Departments > Landscapes and Heritage

Rehabilitation of the historic heritage of the town of Porto-Novo

Background
In the framework of the "Rehabilitation of the historic heritage of the town of Porto-Novo", the Société d'Etudes Régionales d'Habitat et d'Aménagement Urbain (SERHAU), head of works, put out to tender for a study on April 3, 2001. The Ecole du Patrimoine Africain and Ecole Africaine des Métiers de l'Architecture et de l'Urbanisme (EPA-EAMAU) grouping won the competition.

The study started on September 10, 2001 and concerns the architectural and urban heritage of the town in general, and the old administrative and colonial district in particular.

Objective
The study's aim is to start a rehabilitation process of the historic heritage of the town of Porto-Novo, by means of recommendations of strategies, of an institutional framework and management policy, as well as pilot actions. It aims at reinforcing and enhancing the authenticity of Porto-Novo characterised by a mixture of ancient and modern cultures, to create a database on the safeguarding, the rehabilitation and the classification of sites and monuments, which would be exploited by researchers, architects, development agencies and politicians.

Content
The study is carried out in the four following phases:

• Physical and institutional inventory and diagnosis of the historic heritage of Porto-Novo,
• Analysis of the needs of concerned parties and of past conservation and enhancement experiences,
• Proposition of safeguarding strategies,
• Definition of a pilot rehabilitation programme.

Results
The main results of the project are the following:

• The definition of the limits of the historic town of Porto-Novo, situated between the Boulevard extérieur to the North and the lagoon of Porto-Novo to the South; a total of 600 hectares which mainly include the districts of Ahouantikomè, Akron, Atakè, Avassa, Déguè-Gare, Djassin, Foun-Foun, Houèzoumè, Iléfiè, Oganla and Zèbou.

  Central mosque of Porto-Novo, back facade

• An inventory of 597 elements classified in 6 categories: royal heritage, family heritage, Afro-Brazilian or Aguda heritage, colonial heritage, religious heritage and landscapes. These identified elements are divided into three types of urban infrastructures that have been identified: the colonial urban infrastructure, the Afro-Brazilian urban infrastructure, and the vernacular urban infrastructure. Within these urban infrastructures lies the main axis of the town, the axis of power, which goes from King Toffa's summer palace to the Governors' palace, now the headquarters of the National Assembly.
• The study of legal texts shows that the Beninese legislation on cultural heritage needs to be improved.
• A global management plan for the cultural heritage of the town, containing suggestions for enhancement and safeguarding, the creation of a specialised police and a management entity of this heritage, as well as simple financing mechanisms.
• More than 20 meetings between the project team and local authorities, owners of buildings or sites identified as Porto-Novo's cultural heritage.
• Creation of two associations:
  
  1. the Alliance des propriétaires pour le patrimoine de la ville de Porto-Novo - APP
  2. the Union des houédouto de Porto-Novo - U-Houédo.
• 23 selected buildings and sites are being classified.
• 3 buildings have been selected for pilot rehabilitation operations.

Team
The team is made up of 12 multidisciplinary members among who are the head of the mission, Mr Aimé Gonçalves - architect at EAMAU, an expert architect, Mr Tito G. Spini from Italy, and a general coordinator, Mr Alain Godonou - Director of EPA.

Follow up and evaluation committee
21 members, heads of institutions and associations of the town whose mission is to follow up and evaluate the different phases of the study.

Financing
- Government of Benin
via World Bank Credit
- National budget

Contact
Victoire Adégbidi
Ecole du Patrimoine Africain - EPA
B.P. 2205

Tel. (00 229) 21 48 38, Fax (00 229) 21 21 09
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