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Title: | The modern ruin : Ruskin, Viollet-le-Duc and the Royal Opera House, Malta |
Authors: | Zammit, Sarah-Jane (2013) |
Keywords: | Ruskin, John, 1819-1900 Lost architecture -- Malta -- Valletta Casa della Giornata (Valletta, Malta) |
Issue Date: | 2013 |
Citation: | Zammit, S. (2013). The modern ruin : Ruskin, Viollet-le-Duc and the Royal Opera House, Malta (Doctoral dissertation). |
Abstract: | Contemporary architectural conservation practice lays its foundations in two competing theories from the mid-19th Century, championed by contemporaries, English-born art and architecture critic John Ruskin and French-born architect and theorist Eugene-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc. Through a critical comparative analysis, the relevancy and applicability of these theories to a contemporary ruin and adaptive reuse project will be ascertained. Coined in England as the Anti-Scrape and Scrape Movements, it is important to understand the development of these theories and movements through the catalysts of their emergence, the dualism in historic preservation. The retention of the building or ruin as found versus a restoration which may or may not involve interventions in order for it to evolve for a viable future. For Ruskin and his fellow Anti-Scrapers, the importance of design and material choices in restorations were detrimental to historic buildings, and thus preferred to leave a building in ruin or unfinished, rather than have it all be 'bad'. On the contrary, Viollet-le-Duc and his contemporaries advocated for conservation and restoration as part of the layering of history and evolution of the building. Preferring that the building is able to fight for its survival as a functional space, and be viable for future generations, whilst concurrently preserving the historic layering which make it significant. The arguments of the 19th Century are still at the forefront of contemporary practice, begging the question whether new adaptations or interventions can respect and maintain the integrity of the original 'pure' artistic architectural form. Through an analysis of Ruskin's theories in particular those discussed in The Seven Lamps of Architecture in comparison to Viol et-le-Due's theories espoused in his Dictionnaire Raisonne de l'architecture franfaise du; Xle au XVLe siecle. and highlighted through his architectural restoration practices; as well as the integration of other key texts by contemporary authors, academics and architects, there is an aim to understand the significance of these opposing arguments and their relevancy to contemporary society, and architectural and restorative practices. This analysis will then be applied to a contemporary European case study, the Royal Opera House in Valletta, Malta. Dilapidated by World War II, the Royal Opera House is a modern-day ruin. Through the collaborative efforts of renowned international architect, Renzo Piano, local Maltese architectural firm, Architecture Project, and the Maltese Government, the idea of the ruin has been re-examined, and consequently the Royal Opera House is undergoing restoration and adaptive reuse. Through a close study of the project, the integrity of the original ruin, in light of the insertion and its adaptation to a contemporary performance venue will be determined. Consequently, the relevancy and applicability of each theorist's philosophies in the case of a contemporary ruin and adaptive reuse project will be highlighted. |
Description: | PhD |
URI: | https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/100524 |
Appears in Collections: | Foreign dissertations - FacArt |
Files in This Item:
File | Description | Size | Format | |
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Foreign Thesis_Zammit Sarah-Jane_2013.pdf Restricted Access | 39.78 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open Request a copy |
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