the Newsletter

Transcription

the Newsletter

Editorial
2014 also marks the 50th anniversary of the Venice charter that is closely related to
the teaching history of the Centre and of its founder. Since 1964 this document
received the attention of consecutive generations of heritage academics and
professionals worldwide seeking direction, validation - and sometimes even
inspiration - in managing and conserving monuments and sites. With appreciation
for his legacy, the contribution of Professor Raymond Lemaire (1921-1997), official
reporter at the Second International Congress of Architects and Technicians of
Historic Monuments in Venice (1964) and co-author with Piero Gazzola (19081979) and Roberto Pane (1897-1987) of the final Venice Charter, can’t be
underestimated.
RLICCNEWSLETTER Autumn 2014
On the 22nd September 2014, the academic year 2014-2015 starts with the
implementation of the new program of the Master of science in Conservation of
Monuments and Sites. The major changes are the reduction of the program to three
semesters, the introduction of a number of optional courses and a new planning of
the first year that follows the courses and breaks of a two semester academic year.
The changes aim at responding to the suggested improvements proposed in the
self-evaluation report prepared during the last accreditation process. Last year, in
the fall edition of the Newsletter we shared information on the concepts and
implications of the program change.
EDITORIAL
By Koen Van Balen, director of the RLICC
The Venice Charter and Professor Raymond Lemaire’s legacy refer to topics that
are still driving novel research at RLICC today within the PRECOM3OS UNESCO
chair on maintenance based conservation approaches. The attention for
maintenance was yet inscribed in article 4 of the Venice Charter “It is essential to
the conservation of monuments that they be maintained on a permanent basis”.
During a radio interview on the Belgian Radio in 1975, on the occasion of the
European Architectural Heritage Year, Professor Raymond Lemaire stated that “we
are too easily thinking today that always an old building must be restored. That is
not quite so (…). Buildings are being restored that do not need restoration at all
(…). Let us first and foremost conserve buildings. And to do that, we need
maintenance”. The first PhD at RLICC on one of the PRECOM3OS related topic
has been successfully defended by dr. Veronica Heras just before the summertime
(see further in the newsletter).
The Venice charter has also been, and still is discussed and (re)evaluated by many.
Various social, economic, and cultural changes over the last 50 years have also
resulted in new topics and point of views that lead to international debate and
reflections on the charter. The Venice Charter focused on the built heritage, on its
cultural significance (art1: “… works of the past which have acquired cultural
significance with the passing of time”) and on its physical conservation. This very
object-oriented approach stands in stark contrast with our present day notion of a
more holistic approach of heritage management, such as in the Historic Urban
Landscape approach (UNESCO 2011). Today heritage academics and
professionals increasingly argue to include “intangible values”, “relation with local
communities” and more recently “the link between cultural heritage and sustainable
development” into preservation management. These topics are also attracting the
attention of researchers and students involved in the program and in research at
the Centre. The thematic week "Community involvement in valuing and managing
monuments and sites" organised in January (see report in this newsletter) has
proven to what extend the understanding of heritage values and the means
available to preserve them differ from the way preservation was perceived 50 years
1
ago. It also showed that valuable lessons can be learned from the way movable
and intangible heritage are taken care of.
2
EDITORIAL
The contributions in this newsletter again show the outcome of various activities in
which staff and students of the Centre have been involved. It only gives a partial
view on the energy and the dynamism of many individuals that are all part of the
ever growing RLICC family, working on the legacy of Professor Raymond Lemaire
in an ever changing world.
Finally we take the opportunity to inform you that the next “thematic week” is
planned from 3 to 6 February 2015 and will be organised as part of the Heritage
Counts for Europe project (www.encatc.org/culturalheritagecountsforeurope/) that
aims at identifying how the impact of heritage and its preservation can be valued.
The project also aims to raise greater awareness on the multiple benefits of cultural
heritage and to present policy recommendations for tapping into heritage’s full
potential.
Looking even further in time, RLICC with the department of Civil Engineering will be
hosting the Structural Analysis of Historic Constructions conference in September
2016 (SAHC 2016). It will be an occasion to commemorate the 40th anniversary of
the Centre, the 30th anniversary of the “Stable-Unstable” updating course organised
by the Centre and it will be the 10th edition of the biannual SAHC.
PRECOM³OS Thematic Week
Community involvement in valuing and managing heritage
The topic was inspired by a growing interest in the value of heritage for society. This
goes hand in hand with an increased involvement of local communities in the
management plans of heritage sites. Whereas the discourse of community
participation is very ambitious and not easy to apply, the conference provided an indepth look on the concept and on the achievements of several cases. The aim of
the conference was to address problems and shortcomings in relation to community
involvement. Moreover, as the field of immovable heritage seems to lag back in
involving communities, comparison was made to the practices of the field of
immaterial and movable heritage.
During two days contributions were given by an international group of speakers, the
third day a site visit to the former central railway workshops in Kessel-lo (Leuven)
was organised. The different lectures were grouped thematically under the themes
“Best practices from movable and intangible heritage”, “Current practices from built
heritage” and “Tools to involve communities”. The complete program and
presentations
of
the
lecturers
can
be
consulted
on:
http://precomos.org/index.php/library/
From 22nd till the 24th January of 2014, the Raymond Lemaire International Centre
for Conservation (RLICC) organised the second edition of its annual international
scientific conference on community involvement in valuing and managing
monuments and sites.
HAPPENINGS
By Aziliz Vandesande, PhD researcher RLICC
Prof. Koen Van Balen, Director of the RLICC
From the intangible and movable heritage field…
What can immovable heritage learn about community involvement from the field of
intangible and movable heritage? Frank Proschan (Programme Specialist at the
UNESCO Secretariat of the Intangible Heritage Convention) highlighted how
working with communities has now become a focal point in the heritage field. Due to
the different processes leading up to and after the Convention for the Safeguarding
of Intangible Cultural Heritage (2003), the global community accepted that intangible
heritage
of Intangible Cultural Heritage (23), the
global community accepted that intangible
heritage was no longer something to be
defined, categorised and archived by
experts. Today there is a notion that such
heritage can only be properly valued and
conserved by the communities that inherited
or created that heritage. As a consequence,
this fundamentally changes the relation
between heritage, governments, experts and
the general public.
Bottom
Logo Thematic
Week 2014
© RLICC
3
HAPPENINGS
Top
Kamishibai
mechelen
© Erfgoedcel
Mechelen
Bottom
Spectators at
the Thematic
Week
© Ona Vileikis
4
I
Other lecturers in this
session, Wim De Vos
(Advisor Communication
& Museums, Belgian
Science Policy Office),
Sigrid Bosmans and Eva
Van Hoye (Heritage Cell
of the City of Mechelen)
traced a similar trajectory
and illustrated this with a
variety of case studies
ranging
from
the
practices in museums to
the Mechelen’s age-old
Ommegang (pageant).
… to the immovable heritage field
Faced with these challenges, it can be stated that the immovable heritage field
seems to lag back when it comes to innovative strategies to involve communities in
valuing and managing heritage. Monuments and sites are still hierarchized and
categorised by experts. Governments play a key role in managing sites and in
regulating development of properties that are in the private sector. Moreover,
conservation is still today seen as conservative rather than a driver for
development.
Through a series of presentations it was however revealed that the relation
between heritage conservation and the public is gradually changing in the
immovable heritage field. For example Professor Stefano Della Torre (Department
ABC, Politecnico di Milano) argued that local empowerment should be one of the
outcomes of any building preservation project. In his experience with the “Distretti
Culturali” project (see page…of this issue), community involvement in the
conservation process can create an added value or “relational capital” built up by
people working together for a shared purpose. Within the framework of planned and
preventive conservation practices he stressed that any heritage management
project should introduce a systemic approach to decision making, giving the utmost
importance to community involvement.
Another highly inspirational
contribution was made by
Emeritus Professor Cliff Hague
(Chairman, Built Environment
Forum Scotland and Planning
and
Spatial
Development,
Heriot-Watt University). He
raised questions about who
participates and on what terms.
The economic crisis and
resulting
measures
across
Europe are changing the
parameters
under
which
immovable
heritage
management is being carried
out. In his view, this lead to
governments less willing to do
what they have done in the past
and looking increasingly to “empower communities”. Thereby shift from welfare
states to “project states” is creating new, more entrepreneurial engagements.
Towards the end of his presentation he dealt with the potential of the steady
development of information technology. This opens up new ways to involve
communities, e.g. through apps or crowd sharing or even crowd funding. Thereby
co-production of heritage management was put forth as a possible way ahead.
HAPPENINGS
Further there were numerous other
valuable and interesting contributions,
mainly
describing
examples
of
participatory approaches. Among others,
Ann
Heylighen
(Department
of
Architecture, University of Leuven,
Research[x]Design)
who
involves
disabled people in research about
experiencing space, including built
heritage. Gabriella Garcia Velez (PhD
Researcher, RLICC) dealt with the
exemplary
maintenance
campaigns
applied to the village of Susudel in
Ecuador that involved many local
stakeholders. Barbara Fogarasi (Gyula
Forster National Centre for Cultural
Heritage Management) shared her
previous work experience with the
Council of Europe explaining the role of
built heritage during the war in former
Yugoslavia and during the difficult process of post-conflict reconstruction.
Wrap up and discussions
As in most interesting conferences, the numerous discussions throughout the
conference raised more questions than they resolved. In general there was an
agreement that immovable heritage professionals are backlogged when it comes to
community involvement. The contrast to the advancements made by the movable
and immovable heritage field were recognised and along with the idea that social
science literature on “community” and “participation” could enhance our
understanding.
co-production of heritage management was put forth as a possible way ahead.
Starting from the different practical examples of community involvement in valuing
and managing immovable heritage, it was observed that a “community” is seldom
homogenous and that several problems in management can be resolved by calling
for and implementing local participation. Tied with the experiences of the “Distretti
Culturali” the immovable heritage field is moving
towards an understanding of heritage as the larger built environment where people
live in and start to endorse that conservation-based management is the basis for
sustainable communities in sustainable historic environments. Finally, a real need
was identified for the immovable heritage field to move forward, taking into account
that heritage is about intra-generational equity and that it does not stand alone.
Heritage professionals and academics should underwrite the solidarity between
generations, between people and between places. In achieving sustainable
communities in sustainable historic environments, it is of the upmost importance to
demonstrate that looking after buildings and public spaces can be an activity driven
by the people and acknowledging that conservation-based management – in our
contemporary society – should be part of the process of supporting jobs,
development of social capital and enjoyment of cultures.
Publication
The key contributions of the Thematic Week were collected in a book publication
with GPRC (Guaranteed Peer Review Content)-label. This book publication will be
released during the next Thematic Week, which will take place February 3rd-6th
2015 and will deal with the socio-economic impact of immovable heritage, in
context of the project “Cultural Heritage Counts for Europe: Towards a European
Index for Cultural Heritage” (see: Newsletter issue 13, p. 5). This conference will be
organised as part of RLICC’s involvement and contribution to the project “Heritage
Count for Europe” in collaboration with a.o. Europa Nostra.
Top
Experiences
from South
East Europe –
a lecture by B.
Fogarasi
© Cultural
heritage
without borders
5
Update on Cultural Heritage Counts
for Europe
3rd Steering Committee Meeting in Leuven
HAPPENINGS
The 3rd Steering Committee meeting of “Cultural Heritage Counts for Europe:
Towards a European Index for Cultural Heritage” was organised on May 19th in the
Arenberg Castle (Leuven) and was hosted by the RLICC. Representatives from the
consortium’s six partners came together to discuss the progress made in the
implementation of the project, with a special emphasis on the collection of existing
data on the impact of Europe’s cultural heritage on society and the economy.
Cultural Heritage Counts for Europe (CHCE) is a two-year project funded by the EU
Culture Programme (2007-2013). The project is led by Europa Nostra in partnership
with 5 other organisations: ENCATC (the leading European network on arts and
cultural management and policy education), Heritage Europe-EAHTR (European
Association of Historic Towns and Regions, UK) and The Heritage Alliance (as
associate partner from England). The RLICC in Belgium together with the
International Cultural Centre (ICC) in Poland are the research partners of this
project.
Since the beginning of 2014, the ICC and the RLICC have been gathering and
analysing hundreds of existing research documents, reports and case studies that
demonstrate heritage’s social, cultural, economic and environmental benefits on
society as well as its impact on smart, sustainable, inclusive growth and quality of
life.
The result of this collection and analysis will be presented in 2015 during the annual
Thematic Week of the RLICC in Leuven and Europa Nostra’s Annual Congress in
Oslo. The aim is to raise greater public awareness on the multiple benefits of
cultural heritage and present policy recommendations to the EU institutions for
tapping into heritage’s full potential
Meeting with the Heritage Alliance 3.3
Middle
Logo Cultural
Heritage
Counts for
Europe
© Project
CHCE
6
May 20th the Cultural Heritage Counts for Europe partners were invited to attend
the European Heritage Alliance 3.3 meeting in Brussels. Sigrid Van der
Auwera (PostDr RLICC) presented a progress report on the project “Cultural
Heritage Counts for Europe” to the Alliance 3.3 members. In addition to the
progress report, the partners stressed the need for data and studies, in particular
from the following countries which are underrepresented at the time: Bulgaria,
Cyprus, Germany, Greece, Lithuania, Luxembourg and Malta.
Among others, CoE Michel Magnier, Director ‘Culture and Creativity’ of the DG
Education and Culture of the European Commission also joined the meeting and
exchanged views with the members of the Alliance on the EC Communication on
cultural heritage, which was at the moment being finalised.
Council of Europe adopts Conclusions on cultural heritage as a strategic
resource for a sustainable Europe
On May 21st, Lina Mendoni (Secretary General of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture
and Sports), also present during the meeting with the Heritage Alliance 3.3,
announced that for the first time ever the Council of the European Union has
adopted Conclusions on cultural heritage as a strategic resource for a sustainable
Europe. Adopted under the leadership of the Hellenic Presidency of the European
European Commission Communication on an integrated approach to cultural
heritage in Europe (COM(2014) 477 final)
Less than two months after the adoption of the far-reaching EU Council
Conclusions on cultural heritage as a strategic resource for a sustainable Europe,
the European Commission has adopted on July 22nd its Communication which
paves the way for an integrated approach to cultural heritage in Europe.
This important policy document aims to help Member States and stakeholders to
make the most of the significant support for heritage available under EU
instruments and also calls for stronger cooperation at EU level to share ideas and
best practices, which can feed into national heritage policies and governance. It
highlights the opportunities for Member States and stakeholders to work more
closely across borders to address the many challenges facing the heritage sector,
and also to ensure that cultural heritage makes an even stronger contribution to a
sustainable Europe.
The Communication also states that “To increase understanding of the actual and
potential role of heritage in policy development, it is important to improve systematic
data on its economic and social impacts,” and goes on to mention the Cultural
Heritage Counts for Europe project as one important example in the way forward.
HAPPENINGS
adopted Conclusions on cultural heritage as a strategic resource for a sustainable
Europe. Adopted under the leadership of the Hellenic Presidency of the European
Union, these Conclusions represent a holistic policy approach by the EU to cultural
heritage recognising it as a unique resource and a major asset for Europe and for
the entire European project. The Conclusions emphasize the important role that
cultural heritage plays in creating and enhancing social capital, as well as its
important economic impact and its specific role in achieving the Europe 2020
strategy goals for a smart, sustainable and inclusive growth because of its social
and economic impact and its key contribution to environmental sustainability.
Experiencing Leuven
Some observations from a visiting research associate of the
Southeast University (China)
By Assoc. Prof. Chun Qing
My name is Chun Qing. I am an associate professor in the School of Architecture,
Southeast University, China. I am also a member of the Key Lab of Urban and
Architectural Heritage Conservation of Ministry of Education, China. Being a visiting
research associate in Raymond Lemaire International Center for Conservation and
the civil engineering department of KUL from 01/09/2013 to 31/08/2014 with the
support of HwaYing Education and Culture Foundation, I came to KU Leuven to
carry out my visiting research with my cooperation Professor Koen Van Balen. The
main purpose of this visiting is to learn and research some advanced and systemic
knowledge and techniques of conservation of architectural heritages. I am very
pleased to have this opportunity to be here for one year and have a very nice
memory.
Left
School of
Architecture,
Southeast
University
© Chun Qing
Right
Chun Qing at
city center
© Chun Qing
7
HAPPENINGS
pleased to have this opportunity to be here for one year and have a very nice
memory.
Middle and
bottom
Academic
communication
with SEU
© Chun Qing
At the beginning of this visiting in KU Leuven, I made my research schedule first.
Professor Koen Van Balen is an international authority in the area of preventive
conservation of architectural heritages. I studied the relevant knowledge and carried
out the research on preventive conservation of Chinese architectural heritages
under the guidance of professor Van Balen. Furthermore, I also focused on the
research of conservation techniques of the traditional timber buildings and the
modern concrete buildings. I read a lot of relevant papers, theses, files, and codes
through the Internet. Through the analysis of the experimental data carried out in
China and the detailed discussion with Professor Koen Van Balen, the other coauthors and I finished three research papers about the conservation techniques of
the traditional timber structures, and also finished one research papers about the
conservation techniques of the modern concrete structures. We analyzed the
structural mechanism of the traditional stitching beams with the experimental and
theoretic method, and presented the corresponding calculation formulas of the
flexural capacity. We also studied the structural performance of the timber beams
strengthened with near-surface mounted CFRP (carbon fiber reinforced polymer) in
detail, and presented the corresponding calculation formulas. Taking Wenxing
Lounge Bridge as an example, we studied the architectural configuration, the
structural performance and the damage mechanism of this timber bridge first, and
then put forward the adaptive repair methods of this bridge. This study can serve as
a model for similar timber arch bridges.
In June of 2013, I went to TU Delft to attend the conference AMS’14 and made a
presentation. The title of our paper is “Research on Calculation Methods of Service
Life Predication of Chinese Modern Reinforced Concrete Buildings”.
In this paper, some typical
modern reinforced concrete
buildings in China were tested in
detail and were investigated.
The typical durability problems
and the adaptive calculation
methods of residual service lives
of these modern concrete
buildings are presented.
During this year in KU Leuven, I
made three presentations for the
students of KU Leuven to
introduce my research results
about
the
conservation
techniques of Chinese traditional
timber buildings and Chinese
modern reinforced concrete
buildings. Furthermore, in April
of 2014, I invited Professor Koen
Van Balen and Professor
Thomas Coomans to Southeast
University to conduct academic
communication,
and
we
successfully
organized
a
seminar about the preventive
conservation of architectural
heritage.
Through
this
academic
communication, the cooperation
relationship between KUL and
SEU is enhanced.
8
I
Professor Thomas Coomans invited me to visit the other repair construction site of
a world heritage. I carefully surveyed the conservation techniques of this heritage.
These actual repair cases are very important for me to understand the conservation
methods and the conservation techniques of the architectural heritages in Belgium.
Furthermore, I attended the teaching activities of RLICC and the civil engineering
department, and found out the course contents, teaching methods, and teaching
examination methods, which are very important for my future teaching in Southeast
University. Finally, I want to thank all my friends in KU Leuven and send the best
wishes to you.
HAPPENINGS
The conservation of architectural heritages in Belgium is well done. I often spent the
weekend time visiting some architectural heritages, and investigated the
conservation methods and conservation details. Under the arrangement of
Professor Koen Van Balen, I visited the whole repair process of the old church
located in the center of Hevelee. I learned a lot from this repair project. I often
climbed to the top of the building, investigated the details and the damages, and
discussed the repair techniques with the civil engineer on site, such as the typical
damages, the corresponding repair methods, the construction cost and period of
this kind of masonry structure. The requirements of this repair construction are very
strict. Although the construction speed is not fast, the construction quality is very
good. The labor cost in Belgium is quite expensive. It is about 50 euro per hour, 10
times higher than that in China.
PhD Defense
RLICC Alumna presented her doctoral dissertation
By Dr. Veronica Heras
Postponed interventions make large heritage restorations increasingly
controversial, complex and expensive. In response, a paradigm shift towards
preventive conservation and monitoring is observed in the built heritage field. A four
year research aimed to contribute to this paradigm by providing a sound scientific
background for the preventive conservation approach and to demonstrate that ICTbased monitoring in a GIS environment helps the prioritization of interventions and
improves the cost-benefit balance in heritage management. The major aim of the
doctoral thesis was the design of a data model for a value-based monitoring system
using advanced data collection, storage and analysis tools. The research was
entitled: “ TOWARDS A 3D GIS BASED MONITORING TOOL FOR PREVENTIVE
CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT OF THE WORLD HERITAGE CITY OF
CUENCA”, and was supervised by Prof. Koenraad Van Balen and Prof. Therese
Steenberghen. The thesis dissertation was part of the requirements to obtain the
degree of Doctor in Engineering at the Faculty of Engineering Sciences of the KU
Leuven.
This thesis established a conceptual framework for the value-based monitoring for
the heritage conservation planning of the World Heritage Site of Cuenca. Heritage
values constituted the core element for the doctoral project. In this framework a new
interdisciplinary and multi-actor management approach was developed. In addition,
of generating an inventory or alerts, the monitoring system was conceived as a tool
to support decision-making for intervention and maintenance planning. To this end
the proposed monitoring system dealt with the following two essential aspects: first
the definition of the heritage values as basis for the identification of the features to
Middle
Visit to St
Lambertus
church,
Heverlee
© Chun Qing
9
I
HAPPENINGS
to support decision-making for intervention and maintenance planning. To this end
the proposed monitoring system dealt with the following two essential aspects: first
the definition of the heritage values as basis for the identification of the features to
be monitored in WHS; and, second the management of a wide range of information
of the heritage objects documented with high geometrical and semantic precision.
The results corroborated that the definition of the heritage values as basis for the
identification of the features to be monitored in WHS is essential and enhances the
monitoring procedures of World Heritage Sites (WHS). A number of challenges,
among them the efficient use of a variety of ICT-tools, still need to be solved in
order to obtain a full-fledged preventive conservation tool.
The present research is a scientific result for the VLIR-IUC collaboration between
the KU Leuven -RLICC- and the University of Cuenca. As the scholar my sincere
appreciation is given to the Flemish Inter-University Cooperation VLIR-UOS, which
was the funding agency of this research. For the President, Director and Professors
of the Raymond Lemaire International Centre for Conservation (RLICC), I only have
words of gratitude. My gratefulness goes also to my colleagues for the help and
kindness during my research stays in Leuven. Since 2007 when I started my master
studies, the RLICC has become part of the sweetest memories that I have from
Leuven.
Visit Susan McDonald
Head of the field projects at the Getty Conservation Institute
By Prof. Koen Van Balen, director of the RLICC
Top
PhD Defence
presentation by
Veronica
Heras
© Veronica
Heras
10
In the framework of the series of lectures “conservation as innovative practice”
organized in collaboration with “Stad en Architectuur” in Leuven, Susan Macdonald
Head of the field projects at the Getty Conservation Institute was hosted by the
RLICC. In the public evening lecture she gave on “SOMEWHERE BETWEEN
HISTORY AND CURRENT EVENTS: CONSERVING MODERN HERITAGE” she
shared insights on the preservation of modern architecture through case studies as
the 1949 house of Charles and Ray Eames and Louis Kahn's Salk Institute for
Biological Studies in California (www.stadenarchitectuur.be/#/en/artikel/2/305).
Earlier in the afternoon first years MCMS students had the chance to discuss their
project work in a seminar with Susan Macdonald. In the morning she had a visit to
the city of Mechelen with Mrs. M. Eeman of the city’s heritage service and with Prof.
L. Verpoest en Prof. K. Van Balen. An interesting visit was planned to a recently
restored and upgraded medieval nobel storage house that was converted to a
Layers office and an Architectural office. It demonstrates one of the practices in
preservation of one of the many historic buildings in the city in which contemporary
By Prof. Luc Verpoest, RLICC
On the initiative of DOCOMOMO
Belgium (see: www.docomomo.be)
and in collaboration with ae-lab of
the ULB (University of Brussels)
and
the
Raymond
Lemaire
International
Centre
for
Conservation (RLICC/KU Leuven),
Stad& Architectuur (Leuven, see:
www.stadenarchitectuur.be)
organized a series of meetings and
lectures with international experts in
the
field
of
built
heritage
conservation: Franz Graf (EFPL,
Lausanne, Switzerland), Catherine
Croft (Twentieth Century Society,
London, UK), Susan Macdonald
(Getty Conservation Institute, Los
Angeles, USA) and Jorge OteroPailos (Columbia University, New
York, USA). Catherine Croft and
Susan Macdonald also were invited
for seminars at RLICC on
respectively public participation and
communication
in
heritage
conservation and on economic
aspects of heritage preservation,
both focusing more particularly on
Modern Architecture.
As RLICC delegates Koen Van
Balen, Aziliz Vandesande, Luc
Verpoest and Christian Ost (ICHEC,
Brussels) also participated in two expert meetings, again organized by
Stad&Architectuur in the museum M in Leuven. For this meetings expert public
servants of built heritage administrations of the major Flemish cities (Antwerpen,
Leuven, Brugge, Gent and Mechelen) were invited to discuss major issues in
heritage conservation on the municipal level, i.c. communication, public
participation, political support and policies, and heritage economy. Catherine Croft
and Susan Macdonald were invited as guest experts to comment on case studies
concerning municipal heritage policies and practices in Flanders, presented by the
municipal public servants mentioned before. There was a great appreciation for the
lecture given by Christian Ost on heritage economy, a summa of the state of the art
in that matters. In general, public servants expressed their appreciation for this
initiative, being a unique opportunity for an open discussion among colleagues.
They did asked explicitly to continue this initiative in the future, more particularly as
city governments will have more important responsibilities as to heritage
conservation according recent changes in heritage preservation legislation and
policy in Flanders. To be continued.
Conservation as innovative practice
HAPPENINGS
restored and upgraded medieval nobel storage house that was converted to a
Layers office and an architectural office. It demonstrates one of the practices in
preservation of one of the many historic buildings in the city in which contemporary
interventions contributed to enhancing the values of the historic fabric while giving it
again an active role in the city life.
Middle
Mrs. M.
Eeman, Prof.
L. Verpoest
and Mrs. S.
Macdonald at
the Grote
Markt in
Mechelen
© Koen Van
Balen
11
Extending the Use of Religious
Heritage
HAPPENINGS
Fourth ALTERheritage Meeting, Göteborg, 12-13 June 2014
By Prof. Thomas Coomans, RLICC
Eva Weyns & Valerie Vermandel, students RLICC
Leena Seim & Lilian Grootswagers, FRH
Future for Religious Heritage
(FRH) coordinates the project
“ALTERheritage — Adapting
learning tools for Europe’s
Religious Heritage”, a European
Leonardo de Vinci program, supported by EPOS, the Flemish agency for the
European Lifelong Learning Program. RLICC is the Belgian partner of the
consortium, together with British, Swedish, Dutch, German and Spanish partners.
ALTERheritage aims to make existing material for vocational learning on religious
heritage conservation and management available to a larger proportion of the sector
in Europe. http://www.frh-europe.org/projects/alterheritage/
After a first startmeeting of ALTERheritage organized by FRH in Brussels, the second meeting was
organized at and by Museum Catharijneconvent in Utrecht on 4-5 November 2013.
The Churches Conservation Trust (CCT) hosted the third meeting in Manchester on
13-14 March 2014.
The fourth ALTERheritage meeting took place in Göteborg (Sweden) and was
hosted by Prof. Ola Wetterberg, head of the Department of Conservation
(Institutionen för kulturvård) at the University of Göteborg, and Henrik Lindblad, the
national coordinator for cultural heritage of the Church of Sweden. The previous is
involved in research on the future of religious heritage. The latter is currently
making guidelines in order to indentify the right heritage values of the church
buildings belonging to the Church of Sweden (Lutheran).
Henrik Lindblad’s opening lecture made the participants familiar with the Swedish
funding systems, legislation and management of church buildings. The current
reference document is Swedish Cultural heritage charter from 1989, in which one
chapter is dedicated to listed churches. Three stakeholders presented their
management experiences: Heikki Ranta, from the Swedish Church diocese of
Lund, Inge Bredin, chaplain of the Church of Sweden, and Mats Herklint, member
of the County Administrative board and local representative of the state.
Top
Logo of
ALTERheritage
© ALTERheritage
Bottom
Visit to the
Johannes
Kyrka in
Göteborg
© THOC,
June 2014
12
Further lectures were dealing with the heritagization of churches and Swedish
perspectives on religious heritage. Prof. Eva Löfgren, from the University of
Göteborg, presented the project "Old churches, new values". She studied 55
churches that have been sold and transformed during the last decennia in Sweden.
“Does a historic church has new values after transformations?” was one of her
research questions. Dr. Magdalena Hillström, from the University of Linköping,
analyzed the physical, legal, professional, conceptual and technical aspects of
church “musealisation”. The Church of Sweden has been transformed into a
national cultural heritage, what could be considered as a kind of secularization.
The second day, Rickard Isaksson and Carolina Lantz Ottoson organized a
workshop with the aim understanding the specific problems of the Swedish religious
heritage and testing the new guidelines of the Church of Sweden in relation to
heritage value assessment. These guidelines, which will be published in a manual,
define eight steps: 1. evaluate building needs, 2. identify the site, 3. identify the
stakeholders, 4. identify values with the stakeholders, 5. identify values with the
project team, 6. assessment of values, 7. maintenance level and actions, 8.
communicate the result. The workshop analyzed as case the wooden church of
Sjoutnäset, built 1914 “in the middle of nowhere”. The workshop’s conclusion
stressed the dynamic process of valuing the building. In the concluding lecture,
Gunnar Almevik, manager of the Craftsmanship Laboratory of the University of
Sweden, pointed out that local craftsmanship is an intangible heritage that may be
used to involve the community.
HAPPENINGS
Further lectures were dealing with the heritagization of churches and Swedish
perspectives on religious heritage. Prof. Eva Löfgren, from the University of
Göteborg, presented the project "Old churches, new values". She studied 55
churches that have been sold and transformed during the last decennia in Sweden.
“Does a historic church has new values after transformations?” was one of her
research questions. Dr. Magdalena Hillström, from the University of Linköping,
analyzed the physical, legal, professional, conceptual and technical aspects of
church “musealisation”. The Church of Sweden has been transformed into a
national cultural heritage, what could be considered as a kind of secularization.
Site visits included three cases in Göteborg. First, the Masthuggskyrkan, a gigantic
“national romantic style” church located on the top of a hill, is visited by most tourist
cruises coming to Göteborg and aiming to enjoy the great view on the harbor. The
church accepts this situation and welcomes the tourists with appropriate
infrastructure. Second, the Johannes Kyrka, a small Gothic Revival church, is
converted into a social center of the “Sadsmissionen” that welcomes poor people
and persons with substance abuse problems. The church is still used for worship on
Sunday. Third, the classic style Lutheran cathedral or Domkyrkan, located in the
city center, is presently under restoration. New spaces for lay activities are created
in the first bays behind the western façade and are deserved by a new lift.
The next meetings of ALTERheritage network will take place in October in the
former abbey of Bronnbach, Germany, and in Cantabria, Spain in the spring of
2015. The final meeting is planned in June 2015 and will be organized by RLICC in
Leuven.
Building Archaeology in China
Cooperation with the School of Archaeology and Museology
of Peking University
By Prof Thomas Coomans, RLICC
Prof. Yitao Xu, Peking University
In January 2014, a cooperation agreement was finalised between the School of
Archaeology and Museology of Peking University (PKU) and the Faculty of
Engineering of KU Leuven. This project fits within the broader framework defined by
the Memorandum of Understanding between PKU and KU Leuven (April 2012). The
academic cooperation aims developing an international “Sino-European building
archaeology forum”, including related disciplines of construction history,
architectural history and conservation. The cooperation is based on research,
training and teaching, with explicit reference to the master program in conservation
of monuments and sites of RLICC.
So, Chang Jianwei and Wang Shulin, a postdoc and a PhD student from PKU,
spent the last week of June in Leuven and attended all the presentations of IPW3
as well as Veronica Heras’ PhD defence. In July, Thomas Coomans participated to
a building archaeology summer school organised by Xu Yitao for PKU
undergraduate students. During one week the students analysed and recorded a
big Gothic church built by French Jesuit missionaries in the city of Daming (south of
Hebei Province) in 1917-1919. Hand measurements, total station, and even a drone
13
HAPPENINGS
spent the last week of June in
Leuven and attended all the
presentations of IPW3 as well as
Veronica Heras’ PhD defence. In
July, Thomas Coomans participated
to a building archaeology summer
school organised by Xu Yitao for
PKU undergraduate students. During
one week the students analysed and
recorded a big Gothic church built by
French Jesuit missionaries in the city
of Daming (south of Hebei Province)
in 1917-1919. Hand measurements,
total station, and even a drone were
used for recording the church.
The accurate analysis of the building ---the material source--- provided unexpected
information about how Western and Chinese techniques influenced each other.
Gothic architecture, with its vertical lines, pointed arches, rib vaults (even in
plaster), buttressing systems, tower, high spire, etc. is completely foreign to
Chinese building traditions.
The church, however, was constructed
by Chinese, who not only learned from
the missionaries but also improved
techniques by using their knowledge of
brick building etc. The students followed
theoretical courses on Western building
techniques and Gothic architecture, and
also had to compare with other buildings
in the historic centre of Daming. We also
interviewed
local
workers
about
traditional construction terminology and
compared it with records from the
missionaries. Assisting to the restoration
of the Chinese roof of the Gothic church
by local workers using traditional
techniques was very instructive.
Top
Staff of the
summer
school at
Peking
University
© THOC, July
2014
Middle
Gothic in
China!
Recording the
Catholic
church at
Daming
© THOC, July
2014
Bottom
Interviewing
local workers
on traditional
building
techniques
© THOC, July
2014
14
Int
We aim developing this collaboration in the future and involve students from both
universities in cross exchange.
Agnes church by
By Prof. Koen Van Balen, RLICC
Prof. Thomas Coomans, RLICC
The “Key Laboratory of Urban and Architectural Heritage Conservation” is an
interdisciplinary research unit sustained by several schools of Southeast University
(SEU), Nanjing: schools of architecture, civil engineering, materials, environment,
and humanities. Prof. Dong Wei, the director of the key laboratory, holds a
UNESCO chair in culture resource management. The key laboratory is an active
member of the PRECOMOS network and hosted an international PRECOMOS
conference in Nanjing in October 2011 (see Newsletter 9, Spring 2012).
Collaboration with PRECOMOS-Chair of RLICC is growing. In the past years SEU
organised one PRECOMOS seminar and was involved in the various of the other
gatherings organised by the chair. Various researchers from SEU have been joining
research and educational activities at the Centre. Last academic year dr. Chun
Qing carried out research and prepared publication at the Centre, more particularly
within the Civil Engineering department. His research deals with the evaluation of
traditional and modern (interwar period) construction techniques (timber and
concrete) and with the evaluation of possible repair and strengthening techniques.
During his stay joint publications have been prepared on the evaluation of the
mechanical performance of traditional timber jointing techniques, repair techniques
for timber members and connections using fibre reinforced composites. Other
publications are reporting tests on the mechanical performance of inter-war
concrete structures elements and deal with the possible interpretation of the safety
of buildings made with them using European, US and Chinese standards.
On 15 April 2014, the key laboratory organised an international seminar on
preventive conservation with RLICC at Nanjing. Amongst other speakers, Dr. Chen
Yi (Zhejiang Historic Architectural Design and research Institute) presented the
monitoring of world heritage West Lake, Dr. Zhou Xiaodi (SEU) showed his
research on damage assessment of the earthern sections of the Great Wall, Dr.
Xue Zhijian (director WHITRAP Suzhou Gardens) and Dr. Hu Shi (SEU) explained
the working of the management system of Suzhou Gardens’ monitoring data and
test indexes of the structures of Suzhou Gardens, and Dr. He Weijun (Nanjing
Museum) spoke about the conservation method of colour decoration he used in
Changshu. From Leuven side, Dr. Koen Van Balen spoke about the concepts of
preventive conservation and the experiences and outcomes of the PRECOM3OS
chair at RLICC while Dr. Thomas Coomans about the issue of adaptive use and
conservation of redundant churches in Europe.
Southeast University and KU Leuven-RLICC
GLOBE TROTTING
International Seminar on
Preventive Conservation at Nanjing
Middle
Official picture
of the
participants at
the seminar
© SEU, April
2014
15
GLOBE TROTTING
chair at RLICC while Dr. Thomas Coomans about the issue of adaptive use and
conservation of redundant churches in Europe. The various contributions
demonstrated the sharing by the involved SEU researchers and by site responsible
of the new paradigm of preventive conservation that embraces the use of proper
docu-mentation and monitoring techniques to guarantee timely and minimum
interventions as a way to preserve heritage.
There also seems to be an interest for heritage management strategies that aim at
increasing the involvement of the public and the stakeholders, which is a way to
contribute to prevention as well as to the durability of preservation.
Revealing the socio-economic
potential of cultural heritage
International expert workshop in Budapest
Top
Visiting the
famous “five
pavilion
bridge” at
Slender West
Lake,
Yangzhou
© THOC, April
2014
Bottom
Workshop in
Budapest
© Aziliz
Vandesande
16
From June 11th-12th, Sigrid Van der
Auwera (PostDoc researcher RLICC) and
Aziliz Vandesande (PhD researcher
RLICC) took part in an international expert
workshop in Budapest. The Workshop was
organised by the Gyula Forster National
Centre for Cultural Heritage Management
as part of an ongoing project financed by
the EGT Norwegian Financial Mechanism.
The project will run from January 2014 to
June 2016 and aims at revealing the
socio-economic potential of cultural
heritage in Hungary. The partners involved
in the project are the Norwegian
Directorate
for
Cultural
Heritage
(Riksantikvaren), Ministry of Environment,
the Hungarian Ministry of Human
Resources, the State Secretariat for
Culture, Ministry for National Economy,
Hungarian State Holding Company and
several local/micro-regional partners.
The project is designed around the impact of cultural heritage on different aspects
of society, an idea that has been gaining attention in academic literature over the
last decades and is more recently endorsed by different of international and
GLOBE TROTTING
The project is designed around the impact of cultural heritage on different aspects
of society, an idea that has been gaining attention in academic literature over the
last decades and is more recently endorsed by different of international and
European institutions. More specific, the project starts from the hypothesis that
cultural heritage of urban and rural areas has significant, measurable and
exploitable economic value and should be taken into consideration in planning and
implementing different sectorial policies. On the other hand the project also
endorses that cultural heritage can boost social capital by activating rural
communities, strengthening local identities and increasing the resilience of both
urban and rural communities.
The international expert workshop in Budapest is to be situated in the first phase of
the project, the development of a methodological approach. The aim was to
elaborate, test and fine-tune a number of methodologies developed by the Gyula
Forster National Centre, through discussions with economists, sociologists, cultural
heritage specialists, policy-makers, business people and many other experts and
scientific groups from Norway, Hungary and other European countries. In practice
the 2 days were subdivided in interactive workshops on “how to measure the
potentials of cultural heritage?” and “indicators: what to measure?”, alternated by
lectures from the different experts present. The lectures included a.o. Xavier Greffe
(Université de Paris, Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne) who dealt with various
arguments and case studies pro and contra urban gentrification,
Christian Ost (ICHEC Brussels
Management School | guest
professor RLICC) who presented
some
practical
approaches
towards measuring the impact of
immovable heritage regeneration
and gave some insights to his
forthcoming publication on cultural
heritage as a portfolio. Finally
Terje Nypan (Senior Councillor,
Riksantikvaren Directorate for
Cultural Heritage) called for an
“instrumentalisation”
of
the
debates, implying that the best
way to design and test practical
toolkits is through learning-bydoing.
Top
During the
workshop
© Aziliz
Vandesande
Bottom
Christian Ost
during his
lecture
© Aziliz
Vandesande
17
GLOBE TROTTING
Preventive and Planned
Conservation
International conference and valorisation of the “Distretti
Culturali” project in Italy
During
May
5th-9th
2014,
the
Department ABC of the Politecnico di
Milano, in collaboration with the Cultural
District “Monza and Brianza” and Cultural
District “Le Regge dei Gonzaga”,
organised the international Planned and
Preventive Conservation conference. The
conference took place in 2 different
locations in north Italy.
The first 2 1/2 days were organised in the historic “Villa Reale” in Monza. The final
days and closing of the conference was organised in the World Heritage Site of
Mantua.
The scientific committee consisted of different internationally renowned experts in
the different topics tackled throughout the conference. Next to RLICC President
Minja Yang, RLICC director Koen Van Balen and RLICC guest Professors Christian
Ost and Mario Santana, also the PRECOM³OS network was represented through
a.o. Stefano Della Torre and Rossella Moioli of the Politecnico di Milano, Fausto
Cardoso of the University of Cuenca and Nigel Dann of the University of the West
of England.
Top
Logo Distretto
Culturale
© Aziliz
Vandesande
Middle
Palazzo del Te
in Mantua
© Aziliz
Vandesande
Bottom
Members of the
Scientific
Committee
© Aziliz
Vandesande
18
GLOBE TROTTING
The international conference grew out of the dissemination actions implemented
within the Distretti Culturali project. The latter is issued by the Fondazione Cariplo’s
and aims to promote economic growth in Lombardy capitalizing on the local cultural
heritage. In essence the Distretti Culturali is a huge matching-grant program aimed
at producing new attitudes toward culture as a factor for local development. More
than 60,000,000 Euros have been invested in the six financed projects, actions
related to Built Cultural Heritage take up the major part of the budgets, up to 75%.
In practice, the Distretti Culturali project aims to go beyond the common thought
that for heritage sector the problem is just to collect money to pay conservation
costs, and that Heritage makes only impact directly through valorisation and
tourism. The challenge - has been to improve skills and to change the mind-set
between about the link between economy and heritage. Here the call for a longterm vision made the implementation preventive and planned conservation an
absolute requirement.
Herewith the link is made with the UNESCO chair on preventive conservation,
monitoring and maintenance of monuments and sites (PRECOM³OS), which has
been established in 2009 at the RLICC in collaboration with Monumentenwacht
Vlaanderen and the University of Cuenca (Ecuador). In this context planned and
preventive conservation is considered essential for historic buildings. Under the
motto “prevention is better than curing”, this management approach towards built
heritage aims at preventing deterioration through systematic and careful monitoring
(inspections) and through carrying out minor repair (maintenance) works. The
different contributions and outcomes of the conference will be complied in a
forthcoming publication.
Postgraduate teaching in Ecuador
Maestría en Conservación y Gestión del Patrimonio
Edificado
Last year the Council for Higher Education of Ecuador approved the “Maestría en
Conservación y Gestión del Patrimonio Edificado” of the Faculty of Architecture and
Urbanism at the University of Cuenca (FAUC), Ecuador. The Master program will
take place between December 2013 and November 2015. Given the Institutional
University Cooperation program (IUC) VLIR-UOS between the University of Cuenca
and the RLICC (KU Leuven), there was a thorough input and collaboration on the
educational aspects of the master program. During July and August 2014 the
following staff members, researchers and guest lectures of the RLICC were invited
by Diego Jaramillo and Soledad Moscoso of the postgraduate centre of FAUC to
teach a 16h module on different aspects of conservation and management of
immovable heritage: Koen Van Balen, Luc Verpoest, Christian Ost, Mario Santana
Quintero, Veronica Heras, Aziliz Vandesande. More information on this fruitful
collaboration will follow later.
Top
Different
keynote
speakers of the
PPC
conference
© Aziliz
Vandesande
19
Wolfsburg Workshop 2014
MASTER CLASS
Reworking the economic miracle in Detmerode
By Prof. Luc Verpoest, RLICC
In the context of the international Intensive Program, funded by the Education and
Culture Program of the European Community and directed by prof.dr. Wolfgang
Jung of the University of Applied Sciences, Frankfurt / Main (Germany), the RLICC
did participate in the two weeks IP1314 workshop in Wolfsburg (Germany) 25 April
– 10 May [for Wolfburg, see: http://www.wolfsburg.de/irj/portal/anonymous].
Participants were students and teachers of RLICC/KU Leuven, Frankfurt, Milano,
Tallinn and Bratislava and a series of guest lecturers.
Wolfsburg – the Volkswagen Capital – was founded in 1938 and expanded to a
city of almost 100.000 inhabitants today. The city core developed along the
Porschestrasse, the major shopping street with also the most important public
buildings: the railway station (1957), the Rathaus (1958) by Titus Taeschner, the
Kulturhaus (1962) by Alvar Aalto, the Stadttheater (1973) by Hans Scharoun and
Zaha Hadid’s Phaeno Science Center (2005) connecting the Volkswagen Autostadt
with Wolfsburg city center.
Top left
View on the
Volkswagen
factory in
Wolfsburg
© Evelien Dirix
Top right
Bridge to
Autostadt in
Wolfsburg
© Evelien Dirix
Bottom
Zaha Hadid’s
Phaeno
Science Center
in Wolfsburg
© Valerie
Vermandel
20
Detmerode is a garden city type of urban development with a great but coherent
variety of urban morphologies and building typologies, from patio houses to high
rises of different types. The commercial center, bridging the main road from
Detmerode to Wolfsburg, also includes a church and parish centre (1968) by Alvar
Alto.
Hans Scharoun built a small Kindergarten (1969), in a way a children’s scale
version of his Philharmonie in Berlin. There is in Detmerode and Wolfsburg a
growing awareness about the potential heritage value of Detmerode. Listing is
being considered but preference is given actually to a bottom-up policy of
supporting local inhabitants in understanding and preserving the architectural
qualities and heritage values of their everyday built environment. A crucial role in all
this is played by the Forum Architektur, founded in 2001 to strengthen
communication on municipal architectural and urban policies and supporting
Architekturvermittlung, negotiating these issues between authorities and the local
inhabitants. The Forum Architektur director is Nicole Froberg who was our hostess
and did offer the first floor of the Aalto Kulturforum as wonderful venue for the
workshop.
MASTER CLASS
From 1965 on a new satellite town was built with 4200 houses for 15.000
inhabitants: Detmerode, a perfect example of post-war late-modern urbanism and
architecture. The actual reference was the 1957 Berlin Hansaviertel, actually the
subject of the 2013 Intensive Program workshop in which RLICC also participated
successfully (the report has been published and is accessible on the internet).
Top
Students
visiting Alvar
Alto’s church in
Detmerode
© Evelien Dirix
Bottom left
and right
Theatre Hans
Sharoun in
Wolfsburg
© Evelien Dirix
21
MASTER CLASS
Left
Prof. Verpoest
at Sandtorpark
© Evelien Dirix
Middle
During the
project
presentations
© Evelien Dirix
Right
Visiting the
Neues
Museum in
Berlin
© Evelien Dirix
22
The workshop was focusing on the overall urban landscape of Detmerode and
some specific housing projects and public buildings. Major urban conservation and
development issues in Wolfsburg and Detmerode were introduced through lectures
by Nicole Froberg, Rocco Curti (Landesdenkmalpflege Niedersachsen/Lower
Saxony regional heritage office), Heidi Fengel (Stadtbild&Denkmalpflege
Wolfsburg/urban development and heritage office Wolfsburg) and Jörg Dahmer (of
Neuland, the major private developer in Wolfsburg since 1938).
The workshop included extensive visits of Wolfsburg and more particularly
Detmerode, analysis sessions on site in Detmerode and project work. The particular
Intensive Program focus was again on energy and comfort management, more
particularly as to the 1960’s housing projects to be adapted to current needs
inclusive of the preservation of its original qualities and heritage values. A very
much appreciated lecture on that was given by prof. Günther Pfeifer (Technische
Universität Darmstadt /Fondation Kybernetik). The results of the students project
work were presented to the Wolfsburg community and public authorities in the Aalto
Kulturforum, including a shop window exhibition. An extensive report will be
published.
Part of the IP1314 workshop were two study trips, to Hamburg and Berlin. In the
port city of Hamburg – on the Elbe river, 100km from the North sea – visits focused
on the redevelopment of the old port, the Speicherstadt, including a visit of the Elb
Philharmonie building site, the construction of a concert hall by Swiss architects
Jacques
Herzog
and
Pierre
de
Meuron
[http://www.elbphilharmonie.de/elbphilharmonie-hamburg.en]. As a reference for
the Detmerode workshop and the energy issues we also visited the Hamburg IBA
site (Internationale Bau Ausstellung/International Building Exhibition), with a series
of housing projects with alternative energy concepts [http://www.ibahamburg.de/en/iba-in-english.html] . The Berlin tour brought us back to the 2013
Intensive Program workshop in the IBA/Hansaviertel, with a site visit of the
Baudouin and Lotz high rise refurbishment, and an excellent “site lecture” on the
1920’s social housing Schillerpark Siedlung by Bruno Taut and the 1950’s
extension by Max Taut and Hans Hoffmann, by the conservation architect Winfried
Brenne (Berlin). The Berlin visit was marvelously concluded with a visit of the
Neues Museum restoration project by David Chipperfield and a tour of the KarlMarx-Allee, the showpiece of social-realist classicism of the former communist
GDR.
PROJECT WORLD
Citroën Garage- Brussels
Showroom - By John Du Preez (Architect, South Africa), Laura Ingerpuu
(Social Scientist, Estonia), Joke Nijs (Historian, Belgium) and Thomas
Stroobants (Architect, Belgium)
Workshop – By Natalie Dillon (Architect, Greece), David Kabalin
(Architect, Croatia), Freddy Prado (Architect, Ecuador), Rob Smeets
(Architect, The Netherlands), first-year students
The Citroën garage is a 1930’s showroom and workshop complex located on the
Ijzerplein in Brussels. The showroom is a piece of Modern architecture, the
workshops are industrial heritage with a Modern façade. Both are constructed as a
huge steel- and glass structure. With a footprint of 16,500m2 it was the largest car
garage in Europe for a long time, and its scale remains impressive to this day.
The Citroën garage is situated within the north corridor of the municipality of
Brussels-City (Brussel-Stad). This corridor connects to Brussels-City from North to
South, to Sint-Joost ten-Node & Schaerbeek to the East and to Sint-JansMolenbeek to the West. It is located just outside of the pentagon-shape of the city of
Brussels, next to the canal Brussels-Charleroi, close to the harbour of Brussels.
When the garage was built this location was considered to be the ‘outside of the
city’, but due to urban expansion it is now more considered to be ‘inside of the city’.
This area around the harbour is the lowest part of Brussels, as a part of the Zenne
valley. The river Zenne is even diverted underground, passing by in front of the
garage. The entire Citroën complex almost consumes a full city block.
The showroom was built as a glass ‘vitrine’ with a hippodrome-shape and free
ceiling height of 24 meters. This open space was achieved by the use of riveted
steel columns and Howe-trusses, which was then filled in with brickwork or
windows. All of this structure was hidden behind spray-concrete walls. The
architecture of the showroom was an example of ‘licht-architektur’, a light-concept
that bound light inherently to the architecture of the building instead of something
added on it later. Large upward spotlights lit the vaulted ceiling of the showroom
……
Integrated Project Work III
Left
The showroom
in 1934
© Ossature
Métallique
(Revue
mensuelle des
applications du
l’Acier), 2,
1935
Right
Overview of all
the additions
over time in the
showroom
© RLICC & the
IPW3 group
23
PROJECT WORLD
while downward spotlights illuminated the large glass windows, making the whole
showroom light up as a beacon of light at night. This kind of architecture was a part
of Citroën’s marketing-strategy with similar examples over Europe, with most in
France. It was also closely related to the architecture of cinemas and theatres of
that time.
During 80 years many transformations have been done, mainly in the interior. In
the showroom a concrete level was added in 1954 with new foundations as a new
base for future steel levels. These additions were related to the expo of ’58,
maximizing the use of the glass façade as a display for the viaduct in front. Few
things were demolished, most transformations were additions within the shell of
the building. Only the façade was replaced in 1968. The openness and sacral
atmosphere of the showroom however were completely lost. The transformations
in the showroom went together with changes in the workshop.
The workshop of the Citroën garage has the dominant footprint of the building.
This example of Industrial architecture was built on an open floor plan for the
maintenance of cars. Its glass facades and roofs make the space bathe in natural
light. Several additions were placed in the interior of the building, changing the
logic and transparency of the complex. A 18 meter long concrete ramp was added
in the central hall of the workshop, simultaneously with the addition of the concrete
level in the showroom. This ramp gave access for display-cars to drive up to the
concrete level. With the addition of the first steel level, another smaller ramp was
placed on top of this concrete ramp.
Top
The Citroën
garage in 2014
© RLICC & the
IPW3 group
24
These ramps block the deep perspective that used to run from the workshop
through the showroom. As in the showroom, also a steel deck was added in the
workshop space. This addition however was planned from the start, as the original
steel columns were calculated and constructed to carry an extra floor. The floor
compromises somewhat the transparency of the workshop, but feels far less
intrusive than the levels of the showroom or the ramps. The added deck was built
for additional ‘ateliers’, each with its own specialty. Some cubicles of these ateliers
are still present in the workshop. The ones that are already removed left traces on
the floor. Around 2010 all activity on this floor was moved underneath the deck
because of temperature issues and the deck now serves as a parking space. The
view from this deck towards the canal is absolutely stunning.
Furthermore, investigations into energy-saving solutions which can be applied to the
building in order to reduce costs and create a more environmentally responsive
building were a priority, given the scale of the site. The size of the building, as well
as its approach to space and light make for a unique essence of spatial quality
which forms a critical part of the value structure of the building, and it is this notion
that we endear to protect. The structural elegance reflects a zeitgeist that echoes an
age where anything was possible, where a combination of rivet and steel, pride and
vision of the future saw a brighter future for all in the way forward. The spatial
expression within the workshop, and use of light and verticality within the showroom,
these are elements of heritage that finds itself within an ever changing, ever more
complex urban, social and economic environment.
The complexities of the Citroën Garage lie
not only in its size and elegance of
construction, but also in the urban and
social dynamics that interact with the
building within the Brussels area. The
building is a landmark to many, and its
ongoing preservation lies in the careful
consideration of its approach to the future.
The value of the plot of land on which the
building resides is incredibly high, and
pressure from developers add to further
complicate the contemporary situation
within the economic dynamic.
PROJECT WORLD
All these additions (showroom incl.) made
the usable floorspace of the building
double in size, from 16,500 m2 to 32,000
m2 in 80 years time. The function however
always remained the same: a carmaintenance-garage and showroom. The
future of the workshop remains uncertain,
and a study of adaptive-reuse scenarios
are made in conjunction with the
showroom.
Many are familiar with the showroom of the Citroën garage, but few are aware its
history nor the existing spatial qualities inside the workshop. To create a broader
awareness about this piece of Modern Industrial heritage we made a small
publication on our work. It gives an illustrated overview of it’s history with diagrams
and historic (construction) pictures, next to a photographic inventory documenting
the
atmosphere
of
the
place.
Publications
are
available
on
http://nl.blurb.com/user/thomasstroo
Top and
bottom
Views on the
Citroën
garage in 2014
© RLICC & the
IPW3 group
25
PROJECT WORLD
The English Convent in Bruges
By Eva Bouton (Art Historian, Belgium), Carlota Cobos Norton
(Architect, Spain), Christos Koutsaftis (Architect, Greece) and Benoît
Vandeputte (Architect, Belgium), Dongxu Zhao (Architect, China), firstyear students
The English convent in Bruges is
gifted with a long history. It is the
last surviving convent of a whole
series located on the European
mainland that were set up by
English Catholics, starting from
the sixteenth century, after the
Anglican church forbade other
religions than the state religion.
Today the Convent of Nazareth,
as the English Convent is officially
called, still functions as a convent,
though its heydays lay in times
past. The thriving community,
which at its peak once counted not
less than sixty sisters, today only
counts ten anymore. The complex of buildings grew incrementally over time to suit
the needs of an ever-growing community, but in the second half of the twentieth
century the community started to decrease. This results in the current situation,
where the sisters are facing difficulties to keep up the convent on their own, due to
the large scale of the complex. They have taken several measurements in order to
cope with this issue, such as selling the part of the convent that used to be the
school to the ‘Sint-Leo College’ or giving the farm into a long lease to the ‘Arkgemeenschap Moerkerke’. The church was listed as a monument in 1974 and in
1982 followed by the protection of the whole convent that is also part of a protected
cityscape.
Top
Group picture
© RLICC & the
IPW3 group
Bottom
Lodewijk Van
De Walle, The
Cloister of
Nazareth,
Bruges, 1895
© Archive
English
Convent
Analysis
For this IPW 3, a historical analysis has been made, consulting the sources
preserved in the convent, the city archive of Bruges, the Archive of the cadastre as
well as the available literature.The complex of buildings grew incrementally over
time to suit the needs of an ever-growing community and the present Church, the
showpiece of the complex, was constructed between 1735 and 1739 after a design
26
The English Convent is located in the Seminarie quarter where it serves as an
enclave in the city. Conclusions could be made for the functional assessment. The
garden could be opened up to the could with the preservation of the precinct wall
that has an important value in the urban landscape.
For
the
technical
analysis of the convent
was chosen to focus on
two characteristic parts
of the building: the
garden façade of the
main wing of the
convent and the facade
of the church along the
Carmersstraat. Building
maintenance that is
really necessary is
carried out but some
buildings could get a
thorough restoration.
Future Development
Finding a new meaning for the buildings is a big challenge, but case studies helped
to define the solution proposed in the dossier. The proposal suggests splitting up
the convent into nine separate units, while the sisters can stay in their buildings by
moving to the ‘quarter ancien’ around the Thomas à Kempis courtyard. The units
could be long leased to organizations with similar goals like the sisters of the
English Convent. In order to have a global vision on how to safeguard the spirit and
the history of the place as much as possible, a charter with terms and conditions
could be made up that every new stakeholder party has to sign. In the unit that was
revealed as having the highest value, a museum could be installed in order to open
up the convent and to reestablish the connection with the city, while still respecting
the boundaries of the enclosure represented by the precinct walls. This museum
could pass on the memory and the history of this last community of English sisters
on the European mainland.
PROJECT WORLD
by Bruges architect and sculptor Hendrik Pulinx. In that same period the convent got
his characteric shape that is still preserved until today. The historical evolution was
made visible in a sketchily model presenting the convent starting from its foundation
in 1629 until today.
Top
The
backfacade
seen from the
garden
© RLICC & the
IPW3 group
Bottom
Future
proposal with
different units
© RLICC & the
IPW3 group
27
PROJECT WORLD
De Ruisbroekmolen
By Ernst des Bouvrie (Architect, The Netherlands), Amanda
Sherrington (Architectural historian, Canada), Astrid van Damme
(Architect, Belgium), Dimitrios Velesiotis (Civil Engineer, Greece) and
Ellen Vleugels (Historian, Belgium), first-year students
The Ruisbroekmolen is located in the village of
Bierbeek in the province of Vlaams-Brabant. It
is a typical example of a watermill situated in a
rural Flemish landscape. The current building,
consisting of the mill itself and the miller's
house, dates back to the 1740s, although they
were partly built on the foundations of a much
older watermill which was constructed at the
beginning of the 13th century. Since 1994, the
Ruisbroekmolen and the miller's house are
protected as a monument and the site is listed
as a protected villagescape.
The Ruisbroekmolen is part of an agriculturalindustrial site. Apart from the mill and the
miller's house, the site consists of three private
houses, a granary, a weigh bridge and a
parking lot.
At the rear side of the mill, next to the Bierbeek
streams that powers the watermill, a pond was
created to provide for extra water. Today however,
this mill pond is not a part of the same property
anymore. The Ruisbroekmolen has not been used
since 1972, after the wheel was damaged by a storm
and the last miller died. Nowadays, the mill does not
work anymore. Problematic for the site is the divided
ownership. For our study, we examined the whole
domain which was protected as a villagescape. This
area is however divided between four owners which
constitutes a challenge for the future use of the site.
Top
Group picture
at the
Ruisbroekmolen
© RLICC & the
IPW3 group
Middle
Overview of
the site
© RLICC & the
IPW3 group
Bottom
Panorama of
the site
© RLICC & the
IPW3 group
28
Analyses
The Ruisbroekmolen is located in the municipality of Bierbeek, a rural village at the
south-east of the city of Leuven. The village is located in the province of VlaamsBrabant, near the border with the Walloon region. Since the mill is located in a rural
area, but close to an urban area, we performed an analysis on both the urban and
landscape level. The village of Bierbeek has been inhabited since the Neolithic Age.
Because of the fruitful soil, the presence of streams and the safety provided by the
hills, this was a good place to settle. Agriculture and livestock became main
activities in the area. This has not changed. The landscape is characterized by its
loamy soil, hilly character and presence of streams. Originally, the Ruisbroekmolen
was built between 1189 and 1234 and the construction was commissioned by the
Abbey of Saint-Nicaise of Reims, which owned the property of the priory of
Bierbeek.
Since the mill and miller's house were unused and uninhabited for a long time, the
building is facing some technical problems. The mill mechanism itself is still in a
rather good condition and after some repair and restoration attempts, it should be
able to function again. Degradation of materials used for the construction of the
building however is apparent. Biological growths and spalling are two of the main
problems. Besides this, there are also some structural problems, as for instance
structural cracks in the masonry as well as stability issues regarding the roof
structure of the mill.
Project proposal
On basis of all our analyses, five scenarios for the future use of the mill and its
surroundings were developed. Taking into account a multi-criteria analysis, we
chose to elaborate one of these scenarios into a project proposal. The scenario that
proved to be the most appropriate for the site was a scenario regarding the creation
of a farm to attract agricultural tourism. For this proposal, we made two possible
scenarios. One of these is based on the actual ownership and the second one is
based on what we consider an idealistic ownership.
PROJECT WORLD
In 1561, the priory of Bierbeek was suspended by Pope Pius V and the properties in
Bierbeek were donated to the faculty of Theology of the University of Leuven. From
then on, the mill became property of the University. In 1740, the original building
burned down. Following this event, a new mill was built in traditional brick and
sandstone, probably on the foundations of the original premises. From 1793
onward, the mill was privately owned. In 1950, the mill was sold to its last miller,
who added the granary, silos and weigh bridge to the property. The mill was used
for the last time in 1972. Since then, the silos and granary were used to store grains
and the site was used to sell fodder for livestock.
The first project is based on the actual ownership. This scenario welcomes various
new functions on the site. New functions comprise a bed and breakfast, spaces that
will be available for renting, agricultural production of honey, apple juice and cider,
goat cheese and bread. The mill itself will be used to explain the function of a
watermill. To attract cyclists from the Lanbouwleerpad, which is a cycling road that
will be crossing the site, there will be space for picnic tables and a bike repair. On
the ground floor of the miller's house, there will be a refectory-cafeteria for visitors.
In the scenario of the idealistic ownership, the three private houses on site will be
demolished to allow a better view to the mill. This will enable the site to return to its
agricultural and industrial character. Instead of two of the private houses, a small
building will be constructed which should be more respectful of the landscape. This
new building will host a bed and breakfast. The rest of the functions in this proposal
are comparable to the first scenario.
Left
Project
proposal based
on actual
ownership
© RLICC & the
IPW3 group
Right
Project
proposal based
on ideal
ownership
© RLICC & the
IPW3 group
29
PROJECT WORLD
Former collegiate church complex
of Saint-Jean-L’Evangélist, Liège
By Evelien Dirix (art historian, Belgium), Ine Huybreghs (engineerarchitect, Belgium), Giang Truong Nguyen (engineer-architect, Vietnam)
and Tania Ali Soomro (architect, Pakistan), first-year students
The former collegiate church complex of
Saint-Jean-L’Evangélist (further referred to as
Saint-Jean) is one of the still existing key
witnesses of the former rich ecclesial history
of the city of Liège. Its history goes back to the
end of the 10th century. Since we had been at
the site already during IPW1, we already had
a short first introduction. The complex can be
divided into the 18th century church and the
particularly 19th century cloister buildings at
the west side of the church. For our project,
we focused on the cloister buildings and
especially on the current vacant south wing
and gallery.
Anno 2014, the cloister has a mixed use of residential use and services. The
northern wing is currently occupied by seven Dominican friars while the western
wing is occupied by two families. The only house in the south wing that is not
vacant, is currently used as a social service. The cloister is protected as a ‘bien
classé’ since 1952 and the church is since 2013 protected as an ‘exceptional
monument’. The city of Liège made an effort to make all still remaining collegiate
churches of Liège exceptional monuments to stress their uniqueness.
Past
Top
Group picture
© RLICC & the
IPW3 group
Bottom
The south
gallery wing
with inventory
of the different
building
materials and
an analysis of
the cutting
techniques of
the natural
stones
© RLICC & the
IPW3 group
30
In 987, Saint-Jean was one of the first collegiate churches constructed in Liège. The
initiator was the first prince-bishop of Liège, Notger. In search for an architecture
that symbolised both his profane and ecclesiastical power, he got inspired by the
chapel and palace construction of Charlemagne in Aix-la-Chapelle (Germany). This
foreign inspiration explains the out of the ordinary orientation of the cloister of SaintJean compared to other collegiate church complexes in Liège. During the 11th or 12th
century, two ‘west build’ towers were added to the church. In the 14th century, the
cloister got rebuilt in a local blue greyish Meuse limestone. The next building phase
occurred in the first half of the 16th century. The cloister buildings got their current
shape and stylistic characteristics from the last 19th century building phase. In
between 1854 and about 1860-70, the southern and western wing got divided into
separate houses and thus Saint-Jean became an early example of the reuse of
religious immovable heritage in Belgium. This intervention literally opened up the
street façade to the public. The cloister got changed from an introverted building to
an extravert one.
PROJECT WORLD
Present
Saint-Jean is located in an until recent neglected part of the historical city centre of
the city of Liège. The city council however has been working on a ‘Project de Ville’
to uplift the city to a national and international level. To have a good insight in the
current state of the cloister building, we surveyed the buildings under the guidance
of Björn van Genechten. After these surveying days, we noticed that important
details like the windows frames in the inner court façades were not accurate
enough. Because of this, photogrammetry became a key technique in achieving a
higher level of documentation. A further analysis of the south wing and gallery was
the architectural analysis of the elements and a conduct to possible deterioration
and damages. Saint-Jean was luckily saved during its long history of large
construction troubles which is now shown in its impeccable state of conservation.
The surface damage however that is shown on the majority of the façades is black
crust. This can be linked to the industrial history of Liège with its heavy polluting
factories at the south of the city. Another important aspect to puzzle together the
different building phases, was the analysis of the stone cutting techniques in the
south gallery. Under the guidance of architect-conservator Caroline Bolle and
professor in Geology Francis Tourneur (ULg) we were taught these new and very
helpful techniques. Through this we were able to discover new building phases that
had not been mentioned before in (research) publications.
Future
In our master plan, in order to deal with the vacancy of the south wing, we
developed three possible scenarios for the southern wing on short term. Since the
city of Liège as a university city is coping with a shortage of student rooms, is
student accommodation our first scenario. In our proposal we could keep the major
architectural features of the individual houses of the south wing and thus conserve
it. As a second option, we thought of turning the whole south wing into a bed and
breakfast. With this option, we anticipate to the wish of the city of Liège to provide
more accommodation for visiting tourists. Since Saint-Jean is at walking distance of
the pedestrian shopping streets and in the historic centre of the city, tourists would
definitely be attracted to this location. An asset of course would be the stay in such
a historic atmosphere. A third option on the short term, would be turning the south
wing into offices. This option was most liked by the Dominicans since it would least
disturb their daily proceedings. Characteristic for this group of Dominicans is that
they live a semi-nomad life. As soon as they are not needed anymore in Liège, they
will be sent to another destination. This means on the long term, that the cloister will
have an empty northern wing. For this reason we had come up with three scenarios
on the long term. First we would like to broaden the scenario of the student
accommodation. As second suggestion, we think it would be possible to turn the
cloister building into a hotel with bar or restaurant. In this way the cloister would not
become a complete private concern but can still be visited by heritage customers.
As a third suggestion we thought of converting the cloister buildings into a cultural
centre to accompany the neighbouring “MNEMA Cité Miroir” cultural centre. The
rectangular shape of the three wings could for example be used as art galleries.
Middle
A proposal for
the conversion
of the south
wing into
student accommodation
© RLICC & the
IPW3 group
31
PROJECT WORLD
Building Complex Vismarkt,
Mechelen
By Juan Diego Vele (architect, Ecuador), Payoja Raikar (architect,
India), Raluca Barbulescu (architect, Romania), Kathleen De Ceulaer
(engineering architect, Belgium) and Annelien Sys (historian, Belgium),
first-year students
The subject of this study, a
19th
century
building
complex,
is
centrally
located in the inner city of
Mechelen. The building
complex is situated at the
corner of the Nauwstraat
and the lively Vismarkt
along the Dijle river, and at
a five minutes walk from
two main squares in the
city; the Grote Markt and
the Korenmarkt.
Nowadays the ground floors are used as cafes, the upper floors of the building are
empty except for one that is completely renovated and used as apartments. The
previous function of the upper floors were also residential but are now in desperate
need of adaptations to modern day comfort.
This U-shaped building complex dates from the beginning of the 19th century, but
both archival sources as building traces on site teach us that there must have been
other constructions on the site before. The names of the houses (resp. “Vijf
Haringen”, “Gulden Sleutel”, “De Steur” and “Den Nobel”) go back to the 16th
century. Several architectural styles can be found, like Rococo, Classicism and Art
Nouveau.
Top
Group picture
© RLICC & the
IPW3 group
Bottom
Nauwstraat
facade of all
four buildings
© RLICC & the
IPW3 group
32
Historically, the function of these four buildings was strongly related to its position
along the Dijle and along the Vismarkt of Mechelen; they were used as fish shops,
with additional activities included, like the cleaning, smoking and storing of fish.
Several generations of fish merchants used to live and work here. These
merchantmen influenced the history of the building. Like for the Verhocht family,
they had their high days in the second half of the 18th century and gave one of the
buildings a rococo style appearance. For the beginning of the 19th century, the
Wafelaer family was important for the two buildings on the corner of the Vismarkt
Analyses
The urban analysis was done
on
three
levels,
more
specifically on a macro, meso
and micro-scale.
In these scales we look at two levels. First a level of time where we looked at
past evolutions and secondly an analysis of the present situation and future
developments. Through research on the different aspects of the complex (urban,
historical, architectural and technical) and understanding of the building and its
surroundings was attained. Plans, pictures, documents, and photographs from
archives formed the basis for the fieldwork. Databases and onsite survey completed
this information, which leaded to a vision on the strengths and weaknesses and the
knowledge necessary to propose a suitable masterplan.
PROJECT WORLD
the history of the building. Like
for the Verhocht family, they
had their high days in the
second half of the 18th century
and gave one of the buildings a
rococo style appearance. For
the beginning of the 19th
century, the Wafelaer family
was important for the two
buildings on the corner of the
Vismarkt and the Nauwstraat.
J.B. Wafelaer ordered the
neoclassical façade in 1804, a
couple of years later this family
had all four buildings in its
possession and gave it its
unified appearance.
Masterplan of conservation
A redesignation and sustainable conservation plan could safeguard the
monumental value of the complex and could contribute to the revitalization of the
Vismarkt. For the conservation project, we took the conclusions of the analysis and
combined these with the needs of buildings, the surroundings, the owners and the
community. We tried to mix a number of different functions to provide benefits for a
great number of stakeholders and to provide long-term flexibility. We wanted to
have a function, which would bring the people into the building and give them a
sense of the value of the complex.
We propose a “house of
archaeology” with exhibition
areas,
research
and
workshop
spaces,
information center, ateliers,
administrative offices, a café
and souvenir shops in the
building.
Multifunctional
rooms can give flexibility to
adapt the uses as per
requirements
of
the
buildings. A cultural function
seemed the best solution. It
would not only enhance the
values of the building but
would also positively affect
the neighbourhood.
Top
Backfacade
along the Dijle
of all four
buildings
© RLICC & the
IPW3 group
Bottom
Sketch of
proposal
courtyard
© RLICC & the
IPW3 group
33
Internship in France
The UNESCO World Heritage Centre
in Paris
INTERNSHIP
By Francis Carpentier, (MA in Arts and Heritage: Policy, Management,
and Education - Belgium), second-year student
Thanks to the Flanders Trainee Programme, I was able to work in Paris as an intern
at the UNESCO World Heritage Centre from 23 September 2013 to 21 March 2014.
During these six months, my daily trips to work were inspiring immersions into two
significant sites of Paris’ recent architectural history. I commuted between the Cité
internationale universitaire de Paris, where I was staying in the Fondation BiermansLapôtre, and the UNESCO headquarters at the place de Fontenoy, designed during
the 1950s by Marcel Breuer and other masters of modern art and architecture.
My workspace was
situated within the office
of
my
supervisor
Alexandra
Fiebig,
Programme Specialist
and Focal Point for
Periodic Reporting of
the Europe and North
America unit of the
World Heritage Centre.
Under
the
overall
supervision of Petya
Totcharova, our unit
employed a secretary
and four desk officers,
supported by a handful
of interns.
As the Secretariat to the World Heritage Convention, the World Heritage Centre is a
highly bureaucratic environment. Contrary to popular belief, the Centre does not
decide over World Heritage nominations - a prerogative of the World Heritage
Committee after consultation of the Advisory Bodies - but administers the
conservation and management of the different properties. Within the World Heritage
Centre’s Europe and North America unit, I followed up the state of conservation of all
World Heritage properties in Canada, the United States of America, Albania and the
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Next to that, I assisted Alexandra Fiebig in
the supervision of the process and results of the Periodic Reporting exercise for the
whole Europe and North America region, a six-year cycle where the application of
the World Heritage Convention is monitored through reports submitted by the States
Parties themselves.
Top
Meditation
Space (1995)
by Tadao
Ando,
UNESCO HQ
© Francis
Carpentier
34
Throughout my internship, I also contributed to UNESCO’s extra-budgetary project
“Towards strengthened governance of the shared transboundary natural and cultural
heritage of the Lake Ohrid Region”. This pilot project is a cooperation between
UNESCO, the European Union, and Albania, and will prepare Albania for a future
transboundary extension of the World Heritage property “Natural and Cultural
Heritage of the Ohrid region”, currently situated exclusively in the FYR of Macedonia.
In the line of UNESCO’s core mission, the goal of the project is to promote peace
and cooperation between Albania and the FYR of Macedonia through the
commitment to their common natural and cultural heritage in and around Lake Ohrid.
From the very beginning of the internship my supervisor asked me to write, re-write,
and edit parts of the Ohrid project document and took me along to meet different
UNESCO colleagues that were being consulted on the project before its application
for EU funding. This experience made me realize how difficult it is to have all partners
agree on a common vision and on the same terms
INTERNSHIP
Throughout my internship, I also contributed to UNESCO’s extra-budgetary project
“Towards strengthened governance of the shared transboundary natural and
cultural heritage of the Lake Ohrid Region”. This pilot project is a cooperation
between UNESCO, the European Union, and Albania, and will prepare Albania for
a future transboundary extension of the World Heritage property “Natural and
Cultural Heritage of the Ohrid region”, currently situated exclusively in the FYR of
Macedonia. In the line of UNESCO’s core mission, the goal of the project is to
promote peace and cooperation between Albania and the FYR of Macedonia
through the commitment to their common natural and cultural heritage in and
around Lake Ohrid. From the very beginning of the internship my supervisor asked
me to write, re-write, and edit parts of the Ohrid project document and took me
along to meet different UNESCO colleagues that were being consulted on the
project before its application for EU funding. This experience made me realize how
difficult it is to have all partners agree on a common vision and on the same terms.
Next to the main focus on the extrabudgetary project, the state of conservation and
Periodic Reporting of World Heritage properties, my unit actively used my
background by letting me do the reading, writing, and editing of conservationrelated reports, briefings, summaries or speeches. In this way I got the opportunity
to edit the report for an Advisory Mission to a World Heritage property under threat,
draft the evaluation of a UNESCO Chair in Cultural Heritage, or make
understandable summaries of technical conservation terminology.
Within the World Heritage Centre’s Europe and North America unit, I followed up
the state of conservation of all World Heritage properties in Canada, the United
States of America, Albania and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Next
to that, I assisted Alexandra Fiebig in the supervision of the process and results of
the Periodic Reporting exercise for the whole Europe and North America region, a
six-year cycle where the application of the World Heritage Convention is monitored
through reports submitted by the States Parties themselves.
One of my final tasks was the drafting of the future address by Director-General
Irina Bokova on the occasion of the 3D Exhibit “Revisiting the Roman Forum: from
Pen to Pixel: Methods of Documentation in the 20th and 21st Centuries and The
Digital Future of World Heritage”, a symposium on blended scholarship and
management at the University of Notre Dame in Rome. For the writing of this
speech, which contained contributions by other divisions such as the UNESCO
Memory of the World program, I had the freedom to synthetize the point of view of
UNESCO on the digital future of World Heritage.
The UNESCO headquarters in
Paris are generally an interesting
environment for interns since
there are always many different
events happening inside the
building, especially during the
biannual General Conference of
UNESCO and the General
Assembly of States Parties to the
World Heritage Convention, which
took place last year in November.
I have particularly appreciated my supervisor’s encouragement to also attend the
“Reflection meeting on the implementation of the Recommendation on the Historic
Urban Landscape” (13 December 2013) and the international conference “Creative
Design for Sustainable Development” (3 March 2014), organized by the UNESCO
Creative Cities Network.
During my stay at UNESCO, I was able to fully immerse myself in the functioning of
this international organization, both on macro- and micro-level, at a time of
budgetary restrictions and crucial upcoming reforms. The regular meetings within
our unit (work and non-work related) and the exchanges with interns from other
UNESCO divisions further added to an overall social and intercultural experience.
Top
Albanian
horizon as
through a
Macedonian
window near
Lake Ohrid
© Francis
Carpentier
Bottom
Conference
“Creative
Design for
Sustainable
Development”
© Francis
Carpentier
35
Internship in France
The UNESCO Secretariat of the
2001 Convention on the Protection
of the Underwater Cultural Heritage
INTERNSHIP
By Thérèse Claeys (archaeologist, Belgium), second-year student
Despite providing a unique testament of the past, the underwater cultural heritage is
being fiercely threatened by both natural and anthropogenic damages due to its
easier accessibility since the first half of the XXth century.
As an archaeologist with a keen interest in
diving, I feel particularly concerned about those
safeguarding issues. Therefore, carrying out an
internship at the UNESCO Secretariat of the
2001 Convention on the Protection of the
Underwater Cultural Heritage represented a
perfect opportunity for me to acquire some
hands-on experience in my special field while gaining in the same time a unique
insight into the internal functioning of such a renowned international organization.
The UNESCO 2001 Convention is the first multilateral legal tool specifically
dedicated to providing comprehensive protection for underwater cultural heritage
worldwide, to harmonizing the protection of this specific heritage with that of
heritage on land and to providing archaeologists with guidelines on how to treat this
heritage. It is nowadays binding for 45 States.
Over the course of my
internship that took place from
mid-October 2013 to midFebruary 2014, I was working
under the direct supervision of
Mrs Ulrike Guérin, Program
Specialist, together with Mr
Arturo Rey da Silva, Associate
Expert. This internship was
supported by Wallonia-Brussels
International which offers grants
for young graduates carrying
out an internship at an
international organization.
Top
Logo of the
2001
Convention on
the Protection
of the
Underwater
Cultural
Heritage
© unesco.org
Middle
At the
UNESCO
Office in Paris
© Thérèse
Claeys, 2013
36
Goals pursued by the Secretariat and personal contribution to their
implementation
Among its main mission, the Secretariat of the 2001 Convention has a key-role in
awareness rising and fostering education and research about the UCH and about
the urgent need for its protection. My role in the implementation of this goal
consisted in updating the UNITWIN network and providing assistance in the
creation of a digital game application for tablets and smartphones dedicated to
young children about two famous case studies, namely Alexandria sunken city and
Kubilaï Khan’s shipwreck.
Another mission I took part in during my internship was related to assuring the
promotion and the increased visibility of the 2001 Convention. This goal was
achieved through a regular update of the UNESCO website and the writing of online
articles related to UCH world news. However, my main task consisted in providing
assistance in the organization of the Scientific Conference and Commemorative
Event on the Underwater Cultural Heritage from World War I on the occasion of its
Centenary taking place in Bruges between 26 and 28 June 2014. From 2014
onwards, the WWI UCH is coming under the scope of the 2001 Convention for all
Extra expert and states representatives meetings attended
During my internship at UNESCO headquarter, I had the chance to attend some
debates of the 37th Session of the General Conference (5-20 November 2013). I
also provided secretary assistance during the 10th Meeting of the High Contracting
Parties to the Hague Convention, the 5th Meeting of the Parties to the Second
Protocol and the 8th Meeting of the Committee for the Protection of Cultural
Property in the Event of Armed Conflict (16-19 December 2013).
The Bruges event was considered as a starting point for a series of other special
remembrance and research projects to be organized worldwide between 2014 and
2018. Among them, I took actively part in the designing of the Youth Safeguarding
Peace Initiative that should be introduced for use in classrooms from September
2014 onwards through video clips, electronic educational brochures, teachers’ kit
and an international artistic competition.
INTERNSHIP
countries that have ratified this legal tool as it defines UCH in its Art.1.1.(a) as “all
traces of human existence having a cultural, historical or archaeological character
which have been partially or totally under water, periodically or continuously, for at
least 100 years”. This anniversary represents the perfect opportunity for UNESCO
to draw an international attention on the importance of peace and on the fragility of
the WWI UCH. Concretely, I was in charge of building lists of potential speakers
and guests, drafting official invitation letters, designing the call for papers, providing
assistance in the elaboration of the provisional agenda, managing the budget,
building partnerships and negotiating with the different internal or external
stakeholders involved in the organization of the event and finally, writing
applications for funding support.
Outcome and learning experience
The Bruges Scientific Conference and Commemorative Event was a great success
that gathered scientists, diplomats and legal experts from 36 countries. It had an
important media impact and led to the elaboration of recommendations regarding
the preservation, research and protection of WWI UCH. It also raised awareness
about the value of the underwater cultural heritage of World War II, its current
endangered state and the need of defining and implementing concrete safeguarding
measures as a future perspective.
As long as I am concerned, I am glad to have had the chance to discover the
backstage of UNESCO administration. This internship taught me a wealth of
knowledge about the way policy and cooperation takes place within this
organization. I truly enjoyed the opportunity to learn from and work with individuals
with a variety of nationalities and backgrounds. This experience was incredibly
enriching not only from a professional but also from a human point of view.
Middle
Opening of
th
the 37
Session of the
General
Conference
© Thérèse
Claeys, 2013
37
Internship in Italy
Politecnico di Milano, ABC
Department
INTERNSHIP
By Sanja Taseva (Architect, Macedonia), second-year student
For my internship at the Architecture, Built Environment and Construction
Engineering (ABC) Department I was given an amazing opportunity to work at an
acclaimed research laboratory and get acquainted with the most recent
developments in laser scanner data modeling for architectural purposes.
The specific case study I
worked on was the Masegra
Castle in Sondrio which has
been
included
in
the
INTERREG IIIA Italia-Svizzera
EU
programme,
more
specifically in the project
“Castello Masegra e Palazzi
Salis: un circuito culturale
dell’area Retica Alpina”. The
mains aims of the project were
dissemination and support of
knowledge connected to the
specific subject, and the
preventive conservation of the
building. I was included in the
first stages of the project which
constituted of: historical research, survey and preparation of the architectural survey
drawings, and a detailed research of the wooden coffered ceilings of the castle.
Historical research
Top
Sketch of the
Masegra
Castle
© Sanja
Taseva, 2013
Bottom
The historical
synthesis plan
of the
Masegra
Castle
© L. Bonetti
and S. Perlini,
2013
38
This research was fundamental in
order
to
obtain
a
better
understanding of the castle’s
complex physical structure. The
Masegra Castle has a dominant
position in the city of Sondrio which
is the entrance to the Valmalenco
valley. It is a building that has been
continuously
transformed
over
history, since its beginnings in 15th.
century. Its owners and function
have
changed
many
times
influenced by different historical
circumstances.
During
many
centuries of modifications, a number
of historical traces are left, which
makes the building a real puzzle to
solve. Aside its primary and original
function as a defensive fortification,
at times it was also used as a
residence,
mainly
by
highly
influential
families.
Recent
excavations show that on the place
where the castle is now, there was
the first settlement of Sondrio dating
back to the pre-Roman period.
Today, it is owned by the Commune di Sondrio, where a part of it is a historic
museum, while the other parts are mostly abandoned, with an exception of the
15th. century wing where various cultural events are hosted.
INTERNSHIP
Serving as a base for the survey, a preliminary network of the various positions of
the total station and the reflective target points was prepared. The survey took five
days of intensive on-site activities where I worked with a team of seven
professionals. The main equipment used during the survey included : a total station
(Leica TS30), laser scanner (Faro Focus 3D), thermal camera and a digital SLR
Camera (Canon EOS-1D).
Besides the laser scanning, an extensive photographic documentation was done
which was mainly focused on the north-east tower and the renaissance wing. It was
imperative to produce hand sketches of specific elements such as: corbels, wooden
recessed ceilings, roof trusses and their connections, with an aim to gain
understanding of their structure and geometry which will serve to the 3D content
modeling (BHIM). The architectural plans were produced on a base of the
PointCloud obtained by the laser scanner which was imported in AutoCad with the
Cloudworx plug-in.
Survey and production of architectural survey drawings based on PointCloud
data
Wooden coffered ceilings
The wooden coffered ceilings
were chosen as a specific
element of focus, as they
present the most remarkable
part of the interior. The
typology of this ceilings was
researched in-depth in order
to
provide
a
better
understanding
of
this
assembly, its constructive
logic and aesthetics. The
outcome of this research were
detailed plans of the ceilings
and their sections together
with details of the specific
joints.
This internship was a very enriching experience and a chance to get immerged on a
deeper level in another culture. I thank the department that provided me with this
opportunity and unselfishly offered to teach me many useful lessons.
Finally, I treasure very much the chance I got to live in this beautiful city and
country. I got to visit and learn a lot about many important historical buildings and
spaces, as well as about their highly ambitious contemporary architecture and
urban developments.
Top
PointCloud of
the Masegra
Castle
© ABC
Department,
2013
Bottom
The coffered
ceiling in the
southern room
th
of the 15
century wing
© Sanja
Taseva, 2013
39
THESIS GALLERY
Landscape assessment for touristic
multimedia purposes, using multitemporal cartography
Case study Tremezzo, Lake Como, Italy
Master thesis by Daphne Roels (Geographer, Belgium)
Promoters: Prof. Koen Van Balen, Prof. Raffaella Brumana, Prof. Mario
Santana Quintero
Landscapes are dynamic entities and transformed through time and space. The
European Landscape Convention (2000) aims to raise the awareness of every
landscape and their changes and to propose specific measures for the identification
and assessment of it. The general aim of the thesis was to integrate assessment
methodologies, digital technologies and multimedia systems to contribute to the
cultural landscape preservation in the future with the participation of locals and
visitors. A value-centred approach –with tangible and intangible values- was used in
order to respect the landscape as a physical feature, but also as a genius loci or
mindscape. Landscapes have a sensitive side reflecting the generated feelings and
memories in the environment. Starting from the reading of the current landscape it
is important to go back in time and understand the past, in order to enhance the
future management of the landscape and to improve the communication of heritage
information to the people. This was analyzed for the case study Tremezzina,
located at Lake Como in Italy.
Tremezzina is characterized by a terraced cultural landscape and knew many
transformations through time. In the 17th century important merchants travelled to
the North of Europe to buy and sell lemons, cotton, etc. and later species that came
from the East India Company. These merchants had connections across all Europe;
they became rich and started building villas, palaces, etc in Tremezzina. In the 19th
century Tremezzina was very attractive for tourists, which led to the construction of
hotels and the development of mass tourism.
Middle
Panorama of
Tremezzina
with the three
landscape
layers
© BRUMANA
Raffaella,
2013; adapted
by Daphne
Roels, 2014
40
The tourists are mainly located along the lake side and have a big lack of
knowledge about the values of the cultural landscape. Metric and non-metric multitemporal maps were combined and assessed to study the current landscape
characteristics and to reveal the different landscape layers: the water view front
layer, characterized by the ancient Strada Regina, villas and hotels along the lake,
the hill slopes –as intermediate layer- with the historic centres, ancient cobblestone
paths, palaces and surrounded by land artefacts such as terraces with olive trees,
and the mountain layer characterized by pasture. The non-metric panoramas or
water view front maps have certain viewpoints and reveal the values of the cultural
landscape through time and were important for the value assessment. The nonmetric –cadastral and topographic- maps were necessary to identify all relations
and spatial organizations of the landscape features. The maps were correlated to
each other by different algorithms in order to navigate in the landscape from the
past to the present. The objective was to identify an assessment methodology and
for this a geo-SWOT chart was developed, combining the values and the risks for
Multimedia systems were studied to discover the most convenient one to distribute
and represent the cultural landscape and its assessment to the people. Multiple
examples were analyzed.
THESIS GALLERY
different algorithms in
order to navigate in the
landscape from the
past to the present.
The objective was to
identify an assessment
methodology and for
this a geo-SWOT chart
was
developed,
combining the values
and the risks for every
landscape feature and
according to different
landscape background
and foreground layers.
By
indicating
the
values, the condition
and the risks a better
decision-making and
awareness can be
provided to the people
and will enhance the
environment.
In Tremezzo an EU Interregional cross border funded project wants to realize a
‘multimedia system of the landscape of the ‘Comuni della Tremezzina’ in
September 2014.There was decided to use a double system: a touch screen
related to the projection of the different maps and also linked to Google Earth to
expand the accessibility of the information. A reflective society is recommended to
improve the appreciation and valorisation of the site.
By providing more information to the visitors and the local people of Tremezzo and
by creating itineraries on site, the more aware the people become of the
significance of the cultural landscape. This had the purpose to improve the
knowledge of the people and to encourage visitors to not limit their trip to the lake
side but also into the mountains and on the hill sides.
Top
The
interrelations of
the objectives
of the thesis
with a
reflective
approach as
central
purpose
© Daphne
Roel, 2014
Bottom
Projection of
the water view
front maps,
linked to the
touch screen in
the multimedia
museum in
Tremezzo
© NEMES,
2014
41
THESIS GALLERY
Middle
View on
Edinburgh
© Chloé Porter
42
Built Heritage and the Urban
Planning System
A case study of the World Heritage Site of the Old and New
Towns of Edinburgh (Scotland, U.K)
Master thesis by Chloé Porter (Urban Planner, France)
Promoter: Paul Lievevrouw
Co-Promoter: Miles Glendinning, Ruxandra Iulia-Stoica
Edinburgh, capital city of Scotland, is defined by its built heritage fabric. Spikes and
domes make for an iconic skyline. Various styles of architecture cohabit: long and
narrow buildings in the organic Old Town and neoclassical inspired buildings in the
New Town. The quality of that mix attracts tourists by millions every year, make
inhabitants proud and happy to live there and made the city a World Heritage Site
in 1995. The scope of this study is to understand how this very specific built
environment is taken into account in the urban planning system. Our case study
Edinburgh is at a turning point, with the Scottish Referendum for Independence
scheduled for the 18 September 2014: a vibrant and stunning city, covered by WHS
status yet needing to be dynamic and develop.As a hot house for development yet
the home of the highest concentration of listed buildings in the United Kingdom after
London, the Old and New Towns of Edinburgh, World Heritage Site since 1995 is
representative of these lived in city centre cities, struggling between conservation of
their historic assets and major economic development objectives.
In the first two chapters, the Built Heritage in question is presented in the context of
Edinburgh to set the scene. What heritage are we talking about? What is Edinburgh
like? Why are the Old and New Towns so special? Through these parts, one can
appreciate the vital need to preserve this exceptional historic urban landscape.
Chapter 3 describes the framework which in theory ensures that built heritage is
taken into account in the Urban Planning system through the presentation of the
system of protection in place and the definition of the responsible agents in charge.
This protection structure based on a 3 layered system seems very exhaustive
(Listed buildings- to protect the building, Conservation Areas- to protect the area,
Key views –to control the impact of new developments on its skyline) and
innovative as when most World Heritage Sites rely upon a two dimensional buffer
zone, Edinburgh uses the tool of the Key views to control its 3D appearance.
However, in the 4th chapter, the analysis of eight recent developments
demonstrates that this protection framework is not powerful enough to prevent
bland and non-contextual developments from happening. A selection of eight
architectural projects, very different from one another in terms of size and purpose,
show the practice of integrating built environment within new developments.
Finally chapter 5 tries to understand the
difficulties and issues rendering this
integration process even more difficult –
shortage of housing, toxic environment for
architects, too much reactive planning.
This thesis is preaching
to the converted, it is not
breaking news to say
that Edinburgh can and
should do better. The
issues are known by the
city
and
the
built
environment
professionals, there is
now a need for action to
raise the standards of
quality
for
new
developments. No more
projects
should
be
granted planning consent
only because they are
“not hideous enough” to
be refused as in the case
of the Caltongate.
Edinburgh has what it
takes to achieve this:
talented local architects,
skilled heritage bodies,
efficient
heritage
pressure groups and
citizens concerned about
their quality of life.
Sometimes it is successful
as in the case of small to
medium schemes such as
Old Fishmarket Close,
Sugarhouse
Close,
Scottish
Storytelling
Centre, Chapel of St Albert
the Great where the
projects
respect
the
topography,
scale,
character of the area but
less so at a larger scale as
in SoCo, Quartermile and
Caltongate developments.
This difficulty to upgrade to a bigger scale can
be explained by the fact that in smaller
schemes, talented local architects take
advantage of the opportunity they are given
while working at a larger scale requires a
proactive planning process from the city.
THESIS GALLERY
bland and non-contextual developments from happening. A selection of eight
architectural projects, very different from one another in terms of size and purpose,
show the practice of integrating built environment within new developments.
Top and
middle
Architectural
projects in
Edinburgh
© Chloé
Porter
Bottom
Newspaper
headline
© Edinburgh
News
There is no doubt that Edinburgh will continue to be admired for many centuries to
come. This little step would contribute to make the city even more glorious.
43
THESIS GALLERY
Top
The four pillars
of sustainable
development,
as set out in
the Hangzhou
Declaration
© CHCE
Project
Bottom
Grote Markt of
Mechelen
© Photocompetition,
2012
44
Socio-economic impact of
immovable heritage in Mechelen
Project Cultural Heritage Counts for Europe
Master thesis by Emma Schiltz & Clara Thys (Art Historian –
Archaeologist, Belgium)
Promoters: Prof. Dr. Koen Van Balen, Prof. Dr. Christian Ost
Assessors: Dr. Sigrid Van der Auwera, Aziliz Vandesande
Introduction and aim of the research
Heritage is our reference point to the past, but also an integral part of our present
and future. Lately, there has been a higher political focus on cultural heritage, on the
one hand because of the increased public interest in heritage and on the other hand
because cultural heritage is of significant value for Europe’s economy, society and
environment. Therefore, an EU strategy for cultural and natural heritage should be
developed, integrated at the heart of the public policy agenda, as set out in the EU
strategy for 2020.
These theses were carried out in the
context of the ‘Cultural Heritage Counts for
Europe: towards a European index for
Cultural Heritage’ project (CHCE-project), a
two-year plan financed by the EU Culture
Program, with the aim to contribute to a EU
strategy for cultural and natural heritage.
The project will gather the available data on
the impact of cultural heritage on society
and the economy on a pan-European
scale.
The overall objective of the research project is to raise the awareness about the
multiple benefits of cultural heritage and to offer policy recommendations. Another
objective of the project is to present solid arguments to persuade decision makers of
the plentiful benefits brought along with the investment in cultural heritage.
The objective of these theses is to present the results from one of the several case
studies included in the project, with the aim to establish a conceptual framework to
assess the socio-economic impacts on the scale of a city. The case study brought
forward is a socio-economic impact analysis of the immovable heritage in Mechelen,
a middle-sized city in Belgium. The study consists of two parts: one assesses the
socio-economic impacts of the immovable heritage in the economic and cultural
dimension, the other the impacts in the social and ecological dimension.
Methodology
The research question can be decomposed into three parts of analysis: the
theoretical framework, the development of a research strategy and the
implementation of the case study in the city of Mechelen.
The method chosen for this assessment is an impact analysis based on indicators.
The impacts are categorized as manifesting themselves in four dimensions, based
on the Hanghzou Declaration of 2013: an economic, cultural, social and ecological
The responses to the survey provided us with a unique insight on the awareness of
the inhabitants of Mechelen of the built heritage of their city. One question meant to
estimate what benefits immovable heritage can provide according to the
respondents; as illustrated by the following chart, many of the suggested benefits
were acknowledged by the respondents. Especially the growth of tourism, the
provision of a high quality aesthetic environment, passing on something to future
generations, conserving what our ancestors constructed, conserving cultural
traditions and identity, education and understanding the present by knowing the past
are the benefits the respondents acknowledge the most.
The idea that built heritage can provide health benefits and improve the general
quality of life receives less recognition from the public. Another interesting question
was concerned with the willingness-to-pay by the inhabitants for a heritage building.
This indicator assessed how much people would be willing to pay for an entry ticket
to the most prominent monument of Mechelen: the Saint Rumbold’s Tower. The
following graph illustrates that 41,2% of the respondents would be willing to pay 2,5
to 5 euros, 23% would pay 5 to 10 euros and 17,3% would pay 1 to 2,5 euros.
11,1% would not be prepared to spend any money on a ticket and 0,7% would be
willing to pay more than 10 euros. the majority of the respondents (69,1%) would
prefer their money to be spent on the restoration and maintenance of the building.
This means that 69,6% of the respondents find the current entry price of 7 euros to
be quite steep. Many people feel that inhabitants should not have to pay for their
entry ticket when visiting their own cultural heritage sites.
The survey
THESIS GALLERY
dimension. The four dimensions are subdivided into subdomains, which are
represented by the possible impacts of immovable heritage, defined by way of
international literature research. Divided over the subdomains, 37 indicators are
discussed, based on available data statistics, evidence from stakeholder
consultations and a questionnaire meant for the inhabitants of the city. This
questionnaire was filled in by 456 respondents and focused on obtaining info on the
citizens’ awareness and perspective on the immovable heritage of the city.
Middle
Results of the
survey
© Clara Thys
45
THESIS GALLERY
31,1% would like their money to
be invested in involving youth,
29,1% would like more social
projects, 26,3% would like
guided tours and 17,3% would
like audio guides. Only 13,1%
would like the money to be
spent on a souvenir shop or a
café or restaurant. Others
answered that the money
should be spent on biodiversity
for animals (such as owls), an
elevator, or the promotion of the tower by means of advertisements. The amount of
money respondents claim they would be willing to pay should be looked at in a
critical way.
People’s answers in these kinds of
questions do not always reflect
what they would actually pay in
real life. To make a true
willingness to pay study, more
research and a more elaborate
survey is needed. This is only one
example of the 20 questions which
were included in the questionnaire.
They all provided a relevant insight
on
the
perception
of
the
inhabitants of their heritage and of
the impact of the patrimony in the
social, economic, environmental
and cultural dimension.
Results and further research paths
Top
Results of the
survey
© Clara Thys
Bottom
Surveying
people on the
streets of
Mechelen
© Clara Thys
46
This study has illustrated that Mechelen is a city
which is characterized by a strong intertwining
of the urban fabric, the patrimony and the
people. The historic urban environment’s value
can be acknowledged in a variety of ways, from
a contributor to quality of life, to a sense of
cultural identity and to economic growth. The
heritage assets are an integral part of the
current strategies by the city to continue the
revival of Mechelen and exert a significant
influence on the atmosphere and the identity of
the city; the heritage assets make Mechelen the
city it is today. Furthermore, the analysis
demonstrated the central role of public funding
as a catalyst to enable further investments in
cultural heritage, and as a mechanism to bring
forth private sector resources.
It has the potential to set free the socio-economic benefits embodied in heritage
assets. The city policy related to cultural heritage has important effects on the
economic development of Mechelen.
Stronger evidence is desirable in order to better demonstrate the socio-economic
impacts of the immovable heritage on the society of Mechelen. This could be
obtained through further research, for example by continuing in an indicator-based
way on a longer timeframe and with additional research, or in a non-indicator-based
way with financial assessment methods, stated-preference and revealed preference
methods and qualitative evaluation through questionnaires.
Master thesis by Delphine Vanoverberghe (historian, Belgium)
Promoters: Minja Yang, Barbara Van der Wee
Assessor: Ona Vileikis
This thesis deals with the communication of the World Heritage (WH) status and
Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the Belfries of Belgium and France, a
cultural serial transnational property inscribed on UNESCO’s WH List with 56
component parts. 32 Belfries of Flanders and Wallonia were inscribed in 1999 as a
serial national property in Belgium. In 2005 the property was extended with 23
belfries in the north of France and modified with the belfry of Gembloux (Belgium).
To be included on the WH List properties must be of Outstanding Universal Value.
For serial properties the Operational Guidelines (OG) require that component parts
should be linked and that each part contributes to the OUV of the series. The
resulting OUV should be easily understood and communicated. Belfries or bell
towers symbolize the emergence of towns independent from the feudal system
during the Middle Ages in the Low Countries. The towers preserved the bells,
charters and treasures of the town and functioned as watch-towers and prisons.
The aldermen that governed town, gathered there. Belfries are erected in the centre
of urban space and are a unique form of urban architecture. The group of 56
belfries in Belgium and France represents the communal movement in its diversity.
All are owned by the concerned towns and legally protected.
Communicating the World Heritage status and Outstanding
Universal Value of a serial transnational property
THESIS GALLERY
Belfries of Belgium and France
Bottom
Map of the WH
belfries and
pictures of the
eight case
studies
Discussions and workshops about serial properties – organized by UNESCO and
its Advisory Bodies – underline the importance of cooperation and coordination for
consistent communication of the WH status and OUV of series. As tourism is an
important element at WH sites, communication cannot be disassociated from it.
Therefore these elements were integrated in the thesis research as to understand
communication better.
The first part of the thesis focused on the requirements of UNESCO and its
Advisory Bodies and on the implementation of these requirements by the belfries
and other serial transnational properties.
© map
Wikipedia and
pictures by
Delphine
Vanoverberghe
47
THESIS GALLERY
Advisory Bodies and on the implementation of these requirements by the belfries
and other serial transnational properties. Also the institutional and legal framework
of Belgium (the Flemish region and the Walloon region) and France was considered.
As the property has 56 component parts spread in Belgium and France, it was
impossible to research all belfries during one year. Eight belfries with diverse
characteristics were selected: Arras, Bruges, Comines, Douai, Mons, Lo-Reninge,
Oudenaarde and Thuin. Information was gathered through literature research,
interviews with UNESCO focal points and local respondents and site visits. Based
on the results of the first part, recommendations were made in the second part
towards the State Parties and site managers.
Implementation
The policies for protected monuments like belfries in the Flemish region, Walloon
region and France do not differ essentially, but different measures for WH mean
different opportunities for WH like the belfries. Initiatives for the management of WH
were set up in the Walloon region and France, but not yet in the Flemish region.
The inscription brought a group of belfries and towns together for the first time,
which did not really cooperate in the past. The first nomination phase of the Belfries
of Flanders and Wallonia in 1998 was processed top-down; from the Flemish and
Walloon heritage services to towns with belfry with little involvement from these last
actors. The second nomination phase of the French Belfries in 2004 was processed
bottom-up; the towns with belfry cooperated and were coordinated by the
Asssociation Beffrois & Patrimoine. Special structures were set up to deal with the
serial and transnational characteristics: a network of towns with belfry and a
transnational conference. Soon these structures were characterized by the absence
of Belgian actors (representatives of belfry towns and heritage services)
Left
Scheme of a
serial
transnational
property
© Resource
Manual –
Preparing
World Heritage
Nominations.
Paris,
UNESCO,
2011 (second
edition), p. 50.
Right
Communication of a
serial property
© Delphine
Vanoverberghe
48
The outcomes of these two nomination processes are visible until nowadays: both
on the level of the series and on the level of the component parts. Transnational
cooperation between the heritage services and belfry towns is limited and there is
no coordinated management system or management plan for the belfries yet, which
affects the communication of the WH status and OUV of the belfries. The French
belfries cooperate through the network of belfry towns and are coordinated by the
Association Beffrois & Patrimoine which results in a chain of constant initiatives in
the field of communication and tourism. These kind of initiatives are absent in
Belgium. Initiative is left to the local governments resulting in communication
ranging from poor to excellent quality.
Recommendations
The special structures that were set up during the second nomination phase
(network of towns and transnational conference) could guarantee a constant
cooperation. A multi-levelled management system – dealing with the differences of
the State Parties and component parts – could be set up. Communication should be
one of the common management objectives. Before the WH status and OUV can be
communicated externally, it should be understood internally by all actors. The
external communication should be embedded in a context a sustainable tourism, as
well-informed tourists can become supporters of heritage conservation. Finally all
these elements will benefit the shared responsibilities of Belgium and France
towards the fulfilment of the UNESCO requirements for the international protection
of WH, like the belfries.

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