Experimental methodologies in the conservation of design objects. Case studies from the RECOPLART Project

Abstract

The RECOPLART Project has allowed for the study and restoration of 28 objects of the Plart Collection, selected according to four parameters: relevance of historical aspects, design type, condition of the object and type of material used. Four case studies were selected based on the different materials and degradation signs they presented: a tobacco box, produced by Ebena (Belgium) during the 1920s, in pre-industrial plastic Ebena; Fusillo, prototype of a floatation toy designed by Keith Mascheroni in 2006, in painted poly-ether-urethane; the lamp Metropolight, designed by J. Roth, produced by Design M in 1971, in expanded polystyrene; a table lamp, produced in England in the 1930s, in ureic resin. The Project involved an initial survey phase including the study of historical and artistic aspects, the identification of materials and the compilation of a conservation report. Secondly, restoration procedures were carried out aiming at re-establishing the aesthetic and formal unity of the objects and attempting to respect the concepts of minimal intervention, compatibility, reversibility, and durability.

Keywords

• Ebena
• polystyrene
• polyetherurethane
• urea resin
• restoration
• design