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Conservation of Architectural Heritage. New Urban Perspectives: Conceptual, Methodological, Technical and Management Advances

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A special issue of Architecture (ISSN 2673-8945).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2024 | Viewed by 6153

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Carlos J. Rosa Jiménez

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Guest Editor

Institute for Habitat, Territory and Digitalization, University of Malaga, 29013 Malaga, Spain
Interests: urban and heritage rehabilitation; architectural dimension of tourism; territory and landscape; digitalisation and emerging technologies for citizenship

Dr. Daniel Navas Carrillo

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Guest Editor

Higher Technical School of Architecture, Department of Art & Architecture, University of Malaga, 29013 Malaga, Spain
Interests: urban regeneration of deprived areas; assessing heritage values and cultural policies; urban and territorial sustainability

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent decades, a heritage notion based on the social construction of heritage has been consolidated by shifting attention from the material concreteness of objects to the subject that demands them. We are also facing a process notably influenced by the speed at which changes, and social transformations are performed nowadays, especially concerning the necessary contribution of cities to sustainability and resistance in the face of climate change. Therefore, the monumental approach of the last century has given way to increasingly broader and more complex heritage considerations that are advanced through new values and meanings.

This conceptual advance has been accompanied by revising the tools and procedures used in urban and architectural heritage. Conventional techniques and methodologies of analysis, representation, diagnosis, and intervention strategies are being updated, incorporating new technologies and frameworks for research and conceptual reflection. These advances necessarily involve new methodologies that encourage the active participation of citizens, reinforcing a strong sense of belonging and community identity.

Accordingly, this Special Issue aims to address new forms of analysis, evaluation, and diagnosis of heritage sites. These urban areas are undergoing complex transformation processes derived from the new ways of living in the contemporary city, which puts them at risk. The interpretation of these processes still has excessively sectorial visions, even controversies and contradictions when it comes to dealing with the heritage dimension in managing urban phenomena. Added to this are the disciplinary and geographical tendencies and inertias associated with the diversity and complexity of urban heritage and the weight of the architectural dimension, which contribute to hindering the transmission of knowledge, debate, and compelling articulation of the work.

In this context, tourism is presented as a driving force for heritage consolidation and urban regeneration. This process has its ups and downs in vulnerable areas such as heritage sites, and the benefits of this relationship are indisputable. Still, tourism use poses serious problems when it becomes the predominant activity in environments not explicitly designed for tourism. The massive concentration of tourists and the difficulties this can entail for the proper functioning of the city, the possible risks of gentrification, or the loss of the value of authenticity are just a few examples.

The discussions in this Special Issue will focus on (but are not limited to) the following thematic areas:

Conceptual advances in urban and architectural heritage
Identification and characterisation of new heritage typologies.
The value of authenticity in the recovery of heritage areas.
The contribution of cultural heritage to sustainability and climate resilience.
Tourism as a driver for the recovery and consolidation of heritage sites.
The impact of tourism activity and gentrification processes in urban heritage areas.
HBIM and GIS for cultural heritage preservation.
Implementation of artificial intelligence and big data in heritage studies.
Citizen involvement in heritage and conservation strategies.
Innovative citizen participation and multilevel governance in heritage.
Collaboration, conflicts, and mediation between urban and heritage agents.

Dr. Carlos J. Rosa Jiménez
Dr. Daniel Navas Carrillo
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Architecture is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1000 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

authenticity
citizen participation
cultural heritage, governance models
heritage sites, heritage tourism, innovative methodologies
new technologies
theoretical approaches

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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24 pages, 25803 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Towards Transdisciplinary Heritage Assessment: An Analysis of the Use of Landscape Study Methods as a Holistic Toolbox for Cultural Site Characterisation in the Spanish Context

by Celia López-Bravo

Architecture 2024, 4(2), 197-220; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/architecture4020013 - 28 Mar 2024

Viewed by 476

Abstract

This research work arises from the need to design specific techniques for the characterisation of cultural sites. Assuming the increasing complexity of the protection typologies, the expansion of working scales gives thanks to technology and the pursuit of social sustainability objectives. Thus, its main objective is to search for innovative tools that other disciplines can contribute to the work of architects specialising in heritage studies. To this end, the research explores the main methodologies, maps, guides, and registers of landscape and historic landscape characterisation developed in Europe, particularly in Spain, over the last 40 years. Considering this intense and profound evolution of landscape analysis, useful strategies for the assessment of cultural sites from their conception in the 21st century arise. Nevertheless, landscape characterisation methods have been mainly developed and applied by geographers and are absent in many urban and territorial heritage studies. In response, this article proposes a new methodological approach focusing on contextual values to be used in the assessment of architectural heritage at the territorial scale. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Conservation of Architectural Heritage. New Urban Perspectives: Conceptual, Methodological, Technical and Management Advances)

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11 pages, 5615 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Contribution of Typological Studies to the Integrated Rehabilitation of Traditional Buildings: Heritage Enhancement of Urban Centres in Inner Alentejo, Portugal

by Ana C. Rosado and Miguel Reimão Costa

Architecture 2024, 4(1), 35-45; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/architecture4010004 - 05 Jan 2024

Viewed by 824

Abstract

The urban centres of inland Alentejo (southern Portugal) have long faced a depopulation crisis which, besides undermining the cohesion of the communities, compromises the conservation of the architectural heritage. The tendency to apply the discourses on tourism and population pressures from coastal cities to these inland territories can be detrimental to their analysis given the sheer difference in demographic dynamics. Transformations in traditional architecture—a key facet for defining these historic urban landscapes—require analysing within this social context. The imperative need to rehabilitate traditional buildings, endowing them with the living conditions communities today require, must be guided by morphological analysis, knowledge of housing history, typologies, and traditional construction techniques. This rehabilitation concept integrates into the transformation processes that traditional architecture has been undergoing for centuries, constituting adaptable and flexible structures across their organisational variants, which should be studied through a prospective approach. The article characterises the transformation of urban domestic architecture in the region, from the early modern period to the present. The results of various research projects are summarised, gathering over 500 cases. The conclusion argues that the historical process itself results in a set of themes, tools, and opportunities for these buildings’ adaptation to current needs. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Conservation of Architectural Heritage. New Urban Perspectives: Conceptual, Methodological, Technical and Management Advances)

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11 pages, 3240 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Analysis of Touristification Processes in Historic Town Centers: The City of Seville

by Germán Herruzo-Domínguez, José-Manuel Aladro-Prieto and Julia Rey-Pérez

Architecture 2024, 4(1), 24-34; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/architecture4010003 - 31 Dec 2023

Viewed by 778

Abstract

Encouraged by the administration, the gen9otrification process has been useful in economic terms for the reactivation of the socio-cultural fabrics of historic urban spaces in decline. What was initially considered an advantage has led to the touristification of historic centers, and in turn to the alteration of their original use. In these settings, the demographic void caused by increasingly shunning local identity has combined with pressure from excessive tourism and the obsolescence of heritage protection bodies in charge of conservation. Given the crisis affecting the definitions of the current system, this study aims to review the environmental agents of heritage value in relation to the processes of touristification and gentrification. Data obtained from different methodologies are analyzed using a multidisciplinary database, a model which enables the analysis of the relevant information from the different interacting fields. This case study focuses on the historic town center of Seville, specifically between 2015 and 2020. Elements are defined as indicators for these processes and the analysis of this case study will comprise the main results of this research. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Conservation of Architectural Heritage. New Urban Perspectives: Conceptual, Methodological, Technical and Management Advances)

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11 pages, 2697 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Theory of Value and the Understanding of Authenticity: Keys to Intervening in Heritage Spaces: Results in the Case of San Telmo Palace (Seville 17th–21st Century, Spain)

by José-Luis Gómez-Villa, Marta García-Casasola and Eduardo Mosquera-Adell

Architecture 2023, 3(4), 681-691; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/architecture3040037 - 13 Nov 2023

Viewed by 802

Abstract

The cultural theory of heritage assets that was consolidated throughout the 20th century, and is still in force today, lies in the modulation of the concept of authenticity. It is a nomadic, controversial concept that has adapted to the spirit of the times. This review of the concept, drawing on international reference texts and charters in the field of heritage, allows us to specify a working process that facilitates its consideration in characterisation processes. To do so, case studies of significant cultural assets in terms of scale and complexity will be presented as resources. Through the implementation of the Theory of Value, the keys will be provided: criteria and methodology for intervening in heritage. This journey will be reflected more slowly in the study of the Palace of San Telmo (Seville, 17th–21st century). This is a building with a controversial material history, in which a series of attributions of value have been transmitted that correlate both with the theory of the conservation of cultural assets and with social appreciation and the criteria. This is the way to materially undertake a reflection on the authenticity of this heritage. This study provides the keys to intervening, conserving the values identified, and recognising authenticity as a reality that is constructed through the process and through the passage of time. A methodology that allows us to consider the capacity to continue and replace heritage as a project strategy in which what is yet to come can take place. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Conservation of Architectural Heritage. New Urban Perspectives: Conceptual, Methodological, Technical and Management Advances)

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13 pages, 5693 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Collaborative Mapping as a Tool for Citizen Participation: A Case of Cultural Heritage Management in Rural Areas

by Blanca Del Espino Hidalgo and Virginia Rodríguez Díaz

Architecture 2023, 3(4), 658-670; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/architecture3040035 - 24 Oct 2023

Viewed by 865

Abstract

The role of citizens in the construction of knowledge is undergoing a clear transformation from a passive position, as mere observers and/or receivers, to an increasingly participatory role. This issue, which is directly related to governance policies as well as to the ICT revolution, can be seen in the field of cultural heritage and particularly architectural heritage management. The present paper aims to generate methodologies to involve citizens as active agents who must be involved in a real way in decision making concerning the protection and enhancement of cultural heritage. The results present the creation of a rural heritage interactive cartographic viewer as a collaborative mapping tool. The conclusions drawn position the citizens of rural, dispersed, or vulnerable areas as informers and builders of knowledge about the cultural and architectural heritage of their environment in terms of citizen science. At the same time, it strengthens the development of innovation strategies in the intervention, management, and communication of the existing dispersed heritage in rural areas. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Conservation of Architectural Heritage. New Urban Perspectives: Conceptual, Methodological, Technical and Management Advances)

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Other

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23 pages, 7506 KiB

Open AccessConcept Paper

A Conceptual Framework for Integrating Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) into the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS)

by Junshan Liu, Danielle Willkens and Russell Gentry

Architecture 2023, 3(3), 505-527; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/architecture3030028 - 07 Sep 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1356

Abstract

The preservation of historic structures is a complex and evolving field that requires a delicate balance between traditional methods and modern technology. This paper presents a conceptual framework for integrating terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) into the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), bridging the gap between the past and the future. By examining the historical context of the HABS and the emerging potential of TLS, the paper explores the feasibility, effectiveness, and methodological considerations for incorporating this advanced technology into the standard heritage building documentation practice. The research is structured into four main chapters, each addressing a critical aspect of the integration process, from the proposal of the study to the development of guidelines for TLS data acquisition, processing, and management. The paper also delves into the selection of projects for case studies, the application of the framework, and a critical evaluation of its effectiveness. As a conceptual paper, it lays the foundation for a Ph.D. dissertation, offering a comprehensive roadmap for future research and practical implementation. The insights and guidelines provided in this paper aim to enhance the accuracy, efficiency, and richness of heritage documentation, contributing to the broader field of heritage preservation and underscoring the importance of embracing technological advancements while honoring historical integrity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Conservation of Architectural Heritage. New Urban Perspectives: Conceptual, Methodological, Technical and Management Advances)

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