Mary@MaryBrush.com     restorechic@mac.com     www.marybrush.com

  November 13, 2005      

My transition from the Laboratoire de Recherche des Monuments Historique and the stone conference to my next posting in Rouen took me on a tour through some of the great Gothic cathedrals of France. Reims was a mere hour drive from Chateau Thierry, and Chartres was on the way to Rouen. The Rouen Cathedral became ‘local’ and in the neighborhood for two weeks. A long holiday weekend for All Saints Day allowed a trip to the Bourges Cathedral. The trip to Bourges also included a party in Lyon, and then a few days tracing my French heritage in Saumur.

The visits to the cathedrals were entirely too quick, as they are breathtaking in their majesty and so filled with intricate details that it could take a lifetime to understand and appreciate. Sketching provided a moment or two for meditation and appreciation of the complex structures. My sketches are getting more complex and taking a bit more time than a few months ago!

The visit in Rouen was to learn the role of the Architecte de Batiments de France (ABF). This job is integral in the French restoration hierarchy. The closest comparison in the United States is a landmark commissioner, but with additional responsibilities of urbanism. Each historic monument has a radius of 500 meters around the exterior of the building or grounds or object within which all projects from new construction, restoration, building modifications, skylights, trash dumpsters and paving patterns must be reviewed by the ABF. This radius frequently covers an entire village if it has a classified church or two. Paris is almost completely covered with protection due the density of significant buildings.

The larger projects are managed by the DRAC(Director Regional des Affaires Culturels) and the Architect en Chef, but it is the ABF’s responsibility to first find the areas in need of restoration. Occasionally the projects are designed and managed within the ABF offices. One of the technicians in the office was a wealth of knowledge on the cathedral as we toured the roofs and, of course, climbed to the highest point of the steeple.

The days of the ABF are filled with meetings on 20-30 minute intervals and site visits. Meetings spanned from the future installation of wind turbines off the coast of Normandy, to a new cultural center architecture competition, to storefront modifications. The medieval building type of ‘panne de bois’ is the mortar and stucco between the wood frame facade and is prevalent in Rouen. The coloration of the wood and the stucco is within the domain of the ABF.

The fact that Rouen has so many of the medieval structures is surprising considering the damage it suffered during the two world wars. Le Havre is a city that was essentially destroyed during the two wars. It suffered in World War I, and slowly rebuilt, and then after the almost total loss in World War II it was completely redesigned as a 20th century city by the architect and urbaniste Auguste Perret.

The city has recently been named to the UNESCO world heritage list. The city is still ‘wounded‘ by the wars in that the memory of the thriving port town is still alive. However, as a new town, with wide streets, wide sidewalks, arcaded shopping areas, and a rhythm of balconies, materials, and building heights, it does set a standard for modern Utopias.

The city provides a willing comparison to Brasilia, Brazil. Both were designed by architects with a logic of social organization and physical form. Oscar Neimeyer, the architect of Brasilia, has two structures in Le Havre. His buildings are the only ones off the rhythm of orthagonal structures and color.

Other projects that were visited with the ABF were in the Normandy region and included the Chateau de Martaineville and the Abbaye St George de Boscherville. The Chateau is a beautiful masonry structure just starting an exterior wall restoration and accessibility program, and the Abbaye requires garden retaining wall reconstruction. The ABF attends all meetings and monitors the project issues, and when applicable brings in the larger team of the architect en chef and the DRAC. Next visit: the Louvre!