The National Art School complex of Havana, Modern Cuban Heritage: the reasons for an enhancement project

Havana is a complex city. For several reasons, there are problems of knowledge dissemination, documentation and information about its urbanism and Architecture. These tasks are largely delegated to oral sources and the sensibility of architects and intellectuals. Regarding its Modern Architectural Heritage its “rich repertory has not been sufficiently valued”. This is specially true for the Conjunto de Escuelas Nacionales de Arte (ENA) - National Art School, the case study of this paper. It focuses on a scheme that enhances the complex’s heritage by proposing an Open Air Museum ENA (OAM) constituted by multisensory, interactive exhibitions. The socio-economic feasibility plan (ACB) deals with preservation of memory and "copyright" of these architectural artefacts, now at the eve of risky transformations. This scenario calls for planned restoration and conservation in an on-going relationship with local communities, finding resources for the management of the complex, and networking the urban culture. The plan was included in the exhibition Vittorio Garatti: Works & Projects at the Wifredo Lam Centre of Contemporary Art in Havana (2014, March), invoking the protection of the complex in its true identity.