The scientific and educational network “Architecture, Heritage and Creation” announces the call for papers for the next seminar which will be held at ENSA in Strasbourg on October 19 and 20.

Presentation

In its broadest sense, built heritage constitutes a pool of technical and typological knowledge from which the architect draws to fuel a return to chosen sobriety. The building, which has survived generations and uses, has gone from the status of a symbol (history, remembrance, memory, etc.) to that of a model (local techniques and materials, thermal capacities, capacity to accommodate several uses according to the needs of society ). The classic typologies of plan (cloister, stoa, agora, etc.) and section (patio, dense urban blocks, etc.) as well as a certain constructive rationalism are given pride of place in contemporary architectural expression.

On the contrary, it may seem indecent to want to preserve the moldings of a burning house at all costs. The tightening of conservation efforts around a limited number of buildings protected by law collides head-on with the increasingly obvious need to do with everything we have, beyond the question of classification. heritage inherited from a 19th century free from the climate emergency. But by considering everything that is already built as material to be preserved and transformed, it is the very notion of heritage that is called into question. Is the requirement for classification with a view to restorations compatible with the need to consider the entirety of what is “already there” as a resource for the transformation of the world?

How can we combine the notion of heritage with emerging approaches to recycling and reuse? The processes hitherto called for conservation, restoration, and rehabilitation called upon protection and repair techniques. The building that lasted was the one that could be repaired, which led in its wake to the transmission of a set of know-how itself elevated to the rank of heritage. As such, it was only from the 1960s that the restoration of monuments scrupulously favored the conservation of the material used and no longer the repair thanks to the renewal of material faithful to the ideal design. Reuse and sustainable renewal are, however, at the heart of the heritage project: recutting, stone deposits... the west rose window of Chartes was already remodeled in the 13th century. by reusing the lead from the previous stained glass window. We are witnessing the birth of a new paradox: today's buildings are required to be dismantled and to constitute a reserve of reusable materials. We must no longer build to last, we must plan for future dismantling and clear the way. The constituent materials are no longer considered for their contribution to a built work but separately, piece by piece, by the weight of carbon spent. The anchored, the immutable and the solid are suspect, the flexible, the light, the modular are on the rise. But can’t we make sustainable and transformable coexistence?

For these reasons, the next seminar of the APC network aims to draw up the new contours of the notion of heritage with regard to contemporary issues. What material, what building, what environment constitute heritage? How can we adapt our tools, our diagnostics and our inventory and classification methods? What future for heritage?

Proposals may address the following questions, theoretically, and possibly through educational experiences.

What heritage?

Architectural, urban, landscaped, natural, intangible, what heritage for which society? Is built heritage a heritage like any other? How can or should it be distinguished from landscaped heritage and natural heritage?

What classification?

Classify, protect? What and how? Criteria: existence value, capacity for mutation, etc.? If the term “heritage” is understood as everything we inherit, how does the new climate paradigm transform our way of classifying architectural heritage? Should we keep what we fear losing, or what is easiest to transform? Should we continue to create fetishes, or should we learn to recognize the qualities of current production? Should we rather preserve the past or preserve the future?

What future for heritage?

And at the end of the heritage spectrum, what happens to buildings that break with functional continuity? Are we still making beautiful ruins? If we must use what we already have as much as possible, is the conservation of inert and fragmentary buildings still acceptable today? And if we have to build recyclable and removable, will our generation provide future generations with a heritage worthy of study?

Submission conditions

Communication proposals will include a title, an abstract of no more than 300 words and a brief
resume. They will specify the theme to which they relate. Summaries must be sent before the 30th
June 2023 to seminaire.apc@strasbourg.archi.fr

Calendar

Launch of the call for contributions: May 2023
Response to the call for contributions: June 30, 2023
Response to contributors: July 2023
Seminar: October 19 and 20, 2023
Publication of acts: 2024

steering Committee

Philippe Cieren, National School of Architecture of Strasbourg.
François-Frédéric Muller, National School of Architecture of Strasbourg
Pierre Gommier, National School of Architecture of Strasbourg
Scientific Council :
Pierre Caye, Jean Pépin Center
Anne-Marie Chatelet, National School of Architecture of Strasbourg
Benjamin Chavardès, National School of Architecture of Lyon
Philippe Dufieux, National School of Architecture of Lyon
Pierre Gommier, National School of Architecture of Strasbourg
François Goven, Heritage Inspectorate
Claudine Houbart, University of Liège
Sara Marini, Università Iuav di Venezia
Jean-Paul Midant – ENSA Belleville
François-Frédéric Muller, National School of Architecture of Strasbourg

More information