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Critical Review-Week:1

In this review, I will comment on four articles: Restoration, written by Viollet-le-Duc, The
Lamp of Memory, written by John Ruskin, Manifesto of the Society for the Protection of
Ancient Buildings written by William Morris, and Restoration in Architecture, First Dialogue
written by Camillo Boito. In each of these articles, the authors presented their ideas about
historical buildings. In the other three articles, apart from the Lamp of Memory article, ideas
about the restoration or preservation of historical buildings are presented according to each
author's own perspective. Except from the Lamp of Memory article by John Ruskin, in which
he talks about the value of buildings that have witnessed history with a more poetic
approach, in three other articles, ideas about the restoration or preservation of historical
buildings are presented according to each author's own perspective.

In the Lamp of Memory article, the author, John Ruskin, talks about how the value of a
building will be reinforced by the events taking place under its roof and the past it has
witnessed and gaining its identity. Accordingly, till it has been entrusted with the fame, and
hallowed by the deeds of men, till its walls have been witnesses of suffering, and its pillars
rise out of the shadows of death (1) the building cannot have this much value and identity. I
agree with most of the information and ideas given by the author's poetic expression. But I
think the architectural value of the building is too important to ignore. However, the fact
that the history witnessed by the building are an important factor that multiplies the value
of the building over time and creates its identity cannot be denied.

Next, in the Restoration article written by Viollet-le-Duc, a 19th century architect and
famous writer, there is a different narrative technique. As the title suggests, in this article
the author presents his ideas on how to make the ‘’proper’’ restoration. According to his
opinion which I also agree with, it is critical to determine the age of each part before
repairing historical structures. He also believes that the architect in charge of any
restoration work should have necessary skills and experiences. Moreover, being
knowledgeable about the techniques and processes of the art of construction belonging to
the various historical periods is a necessity for these architects according to him. Although
the author's ideas that I have mentioned so far are comments that most people can
unquestionably be on the same side, his ideas that cause controversy in the dilemma of
conservation and reconstruction are also found in this article. The author argues that in

1: Ruskin, J. (1877). The Lamp of Memory. In 2107315361 1455803345 S. Colvin (Author),

Restoration and anti-restoration (p. 43). London: Henry S. King &Co
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cases where the aesthetic value of the interventions is very high, or when some elements of
the old structure are no longer functional, it may not be necessary to preserve the old
condition of the building. I disagree with the author's stance on the restaurant. Because
keeping the building alive and protecting it should be the main principle.

Camillo Boito, who does not agree with the idea I mentioned above, and Viollet-le-Duc's
principles of intervention on historical buildings, states this stance in his article, Restoration
in Architecture, which he wrote in the form of dialogue. According to him, the interventions
to the building should not imitate the old building and should not try to fill its gaps.
According to Camillo Boito, whose ideas I fully agree with in this article, the interventions to
the building should not imitate the old building or try to fill its gaps. Because this is some
kind of scam. Instead, the interventions should somehow separate. He reinforces this idea
with a very good comparison by asking this question: ‘What would you say of an antiquarian
that, having discovered, say, a new manuscript of Dante or Petrarch, incomplete and in
great part illegible, from the old so that they do not obscure the original building’s reality…’’
Also, I agree that, just as we cannot fill in the blanks and change the details in a book, this is
not possible in an architecture, either. After reading this article, David Chipperfield's Neues
Museum project came to mind. I think it is possible to see the reflection of Camillo Boito's
ideas in this project.

In the last article, Manifesto of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, William
Morris supports the similar ideas with Camillo Boito. While he defines the restoration works,
which try to fill the void by imagining what the previous builders should have done or could
do, as an effort to show the individual superiority of the people, he argues that the
interventions made under the title of demolition and repair are acts of ‘’forgery’’ that
damage the characteristic features of the historical building. He mainly supports the idea
Protection in the place of these acts. I also agree with the ideas supported by him. It is
essential to preserve the existing one, instead of the works carried out under the name of
restoration, which we see many examples of today, and which are based on demolishing old
buildings and replacing them with new inanimate examples.

1: Ruskin, J. (1877). The Lamp of Memory. In 2107315361 1455803345 S. Colvin (Author),

Restoration and anti-restoration (p. 43). London: Henry S. King &Co
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Bibliography

 Boito, C., & Birignani, C. (2009). Restoration in Architecture: First Dialogue. Future
Anterior 6(1), 68-83. doi:10.1353/fta.0.0026.
 Morris, W. (1877). Manifesto of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings. In
2107315361 1455803345 S. Colvin (Author), Restoration and anti-restoration. London:
Henry S. King & Co.
 Ruskin, J. (1877). The Lamp of Memory. In 2107315361 1455803345 S. Colvin (Author),
Restoration and anti-restoration. London: Henry S. King & Co.
 Viollet-le-Duc. (1877). Restoration. In 2107315361 1455803345 S. Colvin (Author),
Restoration and anti-restoration. London: Henry S. King & Co.

1: Ruskin, J. (1877). The Lamp of Memory. In 2107315361 1455803345 S. Colvin (Author),

Restoration and anti-restoration (p. 43). London: Henry S. King &Co