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.

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.

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

Critical Built Heritage Practice and Conservation - Evolving Perspectives supports an alternative point of departure for engaging with the historic built environment, by critically questioning the legitimacy of dominant conservation concepts and methods that are often taken for granted within building conservation, architecture, and adaptive reuse. The meaning of heritage is changing. From pastness to presentness, from preservation to participation, and from tangible to intangible, heritage is increasingly understood as a dynamic, social, and intangible process across many disciplines. Consequently, the role and remit of the built heritage practitioner – and in particular the architectural conservationist – is becoming progressively complex and in need of a critical gaze. Is restoration really a falsehood from beginning to end? Should the condition of existing materials determine the conservation method? Is authenticity really an inherent quality within old buildings? By engaging with a critical interpretation of heritage, this book makes space for practitioners to consider the evolution of their own role within a rapidly changing context of built heritage practice. Reinforced by a shift in emphasis from materials to meanings, a ‘socio-material outlook’ is proposed which champions an enhanced focus on intangible heritage within the built heritage sector, whilst still acknowledging the physical condition of old buildings is a priority for many stakeholders. This book has been written with practitioners, students, and educators of architectural conservation in mind – although will also be of relevance to the broader built heritage industry; as well as academics, researchers, and heritage students with a passion for contemporary dialogues in heritage studies.

This book examines management of the built cultural heritagethrough the use of the concept of cultural significance. Itconsiders how and why cultural significance is assessed and how itcan be used as an effective focus and driver for managementstrategies and processes. Effective management of the built cultural heritage requires aclear understanding of what makes a place significant (and how thatsignificance might be vulnerable) but the book also emphasises thatthis understanding of cultural significance must inform allactivities in order to ensure that what is important about theplace is protected and enhanced. The book was written in the midst of much fundamentalrethinking, both nationally and internationally, on approaches tothe conservation of our built cultural heritage. Managing BuiltHeritage: the role of cultural significance is analytical andreflective but also draws on real life examples to illustrateparticular issues, looking at current approaches and drawing outbest practice. The authors consider key policies and procedures that need to beimplemented to help ensure effective management and the book willbe useful for specialists in built cultural heritage - conservationofficers, built heritage managers, architects, planners andsurveyors - as well as for facilities and estates managers whosebuilding stock includes listed buildings or buildings inconservation areas.