Legacy Magazine

Reporting from the ICOMOS 16th General Assembly and Scientific Symposium
September 29–October 4, 2008, Québec, Canada

By Ezequiel M. Pinto-Guillaume

The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) encourages the conservation and protection of cultural heritage places around the world. At its latest General Assembly and Scientific Symposium on “Finding the Spirit of Place,” ICOMOS aimed to find a better definition of the spirit of place. Sessions took place in Quebec, Canada, in 2008, the same year that the city celebrated its 400th jubilee. ICOMOS’s 16th General Assembly and Scientific Symposium gathered 850 people from approximately 120 countries.

The event’s host city featured the historic district of Old Québec, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985.

The main theme of the scientific symposium was divided into four subthemes. The first encouraged us to rethink the spirit of place, to address the theoretical issues surrounding the relationships that exist between spirit and place and between the tangible and the intangible elements of a site. The second analyzed the possible threats to the spirit of place, identifying and analyzing both the tangible and intangible threats to which the spirit of place might be exposed. The third considered the protection of the spirit of place. It examined the practices, methods, means, and tools that exist and could be developed in order to safeguard and protect the spirit of place. Finally, the fourth underlined that the communication and transmission of the spirit of place is an essential condition for the preservation of the spirit of place. It was put forward that by passing on knowledge heritage can spread further and thus survive.

The choice of Québec as a setting for ICOMOS’s 16th General Assembly and Scientific Symposium worked out well. Major parks of the city had been redeveloped to celebrate the 400-year jubilee. I noticed that, in the city, many landscape architectural developments had been carried out and enhanced the subject-theme of the event. For example, along Avenue Honoré-Mercier, which runs nearby the convention center, maize plants stood high in terraced planters, evoking the beginning of the colony. It is very unusual to see maize in modern landscaping. However, the effect was successful, since it showed the past and the present in symbiosis. It is important to recall that Old Québec was in fact named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985, since it is an outstanding and well-preserved example of a fortified colonial city—probably the only surviving case north of Mexico. Also, Québec, as former capital of New France, historically represents an important step in the colonization of the Americas. Further, Québec City is set in a stunning natural setting and has preserved the main essentials of its past and its environs.

Some participants visited the archaeological site of Cartier-Roberval, Cap-Rouge, the site of the first permanent European settlement in North America.

The scientific symposium’s guidelines suggested exploring the relationship between spirit and place, between the tangible and the intangible in order to answer the question that was the main subject of the event: “Where is the spirit of place?” It is often assumed that the spirit of place originates from one or the other, developing from either the physical object or from the specific uses it serves. Some consider that it is the product of the brightness of its creator, who leaves a permanent mark on the place, while others believe instead that it originates from the place itself, placing significance in both its creator and its users.

All the same, these approaches tend to present the spirit of place as an essence, as something singular, permanent, and static. At the ICOMOS 16th General Assembly and Scientific Symposium, the participants were invited to take a different approach rather than dissociating “spirit” from “place,” the tangible elements (the features of the site, the buildings, the material objects, etc.) from those intangible ones (oral traditions, beliefs, rituals, festivals, etc.), and to consider them as being opposed to one another. Participants were encouraged to discover the many ways in which the two interact and mutually complement one another.

Spirit, as the intangible genius of the creator, leaves a permanent impression on place and gives it meaning while the place itself, the tangible, nourishes the spirit of its creator and helps define the creation. The discussion was also broadened to include not only the creator but also the actual users of place.

Here are some highlights from the symposium:

Andrzej Tomaszewski
University of Warsaw, ISC Theory of Conservation, ICOMOS Poland
“From Sacrum to Profanum: From Genius Loci to Place of Significance”

Participants during the event visited the Huron village/reserve of Wendake near Québec City.

Professor Tomaszewski spoke about the “magical” place, the holy place that is often incomprehensible to human reason. He asked himself which are the values that humans follow when they worship an architectural monument. These values may be to commemorate the site where the spirit bears witness of certain historical events. He also asked himself in which cases the intangible could be stronger and better than the material values. He pointed out that it is important to identify it with the necessary research and to find the inevitable and necessary balance for the care of monuments and sites.

Tomaszewski believes that it is extremely important to be successful in defining both the tangible and the intangible values of a place in order to approach a proper management. He emphasized the importance of analysis in order to best identify a site’s own nature:

Il n’y a pas de recette.
(There is no recipe.)

He said that we should analyze each case from its very foundations in order to later properly plan its management and conservation. He said:

C’est une situation non repetitive.
(It is a non-recurring situation.)

Benjamin Marcus
Architectural Conservator, Page & Turnbull, Los Angeles, USA
“Oral History and the Documentation of Historic Sites: Recording Sense of Place”

Benjamin Marcus reported on his work and how he uses “oral history” when he and his firm carry out various building restorations. Marcus said that all those who have been eyewitnesses to a place’s history carry important information about the unknown vulnerabilities and the unknown aspects that one can take into consideration when trying to understand the character of a cultural heritage site. In some cases, oral history is the only source we have at hand.

He showed a number of different examples. The first was about a sensitive topic in U.S. history—one of the World War II internment camps located at Manzanar, California, and active between 1942 and 1945. In restoring and interpreting the site, the U.S. National Park Service wanted not only to reconstruct its physical buildings but also its social and historical context. However, the camp buildings had been demolished or removed after the war and there was very little documentation about the place thereafter. By making use of oral sources, through the stories of those who had been imprisoned there, it was possible to complete the picture, Marcus said. The U.S. National Park Service, using oral history, was able to re-create and interpret the character of a place with almost no physical remains left. Interviews with former inmates helped to tell the story of an internment camp, which held nearly 10,200 prisoners at its peak. These stories helped to assist in the reconstruction of one of eight watchtowers, barracks, and at least a few gardens and ponds that the inmates had built themselves during their time in captivity. These restorations, together with an exhibition in a small museum on site displaying the inmates’ stories and some few surviving photographs, give visitors a much better sense of the Japanese-American experience at Manzanar.

Gerald Pocius
Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada
“Whose Spirit? Whose Place? Rescuing Buildings and Losing Values in the Newfoundland Landscape”

Gerald Pocius spoke about saving buildings and losing values in the Newfoundland landscape. The problem he addressed during his presentation focused on the questions, “Whose place is it? Whose spirit is it?” He described how Newfoundland and Labrador, a province in Canada, has in recent years undergone many changes that have led to a situation where the spirit of place has become controversial.

By way of example, he presented a small coastal town called Keel that had seen the collapse of its own social structure after 50 years. Keel’s population has declined from 372 inhabitants in the 1940s to about 60 or 70 people, partly because younger generations have chosen to move to larger cities. The collapse of the cod industry in the region plays an important role in these changes. However, the abandonment of Keel has brought on a different development. Nowadays, people from large cities buy vacation homes at Keel and this means that the place is beginning to acquire a completely different character.

Pocius does not deny the need to meet the requirements of the 21st century, but asserts that all material objects are guided by intellectual principles and thus asks: Who uses the site today? Is it a living landscape that will be enjoyed by others? What will it become? Will it disappear?

The tourist offices describe Keel today as the most magical place to be found along the coasts of Labrador. It is a great place to relax, go mountain hiking, and watch whales. A simple visit with the local population can give many memorable experiences. Pocius stated that what individuals can do is help in the development so that others understand what aspects comprise a place and why they make it special.

Conclusion
The presentations at the general assembly were numerous, all of them rich in content. Also, a great number of posters discussing many cultural heritage aspects and issues from all over the world were exhibited. In the plenary sessions, which summed up the issues discussed under the four subthemes, the following observations were pointed out.

As for the first subtheme, “rethinking the spirit of place,” Laurier Turgeon, from Université de Laval in Québec, alleged that in order to preserve the spirit of the place, one should note that the place is multiform and complex, where both material and immaterial elements should be taken into consideration.

For the second subtheme, “threats to the spirit of place,” Boguslaw Szmygin from the Lublin Technological University in Poland reaffirmed that a clear definition of the genius loci is crucial. Each place has a unique character, thus it is impossible to create universal tools for evaluation. He noted as well that the spirit of place is more vulnerable than material heritage.

As to the third subtheme, “protecting the spirit of place,” Andrew Hall from the Northern Cape Provincial Department of Sport, Art, and Culture in Kimberley, South Africa, assured that there is a true connection between the place and its intangible heritage. There are two ways of approaching the issue. In the Western world, the spirit of the place is experienced through the way we react to it, while in the Eastern world, one engages with the spirit of the place in order to understand it.

And finally, for the fourth subtheme, “transmitting the spirit of place,” Neil Silberman from the Ename Center for Public Archaeology and Heritage Presentation in Belgium pointed out that communication is a key component. Communication through time is imperative.

In sum, it was underlined that this dynamic perception of the spirit of place is also better adapted to today’s world, to the present-day global village, which is characterized by major transnational population movements, increased intercultural contacts, and the emergence of pluralistic societies. At the ICOMOS 16th General Assembly and Scientific Symposium, a declaration was drawn for the preservation of the spirit of place. It sums up the definitions, working tools, issues, and recommendations which surfaced during the 2008 conference. The final version can be read at www.international.icomos.org/quebec2008/quebec_declaration/pdf/GA16_Quebec_Declaration_Final_EN.pdf

For More Information

ICOMOS and the 16th General Assembly and Scientific Symposium:
www.icomos.org
www.international.icomos.org/quebec2008/cd/papers_all_az.html

Québec City:
www.ville.quebec.qc.ca

Cartier-Roberval Park:
www.cartier-roberval.gouv.qc.ca

Huron village of Wendake:
http://wendake.com

Ezequiel M. Pinto-Guillaume is an archaeologist and illustrator with the WSP Group in Stockholm, Sweden. He was a speaker at the 2008 NAI International Conference in Sokcho, South Korea.