Ecos
1. Comments on the application proposal for the research project
Quotes from the Step 2 Evaluation Report of Panel SH5 (Social Sciences and Humanities, Cultures and Cultural Production) of the European Research Council – Call reference ERC-2020-STG, European Research Council Starting Grants, proposal 949686, acronym ReARQ.IB, applicant Ricardo Costa Agarez, dated 17 July 2020 :
“As the proposal aims to raise awareness of the anonymous heritage of modern architecture, contribute to its valorisation and promote its reuse, renovation and conversion, the project is highly complex and, with its focus on changing mindsets and policies, equally rewarding. The panel commended the timeliness of the project, its transnational scope and the inclusion of a civic science aspect.”
“(…) the research could encounter some unexpected cases of forgotten masterpieces or, on the contrary, discover the exceptional relevance of a place, despite the anonymity of its designers and makers.”
“This project seeks to make professionals and communities look at run-of-the-mill architecture differently. Specifically, it selects mundane residential and public buildings in Portugal and Spain (1939-1985) in [rural and urban] communities, [to] build a bank of knowledge which can improve planning, use of existing resources [and] quality of life in communities for whom ordinary, ‘non-heroic’ architecture is the frame of daily life. Within that is the aim of improving sustainability through developing strategies for reuse of buildings and materials."
“The recourse to quantity-driven collection methods (through public domain digital resources) is justified by the large-scale nature of the [labour intensive] project, and is balanced by other methods which bring in new material – fieldwork, oral history interviews, use of lesser-known, lesser-exploited archival resources.”
“This research project addresses an important challenge of our times. Its objectives are ambitious and clearly beyond the state of the art.”
“The proposal wants to focus on the re-use of architecture, which is usually neglected and rarely mentioned in the history of architecture. It is the everyday and practical architecture of the modern era. Particularly in a historical situation in which financial resources are limited, [it seems] of particular importance to place the question of the conversion and reuse of buildings in the context of the debates on sustainability. (…) The project has two objectives: on the one hand, it wants to create a database for the practical handling of the heritage of modernity, and on the other hand, it wants to contribute to the scientific foundation of knowledge about the architectural heritage of modernity. (…) the users of these buildings too often know too little about the architecture in which they live, which affects the appreciation of this architecture, which has long become an important part of community and individual identity building.”
“One simply has to recognize that both architectural practices, the author's architecture with a capital A and anonymous architecture in its everyday claim, form a unity and are mutually influential. This is especially true if one argues with Bourdieu and his concept of habitus, because the habitus of a time finds its way into both, anonymous architecture and architecture as building art, (…) it even goes much more into anonymous architecture, because here it is not alienated from the individual style of the architect. This is the reason for the scientific significance of this project: that especially in anonymous architecture the habitus and spirit of the times manifests, materializes or spatializes itself, much more than in the large symbolic buildings. That is why the project as it is outlined here is so valuable. (...) [In breaking] away from the clichés and the stereotypical and simplistic representations of history (...) lies the potential of this project.”
“In light of economic, cultural, and ecological sustainability, [there] seems to be a clear urge for the [creation of] a detailed mapping of a vast catalogue of works built over a period of 46 years, to be utilized both as an informed repository of knowledge and as an interactive platform to foster public discussion on the value of such modern heritage along with its potential preservation and reuse.”
“The goals ‘are very ambitious in scale and quality … the research tools to be employed, the wide array of stakeholders to get involved, the variety of the dissemination methods selected and, above all, … the final operative goal which [goes beyond] the meticulous construction of a multipurpose archive of building data and guidelines on heritage survey through [to] an openly declared ambition to acquire an influential position in the public and professional realm of modern heritage.”
“It is clearly a data-driven or observational research with a fully clear hypothesis on what should be searched and what might be found. And about how all the collected material should be used.”
“The breadth and originality of the sources to be consulted, from local archives to city, regional and state regulatory bodies, from oral knowledge to scholarly based data, the informal and participatory ways to collect information and acquire feedback from a variety of stakeholders both official and voluntary, make the planned initiatives and the suggested comparative rigor a solid frame for the whole research proposal. (…) The decision of maintaining a (…) database, for "building data", "agents data" and "process data" suggests a strong commitment to (…) considering the almost 50 years of significant building activity as the result of converging forces from inside and outside the very perimeter of ‘the project of architecture’ as opposed to the traditional architecture historiography habits to solely consider strict disciplinary issues and the authorship of the main designer.”
“The outlined scientific approach is feasible, relying on conventional state-of-the-art methods. There is however innovation in the application of these methods, as the project will result in substantial output (…) that complement, and counter superstar architectural history, using its own traditional weapons of choice. (…) In terms of novel methodology, the proposed research integrates a citizen science aspect, which is impossible with superstar architecture, but lends itself to the material at hand.”
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2. Comments on the application proposal for the research project
The Architecture of Need: Community Facilities in Portugal 1945-1985
Quote from the Evaluation Panel Statement and Rating – Call reference R&D Projects (RESEARCHERS), Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, proposal PTDC/ART-DAQ/6510/2020, acronym ArchNeed, applicant Ricardo Costa Agarez, dated November 2020:
“This is a rigorous proposal that aims to document and bring to public attention, civic and public ‘everyday architecture’ and community facilities of southern Portugal. The project will bring together original material, document it systematically and make a significant contribution to the architectural history of Portugal at a period of significant transformation in its social, cultural and political history (1945-85). It is carefully limited in its scope (…). The proposal is immaculately planned, and the anticipated results, public engagement and documentation will provide a new and original perspective on Portuguese architectural heritage. (...) The engagement, development and training experience of doctoral students and research assistants is exemplary as is the dissemination plan. (…) The project presents a compelling case for the research and is commendable in presenting the research findings back to the communities within which the architectural research will be conducted.”
