2 - 5 November 2006
THE VENICE CHARTER REVISITED:
Modernism and Conservation in the Postwar World
INTBAU Conference, Venice, Italy

http://www.intbau.org/venicecharter.htm

Call for papers
Deadline: 15 May 2006
Papers are invited from academics, practitioners, planners, historians, those working in public agencies, and others on any aspect of the conference themes outlined below.

The conference
The 2006 conference of the International Network for Traditional Building, Architecture & Urbanism (INTBAU) will examine philosophies of conservation, scrutinise the Venice Charter in the context of its times, and hear case studies of the Charter as it has applied in the 42 years since its adoption.

The 'Venice Charter' aims to define the common responsibility of nations to safeguard cultural heritage for future generations. Available in English, French and Spanish at www.international.icomos.org/charters/venice_e.htm, it followed a series of charters on conservation that appeared in the inter-war and post-war periods.
The 'Athens Charter' of 1931  proscribed 'integrative' restoration, encouraging a view of old buildings as historical documents.
Viewed as such, old buildings could be studied and admired but never copied, for fear of 'falsifying' history.
This modernist concept was promptly incorporated into the Italian government's Norme per il restauro dei monumenti. of 1932 (web.tiscali.it/restauroantico/carta_1932.htm), and, inspired Le Corbusier to write a text on conservation following the fourth congress of the Congres Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne (CIAM) in 1933.
Post-war reconstruction in the period 1945-1955 was nevertheless characterised by large-scale restorations of damaged cities such as Warsaw, Gdansk, Blois and Vicenza.
The Hague Convention of 1954 produced the Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, issued in 1956, followed by the Second International Congress of Architects and Technicians of Historic Monuments, which in May 1964 produced the Venice Charter. It can thus be said to reflect, in its 16 paragraphs, the political and cultural history of the tumultuous mid-20th century.

The Charter's insistence that buildings and settings be seen as historical documents which must not be 'falsified' perhaps reflects a common post-war modernist belief in 'the end of history'.
Since its inception, particular clauses of the Venice Charter have been used to justify and to require modernist interventions in traditional buildings and places, and in recent years, to block traditional design altogether and to privilege the voice of the trans-national class of modernist architects and their multinational patrons over those of local peoples and traditional cultures.

INTBAU seeks to advance a pluralist view that would allow considerations of cultural continuity, tradition and collective memory to over-ride the Venice Charter's requirement that buildings be treated as historic documents.
We seek not to replace the Charter, but to supplement it.
We are in contact with ICOMOS with regard to our proposals.
The conference venues are the Piccolo Teatro of the Arsenale and the Aula Magna of the Ateneo Veneto, in Venice, Italy.

Conference themes
"The Venice Charter Revisited" will have four major themes:
1. To situate the Venice Charter in the context of its times and to interrogate the text; and
2. to examine the range of conservation philosophies and architectural responses that characterised conservation before the Venice Charter; and
3. to hear contemporary case studies of the Venice Charter in operation around the world, in a variety of cultural contexts; and
4. to draft a policy for reconstructions and for traditional architecture and urbanism in historic areas.

Submission of abstracts
At least two members of the conference academic committee (or their nominees) will review refereed abstracts and papers. Review is anonymous.
If your abstract is selected, the committee will ask you to present it at the conference. The committee may also at their discretion ask you to submit a full paper for publication in the future conference proceedings.

You are encouraged to submit your abstract through our secure online form, at http://www.intbau.org/venicecharter.htm
Submitted data is securely encrypted and you will receive immediate acknowledgement that your abstract has been received.

Alternatively, you may email abstracts to matthew.hardy@princes-foundation.org as MS Word attachments titled:
'yourfamilyname_titleword.doc'.
Emailed abstracts must adhere to the following 3-page format:
 1. Name, contact details and institutional affiliation if applicable.
 2. Biographic statement - 80 words or less, including recent publications.
 3. Abstract - Paper title, relevant conference themes, keywords and abstract, in no more than 300 words.

All abstracts are due on MONDAY 15 MAY 2006 and acceptance will be notified on Monday 12 June 2006. 
The conference runs from Thursday 2 November (evening reception) - Saturday 5 November (evening dinner).

Conference Academic Committee
The conference academic committee comprises, in alphabetical order: Dr Victor Deupi (USA); Mr Vikas Dilawari (India); Mr Audun Engh (Norway), Professor Pier Giorgio Gerosa (Switzerland), Professor Claudio d'Amato Guerrieri (Italy), Dr Matthew Hardy (UK) - Committee Secretary, Professor Jean-François Lejeune (USA), Professor Paolo Marconi (Italy), Ettore Mazzola (Italy), Professor Attilio Petruccioli (Italy), and Professor Gabriele Tagliaventi (Italy).

INTBAU
The International Network for Traditional Building, Architecture & Urbanism) is a rapidly-growing international Charity (registered in the UK No. 1103068) that supports research and education in, and understanding of, traditional building, architecture and urbanism.
We have over 700 members worldwide, with chapters in India, Germany, Romania, Scandinavia and Nigeria, and others in formation in North America and Oceania. 
The INTBAU Charter is available in 21 languages on our website at
http://www.intbau.org/

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