The Convent of Santa Teresa de Jesús in Havana: analysis, consolidation and restoration for the New Museum of Sacred Art

Abstract

Thanks to an inter-university agreement between the University of Florence and the University College San Geronimo in La Habana, on the occasion of the Master’s thesis in Architecture of Florence it was possible to approach the case study of the Convent of Santa Teresa del Jesús in La Havana (Cuba).The Convent, built in the early 1700s for the Order of the Discalced Carmelites, maintained its function until 1827 when, following the transfer of the nuns, it was first converted into Casas de Vecindad and subsequently into Ciutadela (1960) compromising consistently the integrity of the factory. Since 1998 it has become part of the list of risk sites “2000 World Monuments Fund” [WMF (2000)] and since 2005 it has undergone a careful and long process of restoration by the Oficina del Historiador da La Habana (OHCH). [WMF, (2020)]The work focused first on the constriction of a cognitive framework of the building aimed at a correct assessment of the historical evolutionary and metrological characteristics of the local construction system adopted. Then the geometric and cracking survey of a portion of the Convent corresponding to the first cloister, the oldest, was carried out by means of a direct and photogrammetric method, which showed some structural anomalies, highlighting a progressive subsidence in correspondence with the south-east corner of the cloister.According to the information provided by the relevant campaign, some tests were made on the foundations of the portion affected by the settlement. The analyzes carried out on the specimens have evidenced soils with a low cohesive capacity, sensitive to charges in humidity with consequent variation in their volume. In the same way, the analyzes on degradation pathologies have evidenced a sensitivity to the variation in the capillary humidity amount, as well as to the multiple anthropic alterations; furthermore, the analysis of the crack pattern has revealed a widespread and complex structural degradation leading to manifestation of collapse mechanisms of the second and third types in the intrinsically weakest points.Based on the results obtained in the cognitive phase, a conservative restoration hypothesis was formulated limited to some parts not affected by substantial static degradation, instead recommending the reconstruction of the remaining parts in compliance with traditional construction materials and techniques or for anastylosis where necessary. A proposal was also made to consolidate the structure by strengthening the existing foundations through the technique of underpinning. The project proposal was formulated by adopting a participatory approach based on local planning guidelines.In order to enhance this place, a proposal was made to re-functionalize it by proposing different uses but always in line with the protection needs of the cultural heritage itself, so that it could be returned to the city and its inhabitants in the hope that it could become, in the future, a hub for both tourism and the community. To this end, the project involved the combination of public and museum areas, transforming the complex into a multifunctional cultural center including the New Museum of Sacred Art of the City with related service, an urban park and a recreation center for childhood and third age with the aim of promoting and developing cultural service and programs that may involve the resident community, helping to make the historical, architectural and artistic heritage known and enjoyed.