The architectural heritage of the western region of the country has decreased alarmingly in the second half of this century.
The city of Guadalajara has not been the exception, and since the 1940s it has been immersed in a process of transformation, for the sake of the “modernization” and re-functionalization of its urban center. This project began with the opening of large road axes that were literally shaving the historical face of the city; Furthermore, some of the oldest blocks of the urban layout were eliminated to form the cross of squares around the Metropolitan Cathedral, which recently incorporated the so-called “Plaza Tapatia”.
After these actions, developed and promoted by the state and municipal authorities, the replacement and destruction of heritage buildings began, which at the beginning of this century formed a unique urban complex, possessing a fairly rich typological unit. The constructions in this historical setting were mostly resolved by imitating the aesthetics of the "modern movement" in architecture. This detachment from the values of cultural heritage on the part of the society of that period was developing by leaps and bounds. Exaggerating a bit, it can be affirmed that the Guadalajara people took 50 years to destroy what took their ancestors four centuries to build, resulting in the somewhat chaotic Guadalajara that we all know. The conservation and restoration of cultural heritage in this region is a relatively recent activity, beginning in the late 1970s. There are really few heritage buildings that have been recovered in this city for the community, and the rescue of most of them has been in charge of government bodies. Some examples are: the Regional Museum of Guadalajara located in the old seminary of San José, the Government Palace, the Cabañas Cultural Institute, the former convents of I Carmen and San AgustÍn, the temple of Santo Tomás, today the Ibero-American Library "Octavio Peace ”, as well as some other relevant buildings in the historic center. The private initiative, however, has rarely been interested in this activity. With the exception of minor interventions, their participation in an issue that is becoming increasingly important within the interests of the community is almost nil.
The recognition by society of what can be considered architectural heritage does not remain static, but evolves. In past decades, in Guadalajara, only the buildings of greatest architectural merit were valued as worth preserving for future generations, disregarding the urban complex where they were inscribed. This situation has been changing, and currently, although late, a series of values linked to our roots are beginning to be accepted in civil architecture. However, speculative and urban pressures are still in force that little by little cause the loss, in "ant operation", of this class of buildings, an important part of the legacy of our ancestors.
At the beginning of the nineties, a group of businessmen from Guadalajara embarked on an unusual experience in this region: the recovery and use of a large house from the scorned Porfirian period in Guadalajara, which, had it not been intervened, would probably have been used. lost, as has been the fate of many of the city's historic buildings. The “experiment” to date has shown something worth taking into account in these times when free trade agreements and the values of financial efficiency are considered paradigms: the conservation and restoration of cultural heritage can be a profitable activity.
The restoration of that farm by a sector of society traditionally oblivious to issues related to heritage -such as private initiative- shows us one of the many paths that must be explored if we believe that it is still feasible to transmit to future generations the environment bequeathed by our ancestors.
Cities are made up of the sum of small stories that, when interwoven, give us a vision of what we are, our roots and -perhaps- our future. One of these small stories is the one that can be reconstructed around the property known as “Casa de los Abanicos”, in whose building - for better or for worse - the events and vicissitudes that this city has gone through are reflected in the course of the last 100 years. Guadalajara at the end of the last century experienced a period of great material development. The political and economic system sponsored by the Porfirio Díaz regime favored the progress of a sector of local society. During this period, the city had an important growth towards the west, since numerous families began to abandon their old houses in the downtown area to go to settle in the “colonies”. In them a real estate development begins in accordance with the architectural and urban models in vogue at that time. The "French" "Reforma", "Porfirio Díaz" and "American" colonies were founded in these high colonies. In the latter the building that is the subject of this article was built around 1903.
Currently the farm occupies the block delimited by Libertad, Atenas, La Paz and Moscow streets, in the Juárez sector. The engineer Guillermo de Alba was in charge of what would be the first stage of the current construction: the residence is located in the center of the property; of a single level and asymmetrical and irregular plan, it was surrounded by corridors supported by Tuscan columns, with balustrades and mural painting on some of its walls, following the urban trends of the time that drastically break with the architectural patterns inherited from the Spanish, where the construction takes place around a central courtyard with corridors and bays on the sides.
In March 1907 Manuel Cuesta Gallardo acquired it for 30 thousand pesos from those times. This individual was an enterprising landowner whom circumstances placed as the last governor of the porfirismo in Jalisco, since he served for a few 45 days, because due to a series of pro-Maderista demonstrations he had to resign. He bought the house not for himself, who was single, but for a friend named María Victoria. This house was his "small house".
It is in those years when the German-born engineer Ernesto Fuchs carried out various reforms that give the farm its current appearance: he made a fairly harmonious expansion, building two levels and some service additions, distributed throughout the extension of the block, and placed The exterior grill in the shape of fans, from which the property takes its name. The architectural and decorative composition used was of an eclectic type with stylistic influences typical of the French vile. Its most attractive element is a kind of tower surrounded by corridors. The facades show a different character on its two floors: the Tuscan-style ground floor has horizontal striations on its walls, built in adobe; The upper floor, more ornate, has Corinthian style columns, and its walls contain padded vertices and walls, eclectic moldings and plasterwork; They are topped by a very elaborate entablature, whose parapet is made up of balustrades and clay pots.
When he fell into political disgrace, Cuesta Gallardo sold the house below its value, and it passed into the hands of the Corcuera family.
From 1920 to 1923 it was leased to the Jesuits, who established a college. Later and until 1930, it was occupied by the Biester family. In this period, due to the Cristero persecution, the upper floor functions as a clandestine monastery. Through its spaces, there were countless educational institutions, among which the Franco-Mexican College, the Autonomous University of Guadalajara and the ITESO stand out. The use and the diverse needs were causing the gradual deterioration of the building -as well as its transformation when being added to the original design-, until it was totally abandoned in recent times.
It is important to point out that the Casa de los Abanicos, from being a “small house” began to play a fundamental role in the formation and education of countless generations of people from Guadalajara, joining the collective memory of the city.
The gradual process of deterioration to which the house was subjected almost caused its loss. Being abandoned for several years, she was subjected to vandalism and was exposed to the degrading effects of time. Fortunately, this process could be reversed thanks to the group of businessmen from Guadalajara who bought the property from the Mancera family, to restore it and put into operation the headquarters of the University Club of Guadalajara.
Upon acquiring the residence, the investors decided to carry out a work worthy of the Club's activities, taking up the experiences of similar establishments in Mexico and abroad. Which was not easy, because on the one hand, they had to solve the need for a space greater than the real capacity of the farm and, on the other, carry out a work that responded to and rigorously adapted to the national and international standards and criteria in conservation and restoration of cultural heritage. These two fundamental premises required the hiring of specialized personnel in this area so that through a project they could be reconciled.
The conservation, restoration and putting into use of the house for its new function began with a series of preliminary activities (historical investigation of the monument and its urban and social context, as well as various photographic, architectural, alteration and deterioration surveys. ) that made it possible to define the particularities of the building to be intervened, the state it was in and the possibilities of use it had. With the data collected at this stage, a detailed analysis could be carried out in which the state of the property, its constructive and spatial characteristics, its potential, the specific problems it had and the causes that originated its deterioration were clearly established. Based on the diagnosis, the restoration project was drawn up on two fronts that would provide mutual feedback: the first included conservation and restoration of the property, and the second the adaptation works so that the building was compatible with its new use. Among the activities developed, the following stood out: carrying out archaeological coves and surveys; release of elements added to the original structure; structural consolidation; consolidation, restoration and replacement of quarries, ceramics, mural painting, artistic blacksmithing and original ornamental plasterwork; correction of the sources of deterioration, as well as everything related to the adaptation of the spaces to the new use, special facilities and integration of other areas.
Due to the breadth of the architectural program necessary for the operation of the University Club -which included, among others, reception, library, restaurants, kitchen, bars, steam rooms, aesthetics and parking- new spaces had to be integrated but in such a way that they did not compete and affect the patrimonial estate. This was partly solved by building basements in the open spaces: the parking lot under the main garden and through a tower with several levels, seeking in all cases its integration into the context, differentiating everything new, in its finishes and formal elements, from The original construction. The work began in 1990 and concluded in May 1992. The restoration project was developed by the author of these lines in collaboration with Enrique Martínez Ortega; Ia restoration specialized in mural painting and artistic blacksmithing, by Guadalupe Zepeda Martínez; The decoration, by Laura Calderón, and the execution of the work was in charge of Constructora OMIC, with the engineer José deI Muro Pepi in charge. The understanding and confidence on the part of the investors, in everything concerning restoration tasks, allowed us to arrive smoothly - after two years of work - to the rescue of the lost splendor of this relevant example of Porfirian architecture in Guadalajara.
The fact that this heritage construction has been awarded a use compatible with its original structure (which due to its service characteristics requires constant maintenance and conservation) and that this social use allows the recovery of the initial investment and that its management is self-financing, guarantees its permanence and integrity into the future. After operating for almost two years, the evaluation in general terms is positive: the final result was accepted by society, the facilities, due to the response, have been kept in excellent condition, their urban environment has been revitalized and, as Anecdote, the traditional "calenders" have included it in their tourist tours. The successful completion of the “experiment” has had a beneficial influence on other businessmen who have been interested in acquiring large houses within the historic area to recover them. The restoration and start-up of the Casa de los Abanicos shows that the conservation of cultural heritage is not necessarily divorced from the values of business activity.
