Values-based reuse designs for the Escuelas Profesionales San José, Valencia, Spain
Abstract: Reuse as an educational framework in architectural design is already a fundamental topic in several European schools, enabling pedagogical approaches which facilitate engagement with both practitioners and communities in a common path toward addressing contemporary concerns about the built environment. However, despite the recent advent of new “adapted” reuse methodologies of design, training in architecture schools remains traditionally attached to conceptualizing hermetic scenarios, which tends to ignore holistic dimensions of heritage buildings and prevent future risks. Based on an experience conducted on a Blended Intensive Program (BIP) organized by the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) and focused on the reuse of contemporary heritage buildings in the city, the Escuelas Profesionales San José (1961-68), the paper discusses the potential of “values-based” approach of design using heuristics methodologies for the education of architects as a framework to introduce in design training different degrees of uncertainties in the present-day context of complexity and vulnerability at a global scale.
Keywords: Reuse. Education. Architectural Intervention. Values-based design. Heuristics.
1. Introduction
The reuse of architectural heritage has been a recent topic of interest for researchers, architects, builders, and users in the last decades [1–3] and is already a fundamental topic in several European schools. This theme has been a prominent argument behind different agendas for a sustainable future [4,5] as one of the best actions to achieve sustainability in the 21st century. Based on the concept that the most sustainable building is the one that already exists [6], policies that consider the existing buildings as a resource are currently engaging the substitution of the demolition-construction cycle, thereby reducing the carbon footprint in the environment and improving conservation as a design priority [7].
In fact, despite the recent advent of new “adapted” reuse methodologies, “heritage reuse” expanded from seamless activities of conditioning new uses in historical buildings to incorporate broader methods that combine intangible meanings of “common” constructions (as heritage not yet officially protected) and their purpose in a sustainable future [8]. As sustainability also implies a holistic perception of the environment, including the importance of local identity and the ethical demand for integration of several rights-holders [9], architects, builders, and users are being asked to interact more often to achieve co-creative designs. “Values-based” approaches that respect communities’ rights and manage buildings’ transformations through time [10] are proving to be more effective in tackling these complex challenges, encompassing the entire building life cycle, its vulnerabilities and risks.
However, these new conditions are turning unfeasible traditional design training in architecture schools attached to conceptualizing hermetic scenarios, tending to ignore holistic dimensions of heritage buildings and prevent future risks, sometimes also neglecting preexisting features or adopting irresponsible consumption of resources. To avoid that, a growing alternative in the last decades has been the prevalent use of heuristic mechanisms, that is, enhancing procedures of discovery and examination while establishing an intrinsic worth of design with contextual values [11]. This tendency currently evolved into an entanglement between the fields of heritage, risk and sustainability, making unavoidable their role as associative factors to define the “quality of design” [12]. Because of this intricate relationship, how can we articulate and enhance the relations between values, risks and training activities for developing reuse proposals?
This paper aims to raise discussions about architectural heritage reuse education and present a case study conducted in the city of Valencia, Spain, with a group of international students from different European institutions. Based on this experience, the work contributes with a framework for the reuse of built heritage, supported by the assessment of significance (values) – and its affecting risks – pointing out existing pedagogical challenges for the development of sustainable reuse practices.
2. Methodology
2.1 Methodological framework
The research was framed into a Blended Intensive Program (BIP) organized by the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) called “Interventions on Contemporary Architectural Heritage”, held in Valencia between June and August of 2023 with participants from the Technical Superior School of Architecture (ETSA) of the UPV, Spain (2 professors, 1 tutor, 2 students), the Institut of Architecture (IFA) of the Technische Universität Berlin (TU Berlin), Germany (2 professors, 8 students), the National Superior Architecture School of Montpellier (ENSAM), France (1 professor, 3 students), the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Porto (FAUP), Portugal (2 professors, 1 tutor, 11 students) and the School of Architecture from the Univerza v Ljubljani, Slovenia (3 professors, 1 tutor, 7 students).
2.2 The case study: The Escuelas Profesionales San José
By proposal of UPV, the case study selected for the activities was the Escuelas Profesionales San José (EPSJ), designed by Cayetano Borso di Carminati González and Rafael Contel Comenge and built between 1961 and 1968. Although listed in DOCOMOMO Iberico inventories [13], the property is not yet under official protection (Fig. 1).
Figure 1. Above left: EPSJ Main building (Source: Docomomo Iberico); Above right: EPSJ plot nearby countryside in 1964 (Source: UPV, Archive Rafael Comenge).
Professional schools were an important program implemented in Spain with the support of the Catholic Church. Especially after 1955, with the approval of the Professional Industrial Education Law (Ley de Formación Profesional Industrial), new institutions began providing industrial education for rural population [14]. As part of this phenomenon on the outskirts of Valencia, the EPSJ complex is considered a “remarkable example of school architecture (…) within the context of the measures that Franco dictatorship undertook with the purpose of modernize the country” [23, p. 157]. This included a theatre, housing for professors and a chapel, that took advantage of free ground floors and zigzag galleries to maximize public interaction and natural sunlight, in alignment with modern movement principles articulated with local knowledge, especially using ceramic tiles and different textures [15].
After almost 60 years of ongoing use, the complex continues to house a semi-public school controlled by Jesuit leadership. The surroundings evolved into a high-density urbanized area and separation was enhanced through different mechanisms (walls, gates, controlled access, parking lots). Thus, the complex has surpassed the modern building complex into classrooms for primary school, secondary school, high school, professional school, and many playgrounds. It incorporated a chapel, auditorium, cafeteria, housing for workers and senile people, special school, and a sports complex combining a semi-Olympic pool to a full track stadium (Fig. 2). Based on this scenario of continuous additions, the administration contacted UPV to adapt today’s requirements of classrooms regarding climatic conditions.
Figure 2. Left: Current satellite view (Source: Google Earth, 2024); Right: EPSJ plot comparing, in red, additions through time. Drawing: Jorge Dies Estellés (Source: BIP Preparatory Material, UPV, 2023).
2.3 Course Plan and FAUP’s Program: “Heritage and Design: Ecologies of Memories”
As part of BIP intensive methodology, the event was structured in two online meetings and one intensive presential activity of 5 days. A theoretical structure was framed by the concept of “ecologies”, that is, “the study of the relationships of living beings with each other and their environment” [24, p. 9], to include different design approaches from each school.
FAUP’s program, “Heritage and Design: Ecologies of Memories”, aimed to “provide a general introduction to the subject of intervention in the built heritage at different levels (…), considering its conceptual evolution over time, as well as the contemporary challenges and sustainability demands” [24, p. 10]. The other proposals were “Heritage and City: Ecologies of the Environment”, by Univerza v Ljubljani, “Heritage and Reprogramming: Ecologies of the Space”, by TU Berlin, and “Air, Sound, Light: Ecologies of the Envelope”, by ENSAM, essaying different scales of potential urban and architectural issues.
It was agreed that FAUP’s proposal would be adopted as the methodological approach [24, p. 8]. Thus, first online meeting included a conference by Professor Teresa Cunha Ferreira (FAUP) to provide theoretical principles and demonstrate recent applied research activities developed under holistic and values-based approaches on 20th-century heritage within the UNESCO Chair “Heritage Cities and Landscapes. Sustainable Management, Conservation Planning and Design” [17]. Hence, to promote further integration, organizers oversaw a second online meeting to stimulate debate focused on operative perceptions of the case study, according to three topics with mutual and synchronic contributions: a) The building on the site; b) The building itself; c) The building as heritage. As an opportunity for engagement of heuristics pedagogy, FAUP’s proposed questions were part of session c to promote future contextual investigations based on the interaction between heritage, risk and sustainability fields. They were, respectively, Q1: Which are the attributes and values of the site? How can we embody them on design?; Q2: Which are the current risks and vulnerabilities of the site? How they can be mitigated or adapted?; Q3: How can we contribute, by developing contextual design methods, to bridge the preservation of cultural values with the adaptation to contemporary needs?
In Valencia, presential activities were held between 31st of August and 4th of September of 2023 (Fig. 3). Two days were dedicated to full onsite experience and other couple days were important for the development of the proposals and detailing. These activities were enriched by two conferences of Paula Lacombe (UPV/TU Delft) and Professor Laurent Duport (ENSAM) in pivotal points of work. A conclusive seminar was scheduled while visiting the Universidad Laboral de Cheste, a modern educational complex built between 1965 and 1969 and designed by Spanish architect Fernando Barberà, located about 25 km away.
Figure 3. From left to right: a) Students visiting classrooms; b) Chapel of EPSJ complex as common workroom; b) Working activities; d) Visit to Universidad Laboral de Cheste. (Source: Pedro Freitas, 2023).
3. Results: A heuristics of a “values-based design” in heritage interventions
This section shows the results of the learning process between the online sessions and the onsite study. They were also classified into three parts: i. Assessing significance (values); ii. Identifying vulnerabilities (risks and problems); iii. Designing proposals.
3.1 Assessing significance (values)
The online activity presented a preamble of the assessment of significance (values) of the site by the students of the participant schools (Q1). Table 1 summarizes their responses.
Table 1. Results of warm-up online meeting session c) The building as heritage, Q1
|
FAUP |
ENSAM |
TU Berlin |
Univerza v Ljubljani |
|
First item (Which)
Second item (How)
|
First item (Which)
Second item (How)
|
First item (Which)
Second item (How)
|
First item (Which)
Second item (How) (No answer) |
According to the group of students participating on the event, most of attributes are associated with architectural qualities, entangling tangible features. In fact, this community tends to value architecture searching for a “vocabulary” that they are being trained to.
During the first two days of onsite activity, participants of “Heritage and Design” were encouraged to confirm their opinions, but also searching for other values that might be part of the heritage significance of the building. As part of learning activity, students perceived that the tours with the head principal allowed only the perception of an “official narrative” of blocks’ interior, outdoor patios, and main facilities. Judgements about the construction lacked integration of other stakeholders, such as teachers, students, parents, and staff. A brief visit to the neighbourhood made possible the identification of several assumptions.
The data collected through the means of conversations in the neighbourhood enabled the perception of more nuanced values of the site. As part of this brief “participatory process”, the group decided to develop a mapped synthesis, inspired by recent references in the literature to provide an effective responsive design concerning the social importance of the complex. Figure 4 shows the classification as exceptionally significant the volumes associated with the image of the complex to the city, including old separation elements still visible in current boundaries, and as with high significance, the elements of the school program including the zigzag gallery of classrooms and the professional school pavilion.
Figure 4. Assessment of significance map. Developed by Azar Mohammadpanah, Gabriela Souza, Inês Andrade, Margarida Pinhal, Maria Neves, Sérgio Magalhães, Sofia Câmara (FAUP).
Material attributes were also important to confirm this classification, since the quality of the ceramics in different spaces and façades was indicative of complex authenticity, even as a reproduction of the image of the city of Valencia. These features also include a mix of metallic and concrete structures, visual frame alignments, expressive metallic window frames, programmatic works of art, and expressive pavements defining potential activities.
3.2. Identifying vulnerabilities (risks and problems)
The online activity presented a preamble of the vulnerabilities (risks and problems) of the site by the students of the participant schools (Q2). Table 2 summarizes their responses.
Table 2. Results of warm-up online meeting session c) The building as heritage, Q2
|
FAUP |
ENSAM |
TU Berlin |
Univerza v Ljubljani |
Second item (How)
|
First item (Which)
Second item (How)
|
First item (Which)
Second item (How)
|
First item (Which)
Second item (How)
|
Regarding the analysis of vulnerabilities, students confirmed most previous hypotheses developed on the online session. Onsite, it was possible to clearly perceive how the modern complex had been outgrown by the city and principles of design disregarded, in recognition of several quick fixes applied throughout (Fig. 5).
Figure 5. Different quick fixes: 1) The pastiche sun shading; 2) The school outdoors; 3) Wall at the classroom’s gallery, 4) School premises and limits (Source: Cristina Tasso, 2023).
Problems perceived by the students include a wall, reproducing solely the design of plot limits to fix the dishevels of pavement given the arising neighbours and consequent infrastructures, represent the gradual history of its urbanization. In turn, another wall, as part of disregarded interventions in classroom’s gallery blocking ventilation, was seen as the real cause of continuous demand for better climate conditions in the buildings. Also, the interiors had been opened through various types of infrastructures without proper care.
However, students created severe criticism about the school’s management by realizing how it is adamant about the integration with the surroundings, enforcing segregation. Considering it one of the complex’s main vulnerabilities, it was perceived that this is damaging decision-making, as the site requires more efficient protection and care for authenticity and integrity.
3.3. Designing Proposals
The online activity presented a preamble of the design proposals for the site by the students of the participant schools (Q3). Table 3 summarizes their responses.
Table 3. Results of warm-up online meeting session c) The building as heritage, Q3
|
FAUP |
ENSAM |
TU Berlin |
Univerza v Ljubljani |
|
|
|
|
According to the group of students participating in the event, a set-up of principles had in common positive prospects, entangling community participation, activation of public functions and design principles that respect preexisting elements, adaptation through flexible solutions and a critical perspective of heritage definitions, as an important argument for intervention in contemporary architecture with cultural values.
After the recognition of onsite activities, four out of five design proposals were impacted by this method. The memories and synthesis boards of these proposals were developed by FAUP participants in the following groups.
3.3.1. User-centred interventions on contemporary heritage: assessing heritage significance thresholds.
Group members. Azar Mohammadpanah, Gabriela Souza, Inês Andrade, Margarida Pinhal, Maria Neves, Sérgio Magalhães, Sofia Câmara. Tutor: Pedro Freitas (FAUP).
“In the current era, ambiguity is a potent instrument for mediation, analysis, and recognition of secondary narratives embedded in contemporary heritage projects, acting as catalyst in the pursuit of immediate solutions. This process begins questioning boundaries of common knowledge and investigating the reasoning of preexisting elements in each context. Hence, through the examination of the limits of intervention lies the responsibility of considering time, space, and significance where the imposition of absolute conditions is no longer a sustainable answer to contemporary necessities.
Upon recognizing the material configuration of a building, it became also clear the socio-technical apparatus of the habitat that defines the nature of the socio-cultural dispositive which is present and actionable in the urban scenario. This procedure has the potential to reconcile conservation and reuse of a building, extending beyond programmatic boundaries. Both observable and non-observable conditions contribute to the tangible and intangible recognition of values, conditions, and dynamics of a site. This recognition resides within the disciplinary responsibility towards society, mediated by the demands of a situated practice.
In the case of the Escuelas Profesionales San José, the act of demolishing a wall can be seen as a metaphor for inclusion, integration, and the possibility of appropriation. The enactment of unconditional access to the interior of a scholar/religious property may result in the impairment of the resident community, but it will undoubtedly impact the direct and indirect users and visitors, fostering a renewed engagement with the site as an appropriate place for collective prosperity. The proposal seeks to replan the thresholds appeared from the void, with the perspective of public-private access and private-public service in different areas, recovering complex’s purpose as heritage in the community. It is therefore necessary to cease appealing to the authority of architecture and immerse ourselves beyond commonly accepted universal dogma. Demolishing walls is only a starting point towards a transformational impact on the heritage site of Escuelas Profesionales San José.” (Fig. 6)
Figure 6. “User-centred interventions on contemporary heritage: assessing heritage significance thresholds” board. Source: Azar Mohammadpanah, Gabriela Souza, Inês Andrade, Margarida Pinhal, Maria Neves, Sérgio Magalhães, Sofia Câmara (FAUP).
3.3.2. The Ground-Floor: reconnecting the public use of the surroundings.
Group members. Cristina Tasso (FAUP), Matthias Grabowski, Samuel Kleinschmidt, Tsvetelina Markova. Tutors: César Trujillo Moya and Ralf Pasel (TU Berlin).
“The proposal focused on a holistic approach between the building, use, weather, and time. The school community is constituted by a variety of social groups who use the area throughout the day. The wall, constricting the complex block, acts as a severe separation between the interior school block and the neighbouring city. So, to free the school’s ground is essential to integrate the surrounding community.
Hence, the ground-floor is broken apart to integrate the fluidity of people flows and the surrounding city, while returning to the modern free-plan principle. The street level is elevated at its highest point, around 1.5 m of school ground. Thus, a park permeates the asphalt and restores the topographical terrain, regaining the pavement’s porosity back to its farm settlements. Based on the city grid, the surrounding five minor squares regulate the entrances and walking axis composing the park accessibility. The pergolas determine gathering places by offering refuge to the sun, interconnected with the landscape’s undulatory design.
The solution proposed for the complex entails a privacy inversion by reversing the ground-floor program towards the school terraces. The vertical stratification of privacy – public to private – is rearranged considering the different levels of education: 1st and 2nd – secondary; 3rd – special needs and elementary; 4th (terrace) – private playgrounds. The ground-floor captures the community’s livelihood through two new programmes: the canteen and a communitarian library. The canteen becomes a combination of cafeteria, canteen, and restaurant. Food becomes a social activator. At the park’s centre, the bookshelves prompt communitarian book exchange. The project foster community integration through a conscious design towards a renewed urban planning” (Fig. 7).
Figure 7. “The Ground-Floor: reconnecting the public use of the surroundings” board. Source: Cristina Tasso (FAUP), Matthias Grabowski, Samuel Kleinschmidt, Tsvetelina Markova (TU Berlin), 2023.
3.3.3. Learning through Spaces: recovering solutions and reframing poor adaptations
Group members. Ana Andrade, João Ling (FAUP), Vera Kellmann, Jasmin Rettinger, Marwin Werner. Tutors: César Trujillo Moya and Ralf Pasel (TU Berlin).
“The group focused on solutions towards the learning space. Firstly, the intervention was shortened to detail only the learning spaces, but quickly spread to integrate different spaces and foster accessibility. The proposal was structured in three parts, focusing on technical and use aspects of the spaces designed.
First, on the main façade, a secondary interior façade was proposed to shield the classroom spaces from the intense heat and light during the summer. This double wall would help to create storage areas and host some utilities. As a winter garden, the new space in-between has the possibility of becoming a classroom. In the corridor, the exterior façade would be returned to its original condition by removing the added wall and window frames. On the opposing side, the classrooms’ wall would thicken to house a seating zone. Few classrooms could be transformed for social interaction and auxiliary spaces (e.g. toilets, storage).
Finally, a new outdoor structure was proposed, in front of the back façade. This would be a transparent light steel structure that could take advantage of the good weather for new outdoor teaching/playing spaces. The frame is continuous, allowing for a flexible placement of the new spaces by filling in the desired floor slabs for the new spaces. This new structure was accessed through the existing stairs, in the mid-landing of these staircases. This means the floor level would be placed in between the original floors, so there would be a visual connection with the corridors)” (Fig. 8).
Figure 8. “Learning through Spaces: recovering solutions and reframing poor adaptations” board. Source: Ana Andrade, João Ling (FAUP), Vera Kellmann, Jasmin Rettinger, Marwin Werner (TU Berlin), 2023.
3.3.4. Enveloping: custom-made strategies for new climate demands
Group members. Ana Marques (FAUP), Théophile Leroy, Pauline Vitrat, Ainoha Vidal. Tutor: Laurent Duport (ENSAM).
“Despite the need for repair and restoration of the complex, investments must be strategically targeted and prototypes of the interventions must be tested beforehand. Our aim was to study the façade’s technical problems through the creation of an analysis’ method, rather than proposing a final solution, presenting a possible future intervention on the building’s envelope. (Fig. 9)
Figure 9. “Enveloping: custom-made strategies for new climate demands” board. Source: Ana Marques (FAUP), Théophile Leroy, Pauline Vitrat, Ainoha Vidal (ENSAM), 2023.
After a reflection of heritage significance in the building, an identification of values determined elements worthy of protection on the case study. The urban façade of the complex holds one of the most important attributes of the complex, showcasing as well traces of Valencia’s urban image to the collective memory, integrating modern ideals and constructive preferences and local skills. Hence, it was crucial to study the constructive systems that constituted the façades to better understand how they were designed and were adapted, or not, to the Mediterranean climate.
The proposal, thus, consisted of experimenting a section of the building while making successive additions and subtractions to the original form to find the most optimal solutions of light, ventilation, and protection, without affecting aesthetic values. By working in small sections of the building and observing the outcomes, we could remark the best solutions to be integrated into the built environment. A recycled cardboard model was used, and different systems for sun protection were tested, including one already on the site, at the school. It was possible to witness how currently systems built on the site are not adapted to offer optimal solutions to climate change challenges.”
4. Conclusions
The objective of this paper is to prompt a framework for a values-based design in heritage reuse and raise the potential of a heuristic approach on training architects in this field. Although heuristically based decision-making techniques cannot guarantee an absolute solution, they can be highly efficient in achieving critical thinking and stimulate contextual observations, especially regarding heritage values and vulnerabilities. In the context of contemporary complex situations, it is necessary to employ unconventional approaches given the impossibility to anticipate every potential scenario for the future.
These techniques are distinguished by a certain rigor and may be as deliberate as they are visionary, from the perspective of those who use them to validate their own convictions. However, they can also be employed in the context of the educational system that embodies the relevant data of the problem. Given the divergent nature of heuristics, most techniques reside within the possibility of oversimplification as both useful and prone to severe and systematic errors. In the case of architectural training for interventions on built heritage, the process of facilitating the comprehension of a complex scenario in isolated fragments must always be aware about the risk of developing a training situation completely disconnected from reality. Thus, a balance must be searched through different pedagogical momentums (meetings towards field work) and scenario simplification (questions towards proposals) within heritage, risk and sustainability along the entire learning process.
In fact, this balance is informed by the negotiation between design, users, and the built environment, rather than being generic and aprioristically in a pedagogical context. This may signify efforts to entangle subliminal narratives that address current socio-environmental crisis. So, to ensure the integration of heuristics in holistic frameworks, it is essential to acknowledge the plurality and diversity of voices that (must) concur into the development of a design. This is why a Blended Intensive Programs holds an interesting structure for reuse training, rather than traditional design education, allowing the engagement of different backgrounds into locally driven problem-solving activities, creating more flexible solutions and encouraging co-creative practices in the face of necessity and urgency.
The grouping of students from diverse backgrounds and experiences, tutored by professionals and specialists, created an engaged environment for all involved. The problematization and hypotheses developed evolved quickly and the range limit in which the initial proposition lied expanded in a multiple range of solutions. As pedagogical anchors, it functioned as a cumulative structure of design training deeply rooted in the reality, conveying environmental holistic demands, from the first to the fourth proposal.
Finally, the experience demonstrated that holistic approaches and heuristic practices constitute a dynamic system within which professors may count on as to integrate different stakeholders in sustainable reuse design education. However, more pedagogical discussions and studies in this field must still be tackled to improve these experimental conclusions.
Acknowledgements
The study is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through COMPETE 2020 – Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalisation (OP CI) and by national funds through FCT, under the scope of the POCI-01-0145-FEDER -007744 project, 2020.01980.CEECIND and 2023.08329.CEECIND. Special thanks to CEAU-FAUP, the Erasmus+ Programme for funding student participation, as well as the to the professors Clara Mejía Vallejo, Juan Deltell Pastor and architect Paula Cardells for their precious support and permanent interest in the organization of the event at UPV.
References
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Training Experiences on Contemporary Architectural Heritage through heuristic activities: values-based reuse designs for the Escuelas Profesionales San José, Valencia, Spain
Pedro Murilo Freitas – Centre for Studies in Architecture and Urbanism, Faculty of Architecture of the University of Porto, Porto, Portugal, e-mail: pfreitas@arq.up.pt
Sérgio Miguel Magalhães – Faculty of Architecture of the University of Porto, Porto, Portugal, e-mail: up201808395@edu.arq.up.pt
Cristina Tasso – Faculty of Architecture of the University of Porto, Porto, Portugal, e-mail: up201707283@edu.arq.up.pt
Ana Marques – Faculty of Architecture of the University of Porto, Porto, Portugal, e-mail: up201807961@edu.arq.up.pt
João Ling – Faculty of Architecture of the University of Porto, Porto, Portugal, e-mail: up201706871@edu.arq.up.pt
Teresa Cunha Ferreira – Centre for Studies in Architecture and Urbanism, Faculty of Architecture of the University of Porto, Porto, Portugal, e-mail: tferreira@arq.up.pt
Abstract: Reuse as an educational framework in architectural design is already a fundamental topic in several European schools, enabling pedagogical approaches which facilitate engagement with both practitioners and communities in a common path toward addressing contemporary concerns about the built environment. However, despite the recent advent of new “adapted” reuse methodologies of design, training in architecture schools remains traditionally attached to conceptualizing hermetic scenarios, which tends to ignore holistic dimensions of heritage buildings and prevent future risks. Based on an experience conducted on a Blended Intensive Program (BIP) organized by the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) and focused on the reuse of contemporary heritage buildings in the city, the Escuelas Profesionales San José (1961-68), the paper discusses the potential of “values-based” approach of design using heuristics methodologies for the education of architects as a framework to introduce in design training different degrees of uncertainties in the present-day context of complexity and vulnerability at a global scale.
Keywords: Reuse. Education. Architectural Intervention. Values-based design. Heuristics.
1. Introduction
The reuse of architectural heritage has been a recent topic of interest for researchers, architects, builders, and users in the last decades [1–3] and is already a fundamental topic in several European schools. This theme has been a prominent argument behind different agendas for a sustainable future [4,5] as one of the best actions to achieve sustainability in the 21st century. Based on the concept that the most sustainable building is the one that already exists [6], policies that consider the existing buildings as a resource are currently engaging the substitution of the demolition-construction cycle, thereby reducing the carbon footprint in the environment and improving conservation as a design priority [7].
In fact, despite the recent advent of new “adapted” reuse methodologies, “heritage reuse” expanded from seamless activities of conditioning new uses in historical buildings to incorporate broader methods that combine intangible meanings of “common” constructions (as heritage not yet officially protected) and their purpose in a sustainable future [8]. As sustainability also implies a holistic perception of the environment, including the importance of local identity and the ethical demand for integration of several rights-holders [9], architects, builders, and users are being asked to interact more often to achieve co-creative designs. “Values-based” approaches that respect communities’ rights and manage buildings’ transformations through time [10] are proving to be more effective in tackling these complex challenges, encompassing the entire building life cycle, its vulnerabilities and risks.
However, these new conditions are turning unfeasible traditional design training in architecture schools attached to conceptualizing hermetic scenarios, tending to ignore holistic dimensions of heritage buildings and prevent future risks, sometimes also neglecting preexisting features or adopting irresponsible consumption of resources. To avoid that, a growing alternative in the last decades has been the prevalent use of heuristic mechanisms, that is, enhancing procedures of discovery and examination while establishing an intrinsic worth of design with contextual values [11]. This tendency currently evolved into an entanglement between the fields of heritage, risk and sustainability, making unavoidable their role as associative factors to define the “quality of design” [12]. Because of this intricate relationship, how can we articulate and enhance the relations between values, risks and training activities for developing reuse proposals?
This paper aims to raise discussions about architectural heritage reuse education and present a case study conducted in the city of Valencia, Spain, with a group of international students from different European institutions. Based on this experience, the work contributes with a framework for the reuse of built heritage, supported by the assessment of significance (values) – and its affecting risks – pointing out existing pedagogical challenges for the development of sustainable reuse practices.
2. Methodology
2.1 Methodological framework
The research was framed into a Blended Intensive Program (BIP) organized by the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) called “Interventions on Contemporary Architectural Heritage”, held in Valencia between June and August of 2023 with participants from the Technical Superior School of Architecture (ETSA) of the UPV, Spain (2 professors, 1 tutor, 2 students), the Institut of Architecture (IFA) of the Technische Universität Berlin (TU Berlin), Germany (2 professors, 8 students), the National Superior Architecture School of Montpellier (ENSAM), France (1 professor, 3 students), the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Porto (FAUP), Portugal (2 professors, 1 tutor, 11 students) and the School of Architecture from the Univerza v Ljubljani, Slovenia (3 professors, 1 tutor, 7 students).
2.2 The case study: The Escuelas Profesionales San José
By proposal of UPV, the case study selected for the activities was the Escuelas Profesionales San José (EPSJ), designed by Cayetano Borso di Carminati González and Rafael Contel Comenge and built between 1961 and 1968. Although listed in DOCOMOMO Iberico inventories [13], the property is not yet under official protection (Fig. 1).
Figure 1. Above left: EPSJ Main building (Source: Docomomo Iberico); Above right: EPSJ plot nearby countryside in 1964 (Source: UPV, Archive Rafael Comenge).
Professional schools were an important program implemented in Spain with the support of the Catholic Church. Especially after 1955, with the approval of the Professional Industrial Education Law (Ley de Formación Profesional Industrial), new institutions began providing industrial education for rural population [14]. As part of this phenomenon on the outskirts of Valencia, the EPSJ complex is considered a “remarkable example of school architecture (…) within the context of the measures that Franco dictatorship undertook with the purpose of modernize the country” [23, p. 157]. This included a theatre, housing for professors and a chapel, that took advantage of free ground floors and zigzag galleries to maximize public interaction and natural sunlight, in alignment with modern movement principles articulated with local knowledge, especially using ceramic tiles and different textures [15].
After almost 60 years of ongoing use, the complex continues to house a semi-public school controlled by Jesuit leadership. The surroundings evolved into a high-density urbanized area and separation was enhanced through different mechanisms (walls, gates, controlled access, parking lots). Thus, the complex has surpassed the modern building complex into classrooms for primary school, secondary school, high school, professional school, and many playgrounds. It incorporated a chapel, auditorium, cafeteria, housing for workers and senile people, special school, and a sports complex combining a semi-Olympic pool to a full track stadium (Fig. 2). Based on this scenario of continuous additions, the administration contacted UPV to adapt today’s requirements of classrooms regarding climatic conditions.
Figure 2. Left: Current satellite view (Source: Google Earth, 2024); Right: EPSJ plot comparing, in red, additions through time. Drawing: Jorge Dies Estellés (Source: BIP Preparatory Material, UPV, 2023).
2.3 Course Plan and FAUP’s Program: “Heritage and Design: Ecologies of Memories”
As part of BIP intensive methodology, the event was structured in two online meetings and one intensive presential activity of 5 days. A theoretical structure was framed by the concept of “ecologies”, that is, “the study of the relationships of living beings with each other and their environment” [24, p. 9], to include different design approaches from each school.
FAUP’s program, “Heritage and Design: Ecologies of Memories”, aimed to “provide a general introduction to the subject of intervention in the built heritage at different levels (…), considering its conceptual evolution over time, as well as the contemporary challenges and sustainability demands” [24, p. 10]. The other proposals were “Heritage and City: Ecologies of the Environment”, by Univerza v Ljubljani, “Heritage and Reprogramming: Ecologies of the Space”, by TU Berlin, and “Air, Sound, Light: Ecologies of the Envelope”, by ENSAM, essaying different scales of potential urban and architectural issues.
It was agreed that FAUP’s proposal would be adopted as the methodological approach [24, p. 8]. Thus, first online meeting included a conference by Professor Teresa Cunha Ferreira (FAUP) to provide theoretical principles and demonstrate recent applied research activities developed under holistic and values-based approaches on 20th-century heritage within the UNESCO Chair “Heritage Cities and Landscapes. Sustainable Management, Conservation Planning and Design” [17]. Hence, to promote further integration, organizers oversaw a second online meeting to stimulate debate focused on operative perceptions of the case study, according to three topics with mutual and synchronic contributions: a) The building on the site; b) The building itself; c) The building as heritage. As an opportunity for engagement of heuristics pedagogy, FAUP’s proposed questions were part of session c to promote future contextual investigations based on the interaction between heritage, risk and sustainability fields. They were, respectively, Q1: Which are the attributes and values of the site? How can we embody them on design?; Q2: Which are the current risks and vulnerabilities of the site? How they can be mitigated or adapted?; Q3: How can we contribute, by developing contextual design methods, to bridge the preservation of cultural values with the adaptation to contemporary needs?
In Valencia, presential activities were held between 31st of August and 4th of September of 2023 (Fig. 3). Two days were dedicated to full onsite experience and other couple days were important for the development of the proposals and detailing. These activities were enriched by two conferences of Paula Lacombe (UPV/TU Delft) and Professor Laurent Duport (ENSAM) in pivotal points of work. A conclusive seminar was scheduled while visiting the Universidad Laboral de Cheste, a modern educational complex built between 1965 and 1969 and designed by Spanish architect Fernando Barberà, located about 25 km away.
Figure 3. From left to right: a) Students visiting classrooms; b) Chapel of EPSJ complex as common workroom; b) Working activities; d) Visit to Universidad Laboral de Cheste. (Source: Pedro Freitas, 2023).
3. Results: A heuristics of a “values-based design” in heritage interventions
This section shows the results of the learning process between the online sessions and the onsite study. They were also classified into three parts: i. Assessing significance (values); ii. Identifying vulnerabilities (risks and problems); iii. Designing proposals.
3.1 Assessing significance (values)
The online activity presented a preamble of the assessment of significance (values) of the site by the students of the participant schools (Q1). Table 1 summarizes their responses.
Table 1. Results of warm-up online meeting session c) The building as heritage, Q1
|
FAUP |
ENSAM |
TU Berlin |
Univerza v Ljubljani |
|
First item (Which)
Second item (How)
|
First item (Which)
Second item (How)
|
First item (Which)
Second item (How)
|
First item (Which)
Second item (How) (No answer) |
According to the group of students participating on the event, most of attributes are associated with architectural qualities, entangling tangible features. In fact, this community tends to value architecture searching for a “vocabulary” that they are being trained to.
During the first two days of onsite activity, participants of “Heritage and Design” were encouraged to confirm their opinions, but also searching for other values that might be part of the heritage significance of the building. As part of learning activity, students perceived that the tours with the head principal allowed only the perception of an “official narrative” of blocks’ interior, outdoor patios, and main facilities. Judgements about the construction lacked integration of other stakeholders, such as teachers, students, parents, and staff. A brief visit to the neighbourhood made possible the identification of several assumptions.
The data collected through the means of conversations in the neighbourhood enabled the perception of more nuanced values of the site. As part of this brief “participatory process”, the group decided to develop a mapped synthesis, inspired by recent references in the literature to provide an effective responsive design concerning the social importance of the complex. Figure 4 shows the classification as exceptionally significant the volumes associated with the image of the complex to the city, including old separation elements still visible in current boundaries, and as with high significance, the elements of the school program including the zigzag gallery of classrooms and the professional school pavilion.
Figure 4. Assessment of significance map. Developed by Azar Mohammadpanah, Gabriela Souza, Inês Andrade, Margarida Pinhal, Maria Neves, Sérgio Magalhães, Sofia Câmara (FAUP).
Material attributes were also important to confirm this classification, since the quality of the ceramics in different spaces and façades was indicative of complex authenticity, even as a reproduction of the image of the city of Valencia. These features also include a mix of metallic and concrete structures, visual frame alignments, expressive metallic window frames, programmatic works of art, and expressive pavements defining potential activities.
3.2. Identifying vulnerabilities (risks and problems)
The online activity presented a preamble of the vulnerabilities (risks and problems) of the site by the students of the participant schools (Q2). Table 2 summarizes their responses.
Table 2. Results of warm-up online meeting session c) The building as heritage, Q2
|
FAUP |
ENSAM |
TU Berlin |
Univerza v Ljubljani |
Second item (How)
|
First item (Which)
Second item (How)
|
First item (Which)
Second item (How)
|
First item (Which)
Second item (How)
|
Regarding the analysis of vulnerabilities, students confirmed most previous hypotheses developed on the online session. Onsite, it was possible to clearly perceive how the modern complex had been outgrown by the city and principles of design disregarded, in recognition of several quick fixes applied throughout (Fig. 5).
Figure 5. Different quick fixes: 1) The pastiche sun shading; 2) The school outdoors; 3) Wall at the classroom’s gallery, 4) School premises and limits (Source: Cristina Tasso, 2023).
Problems perceived by the students include a wall, reproducing solely the design of plot limits to fix the dishevels of pavement given the arising neighbours and consequent infrastructures, represent the gradual history of its urbanization. In turn, another wall, as part of disregarded interventions in classroom’s gallery blocking ventilation, was seen as the real cause of continuous demand for better climate conditions in the buildings. Also, the interiors had been opened through various types of infrastructures without proper care.
However, students created severe criticism about the school’s management by realizing how it is adamant about the integration with the surroundings, enforcing segregation. Considering it one of the complex’s main vulnerabilities, it was perceived that this is damaging decision-making, as the site requires more efficient protection and care for authenticity and integrity.
3.3. Designing Proposals
The online activity presented a preamble of the design proposals for the site by the students of the participant schools (Q3). Table 3 summarizes their responses.
Table 3. Results of warm-up online meeting session c) The building as heritage, Q3
|
FAUP |
ENSAM |
TU Berlin |
Univerza v Ljubljani |
|
|
|
|
According to the group of students participating in the event, a set-up of principles had in common positive prospects, entangling community participation, activation of public functions and design principles that respect preexisting elements, adaptation through flexible solutions and a critical perspective of heritage definitions, as an important argument for intervention in contemporary architecture with cultural values.
After the recognition of onsite activities, four out of five design proposals were impacted by this method. The memories and synthesis boards of these proposals were developed by FAUP participants in the following groups.
3.3.1. User-centred interventions on contemporary heritage: assessing heritage significance thresholds.
Group members. Azar Mohammadpanah, Gabriela Souza, Inês Andrade, Margarida Pinhal, Maria Neves, Sérgio Magalhães, Sofia Câmara. Tutor: Pedro Freitas (FAUP).
“In the current era, ambiguity is a potent instrument for mediation, analysis, and recognition of secondary narratives embedded in contemporary heritage projects, acting as catalyst in the pursuit of immediate solutions. This process begins questioning boundaries of common knowledge and investigating the reasoning of preexisting elements in each context. Hence, through the examination of the limits of intervention lies the responsibility of considering time, space, and significance where the imposition of absolute conditions is no longer a sustainable answer to contemporary necessities.
Upon recognizing the material configuration of a building, it became also clear the socio-technical apparatus of the habitat that defines the nature of the socio-cultural dispositive which is present and actionable in the urban scenario. This procedure has the potential to reconcile conservation and reuse of a building, extending beyond programmatic boundaries. Both observable and non-observable conditions contribute to the tangible and intangible recognition of values, conditions, and dynamics of a site. This recognition resides within the disciplinary responsibility towards society, mediated by the demands of a situated practice.
In the case of the Escuelas Profesionales San José, the act of demolishing a wall can be seen as a metaphor for inclusion, integration, and the possibility of appropriation. The enactment of unconditional access to the interior of a scholar/religious property may result in the impairment of the resident community, but it will undoubtedly impact the direct and indirect users and visitors, fostering a renewed engagement with the site as an appropriate place for collective prosperity. The proposal seeks to replan the thresholds appeared from the void, with the perspective of public-private access and private-public service in different areas, recovering complex’s purpose as heritage in the community. It is therefore necessary to cease appealing to the authority of architecture and immerse ourselves beyond commonly accepted universal dogma. Demolishing walls is only a starting point towards a transformational impact on the heritage site of Escuelas Profesionales San José.” (Fig. 6)
Figure 6. “User-centred interventions on contemporary heritage: assessing heritage significance thresholds” board. Source: Azar Mohammadpanah, Gabriela Souza, Inês Andrade, Margarida Pinhal, Maria Neves, Sérgio Magalhães, Sofia Câmara (FAUP).
3.3.2. The Ground-Floor: reconnecting the public use of the surroundings.
Group members. Cristina Tasso (FAUP), Matthias Grabowski, Samuel Kleinschmidt, Tsvetelina Markova. Tutors: César Trujillo Moya and Ralf Pasel (TU Berlin).
“The proposal focused on a holistic approach between the building, use, weather, and time. The school community is constituted by a variety of social groups who use the area throughout the day. The wall, constricting the complex block, acts as a severe separation between the interior school block and the neighbouring city. So, to free the school’s ground is essential to integrate the surrounding community.
Hence, the ground-floor is broken apart to integrate the fluidity of people flows and the surrounding city, while returning to the modern free-plan principle. The street level is elevated at its highest point, around 1.5 m of school ground. Thus, a park permeates the asphalt and restores the topographical terrain, regaining the pavement’s porosity back to its farm settlements. Based on the city grid, the surrounding five minor squares regulate the entrances and walking axis composing the park accessibility. The pergolas determine gathering places by offering refuge to the sun, interconnected with the landscape’s undulatory design.
The solution proposed for the complex entails a privacy inversion by reversing the ground-floor program towards the school terraces. The vertical stratification of privacy – public to private – is rearranged considering the different levels of education: 1st and 2nd – secondary; 3rd – special needs and elementary; 4th (terrace) – private playgrounds. The ground-floor captures the community’s livelihood through two new programmes: the canteen and a communitarian library. The canteen becomes a combination of cafeteria, canteen, and restaurant. Food becomes a social activator. At the park’s centre, the bookshelves prompt communitarian book exchange. The project foster community integration through a conscious design towards a renewed urban planning” (Fig. 7).
Figure 7. “The Ground-Floor: reconnecting the public use of the surroundings” board. Source: Cristina Tasso (FAUP), Matthias Grabowski, Samuel Kleinschmidt, Tsvetelina Markova (TU Berlin), 2023.
3.3.3. Learning through Spaces: recovering solutions and reframing poor adaptations
Group members. Ana Andrade, João Ling (FAUP), Vera Kellmann, Jasmin Rettinger, Marwin Werner. Tutors: César Trujillo Moya and Ralf Pasel (TU Berlin).
“The group focused on solutions towards the learning space. Firstly, the intervention was shortened to detail only the learning spaces, but quickly spread to integrate different spaces and foster accessibility. The proposal was structured in three parts, focusing on technical and use aspects of the spaces designed.
First, on the main façade, a secondary interior façade was proposed to shield the classroom spaces from the intense heat and light during the summer. This double wall would help to create storage areas and host some utilities. As a winter garden, the new space in-between has the possibility of becoming a classroom. In the corridor, the exterior façade would be returned to its original condition by removing the added wall and window frames. On the opposing side, the classrooms’ wall would thicken to house a seating zone. Few classrooms could be transformed for social interaction and auxiliary spaces (e.g. toilets, storage).
Finally, a new outdoor structure was proposed, in front of the back façade. This would be a transparent light steel structure that could take advantage of the good weather for new outdoor teaching/playing spaces. The frame is continuous, allowing for a flexible placement of the new spaces by filling in the desired floor slabs for the new spaces. This new structure was accessed through the existing stairs, in the mid-landing of these staircases. This means the floor level would be placed in between the original floors, so there would be a visual connection with the corridors)” (Fig. 8).
Figure 8. “Learning through Spaces: recovering solutions and reframing poor adaptations” board. Source: Ana Andrade, João Ling (FAUP), Vera Kellmann, Jasmin Rettinger, Marwin Werner (TU Berlin), 2023.
3.3.4. Enveloping: custom-made strategies for new climate demands
Group members. Ana Marques (FAUP), Théophile Leroy, Pauline Vitrat, Ainoha Vidal. Tutor: Laurent Duport (ENSAM).
“Despite the need for repair and restoration of the complex, investments must be strategically targeted and prototypes of the interventions must be tested beforehand. Our aim was to study the façade’s technical problems through the creation of an analysis’ method, rather than proposing a final solution, presenting a possible future intervention on the building’s envelope. (Fig. 9)
Figure 9. “Enveloping: custom-made strategies for new climate demands” board. Source: Ana Marques (FAUP), Théophile Leroy, Pauline Vitrat, Ainoha Vidal (ENSAM), 2023.
After a reflection of heritage significance in the building, an identification of values determined elements worthy of protection on the case study. The urban façade of the complex holds one of the most important attributes of the complex, showcasing as well traces of Valencia’s urban image to the collective memory, integrating modern ideals and constructive preferences and local skills. Hence, it was crucial to study the constructive systems that constituted the façades to better understand how they were designed and were adapted, or not, to the Mediterranean climate.
The proposal, thus, consisted of experimenting a section of the building while making successive additions and subtractions to the original form to find the most optimal solutions of light, ventilation, and protection, without affecting aesthetic values. By working in small sections of the building and observing the outcomes, we could remark the best solutions to be integrated into the built environment. A recycled cardboard model was used, and different systems for sun protection were tested, including one already on the site, at the school. It was possible to witness how currently systems built on the site are not adapted to offer optimal solutions to climate change challenges.”
4. Conclusions
The objective of this paper is to prompt a framework for a values-based design in heritage reuse and raise the potential of a heuristic approach on training architects in this field. Although heuristically based decision-making techniques cannot guarantee an absolute solution, they can be highly efficient in achieving critical thinking and stimulate contextual observations, especially regarding heritage values and vulnerabilities. In the context of contemporary complex situations, it is necessary to employ unconventional approaches given the impossibility to anticipate every potential scenario for the future.
These techniques are distinguished by a certain rigor and may be as deliberate as they are visionary, from the perspective of those who use them to validate their own convictions. However, they can also be employed in the context of the educational system that embodies the relevant data of the problem. Given the divergent nature of heuristics, most techniques reside within the possibility of oversimplification as both useful and prone to severe and systematic errors. In the case of architectural training for interventions on built heritage, the process of facilitating the comprehension of a complex scenario in isolated fragments must always be aware about the risk of developing a training situation completely disconnected from reality. Thus, a balance must be searched through different pedagogical momentums (meetings towards field work) and scenario simplification (questions towards proposals) within heritage, risk and sustainability along the entire learning process.
In fact, this balance is informed by the negotiation between design, users, and the built environment, rather than being generic and aprioristically in a pedagogical context. This may signify efforts to entangle subliminal narratives that address current socio-environmental crisis. So, to ensure the integration of heuristics in holistic frameworks, it is essential to acknowledge the plurality and diversity of voices that (must) concur into the development of a design. This is why a Blended Intensive Programs holds an interesting structure for reuse training, rather than traditional design education, allowing the engagement of different backgrounds into locally driven problem-solving activities, creating more flexible solutions and encouraging co-creative practices in the face of necessity and urgency.
The grouping of students from diverse backgrounds and experiences, tutored by professionals and specialists, created an engaged environment for all involved. The problematization and hypotheses developed evolved quickly and the range limit in which the initial proposition lied expanded in a multiple range of solutions. As pedagogical anchors, it functioned as a cumulative structure of design training deeply rooted in the reality, conveying environmental holistic demands, from the first to the fourth proposal.
Finally, the experience demonstrated that holistic approaches and heuristic practices constitute a dynamic system within which professors may count on as to integrate different stakeholders in sustainable reuse design education. However, more pedagogical discussions and studies in this field must still be tackled to improve these experimental conclusions.
Acknowledgements
The study is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through COMPETE 2020 – Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalisation (OP CI) and by national funds through FCT, under the scope of the POCI-01-0145-FEDER -007744 project, 2020.01980.CEECIND and 2023.08329.CEECIND. Special thanks to CEAU-FAUP, the Erasmus+ Programme for funding student participation, as well as the to the professors Clara Mejía Vallejo, Juan Deltell Pastor and architect Paula Cardells for their precious support and permanent interest in the organization of the event at UPV.
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Pedro Murilo Freitas – Centre for Studies in Architecture and Urbanism, Faculty of Architecture of the University of Porto, Porto, Portugal, e-mail: pfreitas@arq.up.pt
Sérgio Miguel Magalhães – Faculty of Architecture of the University of Porto, Porto, Portugal, e-mail: up201808395@edu.arq.up.pt
Cristina Tasso – Faculty of Architecture of the University of Porto, Porto, Portugal, e-mail: up201707283@edu.arq.up.pt
Ana Marques – Faculty of Architecture of the University of Porto, Porto, Portugal, e-mail: up201807961@edu.arq.up.pt
João Ling – Faculty of Architecture of the University of Porto, Porto, Portugal, e-mail: up201706871@edu.arq.up.pt
Teresa Cunha Ferreira – Centre for Studies in Architecture and Urbanism, Faculty of Architecture of the University of Porto, Porto, Portugal, e-mail: tferreira@arq.up.pt