The Savage lecture series, “Cities in War, Struggle, and Peace: The Architecture of Memory and Life – Rebuilding Cities after War and Disaster,” hosted by the School of Architecture and Allied Arts, held its sixth and final lecture last night at 7:30 p.m. in 177 Lawrence Hall. The lecture, “Refiguring the Aftermath: On the Reconstruction of Dresden,” was given by University professor Kenneth Calhoon, the director of undergraduate studies in comparative literature as well as a professor of comparative literature and of German.
The lecture “takes us back to the beginning” of the series, professor Howard Davis, the series’ coordinator, explained to the audience. The first lecture featured in the Savage series this year explored the reconstruction of Berlin after WWII, which is located roughly 125 miles north of Dresden.
Calhoon’s lecture approached the topic of reconstruction from a unique perspective. He explained that his area of expertise is in humanities rather than the more technical aspects of architecture and design.
Students who attended the lecture echoed this fact.
“His lecture was more from the humanities perspective rather than an architecture and planning view,” Sarah Oaks, a fourth-year architecture major, said.
From this vantage point, Calhoon intended with his lecture to “define the controversy surrounding reconstruction and preservation,” in Dresden and Germany as a whole.
He began his lecture with a brief history of Dresden.
Before WWII, Dresden, located in the eastern part of present-day Germany, was a culturally rich and vibrant city full of Baroque architecture. On Feb. 13, 1945, the Allied powers began their two-day bombing campaign on Dresden. Dresden’s city center was heavily damaged and it is estimated between 25,000 and 35,000 civilians were killed.
In post-war Germany, Dresden fell within the boundaries of the Soviet occupation zone. During this period most of the reconstruction was done without consideration to preserving the past, but with eyes toward a socialist future.
After Germany’s reunification in 1990 the issue of reconstruction and preservation became very prevalent.
It was at this point that Calhoon launched into his discussion of reconstruction and historical preservation. He brought in several competing theories on the topic including the idea that reconstructing a building, or even a city, should be done by “the superimposing of one historical style over another.”
Other ideas include the exact replication of buildings, and next to that a complete replacement of the former architecture (among others).
In Germany there is much debate over to what extent the architecture should embrace their traumatic past, or ignore it. Calhoon explained that by exactly replicating the destroyed buildings of Dresden it is essentially, “a denial of history,” overlooking a very important period and event by going back to a time before it had happened.
Dresden seems to be finding a middle ground in this debate, however. Calhoon used modern photographs next to 18th century paintings to show that from some angles the city looks roughly identical to its former self. From other positions, however, its reconstruction has demonstrated that time has passed and styles have changed.
In the final question and answer portion of the lecture, Calhoon explained to an audience member that this debate is very pronounced in Dresden as it was a very important cultural center before the bombing with its historical, baroque architecture reflecting a rich history.
Last night’s lecture marks the end of the six lectures in the series. On Feb. 19 the series will hold its final presentation, “(re)Building: A Panel Discussion,” at 7:30 p.m. in 177 Lawrence Hall. The panel discussion will feature the School of Architecture’s Dean Frances Bronet, Architecture Department Head Christine Theodoropoulos, associate professor emeritus Gary Moye and assistant professor Mark Gillem.