme, UNESCO

In addition to education and training in World Heritage through their curricula, universities can play an active role through their existing potential of human resources in Master and PhD students, which can be cost-effectively utilised in addressing the day-to-day struggle of the World Heritage Centre to keep up with the conservation of World Heritage Cities. There is a growing demand for the services of trained architects, town planners and managers with a background in urban conservation in the day-to-day management of these sites. Since the last century pressures on historic cities or inner city areas have been increasing enormously, with transport, housing, retail, recreation and tourism all competing over a relatively small area. Today the need to harmonise new economic and social requirements of the inhabitants with the surviving urban morphology, without compromising identity and authenticity, is a major challenge. At the same time, the traditional roles of the city and the hinterland, and their linkages, the shifting concept of urbanity and rurality, and the changing role of and relation between public and private initiatives must be understood in the quest for urban conservation. While it remains difficult to foresee changes in social, cultural or economic patterns, it is clear that the management of these changes is vital to the maintenance of social cohesion and cultural diversity with guarantees for minimum standards of living. Adequate planning and design have become pivotal instruments in directing change and maintaining quality of urban life in World Heritage Cities, including Olinda.

60

Ron van Oers/ Olinda, Brazil: Technical Cooperation, World Heritage Cities Programme, UNESCO

References 1

Taken from: R. van Oers, Dutch Town Planning Overseas during VOC and WIC Rule

(1600-1800), Walburg Pers Zutphen, 2000, p. 139. 2

As of 17 July 2006 the World Heritage List contains 830 properties, these include 644 cultural, 162 natural and 24 mixed properties in 138 States Parties - see http://whc. unesco.org. 3

Taken from: L.G.W. Verhoef and R. van Oers (eds.), Dutch Involvement in the Conservation of Cultural Heritage Overseas, Delft University Press Science, 2005, p. 6.

61

Ron van Oers/ Olinda, Brazil: Technical Cooperation, World Heritage Cities Programme, UNESCO

62

World Heritage Site Olinda in Brazil Paul Meurs and Leo G.W. Verhoef (Eds.) IOS Press, 2006 © 2006 The authors and IOS Press. All rights reserved.

Olinda and IPHAN Frederico Faria Neves de Almeida Director of IPHAN, Recife

In 1937, Rodrigo de Melo Franco de Andrade founded the SPHAN (National Service for the Conservation of Artistic and Historical Heritage). In Pernambuco, this institution was presided over by our memorable Ayrton de Almeida Carvalho. Since then the conservation of Brazilian cultural heritage has developed considerably and is now considered a collective responsibility that is taken care of by federal and local authorities (gestão compartilhada). Initially, the work consisted of cataloguing and registering our built heritage, as well as the struggle to rescue all these monuments: by this time, a national movement had been organized in favour of the preservation of monuments and other works of art. As time went by, it was observed that there was a need to develop both national and regional programs for the defence of the listed monuments and thus – among others - the Northeast Historical Cities Program was founded. In 1972, UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) instituted the World Heritage Convention, which was intended to stimulate the conservation of cultural and natural resources considered significant to mankind. In 1980, Ouro Preto (Minas Gerais), in Brazil, was the first Brazilian site to become World Heritage, followed, in 1982, by Olinda (Pernambuco). Nowadays, there are nine registered historical, artistic and environmental sites in Brazil. In all these cases, IPHAN (the National Historical and Artistic Heritage Institute) provides supervision and is the main responsible body. Therefore

63

Frederico Faria Neves de Almeida/ Olinda and IPHAN

IPHAN has a local Technical Office at every World Heritage site, which works in collaboration with both the City Hall and the civic community to improve the activities of the Institute as well as giving priority to conservation actions in these sites. In a pioneering action, Olinda started to manage its Historical Centre through shared administration (gestão compartilhada) by the Olinda Historical Sites Preservation Centre and the Preservation Council – represented by many sections to the community -, a very good example to Brazil. In1990, the SPHAN and the Fundação Pró-Memória (Pro-Memory Foundation) ended their activities and the IPBC (Instituto Brasileiro do Patrimônio Cultural > Brazilian Cultural Heritage Institute), today named IPHAN was founded. The primary responsibilities of IPHAN are to establish rules for conservation work and supervise their application. In consequence the resources of the institute for conservation and restoration works have been considerably weakened. Subsequently some national programs were carried out. The PRONAC (National Culture Program), the initial function of which was to substitute for the lack of resources in the preservation sections by tax exemption, transferred responsibility for the execution of national culture preservation to the private sector. The concept of ‘self-support’ then emerged to join together other sections of the community and this focuses mainly the economical practicability of the property to be restored. In the mid-1990s, the Ministry of Culture developed the

64

Frederico Faria Neves de Almeida/ Olinda and IPHAN

Monument Program, a program directed to the sustainable conservation of the Brazilian urban historical heritage – either as registered by the IPHAN or under the custodianship of the federal government custody. Olinda was one of the first registered historical sites chosen to benefit from the program. Since 2003 IPHAN has been dealing first with the restructuring of the institute itself, and is now again working on conservation and emergency restoration procedures in historical buildings, carrying out projects in the whole Brazilian territory. IPHAN has also started cataloguing and registering the non-material heritage and is defining the ways to institute shared administration through the Registered Historical Sites Preservation Plans. This involves stimulating the existing programs and creating new ones, with special attention to Mankind Heritage Sites – like the National Non-material Heritage Program, the National Program for Culture Incentive, the Monumenta Program, the Urbis – historical urban sites rehabilitation program, the Urban Sites Revitalization Program (the recuperation of the Cultural Heritage), the Program for Specialization in Heritage - IPHAN/UNESCO, the Integrated and Movables Inventory Program, the Urban Sites and Immovables Inventory Program. The IPHAN has increased the number of Regional and Technical Offices to gain acuity and efficiency in its actions throughout the Brazilian territory. It also held a Public Contest to choose professionals to work in the IPHAN technical area and there is also an increase in the investments obtained through the Law of

65

Frederico Faria Neves de Almeida/ Olinda and IPHAN

Incentive to Culture (Lei de Incentivo à Cultura). In Olinda, the IPHAN has carried out successive rescue works: restoration of the altars of Nossa Senhora do Monte (Our Lady of the Mount); and the main altar of Mosteiro de São Bento (Saint Benedict Monastery); the installation of electrical equipment in the Convento de São Francisco (Saint Francis Convent); stabilization of the Igreja de Nossa Senhora dos Milagres (Our Lady of the Miracles Church). It subsequently launched the Olinda Preservation Plan, a valuable tool for the conservation of urban nature and also of normative, strategic and operational characteristics, directed to the shared administration of the historical sites and covering preservation of the historical, cultural, environmental and urban heritage. In the concluding phase the Terms of Reference established the basic concepts, principles of action and necessary procedures for the starting and execution of the actions relating to the preservation of Olinda’s Urban, Architectural and Environmental (landscape) Sites. The Monumenta Program has intensified its actions in Olinda, through integrated investments in the following works: Annex to the Museu Regional; Igreja do Carmo (Our Lady of Mount Carmel’s Church); Alto da Sé Observatory; Beco Bajado; Parking lot for the Largo da Conceição; Parking lot for the Rosário church; Parking Lot for Varadouro; Requalification of the Parque do Carmo; Reurbanization Fortim (fort); Rua Saldanha Marinho as well as obtaining financing for private buildings through subvention taxes .

66

Frederico Faria Neves de Almeida/ Olinda and IPHAN

In an integrated action, in addition to the Ministry of Culture Programs, the Federal Government is also benefiting Olinda through the Program Developing Tourism, (PRODETUR), with the project “Requalificação do Alto da Sé” (Requalifying Alto da Sé); Programa Morar Melhor (The Living Better Program), directed to improving infra-structure and living conditions in the communities called V8 and V9 in Varadouro/Olinda and also through the Projeto Recife-Olinda (Recife-Olinda Project). In many historical Brazilian centres, especially in those sites registered as World Heritage sites, the Centros de Valorização Tecnológica – CVT (Centres for valuing Technology), the Ministry of Science and Technology is working on the assessment of the quality of craftsmanship in the restoration and conservation of Historical Buildings. In Pernambuco, the CVT, which will take care of both Igarassu and Goiana historical centres, will be established in Olinda. Through its technical office the 5th Region of IPHAN, together with the City Hall, has strengthened its supervising actions in the historical sites by making periodical inspections, orientation in structural works and repairs and the analysis and approval of projects. This year, 2006, Olinda was chosen as the First Capital of Brazilian Culture, The Ministry of Culture held a contest to stimulate, value and promote the cultural expressions of the cities. The rules for the preservation of World Historical Heritage Sites (Centros Históricos

67

Frederico Faria Neves de Almeida/ Olinda and IPHAN

Patrimônio Mundial) are directed towards Decentralization, Diversification and Democratisation of Support, Defence, Shared Administration, Incentive, Improvement and Supervision of the laws and actions, and Technological and Professional Development. Extending access to the cultural heritage as a right of the citizens is the basis of both sustainable development and the improvement of the living conditions of the population.

68

Frederico Faria Neves de Almeida/ Olinda and IPHAN

69

70

World Heritage Site Olinda in Brazil Paul Meurs and Leo G.W. Verhoef (Eds.) IOS Press, 2006 © 2006 The authors and IOS Press. All rights reserved.

Sustainable Cultural Tourism Planning Assoc.Prof. Frans Schouten NHTV Breda University of Applied Sciences

Introduction Cultural resources are increasingly important to tourism. Within the cultural domain two features dominate the scene: a. The tangible heritage; museums, monuments, historic sites and landscapes, • historic towns and settlements. b. The performing arts; music, dance, theatre, poetry, and film festivals. In cultural tourism the focus is predominantly on the tangible heritage, there is also an increasing interest in the intangible aspects of culture. However, the growing demand for cultural tourism does not automatically imply a higher level of sophistication among the visitors to a site. They have a general interest in cultural phenomena, but do not have the background to instantly understand the evidence of the past that they are looking at. These modern visitors need interpretation and guidance; they need the translation of the scientific knowledge into language, to which they can relate. There is an increasing need for professionals who can design interpretive concepts for sites; who can adapt to a great variety of customers, and can develop marketing strategies for cultural sites. In short there is a need for professionals who are also able to stimulate the curiosity of the visitors. But before we focus on strategies to involve our visitors in the past that we care for, some remarks on the issue of sustainable tourism development.

71

Frans Schouten/ Sustainable Cultural Tourism Planning

Peathouse in the Netherlands

Sustainability The concept of “Sustainability” - initially used in reference to the exploitation of our resources in the natural environment - is now widely used in the cultural domain. Our cultural environment is as much under pressure as nature. Tourism is often seen as the major contributor to the increasing pollution of our cultural systems, and there are many sad examples to illustrate its often-negative impact. However, it is not only the booming of tourism, but also overpopula­tion, the uncontrolled introduction of modern tech­nology, a non-critical “modernization” of societies, urbanization, and rapid changes in the infra­structure of coun­tries, that are a severe danger to the cultu­ral heritage of mankind. In the last 50 years much of our common heritage has already disappe­ared. Here cultural heritage is meant in the broadest sense of the word. For example every year approximately five languages disappe­ar. Traditions, values, skills, and oral history as well as monuments, sites and objects of artis­tic and historic value are under threat. We have to be aware that heritage is much more than objects in museums and fine old buildings. In addition to the aspects mentioned above heritage also includes dance, music, food and drink, costumes, belief systems and habits; it is part of the very fabric of society. Sustainable cultural development has the same aims as sustainable development

72

Frans Schouten/ Sustainable Cultural Tourism Planning

Mining Museum, Wales

in the natural environment: to stop further disintegration. The aim is to provide future generations with as many possibilities to make their own choices with regard to culture as we have ourselves. Sustainable cultural development is not an attempt to stop further development or innovations in societies. The aim is not a kind of cultural conservatism, but controlled development with regard to the past and the potential of coming generations. Culture, like a langu­a­ge, is a pheno­menon constantly undergoing develop­ment, a living identi­ty. Culture, like society has a dynamic pattern and when this changes into a static pattern it will cease to be a source of inspiration. Sustainable Tourism is a concept increasingly popular among both practitioners and policy-makers in the field of tourism and leisure. However, as practitioners in culture as well as in tourism, we have to make sure that it is more than a phrase and does not merely pay lip service to a new trend. Strategic planning is needed for the implementation of sustainable tourism. In itself strategic planning does not provide sustainable development, but it vital for the process of getting there. Strategic planning is a multidimensional and integrative activity; it combines a thorough market analysis with the recognition of the social, economic, political, anthropological, and cultural impacts. Strategic planning is concerned with the past, the present and the future and seeks to find the answers to some key issues: • The position of the organization (town, region, or country): “Where are we now?”

73

Frans Schouten/ Sustainable Cultural Tourism Planning

Alhamba, Grenada

• •

The direction in which to move: “Where do we want to go?” The selection of tools: “What are our assets?”

The formulation of the aims and targets is a first step in the process of planning. What do we want to achieve, which markets do we want to reach with our product, what development should be stimulated or just slowed down, and how do we envisage the future? These questions should not only be considered by politicians or public servants, but should also relate to the public and private sectors and the community at large and should support the chosen direction of development. Strong integration in society and a grassroots approach is needed. The next step is to identify and list the available potential attractions, both in terms of the physical environment and the socio-economic environment. A coherent inventory of cultural attractions can be made on different levels, depending on the scale of the project: local, regional, provincial or national. It is vital to determine the potential areas for visitation, based upon which we can identify potential projects and potential problematic areas or issues that need special care, protection or research. Apart from the physical development we need to investigate the political will and the public support for the plans: without these any investment is futile, the key words here are coordination and collaboration.

74

Frans Schouten/ Sustainable Cultural Tourism Planning

Carpetmarket in Buchara, Uzbekistan

When we look into cultural tourism from the point of view of sustainable development, there are four key elements to take into account:

Quality Quality Quality Quality

of of of of

the experience, visitors the resources, culture use, rehabilitation life, inhabitants

The mutual relationships between these elements reflect the basic philosophy of cultural development. Quality of the experience The quality of the experience relates to the visitors. In cultural tourism visitors primarily seek a unique experience. A visit should raise curiosity and stimulate the imagination. As well as the appeal that the site that is visited must have to the visitors, we must also keep in mind that there is an increasingly significant demand for quality in the services provided. The required quality of the experience cannot exist without the main­te­nance and improvement of the quality of the resources and the quality of life. If these two suffer from the implementation of develop­ment, the quality of experience will suffer likewi­se. Venice, deserted by its inhabitants, is a ghost town and no longer a living historic monument.

75

Frans Schouten/ Sustainable Cultural Tourism Planning

Quality of the resources The quality of the resources relates to the traditions, historical remains and objects entrusted to us as custodians of our heritage. Here we are concerned with the carrying capacity of our sites, towns and villages, with the integrity of our heritage and the preservation of values, buildings, skills and objects of historic and artistic significance. The quality of the resources depends on the way they can be used as an economic value. Without a use, in most cases there would be little incentive to invest in the preserva­tion of our heritage. But we also have to take care of our heritage as part of the surrounding human activities. Integra­tion with society is needed if we are to provide the neces­sary infra­structure to care about the past. Quality of use The quality of use is way the heritage is revitalized or rehabilitated. If this is done only for the sake of tourism or culture, our heritage will cease to be a source of inspiration. In one sense there is too much at stake to leave the decisions predominantly to the experts. For most peop­le heritage is not a value in itself, but an asset to be used. There is an increasing need for an integrated approach to the problems we have to face; only by combining knowledge, resources and efforts will we be able to achieve something. We have to make sure this will be an active and a vital aspect, carried by the community.

76

Frans Schouten/ Sustainable Cultural Tourism Planning

Madrassa with Russian barrack in its courtyard, Uzbekistan

Quality of life The quality of life relates to the host community; here we have to be concerned with integration in society, economic viability and the social impact of the intended development. The quality of life should be improved by the development of cultural tourism. The local population should be able to gain economic benefit from it in terms of jobs and spending. This aspect is of vital importance to cultural tourism development. In our opinion cultural tourism can flourish best for both the host and the guest on a small scale, run by indigenous agents integrated in society. Local or national autho­rities may gain f­rom the heritage resources, but if this is the main target cultural tourism will not be sus­tainable. When culture is only exploited as an asset, the very nature of culture will change and in the end fakes are presented as genuine expressions of the indigenous culture. Large-scale tourism development, with an emphasis on volume of visitors - still predominant - alienates tourists from the local culture. They only become involved in it within the cocoons of their hotels and resorts. Likewise the confrontation with these tourists alienates the host community from its own values. There is a need for a bottom-up approach in strategic planning for sustainable cultural tourism, planning and development that is firmly rooted and integrated into the society that is affected by it. Heritage and culture encompass a much wider field than museums, monuments and sites alone; extending concept

77

Frans Schouten/ Sustainable Cultural Tourism Planning

of heritage changes the dynamics of preservation, therefore the need for rehabilitation is more important than the need for restoration. In cultural tourism public-private collaboration and more intensive integration of overall quality of services is needed. It is recommended that rather than seeking an isolated approach from a single discipline and starting at one point of the problem, from the very beginning of the planning-process one should seek to integrate all the aspects relevant to development. In order to achieve such an approach more flexibility is needed from national and international governmental bodies to meet the need for funding on the local level. Most projects - certainly the most interesting ones - cross the existing divisions in ministries and departments. They go beyond the boundaries of regulations and most financial programs. Within existing regulations it is often difficult to operate and one has to find different funding for different aspects of an integrated project. Only by combining different resources can we get where we want to go; reality cannot so easily be divided into compartments as a ministry or a directorate general. Only by joining forces are we strong enough to face the challenges of the future of our past.

Product Development for Heritage Sites Tourism is all about selling dreams. Tourism is about experiencing what is

78

Frans Schouten/ Sustainable Cultural Tourism Planning

Conversion of madrassa into hotel, Khiva, Uzbekistan

beyond the ordinary, stepping out of the daily treadmill into a more wonderful, exciting and challenging world. Tourism is about travel, accommodation, and destinations, but all these are merely the means to another end: visiting the attractions. An attraction provides a physical and/or psychological experience that fits into the frame of mind of the seeker of diversion, and which lifts him or her out of the ordinary. Tourism is about the consumption of experiences, but the past or foreign cultures are a closed domain for most of the tourists. Special provisions are required to accommodate visitors. McKercher and Du Cross (1999) rightly mention that: “To succeed cultural heritage tourism must be actualised, commoditised or somehow commercialised to facilitate consumption of the experience”. Although there are some notorious trouble spots in heritage tourism (Bruges, Oxford, Canterbury, Venice) most of our heritage attractions seem to be underdeveloped rather than overexploited. There are a vast number of interesting historical cities, monuments, fortifications, castles, etc. that barely realize their tourist potential. And at the same time it is getting more difficult to penetrate into this market, for the competition is sharp. Tourists want to do ever more in their leisure time, which leads to a more superficial consumption, visitors become mere passers-by. The challenge for site and city managers will be to provide meaningful material for easy and quick consumption.

79

Frans Schouten/ Sustainable Cultural Tourism Planning

In the field of cultural heritage there are two actors who generally speaking scarcely understand each other: the keepers and the developers. On one hand there are people who genuinely want to preserve and on the other hand those who want to exploit the remains of our past. They have different aims and speak different languages. According to tradition the keepers are the specialists in their field who live in the illusion that there are many out there who are desperate to see the carefully conserved relics. The developers are those who think that if you are populist enough, the visitors will come anyway. Somehow the two seem to be of the opinion that they don’t need each other. Both agree, however, on one issue: if you put enough money into promotion it will turn out to be good in the end; marketing and promotion are of little help if the product is not discriminating enough. And it is precisely in the field of product development that both the keepers and the developers desperately need each other. Product development for cultural tourism is necessary to reconcile the urges for both preservation and for exploitation. Heritage as a historical reality can only exist by virtue of interpretation and if this is not provided, the visitors will make their own interpretations, based on their own ideas, misconceptions and prejudgements. The historical reality does not peep up from the remains of the past of itself, it has to be created. Oscar Wilde, reviewing a book on Italian literature commented on it: “It shows a lack of knowledge, which can only be the result of years of study” (Hughes

80

Frans Schouten/ Sustainable Cultural Tourism Planning

Beersstate

& Brecht, 1978). That is exactly the trap heritage interpretation has to avoid. Historical information is not enough, it needs to be translated to the visitors. Interpretation is the art that makes history “real”. The emphasis of our efforts must be concentrated on product development. The increasing competition among local/regional heritage attractions will provide an incentive to pay more attention to product improvement and product innovation. A simple trail through a town with a plan and a bit of sign posting is by not nearly sufficient to stand out among other providers in this domain. Managers of heritage attractions are prejudiced; they persist in believing that they have unique buildings and collections in their care, and this convinces them that they have sufficient potential to attract visitors. From a content point of view they may be quite right, everything is unique and special, however, the experience of their clients is significantly different: again a museum, another monument. As a matter of fact there are few free standing attractions that can generate a flow of visitors on their own. Even the Eiffel tower would have a hard time if it were not standing in Paris. The concept of “Paris” as a romantic destination is of endlessly more value than the sum total of its individual attractions. Some attractions - like the Tower of London - are so well anchored that it seems they don’t need a concept. In fact in some ways their own image is already their concept. Such a concept consists of the history, the stories, the legends

81

Frans Schouten/ Sustainable Cultural Tourism Planning

and the secrecy of the place. In the development of visitor attractions a good concept is of vital importance. Canadian Heritage starts every development of a site - whether it a cultural of natural - with the question “What is the spirit of the place?” and secondly “How do we get that across to the visitors?” This may sound vague, but there can be no doubt that the primary task of the management of an attraction is to answer these questions. Visitors are looking for a UNIQUE-experience; the visit to an attraction should contain the following elements (Schouten, 1995): • Uncommon, it should be entertaining, keep in mind that they visit the place at their leisure; • Novelty, it should raise curiosity, provide a new experience, a new insight; • Inspiring, it should be provocative and stimulate; • Quality, it should be customer- and service oriented; • Understanding, it should lead to a profound understanding of the world around; • Emotions, it should evoke emotions and be a moving experience. During the development of a heritage site, the development of a story line is a useful aid to the provision of interpretations for the visitors. The physical remains of the past, whether landscapes, sites, or objects, have many layers of

82

Frans Schouten/ Sustainable Cultural Tourism Planning

Jonesville

signification, which it may be important to present to the visitors. From the point of view of communications, which of these should be chosen to will depend on the objectives and the target audience. A building or an artifact is always more than it seems to be. A palace is not only the dwelling place of a monarch, but is also built to impress, to ensure that the subjects are duly impressed and have to look (both figuratively and literally) up to their king. The layout expresses the differences in status of the activities to be performed in and around the palace. The interior and decorations tell us something about the relationship between the monarch, his court and his subjects; all these different aspects can offer a clue for the development of a story line. A story line provides a focus and an awareness of the relationship between sites and themes. In his article Story Technology Bob Rogers (1996) states that the experience of the “story” of the place is the focal point of the development of attractions and the guideline for the concept development. Rogers indicates that attractions should be based upon an intended “Change of heart” in the visitors. The “story” is much more than merely making the information available, it is about the possibility for visitors to identify with the site and what is offered to them. Some 30 years ago Freeman Tilden already stated that interpretation is not the same as the provision of information, but is a revelation based on information. The facts are a means to an end, not and end in themselves. An

83

Frans Schouten/ Sustainable Cultural Tourism Planning

attraction can only be successful if it lifts something out of the ordinary. This is such a strong need that if such a thing does not happen, visitors will make their own interpretation and start dreaming up their own stories, based upon their own ideas, prejudices and preconceptions. As stated earlier: history does not pop up spontaneously from the past.

Conclusions To facilitate the consumption of experiences by the visitors, product development is necessary, in particular within the field of heritage and cultural tourism. Visitors have both a profound lack of knowledge of history and a biased preconception of the past. To accommodate the visitors we need to actualise the interpretation in order to make a link between the world of the visitors and historical remains. Story lines are a vital tool for the development of interpretation strategies. Fruitful co-operation between the custodians of our past and product developers can jointly deliver a strong concept for a strategy for communication with visitors. The use of interpretative techniques on heritage sites is a vital element in the provision of a better understanding of the importance of the relics of the past for the visitors to the site. Interpretation is also a determining factor in the visitor satisfaction. However, it is important to emphasise that themes and story

84

Frans Schouten/ Sustainable Cultural Tourism Planning

lines are not a straitjacket for further development. They should be seen as an instrument to realise coherence in the tourist/recreational offer. In addition to this it is important to ensure that there is an integrated offer of facilities and experiences for visitors that make the rare and fragile remains of our collective past both physically and intellectually accessible.

References 1. Hughes, P & Brecht, G. (1978) Vicious Circles and Infinity. London: Penguin. 2. Marwijk, D. van & Haytsma, A. [ed.] (1998) Ruimtelijk ontwerpen en archeologie. Den Haag: SDU. 3. Mckercher, B & Du Cros, H. (1999) The fundamental truths about cultural tourism. Paper for the International conference: Heritage & Tourism, Hong Kong. 4. Rogers, B. (1996) Story Technology. In: TILE’96 Conference Proceedings, Maastricht. 5. Schouten, F. (1995) Improving visitor care in heritage attractions. In: Tourism Management, vol. 16, no. 4. 259-261 6. Schouten, F. (1995) Heritage as Historical Reality. In: D.T. Herbert [ed], Heritage, Tourism and Society. London: Mansell. 7. Stevens, T. (1995) Heritage as design: a practitioner’s perspective. In: D.T. Herbert [ed], Heritage, Tourism and Society. London: Mansell.

85

Frans Schouten/ Sustainable Cultural Tourism Planning

86

World Heritage Site Olinda in Brazil Paul Meurs and Leo G.W. Verhoef (Eds.) IOS Press, 2006 © 2006 The authors and IOS Press. All rights reserved.

Landscape Aspects in developing a Botanic Garden Suzanne Sharrock Director of Public Awareness and Understanding, Botanic Gardens Conservation International, UK

Introduction All botanic gardens must have a grand plan that provides the all-encompassing spirit of the garden. The grand plan is expressed in everything visionary, conceptual, experiential, and tangible about the garden. It is essential that landscape aspects are incorporated into, and indeed form the basis of, the grand plan for the garden. This paper examines the landscape aspects that should be taken into account in the design process of developing a new botanic garden. The planning process Mission Statements The mission statement is a written declaration of why the garden exists and what purpose it is intended to fulfill. It is the backbone of the garden guiding both current and future planning and policy. The language of the mission statement should be strong and clear. Its concepts should be in tune with the natural features and social activities on and near the site. Examples of mission statements: The Eden Project, UK: “to promote the understanding and responsible management of the vital relationship between plants, people and resources leading towards a sustainable future for all”.

87

Suzanne Sharrock/ Landscape Aspects in developing a Botanic Garden

The São Paulo Botanic Garden in Brazil contains an area of native Atlantic rainforest. The boardwalk allows visitors to experience first-hand this native forest.

Botanic Garden, São Paulo

The Chelsea Physic Garden, UK: “As the second oldest botanic garden in England it still fulfils the traditional functions of scientific research and plant conservation and undertakes to educate and inform as well as to provide the amenity of a walled “secret” garden in the heart of London”. If the mission is put together for an existing site then whatever is unique about the garden should provide inspiration. • Is it a small, tropical site with many rough barked trees providing dappled sun? Maybe the site would lend itself to a mission focusing on shade gardens and epiphytes. The resulting design might call for a display of various ferns planted under the trees with orchids and other small epiphytes hanging from the tree limbs above to conserve space. • Is it a moderately sized, flat site surrounded by hills covered in secondgrowth forests? Perhaps the mission should call for both exotic plants and the conservation of natural areas, thus allowing for the design of themed gardens in the open centre contrasted with natural forests on the edges. • Is it a large, hilly site completely covered in rare, primary forest disturbed only by small openings invading the perimeter? Probably the best mission would be one that stresses conservation of the forest and its endemic species. The design, then, might interpret the forest, protecting its interior, but allowing for display of non-invasive, colourful, plantings in existing disturbed areas.

88

Suzanne Sharrock/ Landscape Aspects in developing a Botanic Garden

A running stream is a natural element in the Conservatoire Botanique National du Brest, France

Conservatoire Botanique National du Brest, France

Whatever the location, it is important to make sure that the special qualities of that particular site are reflected in the mission statement. Garden Elements This is a list of the natural features and man-made components of the garden, and the activities and users associated with each of them. For example lakes, woodland, trees of historical interest, buildings, plant collections etc. Some of these elements may already be present on the site and so either remain as they are, be improved, or receive protected status. Others will be proposed for inclusion into the garden. Suggestions for the programme elements may come from many different people. Ideas may come from those who helped conceptualize the mission or from other interested parties. These may be employees of the garden, financial contributors, board members or other professional consultants. However, in order to be included in the final programme, each element must support the Mission Statement and be compatible with the site. Site Survey The site for a viable botanic garden must be appropriate for the mission and accommodate the proposed programme. To assure that this is so requires: careful surveyors to produce an accurate measured base plan;

89

Suzanne Sharrock/ Landscape Aspects in developing a Botanic Garden

knowledgeable natural scientists to evaluate and inventory the habitat; experienced planners to analyse whether existing site conditions work with the proposed mission and programme or whether any or all of these must be adjusted to allow for the design of a satisfactory garden plan. The surveyor should produce a scaled drawing which shows: extent; position; form and character of the terrain, its features, and boundary as a result of linear and angular measurements. Obtaining a good survey is expensive but not extravagant. Acquiring an accurate one without enough information is frustrating. Using one that is inaccurate or obsolete is dangerous. Planning without one is a delusion. Believing a botanic garden can be built efficiently without one is wrong. Usually it is difficult to survey a thickly overgrown area without cutting lines of vision through the obstructing density of the plants. When working in wooded areas, the surveyors should respect the forest and cut the narrowest of site lines through the undergrowth and only then if regeneration is known to be typical of the plants affected. In areas of endemic plants, if surveying is done at all, it should be monitored by botanists. If surveying is not advisable, air photos of the site may have to suffice for planning the garden. Assessment of the site

90

Suzanne Sharrock/ Landscape Aspects in developing a Botanic Garden

Botanic gardens are becoming more involved in conservation of habitat, display of native and endemic plants, and education of their visitors. This means that the uniqueness of each site is becoming more important than ever. An understanding of natural landforms and the ecology on the site and along its borders will prevent unintentional destruction of important features on the site in both the planning and construction stages. It is helpful if specialists in the fields of forestry, botany, biology, geology, hydrology, soils, and/or ecology make an early visit to the proposed garden site to mark conservation areas for delineation as such in the survey. Local inhabitants in the region who are familiar with the site in all seasons can also be very useful. Every site calls for unique assessments. The type of survey described earlier serves as an ideal base to use in the field for making notes. Some of the specific conditions on or near the site to be examined, described and mapped are: • The existing vegetation. The canopy of the high trees and the middle and lower levels of vegetative cover should be appraised for condition and importance. Plants of special botanic interest should be noted, as well as those that are invasive or could cause problems. Plants which would be appropriate for new displays, should also be suggested.

91

Suzanne Sharrock/ Landscape Aspects in developing a Botanic Garden

•

•

•

The soils and geology of the site. As the base for the garden, soil types and depth should be determined as well as pH, fertility, friability, and potential for erosion and water logging. The maximum slope the soil is capable of should be determined. Rock outcroppings or barren areas often give clues as to how far beneath the soil the bedrock lies. The geology of the site should be studied for bearing capacity where buildings could be sited, and any areas of fossilization should be noted if there are any. Water, its presence or potential on or near the site. This is a very important consideration for the garden not only because the availability of a permanent water supply for the plants is necessary; but also because flooding, saturation, and salination can occur with too much water. Arid conditions can be demanding, as well. Drainage on and near the site must be understood, with problems and solutions noted. Advantages for plantings should be sought and utilized. Animal species on the site or in the area. Experts should assess the terrestrial, arboreal, aerial, and aquatic wildlife supported by the site in its present condition and the potential for reintroduction of species if the programme calls for this. The condition of the environment of the site, and the degree of its degradation from the habitat native to the area should be noted. Species beneficial to the site should be inventoried as well as those which are a nuisance or pose a potential danger to garden visitors.

92

Suzanne Sharrock/ Landscape Aspects in developing a Botanic Garden

Native species of importance to maintain in the garden are highlighted in the Balkan Botanic Garden in Greece.

Balkan Botanic Garden, Greece

•

The ecology of the site and surroundings. A generalist experienced in all the natural sciences should study the site to make an overall assessment. Using the respective maps supplied by the specialists above, this expert will be able to make general observations and point out sensitive ecological areas, micro-climates, as well as areas where low intensity or higher intensity development might occur without being detrimental to the environment.

Site analysis As they go through the assessment above, planners should consider how to use the site for the proposed programme and whether the land serves the ideals of the Mission Statement. Using the survey as a base, the planner considers the spatial and natural advantages and constraints inherent in the site and its setting. These include: • the direction and location of good and poor views from various places on the site; • the direction of destructive winds and pleasing breezes; • location of sources of objectionable noise from off-site; • calculated location of sunrise and sunset on a typical day, and if the garden is in temperate latitudes, this would be for the longest and shortest days of the year; • location of microclimates on site;

93

Suzanne Sharrock/ Landscape Aspects in developing a Botanic Garden

The Barcelona Botanic Garden is designed to take advantage of stunning views over the city

Botanic Garden, Barcelona

and general notes which include: • the environment and its features which have visual appeal; • plants of special interest, specimen plants, areas where plants give a feeling of enclosure around the observer, and especially areas with natural habitats to be left as is or proposed for restoration; • the condition of any historic structures and archaeological ruins and their usability; • the location of existing circulation of footpaths through the site and existing and possible future entry and exit points to the site. The Master Site Plan The Master Site Plan is a map of the entire site showing the vision of how the botanic garden will look when it is completed. It embodies the GRAND PLAN and expresses the concepts and intentions of the Mission Statement in graphic form. The Master Site Plan should be designed to incorporate the Garden Elements. It shows how the site relates to the surrounding region and how visitors would arrive at the garden and park if coming there by car. It delineates: • boundaries of the site • areas of the site to remain in natural habitat

94

Suzanne Sharrock/ Landscape Aspects in developing a Botanic Garden

• • •

areas to be developed placement of structures orderly movement of vehicles and pedestrians through the site.

A comprehensive Master Site Plan will explain how the land will accommodate the various plant collections, each with its own content and need for adequate space. The report will include guidelines for basic facilities, equipment, and installations needed for the functioning of the botanic garden including drainage systems and how the site will be graded to insure good drainage. Water supply systems, sprinkler systems, sewerage systems with location of infall and outfall will be shown. Electrical systems and alternatives in case of failure are indicated. Lighting systems, signage systems, circulation systems of roadways and footpaths, and systems of buildings, amenities such as furniture and water fountains, and systems of accessories such as waste receptacles and bins for recycling are all included. It is also important to check whether the proposed garden has a workable system of access and footpaths allowing disabled visitors to enjoy all parts of the garden.

95

Suzanne Sharrock/ Landscape Aspects in developing a Botanic Garden

Some general thoughts on designing the garden Having looked at the process of conceiving and planning a botanic garden, let us look at some of the issues to be considered in the design process and some specific construction details for assembling and landscaping the site. The setting of the botanic garden within the surrounding region Whether a site is chosen or evolves into a botanic garden from previous land uses, its location often defines the constituency for the garden. Botanic gardens exist in such varied settings with such diverse advocates, owners, associations, and themes; it is difficult to generalize about which adjoining land uses complement their placement. Some good neighbours include parks, conservation areas, arboreta, zoos, science museums, community centres, universities, schools, and many others. Access to the garden Public attendance for both local citizens and tourists depends upon the quality of access both in time and distance. It should be easy to bring groups of school children to the garden. Employees and volunteers must have easy access as well. A public transportation stop near the entrance to the garden is essential and should be requested if it does not exist. Planners must consider the difficulty of seeing an entry gate on a curving approach road, when choosing locations of

96

Suzanne Sharrock/ Landscape Aspects in developing a Botanic Garden

The Botanic Garden “Viera y Clavijo” in the Canary Islands focuses on displaying native plants and blends seamlessly into the surrounding countryside.

Botanic Garden “Viera y Clavijo”, Canary Islands

vehicular or pedestrian gates. Signs should announce the garden from a good distance away with smaller signs showing the entrance. Access roads and the first impressions they give are important. The botanic garden must show its best face by attractive plantings, views or displays of interest along its borders. Views seen from the garden The view seen from different parts of the garden is most important to the perception of the garden by its visitors. When the garden is located in a valley or at the bottom of a “bowl” in the landscape, the higher ground around the site is visible from the site. When a garden is located on a hill, the ground below is visible. This ‘borrowed scenery’ becomes part of the visual garden even if it is not within the boundaries of the site. It may be possible to have these border lands designated as reserves or to be built upon at low density only, even if the garden does not control them. If unsightly areas surround the garden, the designer may be able to hide these “eyesores” with high plantings or to attract visitors into areas of the garden where the problem is less visible. If they cannot be hidden, bright and interesting display gardens can focus attention into rather than out of the garden.

97

Suzanne Sharrock/ Landscape Aspects in developing a Botanic Garden

Stunning views are possible from the Rio de Janeiro Botanic Garden in Brazil.

Botanic Garden, Rio de Janeiro

Character of the site, size and conceptual style of the garden Character of the site As well as helping to define the mission of the garden, the character of the site should inform the planning and design process. All physical planning should work with the site, enhancing its best features and hiding its worst ones. Displays and collections in each botanic garden should be sited in places where their respective plants will grow best. Attention to micro-climates during site assessment will pay dividends when choosing where to site display gardens. This is true whatever the size of the garden. The kind of botanic garden that is created depends greatly on the character of the site. It is easier to create an appealing botanic garden on those sites that have a physical character considered beautiful in most cultures. Views of the ocean or vast natural fields, surrounding mountains, interesting terrain, or other natural advantages make the designer’s job easier. It is much more difficult and costly to create a beautiful botanic garden on a site that is inherently dull, degraded, or uninteresting. Size It is very difficult to say how much land is needed to construct a botanic garden, although it is a frequently asked question. Certainly, it is important that size be considered when defining the mission and writing the programme for a botanic garden. For example, if the garden is small, it requires small-scale displays

98

Suzanne Sharrock/ Landscape Aspects in developing a Botanic Garden

Native plants displayed on a natural rock setting in the Botanic Garden “Viera y Clavijo”, Canary Islands

Botanic Garden “Viera y Clavijo”, Canary Islands

and beds. Botanic gardens range in size from those so small they project a residential scale and feeling to those so vast that only a small portion is visited or known by visitors with the rest held in reserve. Actual size and perceived size can be quite different. Sometimes a botanic garden is quite small, but because of visual divisions made by hills or the use of high shrubs to define “rooms” within the garden, or the use of footpaths that double back upon each other, the site seems deceptively large. Conceptual style of the botanic garden The conceptual style of a botanic garden works best if design of its physical elements is consistent. This is especially true of the structures seen by visitors. Buildings sharing one design motif and signs, benches, fences, etc. which are compatible help to unify a garden in which plantings, displays and other aspects may be quite varied. In general, the style of each respective botanic garden is most interesting to visitors if it reflects building methods and styles of the region in which it is situated. These have proven workable and durable over time and are usually practical. Displaying native plants in their natural habitat whether conserved or recreated makes a botanic garden unique to its place. The relationship of the sun’s pathway across the sky is important to the design of the garden. The way that light and shadow falls upon display gardens and vertical faces of natural forests affects our perception of them.

99

Suzanne Sharrock/ Landscape Aspects in developing a Botanic Garden

Local materials are used in interpretation areas in Belize Botanic Garden

Botanic Garden, Belize

Public and operational areas Use of space in a botanic garden site is similar to that in a house. The garden has public areas, conceptually similar to a front garden or parlor in a house. Visitors are invited into these areas. The non-public areas such as the plant nursery, maintenance facilitates, or research areas correspond to dressing rooms, kitchen, and closets in a house or the garage or back garden of the property. Usually, the public areas in a botanic garden are located near the entrance, where most people have easy access from the community. Non-public facilities for the botanic garden are out of sight. These two kinds of areas are best separated by visual barriers and enough distance that visitors to the garden displays and public facilities are not aware of unsightly infrastructure, buildings, or machinery which may be hidden nearby. Rolling or hilly topography provides natural visual barriers that can help to accomplish this physical separation. Over flat land, only plantings and structures impede visibility. These plus roads and pathways skillfully placed between public and private areas can do much to separate public activities and private operations. Habitats Just as there is a hierarchy of entrances, roads and pathways, and public and

100 Suzanne Sharrock/ Landscape Aspects in developing a Botanic Garden

Native plants are displayed in a ‘wild garden’ in Moscow State University’s Apothecary Garden, Russia

State University Apothecary, Moscow, Russia

operational areas within the idealized garden, there is a gradation of habitats. This is from naturally occurring or reconstructed areas of diverse local flora to display gardens that often feature exotic plants and focus on a single species or demonstration. Between these two planted areas is a buffer zone of floristically varied plantings which are both native and exotic for the regional climate. A glass greenhouse in the display area offers an even more exotic plant collection than the display gardens because it provides an artificial climate for plants that would not normally survive in the climate of the region. This means that there is a gradation of habitats from native and endemic plants associated with their fauna in a conservation zone to exotic plants protected in a controlled climate.

Conclusions Landscape aspects are of prime importance in developing a botanic garden. Landscape provides the building blocks for all stages of conceptualization and design, informing the mission statement and supporting the programme of the garden. Incorporating existing features and building on the natural environment of the site, a botanic garden should above all celebrate plants and highlight mankind’s need for a sustainable relationship with nature.

101 Suzanne Sharrock/ Landscape Aspects in developing a Botanic Garden

Nursery areas are separated from the public area by a wall in the Botanic Garden “Viera y Clavijo”, Canary Islands.

Botanic Garden “Viera y Clavijo”, Canary Islands

Acknowledgements The paper is based largely on information provided in the Darwin Technical Manual, published by Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) in 1998. The original text of the chapter entitled ‘Landscape design’ was written by Judith Evans Parker, U.S.A.

102 Suzanne Sharrock/ Landscape Aspects in developing a Botanic Garden

103 Suzanne Sharrock/ Landscape Aspects in developing a Botanic Garden

104

World Heritage Site Olinda in Brazil Paul Meurs and Leo G.W. Verhoef (Eds.) IOS Press, 2006 © 2006 The authors and IOS Press. All rights reserved.

Degradation of Wall surfaces and their Treatment. Biological Growth Rob P.J. van Hees, TNO Built Environment and Geosciences & ®MIT, Delft University of Technology Olaf C.G. Adan, TNO Built Environment and Geosciences & TU Eindhoven, Faculty of Applied Physics

Abstract Since it is one of the most diffused forms of degradation of materials in ancient buildings, interest in biodeterioration is growing. One of the reasons for this may be that in addition to its esthetical impact, many experts see biodeterioration as the first step to even more severe forms of technical degradation. In this contribution, first the most common forms of degradation of materials in monuments are described. Special attention is paid to biodeterioration and favourable conditions leading to it. The situation of monuments in Olinda (Brazil), which are suffering from defacement due to biological growth is described. Finally an approach to dealing with biological growth is given.

1.Introduction In this contribution, special attention is paid to the phenomena of biodegradation or biodeterioration occurring in Olinda, a historic town and UN World Heritage Site, which came temporarily under Dutch influence during the 17th century. Olinda is situated on the North–East coast of Brazil, near Recife and has a warm, but rather humid climate. On many historical, but also on modern buildings, severe biodeterioration can be observed. First the most common forms of degradation of materials in monuments are described. In many restoration campaigns, in practice the need for a sound

105 Rob van Hees & Olaf Adan/ Degradation of Wall surfaces and their treatment.Biological growth

diagnosis of the damage is very often forgotten, even though this is a fundamental step towards guaranteeing a durable intervention. When repairs are carried out such negligence can lead to major incompatibility problems. The approach discussed here in Sections 1 and 2 may contribute to a better understanding of the causes of incompatibility and may be the first step towards compatible repair that is based on the specific conditions of the individual monument.

2.General: Degradation Mechanisms The most important factors affecting degradation processes are related to: • environment • materials • design • workmanship and construction procedures • maintenance Principal factors related to environment are:  moisture supply: rainwater, moisture penetrating from the ground or surface water, snow melt, floods  salt supply from the ground, ground or surface water or from usage of the building (stable, salt storage) or via the air (aerosol), floods, de-icing salts

106 Rob van Hees & Olaf Adan/ Degradation of Wall surfaces and their treatment.Biological growth

 air pollution  variations and extremes in temperature  indoor environment (e.g. water vapour production)  bio-environment And even:  exposure to fire  dynamic load (e.g. earthquakes, wind, traffic, vibrations)  soil settlement Principal material factors are:  composition of the mortar (e.g. type and quantity of binder, grain size distribution of the sand)  properties of brick, stone, mortar and finishes and their interface (e.g. capillary transport, water retention, adhesion, materials interactions during drying or hardening)  presence of salts in the materials Design factors are:  original structural design of the building and/or subsequent modifications  choice of (combinations of) materials  detailing of the building (especially water shedding details like gutters,

107 Rob van Hees & Olaf Adan/ Degradation of Wall surfaces and their treatment.Biological growth

downpipes, window sills, copings, flashings, roof overhangs)  choice of repair methods and materials (e.g. treatments, cleaning operations) Factors deriving from workmanship and construction procedures are:  quality of execution  mortar mixing on site  the way materials are cured and curing conditions  protection of (fresh) mortars  lack of knowledge on traditional workmanship Factors related to maintenance are:  prompt repair (Lack of maintenance: e.g. no prompt repair of water shedding elements, damaged mortar joints)  Inappropriate maintenance programme (time span, monitoring) The environmental factors, which are strongly connected with material factors, exert influence on the development of degradation processes. Climate, and certainly also orientation and architectural details, finally determine the extent to which moisture supply and drying may play a role. Table 2.1, at the end of this section, summarises all the important factors.

108 Rob van Hees & Olaf Adan/ Degradation of Wall surfaces and their treatment.Biological growth

Processes All building materials are to some extent prone to degradation processes. Up to a certain point these are natural processes, which can be more or less influenced by humans or by human activities. Degradation processes exert a stress on the building materials (physical, chemical, physical-chemical, mechanical), which under certain conditions or after a certain time, lead to damage. Degradation is the more or less gradual increase of damage, as well as the decrease in quality. Damage can be defined as ‘a form of degradation of the building material, which becomes evident at a certain moment’ (varying from e.g. discoloration to complete loss of cohesion). Damage can be both esthetic and functional. The degradation process is not by definition identical to the cause of the damage (Van Balen et al., 1996 and Franke et al.,1998). There are usually a number of essential conditions without which nothing can happen, despite the potential for the occurrence of the process. The presence of moisture can be considered the most important condition for many of the degradation processes Degradation processes in which moisture plays a major role, are: • •

salt crystallisation cycles frost action

109 Rob van Hees & Olaf Adan/ Degradation of Wall surfaces and their treatment.Biological growth

• • •

wind and water erosion hygroscopic moisture absorption due to salts biological deterioration (bio-deterioration)

Table 2.1

110

Important factors for damaging processes

Rob van Hees & Olaf Adan/ Degradation of Wall surfaces and their treatment.Biological growth

Environment

Moisture supply

Rain, snow Ground water Surface water Floods

Salt supply

Soil or surface water Use (stable, salt storage) Air (aerosol) Floods De-icing salts

Air pollution Temperature factors

Variations Extremes

Indoor environment Bio-environment Materials

Mortar composition

Binder type Binder quantity

Properties brick/stone and mortar system

Grain size distribution sand Porosity/pore size distribution Capillary transport Water retention

Presence of salts in the materials Design

Original structural design of the building or modifications Choice of combinations of materials Detailing of the building

Workmanship & construction procedures

Maintenance

Choice of repair methods and materials Quality of execution Quality of execution Mortar mixing on site Way materials are cured and curing conditions Protection of fresh mortars (masonry) Lack of knowledge on (traditional) workmanship Lack of maintenance Inappropriate maintenance Programme

111 Rob van Hees & Olaf Adan/ Degradation of Wall surfaces and their treatment.Biological growth

Higher plants

Mosses

Lichens

3. Biological growth on buildings Biological growth on buildings may range from higher plants, like trees and ferns, to very small biological organisms, generally present on building materials in the form of biofilms; among the latter are bacteria, moulds and algae. We will start with a short description and definition of different types of biological growth that are encountered on buildings and building materials. We will also indicate the necessary conditions for the specific types. The following types of biological growth are described below: higher plants mosses lichens liverworts algae (including cyanobacteria) moulds As with all living organisms, sufficient water (liquid and sometimes vapour) is a universal requirement for their growth. 3.1 Description per type

112

Rob van Hees & Olaf Adan/ Degradation of Wall surfaces and their treatment.Biological growth

Liverworts

Algae, green

Algae, red

Higher plants In order to survive on buildings, higher plants need moisture, enough loose and not coherent substrate material in order to have hold for their roots and mineral salts. Mosses Mosses need moisture, some loose material (generally mortar joints), mineral salts from the substrate or from the environment. Lichens Lichens need moisture and mineral salts from the substrate or from the environment; they can be found both on brick and stone or mortars. They are considered to be a symbiosis of algae and moulds. Liverworts Liverworts need a high quantity of water as well as mineral salts from the substrate or from the environment. Algae (we include here cyanobacteria) Algae need moisture and mineral salts from the substrate or from the environment. Most important minerals for algae are nitrates and phosphor. Algae may appear

113 Rob van Hees & Olaf Adan/ Degradation of Wall surfaces and their treatment.Biological growth

Moulds

as a powdery deposit or as filaments. Their colour is usually green, red or brown. Most algae are able to survive relatively long periods of dryness. Algae appear to prefer a slightly alkaline environment, however they do not thrive above pH 10 (Adan & Van Hees, 1997 and Adan, 2003); this means that in practice pH may be a limiting factor only for fresh mortar or concrete (i.e. until carbonation of the surface has taken place). Moulds Moulds need moisture (or under some conditions a high RH) and organic compounds from the substrate or environment. Since they are not capable of photosynthesis (lack of chlorophyll), they need no light for growth. Moulds can be found both indoors and outdoors. They form spots or patches, their colour is usually grey, brown or black. 3.2 Further description of the damage phenomenon The presence of Algae and other types of biological growth (e.g. moulds, mosses, ferns, higher plants) is related to the frequency and availability of moisture. Usually however, there is no unambiguous relation between growth and water, since in most cases successive growth of different organisms may occur. Seasonal changes can make the phenomenon even more complex. Although the technical decay of building materials caused by the growth of

114

Rob van Hees & Olaf Adan/ Degradation of Wall surfaces and their treatment.Biological growth

Fig. 3.2.1a/b Examples of algae growth on an old city wall

algae and moulds is still very much under discussion amongst experts, esthetic appreciation and ecological arguments are generally taken into account. The growth of mosses and higher plants is generally seen as damaging, since their roots are able to degrade masonry and mortars. As the role of algae as primary colonizers for mosses, appears increasingly accepted to experts, it is clear that severe algal growth on monuments needs at the least very critical evaluation and monitoring. Severe moisture loads should be avoided in any case. In practical terms, such severe moistening indicates poor detailing of the building or to leakage of gutters or downpipes. Figs 3.2.1 and 3.2.2 give some examples of the growth of algae on masonry monuments. At present there are no indications that lime mortar is more sensitive to biological growth and more specifically to the growth of algae than cement mortar. Several plants appear to prefer lime mortar. The reason for this probably lies in physical factors (higher water retention, quicker weathering leading to accessibility for roots of plants) rather than in, for example, the alkalinity (pH is more or less equal for both mortar types). Further aspects like exposure, drying conditions and material factors like pore size distribution and water retention, as well as alkalinity, may influence the growth (De Cleene,1995 and Adan & Van Hees,1998).

115 Rob van Hees & Olaf Adan/ Degradation of Wall surfaces and their treatment.Biological growth

Fig.3.2.2 Growth of algae caused by too low capacity of gutters and downpipe

An important factor, affecting successive growth (sequence of algae, mosses and higher plants), may be the inclination of surfaces in conjunction with their roughness.

4. The situation in Olinda Most of the biological organisms previously described will grow more abundantly under tropical or subtropical temperature conditions and less abundantly under lower temperatures. Nevertheless they are well able to survive the winters of middle and northern Europe. The flora is regionally dependent, for example, certain types are found more predominantly in Latin America than in Europe: Gaylarde & Gaylarde (2005) state that in Europe mainly algae are present on external walls of buildings, where in Latin America cyanobacteria and moulds are dominant. They attribute this effect to the higher average temperature and higher outdoor RH in Latin America. Olinda, being situated near Recife on the North-east coast of Brazil, has a rather humid, warm climate. Environmental conditions are such that the growth of micro-organisms like moulds and algae is favoured; this means that if material conditions are also favourable, the growth of micro-organisms is very much

116

Rob van Hees & Olaf Adan/ Degradation of Wall surfaces and their treatment.Biological growth

Fig. 4.1 Biological growth clearly situated on the parts of the façade that are exposed to a high (concentrated) moisture load Fig. 4.2 Higher plants (trees) growing on horizontal surfaces of the bell tower Fig. 4.1 Biological growth

Fig. 4.2 Higher plant trees

stimulated. Material properties concerned are: • a high water retention (in general the case when the material contains a high amount of micro-pores, i.e. pores in the range < 0.1 μm); • the presence of organic matter, especially in the finish materials like paints, that may serve as nutrition. Examples of buildings in Olinda, covered by biological growth are shown in Fig.4.1-Fig.4.6. The previously mentioned study of Gaylarde & Gaylarde, 2005, has shown that in biofilms found in Latin America, including Brazil, cyanobacteria and moulds are dominant, whereas in Europe algae appear to be dominant. Within the different classes of building materials used in Latin America, it appears that moulds (mainly Cladosporium) are prevalent on painted substrates (painted stone, plaster) and cyanobacteria on the stone like surfaces. This predominance might be attributed to a humid outdoor climate at a high temperature level, in combination with increased susceptibility of coatings due to high organic (binder) contents. However, as well as moulds, painted surfaces may also contain algae and cyanobacteria.

117 Rob van Hees & Olaf Adan/ Degradation of Wall surfaces and their treatment.Biological growth

Fig. 4.3 Biological growth in the interior of a building. This form of biological growth is related to water penetration (and retention) resulting from building defects. Fig. 4.4 Severe biological growth on the most exposed (upper) part of the facade of a bell tower. Fig.4.3 Biological growth

Fig.4.4 Biological Growth

5.How to deal with biological growth on buildings In the first place special attention should be paid to detailing in order to avoid an excessive (often local) moisture load on the masonry. In order to avoid colonisation maintenance at an early stage, before roots may grow into the masonry, can also be considered important. Furthermore, a rule of thumb may serve: wood producing plants should be always removed, whereas plants that do not produce wood, like for example hedera, should be kept under control. As far as algae, cyanobacteria and moulds are concerned, it is of primary importance that attention should be paid to long ‘periods of wetness’, as a consequence of moisture retention after moisture loading. In practical terms, risks of biological growth will reduce dramatically if high rates of drying can be achieved. It is most important to limit the conditions that are favourable for the biological growth; in addition to this biocidal treatments can be used as supportive short-term measures. Limit favourable conditions It is hardly possible to influence conditions like light, CO2 or temperature, especially where the outdoor environment is concerned. Likewise, it is impossible to influence rain and outdoor RH. Therefore one could think of: • limiting the quantity of water in the materials by avoiding extreme moisture

118

Rob van Hees & Olaf Adan/ Degradation of Wall surfaces and their treatment.Biological growth

Fig. 4.5 Severe biological growth, also occurring on new buildings. Fig. 4.6 Green biological deposit, most probably due to the growth of cyanobacteria or algae. Fig.4.5 Biological growth

•

Fig.4.6 Biological growth

supply to building materials and construction by ensuring the presence of gutters and downpipes and regular maintenance and in addition by avoiding too small projection of roofs. When interventions, repairs and the replacement of materials are necessary materials with low water retention properties (for example low total porosity and coarse pores) should be used. Also in these cases regular maintenance is crucial to the attainment of a durable result.

Curative treatments High pressure water cleaning can be used to remove algae and moulds; if this measure is taken without any intervention in the conditions the rapid reappearance of the biological growth can generally be expected. The use of biocides like quaternary ammonium compounds or sodium hypochlorite in the cleaning procedure may result in a longer, although limited, effectiveness of the cleaning. NB treatments should be carried out with care, otherwise adverse effects might appear. Preventive treatments Use of biocides in repair materials like wall finishes (paints) can result in a temporary protection of the wall finish against biological growth; also in this

119 Rob van Hees & Olaf Adan/ Degradation of Wall surfaces and their treatment.Biological growth

case, the effect is temporary as the biocides will wash out, often within one year. Adan, 2003 describes an effective measure against algae in which quaternary ammonium compounds are used. These may last for ca. one year. The relatively short service life of the treatment underlines the importance of interfering as much as possible in the moisture supply. On certain stone like substrates the use of water repellent treatments (Adan, 2003) can result in an effective protection. However, one could fear that after degradation of the hydrophobic molecules at the surface, resulting from UV light, bio-colonisation could reoccur.

References Adan O.C.G. & Van Hees R.P.J., Bealging van de gebouwde omgeving, SBR, 1997, 20p. Adan O.C.G, Bealging steenachtige materialen. Over algen in de gebouwde omgeving, SBR, 2003, 63p. De Cleene M. (editor), Interactive physical weathering and bioreceptivity study on building stones, monitored by computerized X-ray tomography (CT) as a potential non-destructive research tool, Protection and Conservation of the European Cultural Heritage, Research Report No 2, Science Information Office, University of Ghent, 1995

120 Rob van Hees & Olaf Adan/ Degradation of Wall surfaces and their treatment.Biological growth

Franke L., Schumann I., Van Hees R.P.J., Van der Klugt L.J.A.R., Naldini S., Binda L., Baronio G., Van Balen K., Mateus J., Damage Atlas. Classification of Damage Patterns found in Brick Masonry, Research Report No 8, European Commission, 1998, Fraunhofer IRB Verlag C.C. Gaylarde & P.M. Gaylarde, Biodeterioration of historic buildings in Latin America, 9DBMC-2002, paper 171, 9p. C.C. Gaylarde & P.M. Gaylarde, A comparative study of the major microbial biomass of biofilms on exteriors of buildings in Europe and Latin America, International Biodetrioration and Biodegradation 55 (2005), pp. 131-139 Van Balen K., Binda L., Van Hees R.P.J., Franke L., Damage to historic brick masonry structures, Proceedings 8th International Congress on Deterioration and Conservation of Stone, Berlin, 1996, pp. 1687-1693

121 Rob van Hees & Olaf Adan/ Degradation of Wall surfaces and their treatment.Biological growth

122

World Heritage Site Olinda in Brazil Paul Meurs and Leo G.W. Verhoef (Eds.) IOS Press, 2006 © 2006 The authors and IOS Press. All rights reserved.

The Maria Nobrega Foundation Origins Co-funding and Co-management Michael R. Carrington Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer The Maria Nobrega Charitable Trust The Maria Nobrega Foundation (USA) Fundacao Maria Nobrega Brasil

Introduction I find myself somewhat overawed as a mere former professional soldier and banker, to be asked to address such a distinguished body of academics. My knowledge of academics is limited, but I have learned that they will have an opinion on any subject and that each of them will be convinced that their view is the correct one. I am neither an academic, a politician nor an evangelist, although I admit to an evangelical fervour for the restoration and sustainable regeneration of Olinda. The views that I will express are purely anecdotal and simply those of an Englishman abroad. I was asked some time ago, by the Abbott of the Franciscan Order in Pernambuco State, why I should be involved in such a venture. I replied that I would like to say, that I wished to make a contribution to the betterment of mankind and to the monuments so carefully constructed by our forbears and now so sadly neglected in Olinda. But not all of this would be true. The real reason was that I did not know. Father Aluisio, smiled and said to me ‘I completely understand, it is for the very same reason that I am a Franciscan Priest’ I would particularly like to thank Professor Leo Verhoef, who I first met by

123 Michael R. Carrington/ The Maria Nobrega Foundation Origins Co-funding and Co-management

Municipality Olinda, Crest

The Maria Nobrega Foundation, Logo

chance in Olinda, and Professor Paul Meurs, for his kind invitation for me to have the opportunity to address you. I see in the audience many good friends who have been of enormous support to the work of The Foundation and have a much greater knowledge of Olinda than I do. If I make errors of fact, I would ask them to bear with me. They are not intentional. So how did it all start? As with many ideas, with the third bottle of a very fine Chablis in the garden of The Colombe d’Or Hotel, in St Paul de Vence, in the South of France. ‘La Colombe’ is a jewel and started life as a small farmhouse in the early 1900s. The owner was a frustrated artist, whose friends were struggling penniless artists themselves, who met each day to drink and eat and bewail their woes that there work was unappreciated. Needless to say they were unable to pay for the food and wine they consumed, and eventually the farmers wife insisted that they at least paid by giving her some of their unsold and unwanted work. These unknown artists were Picasso, Monet, Manet, Pissaro, Van Gogh, and Cesar. The paintings and sculptures still hang on the walls today, of what has become an internationally famous small hotel. So what has this have to do with Olinda. Both St Paul de Vence and Olinda are villages on hill top sites, with historic buildings and artists colonies. St Paul de Vence is now a thriving tourist location, promoting the work of artists and

124 Michael R. Carrington/ The Maria Nobrega Foundation Origins Co-funding and Co-management

Election slogan of president Lula, painted by Ben Vautier

providing much needed employment. It represents a model for the future of Olinda and the aims of The Foundation. This was to be a journey of a thousand miles, which starts with a single step. That first step was to establish the Foundation on an international basis with offices in London, Olinda and Washington DC, and to commence a major public relations exercise to bring the plight of Olinda to the attention of the world. We were fortunate in our first port of call. It was coincidental that my initial telephone call to UNESCO in Paris was received by Dr Ron Van Oers, a former graduate and lately a lecturer at this University, on his first day in his new appointment. We met in Paris a few days later and were much encouraged by his support and subsequently we met in Olinda and at various meetings at UNESCO. We travelled extensively to New York, Washington DC and The Vatican establishing contact with like minded organisations and seeking their co-operation to work in association with The Foundation. We did not have one rejection, and our Board of Trustees represents internationally regarded experts in the field of architectural restoration and regeneration, businessmen and former diplomats with in post experience in Brazil. We are proud to have the support of President Lula of Brazil as our Patron.

125 Michael R. Carrington/ The Maria Nobrega Foundation Origins Co-funding and Co-management

For those of you who do not know Brazil, you will no doubt have the image in your mind of the Carnival in Rio, Football and pretty girls on golden beaches. But Brazil is much more. It is a country larger than Australia, with economic assets in abundance. Oil, natural gas, uranium, iron ore, diamonds and emeralds, coffee and sugar and an agricultural climate which is the envy of modern Africa. But Brazil has another face. It is a face which bears the pockmarks of poverty, brought about by social economic imbalance, lack of education and employment. Olinda represents a microcosm of the problems of Brazil, the most fundamental of which is the all pervading violence of the misuse of narcotics and the associated gun crime of the drug scene. In the circumstances that prevail in modern Brazil, a charitable Foundation cannot justify itself by merely and exclusively restoring architectural heritage. It has to do much more. It has to offer a future for young people, and this means providing opportunities. These opportunities necessitate providing education, particularly in information technology, social skills, in foreign languages, and in maintaining the skills base of craftsmen, that the students may become the teachers. We do not have a blueprint for establishing the work of a charitable foundation in Brazil. We can merely exchange with you our experiences as we have progressed along this long and winding road. Clearly there is a fundamental need to come to grips with the social conditions and the administrative and legal requirements

126 Michael R. Carrington/ The Maria Nobrega Foundation Origins Co-funding and Co-management

Recife on the skyline of Olinda

that prevail. The lawyers make sure we abide by the rules, our Trustees ensure we are kept abreast of social change, and the Priests offer their blessings and support. None of this is enough. There are three other bodies who are critical to our progress. The first is the local community, which needs to be made to feel part of a project; it is after all their community in which we work. The second is the Municipality of Olinda which is responsible for the social conditions in which their people live. The third is the guardians of the churches on which our projects are based. There is however a further agency to which we owe a debt of gratitude for their support and guidance through the maze of beaurocracy. That is The Brazilian Institute of Historical Patrimony and Arts (IPHAN), represented here today by its’ National Director and Regional Director for the NorthEast of Brazil, Mr Freddie de Almeida. We owe him our thanks for his patience, wisdom and support. So how do we start a project? The foundation stone is reaching agreement with The Vatican, The Archbishop of Recife and Olinda and the Religious Order concerned, that we are a fit body to be entrusted with the restoration and sustainable regeneration of an ancient monument. In the case of The Order of Franciscans and Convento Sao Francisco in Olinda, achieving a Joint Venture Agreement took some two and a half years. There is a natural reticence to enter such agreements until the participants have established mutual respect and

127 Michael R. Carrington/ The Maria Nobrega Foundation Origins Co-funding and Co-management

understanding and particularly trust. Convincing religious orders that part of their building is redundant and has to be put to some form of income generation is not an easy task. It takes time and patience. The custodians of a monastery, which has survived 300 years of crises, see no need to rush into hasty decisions. It can be a case of fiddling while Rome burns. The next phase is the development of a Master Plan for the restoration and sustainable regeneration of the building. These plans which are costly, are drawn up in great detail by selected agencies and encompass site surveys, electrical, sanitation, and architectural restoration, the restoration of antiquities and works of art and importantly make recommendations for the sustainable future use of the building. For example, the creation of craftsman schools, the establishment of income producing tourist shops, cafeterias, conference facilities and art galleries. You will hear later during the Symposium from the Centro de Estodos Avancados de Conservacao Integrada, which has completed one such Master Plan on our behalf. Master Plans, which are widely recognised as an essential tool in architectural restoration, are somewhat new in Brazil. The Recommendations of the Master Plan need the agreement of the Religious Order and subsequently the agreement of IPHAN, before they may be implemented. Ultimately they provide a costed Programme of Works from which The Foundation

128 Michael R. Carrington/ The Maria Nobrega Foundation Origins Co-funding and Co-management

View from Igreja de São João Batista dos Militares on the Igreja da NS do Amparo

can justify raising the necessary funding from philanthropic and commercial organisations. There follows the selection of the contractors and craftsmen to implement the project. We are fortunate to work in association with HRH The Prince of Wales International Network for Traditional Building, Architecture and Urbanism. This body brings together the resources and experience of the foremost experts in the world in architectural restoration. We have at our disposal and unparalleled source of expertise. I have left the last and most crucial element to the end. Finance. The Founding Trustees of a charitable trust such as The Maria Nobrega Foundation must be prepared initially to fund the set up costs from within their own resources. The costs can be significant in time and money. We are to an extent reliant on the good will of our Trustees and in fund raising activities such as ‘Art in the Park’ an event sponsored by The Foundation in 2005, in Central Park, New York, to celebrate the Gates Project by the French artist Christo. An ‘Olinda Week’ is being sponsored by HE The Brazilian Ambassador in Washington DC in November this year.

129 Michael R. Carrington/ The Maria Nobrega Foundation Origins Co-funding and Co-management

Igreja de São João Batista dos Militares

The body to which we owe much is The World Monuments Fund in New York. The Fund identifies annually the 100 most endangered historic buildings in the world and seeks through its’ philanthropic supporters, funding to prevent the further decay of the worlds architectural treasures. The support of such an august body has provided the Foundation with status and financial resources. We are further indebted to The International American Development Bank in Washington DC for their support. We have raised funds through entering a Pernambuco State competition through the State Fund for Architectural Heritage Restoration (FUNDARPE) and matching the financial award from our own funds. It was in this way that the Master Plan was funded, for the restoration of one of the few churches in Olinda which survived the fire started by the Dutch in 1631, Sao Joao Batista dos Militares. We selected Sao Joao as our first project for two principal reasons. Firstly the church is relatively small and is not actively used as a place of worship. Secondly the building adjoins the poorest of the favelas in Olinda, and acts as a focal gathering point for the local community. We took the view that a small project carried out to the highest standards would become a flagship benchmark for the work of The Foundation in Olinda. It is our intention to establish a centre of excellence in the restored church, to teach IT, the English language and social skills. The funding for the restoration has been provided by the National

130 Michael R. Carrington/ The Maria Nobrega Foundation Origins Co-funding and Co-management

Igreja de São João Batista dos Militares, interior

Heritage Fund of Brazil and work is scheduled to start in April 2007. Brazil operates a fiscal tax rebate scheme, which provides for major commercial organisations to make and indeed in some cases to be required to, to provide financial support from gross profits to social, environmental and heritage projects. The scheme known as ‘Lei Rouanet’ fits perfectly with our modus operandi of providing Master Plans. It is likely that our next project, the restoration and sustainable restoration of the Monastery of Sao Francisco, will be funded through this scheme. The Master Plan, which was funded by The American Express Foundation, through The World Monuments Fund, is now complete and its’ recommendations agreed by The Order of Franciscans. It is at this stage that we call upon the expertise of IPHAN to advise and agree the restoration plan. Convento Sao Francisco is the oldest Franciscan convent in Brazil. Construction started in 1585, partially destroyed by the Dutch, it was rebuilt in the second half of the 17th century. Restoration of this massive complex is a major undertaking and will probably take some 5 years to complete. We anticipate commencing restoration works next year. The task of restoration and regeneration in Olinda is endless. We are constantly requested to take responsibility for projects, many of which are of immediate concern. Our difficulties are twofold; firstly to avoid the local pressures to carry out emergency repairs, which properly fall within the mandate of The Ministry of

131 Michael R. Carrington/ The Maria Nobrega Foundation Origins Co-funding and Co-management

Igreja de São João Batista dos Militares, interior

Culture, The Municipality of Olinda or a Religious Order and secondly to raise the necessary funding to proceed with our work according to a carefully researched programme. There has however been a notable change in the availability of Central Government funds this year, with the nomination of Olinda as Brazil’s Capital of Culture for 2006. In conclusion, we believe that on this journey of a thousand miles, that we have taken the first step.

132 Michael R. Carrington/ The Maria Nobrega Foundation Origins Co-funding and Co-management

133

134

World Heritage Site Olinda in Brazil Paul Meurs and Leo G.W. Verhoef (Eds.) IOS Press, 2006 © 2006 The authors and IOS Press. All rights reserved.

Management and Conservation of the Historic Site of Olinda: 1938 - 2006 Sílvio Mendes Zancheti and Vera Milet Center for Advanced Studies on Integrated Conservation, Recife (CECI) and the Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife (UFPE)

1. Objectives and problem The objectives of this paper are to describe the historical course of the conservation system for the heritage of the historic site (HS) of Olinda, and to identify the impacts of the system on the occupation of the soil and on the architecture of the site. The period of covered by this analysis, 1938 to 2006, embraces the full development process for the protection of the heritage of the city of Olinda. The case of Olinda shows that, despite the growing importance of the conservation of the built heritage, the procedures for functional re-use, for drawing up projects, for the deployment of techniques and building materials and the establishment of conditions for maintenance do not necessarily point to better conservation of the HS. This oscillation can be attributed to the inconstancy of the planning and management of urban conservation and, especially, to the lack of long-term strategic development guidance. The importance of the heritage of the HS of Olinda is also expressed in the increasing value of its properties. The HS forms the main economic activity of the municipality and therefore attracts the initiatives of economic agents who adjust their actions to the environmental and building conditions of the site, to the system of regulation and to the opportunities created by the local economic environment. The regulatory system, or the public management of urban conservation, constitutes the adjustment factor between increasing the

135 Silvio Mendes Zancheti & Vera Milet/ Management and Conservation of the Historic Site of Olinda

Figure 1. Map attributed to ‘anonymous, represents the potential for growth, though it is not reliable as to urbanistic’ density.

Source: Reis Filho, 2001 Fig.1 Map Olinda, 1630

Fig.2 Olinda and Recife

value of the site and the quality of its conservation. The analysis of the conservation process of the historic site (HS) of Olinda was conducted according to a historical-analytical scheme, which deals with the context of developing the HS, its management system and the impacts on the built heritage. The periods analyzed were: 1938 to 1968, 1969 to 1988, 1989 to 1996 and 1997 to 2006.

2. The occupation of the city and the historic site Throughout the first two centuries of colonization, Olinda was one of the most significant urban hubs of the Portuguese Colonial Empire. At the morphological level this corresponds, to the process of occupation implemented by the Portuguese in the Northeast of Brazil from the 16th century onwards. This followed the criteria of the policy for urbanization of the Portuguese metropolis, whatever they might be: topography that would facilitate the defence and control of the routes of communication, proximity of a natural harbour, supply of drinkable water, good climate and favourable winds (Reis Filho, 1969: 122 -127). In Olinda, the landscape aspects were associated with urbanistic criteria and the proximity of a natural harbour, and this motivated the Hereditary Captain, titled donatário, Duarte Coelho Pereira to set up the centre for the Captaincy of Pernambuco in this place.

136 Silvio Mendes Zancheti & Vera Milet/ Management and Conservation of the Historic Site of Olinda

Figure 2. Olinda and Recife by Claes Janszoon Vissher Mauritiem Museum.

Source: Reis Filho, 2001

The Portuguese King’s Deeds for Olinda, of 1537, roughly fixed the boundaries of the occupation of the ground of the town: 1) dwellings on the hills, 2) commerce in the places where the harbour was, the area where craft beached (called the varadouro), the factors´ premises, the treasury, and the store-houses; 3) fields to supply food and 4) areas of common use such as meadows, beaches, and springs (Oliveira, 1996). The Map of 1630 (Figure 1), records the morphology and the urban layout, with buildings facing the street, deep square-shaped courtyards, and patios to which the churches and rows of houses flowed. Figure 2 shows the privileged location of the site of Olinda with its harbour, its unequal growth, with scattered buildings, and its buildings stretching out towards the sea. It also records the special location of the sacred places, and the landscape aspects, in which buildings have been added to the beauty of nature. The Dutch invasion of 1630 meant that Olinda´s development faltered. In 1631, it was set on fire and everything that could be of use and could be transported to Recife was removed from it. Until then Recife was the main outward distribution point of sugar production, which was rose to become the seat of the Dutch dominion. When the Dutch were expelled in 1654, Olinda re-assumed its role as the political and administrative seat of local government, although it would never regain its

137 Silvio Mendes Zancheti & Vera Milet/ Management and Conservation of the Historic Site of Olinda

economic importance. Towards the end of the 19th century, the setting up of a degree course in law in the city led to a small cultural re-flourishing and it is also from this period that the introduction of the process of renovating the facades dates, as does the construction of neo-classical buildings and those that form an eclectic mix. In the early years of the 20th century, there was a small urban expansion due to bathing in the sea becoming fashionable. The construction of an avenue close to the shore dates from this period as does the occupation of the stretch of beach bordering the historic hills. Today, the old colonial centre is inserted in a region that looks to Recife as the main centre, and in spite of the initiatives for protecting its cultural heritage, Olinda is engaged in an intense process of urbanistic and architectonic transformation.

3. The planning and architecture of the historic site 3.1. 1938 – 1968: The preservation of monuments In this period, Olinda´s development was shaped by the stagnation of the economy and low demographic growth. The city of Olinda stood out as an urban reliquary of national culture and performed the role of a dormitory town for Recife, the region’s dynamic business centre. Up to the 1960s, Olinda suffered the consequences of losing its function as a political (1827), administrative and cultural seat of local government. The simple

138 Silvio Mendes Zancheti & Vera Milet/ Management and Conservation of the Historic Site of Olinda

fact of the seat of the municipality having been maintained for one hundred and fifty years, but not at the centre of the axes of communication, was one of the factors responsible for the absence of economic growth and urbanistic transformations. The difficulties of gaining access to the neighbouring city of Recife allowed the maintenance of the urbanistic structure, the architectonic typologies and the ambience of the landscape, despite the process of material degradation of the buildings or the few modernization activities which took place in it. In reality, the old colonial nucleus remained almost untouched, besieged by mangrove swamps and rural properties. In Brazil the formulation of policies on protection of the heritage began in 1937 with the creation of the Service for the Protection of the Historical and National Environment (SPHAN in Portuguese), currently known as IPHAN. The preservation policy at that time was distinguished by surveying, identifying and recording part of the nation’s architectonic and urbanistic stock, besides restoration work being carried out on listed buildings in a precarious state of conservation. This is the ‘heroic phase’ was identified with the notion of protecting the exceptional listed building and its surroundings. In Olinda, IPHAN listed eight religious buildings and two residences as representative elements of Colonial Brazil’s architecture, and, in 1968, it listed the Historic Site of Olinda (Milet, 1995). The significance of the historical importance and of the preservation of Olinda was a constant among intellectuals linked to modernist theory.

139 Silvio Mendes Zancheti & Vera Milet/ Management and Conservation of the Historic Site of Olinda

The control and conservation of the urban heritage were restricted to the actions of IPHAN, and targeted restoration of churches and convents. It is from this period that the restoration of the churches of Misericórdia, of São João, of Santo Antônio and of Carmo dates. The construction was regulated by the municipality’s bye-laws (code of behaviour) and new buildings followed the styles of eclectic mix, the neo-colonial or modernism. The permanence of the urban morphology and of the architectonic types resulted from the absence of economic development. 3.2. 1969 – 1988: Municipal policy for preservation In the late 1960s the context was distinguished by urban expansion and the extension of the infrastructure of roads. These facts set the conditions for old centres close to the great metropolises to begin a process of urbanization in the direction of the great metropolises. In Olinda´s case, industrial urban growth, centred on Recife, the regional capital, led to the integration of roads with the historic city of Olinda. At the time, SPHAN, which had little experience in tackling the urban issues and only possessed legislation of a punitive kind and a centralizing bureaucratic structure, perceived the need to protect the old colonial centres. Therefore it turned to UNESCO. The result was the formulation of principles which sought to integrate heritage policy with urban and development policy. In 1973, the

140 Silvio Mendes Zancheti & Vera Milet/ Management and Conservation of the Historic Site of Olinda

Federal Government implemented the Program for Historical Cities of the Northeast, the objective of which was to sow the seeds for the generation of income by increasing the flow of tourists and the infra-structure needed for this: restoration of the heritage, the network of roads and hotels. In this process, Michel Parent, the UNESCO consultant, proposed a protection strategy which would link up urban and economic development. He recommended that the historic hill be classified, basic infrastructure be created to capture a flow of tourists, and an urbanistic plan be drawn up which would ensure the preservation of the historical hill. In 1968, SPHAN listed the Historic Site of Olinda and prompted the formulation of the Local Integrated Master plan for Olinda (PDLI, 1973). Consequently, in Brazil the municipality of Olinda, pioneered the approval of legislation which, in parallel with conceiving urban growth, defined and protected the cultural heritage. This legislation also signalled the start of the municipal authorities taking part in the control of the built heritage. In Law nº 3926/73 the Historic Centre of Olinda was conceived as a sector of the city distinct from the other sectors on account of its heritage attributes, and of its having the functions of administrative, tourist and residential centre. The boundaries of the sector were set by a ring road and zones were established hierarchically according to the density of the listed buildings and how the landscapes were framed. Urbanistic indices were also defined for new buildings,

141 Silvio Mendes Zancheti & Vera Milet/ Management and Conservation of the Historic Site of Olinda

bye-laws for restoration and reform, and recommendations for preservation with regard to colour, proportions, scale and volume. Between 1979 and 1982, the municipal management sought the symbolical recuperation of the Historic Centre of Olinda, based on identifying the cultural heritage with the urban site, with the exceptional listed buildings and with customs and business. Actions were undertaken with a view to drawing up heritage awareness-raising exercises, to publicizing the heritage of Olinda and to building up national and international visibility. As a result, in 1980 Olinda received the title of National Heritage City and, in 1982 was included in the list of World Heritage Cities. In the national scenario, the municipal management of Olinda gained prominence when it created the System for Preserving the Historic Sites of Olinda, based on three instruments: the Council for Preservation, the authority for institutional policy; the Centre for Preserving Historical Sites Foundation (hereinafter called the Foundation), the technical body for supporting and carrying out the recommendations of the Council; and the Fund for Preservation, responsible for seeking and securing resources and making the financial side of the Foundation viable. There was also the municipal judicial instrument for listed buildings. The activities of the Foundation took in inspections and urban control, documentation, research and planning, restoration of the housing stock, and the conduct of projects for urbanization and landscaping. It also acted by identifying

142 Silvio Mendes Zancheti & Vera Milet/ Management and Conservation of the Historic Site of Olinda

and promoting culture, and pioneered the documentation of non-material culture, with Carnival being the experience singled out. The year of 1987 can be considered as a watershed in the municipal policy for protection. Alongside the growing shortage of federal and municipal funds, the residents of the Historic Centre took up a stand. Having organized themselves into an association, the Olinda Society for the Defence of the High City (SODECA in Portuguese), they considered that the implementation of heritage policy meant a loss in their quality of life. The criticism made was to argue about the existing dysfunctions between the flow of vehicles, the new urban uses and the urban fabric, made up of narrow streets, patios and steep slopes. Conflicts which, in 1987, they took to the Federal Courts so as to determine the control of access by vehicles to the Historic Site of Olinda. It fell to the Foundation to give more depth to its role in urbanistic regulation, and to promote the Law with a view to making the conflict between residential and tourist activities compatible. This was done by Law 4849 of 1992. The municipal management sought to follow the bye-laws for integrated conservation by acting on the following fronts: • Inventory, classification and listing of buildings; • Control of how the land was divided into lots and restriction on the modernization of buildings; • Restoration of civic listed and unlisted buildings;

143 Silvio Mendes Zancheti & Vera Milet/ Management and Conservation of the Historic Site of Olinda

Source FUNDARPE and Marina Campelo

Fig. 3 Alto da Sé before restoration, 1972

•

• •

•

Fig. 4 Alto da Sé after restoration, 2005

Conservation of run-down residential buildings, carried out by means of the Pilot Project for Olinda, the priority of which was to operate on the dilapidated homes of low-income families (Bosi V. 1986); Carrying out projects for public spaces, paving of streets, building carparks and urbanizing the hills; Compulsory purchase of buildings to set up public facilities (cine Olinda, cine Duarte Coelho, the former Compôte Factory, the former head office of Machambomba); Encouraging festive activities and setting up leisure activities, festivals and street-markets targeting the capture of the flow of tourists.

This set of actions accentuated the demand for the historic site as a place to live and as a tourist spot, leading to three types of impact. The first of these arose from the restorations, based on the stylistic current, inaugurated by Viollet-le-Duc, especially that of the Church São Salvador do Mundo, and led to protests by the city’s residents, who understood that there had been a loss of the symbolic and listed building value which had historically adhered to the building (Figure 3 and 4). The second type arose from the entry of two new social actors, who acted both to encourage conservation and to transform the morphological and typological features of the site.

144 Silvio Mendes Zancheti & Vera Milet/ Management and Conservation of the Historic Site of Olinda

Fig. 5 Residence at the San Fran

ncis Hill

Figure 5 Residence at the San Francis Hill (circa 1980). The intervention searches for integration with the other buildings in the hill, but the tentative was not very successful. The building is on the site formerly occupied by two old houses and interrupts the rhythm of the facades.

Figure 6 and 7 The new annex to the Benedictines Nuns Monastery. A very good example of the new architecture in the traditional urban fabric. Fig. 6

Fig. 7

There were also some cases of the introduction of the new architecture into the old urban scenarios. (Figure 5, 6 and 7) The first group of actors, consisting of professional people, identified the historic site as a place for a bucolic life, and for good and friendly neighbourliness. This group intervened in the buildings, seeking continuity of the values of the historical site (Figure 8 and 9), and introduced elements of new architectural values such as: a ground-floor level with a free floor plan, taking advantage of the large ceiling height feet in order to put in a mezzanine floor, putting a terrace on the top floor, and the use of concrete, actions which led to the increase of the built area (Figure 10 and 11). The second group, made up of art dealers and activities linked to tourism or night life, argued for the partial substitution of the traditional population, of the residential use and of the habits and customs of the “dormitory town”. Bars, restaurants, and antique shops began to occupy streets and squares. Thus began the concept of constructing the idea that “Olinda is party-time”. The third impact arises from the occupation of the hills and wetlands around the historic site by poor people or those with no income. The first areas occupied were the slope in front of the Church of Misericórdia and the slope of the Alto da Sé, and some time later, the peripheral areas characterized by having mangroves.

145 Silvio Mendes Zancheti & Vera Milet/ Management and Conservation of the Historic Site of Olinda

Fig. 8, 9 The maintenance of traditional architectrual values

3.3. 1989 – 1996: The Dismantling of the System for Preservation This period is characterized by the weakening of the System for Preservation, and by the reduction in the amount of public investments. This is the moment when the interests of the actors were ruptured, which should have led to the need for a project to manage the conflicts being shaped. Instead, the slow dismantling of the System for Protection occurred because of the restrictions on what was attributed to the Foundation and because of the growing inability of that body to ensure the maintenance of the morphological, aesthetic and landscape characteristics of the colonial centre. Private interests and those of groups of politicians tended to prevail over technical decisions. At that time, the attributions of the Foundation were restricted, owing to the creation of the municipal secretariats of culture and tourism. In 1995, the Foundation was replaced by the Secretariat for the Cultural Heritage, which began to give special favour to the promotion of special events. Activities targeted on planning were brought to an end and the ineffectiveness of urbanistic control over the historical site deepened. The most relevant impact at this time was the continuous weakening of the System for Preservation and its inability to manage the urbanistic bye-laws for zoning and construction indices, or even to monitor the valuation of the historic site. The main characteristics of the transformations during this period were:

146 Silvio Mendes Zancheti & Vera Milet/ Management and Conservation of the Historic Site of Olinda

Fig. 10, 11 The change to modern architectural values.

•

• •

Consolidation of the irregular occupation of public spaces, notably squares and vantage points set aside for panoramic views, and the construction of extensions in backyards. Consolidation of the new architectonic type with an increase in the rate of occupation by means of taking advantage of the height of ceilings. Introduction of new roofing materials (aluminium or fibre-cement roofing).

3.4. 1997 – 2006: The master plans, urban projects and the incentive to culture The first half of the 1990s was the final period of the system for preservation of the HS. The end of the Fund for Preservation caused conservation actions to begin to depend on funding from the municipality itself. This situation was changed with the rise, at the federal level, of the Rouanet Law and of the MONUMENTA and PRODETUR programs which brought resources to large-scale projects on the historic site (Zancheti, 2006). When the new Master plan was drawn up in 1995, the municipality made a special effort to re-construct the city’s planning system. This Plan also included the recommendation for the re-urbanization of the land occupied, based on zones of intervention (Olinda, 1997). The HS was identified as a zone of cautious urbanization in which would be carried out: the revision of the preservation parameters, the setting up of facilities, an improvement in the urban infrastructure

147 Silvio Mendes Zancheti & Vera Milet/ Management and Conservation of the Historic Site of Olinda

and the re-qualification of public spaces. This Master plan was vague, both on the patterns of occupation of the ground (rates of occupation and the coefficient of use) and on the norms of improving and reforming the existing constructions. A new Master plan, drawn up in 2004, presented the proposal of re-designing the occupation of the municipal territory and introduced urbanistic instruments to bring the change into effect. The core of the plan was to give high value to the road grid, at the centre of the municipality, as an area set aside for the concentration of economic activities. It emphasizes the historic site as a Special Zone for Protection of the Cultural Heritage and maintains Law 4849, of 1992, which regulated the use of the soil. The HS became an area where the following urbanistic instruments can be applied: compulsory use, the progressive tax and compulsory purchase using public debt bonds on abandoned, dilapidated or under-used properties (Olinda, 2004). In 1997, Olinda was included in the Monumenta, a program financed by the Bank for Inter-American Development and managed by the Ministry of Culture. The Monumenta was structured to finance integrated projects for revitalization; one of the strategic lines of the program was the economic, cultural and social use of the projects chosen. This line acknowledges that, with the coming to an end of the intervention projects, the maintenance of the works would be carried out without additional funds being brought in. The idea is to generate a flow of public and private receipts for the services rendered for the use of the urban

148 Silvio Mendes Zancheti & Vera Milet/ Management and Conservation of the Historic Site of Olinda

heritage. In the historic site of Olinda, up to 2005, five interventions on listed buildings and several interventions in public spaces had been carried out using MONUMENTA funds. For 2006 what has been earmarked is the creation of a training centre for construction craftsmen and the rehabilitation of private properties and squares. In the PRODETUR Program, which is managed by the State of Pernambuco, five projects were chosen: drawing up the heritage interpretative project; the rehabilitation of the public market; the Centre for Popular Culture; the rehabilitation of the square of the Alto da Sé, of Av. Olinda and the Largo do Varadouro. The Alto da Sé project, the area where the city was founded and its main point of attraction for tourists, aims to rehabilitate the urban space of the area, to build a panoramic viewing spot on the top of the city’s water-tower and to create a market to offer facilities to craftsmen who today occupy public spaces (Figure 4). The law encouraging culture, the Rouanet Law, has been used to revitalize the historic site of Olinda ever since it came into force and more recently by the instrument of mecenato (Patronage Statute) as, in the case of the underground lighting of the Varadouro. By means of this, cultural producers develop and approve cultural projects and seek private companies who pass on part of the income tax due in order to carry out this project. This mechanism is today one

149 Silvio Mendes Zancheti & Vera Milet/ Management and Conservation of the Historic Site of Olinda

Fig. 12

of the most important sources of finance for projects on the historical site. Its success is centred on the coalitions of actors who bring together companies promoting culture, large companies with cultural programs, politicians and administrators, and non-governmental organizations. The growing volume of cultural projects is creating management problems on the historical site1. These projects are drawn up by private entities, without any participation of the public managers of conservation, and their being carried out is therefore likely to create distortions in the functioning of the historical site. (Zancheti, 2006). Nevertheless, under pressure because of the scarcity of resources, the municipality has felt itself forced to accept such projects, for they represent resources additional to its reduced budget. The focus of the Secretariat for the Heritage of Olinda has recently become to draw up projects that aim to seek and secure external resources, according to the opportunities which present themselves at any given moment whether these be the cultural incentive laws or the special programs of funding. This adjustment has led the Secretariat to adopt a management position which favours the actions of the cultural producers. This new style of management has had an impact on the occupation of the site. The absence of a system of management conservation, and of a master plan for protection has caused the municipality to begin to act without a sense of strategy. The only things that are carried out are works arising from federal

150 Silvio Mendes Zancheti & Vera Milet/ Management and Conservation of the Historic Site of Olinda

Figure 12 and 13 Spoiling the urban landscape, by irregular occupation, and the introduction of new roofing materials and the densification of putting land into lots.

Fig. 13

programs and the ad hoc solution of problems and this has a strong repercussion on public opinion. The first great impact of the new type of management was the indiscriminate occupation of green areas of great landscape and environmental interest inside the HS or which surround it. Despite legal protection, the mangroves to the south, the hills to the west and those of the HS, mainly the slopes of the hills, have begun to be the object of invasion and occupation, for the purposes of building and expanding residences for low- and medium-income social groups (Figure 12 and 13). In the case of the free spaces within the HS, an expansion has occurred of the area built up as a result of extensions into the backyards of private properties, for the purposes of occupation by other members of the family. The intense illegal occupation of the free spaces of the HS, no doubt, is in part explained by the relaxation of urbanistic control, which recognized the restrictive unreality of the parameters of urban control, laid down in the Law and Use of the Soil of 1992, and which were not capable of expressing the progressive urban increases in valuations of the HS relative to the city as a whole. A third impact was the intense modification of the backyards and interiors of the residential buildings to adapt them to trading for tourists and services,

151 Silvio Mendes Zancheti & Vera Milet/ Management and Conservation of the Historic Site of Olinda

Fig. 14

Fig. 15

especially, bars, restaurants and guest-houses. The owners sought to extend their properties, using various options for this: • Acquisition of adjoining properties, extending the properties by means of modifying the architectonic arrangements in the interior space; • Consolidation of the occupation of the backyards to extend the residence or construction of extensions for the extended family; • Increasing the areas of rooms which give direct access to the streets by creating spaces for displaying products and waiting rooms for customers; • Spread of the standard practice of using aluminium roofing in the periphery and introduction of this material in the most restricted zone. In the case of buildings of mixed residential/service use, of guest-houses and restaurants, these modifications prompt the enlargement of the residential space at the front, and resulted in the occupation of free spaces, previously occupied by back-yards and gardens (Figure 14 and 15). The impacts of the revitalization projects on the public spaces also deserve special mention. The support given by the Monumenta programs and those in Prodetur, to the principles of economic sustainability, began to favour the conceptions of design which strongly appealed to the urban design fashion of the moment. Their main target was to be well received in the market that attracted tourists. Nevertheless, this fails to consider the elements pertinent to proposals

152 Silvio Mendes Zancheti & Vera Milet/ Management and Conservation of the Historic Site of Olinda

Figure 14 and 15. The images demonstrate the changes made, from 1984 to 2000, to the tilt of the roofing, to the rooms and in almost completely occupying the backyard. Residence and restaurant. Sources: Olinda heritage Inventories of 1984 and 2000.

for spaces of cultural and environmental interest, the quality of materials and, especially, how works are carried out.

4. Conclusion The framework set out and summarized in the table below demonstrates the complexity of managing conservation of historic sites in situations affected by the shortage of financial and human resources and policy and administrative discontinuity. From the Table below we can see that the actions of the protection body begin within the context of identifying and recording the buildings which are representative of the national memory. The activities of the federal protection institution were limited to conserving and restoring listed religious buildings. During the second period, 1968-1988, actions are situated in the context of a centralizing federal policy, with an abundance of resources, and characterized by the efforts to integrate protection with heritage, with economic development and urban development. In this context, the federal authorities simultaneously set the bases on which the three spheres of government share actions, and from which emerge the municipal policy for protection. The municipal management distinguished itself by formulating a policy for promoting and giving value to the material heritage. The third period, against a background of absolute shortage of resources, was

153 Silvio Mendes Zancheti & Vera Milet/ Management and Conservation of the Historic Site of Olinda

characterized by all three spheres of government abandoning protection of the urbanistic and architectonic heritage, formulating a policy for producing events and the growing abandonment of urbanistic control. Lastly, what can be seen is the emergence of and consolidation of new actors and social values that are up-to-date with the formulation of a policy targeting the non-material heritage. In this context, the municipal management has omitted its role as the promoter of a policy regarding the material heritage and above all, of fostering awareness-raising about the heritage.

Table – Summary of the management periods 1938-1967

1968-1988

1988-1996

1996-2006

154 Silvio Mendes Zancheti & Vera Milet/ Management and Conservation of the Historic Site of Olinda

Protection policy Urbanistic impact Impact on architecture on the lot

Federal listing of the HS of Olinda. Master plan. Municipal Law nº 3926/73 Creation of the System for Preservation Program Historic Cities of the Northeast. Inventory. Implementation of urbanistic control.

IPHAN created Listing of historic buildings.

Permanence of the 17th century town plan.. Lots with modern patterns.

Restoration and conservation works. Introduction of neo-colonial and modernist buildings.

Extinction of FCPSHO SEPAC created. Promotion of events.. Absence of monitoring the values of the historic site. Ineffectiveness of urban control

Law Rouanet Monumenta Prodetur Dismantling the System for Preservation. Ineffectiveness of the urban control. Promotion of Events Council for Cultural Policies.

Informal occupation of the residual areas of the HS: hills and mangroves covered areas.

Informal occupation of the public spaces. Occupation of the mangroves covered areas Occupation of the hills.

Rehabilitation of public spaces Removal of the vegetation of mangroves because of irregular occupation. Destruction of vegetation in the backyards, of the topography of the Hill areas densification of irregular occupation.

Restoration of religious historic buildings. New type: vão livre on the ground floor, mezzanine and terrace. Increase in the rate

Greater control over the adaptation of properties. Introduction of an increase in the built area and the rate of occupation by means of building extensions. Increase in the rate of occupation of land and the index of full use. Introduction of the use of new materials: fibrecement or aluminium roofing

Spread of the increase in the rate of occupation and of the height of the buildings. New architectonic types. Guest-houses provoke re-division of lots and linking up of previously residential properties. Spread of the use of new materials: fibrecement or aluminium roofing.

155 Silvio Mendes Zancheti & Vera Milet/ Management and Conservation of the Historic Site of Olinda

The municipal management has governed itself by following the notion of opportunity, it being obvious that what is lacking is a forward-looking vision and strategic planning. The works carried out by the municipality with resources from the Monumenta Program did not result from priorities established by the planning system, and did not follow a value hierarchy. Even works that were carried out from the sustainability point of view, as in the case of the Car Park of the Largo da Conceição, have not yet been put out to tender for want of economic viability. Currently the municipal management has come up against a conflict between interests linked to cultural heritage and “live culture”. The idea that is circulating is that it is up to the State to foster and prompt companies and creative people so that the market can be broadened and realize its potential, not only in terms of self-sustainability, but also in social gains with regard to employment, income, and inclusion on account of the consumption of cultural goods (MINC, 2006) The priority of management has been to format the Council for Cultural Policies and the urgent and necessary review of the System for Preservation awaits a favourable policy decision. To sum up, it can be seen clearly that, in practice, there has been renewal in the city, which means it is capable of investment and internal savings. This has been achieved without urban regulation, and without there being access to official modes of private investment funding. Although the transformations are easy to

156 Silvio Mendes Zancheti & Vera Milet/ Management and Conservation of the Historic Site of Olinda

prove, there is no monitoring of the values of the historic site of Olinda, which has been transforming itself by means of destroying interiors, changes in the volumetric characteristics, roofing materials, or moreover by the addition and occupation or the occupation and destruction of environmental and landscape values. The degree of transformation is high as is the degree of compromising values and quality which are currently being adjusted downwards, so extending the loss of the qualities of the HS, although there has been an increase in the market value of the buildings situated in the zone of the most rigorous preservation.

5. References Bosi V., 1986, Núcleos históricos: recuperação e revitalização, a experiência de Olinda. Revista do Patrimônio, n. 21, pp.134 – 146. Prefeitura Municipal de Olinda, Lei municipal nº. 4849/92. Olinda Prefeitura Municipal, 1973, Plano Diretor Local Integrado de Olinda. Olinda: Prefeitura Municipal. ______, 1997, Olinda, cidade patrimônio mundial: Plano Diretor de Olinda – Versão Preliminar. Olinda: Prefeitura Municipal. ______, Secretaria de Planejamento, Transporte e Meio Ambiente, 2004, Plano Diretor do Município de Olinda: 2004. Olinda: Fundação de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento da UFPE e Centro de Estudos Avançados da Conservação Integrada.

157 Silvio Mendes Zancheti & Vera Milet/ Management and Conservation of the Historic Site of Olinda

Oliveira V.A. Oliveira, V. M. A. de. O Projeto Foral de Olinda, Relatório Final. Olinda, Prefeitura de Olinda, 1966. Milet V., 1988, A experiência de gestão e proteção ao Sítio Histórico de Olinda: In: Zancheti S., Marinho G., Milet V. Estratégias de Intervenções em Áreas Históricas, Recife, MDU/ UFPE - PNUD, 1995. Novaes F. 1990, Olinda: evolução urbana. Recife: Fundarpe e Cepe. Oliveira V. M. A., 1996, O Projeto Foral de Olinda: Relatório Final. Olinda: Prefeitura Municipal de Olinda. Reis Filho, N. G., 2001, Imagens de Vilas e Cidades do Brasil Colonial. São Paulo, EDUSP e Imprensa Oficial. ______, 1969, Evolução Urbana no Brasil. São Paulo, EDUSP, p. 122 a 127. Zancheti S. M., 2006, O financiamento da revitalização dos centros históricos de Olinda e Recife: 1979 – 2005. Olinda:CECI, unpublished. Websites Programa de Desenvolvimento do Turismo do Nordeste do Brasil - (Program for the Development of Tourism in the Northeast of Brazil) http://www.bnb.gov.br/content/aplicacao/PRODETUR/Visao/gerados/prodetur_visao_ geral.asp (Accessed on 7 January 2006, at 12:22) Programa Monumenta - (Monumenta Program) http://.monumenta.gov.br/monumenta.php (Accessed on 7 January, at 12:24)

158 Silvio Mendes Zancheti & Vera Milet/ Management and Conservation of the Historic Site of Olinda

Notes 1

The data on the volume of projects approved by the Rouanet Law, for Olinda, are

unknown. The coordinator of the Representation of the Ministry of Culture in the Northeast declared, in an interview, that the information system on the Rouanet Law projects still does not permit totaling by municipalities. On the other hand, the Municipal Town Hall of Olinda does not collect this information either, despite the great Importance of the projects for the management of the revitalization of the historic site (Zancheti, 2006).

159 Silvio Mendes Zancheti & Vera Milet/ Management and Conservation of the Historic Site of Olinda

160

World Heritage Site Olinda in Brazil Paul Meurs and Leo G.W. Verhoef (Eds.) IOS Press, 2006 © 2006 The authors and IOS Press. All rights reserved.

The Masterplan for the Franciscan Complex, Olinda, Brazil Prof.Fernando Diniz Moreira Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife

This text summarizes the methodology and the results of the recently completed Master Plan for the Franciscan Monastery of Nossa Senhora das Neves em Olinda, Brazil1. This monastery has been chosen for a grant from American Express® through the World Monuments Fund® Watch Program, as part of its funding for projects on the 2004 List of the 100 Most Endangered Sites. The study was undertaken by the Center for the Advances Studies of Integrated Conservation (CECI) with the active involvement of the Franciscans and discussed with local heritage officials. The monastery is one the finest examples of Brazilian colonial architecture. It was entered on the national heritage list in 1938), soon after the creation of the National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage (IPHAN). One of the major tourist attractions in Olinda, the complex occupies 3,349 m² of a hilly terrain of 28,190 m², and has the total built area of 6,294 m². Most of the complex belongs to the Franciscan Order, but part of the building belongs to the Franciscan Third Order. The objective of the master plan was to develop a plan for conserving the historic heritage of the Franciscan Monastery, aiming at its sustainability in the long term. Despite the decrease of religious life during the last century, the monastery has been able to maintain its religious activities. Masses take

161 Fernando Diniz Moreira/ The Masterplan for the Franciscan Complex, Olinda, Brazil

place regularly and there is a theological seminary functioning in the building, although it has only six monks residing there. The size of the monastery leads to the need for a large range of works of conservation, which cannot be carried out given the monastery’s current financial reality. The managers of the monastery have been introducing activities, which can generate additional resources, such as renting the monastery for wedding ceremonies and for meetings mounted by public and private companies, but these resources are only sufficient for the most basic maintenance. Although the monastery has spaces of extraordinary artistic beauty, it lacks amenities and facilities, such as air conditioning, storage units and modern kitchens and toilets. The lack of financial resources has been delaying the start of the most complex conservation works such as the restoration of ceramic glazed tiles, paintings and carvings. The first stage of the plan included many steps, which were initiated almost simultaneously. The first step included the identification of existing uses, their limits and potentialities, and the possibility of new ones. The second stage included a topographical and an architectural survey of the monastery, which hitherto had been non-existent. A photographic survey was also carried out, which collected thousands of pictures of the complex. A third step was an in-depth study of the history of the monastery, including research on maps, documents, the monastery’s chronicles and the analysis of the building itself in

162 Fernando Diniz Moreira/ The Masterplan for the Franciscan Complex, Olinda, Brazil

order to identify its construction phases and the history of interventions in the complex. In the next step, the team made an extensive analysis of the major conservation problems of the complex, the risk of losses, their causes and the role in this played by earlier conservation works, thus producing the map of damages and pathologies. Concluding the first stage, the team proceeded-- with the owners, heritage officials, local authorities and invited specialists—to produce the statement of the site’s significance, which explained why the property is significant. This relied on subjective judgments based on clear reasoning. The statement of significance will help to preserve the key significant features, to develop more creative approaches, and to secure funding for maintenance of the building. The second stage of the plan involved the formulation of alternatives, technical directives and specific projects. It included studies for the location of the new building and the rearranging of functions and flows inside the complex. The team also identified the major works of conservation to be carried out and organized a program of works. It also produced technical recommendations directives for each work of conservation. Finally, the team also formulated a management system for the complex. The

163 Fernando Diniz Moreira/ The Masterplan for the Franciscan Complex, Olinda, Brazil

Cloister

Façade of the church

team studied the current management, its financial issues, system of repairs, conflicts between the owners, and conflicts between conservation and economic objectives. The plan adopted long-term goals and indicated what needs to be done to achieve these goals. It also created a system of monitoring and maintenance tasks, since long-term planning is an important part of the successful management of heritage properties.

An example of the Brazilian Franciscan Architecture The Franciscan complex of Olinda is part of a magnificent group of monasteries built by the Franciscans on the coast of Northeast Brazil during the colonial period. The Franciscans showed themselves to be pioneers by adapting elements and functions of the mediaeval monasteries to tropical conditions. Considered as the first manifestation of a legitimately Brazilian architecture, these monasteries were not products of individual creation, but rather arose from a continuous process of additions and reforms which developed in accordance with a particular and clear architectonic conception. The Franciscan complex in Olinda was the first of this group and served as a model for other monasteries. The cloister is one of the major spaces of the complex, as most of the other spaces orbit around it. It is a space for meditation and prayer. Clearly inspired by Renaissance precedents, it is formed by a graceful Tuscan order. Although

164 Fernando Diniz Moreira/ The Masterplan for the Franciscan Complex, Olinda, Brazil

Nave of the Church,choir

Chapel of Sant’Anna

modest and austere, its proportions are delicately balanced. The façade of the church displayed both types of frontispiece adopted in Franciscan Monasteries: the first floor, which corresponds to the narthex (or galilé), recalls the simple and classical one of 16th and 17th century Portuguese traditional architecture. The upper floors display a more monumental composition with the super-positioning of decreasing floors and the presence of small wings, spirals and a frontispiece topped with pinnacles and a cross. The single central nave has a rectangular floor-plan and is located on the righthand side of the cloister. The interior is distinguished by the ornamentation composed of tiled panels and carvings depicting religious scenes. Above the narthex (galilé) and at the beginning of the nave, there is the choir supported on a wooden structure. One of the features of Franciscan churches resides in the inclusion of chapels of the Third Orders, which were very often set perpendicularly in relation to the nave of the churches into which they opened out directly through large openings framed by arches. The ornamental paneling of this chapel is impressive on account of its beauty and harmony of the shapes and designs. The sacristy, located behind the church, is placed transversally and takes up the full width of the central nave. It is one of the most beautiful of those built by the

165 Fernando Diniz Moreira/ The Masterplan for the Franciscan Complex, Olinda, Brazil

Cloister

Open-air terrace

Courtyard

Franciscans, especially because of its tiling and the magnificent paneling made up of octagons and lozenges depicting tropical themes. The block which contains the Chapel of Sant’Anna and the libraries, completed in 1754, was fitted into the complex and this was done with the aim of making it the main entrance. Its physical volume stands out due to its symmetrical composition and its cubic format. Framed by wide stone pillars, the façade is austere and orthogonal. On the ground floor, there is the Chapel of Santa Ana, which has a beautiful tiled panel and finely painted paneling. The block of the monastery’s cells is located close to the street and at the side of the porter’s block. Originally U-shaped, today it is in the form of a square, and this came about when the east wing was built in the mid-18th century. Its corners also feature wide and robust pillars and a robust stone supported base. Another important space in the complex is the open-air terrace, created by placing flagstones as a covering on the cistern. It is one of the spaces most suited for meditation and retreat in the monastery. It is a kind of cloister, with two of its sides opening out to the greenery of the hillside and the blue of the sea and sky, the elements which attest the character of the divine. Another particularity of Franciscan monasteries resides in their urban framework,

166 Fernando Diniz Moreira/ The Masterplan for the Franciscan Complex, Olinda, Brazil

Franciscan Monastery

which features a wide courtyard distinguished by a stone standing cross. Besides providing adequate space for admiring the façade, the courtyard functioned as an element of intermediation between the worldly aspect of the town and the sacred character of the monastery. The Franciscan Complex of Olinda comprises a group of blocks which are internally connected and adapted to the slopes of the site. The building system is the traditional one brought by the Portuguese to the tropics: thick masonry walls with wooden roof structures and ceramic tiles. The Franciscan program was a matrix form with innumerable possible dispositions and combinations. The singularity of this complex resides especially in the way its typological elements were matched to each other and distributed in space.

A history of continuous interventions Some construction phases were identified in the building. The first phase corresponded to the birth of the monastery, with the arrival of the Franciscans in 1585 and its abandonment due to the Dutch invasion in 1630. The site granted for the monastery had a steep slope down to the coast and this would determine its logic of growth by means of extensions, resorting to landfill and to retention walls. In adapting the complex to the accidents of the terrain, a poetic relationship is established with the urban and natural landscape. It is difficult

167 Fernando Diniz Moreira/ The Masterplan for the Franciscan Complex, Olinda, Brazil

to ascertain precisely what was being built when the Dutch arrived, but maps and engravings produced at that time show a modest complex which featured a more horizontal character, spreading out over the terrain. The second phase began with the reconstruction undertaken from 1654, the year the Dutch were expelled, and lasted from then until the end of the 18th century. The friars took advantage of the walls that had not been destroyed and began the reconstruction process. There are signs that part of the constructions which surround the cloister date from prior to 1630, but the tiled panels of the cloister, the last intervention rounding it off, were put on between 1734 and 1745. The church façade acquired its current decoration with the reconstruction works begun in the mid-18th century, with the advance of the upper floors on the narthex. With regard to the sacristy, architectonic elements show that it was concluded around 1660, but it was decorated a few decades later. The porters´ building was built between 1753 and 1754, and it displays great built and decorative unity. The Chapel of the Third Franciscan Order was begun in 1711, but its decorative elements belong to the late 18th century. The current monastery ‘s cell block can be dated as being of the second half of the 18th century, followed shortly thereafter by the building of the cistern and terrace. Therefore, it can be concluded that it was with the reconstruction works carried out between the mid-17th and mid-18th centuries, and with the decoration

168 Fernando Diniz Moreira/ The Masterplan for the Franciscan Complex, Olinda, Brazil

works undertaken by the end of the 18th century, that the monastery, in general outline, took on its definitive shape. A third phase took place after the restrictions imposed on religious orders at the end of the colonial period, which led to a slow process of the monastery declining throughout the 19th century. The monastery was even abandoned for 16 years and it was only after the Republican Government permitted foreign friars to come to Brazil that German friars took over the monastery in 1901. They carried out repairs and internal alterations, and built several extensions. The fourth phase was inaugurated in 1938, when it was registered on the national listing by the IPHAN, thus giving official recognition to the historic and artistic value of the monastery, and the actions, under IPHAN´s direct action or supervision, were directed towards conservation and restoration. The team conducted a survey of all the conservation actions on the monastery and identified a few cycles of works. It is important to stress that this being a complex of such magnitude, the works in one part of the historic buildings had scarcely finished when another part began to need repair. The first emergency works began in the mid-40s and consisted of renovating the structures of the roofing, renovating the plasterwork and painting and repairing the door- and window-frames. A second cycle of works lasted from 1953 to 1967, when a good part of the carvings and

169 Fernando Diniz Moreira/ The Masterplan for the Franciscan Complex, Olinda, Brazil

tiles were restored and some of the wooden structures were replaced. A third cycle of works took place in the 80s, when reinforced concrete was used to consolidate the foundations of the sacristy, which had huge cracks and displayed signs of imminent collapse due to land-slips on the hills. Finally, between 1998 and 2005, the wooden floorboards of the monastery block, the monastery’s electrical system and fittings and part of the roofing were all replaced. On the whole, these works were generally guided by the use of contemporary techniques and materials, with traditional building materials and techniques being given little respect, and, thus, loss of authenticity was occasioned by these actions. As a consequence, some of the current pathologies arise precisely from the differences between the new and old materials.

Damage and pathologies The team undertook the analysis of masonry, stonework, wooden structures, tiling, and paintwork in each of the monastery’s rooms. The result was a complete and qualitative overview of the monastery’s conservation problems. The main forms of damage to the monastery’s masonry-work are cracks, large and small. They are concentrated in the northern part of the building and are due to the differences in stability between the old foundations of the complex

170 Fernando Diniz Moreira/ The Masterplan for the Franciscan Complex, Olinda, Brazil

and the new foundations of the sacristy. The current state of conservation of the monastery’s tiles is not satisfactory, due to the process of salinization, the action of humidity and the action of mechanical agents on the masonry which serves as supports to the tiles. The most common forms of damage of the stonework have been chromatic superficial losses, fissures and alterations, resulting from atmospheric impurities. With regard to the woodwork, paneling, floors and wooden carvings, the presence of fungi and termites was noted. On the panel paintings in some rooms what was noted is that there is damage caused by the disaggregation and peeling of paintings.

The significance of the complex One of the difficult questions was that of defining the significance of a complex which is the fruit of four centuries of additions and reforms and suffered from restoration interventions during the second half of the 20th century, without respect to traditional building materials and techniques. How should the significance of this complex be defined, given that a good part of its materials have been replaced? Even so, the team defined the significance of the complex by means of five main points: In the first place, the monastery possesses the historical value of being the first monastery founded in Brazil and the mother body from which the Franciscan

171 Fernando Diniz Moreira/ The Masterplan for the Franciscan Complex, Olinda, Brazil

order spread over national territory. Secondly, the monastery possesses an exceptional architectural unity, even though it has been built over four centuries. The maintenance of this unity was due to the fact of the monastery’s structure possessing a logical growth pattern which has been maintained intact since the beginning. Thirdly, it is worth emphasizing the landscape value of the complex, an exceptional case of insertion of architectural volumes into an extremely complex urban and natural environment. Sited half-way up a hill pointing directly towards the sea, it occupies a strategic position, and the views it commands – by gathering in one place the whiteness of the buildings, the greenery of the terrain and the blueness of the sea – form the images which make Olinda instantly recognizable all over the world. Fourthly, the monastery possesses a unique artistic value, represented by the tiles and panel paintings. Designed at distinct historical periods, the panels of tiles make up an exceptional group representing the aesthetic conceptions of the Luso-Brazilian world. Finally, the meaning of the Monastery is complemented by the unique value represented by the perfect integration between the artistic and architectonic

172 Fernando Diniz Moreira/ The Masterplan for the Franciscan Complex, Olinda, Brazil

elements of some ambiences, such as in the Sacristy, in the Chapel of Santa Ana, and in the cloister.

The vision of the Master Plan The Master Plan has been drawn up with the long-term vision of seeking to guarantee that the Franciscans´ cultural values are perpetuated. This vision is based on four long-term principles. Sustainability: Management should favor the integral and long-term sustainability of the Franciscan Complex, by generating sufficient revenue to cover the expenses of periodic maintenance. The costs of conducting the first part of the Master Plan should be met from sources of external funding, both national and international ones. Conservation of the asset and respect for the authenticity: The Master Plan aims at the conservation of the asset as an item of heritage and places special emphasis on the maintenance, repair and preservation of the physical, spatial, environmental and artistic characteristics of the Complex. In conservation actions, the use of traditional materials and techniques should be given high priority. Minimal intervention: Interventions on the physical structure of the Complex

173 Fernando Diniz Moreira/ The Masterplan for the Franciscan Complex, Olinda, Brazil

should be the minimum possible that will make the existing structure adequate for the uses proposed and provide for the repairs necessary to guarantee its physical integrity. Periodic maintenance instead intervention for repairs: Medium- and long-term actions of periodic maintenance should have a preponderant role relative to interventions of repair for restoration purposes. A program should also be drawn up for inspecting and assessing risk, and this should be carried out annually, with thorough reviews every five and every ten years. The plan pre-supposes the maintenance of the Franciscan Complex for religious practices, especially church services and teaching, but also with the capacity to supply cultural services which guarantee a flow of services and revenue in the long term. This strategy includes a new form of management and new uses. The Management of the Franciscan Complex should set the objective of generating revenue, arising from the new uses, which will be sufficient to cover the expenses of periodic maintenance and to form a fund for possible and unforeseeable expenditures. The management of the system must be negotiated between the owners, the Franciscan Order and the Third Franciscan Order. The new uses should contribute to sustainability and should not bring about

174 Fernando Diniz Moreira/ The Masterplan for the Franciscan Complex, Olinda, Brazil

alterations to the heritage features of the Complex. The monastery should continue to be the residence of the monks and the introduction of a new use should take this into account, and respect the Franciscans´ monastic way of life and the religious atmosphere of the monastery. Specific objectives Regarding uses To enlarge the Theological Seminary so as to provide services for a greater number of students, in well-equipped facilities. To increase the space set aside for visiting by tourists and to make improvements in order to add to the potential of these activities. To adapt parts of the Complex and to build facilities to support services needed for social and cultural events, such as social receptions and scientific and technical meetings. Regarding the landscape To maintain the urban landscape and re-establish the urban form of the courtyard with its vegetation. To maintain the most important views from the Complex, especially those of the Seminary of Olinda, the Viewing Area from the Sé (the highest point in Olinda) and the shoreline.

175 Fernando Diniz Moreira/ The Masterplan for the Franciscan Complex, Olinda, Brazil

Regarding the orchard and the vegetation To carry out the project for the historic botanic garden to be open to public visits. To maintain the existing stock of trees in relation to the initial conservation of the orchard. Regarding the archaeological assets To use non-invasive methods in new digs, which may come to be carried out inside the buildings. Under no circumstances should digs be undertaken which might destroy or remove plasterwork, masonry, and hydraulic ceramic lining, old wall tiles and ornamentation, except minimal samples for physical and chemical tests. Regarding the maintenance of the construction To re-establish and to increase the monitoring of land-slips on the hill. To re-establish the monitoring of lesions to the walls, by taking measurements regularly. To re-establish traditional tiled roofing and use of wood. Regarding the artistic assets To conduct an analysis to determine the types and causes of the degrading of tiles and wood carvings.

176 Fernando Diniz Moreira/ The Masterplan for the Franciscan Complex, Olinda, Brazil

To recommend emergency works in order to diminish the hydraulic pressure on walls where tiled panels are fixed and to re-integrate the missing pieces of tiling. To undertake a plan for intervention in altar-pieces and wood carvings in general, to include treatment to rid them of insects, and partial replacements, re-gilding and painting.

The Master Plan The master plan concluded that the new uses to be introduced in the monastery should contribute to its sustainability, in financial and in heritage terms, and that they would, in any case, alter its historical value, its physical structure and its green area. The functions are poorly served at the monastery as it has not offered the ideal facilities. Social events, for example, lack adequate support, such as modern kitchens, toilets and storage space. The absence of airconditioned spaces is an obstacle to the monastery being used more intensively for seminars and company meetings. The core of the proposal consists in optimizing existing uses of the monastery: the theological seminary, as a tourist attraction, social events and company and academic meetings. Therefore, the public dimension, which the monastery already has, will be amplified, although it will retain its religious activities. The

177 Fernando Diniz Moreira/ The Masterplan for the Franciscan Complex, Olinda, Brazil

Ground floor, plan

essential question is how to intensify this public dimension without affecting the monks´ privacy. Hence, setting aside restricted areas and the use of barriers to create an adequate transition between these spaces is the major aim of the project. The master plan proposes a reorganization of areas and flows, taking into account the principle of minimal interference in the physical structure of the complex. Most of the ground level, including the garden area, will be open to general public visitation, to the students of the seminary and to the public invited for specific events. Therefore, the plan envisages a flexible range of public spaces to accommodate different events during the day, which implies a rearrangement of flows and functions. The cloister will function as a key space, providing access to the rooms and to the major attractions around it: the church, the sacristy, the terrace, and the chapel of Sant’Anna. A museum has been conceived in place of the library, which will move to the first floor. From the arcades facing the terrace, the visitors will have access to the gardens, which will be landscaped. The team proposes to transform the existing kitchen into a patio, by taking out the concrete slabs (built by the monks in the 1940s), which cover the kitchen in order to return it to its original configuration as the patio of the monastery. The aisle in the monastery’s block of cells facing the new patio will house a coffee shop and a gift shop.

178 Fernando Diniz Moreira/ The Masterplan for the Franciscan Complex, Olinda, Brazil

First floor, plan

In order to fulfill its role as a space for meetings and social events, the plan proposes a new addition, a block containing an auditorium for 150-200 people located in the external area. This new block, which will be explained below, will also contain a modern kitchen to support events in the monastery and will integrate the functions of all the small temporary buildings built in the external area over the last forty years (laundry, storage units and toilets), which will be demolished. The first floor will be reserved for the Theological Seminary. The school will be enlarged and equipped to cope with more students, as is already expected. The plan allows for minor repairs and changes and envisages the transformation of cells into a hall of residence for students. The library on this floor will be transformed into the major library of the seminary. The second floor will be set aside exclusively for the monks. In order to provide more comfortable living conditions, an elevator will be installed in one of the cells. It is also proposed that three cells are converted into a kitchen, which will be used exclusively by the monks. The cells of the south aisle that serve for storage will be transformed into residential cells for visiting monks. The library on this floor will be repaired and equipped in order to house the rare book collection, and be reserved for the exclusive use of the monks.

179 Fernando Diniz Moreira/ The Masterplan for the Franciscan Complex, Olinda, Brazil

Second floor, plan

The new block The Franciscan complex has resulted from a continuous and long process of adaptation, transformation and addition, but it has maintained a strong unity and architectural cohesion. If there is a logic in the way the complex has grown, it can be considered as its having a living being, able to grow and to adapt itself to new requirements without compromising its integrity. Therefore, it is extremely likely that the new additions proposed should be acceptable, since they respect the cohesion and integrity of the whole. According to the existing regulations, additions are not allowed, except if they are to replace buildings of the property, which are not protected. Therefore, it is possible to build on the area of existing additions built in the last forty years. The new block will have an auditorium on level –1 (with approximately 360 m2), and a unit for services (kitchen, WC, laundry, storage space), on level –2 (with around 180 m2). The first studies considered locating this block immediately below the old terrace. However, studies with models demonstrated that the impact of the new volume would be considerable in the overall composition and this alternative was discarded. The need for a covered passage between the old and the new volumes also created problems and contributed to the abandonment of this alternative.

180 Fernando Diniz Moreira/ The Masterplan for the Franciscan Complex, Olinda, Brazil

Model of existing situation

Model with the new addition

The final proposal was a partially underground new block located in the external area between the sacristy and the terrace. It will be hardly noticeable as it will occupy approximately the place of an existing platform between them. The public will have access to it through the arcades of the old terrace and will arrive on its roof, which will be adequately landscaped and treated as a second terrace. Stairs created by making a cutting in the terrain will discretely lead to the auditorium and foyer (level –1) and to the services below (level –2). Visitors can continue walking down until they reach the gardens. Festive receptions will take place on both terraces (the new and the old), thus liberating the cloister so that it can keep its contemplative character. Some concepts guided the design of the new block. The external area was not simply considered as Nature in the raw, but as a topography built by man interweaving natural terrain, built platforms, architectural volumes and retaining walls, which sum up to a beautiful composition. The new block was conceived as an inalienable part of this topography, following its major lines. The entire complex is formed by rectangular volumes which are conjoined not by rigid orthogonal angles, but with variations using slight angles. The new block should follow this principle in order to avoid major cuttings and moving land. In architectural terms, the designers of the new building should adopt a strategy

181 Fernando Diniz Moreira/ The Masterplan for the Franciscan Complex, Olinda, Brazil

New Block, section

of discretion, but the building should be seen to be a new building and one that is authentic regarding the means and materials of our time. In the same way, the treatment of surfaces, materials, architectural elements and details should correspond to the simplicity and sincerity of Franciscan architecture. In other words, the new addition should contribute to the architectural unity and cohesion of the entire complex. *** With this master plan, the monastery has a complete account of its building history, pathologies, problems and potentialities. This plan was able to create a consensus around the statement of the significance of the property and to produce some approaches and actions to maintain its outstanding importance. The monastery now has a framework for a new form of management and a clear system for applying resources, monitoring and review in accordance with the agreement of the owners, and the local and national authorities. The master plan will be an essential document for external grant applications. This plan, however, is a working document, which will need future adjustments. The monitoring and review stages offer an opportunity to revisit the plan as time goes by in order to refine earlier objectives, adjust the conservation work, and add more detail when new information comes to light. Any change in the plan, however, should take into account the impact on the authenticity and integrity

182 Fernando Diniz Moreira/ The Masterplan for the Franciscan Complex, Olinda, Brazil

New Block, schematic plan

New Block, schematic plan

of the complex, if it contributes to increasing the state of conservation and if any changes bring benefits to the sustainability of the complex in the long term.

References 1

The team which produced this masterplan included the architects Fernando Diniz Moreira,

Silvio Mendes Zancheti and Jorge Tinoco. The architects Monica Harchambois and Roberto Araujo also contributed as consulting specialits.

183 Fernando Diniz Moreira/ The Masterplan for the Franciscan Complex, Olinda, Brazil

184 E.Boersma/ Projects

World Heritage Site Olinda in Brazil Paul Meurs and Leo G.W. Verhoef (Eds.) IOS Press, 2006 © 2006 The authors and IOS Press. All rights reserved.

The use of the artificial reef at Olinda for leisure Leo G.W. Verhoef

®MIT, Delft University of Technology Marcel J.F. Stive Faculty of Civil Engineering, Delft University of Technology

Abstract Municipal authorities in the state of Pernambuco of Brazil are having serious problems due to coastal erosion. A number of artificial reefs have been built in the Ocean in front of the coast of Pernambuco and in front of Olinda as well. For a certain part of this coast, section 2, opposite Praça do Carmo, forte São Francisco and Farol de Olinda this paper shows how this area can be used for leisure. The idea behind this approach is to attrack tourists and businessmen for a longer stay in Olinda and to offer them more than the historic scene of Olinda. The paper shows further the actions to be taken such as the extension of the reef till the shore, thus forming a lagoon with a guaranteed healthy swimming water conditions, but also how the infrastructure has to be changed necessary for the erection of new hotels fulfilling a performance that fits to the historic city of Olinda.

Introduction The project for Olinda’s revitalization is an integrated conservation project based on a fund raising programme developed by the Maria Nóbrega Foundation (based in London and Recife) and INTBAU (International Network for Traditional Building, Architecture & Urbanism). The central idea is to revitalize the local arts & crafts industry and develop tourism in order to generate income for local inhabitants and revenue for investments. This will be achieved by restoration

185 Leo G.W. Verhoef & Marcel J.F. Stive/ The use of the artificial reef at Olinda for Leisure

Fig.1 Igreja de N.S. Salvador do Mundo (Sé de Olinda)

Fig.2 Rua 27 de Janeiro

and re-development of the cultural assets of Olinda such as churches and convents, the botanical garden, residential houses and public squares. It will be an integrated project, which means that restored, rehabilitated and newly erected buildings will be related to capacity building to ultimately provide employment via tourism. The key words ‘to provide employment via tourism’ touch the weak nerve of Olinda. At present the average stay of a tourist in Olinda is only some hours. Tourists come to Olinda for the richness of the past that can still be experienced; in addition to the cathedral there are more than thirty churches and convents. Almost all of these have beautiful interiors, some with azuleijo panels dating from the time that the Portuguese regained possession of Olinda. In the streets of the old town such as the ‘Rua 27 de Janeiro ‘traditional’ houses can be found in a variety of forms and colours. However, the churches, convents and picturesque houses alone are not sufficient to attract tourists to spend a longer time in Olinda. Moreover, at present there are only a limited number of hotels, pousadas and restaurants in Olinda. It has been proposed that the ‘Horta del Rey’, (the botanic garden in Olinda) should be opened to the public. Another suggestion is that the seaside could be used for leisure activities. Until now the plans for the revitalization of Olinda have not considered the possibility of developing the seaside as an asset for leisure activities. The seaside

186 Leo G.W. Verhoef & Marcel J.F. Stive/ The use of the artificial reef at Olinda for Leisure

Fig.3 Small piers in Bairro Novo, further away the reefs are visible

is recognized only as a problem. This is quite understandable because of the effects that the erosion of the coast by the Atlantic Ocean have had on Olinda. The problems have been clearly described by the NBSO in 2005.1 The Atlantic Ocean has eroded the coast to such a degree that a number of houses and an entire street have disappeared, so defence works have been built to prevent further erosion. The effects of marine erosion can be seen on the coastline of Olinda. Further from the centre, along the Av. Ministro Marcos Freire to the north east of Olinda, small piers have been constructed at right angles to the coast to protect it from erosion by waves and to reduce the longshore drift and this has increased erosion in front of the historic center of Olinda. A number of artificial reefs have also been built in the ocean in front of the coast of Olinda to break the forces of the waves. Another important factor preventing the use of the coast for leisure activities is that the wastewater from Olinda flows directly into the ocean. At present the nearest beaches for tourists are thirty kilometres north and south of Olinda not at Olinda itself. However, recently the Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (UFPE), the local State Agency for Environment and Water Resources (CPRH/CPRM) and Delft University of Technology (DUT) in the Netherlands agreed to collaborate to investigate this situation. The main objective of the international cooperation is to capacitate Latin

187 Leo G.W. Verhoef & Marcel J.F. Stive/ The use of the artificial reef at Olinda for Leisure

American entities, through exchange with specialized European technological centres in the areas of environmental monitoring. The case of Olinda is a pilot project to examine the erosive process in the coastal regions. In a second phase the project might be extended to similar situations in Ecuador and Argentina. The specific objectives are to: • • • • •

identify and propose corrective and protective actions against marine erosion;  contribute to the protection of the real estate and the physical infrastructure related to sanitation, roads and urban works;  collaborate with the local government to provide better services regarding the elaboration of technical projects, engineering and urbanization works; restore the coastal occupation and stimulate economic activities by the local government, specially in service and tourism sectors; formulate legislation on environmental protection and the control of coastal erosion and the occupation of coastal areas.

The results will be presented in the Technical Manual that includes coast protection monitoring programmes and the coastal area defense programmes, which will also be distributed to other regions that face similar problems.

188 Leo G.W. Verhoef & Marcel J.F. Stive/ The use of the artificial reef at Olinda for Leisure

Fig. 4 Location

Fig. 5 Section 2

Selecting the Area for Leisure Brazilian and Dutch researchers work together in a project on coastal erosion.2 One of their objectives the “the restoration of coastal occupation and stimulation of economic activities by local governments, especially in service and tourism sectors”. To indicate how this can be don, in the case of the historic centre of Olinda is the principal aim of this paper. It is important to select that part of the coast that is relatively close to the historic centre of Olinda and already protected by reefs. To minimize the costs of adaptation it is also important that not too much of the existing fabric has to be changed. Section 2, opposite Praça do Carmo, Forte São Francisco and Farol de Olinda, fulfils these conditions. Nevertheless, a number of buildings will have to be demolished to create space for new development, combining dense use (hotels) with careful integration within the historic urban landscape and the famous skyline of Olinda. The coastal area opposite the Rua Augusto Ramos has only a few houses and as yet there is no reef in front of this area because the bay-like shape of the coast has precluded the construction of a reef. The construction of new hotels and development of a beach and associated facilities for the leisure use of tourists must not be allowed to disturb the ambience of the historic town of Olinda. Already there are several places on the coast with quite large buildings that disturb the view, while from Olinda the

189 Leo G.W. Verhoef & Marcel J.F. Stive/ The use of the artificial reef at Olinda for Leisure

Fig. 6 Situation

high-rise buildings of the city of Recife can easily be seen. In the northern part of Olinda there are already a number of high-rise buildings. A possible solution might be to restrict the height, in line with visual impact studies on the World Heritage Site. The view of the sea from Olinda should also be considered from the points of view of both the higher points such as the Convento Sao Francisco and of pedestrians at street level. For this reason the design of the hotels must be such that the ground floor level is quite transparent or that the hotels are at right angles to the coastline. The area is bordered by the Rua Do Sol, which carries quite a lot of traffic, while the Av. Ministro Marcus Freire, continuing as the Rua Do Farol, crosses this area to reach the Travesso Dantas. Here the infrastructure must be changed. The Av. Ministro Marcus Freire must end at the Convento Hospital and the Rua Do Farol must start only at the Travessa Dantas. The extra traffic pressure that will be imposed on the Rua Do Sol as a result of these changes will not pose a problem The length of the strip of Section 2 that could be chosen for leisure is about 425 metres. This extends from the Convento Hospital (that probably has to stay) to the Travesso Dantas near the Praça Dantas Baretto. From the hospital up to the Farol de Olinda, which is a small fortress occupying an areas of 25 x25 metres,

190 Leo G.W. Verhoef & Marcel J.F. Stive/ The use of the artificial reef at Olinda for Leisure

Fig. 7 Existing roads

Fig. 8 Alternative road plan

there is a space of about 80 metres. The width of the area extending to the high tide line is 70 metres. On the sea side the strip can be widened by adding sand into the ocean, which is quite shallow at this place. The function of the sandy area will be to create a beach with refreshment facilities and freshwater swimming pools. Wide corridors between the hotels will provide access for people who want to make direct use of the beach facilities. It will be possible to accommodate 4 hotels, with a total capacity of 1200 rooms. From the economic point of view, in addition to their function of providing accommodation for tourists, the hotels provide facilities for conferences and meetings. Olinda could then become a venue that affords opportunities to combine leisure activities with meetings, visiting exhibitions etc.3

Extending the Reef The river in Olinda, bearing the name of the “Canal de Malaria”, works as an open sewer and leads contaminated water into the Atlantic Ocean at a distance of about 800 metres from Section 2. Especially in the shallow nearshore diffusion of the pollution is limited, so that the quality of the water is unacceptable swimming. This is why it is necessary to create a situation in which the water in front of the coast at Section 2 can be controlled and will remain clean. The easiest way achieve this would be to extend the reef in front of the coast until

191 Leo G.W. Verhoef & Marcel J.F. Stive/ The use of the artificial reef at Olinda for Leisure

Fig. 9 Situation, Alternative 1

Fig. 10 Situation, Alternative 2

it reaches the shore. Drawing of the extended reef If the reef is extended a lagoon will be created adjacent to the ocean. Since the water of the ocean is contaminated by sewage this leads to the consideration of whether the reef is permeable. Information derived from Andrea Olinto, Coordenadora Gerenciamento Costeiro de Pernambuco, indicates that the reef is constructed from granite blocks.

The Quality of the water in the Artificial Lagoon However, although granite is impermeable, the spaces between the blocks make the reef permeable and it is subject to wave overtopping. By maintaining the level of the lagoon about 0.1 metres above the level of the ocean it should be possible to ensure that water permeates through the reef in the direction of the ocean. This will mean that water will have to be pumped from below 7 metres below the mean ocean level into the lagoon and also that either the existing reef will have to be made higher or a structure will have to be added on top of the reef when high sea levels are expected. To prevent the salt water in the lagoon from becoming stagnant, use will be made of the above mentioned 0.1 m head difference with Mean Sea Level. By pumping a discharge of approximately 100l/s through an offshore water intake at 8 metres depth into the lagoon and adjustment of the permeability of the reef

192 Leo G.W. Verhoef & Marcel J.F. Stive/ The use of the artificial reef at Olinda for Leisure

Fig. 11 Plan Reef

Fig. 12 Section Reef

to maintain the head difference, the flushing time of the salt water in the lagoon will be in the order of a week. This should easily provide a good water quality. The effect of fresh rainwater on the salination of the lagoon is of no importance because in about one week the total amount of the water in the lagoon will be replaced by fresh Ocean water.

Conclusion and further Approach This article indicates the possibility to increase use by extending the reef for leisure. In this way the World Heritage site of Olinda will be not only a place visited for the historical objects situated in the old city of Olinda but also, when plans are realized, will attract visitors to the botanical garden and for further leisure activities. Time and money is necessary to realize these plans for which Brazil and the World Bank in close collaboration with the Maria Nobrega Foundation are acting. If this plan is adopted, in the knowledge that the Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (UFPE), the local State Agency for Environment and Water Resources (CPRH/CPRM) and Delft University of Technology (DUT) in the Netherlands have agreed to collaborate to investigate this situation, then time and cost will immediately become the core aspects for the further study of possibilities for realizing the extension of the reefs to protect the coast and at the same time for leisure purposes.

193 Leo G.W. Verhoef & Marcel J.F. Stive/ The use of the artificial reef at Olinda for Leisure

For alternative 1, the smallest option, it should be possible to accommodate 4 hotels, with a total capacity of 1200 rooms. Entrepreneurs who want to build these hotels will invest their own money for the construction of hotel and the immediate surroundings. It may be possible that the pre-investment by Olinda (or the State, the World Bank or others), such as costs of demolishing the existing fabric, extending of the reef, creating the sandy beach, the planting of palm trees, installing the pumping installation can be partly covered by the price obtained for the ground. It must be clear that these kinds of activity also have important side effects for employment of the local population and that the longer stay of tourists also brings money to Olinda. That is why the entrepreneurs should pay only part of the costs involved. The project to attract tourists for a longer stay in Olinda must be initiated by extending the reef, the installation of the pumps and the creation of the sandy beach including tree planting. The cost for investment for the four hotels at the sea side is calculated on the basis of following information:

194 Leo G.W. Verhoef & Marcel J.F. Stive/ The use of the artificial reef at Olinda for Leisure

- sand 550m¹*30m¹*1,5m¹ * €20/m³ = - pumping installation = - extension of the reef (In deep water 60 m³ granite/ m¹ reef) (an average of 40m³/m¹ for the extension) 300m¹* 40m³* €75m³ = - extra facilities (trees etc.) =

€ 375,000 € 100,000

€ 900,000 € 125,000

This calculation shows a total investment for the 4 hotels of about one and a half million Euro, or € 375,000 per hotel which should be shared with the Municipality, the state and others. The costs involved are relatively low in comparison to what will be gained in the form of employment, capacity building and extra income.

References 1 Netherlands Business Support Office (NBSO Recife / Delegação Comercial Holandesa), Report on Coastal Management in Pernambuco, June 2005 2 Andrea Olinto, Projeto Erosão Marinha de Pernambuco 3 Augustina Matire: Leisure Coast City , B-Nieuws/Research pp 8-9, 13 April 2006

195 Leo G.W. Verhoef & Marcel J.F. Stive/ The use of the artificial reef at Olinda for Leisure

196

World Heritage Site Olinda in Brazil Paul Meurs and Leo G.W. Verhoef (Eds.) IOS Press, 2006 © 2006 The authors and IOS Press. All rights reserved.

From Olinda to ®MIT Prof. dr. ir. Jo M.J. Coenen

®MIT, Delft University of Technology

The historic city of Olinda is a perfect example to illustrate that urban conservation and interventions in historic buildings can no longer be considered separately from general urban and architectural practice. Historic buildings and cities can no longer be regarded as islands in the modern cities, but have to be seen as integral parts of the urban landscape, since they have functional, visual, programmatic, symbolic, socio-economic and cultural ties with their surroundings. The constant intervention, modification and transformation of the built environment necessitates new approaches by architects and planners to their profession. It also implies that conservation policies should seriously consider integrating change, not just as a threat, but also as natural fact and as positive opportunity. At Delft University this perception has resulted in the creation of ®MIT. This research centre brought the former working group on restoration closer to the heart of the department of architecture instead of focussing on the highly specialist aspects of restoration. ®MIT aims to take a natural approach to accommodating existing buildings and structures into the general curriculum of architecture. ®MIT also broadens the scope of intervention to include both the larger scale of the city and the smaller scale of the detail. In this paper I want to explain the organisation of ®MIT as a relevant model to deal with a wide range of assignments, including world heritage cities like Olinda.

197 Jo Coenen/ From Olinda to ®MIT

The academic field of restoration has to be extended and has to cover not simply individual architectonic objects, but also urban construction and landscape development in general, since most projects in this field will involve existing structures such as building complexes, roads and entire landscapes. The primary objective is no longer to build the new but rather to add to the existing structures. This requires analysis, identification and the study of the existing object, city or landscape silhouette; it requires the adoption of a position concerning the existing structure. ‘Transformation’ is the task of the future not only for architecture and town planning, but also for building management. Two-thirds of all forthcoming building tasks will consist of transformation, at various scale levels. This change in the field of activity of the architect and other designers of the physical environment is part of the far-reaching changes occurring in the practice of the profession as a whole. These changes result from such factors as increases in scale, foreign competition, globalisation and specialisation, including the rise of architectural recruitment agencies. We have to bridge an alleged gap in the field of architecture and town planning, namely the distinction between the architect responsible for new building work and the architect responsible for restoration. This situation can only be corrected by a change in the attitude of the architect and of the town planner. Think of recent examples of the reuse of old buildings such as Tate Modern in London, designed by the architects Herzog and De Meuron.

198 Jo Coenen/ From Olinda to ®MIT

I have rearranged the content of the discipline of restoration into three main domains: Modification, at scale levels extending from material to building, Intervention from the level of the single building to the building complex and Transformation extending from the level of the building complex to the silhouette of the town or village as a whole and to the entire landscape. These three, MIT, form the body of the discipline of Restoration ®. In addition to teaching, research and the supervision of the research studies of postgraduate students, I attach great importance to close links with professional practice. This aim will be realised by the ®MIT Research Centre which was established at the beginning of 2006. Finally, in both education and research, design is itself seen as an important research method and source of knowledge, leading to application of the ‘research by design’ method. Ideas and things are seldom created ex nihilo. Although a search for novelty is of great importance in the development of a discipline, too much concentration on novelty tends to lead to concepts that either ultimately prove not to be new at all, that date very quickly or that turn out to be misconceptions. It is a strange paradox: the newest things seem to age fastest. But an even more important question is whether it actually makes sense to think in terms of a dichotomy between old and new. According to the Argentine author Jorge Luis Borges, this distinction is illusory: “They therefore claim that the preservation of this world is a continuous creation and that the words ‘preserve’ and ‘create’, which are

199 Jo Coenen/ From Olinda to ®MIT

contradictions here below, are synonyms in heaven.” (1) This is an important, liberating insight. Instead of seeing past, present and future as separate entities, in our discipline it makes much more sense to relate them continually to one another. This demands a scientific, questioning attitude involving constant alternation between design and research at all scale levels from the building to the city and the landscape. All phenomena that present themselves are worthy of study: what is required is not exclusion but inclusion. By way of example, look at the impressive oeuvre of the husbandand-wife team Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown. Their in-depth studies of apparently unimportant spatial phenomena, such as Las Vegas, have enriched the vocabulary of modern architecture and substantially extended our thinking about such matters. Taking this idea one stage further, we know that buildings, urban neighbourhoods and towns can be more easily understood as structures that are stratified in time rather than as static objects. John Ruskin (1819-1900) used the same approach in introducing the idea of the continuous history of the built environment. In his analysis of the Via Appia, he showed how the same stones from the old road were used to create a series of new human histories without leading to the complete disappearance of the road. This English viewpoint on restoration starts from an awareness of the simultaneous presence of change and permanence. The studies of urban transformations performed by the Venetian school (e.g.

200 Jo Coenen/ From Olinda to ®MIT

Muratori, Rossi and Aymonino) starting in the 1970s, but also by Gregotti and Tafuri and currently by Ilaria Valente (2), have had a major influence on thinking in this field – including my own thinking. Attention to typology, the morphology of the site and social developments makes the growth of cities much easier to understand (3). While any new edifice has an existence of its own, it must at the same time fit in with existing structures. Even the most revolutionary of architects cannot disregard appropriateness. This concept confronts us with something that is almost beyond words; in any case I cannot put it better than in the words of Charles Eames (4): ‘[…] but in addition they must provide the trainee with a questioning approach and a nose for appropriateness; a concern for quality which will help him through the immeasurable relationships which he will have to resolve in order to arrive at the design.’ The discipline of Modification is of technical origin and continues the development of classical restoration work. The authenticity of the building, depending largely on the choice of materials and colours, the method of construction and the detailing, is at stake here. This discipline gives students an invaluable introduction to the architectonic effect of materials and colours, and – another important issue – their aging. Research in the archives is important to determine which template needs to be used for the restoration: is the oldest look always the most authentic, or do the most recent additions also have an independent right to

201 Jo Coenen/ From Olinda to ®MIT

existence within the structure as a whole? Practical workers in this field need innovative expert systems and research on conservation and cleaning techniques, as well as research at the level of detailing, materials and building systems. New questions are also arising at the level of modification of historic buildings in connection with climate-control systems and with interventions in monumental public buildings (government buildings, museums etc.) in the interests of protection in relation to terrorist threats and art theft. ®MIT is already involved with a number of international projects for the conservation and maintenance of buildings considered to belong to the world cultural heritage. This expertise can be further developed and used for both fundamental research (development of an expert system for UNESCO) and for practical cases like the treatment of Dutch cultural heritage abroad and for the restoration of our more recent heritage at home and abroad. Modification gains much of its significance from structural interventions involving an overlap with higher scale levels. In other words, we are in the process of overstepping the boundaries between modification and intervention, a blending of these two sub-disciplines. The core task in the field of Intervention is the exploration of the possibilities of making old buildings fit for new uses. The use of space in a building is one of the key considerations for an architect. This is one of the points where the architect

202 Jo Coenen/ From Olinda to ®MIT

differs from the building historian, whose main concern is with determining the value of a building from a cultural-history perspective. An architect may see unsuspected possibilities for new use of space in old buildings, which can lead to stratification of buildings very similar to the stratification of cities. This more imaginative approach can sometimes conflict with the more evaluative attitude of the heritage specialist. This is where the domain of MIT has an interface with ethics: how far can we allow ourselves to go with intervention, or must there be more emphasis on maintenance or reconstruction? One of the main spearheads of research in our new ®MIT approach to restoration is the development of a common vocabulary that is acceptable to both architects and heritage specialists. Reports listing the historical and cultural values of historically significant buildings should be methodically structured to encourage inclusion rather than exclusion, to build up positive respect for the building and its history. It goes without saying that the domain of Intervention includes consideration of the methodology of the design process in old buildings. I distinguish five different attitudes in the relationship between old and new: continuity, polarity, dialogue, congruence and blending. The solution is generally contained within the existing building itself. There is no better way of learning how to understand architecture than by studying old buildings. In the process, you will come across familiar facts like the division of buildings into a constant part (the support) and

203 Jo Coenen/ From Olinda to ®MIT

a variable part (the infill), which we recognise in the theories of John Habraken (5) and the work of Louis Kahn. Inventive clients also support this principle by commissioning the development of ‘solids’ where a distinction is made between the permanent part of a building and the changeable part, which may be filled in to suit individual tastes. Serious architectonic knowledge of the facade, the surface that intermediates between the interior and the city, can be developed very effectively by a study of old buildings. This is an excellent way of learning about such things as proportions, window openings, the effect of depth, detailing, facade coping, the silhouette of a building, the possible methods of supporting it and so on. It seems clear, on reflection, that the ‘little boxes’ that are so popular nowadays are not the inevitable product of the modern design process: they often simply negate basic architectonic facts. In other words, I see the ‘simplicity’ of the modern box design not only, as is often claimed, as the result of an honest approach, but inevitably also as a sign of a lack of essential skills. Intervention also needs innovative expert systems based on research into the reuse of buildings that extends beyond the limits of the individual project. The conversion of offices to dwellings is an important social task that needs to be systematically studied at the University of Technology. Related topics are the redevelopment of churches and industrial premises, and the possibilities of adapting old residential complexes such as gallery flats to meet modern

204 Jo Coenen/ From Olinda to ®MIT

requirements of accessibility, comfort and, last but not least, architectonic allure. Design and learning by design together imply the revaluation of the sketch. The importance of drawing by hand must not be underestimated, despite the opportunities currently offered by photos, computer-aided graphics and rendering. New associations can arise while one is sketching and colouring, thus allowing the design process to progress in unexpected ways. The sketches produced by Le Corbusier provide a fantastic illustration of this. Moreover, the sketch is a very effective means of determining the colour and materials mix of a building – one of the architect’s most exacting tasks. While the colours in the sketch may not seem an exact representation of reality, they do give the architect precisely the right feel for the atmosphere, colours, texture and degree of plasticity of the design. Finally, the sketch gives a picture of the search for and the complexity of the design process and hence of the architecture. The sketch can be used as a basis for discussion of the various steps in the design process. Computer graphics or a rendering can naturally be useful at the end of the design process, but serve no function during that process; indeed, they can even be counterproductive. These modern presentation modes suggest that no problems arise during the process of creation, and that is far from the case. It gives the wrong signal about this magnificent discipline: while architecture aims at synthesis, this does not

205 Jo Coenen/ From Olinda to ®MIT

generally occur, either in space, time or mentally, at the wave of a wand. When I speak of Transformation in this context, I think in the first place of the enormous changes that are taking place in the face of the Netherlands. The field of activity of transformation touches the landscape of the entire country. It is to be seen in the changing silhouettes of towns and villages. Right next to farms, with their characteristic roofs, villages and church spires, are high-rise buildings put up in the 1960s and brand new industrial estates with their little white boxes. Paul Meurs is the member of ®MIT who will be mainly responsible for studying this problem and coming up with solutions. The solutions will be largely found in structural planning, based on an in-depth vision of this part of Europe and developed by interdisciplinary investigation. The concept of the Delta Metropolis offers a great many starting points; it demands physical-planning proposals (6). In any plan of this kind, a balance needs to be found between making clear choices and leaving options open. The complexity of this interplay between decision-making and flexibility means that various alternative plans will have to be tried out. ®MIT can help to explore and resolve all these problems. What we need is plans in which the alleged tension between idealism and realism is resolved. Do not forget that realism needs a touch of idealism, just as idealism is no good without a healthy dose of realism. The history of the development of the Netherlands is an excellent example of what I

206 Jo Coenen/ From Olinda to ®MIT

am talking about. For example, it has been claimed that the concentric system of canals built in Amsterdam in the seventeenth century was based on Plato’s description of the ideal state of Atlantis (7). Be this as it may, this plan has led to one of the most beautiful cities in the world. To turn idealism into realism is something for the long view. For example, the current work of Rem Koolhaas can very well be seen as a continuation of the exceptionally idealistic plans for a New Babylon drawn up by Constant Nieuwenhuis in the 1960s. A number of topics in the field of Transformation demand a systematic multidisciplinary approach within the previously mentioned expert system. In any case one of these is the filling in of the content of the Delta Metropolis concept. A great deal of in-depth analysis is needed to develop a vision that will allow us to put into place the various pieces of this jigsaw puzzle such as infrastructure, nature and water, industry parks and office locations, residential areas and possibly big new shopping complexes situated outside the towns, leisure and entertainment areas and multi-purpose facilities. While such a largescale plan naturally involves a lot of conflicting claims, so that many choices will have to be made before the overall concept can be translated into an open set of land-use plan proposals, if successful this undertaking could inject a great deal of cohesion and synergy into the West of the Netherlands. There are very close links between all teaching and research carried out in this

207 Jo Coenen/ From Olinda to ®MIT

department and the new international centre of excellence within the faculty of Architecture of Delft University of Technology, the ®MIT Research Centre. Olinda can be seen as a pilot of this attempt. The objective of the Research Centre is to promote multidisciplinary research, product development and the exchange of information in the field of Modification, Intervention and Transformation relating to the built environment. It will attempt to achieve these aims by the development and collection of knowledge and the dissemination of knowledge via publications, exhibitions, congresses and manifestations (8). An exploratory inventory has been made of the social requirements for scientific knowledge in these fields, and of how the Research Centre – in cooperation with various networks at home and abroad – could meet these needs. The provisional research agenda distilled from this survey involves the development of innovative techniques for modification and conservation; intervention strategies for individual buildings, building complexes and entire towns or cities; and quality assurance in the transformation of the built environment as a whole. The ®MIT Research Centre has been set up as a network organisation. It has contacts with several institutes in the Netherlands and with universities and other centres of excellence abroad. The work of the ®MIT Research Centre is characterised by an emphasis on ‘research by design’, a multidisciplinary approach and support of the research work by external parties. One of the projects on which the Research Centre is working is an ®MIT database containing analyses

208 Jo Coenen/ From Olinda to ®MIT

of the history and spatial organisation of notable buildings. Another example is the cooperation with the world heritage centre of UNESCO. It is anticipated that ®MIT will contribute to the preparation of a recommendation on urban conservation and will develop new international projects for World Heritage Sites in which research, educational exchange and consultancy go hand in hand.

Concluding remarks The enormous need for novelty in our time goes side by side with a strong need for security and the growth of organisations dedicated to the preservation of our heritage. I see countless cases where these two trends of dynamic change and conservation, collide violently with one another, while if they worked together they could produce magnificent results. It is important to think in terms of both transformation and continuity, to think about the existing building stock, and of how new strains can be successfully grafted on to this. The tendency to restore monuments to perfection is almost compulsive nowadays though we know that this attempted escape from time will never succeed in the long run. We can achieve a better, more relaxed attitude by enlarging the assignment. What we really need is not conservation at any cost, but vital reuse, like that of the stones of the Via Appia that have been reused in countless configurations but through which the entire history of the road continues to resound.

209 Jo Coenen/ From Olinda to ®MIT

References 1. Jorge Luis Borges, The history of eternity, 1953. 2. Ilaria Valente wrote about the genealogy of the tradition of urban analysis in Italy in the following publications: ‘Per una critica degli studi sulla morfologia urbana in Italia’, Quaderni del Dipartimento di Progettazione dell’Architettura, nr. 4, 1987, Milaan, p. 63-64; ‘Morfologia urbana. Una nota bibliografica’, Urbanistica, nr. 82, February 1986, p. 96-97 and ‘Continuité et crise: les études sur la morphologie urbaine en Italie (1959-1975)’, Pierre Merlin et al (ed.) in: AA.VV., Morphologie urbaine et parcellaire, Presses Universitaires de Vincennes, Saint-Denis 1988, p. 75-80. 3. ‘The Grounds of typologie’, Casabella (1985) nr. 509/510. 4. Charles Eames, ‘Designing a Lota’, Architectural Design, London, September 1966. 5. Koos Bosma, Dorine van Hoogstraten & Martijn Vos, Housing for the Millions, John Habraken and the SAR (1960-2000), Rotterdam 2000; Stichting Fonds voor beeldende kunsten vormgeving en bouwkunst, John Habraken Oeuvreprijs 1996 Architectuur, Amsterdam 1996. 6. See e.g.: Tracés 14, Deltametropool, un manifeste, Lausanne 2003. This includes explanations of the plans of Luigi Snozzi and Rem Koolhaas for the Delta Metropolis, as organized by the then Chief Architect of the Dutch government, Jo Coenen. 7. Boudewijn Bakker, ‘Het geometrisch ideaal en de Amsterdamse grachtengordel’, Raster 81 (1998). 8. Jo Coenen, ‘®MIT: Denktank voor de gebouwde omgeving’, Dax magazine, 1 (2005), nr. 5.

210 Jo Coenen/ From Olinda to ®MIT

211

212

World Heritage Site Olinda in Brazil Paul Meurs and Leo G.W. Verhoef (Eds.) IOS Press, 2006 © 2006 The authors and IOS Press. All rights reserved.

Graduation Studio Olinda Ir. Elisabeth Boersma, graduate student of Studio Olinda

®MIT, Delft University of Technology

Olinda History Olinda one of the oldest cities of Brazil, was founded by Duarte Coelho in 1535. Its name was given by Coelho, who was overwhelmed by the beauty of this place and is believed to have spoken the famous words: ‘O linda, situaçao para se construir uma vila’.1 The development of Olinda as a city started with the construction of various religious buildings on top of a green hill. Religious orders entered Brazil via Olinda, making the city an important religious centre, which it remains to the present day. The city, built on the hill next to the ocean, also had a military role from the start. It was necessary to defend the colony with its flourishing sugarcane plantations. In 1630, after the Dutch invasion, the political and economic centre of the colony was transferred to Recife. In 1631 the Dutch burned the religious monuments of Olinda. After the Portuguese expelled the Dutch in 1654, the religious buildings were re-built. From that time onwards Recife developed and tried to assimilate Olinda; it became the metropolis that now is.

213 Elisabeth Boersma/ Graduation Studio Olinda

Potential The history of Olinda has placed a clear foot-print on the city. Because of the development of Recife, Olinda remained relatively small and its historic qualities were preserved. That is why we can still imagine the beauty that Coelho mentioned; Olinda as a picturesque seaside city on top of a green hill, embedded in green vegetation from which, the religious architecture gradually emerges. These aspects create exclusive and beautiful living environment. Besides its beauty, Olinda is also a city of art and culture. In the historic centre many artists studios and galleries have been established. It is because of the combination of these specific characteristics that Olinda has conquered the hearts of many tourists. Although tourism is a vital source of income for Olinda, it still is surprisingly unorganised.2 While Recife has gained a competitive position among other Brazilian cities in the tourist branch, Olinda is not profiting from this as much as it could. The average stay of a tourist in Olinda is 90 minutes; provided with hotel accommodation in Recife, tourists make a coach trip to catch a glimpse of Olinda, at times not even leaving the coach. After they have visited the main ‘attractions’ such as the Carmo church and the Alto da Sé, they return to Recife. They leave Olinda without having wandered through the cities charming streets, squares and slopes: without having encountered its cultural image.

214 Elisabeth Boersma/ Graduation Studio Olinda

World Heritage Site The harmonious balance between the buildings, gardens, 20 Baroque churches, convents and numerous small passos (chapels) contributes to Olinda’s particular charm.3 In 1982 this resulted in the nomination of Olinda as a World Heritage Site. Nowadays, Olinda is physically part of the metropolitan area; it is the peripheral area the north side of Recife, in the State Pernambuco. It houses 370.000 inhabitants on 41 square km, with a historical centre of only 2 square km.

Project Monuments and historic cities throughout the world face the tasks of restoring their beauty, finding adequate uses and maintaining their properties. Olinda is one of these historic cities. The Maria Nobrega Foundation envisions the use of international fundraising to save or preserve the heritage of Olinda. Her mission is to provide a future for Olinda, through education, employment, and architectural restoration, development of the arts and the protection of the environment.4 Via the World Heritage Centre the foundation approached Delft University with the objective of investigating the possibilities for durable and sustainable

215 Elisabeth Boersma/ Graduation Studio Olinda

development of this World Heritage Site. The revitalization project has been developed as an MSc ‘graduation studio’. This studio involved 15 students who researched how Olinda’s potentials could be strengthened and its weaknesses be solved. In order to establish close ties with Olinda and to provide for the maximum exchange between Dutch and Brazilian architects, Delft University initiated cooperation with CECI and UFPE. CECI is the Centre for Advanced Studies on Integrated Conservation located in Recife. UFPE is the Federal University of Pernambuco, also in Recife. Professor Silvio Mendes Zancheti from CECI and Fernando Diniz Moreira from UFPE, organized the programme and the meeting for the Dutch and Brazilian students in Brazil. The graduation year of the Dutch students was divided into the following segments. • Delft, three months preliminary investigation; • Recife, three weeks fieldwork, which included conferences by Brazilian and Dutch specialists, and workshops for the Brazilian and Dutch students; • Delft, one month to process the information gained from Brazil into a development plan; • Delft, seven months to develop an individual project.

216 Elisabeth Boersma/ Graduation Studio Olinda

In this article the proposals for the development of Olinda are discussed.

Intention The members of the graduation studio were invited to study this beautiful city, and to investigate the possibilities related to the existing Master plan and the revitalizing of the monuments. Together, the Dutch and Brazilian students tried to produce a development plan which could be an extension of the existing Master plan. To ensure an integral approach, the study was divided into three themes: • relation Recife & Olinda, focusing on the entrance to Olinda; • Olinda & the sea, focusing the shores of Olinda; • Olinda & the sky, focusing the monuments on the hills. The results of the investigation will contribute to the establishment of a durable and sustainable policy in order to revitalize Olinda. The main intentions are: • improvement of the situation of Olinda as cultural centre in the metropolis Recife; • improvement of the infrastructure in Olinda by diverting those who pass by and by distributing visitors over the city in a more balanced way; • improvement of the economic situation of the inhabitants of the

217 Elisabeth Boersma/ Graduation Studio Olinda

• • •

municipality of Olinda by generating work and income, for example, from well-structured tourism; strengthening of the cultural and green image of Olinda; improvement of the physical condition of the monuments and reconsidering how to intensify their use; improvement of the tourism-structure in Olinda.

Themes in relation to existing Master plan and Elaboration Master plan by students of Delft University As result of its position in the peripheral area, Olinda has many urban problems, including sanitation problems. The most explicit objectives are related to infrastructure, coastal area, tourism and commerce. The consequences will be described according to the three themes. First the current situation will be described, then the proposals according to the existing Master plan and finally the vision of the student’s development plan will be considered. Relation Recife & Olinda Current situation Olinda: suburb in Metropolis Recife Because of its cultural heritage and its magnificent vegetation, Olinda occupies

218 Elisabeth Boersma/ Graduation Studio Olinda

a very special place in the Metropolitan area of Recife. This special place is guaranteed by a natural border of mangrove trees which forms the transition from Recife to Olinda. In the forties and sixties infrastructure was implemented here, supporting the transit traffic to and from Recife. With the presence of this infrastructure and the growth of illegal settlements the question of the urbanization of this area arose. In this reflection a reconsideration of the individuality of both cities is necessary. There is a chance that in the near future, Olinda will be absorbed by Recife, and will lose its identity as city within the metropolis of Recife. The historic city of Olinda, which still retains its green setting when viewed from Recife, could become embedded in a continuous urban area, losing its skyline – as seen from Recife- and the relation with the landscape. From this perspective, Olinda is considered a green suburb of Recife. The special position of Olinda must be maintained or even strengthened; a clear statement is needed to stimulate future growth in the area. Entrance to Olinda The Varadouro area is the historic and present entrance to Olinda. It lies between the hill and coast. From the very foundation of the city onward, the area has profiled itself as the entrance and commercial centre. This is because the Portuguese founded the Alfândega Real, the Royal Warehouse in this district,

219 Elisabeth Boersma/ Graduation Studio Olinda

and because the Dutch needed a harbour for the sugarcane trade. In the 19th century, the Varadouro area was almost empty and contained only mangroves. From 1940 onwards the Varadouro area was the meeting place for intellectuals, traders, artists and religious people; it was the meeting point for Olinda. Nowadays people hardly notice this former active entrance because of the busy traffic route which passes through the area. In 1988 the Fábrica Amorim Costa was transformed into what is now called the Mercado Eufrasio Barbosa, a tourist market. Unfortunately there is nothing to attract tourists into the building; tourists are simply not tempted to enter the Varadouro area, not to mention the Fábrica. It is no longer what it is used to be; an important worthy entrance to such a picturesque city. Master plan 2004 The existing Master plan envisaged high-rise buildings in the area near Avenida Agamenon Magalhães. These high-rise buildings would have had a required height of 15/20 floors. Student development plan: Olinda as an individual city near Recife After analysis of this theme an objective for the students’ development plan

220 Elisabeth Boersma/ Graduation Studio Olinda

was defined. During the lectures and workshops it became evident that Olinda must be preserved as an autonomous nucleus with a strong a cultural identity. Therefore the green area between Recife and Olinda must be preserved and maintained, so that skylines of each city would be visible from the other. With this approach Olinda offers the metropolis of Recife the presence of a green, cultural neighbouring city. Recife on the contrary offers the benefits of a big city, and accessibility, including transport by air and public and private transport by road. In order to demonstrate the transition from Recife to Olinda, and vice versa Olinda should be redefined as a cultural nucleus within the metropolitan region. This transition must be supported by a worthy entrance to Olinda, in the Varadouro area. Olinda & the sea Current situation Olinda is approached from Recife by a very busy four-lane highway, which brings the through traffic into the historic city. This four- lane highway separates the coastal area from the historic centre. The effect of this separation is underdevelopment of the coastal area and pressure on the urban fabric. Both the highway and the ocean have considerably damaged the coastal zone. From the fifties onwards the coast has suffered from decay; coastal erosion has

221 Elisabeth Boersma/ Graduation Studio Olinda

demolished a strip of houses. In order to prevent further coastal erosion, three artificial reefs were constructed in front of the coast. In addition to the deleterious effects of the infrastructure and the ocean, the water along the coast is badly polluted because of the open sewers flowing into it via Rio Beberibe and Canal de Malaria into the ocean. This exerts a negative influence on the tourism in the area, because it now is an unhygienic and unsafe place. Master plan 2004 The proposed solution of the existing Master plan is to narrow the boulevard and divert through traffic to the PE 15 highway which runs two km west of the historic city. Student development plan: Suitable infrastructure for Olinda To separate Olinda and Recife as unique cities, and to decrease the pressure on the coast, it is desirable to construct new infrastructure that is specially adapted to Olinda. The historic city must become a zone with little traffic; accessible only to local traffic. The coastal road, Avenida Sigismundo Gonzalves, will also be accessible only to local traffic. To improve the accessibility of the historic city, three different entrances are suggested.

222 Elisabeth Boersma/ Graduation Studio Olinda

The first entrance, from the south, is the historic entrance from Recife via the Avenida Sigismundo Gonzalves, near Mercado do Varadouro. The second entrance, from the west, via the PE 15 on Avenida Joaquim Nabuco, is near Igreja de Nossa Senhora de Guadelupe. The third entrance, from the north from Bairro Novo and Casa Caiada is near São Francisco. Between these entrances shuttle buses could provide public transport. Parking facilities to coordinate with the shuttle buses can easily be provided near the PE15 or near the roundabout by Avenida Presidente Kennedy. Development of the coast The coastal area had an important role in the development of Olinda, because of the bathing-culture which was famous at the beginning of the 20th century. Rich inhabitants of Recife built their houses along the seaside at the foot of the hill of historic Olinda. These show us the Chalet architecture of those days in all its many varieties. As result of the disappearance of the infrastructural barrier, the coastal area could be redeveloped by realizing an urban plan for the coastal strip. The plan to narrow the Avenida Gonzalves Sigismundo offers a perfect opportunity to return the coastal area to the historic city. Functions placed in the historic centre, which would exert undue pressure on the qualities and the landscape of this historic centre could be developed on the coastal area. The expansion of historic Olinda

223 Elisabeth Boersma/ Graduation Studio Olinda

can concentrate excellently along the coast, without jeopardizing the historic image. This can only be successful if strict preconditions are observed. The current focus for the tourist in Olinda is on Carmo and the Alto da Sé. The coastal area could attract more tourists and add its restored former qualities to the strong image of the city; the bathing culture of Olinda, and its lively fisherman’s culture. The area could attract tourists by providing museums, hotels and bathing or beach facilities; Olinda could thus offer leisure attractions. Olinda & the sky Current situation In this theme, ‘the sky’ is synonymous with the city’s hill with its beautiful treasures; the religious architecture in its tropical landscape. In contrast to the large number of monuments, the civic settlement is relatively small. These hidden monuments and the civic settlement characterise Olinda and give the city its cultural and historical significance. Unfortunately, both the monuments and the civic settlement suffer from decay. The decay is due to ground movements, which cause erosion of the hill and foundation troubles. Damage also occurs to the interiors of the buildings, because of the lack of maintenance and inadequate use. The present green landscape is not accessible and the cultural route through Olinda is limited to certain locations, as also is commerce.

224 Elisabeth Boersma/ Graduation Studio Olinda

Master plan 2004 In the existing Master plan spatial renewal is orientated along the PE 15. The accent is on this ‘eixo atividades empresariais’, an axis on which enterprise activities will be stimulated to attract commerce. Student development plan Extension of cultural centre Olinda In the student’s development plan an objective is formulated for the ‘sky’. The cultural image of Olinda should be strengthened; it is necessary to consider how the monuments as well as the green environment could be developed. The development should give economic and cultural impulses to respectively the inhabitants of the metropolitan area of Recife and visitors. The urban fabric is now represented by the Alto da Sé and the Carmo area. These are the places visited by tourists. To underline the cultural image of Olinda and realize the ‘experience of Olinda’ for the tourists, three related interventions could be implemented. First it is desirable that the routes through the city should be the articulated. This articulation could be established by developing the coastal area and developing the entrance area west of Olinda. By linking these areas to the cultural routes within the historic centre, they could be extended. This extension supports the connection between the city centre and the coast.

225 Elisabeth Boersma/ Graduation Studio Olinda

Secondly, the extension of the cultural centre of Olinda as a route could be improved by restoring the monuments that at are passed by; even the implementation of new functions in some of these could be considered. This would attract people into the area, resulting in social control. Thirdly, it is necessary to reconsider the use of Alto da Sé . Nowadays the place is focused on itself, with illegal settlements that function as souvenir shops. The souvenir shops also impede the view of the Horto del Rey with its tropical vegetation. The Horto del Rey is a private tropical garden of 6 hectares, on the landside of the hill on which Olinda was founded. It is one of the many green areas in Olinda, which, at present are not open to the public. Consideration should be given to developing the Horto and making it accessible to the public. It is proposed that the souvenir shops on the Alto da Sé should be to redesigned or be provided with integrated accommodation in the extension of a renovated monument, near the Alto da Sé, exactly as shown in the existing Master plan. One of the entrances to the Horto del Rey could be realized on the Alto da Sé. *** If this were to be done it would be possible to see all the qualities of Olinda from on the Alto da Sé: One can be attracted to the lower part of Olinda by seeing the São Francisco

226 Elisabeth Boersma/ Graduation Studio Olinda

convent, the Carmo church and the São Bento convent, which appear in the tropical landscape, with the ocean as trigger on the skyline. By night one can also be attracted by the colourfully expressed art-studios highlighted which lead up to the Amparo area. One can even find oneself between the numerous inhabitants on the Alto da Sé celebrating the beginning of the new week, eating tapiocas, and drinking caipirinhas, while immensely enjoying the view into the Horto del Rey. There is already a great view of the city towards the sea, but if the cultural surface of Olinda is enlarged the new parts of Olinda will also be experienced and the accessibility of monuments and the Horto del Rey will be improved.

References 1

‘O linda, situaçao para se construer uma vila’: ‘How beautiful, this location to build a

city’ 2

Paul Meurs, Olinda Brazil, final report, Delft University 2005

3

The World Heritage Centre’s website, www.whc.unesco.org

4

The Maria Nobrega Foundation website, www.NobregaFoundation.com

227 Elisabeth Boersma/ Graduation Studio Olinda

228

World Heritage Site Olinda in Brazil Paul Meurs and Leo G.W. Verhoef (Eds.) IOS Press, 2006 © 2006 The authors and IOS Press. All rights reserved.

Studio Olinda: Projects Ir. Elisabeth Boersma

®MIT, Delft University of Technology

229 Elisabeth Boersma/ Studio Olinda: Projects

Development of the green area between Recife and Olinda Hanneke Weststrate Problem Statement: The project focuses on the question of how the historical centre of Olinda can keep its green character while the pressure to build is increasing. The following aspects show the difficulties in four areas: In the built environment the contrast between large-scale buildings and the slums illustrates social segregation. On landscape level three problems can be identified: degradation of the water quality, destruction of the mangrove vegetation and lack of maintenance and security. Infrastructural difficulties are the present fast traffic and the absence of a continuous infrastructure for pedestrians. In the Master plan of 2004 urban policy allows high-rise buildings up to 15/20 storeys. Concept: The area around the Complexo Rodoviário Salgadinho is fragmented in both social and spatial senses. The heavy traffic load, poverty and increasing building activity put pressure on the landscape. Four proposals based on this conclusion can be formulated; (1) to generate a green backbone for the entrance of Olinda, (2) to adapt the traffic flow, (3) to create a pedestrian route and (4) to find financial support from the market to finance the

Existing situation

230 Elisabeth Boersma/ Studio Olinda: Projects

relation Recife & Olinda

proposed interventions. Because of the scale of the area it is necessary to share the costs that accompany the upgrading of the entrance of Olinda between private and public parties. Design: 1. Landscape: regenerate the landscape to give the area a green backbone. 2. Infrastructure: Make the Avenida Olinda between Recife and Olinda accessible to local traffic only. Reducing the traffic along Avenida Olinda implies that the coastline will suffer less from noise and pollution. Through traffic will then have to use the PE15 highway. 3. Built environment: To establish a relation between the different buildings and the surrounding landscape a pedestrian route will be created. This will connect the beach of Olinda to the public parks and the planned highrise buildings along Avenida Agamenon Magalhães. 4. Urban policy: The developers and users of the high-rise buildings will contribute to a ‘green fund’.

Complexo

Ponte Preta

View from helicopter

Concept, bridge for pedestrians

Studio Olinda: Projects 231 Elisabeth Boersma/ 231

Coqueiral

relation Recife & Olinda

Celebrating Change: a sustainable transformation for Olinda Miebet van der Poel Problem Statement: Favela ‘Varadouro’ is part of the entrance to the historical city centre of Olinda. The location is in some ways luxurious for a slum, central in relation to public transport and small scale economic activities are carried out there. The central issue in this project is the urban poverty in relation to the historic centre, the environment, the urban policy and the urban land market. Other locations are often more decentralized being located on the hills, which can mean longer travel times and higher transport costs. However living conditions are unhealthy and precarious, due to a lack of secure tenure, poor sanitation, poor garbage collection facilities and pollution of the river. The water and ‘green’ quality are poor and this leads to floods and unhealthy conditions in Varadouro. Concept: In order to direct future development the following guiding principles have been drawn up on different scales. The main principles are; 1. Revalorization of the green area and water structure, 2. participation on different levels, 3. the creation of borders and 4. integration and consolidation by progressive development. Design:

Fig.1 Entrance to Olinda

Fig.2 Axes

232 Elisabeth Boersma/ Studio Olinda: Projects

Fig. 3 Concept meso

relation Recife & Olinda

The scale of the basin of Rio Beberibe Three axes can give a framework for the typology of the development: First the coastal axis: for reinvention of the coastline, secondly, the arterial axis, which gives direction to the large scale development of infrastructure, and thirdly, the axis which focuses on the improvement of the environment by developing parks. The scale of the buffer zones of the historical centre A framework (Fig.2) for development and protection is formed by three structures/zones: the green and water structure, cleared borders and functions which will protect the view to the historic centre, improved sanitation and new infrastructure in order to improve accessibility. The scale of Varadouro The consolidation and development of the area is based on progressive development, sanitation, housing and other services, all of which can grow progressively with the demand and funds of the inhabitants. (Figs4/5) 1.UN-HABIT ABT; Annan, Kofi; The challenge of slums: Global Report on Human Settlements (2003) 2. Serra, Vitor; Urban land markets and urban land development: an examination of three Brazilians cities: Brasilia, Curitiba and Recife (2005) Brasilia; www.ipea.gov.br

Fig. 4 Rua Boa Hora Studio Olinda: Projects 233 Elisabeth Boersma/ 233

Fig. 5 Transformation of Rua Boa Hora

relation Recife & Olinda

Terminal de Turismo, Varadouro Elisabeth Boersma Problem Statement: Nowadays the Varadouro area is a poor entrance to the city, tourism and accessibility are underdeveloped in Olinda and the monuments suffer from decay. For a unique World Heritage Site such as Olinda it is necessary to develop a worthy entrance. Part of this development involves redesigning the Fábrica Amorim Costa and the tropical landscape behind it. Concept: The redesigning of the Fábrica creates a cultural embrace for the tourists in Olinda. The concept of the design consists of four types of connection: 1)The connection between visitor and the Fábrica. This is realized by constructing a bus terminal and tourist information point in the east wing of the Fábrica.2) The connection between city and the tropical landscape. This is realized by the creation of a sculpture park which functions as continuation of the entrance of historic Olinda to the religious São Bento square. 3) The connection between city and the Fábrica. The west wing of the Fábrica is occupied by the functions of the city; restaurant, art galleries and art studios. 4) The connection between inhabitants and tourists: culture and commerce.

Fig.1 Location

Fig.2. Plan; Ground floor and First floor

Fig.4 Front view

Fig.3 Model

234 Elisabeth Boersma/ Studio Olinda: Projects

Fig.5 Section building

relation Recife & Olinda

It is realized by creating openings in the walls of the central hall, which make it possible to physically experience the building as a single entity. All connections come together in the heart of the Fábrica, the central hall. Here a square forms a cultural meeting point where tourists and locals, commerce and culture, city and green gather is established. Design: ‘Cultural Embrace’ The bus terminal is constructed at the back of the building. This position relates to the historic unloading platform, and it does not interrupt the appearance of the Fábrica. However, a new entrance must be made at the back of the building. This entrance expresses the ‘cultural embrace’ of the tourist in cultural Olinda. The ‘embrace’ is created by three elements: A mosaic sculpture-wall, which serves as a ground retaining structure; A shelter from sun and rainfall; designed as an artistic palm-tree to fit into the landscape; Apertures in the façade, based the Fábrica-Landscape relation (window) and on the Fábrica-Route relation (doorway).

Fig.6 Section building; relation artstudio’s- landscape

Fig.7 Cultural embrace

Fig.8 Central hall

Fig.9 stairs to Sao Bento

Fig.10 Section through Cultural Embrace Studio Olinda: Projects 235 Elisabeth Boersma/ 235

relation Recife & Olinda

Fabrica de Cultura, Varadouro Johanna van Doorn Problem Statement: The Varadouro area is the historic and present entrance of Olinda, because of the busy traffic route, which passes the area, and the presence of decayed monuments it became a very poor entrance. Concept: The urban vision is a route through the area that connects the historic city with the coast. The route starts at the Varadouro square and ends at the São Bento square. It consists of four areas: Varadouro square, the market building, gardens and São Bento square. Each has its own theme and area of interest. It has both commercial and cultural functions that are housed in architectural elements spread over the area. These elements make use of different sightlines, of the climate and the of landscape that is present. (Figure 3) Design: For the redevelopment, it was important to revalue the Sigismundo Gonçalves traffic route, the canal de Malaria, the Varadouro square and the Mercado Eufrásio Barbosa. With reference to the Master plan, the Avenida Sigismundo Gonçalvez has been narrowed from a four lane road to a two lane road. This will reduce the traffic

Fig.1 valuation area

236 Elisabeth Boersma/ Studio Olinda: Projects

relation Recife & Olinda

burden on the road and will strengthen the connection between the coast and the historic city. (Figure 4) The Varadouro square has become larger and is no longer isolated from the market building, it now functions as a threshold to the building. The canal has become part of the square because of the green strip on its bank. These features have become a buffer between the traffic route and the monument. ’Encounter’ is the theme of the Varadouro square. (Figure 5) The route continues in de Mercado Eufrásio Barbosa. This old factory is rich in details, materials and history. Behind every wall lies a secret. The commercial and cultural functions come together in the market building; the inhabitants and visitors of Olinda gather there and interact. The new functions in the building are the market, restaurant, tourist office, art studios, snack gallery and the central event hall. Simple interventions of concrete and wood ensure that the building functions as it should and that it keeps its significance as the icon of the Varadouro. (Figure 6) The traditional market, in the right wing of the building, is the main function. Here one can find fruit, meat, fish, vegetables and more. Culture can be found in the left wing of the building, where the art studios and the tourist office are located. Between these two wings lies the central event hall, which consists of a square and a corridor. This corridor leads the route into the garden. Passing along the terraces of the restaurant and the snack gallery, the route continues into the green of the garden, a place of relaxation in which the theatre is hidden. This amphitheatre is entrenched in the landscape. The stairs

Fig.3 design concept

Fig.2 valuation building Studio Olinda: Projects 237 Elisabeth Boersma/ 237

Fig.4 urban vision

relation Recife & Olinda

are protected from the sun and rain by a big fabric tent and the view of the garden is the main prospect from the theatre . (Image 7) Further into the green area, up to the hill at the end of the garden, lies the cultural centre with its dance, music, capoeira and language schools. This centre consists of two concrete buildings, one partly embedded in the landscape and one carried by tree trunks. Together they form a stairway leading towards the historical São Bento convent. Once on the terrace of the centre, one also can enjoy a wide view into the garden. With the skyscrapers of Recife, the São Bento convent and cultural centre in the background; the route of the Fábrica de Cultura Varadouro has come to an end in the São Bento square. This is only a short introduction, the route towards the picturesque streets of the historic city of Olinda continues. Contribution to the development of Olinda: The Fábrica de Cultura Varadouro reinforces the potentials of Olinda. Architecture, landscape, culture and history unite in this short introduction of the city. The plan will improve the area aesthetically, economically and socially. The city has gained a new icon, which attracts inhabitants and visitors and connects the historic city with the coast. It boosts tourism and culture. The old factory, a valuable monument, generates money and its decline will be stopped.

Fig.5 Varadouro square

Fig.8 Section cultural centre

Fig.6 Section building

Fig.7 Section route

238 Elisabeth Boersma/ Studio Olinda: Projects

relation Recife & Olinda

Banho de Olinda, a new balance between hill and sea side Sabine Meeks Problem Statement: At present the hillside, with its static monuments, and the coastal area, with its diffuse character, are not in balance. The purpose of this project is to bring hill and coastal sides into balance, which means the hill side should be given a stronger counterweight. Although the artificial reefs have a negative character, they could be utilized to realize this counterweight. Concept: The busy traffic infrastructure should be reduced and the dilapidated houses demolished. The coastal strip could then become a strolling boulevard, with some important icons such as the Fort, the fishermen’s church and a private residence with a characteristic enclosed garden. Staircases and terraces could establish a direct connection with the Atlantic Ocean. The reefs could be broken through in various places in order to bring movement to the water. In order to make the reef accessible a building could be constructed on the artificial reef. This new building could be the starting point as well as the endpoint of the religious route through Olinda.

Fig.1 Analysis

Fig.2 Analysis Studio Olinda: Projects 239 Elisabeth Boersma/ 239

Olinda & the Sea

Design: The function of the new building, Banho de Olinda is related to three aspects. The former seaside resort culture in Olinda, the São Francisco water well and the strong Christian religion in Olinda. The program contains public and private parts. The public part contains a part of the reef, the building and a tower. The new tower relates to the present water tower in Olinda, it serves as ‘yell tower’ and lookout over the city Olinda. Four basic materials have been used in the design: Concrete, timber, steel and shells. The implementation of these materials will be explained.In order to bring a strong counterweight to the impressive monuments of Olinda, the shape of the building is expressive and dynamic. The building consists of two parts, the lower side and the upper side. The lower side is a concrete bunker; this relates to the defensive identity of the reef and the Fort on the boulevard. The upper side consists of a flat disc, through which rainwater is discharged. In a storm, the concrete bunker can be locked with special doors. The flat disc on the other hand remains open, so the water from the Ocean can pass through it. At low tide the baths and artificial reefs are accessible via a footbridge. At high tide the artificial reefs can be reached by boat, which relates to the local fishermen’s culture. The yoga room relates to the enclosed gardens in Olinda and is situated in the middle of the building. The walls

Fig.3 Historic city

Fig.4 Model

Fig.5 3D-Model

Fig.6 Concept

240 Elisabeth Boersma/ Studio Olinda: Projects

Olinda & the Sea

of the room are covered with shells; as if the Atlantic Ocean washed shells down to the floor on the uppermost decking and onto the walls of the ground story. The sauna room relates to the fishermen’s culture, because it is partly inside and partly outside the artificial reef. The long narrow windows above the shower room floor have a special effect. At high tide the windows are completely under water; the fish in the Atlantic Ocean can be seen from inside. At high tide, these windows are above water; the feet of the visitors to the baths can be seen from the boat. The meditation space relates to the religious image of Olinda. A well-known tile pattern (azuleijos) visible in various monasteries and churches in Olinda, is used for in a detailed wooden fence. Contribution to the development of Olinda: The large number of monuments in Olinda requires a focus for development. As a result the coastal area is now forgotten and underdeveloped, while the area still contains a lot of potential.Developing the coastal strip in an appropriate manner, makes possible the relation between coast and hill. The renovating, re-designing and implementing of buildings and structures could support this relation. The Atlantic Ocean could also be considered as a building location.

Fig.7 Section

Fig.9 Yoga room

Fig.8 Counterweight Studio Olinda: Projects 241 Elisabeth Boersma/ 241

Fig.10 Detailed wooden fence

Olinda & the Sea

Public Bathing, Fitness and Health Centre Vivan Bongers Concept: The main purpose of this project is to connect ‘the sea’ with ‘the sky’. To achieve this connection the main direction in the area should be changed from one parallel to the sea to a direction perpendicular to the seaside. Three routes coming straight down the hill towards the coastline must create this future main direction in the area. However, because the connection fails in the middle of the route, the Carmo park should be slightly transformed. A connection between the town hall and the seaside will be created. Connections and quality, view lines and climate are the keywords for the new architecture in this area. Design: A new route will be developed from the city to the sea, with buildings and a public bathing, fitness and health centre. The architecture will be contemporary, echoing features of the colonial and spa architecture. The large roof of the Public Bathing, Fitness and Health Centre will be used for climate and connection purposes. The floor is slightly lifted in such a way that the level underneath can be ventilated naturally.

Fig.1 Location

Fig.2 Section Situation

242 Elisabeth Boersma/ Studio Olinda: Projects

Fig.3 Carmo park, new

Olinda & the Sea

Two vertical volumes in the building are mainly designed for climate control. The water collected by the roof will be stored and treated in one of the two vertical ‘climate’ volumes. The fifth element designed to express the view concept is the route that leads the visitor along the São Bento to give a view of the Carmo and which gives narrow views through to the sea.

Fig.4 Urban plan

Fig.5 Sobrado dwelling

Fig.6 Concept design building Studio Olinda: Projects 243 Elisabeth Boersma/ 243

Olinda & the Sea

Fishermen’s Museum Ankie Stam Problem Statement: The character created by the open space of the fishermen’s area with the Fortress and the fishermen’s church forms the core of this project. Because a clear structure is lacking in this area, this coastal strip now forms a barrier to the attachment of the coast to the city. Concept: The main idea is to bring the tourists in to the fishermen’s area. A clear structure is essential in this area. Design: A new urban grid preserves existing monuments, vistas and squares, but at the same time generate building volume for future developments. The fortress serves as a tourist location; supported by fish restaurants and bars. Around the church, the place for the fishermen is developed. This includes a fishermen’s clubhouse and stores that supply fishing gear. The two spaces are covered by a single roof, underneath which a fishermen’s museum is situated. These two elements connect the fishermen and the tourists. The roof extends in two directions, towards the sea and towards the city, ‘the sky’. Because of this interaction the roof removes the barrier between ‘the sea’ and ‘the sky’.

Fig.2 Concept

Fig.1 Analysis location

Fig.4 Model

Fig.3 Urban plan

Fig.5 Fishermens’ area

244 Elisabeth Boersma/ Studio Olinda: Projects

Fig.6 Tourists’ area

Olinda & the Sea

Club & School of Dance for Olinda; unity in diversity Annegreet de Vries Problem Statement: The main question in this project is how to re-design the fishermen’s area as a single entity, while conserving its many characteristics and its functional diversity. It is necessary to find a function which supports this functional diversity and serves the inhabitants of Olinda as well as the tourists. Concept: The concept is based upon different aspects which should cover the contribution of this area to the city Olinda: Accessibility to public spaces and maintaining the local functions and a mixture of small scale and large scale functions. They should form unity in diversity. Design: The plan is developed by creating diversity in the open areas and creating space around the monuments so they can be seen again. A combination of functions, for the local population, the city and the tourists, is realized in one building. The three functions which are combined are a school of dance, a restaurant/bar and a club. The building is designed to create unity in diversity by using a selection of materials typical of Brazil and typical of Olinda.

Fig.1 Analysis location

Fig.4 3D-Model

Fig.2 Urban plan

Fig.3 Concept building

Fig.5 Fishermens church on square

Fig.6 Section building Studio Olinda: Projects 245 Elisabeth Boersma/ 245

Fig.7 Design

Olinda & the Sea

Hotel Conference centre São Francisco Martine van der Does Problem Statement: The expression of the Franciscan power in Olinda is represented in the façade of the São Bento convent and is facing the city. It forms the Franciscan landmark typical of Olinda. The convent opens up with its great tropical garden in direction of the sea. Formerly a path through the convent and its garden provided a direct connection to the sea but this path no longer exists. These aspects make the building and its surroundings a transition area between the historical city and the sea. Concept: The functions of the building and its surrounding must be reconsidered to permit them to act as transition between historic city and sea. Franciscans used to travel around not being connected to a convent. They studied and took their knowledge around the world. The new function for the convent could be seen as hotel for ‘spiritual travellers’, at the same time maintaining and respecting the presence of the Franciscan monks. The hotel will be unique because monks and tourists will have the chance to live together in a historical context, a really exclusive place in which experience the spirit of Olinda the way it is: historical heritage in enclosed green areas.

Fig.1 Photo

Fig.2 Analysis location

Fig.3 Concept

Fig.4 Function visible in façade

Fig.5 New façade, addition of servicebuilding on the right

246 Elisabeth Boersma/ Studio Olinda: Projects

Olinda & the Sky

Design: The complex consists of three sections, visible in the front façade and reflecting the use of the convent: religion, knowledge and residence. These three parts of the convent, should be maintained and their characters should be strengthened. The religion part, the church, will be preserved. The knowledge part will be partially preserved and functions such as that of conference centre and a spiritual garden will be added. The Conference rooms, workshop spaces and a restaurant are made within the context of the old convent, being implemented in the traditional situation. The residential part, the rarely used domestic section of the monks will be developed as hotel. The hotel will provide accommodation for both tourists and delegates from the conference centre. Some changes will be made to the original rooms of the monks. Some will be made luxurious, while others remain the in their original state, thus giving the traveller the opportunity to experience the Franciscan way of life.In addition to the existing religious route, a hotel route and a conference route are will be implemented in the convent. The hotel route will require a service area. It will be located on the south side of the convent on the foundations of a former part of the convent. On the conference route, the historical path connecting city and sea, the atrium of the convent, will be located. In this atrium the three routes come together. Following the path though the spiritual garden is an important aspect; beneath this a swimming pool and auditorium will be constructed.

Fig.6 Model, conference center and swimming pool in garden

Fig.7 Detail servicebuilding

Fig.8 Section conference centre, left the added servicebuilding Studio Olinda: Projects 247 Elisabeth Boersma/ 247

Olinda & the Sky

The Carmo Art Academy, a new heart for Olinda Pauline Folkers Problem Statement: Because of the location of the Carmo church, near sea and city, on a mound beside the four-lane highway, the main potentials are present in this project. In fact the Carmo church could be seen as an intermediate zone between ‘the sky’ and ‘the sea’. This zone consists of three parts: the park, the church and the ruins of the convent. The church is prominent on its mound, but a bit forlorn because of the absence of the former convent. On top of this mound, the church also is isolated from the park, while the park, as most important public green of Olinda, does not serve its intended function. These three parts should work together and should be connected to the surrounding area. The park requires functional repositioning within the city; the church must be reintegrated in the urban ensemble and it is necessary to rediscover the convent.

Fig.1 Location

Fig.2 Functions in area

Fig.3 concept to let city, park, mound and chirch function as one

248 Elisabeth Boersma/ Studio Olinda: Projects

Fig.4 Carmo Art Academy

Olinda & the Sky

Concept: Giving the Carmo Area the function of an Art Academy could give a new impulse to the city as whole by strengthening its cultural image. The objective of the design of this Art Academy will be to let the city, the park, the mound and the church function as one. Design: On the existing foundations of the convent a new building block will be developed. This part provides accommodation for the academy. The church, fully conserved, will function as the assembly hall of the academy. The original convent block has a closed image, it turned to the inside because of its religious function. Conversely, to serve its educational function the new block will be open. The form of the new block will follow the original contours but in function it will show its change from closed to open. The new block has three floors; each with its own theme. The ground floor will be a public floor; this floor is as open as possible. The functions are also related to this theme; the entrance, tourist office, restaurant, reception area and shop are situated here. The first floor will be turned to the inside. The theory lessons take place on this floor, therefore tranquillity is

Fig.5 Plan; groundfloor, first floor and second flloor

Fig.6 Model Studio Olinda: Projects 249 Elisabeth Boersma/ 249

Fig.7 Model

Olinda & the Sky

needed. The second floor will be totally open, except for some ‘boxes’ containing the material for the practical lessons which take place on this floor. The new building has to have the roughness and simplicity of the convent in order to become one with the church again. The outside facade of the first floor will be concrete. On the second floor this facade forms only a balustrade. The garden inside the new block is given a warm charisma by making a facade of open vertical wooden slats. These slats support vegetation. Contribution to the development of Olinda: An intervention such as that demonstrated will realize the link between city, park, mound and church and also the relation between the historic centre and the sea. Implementing the function of Art Academy will give a new impulse to the cultural image of Olinda, and a new target group, students, will be attracted to Olinda. Finally the important public green area will really function as park. It will support the Carmo church which is given back its ensemble. The Carmo church, as one of Olinda’s monuments, will become financially independent.

Fig.8 The new ensemble of the Carmo convent

Fig.9 Entrance; old and new

Fig.10 Section building

Fig.11 Section building

250 Elisabeth Boersma/ Studio Olinda: Projects

Olinda & the Sky

Villa Herman Lundgren Restaurant & cooking school Pluck van der Laan Problem Statement: With the development of the coastal zone, there is as yet no connection with the existing parts of the city on the hill. The result is that the historic city of Olinda contains two different identities. Villa Herman is located on the division between ‘the sky’ and ‘the sea’. At present this villa is connected to the coastal area via the Carmo park, which is in front of it, while the connection with historic Olinda is formed by little vistas. Concept: To develop this location in the city as a connection between ‘the sky’ and ‘the sea’, two groups should be brought together, the tourists and the inhabitants. As a meeting point the function of café/restaurant has been chosen. The café/restaurant should provide a cultural experience; it is characterized by a theatre, exhibition area and a cooking school. Design: The design will be realized by removing the 1966 addition to the building. A new extension is added to separate the garden and the new service area. This results in a new relation between the villa and the garden.

Fig.1 Villa Herman Lundgren between ‘the sky’ and ‘the sea’

Fig.2 Villa Herman Lundgren, existing situation

Fig.4 Villa Herman Lundgren, design Studio Olinda: Projects 251 Elisabeth Boersma/ 251

Fig.3 Concept

Olinda & the Sky

Centro de artesanato Convento e Igreja e Convento da Conceição Elsbeth Versterre Problem Statement: Igreja e Convento da Conceição is a very special object in Olinda, not only because of its monumental status and its lay-out on the green hill, but also because its inhabitants, ten aged nuns make it a very special place. Nowadays the convent is enclosed by the characteristic green landscape of Olinda, the Horto del Rey. Situated on a side branch of the Alto da Sé, the complex of Igreja e Convento da Conceição is a unique religious monument, located in an excellent position to make the connection with this botanic garden. Concept: The challenge in this situation is to re-define the relation of the complex within the historic city of Olinda, via ‘the sky’. Its identity should be strengthened and the life in the convent be experienced by a combination of functions within the complex. The key to achieving this is to organize the convent to create well-defined sectors for nuns and visitors respectively, as well as adding a centre for arts and crafts (artesanato), where the work of the order is presented to the city and its visitors.

Fig.1 Igreja e Convento da Conceição

Fig.2 Urban plan

252 Elisabeth Boersma/ Studio Olinda: Projects

Fig.3 Concept

Olinda & the Sky

Design: A new building will rise on the west side of the Largo da Conceiçao, replacing a recent addition to the complex. The 16th century dwelling that is connected to it will be preserved and embraces the building. The new facade is clearly part of the complex, but with its own identity and entrance. The use of natural materials on the outside, ensures that it fits into the historical context of Olinda. On the inside however, the implementation is more modern, for example steel sheets are used rather than traditional sun-shades. With the new function added to the complex, the Largo da Conceiçao will serve as a public place, accessible to people interested in the world behind the convent walls. The members of the order will be able to explore a social function, passing on tradition and knowledge, without losing their life in private.

Fig.4 Floorplan

Fig.5 Model design

Fig.6 Section building Studio Olinda: Projects 253 Elisabeth Boersma/ 253

Fig.5 3D-Model courtyard

Fig.7 3D-Model courtyard

Olinda & the Sky

Museu de Gigantes Igreja de São João Batista dos Militares

Maaike Thijssen

Problem Statement: The Alto da Sé and the Horto del Rey lead to the Amparo church. This church is facing the Igreja de São João Batista dos Militares, which is situated on a hill opposite to the Alto da Sé. This district is one of the three new entrances of Olinda. The district has three leads for further development: First, it is one of the new entrances to Olinda. Secondly, it is the foothill of Alto da Sé and its cultural route. Consequently, it could be quite conceivable that the cultural route will proceed in this area. Thirdly, it could connect the favelas located along the Rua de São João with the historic city. Concept: Because of its position on top of a little hill the view from the building to its surrounding is unique. A relation with the backland of Olinda could be realized here. The historical front facade of the church, which faces the historical centre of Olinda, should be preserved. The functions divide the church into geometrical forms, like a block puzzle. The simplicity of this structure should be considered in the new plan.

Fig.1 Location

Fig.4 São View from the church

Fig.2 São João Batista dos Militares Fig.3 São Dutch in Olinda

Fig.5 Section area

254 Elisabeth Boersma/ Studio Olinda: Projects

Olinda & the Sky

Design: Carnival is the biggest event in Olinda. Special to Olinda are the gigantic dolls that dance in the crowd. To keep the giant dolls ‘alive’ and visible all year round, it is proposed that a Museum of the Giants should provide a new function for the church. A new side-entrance would be made to improve the accessibility of the museum. A bridge from the first floor of the church would connect this to the doll-tower, which would be built in the garden of the church. Here the dolls would be made or restored. Next to this doll-tower a residential block would be situated to house exchange students and the owners of the museum.

Fig.6 Structure

Fig.9 Model design

Fig.7 Geometrical forms

Fig.10 Façades

Studio Olinda: Projects 255 Elisabeth Boersma/ 255

Fig.8 Carnival in Olinda

Fig.11 Model design

Olinda & the Sky

Horto del Rey; The Socio-Spatial Task of Public Spaces Liesbeth de Jong Problem Statement: In general, public parks, like other public spaces suffer from three major problems: marginalization, socio-spatial segregation and lack of social safety. The municipality of Olinda intends to make the Horto del Rey a successful public space for citizens and tourists alike. However, a clear view and understanding of the reciprocal relation between spatial design and social problems in the public domain is lacking. The current plans are mainly based on the physical aspects of design, but do not consider the social problems. Nowadays the green space on top of the hill, including the Horto is in private hands and is not accessible for public use. Concept: The idea behind the concept is an example of a possible concept for the Horto. By exploring this concept it can be shown how the social problems are related to the spatial features and can be tackled. The concept will be explained by four recommendations. 1. Connect the Horto visually and spatially to its surroundings. To maintain the Horto’s unique character, the

Fig.1 Vegetation of Horto del Rey

Fig.2 Vegetation of Horto del Rey

Fig.3 Vegetation of Horto del Rey

Fig.4 Vegetation of Horto del Rey

256 Elisabeth Boersma/ Studio Olinda: Projects

Olinda & the Sky

points of visual and physical access should be well chosen. The concept idea recommends two entrances. 2. Design the transition between the Horto and its surroundings. The transition between Horto and the private spaces is characterized by strict segregation; houses are surrounded by walls which provide safety for the private domain. To improve safety it is recommended that the private space is separated from the public space by semi-public places. The concept shows three different transitional zones for the Horto. The gradual zone consists of semi-public spaces that offer facilities for citizens and are attached to the private space. These spaces should have transparent borders to provide ‘social eyes’ in order to improve safety (Figure 5). 3. Design spatial composition of the inner structure, considering orientation and visibility. The quality of the Horto also creates a dilemma since the structure of the vegetation is very dense. It is recommended that open zones should be provided. The provision of clear infrastructure which permits an overview and the possibility for orientation to the visitors also needs to be considered. Sightlines and landmarks could be used to support this. 4. Designing functional, time and accessibility zones. Even though the Horto is private and disconnected from its surroundings, it is used by the inhabitants of Olinda.

Fig.5 Traditional zone should have ‘Social eyes’ Studio Olinda: Projects 257 Elisabeth Boersma/ 257

Fig.6 Example of spaces in Horto

Olinda & the Sky

Because of its location near the Alto da Sé, it could make a significant contribution to the tourism in Olinda. To avoid conflicts between these two groups it is recommended that different functional zones, which change over time should be defined. These time zones require the design of multifunctional spaces. To conclude, the research showed that the relation between spatial features and the social problems are complex and cannot be individually translated into a concept. Design can influence the problems, but we should not forget that the innovative ideas of actual users will make the Horto a successful place.

Fig.7 Concept idea and recommendations Horto del Rey

258 Elisabeth Boersma/ Studio Olinda: Projects

Olinda & the Sky

Revitalization of the historic core of Olinda Pepijn Noordhuizen Problem Statement: Unfortunately the green area in the historic core are underdeveloped. Because it is in private ownership it is not able to serve the inhabitants and the tourists as it could do. Concept: It is necessary to create a unique park in Olinda, focusing on the history of the botanical garden and new cultural use. This will attract visitors from the metropolis of Recife, who will profit from the potentials existing in Olinda and provide better economic conditions for the inhabitants of the municipality of Olinda. Design: In order to recover the costs of the development of the Horto, the south-east side of it will be transformed into a new urban district. In this urban district, a development including 90 dwellings, 3000 m² of office space and a social education facility is proposed. The Horto will be transformed into an urban park with diverse functions: a central platform for local arts and crafts, and an education centre for traditional medicine. The design accentuates the underlying landscape and offers a view of the richness of Brazilian flora.

Fig.1 Position of Horto in Olinda

Fig.2 Concept Horto del Rey

Fig.4 Section design Studio Olinda: Projects 259 Elisabeth Boersma/ 259

Fig.3 Design Horto del Rey

Fig.5 Model

Olinda & the Sky

260

World Heritage Site Olinda in Brazil Paul Meurs/ Leo G.W. Verhoef (Eds.) IOS Press, 2006 © 2006 The authors and IOS Press. All rights reserved.

Colofon Delft University of Technology

Acknowledgements Staff Studio Olinda: Paul Meurs (Delft University), Leo Verhoef (Delft University), Ferrucio Colautti (Delft University), Frits van Aart (Delft University), Job Roos (Delft University). Students Studio Olinda: Entrance Olinda: Hanneke Weststrate, Miebet van der Poel, Johanna van Doorn, Elisabeth Boersma; Olinda & the sea: Vivan Bongers, Ankie Stam, Anne-greet de Vries, Sabine Meeks; Olinda & the sky: Martine van der Does, Pauline Folkers, Pluck van der Laan, Elsbeth Versterre, Maaike Thijssen; Horto del Rey: Liesbeth de Jong, Pepijn Noordhuizen. Thanks to: Prof. Silvio Zancheti (CECI / UFPE), Dr. Fernando Diniz Moreira (CECI / UFPE), Jose ‘Zeca’ Brandão (UFPE), José Luiz Mota Menezes, architect, Frederico Faria Neves de Almeida (IPHAN), Claudia Rodrigues (IPHAN), Andre Pina (Municipality of Olinda), Socorro Lopes, Departamento de Informações municipais (Seplama), Valeria Macedo Cavalcanti, orla (Seplama), Maria Lúcia, Meio Ambiente (Seplama), Frei Roberto (São Francisco),Padre Héctor Reitar (Seminário de Olinda), Dom Irineu (Museu de Arte Sacra, Olinda), Carlos Trevi (Instituto Cultural Bandepe) Robin de Rooy and Laurens Steen (Netherlands Office in Recife), Dr. Ir. R.van Oers (connected to UNESCO and Delft University of Technology), Mw. Drs. S.M. Grimbrère (Ministry of Education, Culture and Science), Luciana Santos (Mayor of Olinda).

261 Colofon

262

263

264