Abstract
Understanding conceptions of the protection of cultural heritage continues to develop until now. Presently, urban historic places are not only comprehended as tangible but also include intangible dimensions. However, the conservation of cultural heritage dominantly still emphasises the visual sense more than any other senses. Thus, this paper addressed several questions on the role of human senses, the historic sonic environments, and the soundmarks of the past in examining a historical area. This paper aims to reveal the relation between sound sources and its predicted sonic environment in historic places over the time. The case study was Fatahillah Square, Jakarta, which has been documented from the 19th century until now. Some methods were carried out such as soundwalk, recalled in memory, and visual analysis. The results show that comprehensive study of multisensorial stimulus can increase a holistic understanding of historic places. Therefore, the protection of historic sites cannot only focus on the object per se, but also it must be considered to be a holistic entity. This research highlights new perspectives in analysing historical areas using combination of pictorial sources and sonic information.
Highlights
The understanding of heritage has shifted compared to the time when the initial idea of conservation of cultural heritage was sparked through the 1931 Athens charter
Development of conservation theory and practice was dominated by Western perspectives, where the protection of cultural heritage was focused on its physical fabrics and by an emphasis on visual senses
To what extent does the role of other senses besides the visual sense play in increasing the appreciation of historic places? What was the sonic environment of the historic area like in the past? What kind of soundmarks, distinctive sounds or sounds that are closely related to the historical development of the area need to be preserved or reproduced in order to increase the appreciation of the historic area? This article aims to examine the sound sources over the period to predicted sonic environment in enriching the appreciation of the historic district
Summary
The understanding of heritage has shifted compared to the time when the initial idea of conservation of cultural heritage was sparked through the 1931 Athens charter. The shift of understanding can be observed from the purpose and approach of conservation, the values contained therein, objects included in the heritage category, ways to do it, and the implementation process of conservation [1,2,3] These changes may have eventually impacted on how to manage and use the cultural heritage of today and future’s practical conditions. The authenticity of cultural heritage has a strong relationship with the originality of the physical condition, and the conservation practice relates on how to preserve, maintain, and restore—sometimes rebuild—those objects. The authenticity is no longer based on the physical value of the heritage fabric only but it involves human experiences especially when interacts with cultural heritage objects which is called perceived authenticity [5,6]. This experience of humans in urban areas—including historic places—can be assessed from all of the senses which generate the perception of the urban space [7,8]
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