Digitizing Modernist Heritage

Egyptian cities have witnessed a variety of impeccable architecture throughout centuries of civilization, which enriched the Egyptian society. Constantly rising to the discussion is a question of what constitutes value to architecture of different times. It is important to regard heritage conservation as a synthetic, complex topic that is open for interpretations and judgment. While some antiquities are protected by law, it is apparent how modern heritage is a matter of ambiguity when it comes to preservation and conservation efforts. Until the mid-19th century, architectural heritage was primarily concerned with the preservation of monumental architecture. Theorists like John Ruskin and Le-Duc were largely exploring the authentic expression of materials in architecture, establishing the foundation, that Cesare Brandi would later build on, that conservation authenticity is not limited to age, rather includes material, style and structure.It is appropriate to regard heritage buildings as capital assets, with a potential to raise fluxes of services over time. However, not only Cairo, but Egypt has been losing much of its valuable modern heritage; thus its identity in the process.This paper focuses on Egypt's modernist architecture, discussing the rise of modernism and its introduction to the Egyptian cultural scene while reflecting on the current cultural detachment from such heritage and the current tendency towards. It, also, explores the rise of Egyptian modernism as a national style that reflects social and economic prosperity, in contrast to its rise in the west primarily advocating minimalism, functionalism and social equality.In comparing Egyptian laws to international charters on heritage preservation; in particular modern heritage, case studies are used to explore the consequences. The research concludes by suggesting measures and acts that can, directly and indirectly, affect the decision-making process, as well as support efforts of preservation of Egypt's modern heritage.

ABSTRACT: Preservation community over the last fifty years have developed philosophical and technical competence in managing various cultural heritage. However, it is yet to come in terms with the challenges pertaining to Modernist architecture, the latest to come under the umbrella of ‘heritage'. Conserving Modernist Heritage involves many technical and philosophical challenges. Lack of recognition and protection, absence of a shared methodological approach, dearth of public appreciation, obsolescence in term of functionality, sustainability and adaptability are some of the challenges that needs to be tackled while dealing with built heritage of the Modernist era. The transplantation and development of modernist architectural principles in every country was deeply influenced by the socio-political and economic agenda of the country. Therefore, concepts of heritage conservation require to be flexible in interpretation and region specific with respect to Modernist heritage. A conceptual framework needs to be developed with full understanding of the socioeconomic, cultural and historical contexts of the region/country under study. This paper aims to develop a conceptual framework to determine appropriate conservation approach for Modernist Heritage in India. Modernist Heritage in India does not qualify the ‘age' criteria defined by heritage legislations of the country and hence is not protected by the government. With the loss of one of its most significant and iconic modernist landmark, the need for an immediate framework becomes indispensable in India to recognize and protect the remaining significant Modernist heritage resources. The paper is based on a systematic literature review of pertinent sources on concepts such as heritage value assessment, community engagement, authenticity and its association with Indian Modernist heritage. The paper deduces that in order to develop an approach to recognize and protect Modernist Heritage of India, a collective understanding is critical, which involves three key dimensions: established/ existing frameworks, experts and local community. KEYWORDS: Modernist Architecture, Cultural Heritage, India. Historic Preservation, Document Analysis

Modernist architecture, despite its internationality, has civilizational diversity and originally laid in it a holistic architectural idea, was refracted depending on the policies of the states on whose territory it was created. An important issue in considering modernist architecture is the attitude to it in contemporary society: sometimes this heritage is perceived as "difficult", "inconvenient" and "unappreciated". Modernist architecture is perceived through the prism of the political past in countries where the process of national identity formation has not been completed. First of all, these are the countries that were part of the Soviet Union, European countries of the socialist bloc, post-colonial countries of Asia, Africa and South America.In contemporary Ukraine, the difficulty of dealing with the architectural legacy of the avant-garde is due to the fact that the public consciousness does not separate the political-historical meanings and cultural-artistic component of the modernist heritage. As a consequence, despite the diversity and richness of the buildings and complexes that have survived, modernist objects are practically absent from the registers of architectural monuments. After Russia launched a full-scale war against Ukraine, the issues of preserving this "inconvenient" architectural heritage became even more acute. The necessity of conservation of war-affected modernist buildings, the number of which is growing every day, often causes misunderstanding of society and the authorities. This lack of understanding and the absence of legislative obligations for conservation makes their preservation extremely difficult, leading to the loss of the historical and cultural memory of Ukraine, which is part of the cultural memory of all mankind. Today the professional community of architects, both in Ukraine and abroad, faces an important task: it is necessary to find ways to evaluate and rethink the "inconvenient" architectural heritage in order to conserve and pass it on to the next generations. Nowadays there are a number of initiatives aimed at solving these tasks. The paper will discuss these initiatives.

The history of human civilization has formed a large number of precious architectural heritage, which reflects a country's achievements in engineering technology, social development, culture, art, etc. This architectural heritage also covers the concepts of architectural design planning. However, with the changes in the environment and the influence of human activities, cultural heritage is inevitably eroded and destroyed. The distribution of architectural cultural heritage is wide and large, and the resources for architectural protection are given priority to projects with higher value, and it is impossible to cover all. Under the background of the digital age, the digital preservation and dissemination of cultural heritage have gradually become an inevitable trend. Digital cultural heritage technologies supported by technologies such as virtual reality, augmented reality, and 3D modeling provides rich means for digital recording, preservation, display, and inheritance of cultural heritage, and expand the connotation of traditional cultural heritage protection.Virtual reality technology has been widely used in the protection and dissemination of architectural cultural heritage. As a national key cultural relics protection unit in Singapore, THK has a long history and rich ancient architectural resources. The research aims to digitally preserve THK from inevitable physical damage by creating 3D interactive models, which can restore the historical, cultural, and aesthetic value of THK's architectural heritage. With breakthroughs in perceptual interaction technology in recent years, the mode of natural interaction in VR has more possibilities. This research mainly focuses on the application of natural interaction modes based on eye and hand movement tracking on architectural cultural heritage dissemination. Meanwhile, it also explores the application in the dissemination of architectural cultural heritage and summarizes the interactive designing strategy. As the eye movement and hand movement tracking modules are applied to the virtual interactive display of THK, we have the following objectives. Firstly, we will analyze the characteristics of information dissemination which is in various forms in natural interaction. Moreover, we will validate design strategies for natural interactions with experiments, optimizing the user experience of the audience who are experiencing the interaction. Particularly, the 3D interactive mode can interactively transport users back in time. Although both the aesthetic elements and the architectural space have evolved through time, users can still interact with them. To experience the history and culture, target users can watch and interact with THK digital architecture models on their mobile phones from anywhere. This study can improve the impact of information spreading and make helpful explorations of the digital dissemination method of cultural heritage, as well as have positive effects on the distribution of spatial structural information and historical and cultural information about architectural heritage.

Modern heritage is not protected in Chile. Most of Chilean modern architectural heritage stands without an official decree protecting it from being modified or even demolished. This is a consequence of having state-controlled organisms in charge of the protection and defense of architectural heritage that use almost exclusively the building’s age as main criteria for its appraisement. From this point of view it seems difficult that constructions that are only between 40 and 90 years old may catch the attention of heritage preservation government officials. However negative the situation which, in the majority of cases has led to the systematic violation of constructions that constitute valuable records of the status of disciplinary and cultural discussion of Modern Architecture, the following case, paradoxically, couldn’t have crystallized the way it did, if the building had been officially protected, and neither could the docomomo–Chile group could have played a protagonic role in its management

Heritage in its very diverse forms has become a significant force in contemporary society. This is manifested by the importance of heritage in shaping identities, the use of heritage by political forces, and the increasing interconnectedness of heritage, the entertainment business and tourism. Heritage is a part of tangible reality while at the same time being an intangible phenomenon. Heritage connects people to each other and to the environment, both its material and natural aspects, therefore forming part of our world. By relying on heritage, recreating it and attributing important meanings to it, people shape the way societies function. The aim of this article is to create a conceptual framework for treating the preservation of intangible cultural heritage. In order to do that, I will use the concept of heritage on the one hand and the information ecological approach on the other hand. The article proposes to create a clearer conceptual framework for treating intangible cultural heritage, with the main emphasis on the preservation aspect. Heritage can be considered from very different aspects, from its philosophical meaning to highly technical conservation proceedings. In this article, I proceed from the idea that heritage is a phenomenon currently being created by people, i.e. from the principle of socio-cultural construction. Of course, this is just one possible way to interpret and utilise the past. It is clear that the treatment of heritage in this way poses a serious challenge to preservation – how should the heritage process be preserved? In my discussion of the heritage process, I use the information ecology framework, mainly drawing on ideas of Bonnie Nardi and Vicky O’Day. Information ecology is a system of people, activities, and technologies in a specific local environment. The information ecologic system is an intertwined network of a specific group of people and their tools and activities. The information ecological approach is characterised by systematicity, diversity, co-evolution and locality. All these aspects are also very important when it comes to intangible heritage. It is evident from the information ecological perspective that preservation of heritage is not a neutral technical activity but rather a social process, in the course of which values and meanings are created, changed and preserved. In preserving heritage, it is important to consider both the heritage itself and the level of society in the framework of which the management takes place. With intangible heritage, it is important to differentiate between individuals and families, groups and communities who practice it. At the national and international levels, specific heritage practices can be recognised and supported, but determining these practices and their actual preservation takes place at the community and individual levels. In order to preserve intangible heritage, we need to support the people, groups and communities who use and develop the given tradition. This means supporting a social and cultural process, in the event that such support is needed in the first place. Communities use intangible heritage to fix their current problems. These aims might not overlap with the national and international goals of preservation. To sum up information ecological principles from the aspect of preserving intangible heritage, what has to be emphasised is the importance of systemic treatment. People practicing heritage skills, their clients, researchers, preservers of heritage and community activists, to name just a few stakeholders, should form an integral system. Different parties are bound to see the system from different perspectives; on the one hand, this cannot be avoided, on the other hand, it is a barrier that needs to be overcome. What is extremely important is the reflection of the so-called grass-roots level perspective, expressed in the subjective view of the person with heritage skills, when determining and preserving heritage. When treating the functions of heritage skills, in addition to their economic significance, which often prevails, what needs to be observed is also the role of these skills in shaping community identities and in creating and preserving social cohesion, but also as parts of education and the wider social communication system. Via heritage skills, meanings are created and values are presented to the community and to society as a whole. I think the fact that heritage participates in the creation of value environments is what guarantees heritage a place in contemporary information society.

Conservation and restoration of architectural, historical and cultural heritage is of great importance for the development of cities, regions and the country as a whole. An illustrative example of this is the approach and experience of European countries. These countries have a rich and world-famous architectural, cultural and historical heritage, a high level of education, high living standards, environmental friendliness and high technology, and has become the main competitive advantage in the world. The modern idea of reconstruction, restoration and protection of monuments is not limited to attention to outstanding architectural monuments, as well as the historical and cultural heritage of the urban environment. An architectural monument is a work of historical, scientific, artistic and cultural value that has retained sufficient completeness of architectural forms for protection or restoration. The main purpose of the restoration of the monument is to preserve its historical authenticity. Through the reconstruction and restoration of monuments, the country attracts investors and develops tourism. Thus, the preservation and restoration of monuments can play a significant role in shaping modern society, as described by famous thinkers and writers. Cultural and architectural heritage sites are important assets that can be profita-ble and significantly affect the economic development of cities. Monuments of archi-tecture, culture and history are important to preserve not only because of their uniqueness, but also because they have historical and economic value for the state. The article analyzes the need to preserve the architectural heritage, considers examples of already restored buildings in Ukraine, and presents an architectural object that should be restored.

The article addresses the issue of preserving Kharkiv’s architectural heritage from the first third of the 20th century. The main focus is on the preservation of authenticity of the early modernist heritage in the context of a crisis situation associated with the overall state of heritage preservation in Ukraine and during active military operations. The research was conducted in the context of the planning development and spatial structure of the Kharkiv historical center and suburbs, where new workers’ settlements were formed, as well as considering the architectural layers within the structure of historical districts of Kharkiv. The main objective of the study is to determine the value and authenticity of the architectural heritage of early modernism. The study employed the methods of historical, retrospective, and comprehensive analysis. The general plan of the “Socialist Reconstruction of Kharkiv” from 1931-1933 and the historical-architectural reference plan of Kharkiv from 2019 were analysed as additional sources. The research results provide comprehensive information about the architectural and urban heritage of this period and emphasize the attention to the issue of preservation of authenticity. The conclusions of this work will serve as a basis for further development of specific measures for the conservation, restoration, and preservation of historical monuments in Kharkiv from the first third of the 20th century. The research will also contribute to raising public awareness about the value of early modernist architectural heritage and encourage the implementation of restoration programs to preserve these important landmarks.

Exploring occupant behaviour potentialities for historic buildings¿ energy retrofit

The architecture built by the Modern Movement -innovative both in shape and materials -aged without the application of the preservation concepts so in vogue today and, thus, a large number of examples are observed in degradation, requiring immediate intervention. Among these is the Copan building, which is socially and officially recognized as an architectural heritage, designed by Oscar Niemeyer in the beginning of the 1950s and made into a listed building by CONPRESP -Municipal Council for the Preservation of Historical, Cultural and Environmental Heritage of the City of So Paulo in 2012. During the years its iconic facades suffered from the actions of bad weather and the lack of maintenance, requiring their restoration, because they showed advanced state of degradation. In this context, emphasis is laid on the importance of planning that contemplates preventive maintenance action, from the perspective of the conservation of the patrimony, in order to mitigate the natural deterioration of its elements and components, mitigating the need for replacements. Therefore, this work proposes two instruments of protection for the facades of Copan: Conservation Plan and the Use, Operation and Maintenance Manual. The first presents the cultural values attributed to the patrimony, the hierarchization of the representative elements and the policies, highlighting what should be conserved. While the manual describes the maintenance actions, periodicity and records of actions performed, showing how to preserve. The methodology applied consists of the international and national bibliography related to the subject and of the survey and analysis of technical information of the Copan Building, which results in the documentation of the design transformations, and during construction, the architectural features through the execution of as built, of the original components and the specifications for restoration. It is concluded that the major problem of the conservation of modern heritage is the fact that it is considered different from secular buildings, because the short temporal distance leads to a propensity for corrective interventions that are not according to the principles of restoration and values within the scope of historical heritage. It is expected that the instruments proposed become documental requirements in the scope of historical and architectural heritage, also aimed at raising awareness regarding the importance of preventive maintenance and the prevalence of preservation over restoration in modern architecture.

Interior design in built cultural heritage has undergone a significant evolution in the late twentieth century, going from being contemplative goods of history to elements that require aesthetic, functional and technological adaptation for their conservation and commercial and institutional use. For its part, contemporary architecture is influenced by the development and integration of digital technologies in its processes, which drives a transformation in this field. While in the field of architectural heritage, the importance of disseminating and promoting these assets is highlighted. The dissemination of the architectural and touristic heritage of the 20th century has become a fundamental aspect of the preservation and promotion of cultural heritage. Today, tourism plays a crucial role in the dissemination of this heritage, being the undisputed protagonist in the dissemination of cultural activities and the reception of the public. It has become an essential tool to make known the architectural, historical and cultural richness of different places, attracting local and foreign visitors. Puerto Rico, an island in the Caribbean with a rich cultural heritage history that has witnessed the emergence of the sun and beach tourism phenomenon, and as a result of this, a participant in the development of the hotel industry of the time, allows us to study its hotel architectural heritage developed in the twentieth century and that certainly contributes to the historical reconstruction of them today. It will be the basis for the development of a proposal for the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) for the dissemination of the architectural heritage of tourism in the twentieth century to society. This research proposes the use of Revit 2024 for the planimetry survey and Twinmotion 2023 software for 3D modelling and historical representation of the Normandie Hotel in Old San Juan. With the purpose of developing a digital historical archive for a possible informative proposal in the Google Arts & Cultue platform, promoting the historical diffusion of the architectural heritage in the visitors of the building and society in general.

PurposeThis paper presents and illustrates the model of a maintenance-focussed conservation plan developed in the thesis. It proposes a framework which puts more emphasis on maintenance in conservation than reconstruction, restorations, repairs or even a “do-nothing” approach.Design/methodology/approachThe research was conducted in an Australian context, where many major buildings are categorised as being “modern heritage”. However, the main problem with modern heritage is that although it has become more celebrated within the architectural historical sector, maintenance is still only in the background of most facility management (FM) operations, and its critical importance has yet to become accepted as a potential solution to greatly facilitate the proper preservation of the nation's architectural legacy. Challenges and barriers to this approach were evaluated, whilst opportunities were identified to improve a failing current situation that has resulted in the loss of many existing heritage structures. The paper makes a strong case in order to highlight the necessity of embedding a maintenance approach in preserving the historical fabric of buildings in the heritage conservation sector.FindingsThis research examines the key strategies for a maintenance-focussed conservation system.Originality/valueThe paper tackles experiences and issues in Australia about a lack of focus on maintenance as a conservation intervention.

The article is devoted to the problematization and clarification of the term "digital archive", the analysis of priority areas in the research of digital archives and the issues of systematization of disparate sources in the digital space. As a result of the digital revolution and the general growth of interest in the preservation of historical heritage, new ways of processing and storing information have become widespread. Not only archives and libraries, but also scientific and educational organizations, specialists from various fields, as well as ordinary people have joined the creation and popularization of digital archives. In this context, archivists and historians were not so much interested in the definition of "digital archive", which is important for theoretical understanding, as in the specifics of working with electronic documents, ensuring their safety and use, the problems of finding approaches to the study of initially digital sources, the preservation and popularization of archival heritage in a digital environment. At the same time, many researchers (besides archivists and historians, anthropologists, folklorists, geographers, cultural scientists, historians of science, etc.) have started developing databases on topics that are close to them, which even colleagues from the same or related disciplines do not always know about. The current definitions of the term "digital archive" seem too general and vague. As a result, digital archives generally include all stored digital objects of some significance, any electronic documents, and even in the broadest sense, a social network or the entire Internet. On the other hand, the general, at first glance, definition of a digital archive as digitized collections of documents ignores initially digital documents. Taking into account the accumulated research experience, based on the analysis of the existing historiography on the problem and the identified gaps in understanding digital archives, the authors propose in the article to clarify the definition of the concept of "digital archive", drawing attention to several important circumstances: first, the need to cover both digitized and initially digital documents with this concept.; Secondly, the fact that digital documents undergo a selection procedure before becoming part of a digital archive (there will be no raw funds or random documents); thirdly, the feature of a digital archive is the presentation of documents in a systematic form. Of course, in creating a digital archive, an important role is played by the point of view when selecting documents and how they are systematized, and this is always subjective, which can both impose restrictions on their use and open up additional opportunities. The authors formulate the definition of a "digital archive" as a set of digitized or digitally created documents selected for storage and presented in a systematic way. One of the possible solutions to the problem of the fragmentation of digital sources (both digitized and initially digital) is the creation and publicly available publication of a consolidated catalog of digital archives, which is being developed by a team of authors at the Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

This paper examines Zhujiayu Village in China, focusing on its distinctive natural environment, traditional architecture, and intangible cultural heritage. By integrating digital preservation with sustainable development, the study aims to safeguard and perpetuate the unique cultural landscape of Zhujiayu Village. At the core of this study is the application of digital technology in the conservation of cultural landscapes by employing technologies such as 3D scanning, geographic information systems (GIS), and virtual reality (VR) to create a comprehensive digital archive of the village's traditional architecture, cultural landscapes, and intangible heritage. Through the creation of digital archives, a detailed record will be provided for the restoration projects of future buildings while raising public awareness of the protection of buildings and intangible cultural heritage. Through the construction of digital scenes, virtual tourism is promoted so that more people can understand the culture of Zhujiayu Village and reduce the wear and tear of intangible cultural heritage. The study also explores the challenges and opportunities of digital protection technologies, highlighting the need for collaborative efforts between government agencies, local communities, and tourism management organisations. In conclusion, the Zhujiayu Village Cultural Landscape digital conservation study model not only provides a pioneering approach to heritage conservation but also provides valuable insights and a framework that can be adapted and applied to other similar rural cultural heritage conservation in China, marking an important step towards the sustainable development of heritage conservation.

This paper examines Kuwait's unfinished modern project, its architectural heritage, the actors that mobilised and decided its trajectory, and some of the factors that interrupted its path to completion. This broad critique, with a special focus on architecture and the city, draws from debates on top-down planning to map the evolution and initial celebration of al-`Imārah al-Hadītha, or modern architecture, followed by its slow erasure through acts of demolition. Focusing on the period from 1950 to 1980, this study provides a critical reading of Kuwaiti modern heritage and suggests a sustainable approach towards its conservation. The paper argues that the destruction of Kuwait's modern heritage erodes progressive socio-cultural values tied to a mid-twentieth century architectural debate on authenticity, identity and modern self-expression. It also contributes to architectural histories of modernity and bridges the gap between those in the established canon and ones outside its margins.