Heritage Organizations Research Articles

Amersfoort’s city walls

The development of Amersfoort’s two city walls can be divided into five periods. The first city wall was built in the first period 1259-1379. Although Amersfoort had been granted a charter in 1259, construction of the wall did not commence until after a serious assault by troops from the duchy of Gelre (Geulders) in 1274. The defensive wall was made stronger on that side, probably in expectation of more attacks from that direction.
 Between 1380 and 1500 Gelre troops attacked Amersfoort on multiple occasions and offensive firepower increased. Interestingly, Amersfoort opted to build a second city wall rather than reinforcing the existing one, considerably increasing the size of the city in the process. However, the project proved difficult to finance, defend and maintain, most likely due to the stagnating economy. Instead of being demolished after the second wall was in place, the first wall was reinforced with abutting houses, thereby becoming a kind of rampart within a rampart.
 The new fortifications turned out to be ineffective and in 1501 the city council decided to demolish the first city wall. This freed up space for a second generation of wall houses, mostly built from reused stone and with their front elevation on the trajectory of the first wall, with the exception of the houses along Krankeledenstraat and the southern section of Breestraat. In this same period, up until 1644, there was an attempt to strengthen Amersfoort’s defences. Several fortification plans were drawn up, none of which was implemented in its entirety, most probably due to a lack of financial resources. The ramparts that were realized are concentrated in the south-west since in this period the possibility of a new Spanish incursion was greater than any threat from Gelre.
 In the third period, 1645-1828, the council’s approval of additional openings in the city wall marked the beginning of a gradual deterioration of the defensive works. They had always been a big budget item, yet they had not been particularly effective. Accordingly, the council decided to convert the fortifications into lucrative functions. The Davidsbolwerk, for example, was turned into a cemetery. The most extensive demolition probably started in 1778 when it was also decided to dismantle various outer and inner gates in the second city wall.
 By 1829 the fortifications had entirely lost their defensive function and the city council proposed converting the outer line into a green pathway encircling the city, which would have resulted in the disappearance of all remaining traces of the wall. However, this was averted in 1844 by a national ban on the demolition of fortifications and they were subsequently integrated with the walking route. City planners continued to submit applications for demolition but encountered fierce resistance from heritage organizations. In addition, many remnants avoided demolition because most urban expansion occurred outside the historical centre. This resulted in a concomitant shift in the economic focus so that the fortifications no longer needed to be sacrificed to industrial development. Towards the end of the nineteenth century, with appreciation for the heritage value of fortifications growing, money became available for their restoration and Amersfoort’s historical centre was declared a conservation area.

When Loss is More: From Managed Decline to Adaptive Release

ABSTRACT Within the heritage sector there is widespread recognition that the accelerating effects of climate and other changes will necessitate reconsideration of the care of at-risk places and properties. Heritage organisations and agencies are developing new ways to identify and measure future threats, and to prioritise resources accordingly. For some designated assets, it is becoming clear, it may be necessary to manage processes of decline and transformation. Drawing on insights gathered from conversations with natural and historic environment practitioners and regulators, this paper highlights current practice and policy around managed decline, with a focus on the English context. In seeking to address some of the limitations of current approaches, this paper introduces a new conceptual framework: adaptive release. Adaptive release, as presented here, reflects a decision to accommodate the dynamic transformation of a heritage asset and its associated values and significance, with reference to wider landscape settings. The focus is on iterative management over extended timeframes, involving some relinquishment of control and a commitment to ongoing monitoring and interpretation. The concept of adaptive release is presented provisionally, rather than prescriptively, to expand the range of options available to natural and historic environment professionals in responding to inevitable change.

The Spatial Structure of Yazd Courtyard Houses: A Space Syntax Analysis of the Topological Characteristics of the Courtyard

An important “architectural type” in Iranian history is the Yazd courtyard house. This historic building type features a walled boundary that contains a complex pattern of open (to the sky), semi-enclosed and enclosed spaces. The planning of the courtyard in these houses has typically been interpreted as either a response to changing socio-cultural values or to local climatic conditions. Such theories about the planning of these houses are based on a series of assumptions about (i) the numbers of courtyards and rooms they contain, (ii) their unchanging nature over time and (iii) a topological pattern existing in the relationship between the courtyard and the rest of the plan. Yet, these assumptions, all of which have an impact on the socio-cultural or climatic interpretation of this famous architectural type, have never been tested. In response, this paper uses a computational and mathematical method drawn from Space Syntax to measure the spatial topology of 37 plans of Yazd’s most significant courtyard houses. These houses, which are classified by the Yazd Cultural Heritage Organization, were constructed between the 11th and 20th CE centuries and are all exemplars of this type. This paper develops three hypotheses around the assumptions found in past research about the characteristic planning of the Yazd courtyard house. Then, using quantitative measures derived from plan graph analysis, the paper develops a series of longitudinal trends to test the hypotheses and explore changes that have occurred in this architectural type over time.

Our garden heritage is in our hands: protecting yesterday, today and tomorrow

Heritage organisations take responsibility for the conservation and protection of places and objects deemed in some way significant. That protection usually involves, by necessity, the management of change. In garden heritage, that pace of change can be particularly rapid and unpredictable, with the greater movement of pests and diseases across the world and the impacts of global climate change both acting as particular accelerants in our time. 
 Our sector needs to achieve increased resilience and responsiveness to secure our heritage gardens and their plants for future generations, keeping them relevant, and without meaningful loss or diminution. We need to show that we understand our plants and places, that we have teased the golden thread of heritage significance from the past so that it is clearly visible and can be shared, valued and cast forward into the future for succeeding generations. We need practitioners with the right skills to care for our heritage, building from garden apprenticeships and horticultural students through to professional gardeners, craftspeople, managers and thought leaders. Above all we need to work together to demonstrate the power and potential of our places and plants for the benefit of society.

The Deaf Heritage Collective: Collaboration with Critical Intent

Abstract The paper reflects upon the Deaf Heritage Collective, a collaborative project led by Edinburgh Napier University’s Design for Heritage team and Heriot Watt’s Centre for Translation And Interpreting Studies. The project aimed to advance discussion around the British Sign Language Act (Scottish Government 2015) and bring into being a network of Deaf communities and cultural heritage organisations committed to promoting BSL in public life. The aim of this paper is to contextualise the project and its creative approach within the distinctly Scottish context, and the ideals of critical heritage, critical design and the museum activist movement. This paper presents the context and creative processes by which we engaged participants in debate and the struggles we encountered. We describe these processes and the primacy of collaborative making as a mode of inquiry. We argue that by curating a workshop space where different types of knowledge were valorised and where participants were encouraged to “think with” materials (Rockwell and Mactavish 2004) we were able to challenge the balance of power between heritage professionals and members of the Deaf community. By harnessing the explanatory power of collaborative making we debated the assemblages of epistemic inequality, and the imagined futures of Deaf heritage in Scotland.

Selecting a collections management system: Considerations for information professionals

Cultural heritage organisations are facing a growing demand for information services at the same time as diminished funding. Success requires innovative practices that maximise resources while focusing on user needs. A good collections management system supports these goals, allowing information professionals such as librarians, archivists and curators to preserve and reveal records of enduring value. This paper discusses the process for implementing a collections management system to allow institutions to uncover collections and fulfil their commitments to research, education and outreach.

The Use of Digital Solutions in Museums Today and in the Future

In this paper we look at digital solutions in museums today and with a view to the future. We believe that they have a potential to innovate museum practices and reach audiences with relevant content. We have found the Norwegian Government’s Museum Framework (Kulturdepartementet 2009) a useful starting point to consider ‘digital’ through the lens of the areas of collection care, research, content dissemination, innovation and business development. In this paper, our focus is on smaller museums and heritage organisations. We contribute our thoughts, experiences and give some practical ideas how small museums can better utilise digital media and digital solutions. 
 This paper was written by staff members of Museum Nord who are part of the Research and Development Team. Museum Nord was lead partner in the CINE project, 2017-2020 (CINE project 2017) which enabled the team to gain valuable insights into this area of knowledge and practice.

Virtual Community Heritage – An Immersive Approach to Community Heritage


 Our relationship with cultural heritage has been transformed by digital technologies. Opportunities have emerged to preserve and access cultural heritage material while engaging an audience at both regional and global level. Accessibility of technology has enabled audiences to participate in digital heritage curation process. Participatory practices and co-production methodologies have created new relationships between museums and communities, as they are engaged to become active participants in the co-design and co-creation of heritage material. Audiences are more interested in experiences vs services nowadays and museums and heritage organisations have potential to entertain while providing engaging experiences beyond their physical walls. Mixed reality is an emerging method of engagement that has allowed enhanced interaction beyond traditional 3D visualisation models into fully immersive worlds. There is potential to transport audiences to past worlds that enhance their experience and understanding of cultural heritage.

Editorial. Conference proceedings of the 1st Biennial International Conference for the Craft Sciences – BICCS 2021

The papers appearing in this issue comprise the proceedings of the 1st Biennial International Conference for the Craft Sciences, held online during 4–6 May 2021, initiated by the Craft Laboratory, affiliated at the Department of Conservation, University of Gothenburg, Sweden. The Craft Laboratory was established in 2010 in cooperation with heritage organisations, craft enterprises and trade organisations, to empower craftspeople in the complex processes of making. The comprehensive agenda is to bring research into practice and involve craftspeople in the processes of inquiry. Among the operational tools are Master Classes provided for highly trained professional craftspeople in particular skills. Craft Scholarships are offered to craftspeople to investigate a problem or question in their practice, or develop ideas to improve methods or techniques. The site-specific workshop capacity in Mariestad allows craft researchers to implement research questions in practice and to perform full-scale tests in our masonry, carpentry and painting workshops, as well as in the timber building yard, greenhouses and gardens.

Museums Without Walls

The purpose of this paper is to explore the possibilities of virtual exhibitions (VEs) for GLAM institutions. While VEs continue to be secondary to physical exhibitions, an effective VE uses technology to engage viewers and present opportunities for interactivity to support further learning and discovery of collection materials. Cultural heritage organizations can use VEs to make the “digital version of a cultural artefact accessible even when the physical access is restricted” and leads GLAM institutions and LIS scholars to reflect on how “users receive and interact with information in a virtual world” (Caggianese et al., 2018, p.625). With the aid of easily accessible additional information, this modern form of presentation may support a deeper level of understanding than a user can experience by viewing a traditional physical exhibition, and may enhance their overall viewing experience. Despite the excitement and opportunities afforded by VR, exhibitions remain accessible for visitors without VR equipment via browsers or web-page based exhibitions. As the “virtual exhibition is a concept that has acquired new meanings along with the evolution of modern information and communication technologies,” we look forward to seeing how GLAM institutions continue to shape the user experience (Ciurea & Filip, 2016, p.28). Cultural organizations will continue to develop and combine their partnerships, financial and staff resources, content, and visitor interests to build more VE structures that fit both their collections and their community.

Donating money and time to cultural heritage: evidence from the European Union

Citizens can get engaged with cultural heritage in many ways. Among them, donating their money and their time to cultural heritage organizations is a mode of participation that has been studied on very few occasions. Using the evidence contained in the Special Eurobarometer 466 (2017), we analyse the individual decision of donating money or time to support heritage organizations in the 28 countries of the European Union. We estimate a bivariate probit model to investigate how individual characteristics correlate with the decision to donate money and/or time to sustain cultural heritage.

From connoisseur to the good manager. Perspectives in managerial curatorship from Canada and Brazil

AbstractManagerial curatorship developed mainly, though not exclusively, as a practice and museum model in so‐called society museums during the 1990s, particularly in French‐speaking Canada and later in parts of French‐speaking Europe. It was progressively adopted in other cultural and heritage organizations in Latin America and more recently in the UK and USA. This model involves professional project managers taking on certain curatorial tasks such as exhibition‐making. This intentional deconstruction of the traditional curatorship model originally envisioned a displacement, or in some cases, a complete removal of the traditional curator figure. This paper examines two cases of managerial curatorship: one in Canada (Musée de la civilisation, Quebec City, 1988) and one in Brazil (Museu da Pessoa, São Paulo, 1991). It then puts forth two arguments. First, that there should be more focus on developing healthy teamwork by concurrently investing in community participation and career development of key staff figures. The second argument is that encouraging creativity is key to maintaining the sustainability of such a model in the 21st century.

The Role of Social Marketing in Sports Tourism Development in Tehran Province

Purpose: The goal of this study was to investigate the role of social marketing in the development of sports tourism in Tehran Province.Methodology: The study is applied in terms of purpose, and it is a descriptive correlational research in which 100 experts in the field of social marketing (professors of marketing), specialists in sports tourism (professors), authorities in sports tourism (professors and researchers of this field), as well as managers and experts of Iranian Cultural Heritage Organization were selected as the sample using available and selective sampling. The data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire taken from previous studies. The professors confirmed the face and content validity, with reliability confirmed by Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.99.Findings: Data were analyzed by SPSS21 and LISREL 8 software. The results showed seven components of social marketing. They include technology, government laws and policies, environment, economic status, safety and security in sports venues, use of ads and communication channels, all but the last item have a positive and significant effect on the development of sports tourism.Originality: The results of this study showed that the investment of tourism organizations in social marketing factors is effective. The present study is one of the few comprehensive studies that have been conducted on credit and infrastructure investments in Iran concerning sports tourism.

Evaluating the role of the National Museum of Iran in the development of cultural tourism

In addition to acquainting the public with the culture of a particular region, cultural tourism creates economic opportunities. Taking into account various tourist sites, museums are definitely among the most important ones. In Iran, the National Museum is one of the most important museums because of its rich collection of historical monuments related to the ancient Persia and Islamic periods. The authors of this article analyse the role of the National Museum of Iran in the development of the country’s cultural tourism. The analysis is based on information obtained from the database of the Iranian Cultural Heritage Organization and the National Museum of Iran. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling were employed for data analysis. The results confirm the importance of the National Museum of Iran in the development of cultural tourism.

De travers dans la gorge

Antoine Gauthier's contribution for the COVID-19 Special Issue. 
 Contribution d'Antoine Gauthier pour le numéro spécial de COVID-19.

Digital Cultural Heritage Design Practice: A Conceptual Framework

Human-Centred Design approaches in museums give rise to a new, digital cultural heritage design practice by refocusing design from the (digital) technology on to the (digitally-enhanced) visitor experience and requiring involvement in design from both designers and non-designers. This practice is foregrounded as central within a wider landscape of transformative museum design and innovation. The paper calls for a new research agenda that takes design practice as the unit of analysis and recognizes the uniqueness of each cultural heritage organization and its capacity to deploy digital media and technologies successfully in its own unique ways and as a matter of organizational fit. We outline this agenda through a conceptual framework for the analysis of digital cultural heritage design practice along the dimensions of activity, tool mediation, and knowledge production. The framework acknowledges that the design of digitally-enhanced visitor experiences is catalytically mediated by tools and constitutes powerful ways of knowing-in-designing.

Assessing Youth Engagement in the Preservation and Promotion of Culture Heritage: A Case Study in Korça City, Albania

Abstract The engagement of young people is already considered essential for preservation and promotion of culture heritage. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the European Commission, national governments and numerous organisations have undertaken a series of initiatives and projects that are aimed at engaging young people in the preservation and promotion of cultural values from the international level to the local ones. The aim of this study is to identify and analyse the role of youth in cultural heritage preservation and promotion in a local area, after considering the importance of their engagement. The research has been conducted on the basis of quantitative and qualitative data, which has been collected from primary and secondary sources. A survey is conducted in a local urban area (the city of Korça) that is rich in cultural heritage. This city is located in the south-eastern part of Albania. The data gathered through the questionnaire was later coded and analysed using SPSS v. 20 software. Based on the results of the research, the engagement of youth, especially students, in maintenance of archaeological sites, museums and libraries, training culture programs, guide walk tourist itineraries and participation in local heritage projects, enhance not only their awareness concerning heritage values, but also contributes towards their preservation and promotion. It is observed from the survey that the level of awareness of young people interviewed is higher among those who have been engaged in projects and cultural activities for preservation and promotion of heritage values. In terms of willingness expressed by young people, it is important to emphasise the role that education system, youth and heritage organisations and national and local government ought to play in encouraging the initiatives that involve more young people in heritage activities and projects.

Editorial for Special Issue “Virtual Reality and Its Application in Cultural Heritage”

Recent advancements in Virtual Reality (VR) technologies provide new opportunities for Cultural Heritage (CH) organizations to attract, engage, and support end-users more efficiently and effectively [...]

The Impact on Older People’s Wellbeing of Leaving Heritage Volunteering and the Challenges of Managing this Process

The benefits of volunteering for older volunteers and for the organisations who host them is well-documented. The impact of being obliged to leave volunteering due to age-related conditions, and any challenges that this creates for volunteer managers, are under-researched. This study explored how volunteers and volunteer managers experienced this point in the volunteering lifecycle and whether the topic warranted further research. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with fourteen older people, who were (or had been) volunteers at one of three cultural heritage organisations in the north-east of England alongside seven volunteer managers from those organisations. These represented the diversity of heritage organisations in the region. Volunteers discussed leaving volunteering in terms of loss but also indicated that forms of personal appraisal and agency were possible, ameliorating the impact of leaving. Volunteer managers discussed how organisational frameworks and the relationships they formed with volunteers shaped their practices. These relationships created a sense of organisational reciprocity which led some managers to exceed the rules in order to sustain people in their volunteering. The results suggest that supporting personal agency could ameliorate the impact of leaving volunteering but that organisations would benefit from articulating the extent and the limits of that support.

Understanding the Operation of Contextual Compatibility through the Relationships among Heritage Intensity, Context Density, and Regulation Degree

It is easy to assume that historic environments consist mainly of traditional pre-modern style buildings; however, contemporary architecture is continuously added to historic environments, and its construction is positively encouraged by international heritage organizations such as UNESCO and ICOMOS. The conditions required for introducing contemporary architecture to historic urban environments manifest through the concept of contextual compatibility. This paper examines the meaning and operation of this compatibility in changing urban historical and cultural environments. It offers an empirical interpretation of ‘compatibility’ using three new conceptual parameters: the level of conservation value and importance designated by the heritage conservation system (heritage intensity), the ratio of contemporary architecture in a historic environment (context density), and the range of controlling measures available for conservation (regulation degree). Based on a content analysis of the relevant literature and a case study of 24 sample sites, this paper illuminates how ‘compatibility’ operates in the field, which sometimes contradicts our common assumptions. The notable findings reveal that heritage intensity and context density in the historical environment are not directly proportional to regulation degree. Meanwhile, low context density tends to correspond with highly detailed regulations and emphasise the physical realization of traditional elements.