Re-Maining Material Legacy, Re-Meaning Cultural Heritage: Preserving the Past to Design the Future (original) (raw)
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Changes of meaning and perspectives for the destinies of the built Heritage
2022
It is difficult to say what Restoration is today and what place it occupies among the disciplines of architecture, in the fields of education, research and profession. Equally complex is to delimit the concept of Cultural Heritage, which is increasingly extended and differentiated by scale, types of artefacts, age of formation, etc. Furthermore, it is increasingly subject to risks of various kinds that cast doubts on its survival and transmission to the future. On the other hand, we still live in a "liquid" and ever faster changing contemporaneity, according to Zygmunt Bauman, while for the philosopher Umberto Garimberti it would be almost "cemented" and blocked (Palese 2014). Our relationship with the traces of the many pasts that preceded us cannot ignore this fragile, uncertain, but also open nature of the time we live and those that await us. Marc Augè, in this regard, questioned about the two great ways of relating to the future in different human societies-one that makes the future a consequence of the past: the intrigue, the other that makes it a birth: the inauguration-which find their institutional and cultural expressions (Augé 2012, 14). Even the ways in which each era and each community have lived, recognized, interpreted, preserved, or innovated their own built heritage of cultural interest and value seem to be attributable to the metaphorical figures of "intrigue" and "inauguration". Many protagonists of the life of our cities, landscapes, and territories, on the other hand, now claim the right/duty to act on that heritage, often generating radical conflicts between different ideal and operational visions and perspectives and, at times, irreversible losses of its "relevant parts". The contribution therefore proposes an ideal reflection on these themes and similar perspectives, also with reference to current events and concrete and operational situations at the local scale but not only.
From the ‘monumental’ to the ‘living’ heritage: a shift in perspective
"After the adoption of the 1972 Convention the meaning and definition of Cultural Heritage went through adjustment and reconsideration which brought to a widening of the idea of cultural heritage. Cultural landscapes and industrial archaeology are just some examples. From the end of the nineties long-claimed requests for the recognition of the importance of ethnological heritage got stronger thanks to the increasing worries for cultural homogenisation as a consequence of the globalisation process. This process of renewal culminated in the adoption of the Convention on Intangible Cultural Heritage in October 2003 and the proposal of a deep renewal in the understanding and approach to heritage as a whole. This new perspective conceives heritage as a wider cultural whole and not only extends the World Heritage ‘brand’ to intangible cultural expressions but widens and redefines the previous meaning and definition of Cultural Heritage. Intangible features are more and more underlined and considered as decisive in the evaluation process of World Heritage sites focusing now on processes (social, biological or cultural) embodied in the sites. The distinction between tangible and intangible, a reflection of an administrative category, demonstrates therefore its artificial nature. Heritage is thus conceived not only as a consecrated masterpiece of the past to be venerated and preserved but as a symbolic and living space to be appropriated by local communities, the mirror of a collective and active memory. The idea of turning living cultures into heritage is however not free from contradictions. The paper shows, in an analytical perspective, the influence of the notion of intangible heritage, its theoretical contradictions and the new challenge facing cultural policies makers."
Interpretations of the Architectural and Cultural Values of Heritage in the Revitalization Process
Architectura & Urbanismus, 2015
The interpretation of architectural work has a particular significance when the work itself is endangered and in the need for a protection and revitalization. Different theoretical premises for interpretation of architectural work are formulated in relation to different perceptions on the cultural character and identity of the society in determined historical and political moment. Therefore, a various cultural positions upon valorization of heritage’s significance transform into different approaches on architectural heritage revitalization. This way the cultural contextualization of architectural heritage ultimately influences the selection of adequate technical methods and constructive techniques for its revitalization which consequently can result in alteration of the character of revitalized heritage, or in the other hand, alteration of heritage’s role within the society. The first question approached in the paper investigates a development of theoretical positions on re-interpretation of heritage’s values and features in the process of its revitalization. Here, case studies on revitalization of several iconic buildings of architectural heritage in the second half of the twentieth century in Sarajevo and Barcelona enable to perceive how the practice on heritage revitalization operates upon three concepts: the conservational, the interventionist and the symbolist (negativist) approach. The acceptance of disparate values of heritage is the main substance that differentiates one approach from another. The conservational approach departs from the premise that heritage’s value and thus its architectural authenticity are inflexible categories, frozen in time, caught in space, and therefore non-subjected to cultural and architectural (re)interpretations, while the symbolic approach by completely relying on intangible values of heritage and endeavoring to merely preserve symbolical significance the property together with overall proficiencies of architecture as technique and profession is in stark contrast to the first approach. In the same time, the interventionist approach strives to give same importance to tangible and intangible values of the heritage, and thus it endorses creative interpretation of legacy in revitalization in order to enable appreciation the cultural perception of heritage as a dynamic category. The insight into different case studies of revitalized architectural heritage provides a tool to question the dynamics of change of property’s architectural and cultural character, its re-layering and restructuring. The investigation presented in this paper follows from a comprehensive master study which investigated the process of revitalization of the several iconic buildings in Sarajevo and Barcelona that due to damage or degradation in the course (second half) of the 20th century were revitalized. because it was evaluated that they are of importance in architectural and cultural terms for Bosnian and Catalan societies. The findings of the research however are summarized and for the purposes of this paper described by three sets of examples: The Sarajevo City Hall and the Barcelona Grand Theatre Liceu, the Barcelona Santa Catarina Market and the Parliament and Council of Ministers building in Sarajevo and the White Sherefudin’s Mosque (Visoko). The investigation of given case studies is presented through analysis of the process of revitalization in terms of interpretation of their architectural features, that is design, material, technological and structural singularities in relation to their social significance. The objective of the analysis is to enable to establish paradigms on semiotic understanding of cultural identity in correlation to architectural heritage. This how the investigation on revitalization of heritage in question reveals to be a possible tool for analysis of cultural, political, economic and social positions within the (two) societies which in the investigated period have passed through process of national and cultural self-redefinition and re-interpretation. In this way the insight in the processes of construction, interpretation, valorization and finally revitalization of selected case studies permits observing the changes of perspectives within Catalan and Bosnian-Herzegovinian cultural identities, since the presented examples in the course of the 20th century have been used as iconological representatives of their national characters. The various interpretations of architectural heritage in those two different cultural backgrounds thus has led to establishment of a general concept on cultural perception and subservience of architectural heritage in accordance with needs of ideological (national, cultural, ethnic) agendas. From this arises a second problem approached in the paper: In what way and how a different social viewpoints, movements and trends of internal cultural self-perception within the society are perceivable on revitalized material artifacts? Approaching this question could facilitate establishing common ground for the improvement of processes of heritage revitalization. Finally, the aim of the investigation was to anticipate the dangers of partial analysis of artistic features of architectural work and one-sided understanding of heritage’s cultural properties, and thus confirm the need for the complex and interdisciplinary approach to build heritage. At the moment when contemporary society balances between the urge to pursue further technological progress and the need for recovery of primeval spiritual connection with the world, the profession on protection and revitalization of architectural heritage faces the challenge to preserve the image of the world while allowing it to continue to change. Therefore, this paper advocates the comprehensive interpretation of a constructed imaginary as the only possible way for preservation of creative potential contained in architectural legacy of past generations.
This paper, an essay, constitutes an approach on theoretical principles of intervention in heritage buildings. It will be founded on the certainty that, in general terms, in order to preserve it is necessary to transform, without depriving the artifact from its nature. It is centered on the relationships both materials and materiality keep with preservation, thus it is about the concepts and the limits of originality and authenticity in order to preserve. How memory and identity are formed is a theme of great relevance nowadays, considering the world of global relations-with extremely fast connections and the presence of new media-which alter sensitivities and human behaviors producing meaningful mutations in phenomena of cultural nature. Population growth and the continuity in the urbanization process, present among us since the industrial revolution, is heightened nowadays especially in developing world countries, promote urban concentrations and conurbations – when great urban areas are connected physically – establishing an edified territorial continuity. In constructed urban space, the nuclear central areas ABSTRACT: This paper will be founded on the certainty that, in general terms, in order to preserve it is necessary to transform, without depriving the artifact from its nature. It is centered on the relations both materials and materiality keep with preservation. It addresses the tangible support of both cultural nature and heritage value artifacts, which possess the dimension of time – relative in its own nature/essence – as one of the main references and criteria for safeguard, preservation, conservation, as well as for restoration interventions and reintegration of these arti-facts into daily life. The paper lays foundation in the increasing presence, relevance and meaning of the heritage issue, as well as the extensions of its conceptual and geographical basis before the great transformations of the human environment, especially the constructed one. It highlights the ways relationships and feelings are established with tangible cultural artifacts and their dimensions as monuments and documents. It identifies the prevalence and relativization of the criteria for authenticity, in comparison to identity, and their expressions in the current recommended fun-daments in the area. The paper defends an active and imaginative conservationist attitude, opposed to a nostalgic approach, as a beacon for actions of systematic preservation of the heritage artifacts, which form the memory and identity of communities. It concludes that some things should change over time, whereas others should remain the same in their substance and essence, in spite of having been transformed.
The making and unmaking of Heritage
2015
Heritage is defined by history which is by nature multi layered. The passage of time and the perspectives it affords, enables and even necessitates constant reexamination and reinterpretation of history. What effect do changes in historical perspective then have upon the definition of heritage which relies on an understanding of its history? The present paper attempts to engage with the notion of heritage, criteria of its definition, and the mutable nature of such designations with specific reference to architectural constructions and historical cities that enjoy or have enjoyed in the past the status of a ‘World Heritage Site’. Examples such as the Louvre museum in Paris or the King’s Cross station in London make an interesting study as they not only allow insight into the past but reflect the changes and adaptation over a period of time. Multiple alterations, some very recently, have modified them extensively since the time they were accorded the ‘World Heritage Site’ status. The ...
Methodological Approaches for the Enhancement of the Cultural Heritage
2012
The preservation of Cultural Heritage, whether it is referred to the artistic, architectural, environmental, or more generally to the maintenance of every kind of knowledge developed in the past, pursues constructive goals when it allows every individual to freely manage their cultural interests and practoice their skills to develop their knowledge in accordance with the ethical values and design paradigms that characterize their own era. For this reason, the criteria adopted for the conservation of the architectural heritage of historical interest are affected by the nature of social problems and issues related to every human ecosystem of reference. There is therefore the problem of analyzing the bases of these references in different contexts which, in different countries, are moving criteria and establishing intervention strategies which are gradually consolidating. In the contribution of innovative technologies, these cultural references find a valuable contribution to value the assets properly and the volume of Santina Di Salvo has a series of very interesting examples which help us to reflect on concepts that are often considered abstract but fundamental to understand and contribute to the transmission of our past for future generations.
2017
The importance of including Heritage architecture in the development of cities has to do with keeping in mind our history, to grow aware of where we come from and who we are as societies. But for this heritage to mean a real contribution to the future City we must respond to the Continuity represented by Culture, and also to the Changes defined by Economy. Architects must become aware of the necessity to connect the past with our present, but also anticipating the future. Heritage Interventions should have the possibility to change, to give space to new uses. We must understand that nothing we build today will be definitive, and just as we look to the past for inspiration, we also need to be conscious about the different needs future will bring. In this process, it is common to fall into the temptation to express the technological capabilities of today. However, it is enough to look back to realize that over time everything changes and must adapt and that the grandiloquent manifestations of the present only generate problems. After all, they only try to express themselves through their image, nevertheless, in dealing with time, we must be able to look beyond the surface.
Designing the heritage versus becoming the heritage
The paper discusses the dilemma of examples of architecture from the end of 20th century and its interpretation as part of architectural heritage. It critically refers to current criteria to qualify works of architecture as heritage and attempts to revive the concept of stable, solid set of references allowing to distinguish the outstanding objects of contemporaneity that are especially predestinated to become preserved as late 20th century representative objects. The process of "designing" the piece of heritage must be rejected and replaced with careful observation allowing objects to simultaneously absorb values and activate its potential to stimulate positive social response.
A definition of cultural heritage: From the tangible to the intangible
The aim of this work is to analyse the evolution of the concept of cultural heritage in West European states. In the last decades of the 20th century, the term "heritage" was characterised by expansion and semantic transfer, resulting in a generalisation of the use of this word, frequently used in the place of another, such as, monument and cultural property. However, all these terms are not able to cover the same semantic field. Starting by the reflection on the semantic evolution of the notion of cultural heritage in France, we approach to the international definition of heritage given by the directives, charters and international resolutions in order to define a global outline of the meaning of heritage that is not just limited to a particular national dimension. From a purely normative approach, one went to a less restrictive approach, one based on the capacity of the object to arouse certain values that led the society in question to consider it as heritage and therefore, to a further step in which heritage is no longer defined on the basis of its material aspect. This development has also made it possible to recognise intangible cultural heritage, which was ignored for a long time, as heritage to be protected and safeguarded.
Analysis, Conservation, and Restoration of Tangible and Intangible Cultural Heritage
Advances in Religious and Cultural Studies, 2019
This chapter describes the documentation and valorization of a special architectural heritage: the WW2 Cemeteries in Cassino & Montecassino territory. This is for the purpose of preserving and transmitting the memories of different people. Even today, these cemeteries are maintained by Polish, English, German, French and Italian governments and visited by many people of various nationalities. Our research is orientated to not only celebrate the sacrifice and identity of the soldiers who lost their lives in the war events, but also as a call for the reconciliation of peoples and the construction of a culture of peace. The cemeteries are studied by an architectonical point of view. Design aspects and aspects concerning the representation of projects are highlighted based on the documents found.