TOPICS: INTRO TO ARCHITECTURAL CONSERVATION IN PARIS in Summer 2023 (AH2091-3WK2)

The course offers an introduction to the history and theory of conservation in architecture, with a focus on Paris. Students will learn about the different approaches to historical buildings and their urban context in the 19th and 20th centuries, intervention methods and the underlying conservation philosophy. The course will explore some of the key themes that have shaped the French approach to architectural heritage in the city and the way it has differed from other countries. They include the relation between conservation culture and the perception of historical time, continuity and change in urban design, the sense of place, memory and identity. Site visits in Paris will allow students to explore how these themes have shaped concrete interventions on historical monuments and their settings, giving them the form we see today.

Monuments and sites to be visited include: the Ile de la Cité, Notre-Dame Cathedral, Sainte-Chapelle, Saint-Martin-des-Champs priory, rue de Rivoli, the Louvre and I.M. Pei’s glass pyramid, Étienne-Louis Boullée’s Hôtel Alexandre, Musée d’Orsay, and the Passage du Grand Colbert, among others.