Escuelas Nacionales de Arte de Cubanacán

Description

Located in the midst of a paradisiacal landscape to the west, in the premises of what was once the so-called Havana Country Club, a place of leisure for the Havana high society, the Revolutionary government decided to develop a complex of art schools thought as a space for artistic creativity of younger generations of Cubans and of Third World artists.

The five National Art Schools at Cubanacán (1962) represent the pinnacle of 20th century Cuban architecture (Ricardo Porro; 1925-2014, Roberto Gottardi; 1927-2017 and; Vitorio Garatti; 1927-2023). The art schools mark an early break from the codes of the Modern Movement which dominated the Cub an architectural scenario in the 1950s and 1960s. This is a unique work, full of references to the cultural roots of the national identity, of exceptional spatial and formal values, extremely coherent in its expression, integrated into the landscape and at the same time very personal, therefore non replicable and difficult to classify in terms of styles and trends. In this regard, it has been classified within the critical regionalism specifically as a tropical neo- expressionist work.

This work is furthermore important as a source of internal polemics after the triumph of the Revolution in 1959, which was meant to mark a difference between practical architects with a social responsibility and aestheticists in the decision to stop the works in 1965 and defined the fate of Cuban architecture for decades.

When construction works were cancelled, two of the five schools that had been planned and designed had been already finished and the three remaining were at different stages of development. Nevertheless, all the five schools have worked for all these years and have graduated students, many of whom have become outstanding

personalities in music, visual arts, performing arts the faithfulness to the spirit and to the original design of the complex have been preserved and remain present. The fact that the three architects responsible for the initial design and project (Ricardo Porro, Roberto Gottardi and Vitorio Garatti) were called, several times, to advise, complete, and update the projects to meet the needs after sixty years as well as to the decision of use the same materials and construction techniques.

The compound is protected by law since 1997, as the National Monuments Commission declared it Protected Area and National Monument in 2010. In 2000, the Cuban government decided to undertake actions to implement restoration works in the two schools that had been finished and to restart the construction of the three unfinished. This project resulted in the withdrawal of the Schools, in 2004, from the List of Heritage in Danger (in which they had been included in 2002) by World Monuments Watch, and the certification as Exceptional Achievement by the same organization.

The National Schools of Art are the best known (and best appreciated) works of post-1959 Cuban architecture, widely recognized at the international level.

Justification of Outstanding Universal Value

The compound of the national Schools of Art hosts several art disciplines. Its design painstakingly planned all the spaces and their interaction. This unique architecture work achieves successfully and harmonically contemporary formal functionality thanks to the creative use of traditional techniques and materials; the organic adaptation to and integration into the surrounding landscape and the relationship with the national identity. The fluidity of the shapes, the perception of the spaces and the paths, the mastery in the use of the light, the unique use of bricks and the bold almost unbelievable design of Catalonian vaults, converge to turn this work into a truly exceptional site. Beyond the architectural achievement, the site represents, even at present, Cuba’s steady commitment with the development of education and arts within the Cuban Revolution.

Criterion (i): The compound of the National Schools of Art is a unique architectural work, which expresses the creative capability and skills of talented architects, who were able to make the most of the traditional construction techniques and materials like bricks and the Catalonian vault. At the same time, the organic and unique relationship between the buildings and between the buildings and the landscape, attained through the proportions, the rhythm, the volumes, textures, contrasts between lights and shadows and the adaptation to the geography, generated a paradigmatic compound which has transcended in time and validated its postulates.

Criterion (ii): The 1960s was a time of transgression, characterized by social movements, cultural revolutions and experimentations in several art manifestations. The National Schools of Art at Cubanacán express the aesthetic and social concerns of Cuban and Italian architects who combined elements of various styles and traditions in a particular historic and cultural context to generate a notable work of experimental and modernist architecture.

Criterion (iv): The architects who implemented the project decided to use two essential constructive elements: bricks and Catalonian vaults, given the scarcity of cement and in turn concrete at that time. This has been the main characteristic of the compound, regardless of the specificity of each school, inserted in a peculiar natural landscape.

Statements of authenticity and/or integrity

The interventions have respected the value of the site, and therefore the objects have not been modified but on the contrary their authenticity has been preserved.

The integrity of the whole work is perceived in the following aspects:

The conservation condition of several buildings of the compound (School of Visual Arts, School of Modern Dance and the School of Performing Arts) is acceptable. Several conservation and renovation actions maintaining the integrity of their attributes. The School of Music, though it still reserved, suffers significant construction problems

The School of Ballet was never finished and is, has been for decades, a beautiful ruin more at risk with time. Its fate (either finish the project as it was initially conceived, preserve it as an archaeological vestige or preserve the remaining elements and insert current components) has not been decided so far.

The process for the renovation and completion of the whole project has been carried out throughout the years, though not as intensely and systematically as a project like this needs. Implementing and monitoring an effective management plan is the major challenge the project faces to be included in the World Heritage List.

Comparison with other similar properties

This is a unique, unprecedented project from the perspective of shapes and function, at least in Latin America and the Caribbean, and most probably in the world. Many sites that are dedicated to educational and cultural purposes are nominated to be inscribed in the World Heritage List. Outstanding sites included in the List are several sites because of their educational purposes, the time when they were built, and the regional context, namely, the Ciudad Universitaria de Caracas, Venezuela, a work by Carlos R. Villanueva built between 1943- 1963 and the Central University City Campus of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) (Mexico) (1949-1952), a work by M. Pani, E. del Morral and J. O´ Gorman. However, none is comparable to the National Schools of Art in their concept, formal expression or relation with the landscape.

Taking into account that the experimentation with materials and shapes is a particular characteristic of the National Schools of Art, it should be noted and acknowledged the significant innovative and experimental solutions implemented in the project in a historic context and time. Other notable examples have been inscribed in the World Heritage List because of similar reasons, such as the creations by Gaudi, the Parque Güell and the Casa Batlló, with their distinctive architectural design and their pioneering approach in the use of shapes and materials.