Patrimoine et paysage - Note de cours

Study Notes

Patrimoine et Paysage - Study Notes

Course Overview: The course, "Patrimoine et paysage," part of the Architecture Bachelor's program (Block 3), examines the theory of conservation and restoration of heritage. It emphasizes a pluridisciplinary and critical approach to cultural heritage.
Course Materials: Students must supplement this syllabus with lecture notes, projected images (PowerPoint), and announcements made in class.
Key Concepts: The words "patrimoine" (heritage), "conservation", "restoration", and "renovation" frequently appear but have distinct meanings.
Heritage Definition: Heritage encompasses both tangible (e.g., buildings, artifacts) and intangible (e.g., cultural practices) assets inherited by a community. Its origin links to ownership inherited from a father. The concept has evolved from a privately held family asset to a collectively held national asset. It is also linked to the notion of cultural capital.
Heritage Types / Aspects: Heritage can be appreciated through:
- Contemplative: aesthetic value and emotional attachment
- Utilitarian: potential for development and use
- Identitarian: connection to identity and history
- Cognitive: value as a source of knowledge
- Administrative: legal and societal management
Patrimonialisation: The process by which objects or places acquire heritage status through societal recognition. It varies from the desire to preserve history as a relic to repurposing history for contemporary issues.
Patrimoniality: A community's sensitive experience of the past. It involves recognition and validation based on cultural and political factors.
Historical Heritage: The notion developed during the Renaissance and Enlightenment, becoming a catalyst for knowledge development and progress. The French Revolution was a significant turning point. It's about preserving heritage to understand ourselves.
Art & Heritage: Art objects are considered unique and non-exchangeable, reflecting a society’s history and culture.
Authenticity: The concept is complex. It relates to material and morphological conformity to originals. The "here and now", and the object's uniqueness. Reproduction questions its authenticity, although it can also increase the accessibility to heritage or help with understanding.
Conservation, Restoration & Renovation:
- Conservation: Maintaining heritage in good condition through preventative and curative measures. It is an ongoing process of care, preventing further damage.
- Restoration: Exceptional intervention to repair damage on heritage items without changing its fundamental character. It prioritizes maintaining original values over modern updates.
- Renovation: A wider transformation or modernization of a space that might include restoration if needed. It can involve new utility or function. Repurposing an existing structure for a new use.
Monument & Historical Monument:
- Monument: Objects that commemorate or remind us of the past. Can be any building created to honor someone or an event.
- Historical Monument: Objects given a historical significance due to their age or value in documents related to history. It becomes historical by a society's act of patrimonializing them.
Evolution of Heritage: The concept of heritage has expanded over time, from religious significance, to monarchical ties, family values, national ones and scientific ones. An evolution from very traditional to modern viewpoints. The field has become more complex and expanded.
Global and Temporal Evolution: Heritage is now seen as more diverse, more geographically dispersed and covering a wider scope of history.
Belgian Heritage: Definitions of heritage differ between the regions of Wallonia and Brussels-Capital.
International Conventions: The syllabus mentions international conventions regarding heritage like the Convention of Granada and the UNESCO World Heritage List.