The search for a definitive stance on restoration. A hundred years of restoration by the Vereniging Hendrick de Keyser

Abstract

The Vereniging Hendrick de Keyser was established in 1918 in response to a spate of demolition and injudicious renovation of historical buildings. Since its inception, the association has acquired 423 buildings in 109 locations in the Netherlands, nearly all of which have undergone one or more restorations of varying intensity. As such, the association has had an impact on the appearance of towns and villages across the Netherlands. But what principles did it apply in carrying out these restorations and how did they compare with the principles employed by the government? Although it was many years before the association laid down clear restoration guidelines, a study of the restorations reveals an evolving set of restoration principles.

Restorations often gave rise to fierce debates among board members and between the board of Hendrick de Keyser and the government. Both extremes of restoration philosophy since the nineteenth century — restore to former glory versus do nothing — found adherents among the association’s architects. Whereas its ‘in-house architect’, A.A. Kok, initially adhered to the Grondbeginselen van de Nederlandsche Oudheidkundige Bond (Basic Principles of the Dutch Archeological Society, 1917) and took a cautious approach in his restoration work, architects employed by the government attempted to restore buildings to their original ‘historical’ appearance. From the 1930s onwards, both government and Hendrick de Keyser architects carried out ‘former glory’ restorations, although Hendrick de Keyser board members were divided in their opinions about these restorations. After the Second World War the government tended towards the view that restoration work should focus on preservation. This clashed with the views of the association, which continued to carry out many restorations well into the 1960s and 1970s.

During this period, influenced by the 1961 Monumentenwet (Heritage Act), there was growing interest in the building in its surroundings. From the 1970s onwards the government and Hendrick de Keyser increasingly pursued the same principles. There was greater  interest in the preservation of authentic materials and the value of the heritage object as a source for scientific research. The visual quality was no longer paramount. Although there was generally more consideration for the historical layering of a heritage building, that did not apply to twentieth-century buildings, where the availability of adequate documentation usually worked in favour of restoration. In 2009 the Vereniging Hendrick de Keyser set about formulating its own restoration principles with reference to the Charter of Venice (1964) and the Uitgangspunten van de Rijksdienst voor de Monumentenzorg (Principles of the Netherlands Department for the Preservation of Historic Buildings, 1991). The key tenets are ‘preservation through development’ and ‘preservation before renovation’. Over time, the association’s focus has shifted from the object in itself via the object in its surroundings to the story around the object, with the emphasis on nostalgic value. After almost one hundred years, the Vereniging Hendrick de Keyser finally has clearly formulated restoration principles — although it has yet to officially enshrine them in policy — in which the influence of the prevailing views at national and international level is clearly discernible.