Context: Historic and Cultural Significance
The centerpiece of a renowned Japanese Garden, this unique Pavilion was originally built in 1903 as an impermanent example of Japanese architecture. While the design community often underestimates the importance of historic preservation, this unique project has already achieved national and international renown among scholars and conservators. It is the only extant building that conveys America’s fascination with Japanese culture and design in Southern California during the early 20th century, one of four from this period that remain in the US. Now a vital resource to 500,000 annual visitors, it reveals the adaptation of Japanese culture in California.
Program/Scope
The preservation team and the client reviewed the project’s existing conditions and future use, as well as long-term maintenance. There was a delicate and crucial balance implicit in understanding the concept of “authenticity” in regard to a building that reflects many aesthetic traditions and building techniques of another culture, as interpreted for its California setting during the early 1900s. The Pavilion is a hybrid of American and Japanese design, a prime example of Japanese architecture built in California. The team followed best American preservation practices with support from Japanese craftsmen and scholars.
Budget
For the Japanese Garden’s centenary restoration, the museum committed $750,000 for implementation of the restoration plan.
Challenges
This subtle process of conservation, of architectural and scholarly research, discovery and response, revealed a cross-cultural masterwork. The structure attained historic significance not as an architectural import but as a historic resource with a unique cultural story to tell about the adaptation of Japanese culture in Southern California. The challenge was to apply American preservation practices to a building designed according to the architectural vocabulary and philosophy of a different culture, processes developed for this project revealed the Pavilion’s true significance, and set a precedent for the other historic Japanese structures.
Solutions
The architect designed a preservation plan to protect significant features, while considering the future use of the structure, an open-air garden pavilion for public enjoyment and education. Treatments ranged from major repairs to painstaking restoration of minute details of finishes, colors and textures while retaining the historic integrity of the Pavilion, and its relationship to the garden. The Pavilion’s imported and domestic woods, organic lime-based plaster, handcrafted Japanese carved wood, ceramic, paper and metal elements were severely deteriorated due to water infiltration, exposure, use and age. The preservation plan maintained significant character defining features and restored original fabric wherever possible. Treatments retained original finishes, materials and design intent. Finishes easily cared for with readily available products and labor were specified, including guidelines and training for ongoing maintenance. The preservation plan sought to restore the Japanese Pavilion to reflect the cultural and historic narrative while contributing to the educational program and mission of the institution.
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