At
mid November 2009, the premier of FREI - Festival of Real Estate took place.
During the three days of its performance, from 10-13 November, in Hotel
Maestral in Budva, this show gathered domestic and international professionals
as well as representatives of the high ranking state administration of
Montenegro. All together, they discussed the topical situation of real estate
development in Montenegro, whereas the international professionals represented
their most recent designs and current studies. These lectures were a compressed
contribution to further more efficient real estate development at the local
market pointing out to specific problems to be avoided in the future.
Particular
interest was incited by the concluding lecture of Professor Boris Podrecce on
the theme of ’’Here or Anywhere – Architecture and Tourism in Transformation’’.
The following text sublimates that lecture.
(Boris Podrecca)
When one considers the actual
state of architecture in tourism, we are forced to think about the following:
There exists an uncertainty among consumers as a
result of the banking crisis and shakiness of the market in general. Therefore
exact forecasts are impossible to make, but a downturn in business and common
travel can be expected. However, no other sector of the economy recovers as
quickly as tourism. Even in times of crisis, during which one may forego
expensive purchases, vacation maintains the highest level of significance and
therefore high preference of consumption.
In the past year, Germans spent €58 billion for
travelling abroad and €108 billion, almost a double amount, inside the country
where environmental-consciousness and quality of architecture in tourism have
improved. Despite economic downturn, the revenues from tourism are expected to
rise from $600 bn in 2005 to $1,000 bn in 2010.
Architecture in Tourism
Since long ago architecture has become a fundamental element of
marketing in the hotel industry. In spite of that, and in the midst of the
current recession, flamboyant horror architecture with massive potential for
environmental destruction is sprouting, predominantly in the new European
democracies.
But situations like the current crisis offer the
chance to rethink the market – investment – quality relationship, and to push
innovative product ideas in all segments, especially architecture and the
environment.
How can we, the architects, give our contribution
so that tourism and architecture enter a deeper relationship and link with conceptual
and regional cultural parameters?
Architectural discourse – I actually prefer archiculture in this context – can only
be a guideline in the overarching tangle of the tourism sector and only
incubate sustainable developments. If
this is the case, what is missing?
1. Entrepreneurs, developers and operators lack the necessary experience
with the application of high-value contemporary architecture
2. The positive effects that can
be created by contemporary quality architecture are not known. This is due to
inadequate training in this matter.
3. The responsibility for one’s
own environment with respect to tourism architecture is not adequately
communicated, promoted and protected by ethical and political bodies. Only the
bare mercantile benefit of the project is communicated.
In the three German-speaking countries of Central Europe – Germany, Austria
and Switzerland
– the subject of quality prevails decisively to stress the positive of this
dilemma. At a recent tourism conference over 80% of the interviewed persons agreed
that contemporary architecture and its tradition in the regional identity are a
decisive marketing factor.
Good architecture, its creative transformation
of local building traditions, innovation, differentiation of topos and type, the correct measure of
space and volume in specific and distinctive settings can permanently guarantee
lifestyle and ‘zeitgeist’, spirit of the time and presence of media and visitors.
The sensual perception of the calling card, the profile, is crucial.
(Professor Podrecca's project in Block 11a in New Belgrade)
Good architecture – which is what the educated
consumer wants and expects – does not cost more. Billions are being squandered,
predominantly in the countries of the former eastern block, for picturesque
surrogate architecture, fake tympanons, doric columns – I call it historicised
pornography and pseudo-modernist orgies of nouveau-riche taste. Alas, there is
no architecture police, although killing of the nature or of cities – urbicide – weighs almost as heavily as
homicide in its long-term effects.
Developers, but also planners are frequently the
cause of archiculture turning badly.
Popular brand-name superstars are hired, an Esperanto-architecture, which never
reaches the level of local necessities, appropriates the landscape and
contributes little to nothing to the regional architectural identity or to the
strengthening of the local architectural community. The day-to-day business,
with a few exceptions, is conducted in the banal, grey building practice.
Still,
improvements
In this context, appropriate training, counselling
programs for practitioners, architouristic
education programs, corresponding events by private enterprises, thematic
architecture lectures, and expert conferences need to be established. This is
already happening in some emancipated countries.
Of course there are ambitious developers who use these
mechanisms and convert quality into a marketing factor. Our experience with the
BEKO project up to this point has shown that the client possesses the necessary
understanding of archiculture.
In closing, I would like to remark that it is hardly
possible to define building culture in a mono-centric way. It
can only be understood as a pluralistic phenomenon. Building culture is life culture and as such can
barely be governed by rules. The true target group is missing as well, because
individual responsibility has become more fluid and diffuse. The originator of the
eyesores (politics), the tormented maker
of the object (architect), the guard of his return on investment (developer)
exist as members of a society, which often – one does not have to travel far –
confuses democracy with anarchy. A new culture-guidance-system
needs to be developed, which is not governed apodictically by state and
authorities, but links the protagonists and mediates between the hard-to-bridge
worlds of administration, real estate industry and practitioners. It is
necessary that the contingencies of building
culture are accepted. Without the state as mediator, without individuals with
quality standards and its steady thematization and support, future generations
will regard us as the culprits of the destruction of the environment in many
yet to be developed tourism areas.
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