Heritage: contemporary questions

Duration

40h Th

Number of credits

Lecturer

Maurizio Cohen, Claudine Houbart

Coordinator

Claudine Houbart

Language(s) of instruction

French language

Organisation and examination

Teaching in the first semester, review in January

Schedule

Schedule online

Units courses prerequisite and corequisite

Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program

Learning unit contents

This seminar addresses current issues raised by the protection, conservation, restoration and adaptive reuse of architectural heritage in the broadest sense, going beyond administrative categories that do not reflect the typological and chronological diversity of the properties that the community intends to pass on to future generations today. Particular, but not exclusive, emphasis is placed on the heritage of the 20th century.
The seminar is broken down into themes, illustrated by examples, giving rise to discussions and debates involving the active participation of students.
Part 1 - Principles, issues and methods of heritage intervention
1.1. The question of authenticity
Authenticity is an omnipresent concept in everyday life (from salamis to personal development). What does it mean in the field of heritage? Does its use shed any light on the choices of intervention? 
1.2. The future of churches
In an increasingly de-Christianised society, the future of churches raises many questions, especially for the heritage world. Can they be seen as mere containers to be reinvested? What are the obstacles and opportunities involved in their reuse? 
1.3. Industrial heritage
The future of disused industrial sites is currently being discussed in the Liège region. What is the place of heritage considerations within these large-scale projects? 
1.4. From experts to multiple stakeholders
Decisions on heritage protection and valorisation, which used to be made by experts alone, are now subject to consultation and participation by multiple stakeholders. Does this change call into question the commonly accepted principles of intervention?
1.5. Inclusivity
Inclusivity is becoming an inescapable principle in today's society. What does it mean for heritage? Should it be seen as a constraint or as an opportunity to expand our horizons? 
Part 2 - Modern heritage
Twentieth-century architecture is characterised by its experimental dimension and this aspect becomes crucial when assessing the value of buildings and the options for conservation and technical intervention. Identifying the value of a built heritage in order to develop a safeguarding project requires a thorough knowledge of its materiality, both in terms of its technical qualities and of what it contains in terms of knowledge, meaning and historical accumulation. Building systems in the 20th century make it possible to address new issues related to the materiality and tectonics of modern and contemporary heritage: the dissociation between the load-bearing structure and the envelope, the transparent façade, the changing nature of the site, the industrialisation of processes, the evolution of comfort. These issues will be addressed by illustrating numerous case studies in Belgium and abroad.
2.1. 20th century. Experimental architecture - Experimental restoration. Issues and questions. Between functionalism and conservation. DOCOMOMO (Documentation and Conservation of the Modern Movement). Identification and definition of values. Approaches and practices. The political question of heritage.
2.2. The "modern" house - habitat laboratory, restoration laboratory. An evolving typology, a catalogue of situations.
2.3. Concrete material of the 20th century. Pathologies and safeguard solutions.
2.4: Iconic houses. What could not disappear. Constructive problems and difficult histories, preservation, restoration and museumisation.
2.5: What had to disappear. How to preserve architecture despite its obsolescence. Industrial and functionalist architecture, temporary pavilions and temporary constructions.
The issues of sustainability, art and society are transversal to the different themes. The question of digital technology is incidentally approached as a tool in the service of the heritage project.

Learning outcomes of the learning unit

• knowledge of current debates on heritage valorisation;
• development of a critical spirit towards interventions on the existing;
• integration of knowledge into restoration or adaptive reuse projects. 

Prerequisite knowledge and skills

The theory and history of architecture courses of the baccalaureate cycle. 

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

Seminars involving ex-cathedra courses and active student participation. 

Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)

Blended learning


Additional information:

Most of the sessions are organised face-to-face as long as health conditions allow it. Occasionally, sessions can be organised remotely if the teachers are away.  

Recommended or required readings

Erica Avrami, Randall Mason, Marta de la Torre, éd., Values and Heritage Conservation. Los Angeles: The Getty Conservaion Institute, 2000.
Erica Avrami, Susan MacDonald, Randall Mason & David Myers. Values in heritage management. Emerging approaches and research directions. Los Angeles: The Getty Conservation Institute, 2019.
Ségolène Bergeon-Langle & Georges Brunel. La restauration des oeuvres d'art. Vade-mecum en quelques mots. Paris: Hermann, 2014.
Françoise Choay. Le patrimoine en questions. Anthologie pour un combat. Paris: Seuil, 2009.
Wim Denslagen. Architectural restoration in Western Europe: controversy and continuity. Amsterdam: Architectura & Natura Press, 1984.
Miles Glendinning. The conservation movement. A history of architectural preservation. Antiquity to modernity. London and New-York: Routledge, 2013.
Christoph Grafe & Tim Rienlets. Umbaukultur. The architecture of altering. Dortmund: Verlag Kettler, 2020.
Jukka Jokilehto. A history of architectural conservation. Second edition. London and New York: Routledge, 2018.
Benjamin Mouton. Sens et renaissance du patrimoine architectural. Paris: Editions des Cendres, 2018.
Salvador Munos-Vinas. Contemporary theory of conservation. London and New-York: Routledge, 2005.
Bie Plevoets & Koenraad Van Cleempoel. Adaptive reuse of the built heritage. Concepts and cases of an emerginig discipline. London and New-York: Routledge, 2019.
Francis Rambert, Marie Colombet & Christine Carboni (dir.). Un bâtiment, combien de vies? La transformation comme acte de création. Paris: CIté de l'architecture et du patrimoine, 2015.
Alois Riegl. Le culte moderne des monuments. Son essence et sa genèse. Paris: Seuil, 1984 (1903). 
Nicholas Stanley-Price, M. Kirby Talley Jr., Alessandra Melucco Vaccaro (dir.), Historical and philosophical issues in the conservation of cultural heritage. Los Angeles: The Getty conservation institute, 1996. 
Liliane Wong. Adaptive reuse. Extending the lives of buildings. Bâle: Birkhauser, 2017.
The images and reference texts of the ex-cathedra courses will be transmitted on the course website

Assessment methods and criteria

Written work.

Work placement(s)

Organizational remarks

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Contacts

c.houbart@uliege.be
mcohen@uliege.be

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