NUEVA VIEJA EUROPA

Luis Fernández-Galiano
Nueva vieja Europa
New Old Europe

Herencia continental
Continental Heritage

Recinto arqueológico califal, Córdoba (España)
Caliphal Archaeological Site, Córdoba (Spain)
Francisco Torres

Salas culturales en un monasterio del siglo XII, Fitero (España)
Cultural Halls in a 12th century Monastery, Fitero (Spain)
Alonso & Hernández

Judenplatz, monumento sobre una sinagoga medieval, Viena (Austria)
Judenplatz, Memorial on the Remains of a Medieval Synagogue, Vienna (Austria)
Jabornegg & Pálffy

Vivienda en una casa del siglo XIV, Barcelona (España) 
Apartment in a 14th century House, Barcelona (Spain)
Martínez Lapeña & Torres

Rocca Paolina, centro de visitantes en una fortaleza del siglo xvi, Peruggia (Italia) 
Rocca Paolina, Visitors’ Center in a 16th century Fortress, Peruggia (Italy)
Italo Rota

Centro de documentación en el palacio de Belém, Lisboa (Portugal)
Documentation Center in the Palace of Belém, Lisbon (Portugal)
João Luís Carrilho da Graça

Ayuntamiento en una posada del siglo XVII, Andújar (España)
Town Hall in a 17th century Inn, Andújar (Spain)
Daniel Gómez-Valcárcel

Tilty Barn, vivienda y estudio en un caserío de 1723, Essex (Inglaterra)
Tilty Barn, House and Studio in a 1723 Farm, Essex (England)
John Pawson

Casa Middelem-Dupont, vivienda y galería en una granja del siglo xviii, Oudenburg (Bélgica) 
Middelem-Dupont House, Residence and Art Gallery in an 18th century Farm, Oudenburg (Belgium)
Álvaro Siza

Museo de Artes Contemporáneas en una industria minera del siglo XVIII, Grand-Hornu (Bélgica) 
Museum of Contemporary Arts in an 18th century Mining Settlement, Grand-Hornu (Belgium)
Pierre Hebbelinck

Casa de retiro en una mansión del siglo XIX, Rueil Malmaison (Francia) 
Residence for Elderly People in a 19th century Villa, Rueil Malmaison (France)
Jean Nouvel

Stadtlagerhaus, viviendas y oficinas en un almacén de 1880, Hamburgo (Alemania) 
Stadtlagerhaus, Apartments and Offices in an 1880 Warehouse, Hamburg (Germany)
Jan Störmer

Niccolo’ Paganini, auditorio en una fábrica del siglo XIX, Parma (Italia) 
Niccolo’ Paganini, Concert Hall in a 19th century Factory, Parma (Italy)
Renzo Piano

Stuk, centro de artes escénicas en unos laboratorios del siglo XIX, Lovaina (Bélgica) 
Stuk, Performing Arts Center in a 19th century Laboratory, Leuven (Belgium)
Neutelings & Riedijk

Kulturspeicher, centro cultural en un almacén de 1904, Würzburg (Alemania) 
Kulturspeicher, Cultural Center in a 1904 Warehouse, Würzburg (Germany)
Brückner & Brückner

El Águila, Archivo y Biblioteca Regional en una fábrica de cerveza de 1912, Madrid (España) 
El Águila, Regional Archive and Library in a 1912 Brewery, Madrid (Spain)
Moreno Mansilla & Tuñón

Westerdokhuis, estudio en un almacén de 1919, Amsterdam (Holanda) 
Westerdokhuis, Architectural Studio in a 1919 Warehouse, Amsterdam (Holland)
De Architectengroep

Hangar 14, salas de exposición en una nave de 1930, Burdeos (Francia) 
Hangar 14, Exhibition Hall in a 1930 Shed, Bordeaux (France)
Flint, Lanoire & Courrian

Palais de Tokyo, centro de arte contemporáneo en un pabellón de 1937, París (Francia) 
Palais de Tokyo, Contemporary Art Center in a 1937 Pavilion, Paris (France)
Lacaton & Vassal

Residencia de estudiantes en un silo de 1953, Oslo (Noruega) 
Residence for Students in a 1953 Silo, Oslo (Norway)
HRTB

Mark Leonard 
Euroespacio: un estado mental   Euro Space: a State of Mind

Rem Koolhaas/OMA 
Proyecto de identidad europea   Project for a European Identity

New Old Europe

But both the Old Europe of France and Germany and the new one of the British, Spanish, Italian or Polish are Europes of shared problems, similarly subjected to the revitalizing and traumatic impact of immigration, equally devoted to the renovation of their infrastructure and likewise faced with the redefinition of their historic identity. This process of demographic, physical and symbolic rejuvenation finds a privileged ground of expression in the renovation of architectural heritage, an activity rich both in opportunities and conflicts. Whether historic centers colonized by immigrants, obsolete industrial peripheries or monuments absorbed by thematic tourism, the interventions on built heritage constitute an increasing portion of the architect’s work, and a new space for research that touches the very heart of the European dilemmas with the violence of the dentist’s drill, cleaning up cavities and occasionally touching a painful nerve.

Today the concept of heritage has spread steadily from paleonthological and archaeological remains to 20th century buildings, including areas of historic or environmental value, vernacular or industrial architecture, urban or rural landscapes and even that immaterial heritage composed by oral tradition or customs. However, that overwhelming luggage is often perceived as a burden that forces Europeans to travel in time encumbered by trunks or paralyzed by the excess of reminiscence as Funes the Memorious, the character of Borges whose exceptional retention was in the end incompatible with life. We explore the future of the past and perhaps we should rather worry about the past of the future, reconciling the survival of objects with the strategic decisions regarding today’s city that will condition our own ability to survive in the turmoil of change. Only so will this elderly giant regenerate itself, and only so will old Europe become a new one.