Modern Heritage Buildings Research Articles

Documenting Riyadh City’s Significant Modern Heritage: A Methodological Approach

This paper’s primary goal is to propose a methodological strategy to document and protect modern heritage buildings in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This is essential because these structures are part of the cultural heritage and identity of Saudi Arabia, considering the rapid urbanization and development taking place. Protecting modern heritage buildings is also essential to increase public appreciation and understanding of modernist architecture and valuable resources of the city’s culture and identity. This study’s objectives fall into two categories: it aims to provide a review of the relevant literature to develop a theoretical framework to examine and document Riyadh City’s significant modern heritage buildings, and it aims to provide an examination and documentation of these structures. To ensure systematic and structured project documentation, quantitative and qualitative methodologies, inductive and deductive approaches, a chronological approach, data management techniques, workshops, and fieldwork methods are utilized. Over 1300 potential modern heritage buildings were identified and categorized into typological groups and building types that historians, architects, planners, designers, and policymakers can use to document and present Saudi Arabia’s rich modern heritage effectively. Of the 1300 buildings, this study was able to identify more than 170 buildings, which were later recognized as the primary modern heritage buildings for Riyadh City in the study timeline (1950–2000).

A modelling framework for modern heritage buildings energy simulation

The latest European polices highlight the urgent need to rehabilitate the existing building stock, responsible for 40 % of the EU's total energy consumption. In this process, a key role is played by thermal simulations, assessing the effective energy performances. However, significant discrepancies between real and simulated consumptions are frequently outlined. Inaccurate results are particularly dangerous for modern buildings, which, rarely protected, are often altered by invasive retrofitting solutions, with little regard for their heritage and cultural value. This paper introduces a comprehensive framework for the building energy simulation, ensuring the necessary model credibility. It consists of dynamic modelling, calibration and validation, enhancing the usefulness of the final results. A validated model is in fact the premise to propose a well-balanced retrofitting scenario, improving the current energy performances, reducing the operational costs, and preserving the historical values of existing buildings. As operative case-study, Chauderon administrative building in Lausanne (1969–1974), designed by the Atelier AAA in collaboration with Jean Prouvé, has been selected. Today, the complex is well-preserved in its original materiality and represents an iconic example of the modern aesthetics, with an expressed need for retrofitting. Following the proposed framework, a reliable model in WUFIplus has been created and validated according to ASHRAE 14, allowing to reliably test the efficacy of future retrofitting scenarios. The final aim of this process is to minimize the risk of inappropriate interventions. For high-quality or recognized post-World War II building stock, the use of a calibrated and validated model is justified and recommended over the static or simplified modelling approaches still commonly employed today.

Modern Heritage of the Middle East potentials and values: Documenting a UAE Landmark

Buildings represent the identity of cities and create the memory of the nation. Architecture landmark are the ambassadors of culture and civilization of the country. The UAE modern heritage represented in the 60s, 70s, and 80s architecture signifies the memory of the country and highlights the architecture style and its influences in various periods. The national theatre of Abu Dhabi is a key landmark from the 70s era. This cultural symbol is a landmark that shaped the style of the capital city at this time. This paper is a case study that aims at understanding the architecture of the National Theatre of Abu Dhabi building as a symbol of architecture and the architect’s only building remaining in the region. The paper outcomes and findings represent an approach for evaluating and greening modern heritage buildings in the Middle East while protecting both their historical and cultural values. The research aims to provide architects, researchers, and decision makers with a capture of architectural heritage buildings documentation via BIM modelling and traditional methods.

Sustaining modern heritage buildings: visual defect categorisation guides for the general condition survey of rendered-painted facades

PurposeRegular inspection and maintenance is recommended to preserve and sustain built cultural heritage. Systematising inspection processes and knowledge on defects, and providing pictorial guides for evaluating defects is an approach that may facilitate their condition survey. Generating pictorial guides for preliminary visual inspection of Modern Heritage buildings with rendered-painted facade concerning two defects (i.e. crack and efflorescence) is aimed in this study. These guides are thought as aids in determining the defect levels and deciding the necessity of advanced examination and/or maintenance. Analysing briefly the evolution of crack over time in the inspected buildings under environmental conditions of Istanbul (Turkey) is also aimed.Design/methodology/approachPreliminary guide generation was based mainly on literature survey on defects, and visual data collection from eight Modern Movement examples in Istanbul. The guides were then refined through systematic visual inspection of three buildings among them. Evolution of crack over time was analysed through a second inspection performed after 2.5 years.FindingsVisual inspections showed that crack is the commonest defect occurring mostly on projecting structural members, while efflorescence is less in number. Comparison of cracks' visuals taken in the first and second inspections showed that deterioration process is slow.Originality/valueModern heritage buildings usually have some characteristic features, which may sometimes lead to accumulation of defects at certain locations or may lead to formation of certain defects. Generating visual guides as a start for an initiative for a comprehensive defects catalogue particular for Modern Movement buildings in line with associated cultural heritage standards may contribute to their preservation by easing the condition surveys.

Selection of retrofit measures for reasonable energy and hygrothermal performances of modern heritage building under dry cold and hot humid climate:A case of modern heritage school in Korea

Korea is under a monsoon-influenced hot humid and dry cold climate; the temperature difference between the summer peak and winter peak is extreme, and relative humidity also swings extreme highs and lows by season. Consequently, most Korean modern heritage buildings have converged to the current state through repeated condensation and vaporization for several decades. However, if energy retrofit induces an abrupt and rapid change in the built environment, whose hygrothermal patterns have been maintained for long time, the historical value of the architectural heritage could be damaged. The present study demonstrated a case study to select a combination of passive and active retrofit measures, which can provide an improved energy performance while avoiding condensation risks for an 80-year-old heritage school. The first measures to be considered is to reduce the heating demand by improving the insulation and airtightness of the envelope and then replacing the air-conditioning system. Even if the indoor temperature is lowered by a new air-conditioning system, the relative humidity may still increase in the humid Korean summer. Thus, it is necessary to operate an independent ventilation system, or a dehumidifier. Air-conditioning public areas and unoccupied spaces in addition to conventional occupied spaces can reduce the temperature and vapor pressure difference between the rooms. If the architectural heritage to be retrofitted is significantly vulnerable to heat and moisture exchange, and if it is necessary to best protect the structure and materials from the hygrothermal load variation of the outdoor, the 24/7 climate controls by mechanical system should be selected. However, because an external insulation is usually not allowed with architectural heritage, heat transfers and moisture transports are inevitably focused on the physical spots that are vulnerable to thermal bridging, which may accelerate material degradation in the long run. In this case, a conventional occupied hour operation could be a reasonable solution to slow down the long-term degradation.

Energy Retrofitting for the Modern Heritage Enhancement in Weak Real Estate Markets: The Olivetti Housing Stock in Ivrea

The enhancement of Modern Heritage buildings is nowadays a challenging issue as they are often degraded or abandoned and their historical value is not well acknowledged by potential buyers and their owners. Moreover, they are usually energy inefficient and obsolete, but investments for energy retrofit interventions are not always convenient, especially in socio-economic contexts characterized by weak real-estate market dynamics. This paper aims to study the influence of intrinsic and extrinsic characteristics on housing prices and, in particular, to understand whether elements of building cultural connotations or some housing green features are monetized by the real estate market. The UNESCO site “Ivrea, industrial city of the 20th century”, located in the weak real-estate context of the Eporediese territorial area, was selected as an emblematic case study and two data samples of property listings were built to perform spatial regression analyses. The results showed that the green features of housing, such as the heating type and the EPC level, have a greater influence on property prices than those characteristics related to the cultural connotations of a building, such as the Olivettian context. Therefore, the current incentive-based policies for energy efficiency can represent great opportunities that can be exploited both to preserve and to improve the condition of this valuable Modern Heritage.

Interstitial hygrothermal analysis for retrofitting exterior concrete wall of modern heritage building in Korea

Retrofitting modern heritage buildings aims at not only energy conservation, but also restoration and preservation of an architectural artefact. However, if envelope construction is adjusted and HVAC systems are replaced, the temperature and humidity profiles and air-tightness can also be transitional, thus condensation could occur on the surface and/or inside the structure. It is continuously emphasized to assess retrofit measures’ expected transitions in the hygrothermal performance of envelope and their potential condensation problems, prior to actual retrofit. The present study measured the surface moisture content of the concrete structure and built environment of three modern heritage buildings in Seoul. These results were used as the initial conditions for the hygrothermal analysis of insulations and vapor retarder. One modern heritage school was chosen for retrofit, then mock-up test, ISO 13788 steady-state analysis, and dynamic simulations by WUFI were used to analyze the risk of interstitial condensation in the exterior wall, according to the initial moisture content of concrete wall and whether the vapor retarder had been installed. For modern heritage buildings with fully dry concrete walls, the mock-up test verified that the risk of interstitial condensation between the concrete and insulation is low, regardless of whether the vapor retarder had been installed. Per ISO 13788 steady-state analysis and WUFI transient simulation, if PF board was used as the internal insulation for concrete exterior wall, the chance of interstitial condensation was also low, regardless of the initial moisture content and the use of a vapor retarder.

PHOTOGRAMMETRY, HBIM, AND DAMAGE ANALYSIS OF COSMIC RAYS PAVILION FOR RAISING AWARENESS TO ITS CULTURAL HERITAGE

Abstract. This paper presents a comparative approach between a digital documentation workflow using contemporary tools versus a traditional documentation technique for Felix Candela's hyperbolic paraboloid (hypar) modern heritage building: Cosmic Rays Pavilion. This documentation was undertaken to better understand the building’s structure, its evolution, and to assess the performance of this concrete structure for future seismic and damage analysis. Furthermore, the paper discusses the challenges related to producing a Heritage Building Information Model (HBIM) of this building using point cloud data in Autodesk’s Revit BIM-authoring software. This project states the importance of a parallel study between the traditional and the contemporary documentation methods; which led to discoveries about the current state of the extrados in the hypar after several earthquakes. Upon analyzing the HBIM and comparing it to the historical drawings, a gap was discovered between the moisture barrier membrane and the concrete shell. Visualizing the building in 3D provides a deeper and more accurate understanding of the current state of this pavilion and is one of many advantages of using digital technologies. The insights provided by digital documentation techniques and analyzing the historical images of the pavilion showed that the curvature of the pavilion has been modified over time. The results imply two hypotheses. First, the curvature profile has been altered due to earthquakes. Second, the modification is due to improper maintenance of the pavilion, namely, multiple additions of the membrane layers. This could not have been detected by solely relying on traditional documentation techniques.

A Case Study of Modern Heritage Building: Base Isolation Seismic Retrofit for Preservation of its Architectural Distinguishing Features

Several Italian buildings designed by eminent architects and structural engineers in the second half of the 20th century are now included in modern heritage listings. At the same time, as they were designed before the issue of coordinate national Technical Standards, often require important structural rehabilitation interventions. One of the most representative case studies of that period in Florence, i.e. the building now housing the Automobile Club Headquarter and a B&B Hotel, is examined in this paper. A seismic assessment analysis carried out on the structure highlighted strength deficiencies in several members and potentially severe pounding conditions between the two constituting wings of the building, separated by a narrow technical gap. In order to improve the seismic performance without altering the architectural appearance of the building, characterized by large windows in the façades, free internal spaces and elegant proportions of the main structural members, a base isolation retrofit hypothesis is proposed. A substantial seismic improvement is obtained in rehabilitated conditions, as assessed by the achievement of safe stress states for all members up to the basic design normative earthquake level, as well as of maximum relative lateral displacements of the two wings constrained below the technical gap width.

Enhanced Seismic Retrofit of a Reinforced Concrete Building of Architectural Interest

Modern heritage buildings designed in the 1950s and 1960s often feature poor seismic performance capacities and may require significant retrofit interventions. A representative case study in Florence, i.e., the edifice housing the Automobile Club Headquarters, is examined here. The building was designed in 1959 with an articulated reinforced concrete structure and presents some enterprising solutions for the time, including suspended floors accommodating large glazed curtain wall façades in the main halls. The original design documentation was collected with accurate record research and checked with detailed on-site surveys. Based on the information gained on the structural system by this preliminary investigation, a time-history assessment analysis was carried out. Remarkable strength deficiencies in most members and severe pounding conditions between the two constituting wings, which are separated by a narrow technical gap, were found. As a result, a base isolation retrofit hypothesis is proposed in order to improve the seismic response capacities of the building without altering its elegant architectural appearance, being characterized by large free internal spaces and well-balanced proportions of the main structural members. A substantial performance improvement is obtained thanks to this rehabilitation strategy, as assessed by the achievement of non-pounding response conditions and safe stress states for all members up to the maximum considered normative earthquake level. Furthermore, the very low peak inter-storey drifts evaluated in retrofitted conditions help in preventing damage to the glazed façades and the remaining drift-sensitive non-structural components.

Bayesian model updating of a twin-tower masonry structure through subset simulation optimization using ambient vibration data

A Bayesian model updating method using subset simulation optimization given ambient vibration data is proposed to improve the efficiency in sampling and avoid local optimums, which is applied to a full-scale high-rise structure. In the proposed method, the Bayesian fast Fourier transform method is used to extract the most probable values (MPVs) and coefficients of variation (COVs) of modal parameters of the structure, which are considered as the weighting factors in the likelihood function. The posterior probability density function (PDF) of the updating parameters is then derived considering the prior PDF as the regularization term. The subset simulation optimization algorithm is extended to find the global optimal solution of the posterior PDF. The MPVs and COVs of the updating parameters are finally presented. The proposed method is first verified by updating the 15 story stiffness scaling factors of a shear building model. Then, the proposed method is investigated through a numerical application of a four-story frame structure, in which accurate parameter estimations are observed independent of the prior PDF. Finally, the proposed method is applied to a real-world 13-story twin-tower masonry structure which is a modern heritage building. Ambient vibrations were measured through a series of accelerometers instrumented in the structure. The updating parameters are the moduli of elasticity of selected substructures with two model classes studied: three parameters and six parameters. The model-predicted modal parameters from the updated model are in good agreement with their identified counterparts. It is also shown that the case using three parameters provides larger evidence based on the Bayesian model class selection method. The updated refined finite element model provides a basis for the long-term structural health monitoring.

Establishing Evaluation Criteria of Modern Heritage Conservation in Historic City Centers in Jordan

In the last few decades in Jordan, several rehabilitation projects were established in heritage cities as tourism developing projects, (such as As-Salt city) with international funding support. These projects are concerned with conservation of historical buildings. The current paper highlights the hidden aspects of these projects; which mainly neglect Modern Heritage buildings focusing on older historical sites. The paper focuses on As-Salt city as a case study where significant buildings are not recognized as Modern Heritage, although they played an important role in the city’s life including commercial buildings and one school, dating back to 1961, and were demolished. This study investigates the important values and the role of some of these buildings within their urban context, including the effect of their loss on the local community; socially, functionally and economically. It suggests some evaluation criteria as a frame work to determine Modern Heritage buildings that need to be conserved. The study uses both quantitative and qualitative analysis. 200 structured interviews were conducted to address the impact of demolition and to reach a conclusion about the other unaccountable effects. The study shows that the demolition of Modern Heritage buildings had negative effects on the local community, due to their important role in the collective memory of the city. The study recommends developing a Jordanian rating system for evaluating, listing, classifying, and protecting Modern Heritage buildings.

BETWEEN IMAGES AND BUILT FORM: AUTOMATING THE RECOGNITION OF STANDARDISED BUILDING COMPONENTS USING DEEP LEARNING

Abstract. Building on the richness of recent contributions in the field, this paper presents a state-of-the-art CNN analysis method for automating the recognition of standardised building components in modern heritage buildings. At the turn of the twentieth century manufactured building components became widely advertised for specification by architects. Consequently, a form of standardisation across various typologies began to take place. During this era of rapid economic and industrialised growth, many forms of public building were erected. This paper seeks to demonstrate a method for informing the recognition of such elements using deep learning to recognise ‘families’ of elements across a range of buildings in order to retrieve and recognise their technical specifications from the contemporary trade literature. The method is illustrated through the case of Carnegie Public Libraries in the UK, which provides a unique but ubiquitous platform from which to explore the potential for the automated recognition of manufactured standard architectural components. The aim of enhancing this knowledge base is to use the degree to which these were standardised originally as a means to inform and so support their ongoing care but also that of many other contemporary buildings. Although these libraries are numerous, they are maintained at a local level and as such, their shared challenges for maintenance remain unknown to one another. Additionally, this paper presents a methodology to indirectly retrieve useful indicators and semantics, relating to emerging HBIM families, by applying deep learning to a varied range of architectural imagery.

Questões sobre conservação do patrimônio arquitetônico moderno e a Vila Serra do Navio

O reconhecimento dos valores históricos, artísticos e memoriais do patrimônio moderno construído é relativamente recente. Por ser uma categoria de preexistência arquitetônica ainda insuficientemente estudada sob o ponto de vista da preservação, sua recuperação física tem gerado importantes debates nos ambientes acadêmicos e profissionais acerca da aplicabilidade das recomendações internacionais de restauro de monumentos. Ao moderno só caberiam reformas de manutenção? Visando suscitar reflexões sobre as muitas variáveis de análise dos objetos historicizados associadas às questões de autenticidade que tangenciam a conservação do patrimônio arquitetônico moderno, neste artigo toma-se como objeto de discussão a Vila Serra do Navio. Trata-se de uma company-town localizada no Estado do Amapá, no meio da selva amazônica, tombada pelo IPHAN em 2011 como patrimônio cultural. Projetada pelo arquiteto paulista Oswaldo Arthur Bratke, a Vila foi construída na década de 1960 com excepcional qualidade técnica, formal e estética, e se vincula à especial episódio do desenvolvimento econômico brasileiro relacionado à exploração de minério. Seus edifícios estão sofrendo continuo processo de descaracterização. O objetivo deste artigo é contribuir com discussões sobre as perspectivas de preservação das edificações modernas da Vila, abordando questões teóricas fundantes do campo disciplinar da restauração e a reversão de critérios consolidados em documentos internacionais reguladores do século XXI.

THE IMPACT OF HERITAGE-BASED DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS IN CITY CENTERS ON LOCAL COMMUNITIES THE CASE OF UQBA BIN NAFI AREA DEVELOPMENT PROJECT, AS-SALT

The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan signed agreements with the World Bank, Japan and other donor countries to conduct development projects in historic city centers, including As-Salt Historic City Center Development Project, which included the demolition of modern buildings constructed in the sixties and the seventies of the last century. This incorporated the demolition of Uqba Bin Nafi school, an international style hybrid built in 1960, in addition to the demolition of surrounding modern commercial buildings, known as Uqba Triangle, in order to create open urban spaces and some services. This project has attracted criticism from local residents and shopkeepers.Consequently, this paper raises several questions<1. What is the impact of this project on the local community, functionally, economically and culturally?2. Is the project responsive to the needs and priorities of the local community?3. To what extent did the local community participate in the demolition decision and other aspects of the project? Are they satisfied with the project?4. Did Oqba Bin Nafi' school hold significance and value to the local community thus warranting its conservation rather than demolition?This paper uses a multi-method approach, utilizing statistical analysis, ethnography, and historical methods. The enquiry bases its critique on conservation charters and modern heritage theories, and tackles the status quo through questionnaires, interviews and field observations.The results emphasize the need to have an urban development strategy for the city so that urban heritage conservation projects are part of such a development strategy that is rooted in a community-based vision. This current project-by-project approach leads to projects that are not responsive to the needs of the city and its people. Consequently, the recommendations emphasize the importance of public participation in order to meet people’s needs and achieve better satisfaction.This paper brings to attention the negative urban consequences of the demolition of modern heritage buildings. Often considered nonessential within the historic fabric, the results caution against the undermining of the values modern buildings hold or their role in the urban structure.Finally, the study emphasizes the significance of having a multi-disciplinary team, including economists, social workers, planners and architects. It is important not to overlook the economic and social feasibility of the interventions, and avoid the fixation on the aesthetics of the urban setting to prevent similar negative impacts on the local community

Eurocode-based seismic assessment of modern heritage RC structures: The case of the Tower of the Nations in Naples (Italy)

Given the interest earned recently by modern heritage structures, seismic assessment criteria of Eurocode 8 for ordinary reinforced concrete structures are applied to a modern heritage RC building. This case study, the Tower of the Nations in Naples, was designed at the end of 1930s. Modal dynamic identification, in situ inspections and testing provided the necessary knowledge of the structure in terms of geometry, structural details, and material properties. Two nonlinear models of the structure are built up in both the hypotheses of accounting and not accounting for tuff infills’ stiffness and strength contribution. Lumped plasticity model for reinforced concrete elements and equivalent strut macro-models for tuff and concrete infills are employed. Seismic assessment through nonlinear dynamic analyses is carried out for both limit states of Significant Damage and Damage Limitation. Assessment of bare and infilled models emphasizes a lower demand in terms of maximum interstorey drift of the infilled model with respect to the bare model, for both limit states considered. Record-to-record variability for the sets of seven records becomes larger if infills strength and stiffness contribution is taken into account. Outcome of the assessment is not affected by infills, i.e. the structure can be considered safe (according to EC8 provisions) for both limit states, and in both modeling hypotheses. On the other hand, the ratio demand over capacity, for both the limit states considered, is strictly influenced by infills’ contribution. Assessment tools provided for ordinary RC structures can be addressed to modern heritage buildings as shown in this case study, even if specific care is necessary for nonlinear structural modeling in case of non-conventional structural elements and non-conventional structural materials (e.g., tuff infills in lieu of clay hollow brick infills).

Simulation analysis of improved envelope measures for modern buildings in the Mediterranean climate

In Europe, research has the objective to produce guidelines for building refurbishment of modern heritage. In particular, the issue of energetic improvement is analysed according to characteristics of existing heritage and local climate. In fact, it is possible to observe that, locally, building production after World War II is composed of common building types built with recurrent constructive techniques and technological solutions. Based on this, a research has been initiated with the objective to identify procedures and the sequence of actions to be applied for rehabilitation of modern heritage buildings throughout the Italian territory. This paper reports first results of the assessment of the energy requirement for cooling and heating, for different interventions on the envelope, for a very common building type in the existing modern heritage buildings in Eastern Sicily.

Non-destructive characterization and dynamic identification of a modern heritage building for serviceability seismic analyses

Seismic risk mitigation in urban areas is a very relevant issue in European regions, such as Italy and Greece, characterized by the presence of a large stock of heritage structures. Enhancing the knowledge about the dynamics of structures is definitely useful in view of seismic assessment and design of risk mitigation interventions. However, this task can be difficult in the case of heritage structures, since several uncertainties affect material properties and structural patterns. In this paper, the opportunities provided by dynamic identification techniques for the non-destructive evaluation of heritage structures are discussed with focus on an interesting case study. This refers to the characterization of a modern heritage reinforced concrete building as a preliminary step towards seismic assessment. The structure under investigation is the Tower of the Nations, located in the Mostra D'Oltremare urban park in Naples, Italy. The paper shows how the combination of ambient vibration tests and model refinement can represent a valuable tool for an indirect non-invasive structural assessment of historical structures. Their proper analysis and modeling, in fact, is usually very challenging from the scientific and technical viewpoint due to their unique structural configurations, the several modeling uncertainties and the need to keep destructive investigations very limited. In this framework the present paper shows how a rational choice of the updating parameters and of the objective function can support the model optimization taking into account the ultimate objectives of the analysis, namely the setting of a reliable model for the assessment of the seismic performance of the structure in the linear regime. As a result, the paper describes the refinement of the model of the Tower of the Nations, in a way able to minimize the scatter with the experimental data and, at the same time, enhance the accuracy of response spectrum and seismic time-history linear analyses.

Structural assessment of a modern heritage building

A structural assessment study on “Palazzo del Lavoro” in Turin, a masterpiece by Pier Luigi Nervi, was carried out within a National Research Project dedicated to the analysis of modern heritage architecture in Italy. Based on the original design documentation collected through records, a complete finite element model of the building was generated. The study included detailed models of the main structural members, represented by monumental reinforced concrete columns, a mushroom-type steel roof and reinforced concrete ribbed gallery slabs, and the main non-structural systems, constituted by continuous gallery-to-roof glazed façades. The results of the linear and non-linear analyses developed by these models, aimed at fully understanding the original design concept of the various members, as well as at evaluating their current static and seismic safety conditions, are reported in this paper. The non-linear computations include a buckling analysis of the slender steel beams constituting the roof, and an “integral” seismic pushover analysis of the monumental columns. The results of the analyses highlight safe conditions and good performance objectives in general, but for some important exceptions. Indeed, the roof beams failed to pass the verifications on global and local panel flexural–torsional buckling, and some cantilever beams of the gallery floors showed poor shear resistance. Retrofit hypotheses are also formulated for these elements, so as to help the entire structure to comply with the requirements of the new Italian Technical Standards.

Historical Heritage versus Modern Heritage. Conservation Issues Concerning the Edificio de los Poderes (Building of Powers) in Campeche, Mexico

Modern heritage has been destroyed because of its undervalued status and because of an inconclusive process of appropriation. Campeche, Mexico, is an example of a place that, like other cities with modern heritage, has suffered the gradual demolition of its cultural heritage. With the arrival of the proposal of conceiving Campeche as an essentially colonial city, the destruction of modern heritage accelerated: until then buildings representing modern architecture cohabited with constructions of other periods in the historical centre of the walled city. This chronicle focuses on the case of the Edificio de los Poderes (Building of Powers) as the most representative example of modern heritage that is being affected. There are, however, other modern heritage buildings under threat that are in urgent need for protection.