Restoration of monuments, an specific methodology

Abstract

The most andent specific department in charge of the conservation of monuments in Spain was created by the Diputacion of Barcelona in 1914. Between 1915 and 1951 this department was directed by the reputable architect Jeroni Martorell. Since 1981 the basic aim of this department, ran by Antoni González, has been the formulation of a new methodology of action in the historical architecture, based on the specification of the cultural heritage unit. This specification was derived from the double consideration of the monument: as a historical document and as an alive architectonic object (with a valid collective use and signification). This methodology is based on the interdisciplinary collaboration, on the scientific severity and on the pragmatism of the analysis of the monument and of the action and, at last, on the reliance on the expressive and significative capacity of the contemporary architecture.