Assessing stories before sites: identifying the tangible from the intangible

Despite a growing recognition that intangible heritage forms an important part of the significance of heritage sites, and that intangible values are intertwined with material resources and spaces, many procedures for the identification and management of heritage sites remain unchanged and fail to integrate these two sets of values. The conservation of heritage sites continues to be dominated by a process that first identifies a material site and then identifies the associated values that comprise its significance. This paper suggests that rather than identifying the physical expression of heritage as the initial point of heritage assessment, the stories (or intangible values) of a region or national history can form the primary mechanism for identifying physical heritage sites. Using the example of Australian government policies of Aboriginal segregation and assimilation, we suggest how national stories – or intangible values – might be used to identify representative sites.     

‘Popular demands do not fit in ballot boxes’: graffiti as intangible heritage at the Iglesia de San Francisco,Santiago?

Contemporary practices and conflicts of cultural heritage preservation reflect shifting conceptions of what heritage is and what it should conserve. As such, the traditional notion of graffiti upon national monuments is currently being called into question, and within the context of this debate, this study argues that the emerging framework of intangible heritage is a useful model for reconsidering graffiti at heritage sites. Arguments for such graffiti as intangible heritage are particularly strong when it can be shown to function as a societal mirror that reflects political climates and protest activities. Such graffiti poses tensions between traditional theories and practices of heritage preservation, in which these markings are seen to interrupt conservation, and emerging inclusive models such that view these works as relevant layers of a site’s history. Within this context, we explore the case of the political graffiti on the north wall of a historical monument, the Iglesia de San Francisco in Santiago, Chile, through the lens of the emerging field of intangible heritage.     

Revising the Burra Charter: Australia ICOMOS updates its guidelines for conservation practice

Abstract

This paper outlines the revisions made in 1999 to the Burra Charter, the core doctrine for heritage conservation in Australia that was first adopted by Australia ICOMOS in 1979. It examines the reasons why changes were needed, including broadened perceptions of heritage, new understandings of heritage significance, and recognition of the need for community input into conservation decisions about its heritage.

The review process, which took five years, changed its procedures halfway through after members of Australia ICOMOS roundly rejected a draft, while agreeing that a revision should still take place. Following a thorough consultative process with members, the text of the 1999 revision of the Charter was resoundingly endorsed (the text is included here as an Appendix).

The paper describes how the revised Charter differs from the previous text. The changes lie primarily in the recognition that heritage value, or significance, may be embodied in the uses, associations and meanings of a place, in addition to its physical fabric. Other key changes include incorporation of a flowchart explaining the conservation planning process; the seeking of community input; and the recognition that interpretation is an integral part of good heritage management practice.     

The significance of values: heritage value typologies re-examined

A critical discussion of value typologies for heritage conservation and management is offered, from the perspective of objects and urban conservation, in light of a review of published literature on heritage values. It is suggested that value typologies are often designed and implemented without understanding the implicit consequences of the inclusion and omission of ‘values’. It is also suggested that typologies often fail to prompt the necessary questions to develop satisfactorily detailed understandings of heritage significance, resulting in decisions being based on implicit, rather than explicit, value assessments in practice. Mindful of the problems associated with ‘universalising’ context specific typologies, a broad framework for assessing and communicating significance is proposed. In order to encourage holistic approaches, the framework is designed to combat the false dichotomies of cultural/natural and tangible/intangible heritage; it is hoped this will make the framework widely applicable. Without downplaying the necessity of diverse participation in assessing significance, the framework is designed to identify aspects of weakness and preference in cases where adequate consultation is not possible.     

对文物保护单位保护规划的几点认识

保护规划是文物保护单位管理的基本手段之一。经过多年实践,文物保护单位保护规划逐渐形成了自己的特色。作为一种以文物保护为主要目的,以空间控制为主要手段,以文物综合利用展示为主要途径,致力于实现文物保护与区域经济社会发展相协调的专项规划,文物保护单位保护规划正在被行业所接受。然而,现阶段的文物保护单位保护规划仍然存在着对文物特性考虑不足,对现实发展回应不足,对实际工作指导不足等问题,亟需通过提升法律地位,完善规划体系,重视规划执行等措施来进一步完善,以更好地发挥应有的作用。     

A Model for Assessing the Reuse of an Ancient Place of Performance: The Bouleuterion of Teos

Ancient places of performance are often considered for reuse as a means of promoting archaeological sites. Therefore, local authorities and decision makers have a difficult task of balancing the conservation and management of the sites with the carrying capacity. In this paper, the bouleuterion, a ‘rediscovered’ structure, at the Teos archaeological site, in Turkey is evaluated and presented as a preliminary case study with the hopes that these issues will be taken into consideration by the managing body in the creation of a management plan for the site. The evaluation is made by assessing socio-economic and intangible heritage significance, policies guiding changes at the site, a qualitative survey at the site and by defining the structure’s carrying capacity. The site’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats are used to create criteria and make proposals for its reuse. The study concludes that the bouleuterion cannot be reused as a venue in its present condition and makes recommendations for future use.     

张謇对文化遗产保护的历史贡献

张謇是中国近代著名实业家教育家,中国博物馆事业的开拓者,他创办中国最早的博物馆南通博物苑,开中国博物馆事业之先河。他还是不可移动文物保护的先行者,对历史纪念性建筑和古遗址的保护。对寺庙古建筑的保护以及对非物质文化遗产保护都作出过可贵的贡献。     

From ‘neo-vernacular’ to ‘semi-vernacular’: a case study of vernacular architecture representation and adaptation in rural Chinese village revitalization

ABSTRACT

Vernacular architecture can be regarded as heritage places. Recently, the need to protect vernacular heritage in China has been reflected through government policy changes, for example the ‘beautiful countryside’ program which aims to develop rural villages since 2005. However, a conflict between conserving the tangible fabric and the intangible heritage of the vernacular place can become pronounced, as villagers have desires for a modern lifestyle, and maintaining the physical building fabric. Vernacular villages require sustainable development alongside conservation of both tangible and intangible heritage significance. A key factor in keeping a village alive is continuing its utilization by a local community. This paper introduces the terms ‘neo-vernacular’ (buildings with a vernacular appearance with contemporary methods and materials) and ‘semi-vernacular’ (reusing or renovating vernacular buildings in combination with modern and traditional building techniques) to distinguish two approaches to vernacular villages conservation. We analyse the distinctions between the works of Amateur Architecture Studio (AAS) and Atelier Zhang Lei (AZL) to demonstrate the neo-vernacular and semi-vernacular approaches respectively through photo-comparison diagrams, and reviewing comments from local villagers, architectural students, and scholars. In the discussion, we propose that the semi-vernacular adaptation offers a new approach worth pursuing in China’s rapidly changing rural landscapes.     

The politics of representation: the Kuwait National Museum and processes of cultural production

Museums are often sites for the fabrication of hegemonic discourse. They represent the political nature of heritage construction and the instruments used to support these narratives. This paper traces the appropriation of museums as symbols of national projects and argues that not all museums achieve this political end. The Kuwait National Museum designed by Michel Écochard will be examined as a case study for this argument. Écochard’s project demonstrates the many challenges that develop between nationalist politics, heritage production and competing centres of power.     

Predicaments in the Management of Religious Heritage Buildings and Sites in Nigeria

Perhaps the most challenging heritage management issue since the beginning of the modern conservation movement relates to religious buildings and sites. This paper investigates approaches to the management of religious heritage buildings and sites in Osogbo, a multireligious Nigerian city, through the perspectives of various stakeholders. These stakeholders include the State, and its role in formal legislation and enforcement, the religious authorities as heritage owners and decision-makers, local communities’ understanding of heritage, and expert opinions about the properties. Drawing on physical observations, ethnographic assessment methods and secondary literature, the paper demonstrates how decisions taken by political leaders to construct a secularised national heritage have shaped the community’s cultural heritage perceptions, alienated from religious connotations. This selective use of the past gave heritage owners a free hand in decision-making about conservation, without taking into consideration historic and architectural/artistic values. It has also rendered expert judgment marginal.     

永远的故宫 永远的保护——作于中国第一个文化遗产日到来之际

作为我国最大的综合性国家级博物馆,故宫安全及文物保护是故宫一切工作的基础。故宫的保护要有全面和整体意识,要处理好吉建筑中保护与利用,日常维护与大修的关系;清查、整理和修复、抢救文物藏品的工作,要与研究、发掘、保护和传承非物质文化遗产的工作相结合;要提高文物保护的科技水平,加快“数字故宫”的建设。故宫除自身研发井应用了一批科研成果外,还积极与国内外有关部门合作,在运用科技手段保护和利用文物方面取得了很大的进展。故宫决心不辜负全国人民的重托,增强和提高文物保护的能力,更好地传扬中华民族的文化瑰宝。     

The social production of ‘attractive authenticity’ at the World Heritage Site of Røros,Norway

This paper examines how authenticity and its use as a way of conceptualising the past participates in processes of heritage production, which are here defined as both the social construction of heritage sites and the uses of heritage sites as resources to achieve social goals. We argue that the social production of place and the social values generated by place are linked by a common approach based on the use of ‘place attraction’ as a unifying social concept. The World Heritage Site of Røros has as an attractive place become a resource for the production of cultural capital among various stakeholders, taking the form of a large body of ‘heritage knowledges’. However, a symbolic capital production of ‘attractive authenticity’ has today generated an idealised past and a purified iconic image of Røros as World Heritage. The discourse of ‘attractive authenticity’ reveals a conflict of interests where symbolic capital unfolds and makes power relations evident. This exposes a discussion about cultural heritage management practices at World Heritage Sites.     

Current Realities,Idealised Pasts: Archaeology,Values and Indigenous Heritage Management in Central Australia

This paper addresses the inter‐cultural meanings and assumptions which have arisen in the interpretation of heritage and its conservation in central Australia. Conflicting views of heritage conservation are grounded in particular constructions of the past which are adapted and redefined in relation to the present. In central Australia, Indigenous notions of time and property have stressed the symbolic value of objects in terms of the Dreaming and their active role in exchange. The definition of objects as personal effects and their enhancement of social values through exchange have been at odds with archaeological understandings of the same objects as artefacts and attempts to conserve them as items of heritage significance. Specific examples discussed include the use of artefacts in economic exchanges, interpretation of archaeological sequences, and the application of concepts of significance through land rights and heritage legislation.     

大遗址保护规划:对象、使命和内容框架

大遗址保护规划是系统统筹大遗址保护的综合性管理手段和政策纲领,具有系统整体性、综合协调性、战略引导性、控制约束性等特点。大遗址保护规划的对象是大遗址系统及其保护、利用、管理与发展等使用方式,决定了保护规划的愿景目标、架构体系及统筹协调的内容和行动计划。大遗址保护规划的基本理路是以物为基础、以人为中心,以保证大遗址安全为底线,以重塑大遗址空间保护格局、优化大遗址使用方式、推动大遗址资源资产保值增值为使命任务,通过科学合理的遗址资源配置和空间优化,实现大遗址资源与人、自然资源及其他人文资源的共融共生,大遗址保护利益与区域发展利益的和谐统一。     

Empowerment,transformation and the construction of ‘urban heritage’ in post-colonial Hong Kong

In recent years, there have been many political and economic debates in Hong Kong, and heritage conservation has been used as a political and economic weapon by some members of the community. Based on participant observation and in-depth interviews, this paper analyses how buildings of a small street built in the 1950s were constructed as ‘heritage’, and how a community heritage discourse was used by a group of local residents (Kiefang), university students and professionals to object to the urban renewal project led by the Hong Kong government. In this context, heritage was used to obtain political rights and to express anger against the increasing gap between the rich and poor of Hong Kong. Though the immediate objectives of this group were not achieved, the protest process empowered a group of local residents, and has marked the commencement of a politicalized heritage conservation movement in post-colonial Hong Kong.     

廊道遗产:概念、理论源流与价值判断

进入21世纪以来,我国跨区域大型遗产越来越受到社会各界的关注,这种现象的背后隐含着深刻的社会文化背景。为了深入剖析大型遗产热的深层原因,笔者在美国遗产廊道和欧洲文化线路的理论基础上,对两者进行中国化的理论解读后,提出廊道遗产概念。本文在理清廊道遗产两条理论源流的基础上,深度挖掘廊道遗产文化价值,解析其政治、经济、教育三种衍生功能,以说明廊道遗产的现代价值体现是中华民族文化复兴的重要部分,是中华民族伟大复兴在遗产和文物保护领域的具体体现。廊道遗产的合理保护与开发利用关乎中华民族的复兴大业。     

Estancias of Buenos Aires Province,Argentina: Rural Heritage,Sustainable Development and Tourism

Rural settlements growing crops and rearing animals are known as estancias in several South American countries. They played a prevailing role in the political and economic history of Argentina, particularly during the second half of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. At present, many estancias are developing alternative activities, as recreation and tourism, in order to be able to subsist. The main problem lies in the fact that a non‐sustainable activity, frequently focused on the greatest economic yield, leads to the destruction of the heritage, instead of achieving its long‐term conservation. The purpose of this paper is to develop and verify a suitable model for the planning, execution and management of recreational and tourist activities in these rural settlements. As regards the scope of the concept of sustainable development, this methodology aims at achieving a balance between the recreational and tourist operation and the conservation of the rich heritage concerned.     

Conservation values,the authorised heritage discourse and the conservation-planning assemblage

The focus of this paper is the practice of conservation applied through the English planning system, termed conservation-planning. It argues that a distinct conservation-planning social entity has developed that may be described as an ‘assemblage’ and that the values and validated practice of conservation-planning are constructed as an authorised heritage discourse (AHD). Emphasis is placed upon the way that the AHD maybe mobilised by the conservation-planning assemblage in relation to other elite discourses, explored through the way that relationships have developed between the policy spheres of conservation-planning, regeneration and economic development. In doing so, it is argued conservation has successfully repositioned itself from being regarded as a barrier to development to being regarded as an active agent of change. Furthermore, the paper proposes that within the conservation-planning AHD we might detect sub-AHDs, organised around the short-hand labels of Conservation Principles, The Heritage Dividend and Constructive Conservation, each with a somewhat different rhetorical purpose. Through this analysis, we can better understand conservation-planning as a distinct heritage social entity and process. It shares values with other heritage activities but also has distinct differences, intimately related to its political relationship with other domains of urban management.     

文化遗产保护的新思路——线性文化遗产的“三位一体”保护模式初探

线性文化遗产是近年来国际文化遗产保护领域提出的新理念。中国拥有丰富的线性文化遗产资源,这些线性文化遗产覆盖面广、功能持久,具有重要的历史意义和文化内涵。如明长城、京杭大运河这两处典型的线性文化遗产,其保护必须加强对遗产本身的研究,实行将物质、非物质与文化线路相结合的“三位一体”的保护模式,合理应对经济、城市发展带来的冲...