MA-2
The John Boulton Foundation houses an important archive and a museum for an art collection, memorabilia and documents of Venezuelan history. The Santaella home that houses it was built in the early twentieth century and, along with an adjoining building, survived the enclave’s radical renovation. On the central plaza of a massive reinforced concrete building complex housing the nation’s main archives and libraries, the minimized presence of these houses expresses a desire to preserve samples of architecture that has been disappearing. The restoration project (by Gonzalo Denis and Guillermo Barrios) seeks to highlight the values of the building, whose façade preserves the original scheme, with three windows with ledges and a carved stone entrance. The hallway reveals the inner courtyard, protected by glass to preserve the collection. In this courtyard a torso of Guzmán Blanco is displayed, which was dismounted from its pedestal when he fell from power. The corridor around the patio connects the museum’s rooms. The first room, with an arrangement inspired by El desván del antiquario by Arturo Michelena, exhibited there, accounts for the repository’s origin. Next, the Bolívarian Hall shows a collection of portraits of Bolívar and objects associated with his life. Other halls function as spaces for the Foundation’s temporary exhibits, with management and preservation activities carried out at the back of the building.
GB-6
MA-1
JAC
GB-10