Reuse, a challenge for the preservation of 20th century heritage. The Royal Bank of Canada, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Abstract

Preserving the architectural heritage of the 20th century remains a challenge even though it has been protected for the last decades. The lack of recognition of its value, the absence of a legal framework for its protection and the limited research on their construction systems, structural performance and materials has caused the loss of many places and buildings of the world. It still presents many conservation challenges, including adaptation to new uses, technologies, performance criteria, structural safety requirements and the high cost of repair and adaptation. For this reason, the aim of this paper is to present the methodology used and the results obtained from the rehabilitation of a 20th century neoclassical style building in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The building was constructed for the Royal Bank of Canada in 1914, then abandoned for many years and in 2019 was restored to establish a restaurant. The preservation work included the recognition of its construction system, the recovery of interior and exterior decorative elements, the finishes, the original polychromy of its walls, part of the hydraulic mosaics of the floors, its windows, staircase, and other elements. In addition, the historical research revealed that the building was designed and built by the American firm Purdy & Henderson, one of a prestige firm, which built almost all the buildings for Royal Bank of Canada in the early 20th century. This building is an example of 1920s American architecture abroad.