Professionalism entails the conduct, aims and qualities that characterise a profession. The term is also used to describe education and training standards for the knowledge and skills necessary to perform a specific profession. In practice, professional standards of practice and ethics are agreed upon and maintained by recognised associations. In the past, professionalism has not occupied a central place in built heritage discussions, policy and research. Recent changes in terms of public attitudes and sustainability concerns have had a cumulative impact on the requirements for professionalism in the built heritage sector. The future success of the sector will depend on the availability of adequate professionals and an appropriately skilled workforce. In practice, the built heritage sector involves much more than interventions to conserve, preserve, rehabilitate or restore a heritage structure. Bringing a project to fruition begins with the formulation of a policy, proceeds to the design and execution of intervention strategies and ends with ongoing maintenance of heritage structures and related future programming. This process requires sufficient interactions between different professionals to obtain a common vision and hold that vision throughout a project. At the same time, the sustainability of the sector is also defined by effective governance, societal support and cultural rationales. Professionalism in the Built Heritage Sector contains reports on the lectures of the international conference organized by the Raymond Lemaire International Centre for Conservation (Leuven, Belgium, February 5th-8th, 2018). The contributions in this volume meet the increasing demand for shared information to support the transition towards a more sustainable conservation process. The volume consists of three main parts that deal with practice-led research or scientific research: "Profiles and capacities", "Education, training and quality labels", and "Obstacles and changes".

This book gathers the latest advances and innovations in the field of sustainable reuse of built heritage, as presented by international researchers at the conference "ReUSO - Documentation, Restoration and Reuse of Heritage”, held on November 2-4, 2022, at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto (FEUP), Porto, Portugal. The X edition of the ReUSO conference promoted the discussion among the participants on issues related to the sustainable and adaptive reuse of built heritage, from the theoretical perspectives to the methodological and practical applications in contemporary interventions in relation to the complexity and vulnerability of the present-day context and the future orientations of our scientific sectors.

This book gathers the proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Architecture, Materials and Construction (ICAMC), held in Lisbon, Portugal on October 27-29, 2021. ICAMC serves as an international forum for the presentation of the latest technological advances and research results in the fields of architecture and urban planning, civil and structural engineering, and materials manufacturing and processing. As such, it explores highly diverse topics, including innovative construction technologies (computer and digital manufacturing) and materials (polymers, composites, etc.); traditional materials (glass, wood, steel, concrete, stone, brick, etc.) and its harmonic combination which can be achieved by evaluating their structural and non-structural properties; the key concepts of efficiency and sustainability related to the architectural design and engineering of new buildings; analysis, rehabilitation and restoration of buildings. The contributions, which were selected by means of a rigorous international peer-review process, highlight numerous exciting ideas that will spur novel research directions and foster multidisciplinary collaborations.

This insightful Research Agenda examines the multidimensional relationships between heritage planning and pressing current societal challenges around climate, identity and development. Mapping future avenues for the field, it suggests new approaches to executing, studying and reflecting on heritage planning.

The Future of the Past is a biennial conference generally carried out during the commemoration date of the incorporation of Santa Ana de Los Ríos de Cuenca Ecuador as a World Heritage Site (WHS). It initiated in 2014, organized by the City Preservation Management research project (CPM) of the University of Cuenca, to create a space for dialoguing among interested actors in the cultural heritage field. Since then, this space has served to exchange initiatives and to promote coordinated actions based on shared responsibility, in the local context. The third edition of this conference took place in the context of the 20th anniversary of being listed as WHS and a decade of CPM as the Southern host of the PRECOM3OS UNESCO Chair (Preventive Conservation, Maintenance and Monitoring of Monuments and Sites). For the very first time, and thanks to the collaboration with the Raymond Lemaire International Centre for Conservation of the University of Leuven (Belgium), the conference expanded its local scope. On this occasion, contributions reflected round a worldwide challenge in the cultural field: revealing the paths towards participatory governance of cultural heritage. Participatory governance is understood as institutional decision-making structures supported by shared responsibilities and rights among diverse actors.

This book serves to shed some light on several controversial questions about contemporary interventions on religious heritage buildings. In the mid-1960s, a process of renewal of Catholic churches began, which sought to respond to the liturgical modifications implemented during the Vatican II (1962-65). Fifty years later, this process continues to be problematic in buildings with a high heritage or historical value. From an operational point of view, it is stimulating to revisit the most relevant architectures at the international level, those high-impact works that were generated thanks to an open and serene dialogue between principals, architects, users, artists and patrimonial leaders. Thus, it is essential to know the criteria that have supported interventions, whether legal (both ecclesiastical and civil), architectural, artistic, liturgical or pastoral. In this sense, what references could be used at a time like ours? How can we reform what has already been reformed?

Protecting and preserving our Heritage : Vol. 2: Written Evidence