RehabiMed Method Traditional Mediterranean Architecture I

Transcription

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Méthode
RehabiMed
Architecture
Traditionnelle
Méditerranéenne
I. Réhabilitation
Ville et Territoire
RehabiMed
Method
Traditional
Mediterranean
Architecture
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Método RehabiMed
Arquitectura
Tradicional
Mediterránea
I. Rehabilitación
Ciudad y Territorio
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I. Rehabilitation
Town & Territory
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Méthode
RehabiMed
Architecture
Traditionnelle
Méditerranéenne
I. Réhabilitation
Ville et Territoire
RehabiMed
Method
Traditional
Mediterranean
Architecture
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Método RehabiMed
Arquitectura
Tradicional
Mediterránea
I. Rehabilitación
Ciudad y Territorio
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I. Rehabilitation
Town & Territory
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THIS PROGRAMME IS FINANCED
BY THE EUROPEAN UNION
EUROMED
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EUROMED HERITAGE
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AGENCIA ESPAÑOLA
DE COOPERACIÓN INTERNACIONAL
COL·LEGI D’APARELLADORS
I ARQUITECTES TÈCNICS DE BARCELONA
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Consortium RehabiMed:
Project Manager:
Xavier CASANOVAS
Members:
Ministry of Communications and Works
Department of Antiquities of Cyprus
Person in charge: Evi FIOURI
Bureau Culturel de l'Ambassade de la République
Arabe d'Egypte en France
Supreme Council of Antiquities, Egypte
Persons in charge: Mahmoud ISMAÏL et Wahid
Mohamed EL-BARBARY
Col·legi d’Aparelladors i Arquitectes Tècnics de
Barcelona, Espagne
Persons in charge: Xavier CASANOVAS
Ecole d’Avignon, France
Persons in charge: Gilles NOURISSIER
Centre Méditerranéen de l'Environnement
Marrakech, Maroc
Persons in charge: Moulay Abdeslam SAMRAKANDI
Institut National du Patrimoine, Tunisie
Persons in charge: Mourad RAMMAH
Director:
Xavier CASANOVAS
Coordination of the volumes:
Oriol CUSIDÓ
Ramon GRAUS
Amèlia MARZAL
Development and drafting of the method:
Oriol CUSIDÓ
Ramon GRAUS
Albert FUSTER
José Luis GARCÍA GRINDA
Soledad GARCÍA MORALES
José Luis GONZÁLEZ MORENO-NAVARRO
María-José JIMÉNEZ
José Manuel LÓPEZ OSORIO
Carmen MARZO
Irene MARZO
Camilla MILETO
Joaquín MONTÓN
Josep MUNTAÑOLA
Francisco POL
Emilio RAMIRO
Pere ROCA
Cristina THIÓ
Fernando VEGAS
Antoni VILANOVA
Montserrat VILLAVERDE
France
Persons in charge: René GUERIN et Patrice MOROTSIR
Xavier BENOIST
Christophe GRAZ
Maria LÓPEZ DÍAZ
Michel POLGE
Jean-Alexandre SIRI
Christian THIRIOT
Véronique WOOD
Morocco
Persons in charge: Abderrahim KASSOU et Quentin
WILBAUX
Karim ACHAK
Mohamed BOUAZZAOUI
Hicham ECHEFAA
Jamal-Eddine EL-GHORAFI
Ameziane HASSSANI
Oum-Kaltoum KOBBITE
Said LOQMANE
Abdellatif MAROU
Ahmed OUARZAZI
Tunisia
Persons in charge: Radhia BEN M’BAREK et
Abdellatif GHILENE
Mourad RAMMAH
Mohamed KERROU
Network of experts of the RehabiMed Consortium:
Cyprus
Persons in charge: Evi FIOURI et Irene HADJISAVVA
Constantinos ALKIDES
Athina ARISTOTELOUS-CLERIDOU
Michael COSMAS
Eliana GEORGIOU
Kyriakos KOUNDOUROS
Yiola KOUROU
Athina PAPADOPOULOU
Agni PETRIDOU
Eleni PETROPOULOU
Maria PHILOKYPROU
Eleni PISSARIDOU
Socrates STRATIS
Egypt
Persons in charge: Mahmoud ISMAÏL et Wahid
EL-BARBARY
Mahmoud ABD EL MAGEED
Mahmoud EL-ALFY
Mohamed ELARABY
Philippe HEARINGER
Hany HELAL
Bernard MAURY
Mohamed SIEF AL-YAZEL
Spain
Persons in charge: Oriol CUSIDÓ et Ramon GRAUS
Martí ABELLA
Josep ARMENGOL
Santiago CANOSA
Cèsar DÍAZ GÓMEZ
Collaborating experts in other Mediterranean
countries:
Nur AKIN (Turkey)
Nazmi AL-JUBEH (Palestine)
Mustafa AL-NADDAF (Jordan)
Ziad AL-SAAD (Jordan)
Suad AMIRY (Palestine)
Koksal ANADOL (Turkey)
Carlo ATZENI (Italy)
Abdelaziz BADJADJA (Algeria)
Kurtel BELMA (Turkey)
Demet BINAN (Turkey)
Can BINAN (Turkey)
Andrea BRUNO (Italy)
Khaldun BSHARA (Palestine)
Yotam CARMEL (Israel)
Banu ÇELEBIO⁄LU (Turkey)
Vito CENTRONE (Italy)
Nathalie CHAHINE (Lebanon)
Ofer COHEN (Israel)
Michel DAOUD (Lebanon)
Habib DEBS (Lebanon)
Michelangelo DRAGONE (Italy)
Reuven ELBERGER (Israel)
Tal EYAL (Israel)
Fabio FATIGUSO (Italy)
Antoine FISCHFISCH (Lebanon)
Yael FUHRMANN-NAAMAN (Israel)
Giovanni FURIO (Italy)
Sinan GENIM (Turkey)
Feyhan INKAYA (Turkey)
Monther JAMHAWI (Jordanie)
Oussama KALLAB (Lebanon)
Nikolaos KALOGIROU (Greece)
Vito LAUDADIO (Italy)
Yasmine MAKAROUN BOU ASSAF (Lebanon)
Moshe MAMON (Israel)
Hilmi MARAQA (Palestine)
Filipe MARIO LOPES (Portugal)
Nikolaos MOUTSOPOULOS (Greece)
Farhat MUHAWI (Palestine)
Yael F. NA’AMAN (Israel)
Yassine OUAGENI (Algeria)
Alkmini PAKA (Greece)
Rubi PELED (Israel)
Avi PERETS (Israel)
Simona PORCELLI (Italy)
Bougnerira-Hadj QUENZA (Algeria)
Cristina Scarpocchi (Italy)
Sinan SENIL (Turkey)
Haluk SEZGIN (Turkey)
Mai SHAER (Jordan)
Yaacov SHAFFER (Israel)
Ram SHOEF (Israel)
Giambattista DE TOMMASI (Italy)
Shan TSAY (Jordan)
Fandi WAKED (Jordan)
Eyal ZIV (Israel)
Scientific Committee of the Rehabimed Project:
Brigitte COLIN (UNESCO)
Josep GIRALT (IEMed)
Paul OLIVER (Oxford Brookes University)
French translation:
Michel LEVAILLANT
English translation:
Elaine FRADLEY
ADDENDA
Spanish translation:
Inma DÁVILA et Amèlia MARZAL
Arabian translation:
Mahmoud ISMAÏL
Illustrations:
Joan CUSIDÓ
Photographic material:
RehabiMed, CORPUS and CORPUS Levant teams.
Other sources are indicated with the photo.
Graphic design:
LM,DG : Lluís MESTRES
Website:
www.rehabimed.net
© 2007 Col·legi d’Aparelladors i Arquitectes Tècnics de
Barcelona pour le consortium RehabiMed
Bon Pastor, 5 – 08021 Barcelona, Espagne
rehabimed@apabcn.cat
ISBN : 84-87104-78-9
RehabiMed wish to encourage the reproduction of this
work and the diffusion of its contents, with due
mention of its source.
This project is financed by the Euromed Heritage
programme of the European Union and by the
Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional (AECI).
The opinions expressed in this document do not
necessarily reflect the position of the European Union
or its member states.
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Introduction
The first Euromediterranean Conference of heads of state in 1995 saw the launch of the
Barcelona process, an ambitious initiative ratified in 2005 at the Barcelona +10 Summit. The
priority objectives are intended to seek sociopolitical, economic, cultural and environmental
synergies from a regional and mutual development viewpoint. It was within this context that the
Euromed Heritage Programme emerged in 1998, to contribute towards the improvement and
protection of the diverse heritage shared by the different Mediterranean countries.
Traditional architecture, as an essential part of the cultural legacy generated by the collective
imagination of the Mediterranean, plays an important part in the actions carried out by Euromed
Heritage. In their first years, CORPUS and CORPUS Levant carried out an enormous task
cataloguing and analysing the characteristics and typologies of traditional Mediterranean
architecture, identifying the problems presented and suggesting the best alternatives for
preserving it. RehabiMed wanted to continue this stage of analytical study to develop the
essential ideas arising from the needs and urgent requirements detected by these projects –
promoting effective, respectful rehabilitation.
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Today, in a globalised world, where economic and cultural uniformity mark the development
criteria to be followed based on standard patterns, RehabiMed's proposal is even more
meaningful. Rehabilitation counteracts the idea of globalisation, and regional wealth, cultural
diversity, different ways of life and particular local features become essential elements to be
preserved.
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There are many public and private initiatives aimed at recovering constructed heritage; some are
oriented towards singular, monumental heritage, which we call Restoration, and others, as is the
case with RehabiMed, are directed towards more modest, more abundant heritage with a
greater presence in the territory, such as traditional architecture in historic town centres, rural
villages and dispersed throughout the territory. This is what we call Rehabilitation, always carried
out to provide buildings – the majority of them without any kind of heritage protection – with a
use. This activity involving action on what has been built presents a wide diversity of situations,
if we look at the Mediterranean sphere. In European countries, rehabilitation activity represents
almost 50% of total activity in the sector, while in the countries of the south and east of the
Mediterranean basin, this activity does not amount even to 10% of activity in the sector, despite
its importance concerning economic development and the social cohesion of the population.
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RehabiMed's aim is to reinforce rehabilitation activity and maintaining traditional Mediterranean
architecture as a factor in sustainable (social, economic and environmental) development.
Achieving this objective will allow us to move forward with two historical challenges that may
appear contradictory but from our point of view are perfectly compatible and complementary:
firstly, contributing towards improving the living conditions of residents, who are the people who
give meaning and life to this heritage; and, secondly, contributing to preserving the historical and
cultural identity of Mediterranean peoples.
To achieve this aim, RehabiMed's approach has been to work in three directions. Firstly, we have
developed some strategic and methodological tools orientated towards rehabilitation; alongside
these, we have carried out various publicity actions and training for professionals in the spirit of
the content of the tools developed; and, finally, we have launched four pilot operations with real
rehabilitation work to test, experiment and demonstrate the importance, possibilities and
positive effects represented by good rehabilitation policy.
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They have been three years of hard work, constructive debates and experiences shared with
experts, with students and, above all, with the population directly linked to our actions, which
has allowed us to meet the objective we initially set. We believe that the results are excellent and
that we have created a good starting point for rehabilitation to get off on the right foot, giving
meaning to the tools created, the training given and the experiments carried out.
I am delighted to present the first volume of our methodological work, the result of the effort of
more than 150 experts from different professional spheres in 15 countries. The texts in this
publication contain the Guide for rehabilitation of traditional buildings, an essential complement
to the RehabiMed Method, considered and drawn up at length to respond to the concerns of our
collaborators and experts. In this case, a first procedural part has also been drawn up detailing
the steps to be followed to rehabilitate buildings and offering a rich complement, with precise,
clear, specific articles developing different aspects sketched out in the proposed procedure to
facilitate their application and showing different situations sharing very similar forms of action in
the rehabilitation of traditional buildings. All this will help the different professionals involved in
the rehabilitation process to better apply their capabilities and knowledge based on tried and
tested tools.
Xavier Casanovas
RehabiMed Project Manager
Barcelona, 30 June 2007
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RehabiMed Method
Traditional Mediterranean Architecture
Rehabilitation. Town and territory
Presentation
0. Introduction
Traditional Mediterranean architecture
A world in transformation. Architecture under threat
Rehabilitating traditional Mediterranean architecture
The RehabiMed method
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Part 1
Rehabimed method for rehabilitation of traditional mediterranean architecture
An approach to the integrated renovation of traditional sites
I / Rehabilitation as a process
II / Objectives of the method
III / Principles of the method
IV / Phases of the method
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I. Political backing
1. Political will
2. Preliminary decisions
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II. Diagnosis
3. Analysis of the territory
4. Integrated diagnosis
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III. Strategy
5. Strategic reflection
6. Action plan
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IV. Action
7. Implementation of the plan
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V. Monitoring
8. Continual evaluation
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Part 2
RehabiMed tools
An aid to renovating traditional sites
Tool 1. concerning the perception of problems and justification of the intervention
Tackling renovation today. The case of historic centres.
Josep Armengol
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Housing: renovation issues in France and the Mediterranean. Michel Polge
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Heritage and the need to renovate. The case of Greece.
Nikos Kalogirou and Alkmini Pakka
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The value of traditional urban models. The case of Nicosia. Michael Cosmas
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Tool 2. Concerning preliminary decisions
The framework of governance and public participation. Xavier Benoist
Public initiative and citizen commitment: The example of the process of
transformation of the historic centre of Barcelona. Martí Abella
The agents involved and the difficulties of consensus on the nature of the
intervention: the case of Islamic Cairo. Cristina Scarpocchi
Defining the framework of governance and the agents involved.
The Palestinian experience. Kaldhun Bashra
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II. Diagnosis
Tool 3. Putting the emphasis on knowledge of the area
Rehabilitating traditional architecture as cultural dialogue: concepts and principles
for discovering and renovating it. Josep Muntañola
Tool 4. Town planning analysis and architectural values
The view of the town planner: traditional sites and their territorial context. René Guerin
Heritage values of traditional architecture. The example of Italy.
Michelangelo Dragone
Modern versus traditional typologies in Algerian medinas. Bougherira-Hadji Quenza
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Tool 5. Analysis of economic parameters and socio-cultural values
Which socio-economic parameters must be considered? Xavier Benoist
The people living in traditional architecture. The case of Nicosia.
Irene Hadjisavva-Adam
The anthropological values of traditional space. Albert Fuster
The social and cultural values of traditional housing. Yassine Ouagueni
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Tool 6. Recognition of historic values
The historical view of territory and traditional towns. Montse Villaverde
History, space and society in Arab medinas. Mohamed Kerrou
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Tool 7. Biophysical reading of the territory
The value of landscape. Emilio Ramiro
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Tool 8. Taking residents' expectations into consideration
Diagnosis as a result of a participative process. Carmen Marzo
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III. Strategy
Tool 9. Concerning scenarios of future
The role of historic centres in today's cities. The case of Islamic Cairo. Mahmoud Ismail
The role of historic centres in today's cities. The case of Algeria. Yassine Ouagueni
Opportunities for traditional architecture in the rural world.
Experiences in Cyprus. Irene Hadjisavva-Adam
Tool 10. Reflection criteria for sustainable renovation
Some essential points on strategic reflection. René Guerin
Renovation understood as a multidimensional process. Agni Petridou
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Tool 11. Priority objectives of rehabilitation
The commitment to sustainability: well beyond environmental variables.
Kyriakos Koundouros and Irene Hadjisavva-Adam
Social cohesion: objective and tool for renovation. Filipe Mario Lopes
The evaluation of traditional heritage: the case of Greece
Commitment to sustainable tourism. The experience of Turkey
Demet Binan and Can Binan
Tool 12. Concerning the integrated action plan
Tools for action to renovate historic centres. Josep Armengol
Evaluation and choice of interventions in traditional environments.
The case of Nicosia. Eleni Petropoulou
Tool 13. Defining legal and planning instruments
Towards an urban plan of renovation. Strategies for intervention on
traditional sites. Oriol Cusidó
Draft by-law. Defining the central regulatory text of the Renovation Plan
Renovation manuals. In Italy and the Mediterranean countries. Carlo Atzeni
Cataloguing heritage. A methodological process. Antoni Vilanova
Brief notes on the current situation of heritage and planning legislation
in the mediterranean
1. Cyprus. The necessary development of local plans
2. Lebanon. The lack of ad hoc legal tools. Habib Debs
3. Italy. A dense web of legislation. Michelangelo Dragone
4. Tunisia. The difficult of applying the law in practice. Rammah Mourad
5. Palestine. Protection as a priority. Farhat Muhawi
6. Turkey. Conservation plans. Nur Akin
7. France. A policy of planned interventions. Michel Polge
8. Greece. Traditional heritage is not a priority. Nikos Kalogirou and Alkmini Pakka
Tool 14. Defining the operational framework
The necessary financial instruments. Xavier Benoist
Public participation strategy. Irene Marzo
The organisation of the decision-making process in Palestinian communities.
Kaldhun Bashra
The bodies and agents involved: the Greek experience.
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IV. Action
Tool 15. Models for the inclusion of new architecture
The inclusion of new architecture: between the historic and the contemporary.
Andrea Bruno
Architecture and identity: the Tal es Safa project – learning from the past
Kaldhun Bashra
Tool 16. Recommendations for planning open space
The "open space issue" in renovation culture and policies in spain premises for
intervention in open space in historic mediterranean centres. Francisco Pol
The role of open space: two projects on Crete and Cyprus. Socrates Stratis
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Tool 17. Renovation of buildings
For the introduction of a Methodological Guide to control building
renovation schemes. Ramon Graus
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Tool 18. Implementation of new infrastructures
In the territory: new infrastructures, new landscapes? Emilio Ramiro
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V. Monitoring
Tool 19. Tools for continual assessment
Observatory and monitoring indicators. Oriol Cusidó
The application of GIS in monitoring cultural heritage. Constantinos Alkides
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Introduction
Traditional Mediterranean Architecture
RehabiMed uses the term traditional architecture to refer to
everyday architecture that is alive because it is inhabited,
essentially civilian, domestic and of pre-industrial construction. It is
a form of architecture built using local resources, which covers
materials, techniques and the skills of its constructors, and it is the
fundamental expression of the culture of the different
communities and their relation with nature and the landscape.
It is an architecture that covers different forms of grouping and
the scattered habitat with all its auxiliary constructions, not
forgetting the more modest elements (fountains, paths, etc.),
which, altogether, form the traditional Mediterranean landscape.
RehabiMed focuses broadly on this architecture, including both
the rural habitat, fundamental to the humanization and
structuring of the territory, and the city, the clear expression of life
in community and the optimization of resources and human
relations, going beyond the filters of highbrow architecture to
incorporate all the values of more modest forms of architecture.
Rural architecture is primarily linked to systems of agricultural and
livestock production, which, beyond a simple presence in a
bygone landscape, plays a vital role in understanding the
processes that have produced today’s landscape, the result of a
social and a natural history. Rural architecture has always played a
salient role as an element that structures the landscape in which
buildings, crops and nature are in perfect balance, the result of a
continuous process of change and transformation, a socioenvironmental reality generated jointly by biophysical and
socioeconomic factors throughout history. The traditional rural
habitat takes the form of a heterogeneous variety of built
typologies which may be scattered or form small settlements. It is
also accompanied by a large variety of auxiliary elements and
constructions that are vital to the domestication of the territory
(cabins, dry-stone walls, ovens and kilns, caravanserais, fountains,
wells, mills, stables, granaries, etc.), and infrastructures (canals,
paths, irrigation channels, etc.) which are the result of the
historical interaction between natural resources and human ways
of appropriating them that bear witness to the coherent
hybridization of the biophysical factors of a region and the
socioeconomic factors of the community that inhabit it.
Urban architecture, on the other hand, is built in the context of a
city or urban settlement, being the expression of a more complex
form of community dwelling, in which artisans and traders
predominate over the land-related trades and where ‘the new
needs and forms of society find their place’ (Mumford, 1961). The
urban settlement, though also originally linked to the rural space
and to the need to commercialize farming surplus, appeared as a
structure to dominate the territory, defined by Braudel (1968)
Elmali, Turkey
‘more than by its walls or the number of its population, by the way
in which it concentrates its activities on the most limited surface
area possible’. The urban habitat covers a large typological range,
derived to a large extent from geographical differentiation and
from its origin and historical evolution. This historical and
morphological diversity not only translates as buildings,
construction procedures or materials used, it is also the
configuration of the urban form, expressed in the way of
structuring and considering collective space (streets, squares, etc.),
of organizing constructions and uses which, in the rural world, are
scattered (sanctuary, fountain, fortress, etc.), of relating private
architecture and public space, developing a greater variety of
residential typologies that reflects more complex social structures,
in the uses of buildings, in the singularity of its infrastructures
(market, school, etc.), and so on. These settlements, which in days
gone by exclusively configured the city as a consequence of its
growth and transformation, now form an integral part of the
contemporary city, where they play the role of historical nucleuses.
It is, then, the form of traditional architecture that humankind
used to settle and construct its habitat in the territory around the
Mediterranean Sea, a palimpsest permanently rewritten by the
relations between people and their surroundings, and which has
today become cultural landscape and collective imaginary.
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Introduction
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Qalaat al Manika, Syria
Hacienda Algarrobo, Malaga, Spain
Rovinj, Croatia
Lucca, Italia
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Introduction
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A changing world.
Architecture under threat
The inventories drawn up as part of the CORPUS and CORPUS
Levant (EUROMED Heritage I) projects showed in 2002 the farreaching transformations and pressures to which architecture,
landscape and traditional territory are subject. Today, traditional
surroundings are in a dramatic situation throughout the
Mediterranean Basin, reduced to a continuing loss of their social
and cultural character, threatened by intense degradation and
constantly on the retreat. Likewise, the breakdown of the
traditional world and the tendency to cultural homogenization as
a result of globalization have brought about disregard for much of
this architecture, often considered to be a symbol of poverty with
values and qualities that are far removed from the mediatized
concept of modernity.
Pressure on the traditional habitat began with the process of
industrialization, though it was much accentuated by the modern
movement and urbanism in the early 20th century, seeking new
models of dwelling and building cities that could overcome the
deficiencies of traditional settlements; it went as far as denying all
functional, social and even aesthetic values, and radically placed
‘the new’ before ‘the old’. This process emerged at different times
according to the country in question and whether we refer to the
urban or the rural space.
Today, in the era of the ‘global village’, when the metropolitan
industrial city is turning into a diffuse metapolis and the borders
between country and city are becoming increasingly hazy, the
pressure on this architecture and the population that it houses is
even greater.
In the rural environment, many villages are becoming depopulated
due to the lack of alternatives for development, and others are
subject to violent transformation under the pressures of property
or tourism-related speculation without the necessary urban
planning. This contemporary urbanism is upsetting the historical
balance between humankind and nature, and converting the rural
landscape into a landscape without activity, where traditional
architecture loses its meaning and original function, and is reused
and transformed.
In urban environments, the ‘historical nucleuses’ are affected by
different problems according to each historical and regional
circumstance, which we could summarise according to four main
vectors of pressure, sometimes complementary or simultaneous,
and with differing degrees of influence: nucleuses in the process
of overpopulation due to migration (south-north or country-city)
with the subsequent physical (over-occupation and modification
of dwelling), social (constitution of ghettos, insecurity, etc.) and
Arnavutkoy, Istanbul, Turkey
Mostar, Bosnia Herzegovina
environmental (insalubrity, lack of comfort, pollution)
deterioration of the urban environment; nucleuses in the process
of depopulation due to the abandonment of the historic fabric for
the city, with the subsequent loss of social values and the
deterioration of buildings and architectural heritage; nucleuses
affected by heavy-handed urban renovation work (demolition of
heritage, destruction of the historic fabric with the creation of
new expressways, incoherent insertion of new architectures), and,
finally, nucleuses affected by processes of urban reinvestment, in
which we can distinguish three main processes: the development
of tourism, tertiarization (especially in historic centres) with the
possible loss of the residential function, and gentrification (the
installation in a run-down neighbourhood of residents from a
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Introduction
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Tunis, Tunisia
Aleppo, Syria
high-income bracket), all processes that can have a
counterproductive effect in social terms.
Institutions such as the UNESCO and ICOMOS have issued
repeated alerts about the loss of this heritage. In this respect,
mention should be made of the recommendations of the
International Charter for the Conservation of Historic Towns and
Urban Areas (Washington Charter) of 1987 and the Charter on
Built Vernacular Heritage (1999). Both charters, in addition to
providing criteria for intervention, stress the need for long-term
action in the form of education and sensitization measures,
involving the promotion of training and specialization
programmes in areas of preservation of traditional architecture,
aimed at technical professionals and politicians, who should head
policies for the assessment and rehabilitation of this heritage, and
seeking the complicity of the population, an active protagonist
and participant in this shared legacy.
It is in this context that the RehabiMed project proposes a series
of measures to encourage the rehabilitation of this architecture on
the basis of sensitization and training.
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Rbat, Morocco
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Introduction
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Rehabilitating Traditional Mediterranean
Architecture
In its global dimension, traditional habitat has a great deal to
contribute to a context of sudden changes and urbanization that
is neither sustainable nor environmentally friendly, and is marked
by a need for the reorientation of urban policies in order to reduce
conflicts between humankind and nature, improve quality of life,
encourage basic values of community life and call for the recovery
of the existing territory and recognition of cultural diversity.
For RehabiMed, the concept of rehabilitation covers a broad range
of action with a view to recovering and updating a lost or
damaged function—in this case, dwelling. On the basis of
present-day concerns, rehabilitation means improving the action
of dwelling by seeking a point of balance between technical
aspects, the preservation of heritage values and criteria of social
justice, economic efficiency and preservation of the environment
(the three mainstays of sustainability).
RehabiMed continues the task begun by the European Charter of
Architectural Heritage and the complementary Amsterdam
Declaration, both dated 1975 and promoted by the European
Council. These documents put forward the concept of “integrated
conservation” for the recovery of run-down historic centres, based
not just on the restoration of monuments but also on the
promotion of actions to rehabilitate the fabric of dwellings and
social measures.
RehabiMed therefore proposes a methodology that addresses the
rehabilitation process on the basis of integrating traditional space
into a wider territorial context; from the global viewpoint of a
multisectorial, economic, social and environmental approach; that
is driven by a desire for coordination and calls for consensus of
action between the various agents; that is flexible, due to the
need for continual adaptation to changing realities; and,
essentially, non-dogmatic, not claiming to produce single solutions
to the problems of the traditional habitat in the Mediterranean,
seeking instead solutions that adapt to the conditioning factors
and specificity of each local context.
Thessalonica, Greece
Beirut, Lebanon
Istanbul, Turkey
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Introduction
X
The RehabiMed method and its tools
The proposed method of intervention, aimed at the local
authorities and all the agents involved in the restoration processes,
seeks to help and facilitate the promotion, planning and
management of restoration work of traditional architecture in its
territorial context (rural or urban). Together with the method, we
present here a set of tools to aid in the implementation of the
different stages of intervention.
This publication comprises two complementary books: a first
volume which covers the global intervention strategy, considering
the scale of the village, the city and the territory, and a second
volume, centred on the intervention at a smaller scale, presenting
a method for the restoration of buildings.
Both books are structured around two main sections: a first
methodological section which explains the stages and phases of
the intervention procedures, and a second practical section in
which specific tools are discussed in order to facilitate the
implementation of the stages considered in the first section.
The methodological sections are fruit of the work done by a
network of Mediterranean experts whom during the first year of
the project drew up the basic principles and the structure of the
method. The texts of the method were debated at length, and
then presented at a symposium in Marseille in 2005 and used as
a conceptual base in the series of training seminars held in 2006
and 2007 in Nicosia, El Cairo, Kairouan and Marrakech.
In the second sections of the books, a set of articles and texts are
presented which were written by specialists in different areas.
These are structured in accordance with the stages and phases
considered for the intervention, and seek to serve as useful tools
in order to facilitate and enrich their development. The tools are
built from a diversity of approaches and issues by a number of
different authors, in an attempt to reflect the wide spectrum of
sensitivities and realities nowadays present in the Mediterranean
basin.
It is true that the method presented involves a high degree of
commitment and perhaps has some points which are difficult to
deal with from the reality of each country and each place, but we
are convinced that setting a high standard will encourage the
quality of the restoration of our traditional architecture in the long
term.
Dubrovnik, Croatia
Gjirokastra, Albania
Santorini, Greece
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First part
RehabiMed Method
for rehabilitation
of traditional
mediterranean
architecture
An approach
to the integrated
renovation
of traditional sites
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RehabiMed Method for rehabilitation of traditional
mediterranean architecture
I. Rehabilitation as a process
The rehabilitation of traditional architecture has to be set in the
framework of a process of revitalization and regeneration of the
territory of which it forms part, whether an urban or a rural
environment. It has to be understood as an intervention on both
the physical environment and on the population it hosts, and the
series of cultural, social and economic activities that define the
‘social environment’, with the main objective of improving the
living conditions of this population as well as the quality of the
area and the ‘built’ environment, maintaining and promoting its
cultural and heritage values, and at the same time guaranteeing
its coherent adaptation to the needs of contemporary life.
Rehabilitation has to be a slow, programmed process of
transformation with mid- and long-term objectives and no fast or
sudden interventions. It has to begin with a firm political decision
that leads not to the carrying out of specific projects but calls
instead for action and ongoing evaluation in accordance with the
evolution of the area and its inhabitants.
The mosque and bazaar are important parts in the configuration of the Muslim city
(Fez). / Benevolo
II. Objectives of the method
The objectives of the method are to order and systematize the
stages of the rehabilitation process (from political will to carrying
out and evaluation of the action), identify the tools and
instruments to be used (technical, administrative and legal) for
optimum management and development, and define the criteria
that will allow reflection on the problems and the strategies to be
established in order to guarantee the success of the process.
The method, aimed at all the agents involved in the rehabilitation
process but particularly at the public authorities—who must set
themselves up as promoters of the process—and the experts
commissioned with coordinating and managing its application,
aims to contribute to the construction of an optimum framework
for the rehabilitation of the traditional enclave, and the definition
of overall guidelines for action that are coherent with the
specificities of each place, going beyond the usual isolated
interventions.
RehabiMed presents an ambitious method of intervention, with
the intention of sensitizing the public authorities and experts to
the complexity of this type of process, which is usually approached
too schematically (an overly general analysis and unilateral
reflection producing, in the short term, isolated, partial actions
without subsequent evaluation), often seeking merely immediate
results, with unforeseeable consequences, compromised social
issues or irrecoverable losses of heritage.
The RehabiMed method aims to help to improve the process,
creating an ideal framework of reference that also accepts that its
application will depend on the reality of each country, subject to
The church (cathedral), the square of the city hall and the market are their
counterparts in the Christian city (Barcelona). / Busquets
very different legal, socio-cultural, political and technical
conditioning factors. The method can be developed partially or
with differing intensities in each of its stages, but the starting
point is always the need for an overall understanding of the
process and the acceptance of its principles: exhaustive
knowledge of the sphere of action, broad-based social consensus
in drawing up the strategy, consideration of long-term objectives,
etc.
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III. Principles of the method
The method adopts five basic principles in order to guarantee the
success of the rehabilitation/revitalization process.
Integration, understanding the traditional space, the historic
city and the rural territory to be part of a larger-scale territory
in which they have to be set and organized in accordance with
their historic singularity, and not regarded as isolated enclaves.
Globalism, considering a multisectorial approach to the
process in economic, social and environmental terms, not from
an exclusively technical or urbanistic viewpoint, defining an
integrated strategy that strikes a balance between enhancing
collective heritage and improving the population’s quality of
life.
Coordination, aspiring, by calling for a definite context of
public action, to a new framework of governability in which the
agents involved in rehabilitation (politicians, experts, social
agents, etc., as well as citizens) become involved in the process
and seek consensus as a basis for action as the true guarantee
of sustainability.
Flexibility, accepting that the long duration of rehabilitation
processes requires ongoing evaluation of action and the
possibility of redirecting the rehabilitation strategy, adapting it
to the frequently unforeseeable social and economic changes
that condition the evolution of the territory.
Adaptability, defining merely a framework-guide that
facilitates the management of rehabilitation and does not claim
to find solutions that can be generalized to the problems of
traditional habitat all over the Mediterranean basin, accepting
rather that the definition of strategies and proposals of action
will be conditioned by the specificities of each local context.
IV. Phases of the method
The method is divided into five phases of action, according to
which we can identify eight key stages or moments in the process.
Political backing. The process begins with the political will to
act (stage 1), which includes the making of the preliminary
decisions (stage 2) required to appropriately organize and
manage the rehabilitation process: delimitation of the area of
intervention, decisions as to the nature of the actions to be
carried out and the definition of the framework of
governability—that is, the organization of the intervention of
the various agents involved in rehabilitation, and the
participation of inhabitants.
Diagnosis. Before deciding on a strategy of intervention, it is
necessary to recognise the prevailing legal conditions and
establish the area of action in the form of an analysis of the
territory (stage 3), with a programme of multisectorial studies
that is keeping in with the place and the political orientation
adopted, and with recognition of the inhabitants’ needs and
expectations. During the analysis phase it is possible to identify
problems that were not noticed in the political orientation
phase, leading to the need to reconsider orientation (phase 1).
The analysis is used as the basis for the integrated diagnosis
(stage 4), a report on the current state of the area, agreed by
social consensus and with the corresponding political backing,
with a detailed breakdown of its potentials and dysfunctions.
Aerial view of a traditional Muslim urban fabric, the medina of Tripoli, and of a
European historic centre, in Barcelona.
18
Strategy. On the basis of the critical points of the field of
action identified in the integrated diagnosis, and by means of
strategic reflection (stage 5) that takes into consideration a
series of strategic and sustainability-related premisses, a series
of hypotheses of action will be defined to evaluate its viability.
The reflection process may reveal that the phase of analysis was
insufficient, necessitating a return to phase 2 in order to
complete diagnosis of the area. Once the feasible target
scenario has been decided on, an action plan (stage 6) will list
all the actions to be carried out in order to achieve it. The plan
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will be agreed by social consensus and approved by the
politicians; it will then, together with the proposed projects and
policies, implement the appropriate legal and working
instruments to undertake them.
Action. This phase includes carrying out all the actions (stage
7) foreseen in the action plan (both urban planning actions and
specific projects for buildings, open space, etc.), and
complementary measures of a social, economic or
environmental nature. In the case of building rehabilitation
projects, the RehabiMed Guide for the rehabilitation of
traditional buildings will be applied.
Monitoring. The phase of continual evaluation (stage 8) of the
actions will begin alongside the actions that are carried out.
Evaluation, which will take place while actions are under way
but also continue once they are completed, has to monitor the
degree of compliance with the objectives established in the
reflection phase. In the event of evidence that the actions do
not produce the desired results or that the conditions of
evolution are not as originally expected, it will be necessary to
return to the strategic reflection phase or even, if the
conditions of the territory are seen to have evolved, to the
diagnosis phase.
Village of San Vitorino Presso Roma, of medieval origin / Benevolo
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I. Political Backing
1
Political will
TOOL 1
The rehabilitation process begins with the political decision to take
action. This decision must be taken by the administration on the
basis of the perception of problems affecting a given area, but it
may also come in response to the pressures of civil society or at the
initiative of the private sector.
Identification of problems
The speed of economic and socio-cultural changes in
Mediterranean societies over the last century has led to the rapid
obsolescence of traditional habitats which are unable to adapt to
such sudden changes in such a short space of time and are
affected by a whole range of economic, social, urbanistic and
environmental problems.
The extreme diversity of the origins and historical evolution of the
different typologies of Mediterranean habitat, the heterogeneity
of its geographical and social conditioning factors, its different
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artistic and construction cultures, and different present-day
economic and social contexts produce a correspondingly diverse
range of problems.
It is on the basis of a perception of the overall problems and
negative tendencies that affect a given area that the political need
to solve them should be identified. Different problems call for
different responses.
Deciding on the need to act
Public initiative has to head an intervention that will adapt the
structure and use of traditional habitat to the needs of a
contemporary territory—that is, that will promote its redefinition
as an environment that facilitates rather than hinders present-day
life. This is a difficult challenge for an architecture that is often
marked by characteristics that make this kind of adaptability very
complicated.
The success of the rehabilitation process will certainly depend on
the decided involvement of the public administration, as both the
initiators and backers of the entire process, in which the area’s
body of social agents must also be involved.
Political approach and justification of intervention
The need for rehabilitation is not justified by the desire to preserve
and value traditional architecture alone; its principal objective has to
be to improve the living conditions of the population it houses, as
well as improving the quality of the physical territory in which it is set.
It is in this respect that the political powers have to accept that the
necessary improvement of the population’s living conditions
precludes excessively conservationist strategies and inflexible
historical ties.
With this objective as a point of departure, the rehabilitation
process may be politically approached and justified as a way of
solving a broad range of problems that are almost always
complementary:
The main objective of the process of rehabilitating traditional architecture has to be
to improve the living conditions of the population it houses. / Albara and Apamea
in Syria
an environmental viewpoint, with a view to improving
environmental quality (pollution, thermal and lighting comfort
levels, etc.) or optimizing the management of energy and
physical flows (waste management, water cycle, etc.);
and a heritage viewpoint, with a view to conserving and
valuing built heritage, preserving and valuing the cultural and
natural landscape, or rehabilitating and coherently integrating
heritage into the requirements of present-day life.
a social approach, with a view to combating poverty,
encouraging social cohesion and avoiding social exclusion,
curbing processes of demographic regression and meeting the
social and cultural needs of residents and users;
an urban planning viewpoint, with a view to upgrading a
run-down or declining environment, revitalizing the residential
fabric and improving its conditions of habitability, enhancing
open space and renewing and improving existing
infrastructures;
an economic viewpoint, with a view to vitalizing and
diversifying economic activities or improving the attractiveness
and integration of the area into its city or region;
It is necessary to adapt historic urban fabrics to the challenges of the contemporary
city and to valorize the role of rural architecture in an increasingly urbanized territory.
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2
Preliminary decisions
TOOL 2
Delimitation of the physical area of intervention
It is important to exactly define what the specific geographical
scope of the intervention is to be, since the smooth
development of the process depends on it, from the drawing up
of an exhaustive analysis of the area to the coherent definition
of the borders of the planning area or the geographical scope
of financial aid.
The delimitation of the physical area of intervention, though
sometimes a complicated issue due to the continuity of fabrics
within a city or territory, may respond to several criteria; these
are not always administrative or geographical, and centre on
unity, be it morphological, typological or landscape-related,
economic, social or even in terms of the feeling of belonging of
its inhabitants.
We basically consider three typologies of area: the urban
nucleus, be it a ‘historic centre’ around which a town has
grown up or any other old area that has been absorbed by an
urban system; the rural nucleus, a village whose economic
activity is mainly based on agricultural and stock-keeping
systems and which retains its historic characteristics unaltered
or only slightly modified, even if it contains low-profile new
buildings, constructions and elements, or one-off
transformation operations have taken place; and, finally, the
scale of rural territory, by which we understand an area of
traditional characteristics in which scattered buildings are
situated along with other types of auxiliary constructions
forming a unity of landscape.
We should point out that although we focus our action on a
specific geographical area, it is important not to forget the
adjoining territories, both in the analysis and in the strategic
decision-making phase, since action on a given territory will
have repercussions on adjacent territories. It is also
indispensable to consider the relation and the insertion of our
area of action within larger territories (town, agglomeration,
region), reconciling local and global interests.
For the application of the rehabilitation programme to be
effective, it is advisable to accord the area a specific legal form
in order to facilitate decision-making, the efficient management
of the process and the implementation of actions. Legal
regulation of the rehabilitation area is non-existent in most
Mediterranean countries, and in some of them this legal
concept is limited exclusively to ‘areas of protection or
conservation’. Likewise, the legal concept of ‘rehabilitation
area’ is limited almost exclusively to urban areas and historic
centres, and is practically non-existent in rural territories.
Three typologies of areas of intervention: a rural village in inland Catalonia, the
territory of the river Llobregat delta, near Barcelona and Ortigia, the historic centre
of Siracusa.
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Definition of the framework of governance
and participation
Governance is the framework of formal and informal rules
(regulations, procedures, customs, etc.) that lay down the
guidelines of interaction between the actors involved in a
process of public decision-making. This is also, then, the case of
a rehabilitation process such as we envisage. Governance is also
the body of mechanisms by means of which citizens and social
groups organize their interests, exercise their rights and
obligations, and act as mediators in disagreements.
As explained above, the role of the public authorities is vital as
agents to promote and back the rehabilitation process.
However, if it is to be successful, the process has to be managed
by trained experts with the involvement of the other actors
present in the territory, both inhabitants and other social groups
involved (private companies, shopkeepers’ associations, civil
societies, etc.), since they all have to be identified and feel that
they are participants in a collective project.
The aim of these rules of play, which in our case must also
extend to the phases of analysis and action, is to guarantee the
efficient interchange of information and initiatives between the
territory’s various actors. At local level, the disparity of
perceptions is frequent. Governance that encourages the
sharing of perceptions among all local actors will therefore be
crucial in advancing towards sustainability.
The different groups of actors involved in the process are the
public authorities, the teams of experts, the body of social
agents and the residents and users.
The public authorities, as explained above, will promote and
guarantee the entire rehabilitation process. Their role is vital
and has to involve the sensitization and involvement of the
different sectors of society. As representatives of the citizens as
a whole, they will be responsible for backing the different
phases of the process and recognising their viability, particularly
the joint diagnosis and the action plan, as the result of technical
work and popular expression. They will establish the most
regular dialogue with the technical team, which will inform
them of the evolution and results of the process’s various
phases. In the first phase of the process, they will decide the
orientation and nature of the actions to be carried out in
accordance with the political approach and justification. This
initial decision, agreed by consensus with the technical teams,
may be modified after the completion of the analysis phase. The
authorities play a vital role in undertaking the projects and
policies laid out in the action plan and the evaluation phase.
The technical team (or teams, depending on the phase of the
process), made up of the administration’s or external technical
professionals, will be commissioned with the management and
coordination of the process. The entire rehabilitation process is
a technically complex operation requiring a high level of
professionalism. The team may be made up of architects and
planners, but it also has to include engineers, sociologists,
economists, lawyers, geographers, etc., to ensure the necessary
coordination and dialogue between the various viewpoints and
competences in the different stages in which it decisively
intervenes (carrying out of the diagnosis, drafting of the action
plan, etc.). The team will be closely related to the public
authorities and share its projects with social agents and citizens.
The participation of the technical team is also vital in the followup and coordination phases.
The social agents (private companies, societies and civil
associations, NGOs, public and private education and cultural
institutions, etc.) will participate in both the diagnosis phase
and in strategic definition, presenting their expectations and
needs, expressing their interests and agreeing on them by
consensus with the other agents. Their participation is also
important in the action phase (private initiative, universities,
etc.) in producing and carrying out projects and actions,
coordinating their own with public interests.
The inhabitants and residents have an important role to play
in the entire process. As explained above, a rehabilitation
process involves a great deal of technical knowledge and
management, but it also has to be constructed with the
participation of the territory’s inhabitants, who ought to be the
first concerned. The exchange of information and initiatives has
to take place between civil society and technical professionals,
taking the form of debates, surveys, meetings, etc., in the
different phases of the process (diagnosis, strategy and action).
Forms of participation may vary according to the context and
the social, technical and legislative conditioning factors of each
country. The most difficult challenge is how to ensure that this
potential becomes efficient participation that represents the
body of inhabitants and social groups in the territory, a very vital
The inhabitants play an important role in the entire process, as it is they who give
life to traditional architecture. / Baalbeck, Lebanon
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aspect to guaranteeing real success and sustainability. The
participatory approach requires ongoing effort and political will
on the part of the administration in the task of defining the
procedures and methods that will guarantee its effectiveness—
that is, making it truly representative of society as a whole,
defining the level, the moment and the content of participation.
Nature and scope of the intervention
The process requires initial political and technical reflection as to
the nature of the actions to be carried out. This initial, intuitive
reflection prior to the analysis of the territory and the collection
of objective data will be conditioned by the type of problems
detected and the political approach expressed in the orientation
phase. This reflection will to some extent condition the
programme of multisectorial studies to be carried out, though
these studies may identify aspects that lead to modification of
initial intuitive reflection.
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II. Diagnosis
3
Analysis of the territory
Prior to decision-making, it is vital to command a thorough
knowledge of the area in which intervention is to take place,
detecting its strong points and deficiencies as a basis for
subsequent discussion and the determination of priorities and
objectives. This knowledge of the area will be gained by drawing
up a series of multisectorial studies and exploring the needs and
expectations of residents and users, and knowledge of the
prevailing legal framework concerning rehabilitation.
Beyond the eminently urbanistic approach on which rehabilitation
operations are usually based, the aim is to achieve a holistic
overview of the territory in which a sectorial interpretation on the
part of each discipline produces an integrated overview of the
situations and problems involved.
The diagnosis phase is particularly important, since the suitability
and coherence of future proposals for action will depend on it and
its optimum coordination and approach. Insufficient knowledge of
the area may lead to erroneous conclusions, conceptual
ambiguities and contradictory results.
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II. Diagnosis
Planning the diagnosis process
TOOL 3
A technical team will be responsible for coordinating the
diagnosis. Its first task will be to draw up a programme of sectorial
studies, specifying the type of studies to be carried out and how
they should be coordinated in order to optimize resources and
ensure the coherence of the whole. The technical team’s objective
is to guarantee a plural, overall interpretation of the territory, over
and above the partial views of each study.
The type of studies will be conditioned by the typology of the area
of action and by the nature of the actions defined. The studies will
be commissioned to technical professionals specializing in the
various subjects; it is important for the technical professionals to
be sensitized to and trained in heritage issues to be able to detect
heritage values in the built environment (architectural, social, etc.)
and direct discussion towards the possibilities of preservation and
rehabilitation.
Another function of the technical team is management of the
contributions of civil society in the area (artisans, small industry,
tertiary sector, residents and users, etc.) with a view to
constructing a diagnosis in accordance with overall interests. The
diagnosis development programme will specify the time, level and
form of the participation of civil society, which also has to take
place in the course of the different sectorial studies, as applicable
(sociological, mobility, psychological studies, etc.)
Finally, the technical team will be responsible for drafting the
document summarising the diagnosis, which identifies the critical
points (strong points and dysfunctions) of the intervention area.
This document must be agreed on by the consensus of all agents
and backed by the political powers..
Identification of the prevailing legal framework
During the stage of analysis it is important to identify the existing
legal instruments as a point of departure for their redefinition or
adaptation to the needs of the strategy and rehabilitation work.
It is necessary to identify the legal framework of action and urban
planning management, both the general principles (competences
and possibilities of public action, owners’ rights and obligations,
etc.) and the possibilities of listing and regulation of the site, the
distribution of competences between administrations (local,
regional, etc.), the existing types of instruments and concepts (plans
and regulations), management instruments (expropriation, cession,
cooperation, etc.), and the mechanisms of discipline and regulation
of urbanistic and building action (permits, infringements, etc.).
It is important to analyse the possibilities and limits of public
action that are envisaged by urban planning legislation, since the
possibility of carrying out urban planning action that places the
general above the individual interests is vital to success. We also
have to bear in mind that the analysis cannot be limited solely to
our specific area of intervention; it must cover a much broader
26
context, since general or urban development plans on the scale of
the city or strategic territorial plans, for example, may condition
the development of specific plans for our area of action.
The analysis of the legal framework must not be limited solely to
urban planning legislation, however. It must also consider regulations
regarding heritage on a local and general scale (listing, protection,
possibilities of transformation and use, etc.) and all sectorial
regulations which clearly affect rehabilitation policies and therefore
condition their development, from the environmental (waste, energy,
natural spaces, etc.) to social (housing, health, education, etc.) and
economic (commercial, production activities, etc.), and the different
forms of grants and the possibility of applying for them.
Programme of multisectorial studies
Below, we describe the sectorial studies that may be carried out to
produce a full understanding of the territory.
The development of work will be divided into a first phase of data
collection (field work, consultation of official statistics and/or
existing indicators, reference to existing works and documentary
sources, consultation of agents in the territory), a second phase of
data analysis and a third and no less important phase of
expression and visualization of the results of the studies,
preferably using suitable graphic methods and maps.
The urban planning and architectural approach
TOOL 4
Territorial context, integration and continuity of fabric
The analysis of the relation and articulation of the target territory
with its larger-scale bordering territories (district within a city,
village within a region, etc.) is the starting point for a good urban
planning approach, analysing the continuity of fabrics, systems,
open space and infrastructures, and assessing its degree of
articulation and integration into larger-scale territories.
Structure of the territory
Analysis of the area of intervention on the basis of its physical
configuration, including both the morphological characteristics of
the settlements and buildings, and of open space and
infrastructures, as a basis for establishing coherent rules of
intervention and transformation. The study has to identify the
superposition of structures from different periods, different
interventions and processes of transformation that have taken
place (in coordination with historical and geographical studies),
and current rates of growth and transformation.
In an urban context it is necessary to analyse the structural data of
the urban fabric in terms of an analysis of both the space occupied
by buildings (building typologies and densities, grouping, heights,
depths, etc.) and ‘empty space’ (private open space, public space
comprising streets and squares, inner patios, gardens, etc.), its
forms (squares, intersections, passages, porches, new streets, etc.)
and the relation and articulation of the two. This analysis of the
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II. Diagnosis
territory must include a study of existing infrastructures and
services (drainage, water supply, electrical installations, mobility
and transport infrastructures, etc.).
In the context of the rural territory, the analysis of the territory’s
structure will centre on the typology and forms of settlements
(grouped nucleuses, scattered building, auxiliary constructions,
etc.), the forms and systems of open space (landscape typologies,
diversity of farming models, forestry systems, hydrological system,
etc.), the relation between the two, and existing infrastructures
and their insertion into the territory, establishing a hierarchy of the
different levels and uses of local paths and the different systems
of water control (irrigation and drainage network, etc.).
The results of the studies will be expressed graphically in the forms
of maps drawn to show the different variables studied.
Uses of the area/ territory
Description of the uses present in the territory as a basis for
discussion about suitability and sufficiency.
The analysis of the presence and intensity of uses will differentiate
natural uses (forestry, hydraulic systems, etc.) previously identified
in the analysis of the territory’s structure, human activities, which
we classify under productive uses (trade, crafts, farming, etc.),
facilities (schools, civil and religious institutions, markets, etc.) and
residence. It will study the insertion and relation of the different
uses within the different typologies and the spatial relation
between all of them. It is important to identify spaces, buildings
and/or dwellings that are unoccupied or unused.
In relation to the use of space, it is also important to study the
types of ownership of the different typologies (in the rural
territory, the division of farmland) and its spatial distribution as a
basis for considering viable mechanisms for the management of
the rehabilitation operation.
Studies of uses will be completed graphically by detailed maps of
their implantation and density in the territory.
Building and residential typologies
Comprehensive study of the different typologies (building and
residential) present in the area of action as a basis for precisely
addressing their adaptability to new requirements of functionality
and habitability, and drawing up norms for conservation and
modification. Without specific knowledge of the values of the
many typological outlines present in the area of action, proposals
for transformation will merely be general hypotheses that may
lead to the definition of erroneous or partial solutions.
The study must graphically identify and reproduce the structural
and formal characteristics of all the typologies and typological
variations present in the area of intervention, on the scale of the
building and the residential unit.
Urban planning tensions and states of conservation
Description of the age and state of conservation of the buildings
in the area of intervention, and of any critical points of an urban
planning nature.
An analysis of the rural territory has to take into account the four fundamental
elements that have colonized the territory: the division of cropland, systems
of water control, the construction of communicating tracks, and the implantation
of dwellings. / Plan for the Llobregat Delta, UPC, Sabaté
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II. Diagnosis
In both urban and rural contexts, we consider urbanistic critical
points to be areas with a large number of dwellings with
inadequate conditions of habitability, areas with excessive building
or population levels, areas with a high presence of buildings in a
poor state of repair, areas with a high level of vacancy or
abandonment, etc. These conditions appear simultaneously
(vacancy and degradation, inhabitability and degradation, etc.)
and it is important to relate them to other urbanistic or
socioeconomic variables (population income, diversity of
functions, accessibility, etc.).
The study must graphically identify and reproduce the areas of
degradation and urbanistic tension, in the form of maps drawn to
show different combinations of aspects.
Heritage values
Identification of heritage values, taking into account the heritage
values characteristic of traditional architecture—that is, not from
an exclusively historical and artistic viewpoint, but valuing this
architecture as a testimony to the history of a society, ways of life
and forms of community, and in relation to the environment. The
identification of these values is important, as elements on which
to base a policy to reclassify the area of intervention.
The analysis will be approached from three viewpoints and their
interrelation: the values of construction and residential typologies,
of open space and of the traditional structure of the area,
identifying the different periods.
In an urban context, heritage analysis must include the values of
public space (sequence of spaces, historical layouts, singular or
monumental spaces, etc.), of buildings (singular complexes,
The analysis of structural data of the urban fabric allows us to define the conditions
of transformation with greater respect for its singular historical characteristics. /
Study for the centre of Barcelona, Busquets
28
systems and typological series, monuments, etc.) and of the
organization of urban space for its value and significance
throughout history.
In the rural territory, the analysis has to focus on landscape values
(natural environment, farming structure, etc.) and the value not
just of buildings and settlements, but of all auxiliary buildings and
infrastructures that humanize it, valuing their degree of
‘authenticity’, artificialization and possible reuse.
Construction and formal values
Identification of the construction systems, materials, and stylistic
and composition resources of the buildings in the area of
intervention (form of the roof, openings in the façades,
projections, finishes, and doors and windows, etc.), as a basis for
the definition of a good rehabilitation manual.
The study can be organized by typologies and elements (roofs,
façades, structural elements, etc.), systematizing and ordering the
different types of solutions by periods, as applicable, which will
then be explained graphically in detail (maps and photographs).
Mobility and accessibility
Analysis of mobility in the area of action, due to the close relation
with its morphological structure and the definition of
infrastructures, both of the necessary and non-obligatory mobility
of its residents, and the movements of external users. The study
must detect flows of mobility with the various means of transport
and relate them to conditioning factors of accessibility and
integration of the area into larger-scale bordering territories.
Comprehensive study of typologies prior to an evaluation of their adaptation
to the new requirements of habitability / Special Plan for Toledo, Busquets
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II. Diagnosis
Socio-economic approach
TOOL 5
Integration and territorial polarity
Analysis of the relation, ‘position’ and role of the area of action
from a socioeconomic viewpoint, with regard to its neighbouring
territories (city, region, etc.), valuing its degree of integration,
segregation or specialization..
Demography
Analysis of the population structure of the area from different
viewpoints, paying particular attention to age groups and the
working capacity of the population and its level of education, and
the distribution by socioeconomic profiles and cultural groups. It is
also important to contemplate the effects of present-day and
historical migratory flows, and seasonal variations in population
due to factors such as tourism.
The demographic analysis has to be carried out in relation to the
territory, expressing in map form those areas with greater or lesser
density, and identifying the spatial implantation of the different
population groups, detecting cases of social segregation as a basis
for the development of social cohesion measures and policies.
Maps are used to view the results of studies and refer them to the physical territory.
Mapes above show commercial intensity and density of the working population. /
Study for the centre of Barcelona, Busquets
Sociology / social values
Analysis of social habits and conduct with regard to forms of the
territory and construction, the temporary or simultaneous nature
of activities, the use of collective space, the existence of social
conflicts and segregated groups or collectives, etc. Description of
the structure of family units, the existence of neighbourhoods or
districts, social and associative fabric, etc., all important aspects
when drawing up a strategy for citizen participation.
Anthropology / cultural values
Study of the values of the built space (and specifically the value of
public space in urban environments) from an anthropological
viewpoint (spaces of social interaction, exchange, communication,
transit, etc.) and its relation to the morphology of the territory, the
evolution of customs, traditions and their repercussion on forms of
habitat.
Psychology / life-related values
Study of the feeling of belonging and rootedness in the place, of
feelings of insecurity, lack of communication, forms of social
cohesion and their relation to the feeling of identity, etc.
The identification of heritage values of typological systems and public spaces allows
us to discuss the mechanisms of conservation and modification. / Special Plan for
Toledo, Busquets
Economic parameters
Analysis of parameters linked to economic activity, related both to
the presence of production activities and structures (presence and
importance by sectors, growth of economic activity, etc.) and to
the classification of the population (active population, level of
employment, type of employment by sectors, level of income
compared to other territories, etc.).
Real-estate dynamics
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II. Diagnosis
Analysis of building, residential typologies, plots, etc., from the
viewpoint of real-estate activity (real-estate values, market and
activity, etc.), relating it to other territories, mapping the results and
relating them to variables such as state of conservation and age.
Territorial and administrative organization
Description of the territorial organization of the area and the
functioning of the administrative management bodies and their
coordination with other entities (state, regional, etc.).
Historical and geographical approach
TOOL 6
Historical and territorial context
Description of the historical context of the area of action and the
territory in which it is set, with particular attention to the social
and cultural (and artistic) processes that have determined the form
of the architecture and the habitat.
Historical evolution and conditions of structural evolution
Description of the evolution of the urban form and an account of
the geographical, historical, economic and social factors that have
conditioned it.
On a scale of the rural territory, identification of the conditions of
evolution and modification of the natural landscape at the hands
of man, of the evolution of elements of colonization: modification
of the relief, introduction and modification of hydraulic systems
(extraction and distribution), plot divisions and fragmentation of
the landscape, development of infrastructures, implantation of
building, etc.
The anthropological analysis has to identify relations between urban form and
traditional forms of social relation, in this case trade. Aleppo bazaar in Syria /
Benevolo
Archaeology
Investigation of the archaeological heritage, an architectural or
stratigraphic testimony of the area’s history. Archaeological
heritage must be listed as far as possible in order to be considered
under the regulations of urban intervention, as it may be an
important conditioning factor in the construction of new works or
infrastructures that involve radical transformation or the
demolition of old buildings, or the extraction of stratigraphic
deposits from the subsoil.
Biophysical approach
TOOL 7
The physical environment
Description of the physical aspects of the territory that have
conditioned the forms of architecture and traditional habitat,
including both the area’s climatic conditions and meteorological
dynamics, the territory’s geological and geomorphologic
characteristics (description of the soil, relief, etc.), surface and
underground water.
These physical conditioning factors have to be considered when
drawing up rehabilitation projects on the scale of the building and
of the structure of the territory, and in order to produce the
optimum insertion of new architecture.
30
The analysis of certain economic parameters (in this case, indicators of residential
attraction and family income) in relation to the territory will allow us to draw
conclusions about the conditions of the habitat. / Toledo
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II. Diagnosis
Natural landscape
Analysis of the territory’s landscape values, identifying different
units, homogeneous areas (wood, irrigation crops, types of natural
spaces, etc.) and their fragmentation, existing biodiversity
(communities of fauna and flora), forms of protection of natural
spaces and systems of farming management (production typology,
degree of intensification, etc.), forestry and hydrography.
Environmental parameters
Analysis of environmental parameters and use of the territory’s
natural resources, such as the management of the water cycle
(consumption, supply and quality), cycles of matter (supplies,
transport, etc.), waste management (production, composition,
treatment, rubble, farming, industrial, etc.) and energy flows
(networks and consumptions), and analysis of comfort parameters
(noise pollution, air pollution and thermal and lighting comfort).
Natural risks
Analysis of the past and present natural risks that affect the territory
(geological, flooding or seismic risk, erosion, desertification or forest
fires), evaluation of the impacts on the natural environment of
human activity (introduction of foreign activities, implantation of
industrial activities, impact of infrastructures that fragment the
territory, construction activity, presence of dumps, etc.) and
identification of the existence of preventive measures.
Historical studies have to identify the evolution of urban form. This plan shows the
superposition of the Hellenistic layout and the Muslim city in Damascus (Syria). /
Benevolo
A study of values of the different types of landscape is fundamental in any
territorial analysis. / Irrigation channel in Manresa, UPC, Sabaté
31
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II. Diagnosis
4
Integrated Diagnosis
Identification of the needs and expectations of residents
and users TOOL 8
Summary of potentials and dysfunctions of the area
Apart from the development of multisectorial studies, it is
important for the technical team to include the contributions of
the body of social agents and residents in the area of intervention
to be able to address, with full knowledge and guaranties,
reflection on the problems affecting the area (conditions of
habitability, quality of life, comfort, accessibility, real-estate
opportunities, need for services, heritage valorization, etc.) and
complement the technical approach with the expression of its
inhabitants’ experiences and expectations.
The technical team has to plan the management of the
inhabitants and social agents’ contributions in the form of
consultations, public debates or sectorial meetings on specific
issues (public space, mobility, services, housing, etc.), in
coordination, for example, with the drafting of technical studies.
The combination of the technical analysis and the viewpoints
expressed by the inhabitants of the place should produce a shared
interpretation of it, and make the body of agents aware of the
plurality of the often unknown problems and aspects that affect
their living context.
The drafting of the document summarising the diagnosis, the
integrated diagnosis, will fall to the technical team coordinating
the diagnosis and be written on the basis of the different studies
carried out and the contributions of the different actors in the
territory, normally integrated into the various sectorial studies.
The objective of the technical team, in view of its multidisciplinary
make-up, is to guarantee a balance between the physical and
socioeconomic aspects of rehabilitation, moving from
multisectorial views to a single, integrated approach that aspires
to a degree of globalization of the situations and the mechanisms
that produce them.
On the basis of the analysis of the various sectorial studies and
contributions, the technical team will draw up a summary that
identifies the critical points of the area, with both its potentials
(aspects that can facilitate the rehabilitation process and help to
enhance heritage) and its dysfunctions (aspects that are to be
improved by the rehabilitation process and that currently prevent
good ‘functioning’ and a valorization of the heritage). Due to the
integrated approach of the summary, we believe that it should be
ordered and referred not to sectorial aspects (economic,
demographical, anthropological, etc.) but to elements of the
territory that we could classify as: built environment, open space,
infrastructures and social environment.
The summary will be complemented by all the graphic and
cartographic documentation that may serve as a basis for its
comprehension and for the development of strategic reflection
and proposals for action.
Social consensus and political backing
The provisional diagnosis will be presented to civil society, which
will be able to contribute its own viewpoint. The technical team
will incorporate any opinions that are agreed on by consensus and
proceed to the final approval of the diagnosis by the public
authorities.
Attention to the needs and demands of the inhabitants and users of traditional
space may contribute data that could go unnoticed by technical analysis
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III. Strategy
5
Strategic Reflection
This stage of the process should lead, with reflection on the results
expressed in the integrated diagnosis (identifying the critical
points of the area of intervention), to the definition of a target
scenario of action that is politically, socially and economically
feasible. The limits of this reflection are established by a series of
criteria. The definition of scenarios will be based on consideration
of the strategic premisses and the primary objectives of
rehabilitation, and their evaluation in terms of the requirements of
viability (economic, juridical and social) in keeping with the
objectives of sustainable rehabilitation.
There is no single way of advancing, much less when we start out
from very different territorial contexts that are conditioned by the
most diverse physical, historical and socio-cultural realities. The
action plan, the strategy for action, will incorporate the target
scenario and define the series of projects and legal and
administrative changes to be carried out in order to achieve it in
an established timeframe.
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III. Strategy
Planning the decision-making process
Criteria for reflection
A technical team, which may be the same one that worked on the
diagnosis phase, made up of technical professionals and experts
from different disciplines, all trained in and sensitised to heritage
issues, will be responsible for directing and coordinating strategic
reflection.
Although decision-making has always been primarily a political
and/or technical issue, today it is necessary to manage a new
decision-making framework that is open to the contributions of
civil society. Judicious management of this phase will guarantee
that political, social and economic priorities are agreed by
consensus by the majority of society.
Strategic premisses
Definition of scenarios of intervention
TOOL 9
The first phase of reflection, based on the results expressed in the
integrated diagnosis (potentials and dysfunctions of the area) will
lead to the establishing of target scenarios—that is, the definition
of the final desired state of the area of intervention. This reflection
will be conditioned by a series of criteria, which we divide into
strategic premisses and priority objectives for sustainable
rehabilitation. It is obvious that this reflection on the desired
scenario is also a reflection on the type of actions to be carried out
in order to achieve this particular scenario and, therefore, on the
future action plan, which is simply the strategic framework that
summarises the intervention and groups together all the actions.
Technical reflection on the definition of scenarios will centre on
the search for balance, always a difficult task, in complying with
the strategic premisses (long term/short term, global/local and
public/private) and satisfying the priority objectives of sustainable
rehabilitation (quality of life, heritage issues, social cohesion,
economic vitality and environmental efficiency).
The definition of a qualified public space, the support for various activities, is vital
in order to achieve good quality of life in urban environments. / Beit Jbli, Damascus,
Syria
34
TOOL 10
Reconciling the long and the short term
The definition of scenarios has to take into consideration the longterm impact, without renouncing short-term actions that are often
the most effective way of involving citizens. Reflection has to
envisage the future impacts of the action (foreseeing reversibility,
transmission of heritage value, resources running out,
preservation of natural and cultural heritage, etc.).
Consideration of subsidiarity of scale
The actions to be carried out and, therefore, the target scenario,
have to consider their impact on different territorial levels. This
involves reflecting on the subsidiarity of decisions on more global
scales and, conversely, of global actions on our area of action.
Synergy between public and private interests
The target scenario will involve the complicity of all agents; it is
therefore important for its definition to combine the satisfaction
of collective with private interests and, conversely, private and
community concerns. One example of this is reconciling residential
with tourism-related interests.
Priority objectives of sustainable rehabilitation
TOOL 11
Improving residents’ quality of life
Rehabilitation has to stress the issue of improvement of the quality
of life of the area’s residents, improving accessibility to services
(health, education, etc.) and guaranteeing access to a habitable
dwelling (safe, comfortable and accessible) that is adapted to the
needs of all residents thanks to its typological diversity. The
objective of the strategy must be to reinforce and improve public
Attention to the urban landscape is an important part of the heritage approach to
rehabilitation. / La Vila Joiosa, Spain
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III. Strategy
service infrastructures and define quality open space (public space)
that is suitable for collective appropriation and sociability.
Valorization of cultural and natural heritage
The aim of rehabilitation must be to preserve the cultural and
natural heritage of the area of intervention—that is, transmit
society’s collective memory, taking into account its adaptation to
new requirements and demands. The strategy has to opt for
rehabilitating built space and constructions that can be adapted to
new needs, readapting typologies and structures if necessary, and
even according them a new and different function to the original,
reconciling the heritage values to be preserved and new values of
use. On the scale of the territory, this requires the definition of a
model that reassesses the natural and heritage resources of each
place, making it resistant to transformation processes and
providing it with a structure that can accommodate new
requirements.
Improving social cohesion
The main aim of rehabilitation has to be to combat poverty and
social exclusion—that is, to valorize social heritage. The strategy
must promote social cohesion and the idea of citizenship
(promotion of diversity, civic awareness, etc.) and encourage intraand inter-generational solidarity.
Promotion of economic vitality
Another of the objectives of rehabilitation must be to promote the
vitality and economic autonomy of the area of intervention,
promoting a diversity of functions and activities, not just tourist or
leisure activities, investing in knowledge and innovation and
combining them harmoniously with residence and traditional
production systems (artisans, farmers, etc.). Rehabilitation must
advocate intrinsic traditional values, mobilizing their natural and
heritage potential, and guarantee the integration of the area into
One of the major challenges facing historic enclaves is how to harmoniously
combine the dynamics of tourism with their residential function. / Sidi Bou Said,
Tunisia
the larger-scale territory (encouraging attractiveness and polarity,
increasing the exchange of resources and information, etc.). A
well-managed tourist attraction generates investment in new
activities and employment and, as a result, reinforces the identity
and self-esteem of the people who live there.
Environmental efficiency
Rehabilitation cannot only consider environmental criteria in the
rehabilitation of buildings; the latter bear a clear relation to the
configuration and transformation of the urban form
(management of flows and infrastructures, mobility, arrangement
of typologies, etc.). It is important to bear in mind not just the
durability of natural resources (use of materials, energy efficiency,
management of the water cycle, etc.) but also the prevention of
environmental dangers and the control of natural and
technological risks.
Evaluation of scenarios of action
The evaluation of scenarios is an important stage in the process,
but one that is particularly difficult to manage.
The scenarios defined will be evaluated in terms of both their
degree of coherence and their viability.
Firstly, the evaluation of coherence will take the form of an
assessment of the degree of compliance of the strategic premisses
and the priority objectives of sustainable rehabilitation by means
of a study of the overall cost, compared and contrasted impacts
and the sustainability of the scenario. It is of course practically
impossible to meet all the objectives, since total compliance with
some objectives means non-compliance with others. One example
is the possible contradiction between the objectives of improving
quality of life and heritage preservation, since urgent social
demands call for short-term solutions (demolition, new
The orderly, integrated management of waste within the singularities of historical
space is one of the key issues addressed by an environmental approach. / Barcelona
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III. Strategy
Choosing the target scenario
construction, etc.), which may endanger the continuing survival of
heritage. It is therefore a question of assessing, on the basis of
reflection about compared and contrasted impacts or overall cost
(social, economic and environmental costs), which scenario allows
us to optimize the balance between the different requirements,
accepting that it is practically impossible to satisfy all of them.
Secondly, evaluation of the viability of the scenario will consider
economic and juridical viability and the possibilities of social
acceptance. A better scenario, with greater coherence or
likelihood of sustainability, may be discarded due to economic
reasons or on the grounds of juridical unviability and be replaced
by a scenario that provides partial, less coherent responses. It is,
then, important to strike a balance between the different decisionmaking factors, choosing those scenarios that allow a greater
degree of coherence and durability with the lowest financial cost
and the highest level of social acceptance.
This phase of evaluation has to involve all agents. Although both
the definition of scenarios and the final decision will depend on
technical factors and therefore fall to the technical team, the
scenarios may provide the basis for discussion at meetings and
public presentations. These meetings may be the opportunity, for
example, to assess the degree of social acceptance of the
proposals, one of the requisites for the evaluation of the scenarios.
Having chosen the most suitable scenario of action for the area,
taking into account criteria of coherence and viability, the next
step is to define the content of the rehabilitation strategy, the
action plan, which will allow us to carry through the actions.
The rehabilitation strategy will be defined by two conditions of
action on the area: the physical transformation projects, which
define the degree of intervention on the physical territory, and
complementary sectorial policies, referring to the degree of
complexity of the actions or policies about the population and the
social environment.
The actions and projects for the physical transformation of the
territory may range from the smaller scope of environmental
rehabilitation, based on actions and projects affecting the exterior
image of the buildings and open space (what we might refer to,
in an urban context, as urban landscape operations), to conditions
of integrated rehabilitation, which develop projects that affect all
aspects of the urban morphology (improvement of infrastructures,
creation of new spaces, insertion of new architectures, etc.), or
two intermediate conditions, typological or structural
rehabilitation.
The complementary sectorial policies may range from nonexistence—that is, total reliance on urban planning action (in
some of the previous conditions)—to global policies that include
all kinds of social, economic and environmental policies, including
all the intermediate degrees between.
Traditional urban space has to be enhanced to promote sociability and encourage
social/market cohesion in Barcelona.
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III. Strategy
6
Action Plan
TOOL 12
The action plan, which draws together the strategic orientations
of the intervention, is merely the organization and working
coordination of all projects (actions affecting the physical territory)
and sectorial policies to be carried out (social, environmental and
economic actions) at the service of an objective, which is to
achieve the desired scenario.
As well as defining the actions, the plan will define the framework
of operations (agents in charge of implementation, models of
public and private financing, etc.) and the modification or
adaptation of the legal framework (urban planning instruments,
specific ordinances, rehabilitation manuals, etc.) in order to
implement rehabilitation work. The Urban Renovation Plan will be
only one of the pieces of the Action plan, which is seen as a more
ambitious, integrated strategy.
Urban planning instruments have to specify the different systems of intervention in
built space. / Study for the centre of Barcelona, Busquets
37
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III. Strategy
Drafting of the Rehabilitation Action Plan
The action plan will be drafted by the technical team and, though
it must be validated by political decision, which has to accept and
implement it, it must also be backed by maximum social
consensus..
Specification and quantification of the actions
to be carried out
The actions to be carried out will be divided into three main areas:
actions to transform the structure of the area (urban planning
itself), the specific projects for buildings and open space, and the
complementary sectorial policies or measures (the body of social,
economic and environmental measures required to guarantee the
true sustainability of the rehabilitation intervention).
Actions to modify the structure of the territory
The plan specifies which actions to modify the structure of the
territory will be carried out (freeing up of space, adjustment and
updating of functions, creation of new infrastructures,
improvement of accessibility, etc.). The actions must address a
gradual, ongoing modification rather than fast and sudden
transformation. These actions will be implemented by urban
planning instruments. The plan will:
define suitable forms of protection for the structure of the
territory and its built environment;
specify appropriate uses and activities, assessing the relations
The action plan has to define a suitable mobility strategy (accessibility, car parks,
hierarchy of streets, etc.) that respects the conditions of the historical environment.
/ Plan for Toledo, Busquets
38
that organize architecture, open space and their possible
functions. In a rural context, the uses defined will not
compromise the environmental and landscape quality of the
natural setting (recreation, culture, etc.);
list the criteria of modification of the territorial structure and
built space (growth, creation of new open spaces, modification
of heights and building levels, depths, alignments, etc.). On the
territorial scale, it will define a model that, based on the
specificity of each place, makes it resistant to transformation
processes and provides it with a structure that can
accommodate new requirements;
define the criteria for the transformation of the form of open
spaces. In an urban context, the influence of historic layouts,
interrelation between morphology and typologies, etc., and in
rural territories, modification of the landscape and the territory
(paths, fields, potential vegetation, etc.);
define the criteria of development and replacement of
infrastructures and services. In the rural territory, it will establish
criteria for the careful superposition of new infrastructures that
do not compromise the functioning of existing paths and water
control systems, adapting them to the demands of competitive
agriculture;
define the criteria of relation with bordering areas and
territories (accessibility, degree of continuity and suture
between the historic and the bordering territory) and insertion
into larger-scale territories, be it city or region.
Intervention projects based on architecture and open space
The action plan will list which buildings are to be conserved and
Open space plays just an important role as building in the configuration of urban
space. / Plan for Toledo, Busquets
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III. Strategy
which rehabilitated/transformed or demolished. It will also
indicate projects for new constructions and for the urban planning
or reclassification of open space. The criteria governing these
projects will be taken from the corresponding bodies of
legislation: specific ordinances and rehabilitation manuals. The
action plan will:
rural contexts, according to different units of landscape
(woods, fields, etc.) and in accordance with the specificities of
each place (implantation of auxiliary buildings, construction of
walls, embankments, etc.);
define the formal and compositional criteria that are to govern
projects in open space.
list the criteria for rehabilitation (and transformation) of
buildings, their formal configuration (residential typological
configuration, typological regulation of buildings—patios,
stairs, structure, etc.) and their compositional and formal
components (regulations for façade composition, types of
openings, projections, form of roof, use of materials and
finishes, etc.), and the conditions for partial demolition and the
addition of new volumes;
define the criteria for the insertion of new architectures (to
replace buildings that are in an advanced state of deterioration,
functionally unsuitable, etc., or in empty spaces produced by
demolition). Regulations should not be too restrictive, allowing
the construction of contemporary architectures on the basis of
the particularities of the traditional context;
define the criteria of mobility and accessibility (vehicle access,
pedestrian areas, etc.) in keeping with the singular
configuration of the historic layout or the landscape,
optimizing different flows for residents and users, and with
prospects of improved environmental quality of the area;
define the degree of intervention in the different types of open
spaces. In urban contexts, according to urban hierarchy
(smaller, main, singular spaces, etc.), scale and interrelation. In
Complementary sectorial policies
Complementary policies must be specified in order to guarantee
judicious rehabilitation according to socioeconomic and
environmental criteria. This involves listing the social policies to be
carried out (social cohesion, combating poverty, promoting
citizenship, literacy, health campaigns, etc.), economic initiatives
(commercial reactivation, professional training, promotion of
employment, management of tourism, etc.) and environmental
proposals (waste management, water cycle management,
efficient energy management, etc.). Experience has shown that
interventions based solely or mainly on the rehabilitation of
buildings or urban planning action without foreseeing
complementary policies do not produce the expected results.
Without this type of measures, stone takes priority over people.
Ordinances specifying modules and full-empty relations in new construction
on the basis of existing architectural elements. / Malo, Italy
Definition of appropriate legal instruments
TOOL 13
Urban planning instruments
Good urban planning action calls for appropriate town planning
tools for the specific features of each sphere of intervention.
Initially, the urban planning legislation that affects our field
(national, regional, etc., depending on the administrative structure
The ordinances must define the systems of transformation of the various built
typologies in order to adapt them to new conditions of habitability. / Study for the
centre of Barcelona, Busquets
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III. Strategy
and the distribution of competences of each state) has to include
a suitable planning concept to define urban planning action in a
historic context such as we are dealing with. Independently of
whether or not this planning concept exists (special reform plan,
urban improvement plan, etc.), high-level planning concepts
(territorial, municipal plans, etc.) have to recognise the
particularities of the historic area and not condition the correct
implementation of the area’s specific rehabilitation plan,
responding to the requirements tabled by the action plan.
In addition to the suitability of planning concepts, it is necessary
to review the validity of urban planning management mechanisms
(ownership, rights, intervention-transformation mechanisms, etc.)
for our traditional context since, in some cases, this legislation is
not adapted to the reality of the intervention in a historic
environment, and it will be necessary to create specific
mechanisms.
The town planning tools will cover all operations to be carried out
for the coherent transformation of urban forms, so that this is
done in a more appropriate way considering the specific nature of
the area where the intervention is taking place. This method offers
a template for drawing up an INTEGRATED URBAN RENOVATION
PLAN for the intervention area.
Specific ordinances
It will be necessary to draw up some specific by-laws to regulate
actions on buildings in the area – renovation, construction,
deconstruction, etc. – aimed above all at regulating private
intervention. These by-laws must be developed in accordance with
the objectives and criteria established by the urban plan, of which
it will be the main document. A draft by-law is also attached as a
tool.
It is a good idea to draw up specific by-laws in each context linked
to the planning drawn up for the area of intervention, regulating
the possibilities of modifying buildings (modification of heights,
depths, façades, typologies…), the limits of the inclusion of new
architecture in the historic context (stylistic conditioning factures,
materials, proportion of openings…), always in accordance with
the characteristics of the buildings in the area of intervention.
Rehabilitation manual
A rehabilitation manual must be drafted to bring together all the
technical characteristics, systems and construction solutions used
in the traditional architecture present in our area of action and
propose solutions for intervention in the different typologies,
elements, etc.
Just as urban planning instruments regulate the transformation of
the structure of the territory and ordinances govern the form of
buildings, the rehabilitation manual will summarise the criteria of
intervention on the smaller scale, taking into account the heritage
values of technical and construction aspects of the traditional
architecture of a place.
40
Rehabilitation manuals describe the intervention solutions for traditional
construction elements. / Manuale de Roma
Rehabilitation has to combine the initiative of the public administration with the
intervention of public and private social agents in the form of consortiums,
collaboration agreements, etc. / Nicosia, Cyprus
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III. Strategy
Heritage legislation
Legislation on traditional built heritage (open space, buildings and
complexes, typologies, etc.) is required, beyond that which
governs the protection of monuments, cultural objects and
specific building catalogues. The legislation covering urban and
architectural heritage has to allow the implementation of the
proposed actions—that is, it should not be so protectionist that it
hinders any modification or transformation of traditional urban
form and its architecture, in accordance with the needs outlined
in the action plan, nor be too permissive with regard to
destruction and modification of the traditional habitat. In this
case, specific urban planning should address heritage regulations
governing traditional forms.
Sectorial legislation
It is also necessary to review the validity of prevailing sectorial
regulations affecting our area of intervention and how to modify
them in order to adapt them to the action’s aims, both those
conditioning actions that are more social (habitability, accessibility,
housing, etc.) or economic (commerce, tourism, etc.) and
environmental (waste management, use of materials, etc.). The
modification of this legislative framework almost always takes
place alongside complementary sectorial policies.
Defining the working framework
TOOL 4
Financing instruments
When envisaging actions, it is important to have a clear idea of the
cost and how work is to be financed. The financing of
rehabilitation work, conditioned by the mechanisms of site and
building ownership, may be approached in various ways,
sometimes complementary and not exclusive, in a single process
of intervention (co-financing, mixed economy, etc.). Indeed, it is
practically impossible to approach rehabilitation work exclusively
from the public sector, which has to be complemented by private
initiative.
In more global urban planning, particularly in interventions on
collective open space (though sometimes also acting on private
land), financing is, as a rule, public. In rehabilitation and
replacement strategies, although the initiative is mainly public, in
some cases financing is jointly public and private, and in others
mainly private with incentives and public funding (grants, tax
incentives, etc.).
Management bodies, consortiums and agents involved
Management bodies are essential in guaranteeing the efficient
running of the rehabilitation process. They are usually public
bodies though sometimes, depending on the regional context,
they involve mixed public-private capital. These bodies may have a
degree of independence of the administration, though still being
linked to collective interests and political control.
Normally they are responsible for managing the implementation
of urban planning interventions, though it would be a major step
to create a more complex body that manages all the actions
included in the action plan, including social, economic and
environmental aspects. In this way it would be possible to control
the complementary nature or conflicts arising between different
actions, improve follow-up and reconsider the strategy faster and
more efficiently, a role now reserved solely for the administration.
The management bodies may be complemented by another type
of smaller entities and offices that reinforce specific aspects, such
as the offices that promote private rehabilitation (advice, projects,
procedures, etc.). These entities can and must establish
agreements with universities, companies, and public and private
institutions in order to involve them in rehabilitation actions,
exchanging knowledge, techniques, etc.
Training strategy
All rehabilitation processes have to be accompanied by a series of
complementary measures to guarantee their success. By
complementary measures, we refer for example to the creation of
policies to train professionals from different fields who are
sensitized to traditional heritage and workers who are qualified in
this type of architecture (materials, construction systems, etc.).
Training a specialized labour force is important in order to guarantee quality
rehabilitation. / Dar El Bacha, Marrakech
Communication, public awareness and rehabilitation promotion
strategy
It is important to have a good communication strategy (to
publicize objectives, the actions to be carried out, etc.) and
develop a good public awareness campaign to sensitize and
inform the population about the social and cultural values of this
rich heritage and the need to preserve it as a common legacy.
In addition to sensitizing the population to heritage issues, this
campaign should also serve to promote citizen appreciation of
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III. Strategy
traditional space as a specific space for life and as grounds for
pride requiring everyone’s involvement for maintenance,
enhancement and updating. This would be the framework for
campaigns to promote private rehabilitation and the promotion of
specific aspects of rehabilitation that are equally important
(environmental improvements to buildings, façade restoration,
promotion of maintenance, etc.).
Mechanisms of participation
The plan will define how information is to be presented about the
design and definition of the proposed projects (particularly public
projects) and how they might include contributions made by
means of consultations or other participation strategies.
Timeline and organization phases
The various actions (urbanistic, social, etc.) will be coordinated and
organized according to a timeline. It is important to estimate the
starting date and duration of each of the actions, and its
coordination with the other actions planned, and to establish
partial goals and objectives.
Social consensus and political approval
The action plan will be presented to civil society, who may then
make its contributions. Once agreed by social consensus, the
political powers will endorse its content and viability, and pass it for
implementation.
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IV. Action
7
Implementation of the Plan
This phase corresponds to the implementation of the action
plan—that is, to the carrying out of the actions contained in it,
subject to the definition of the working instruments required to
apply the plan and its necessary adaptation to the legislative
framework. The action will be developed in accordance with the
programmatic guidelines (order, duration, financing, etc.)
established in the action plan.
The implementation phase of the action plan is not just the
carrying out of a series of projects and sectorial policies; in
accordance with the stipulations of the operational framework, it
also involves a series of campaigns to sensitize the public and
promote rehabilitation, train technical professionals, etc.
The plan’s development has to be accompanied by a favourable
climate for the promotion of private rehabilitation, culture, and
the values of rehabilitation and maintenance, in which all citizens
should feel involved and be motivated by the enhancement and
improvement of their living environment. Investment also means
an improved image of the environment, which in turn is an
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Action
incentive to the development of more investment and
interventions, further reinforcing the feeling of identity and selfesteem of the population.
an obsolete construction, classification of new open spaces, etc.)
may be public and private initiatives with the corresponding
financing. When promoting the rehabilitation of private buildings,
the public administration should foresee mechanisms for grants or
subsidies.
Development of urban planning procedures
This phase represents the carrying out of urban planning actions
to modify the urban form and adapt it to present-day
requirements. Urban planning procedures, normally effected
alongside specific projects, will be public in initiative and
financing.
It involves actions to modify the structure of the territory and
replace and modify buildings (vertical and horizontal demolition
and bringing down of height, elimination of obsolete construction
or superfluous volumes, freeing up of open space, ventilation of
patios, etc.), actions to transform open space (creation of new
streets, modification of alignments, etc.) and actions to improve
infrastructures (electrical, drainage infrastructure, etc.). TOOL 18
Building rehabilitation projects TOOL 17
Rehabilitation projects for buildings to be conserved, whether
maintaining the initial use or reusing them for other purposes, will
follow the criteria established in the RehabiMed Guide for the
rehabilitation of traditional buildings. The criteria defined in the
guide are limited to planning guidelines and accompanying
rehabilitation ordinances. Particular attention to the legal
framework must be paid by rehabilitation work involving
typological changes and modification of volumes (partial
demolition, insertion of new volumes, etc.) and elements such as
façades, roof, etc. Optimum rehabilitation also requires attention
to the rehabilitation manual corresponding to the area, which will
list the rehabilitation conditions of the rehabilitation area’s
construction systems, and formal and stylistic elements of the
typologies.
Development of specific projects
Specific projects carried out alongside urban planning action
(creation of new buildings on land freed up by the demolition of
In order to guarantee thoroughgoing revitalization of the built environment it is
often necessary to demolish parts of obsolete fabric, thereby freeing up space or
allowing new construction. / Barcelona
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Projects for the insertion of new buildings TOOL 15
New architecture projects will mainly be carried out by private
initiative, though the administration may also develop some (for
example in the case of some social dwellings or new facilities).
Projects for new buildings in traditional contexts have to respect
the conditioning factors stipulated by the specific ordinances
contained in planning (with regard to dimensions of openings,
heights, type of roof, etc.). Within the limits established by these
regulations, which should not be excessively restrictive, the
projects designed must be contemporary, based on an
Building rehabilitation has to obey the guidelines marked out by the legal
framework (ordinances, manuals, etc.). / Cairo, Egypt
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IV. Action
understanding of the specificities of the place and its history and
shunning approaches that involve excessive codification, absolute
indifference, radical ‘imitation’ or historic distortion. Public
buildings must be designed as good examples of this.
Urban planning projects and treatment of open space
TOOL 16
Rather than basing projects for new urban spaces on criteria of
‘imitation’ of the compositional and ornamental elements of the
historic city, they will be designed from a contemporary viewpoint,
on the basis of a ‘historic interpretation’. The definition of open
spaces in rural contexts will pay particular attention to the
landscape characteristics of the place.
Development of sectorial policies
The complementary sectorial policies established in the action plan
(social, economic and environmental) will be carried out.
Social policies
Social cohesion policies are normally a priority in rehabilitation
interventions, since the simple transformation of the physical
environment, though necessary, is not sufficient to guarantee the
success of the process, as the population housed in traditional
architecture tends to have greater problems of social segregation
or poverty, being the sector of population that has been unable to
The insertion of new architectures not only has to respond to the specificities
of the place; in the contemporary context, it has to make improvements
to the urban form a priority. / Barcelona
‘escape’ an environment that is often considered to be a symbol
of poverty.
Social policies, alongside actions to enhance and physically
revalorize the space, have to focus on combating social exclusion,
with special attention to the social processes produced by the
reclassification of urban or territorial environments, such as
processes of gentrification or expulsion of the native population.
These processes are often inevitable but are counterproductive to
guaranteeing the necessary cohesion and local identity unless they
are addressed and remedied in time.
Social policies may include policies centring on housing, training,
employment, integration of excluded social groups, literacy,
promotion of accessibility in buildings, etc.
Economic policies
The integrated rehabilitation of a traditional environment calls for
the development of a series of economic policies that will give the
area an economic vitality that allows it to play a specific role on a
territorial scale. This role should make the most of the
opportunities offered by its historic singularity. The economic
revitalization of a traditional environment has to consider the
diversification of functions and activities in order to guarantee a
plural population with prospects for the future.
The economic policies may include commercial revitalization,
management of tourism, etc.
Environmental policies
These days, all rehabilitation interventions should be
complemented by an ambitious environmental policy that
guarantees the definition of an environmentally efficient territory.
Though many environmental parameters are conditioned by the
The poster reads: ‘Renovating the street to make things better for you’.
The creation of pedestrian precincts is very necessary to revitalizing commerce
in historic centres. / Cannes, France
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Action
reconfiguration of the structure of the territory and building
(efficient infrastructures, coherent definition of building in
accordance with climatic conditioning factors, etc.) and the way in
which the intervention is managed (use of materials, energy
saving, waste production, elimination of toxic products,
introduction of water saving mechanisms, etc.), it is necessary to
implement a series of policies that enable sustainable
management of the area.
Environmental policies may include policies to encourage energy
or water saving, urban waste management, the introduction of
renewable energies, the definition of models of sustainable
mobility, the promotion and use of collective transport, etc.
Development of complementary campaigns
As explained above, as well as the specific actions (projects and
policies) described in the action plan, the development of
interventions will be accompanied by a series of strategies, also
outlined in the strategic action plan (operational framework), with
the aim of sensitizing the population to heritage, promoting
different aspects of private rehabilitation, encouraging a culture of
maintenance, and involving and encouraging all social agents and
residents to improve the quality of their living environment. This
improvement in the living environment will have a direct effect on
feelings of collective welfare, identity and identification with the
place for all the actors involved in the rehabilitation process, and
in terms of progress and social cohesion.
Public space has to be recovered for citizens in keeping with the dynamization o
f its use and the commercial and economic activities in the area of intervention. /
Barcelona
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Campaign to promote private rehabilitation by improving communal features
of the building / Barcelona
The renovation and updating of urban infrastructures must be carried out alongside
building rehabilitation, ensuring their integration into the place without detracting
from the values of traditional space. / Kairouan, Tunisia
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V. Monitoring
8
Continual Evaluation
TOOL 19
It is important to implement a mechanism for the ongoing followup of the operations, since, bearing in mind the length of
rehabilitation processes, there may be social and economic
changes, etc., that call for the redirection of the original strategy
and a reconsideration of the actions initially envisaged.
The follow-up and evaluation mechanisms will have a two-fold
objective: to control the implementation of the plan and specific
actions, evaluating the degree of satisfaction of the initial
objectives, and to continually evaluate the area once the planned
operations are complete, with a view to monitoring their evolution
and detecting unforeseen or unexpected changes in long-term
forecasts or unforeseen changes in the social or economic
structures.
The creation of a computerized plan of the physical intervention facilitates its
modification and updating in keeping with the evolution of the territory. / Toledo,
Busquets
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V. Monitoring
Creation of an observatory to evaluate the application
of the plan
A technical follow-up team must be created to evaluate the plan,
along with a series of mechanisms (indicators, population surveys,
etc.) to control compliance with the planned objectives and partial
goals.
Monitoring and continuous assessment of the process
The methodology has to envisage the possibility of making the
process retroactive and even of reconsidering proposed action
strategies in the event of unforeseen changes in the initially
detected conditions for which the actions were defined.
The creation of a series of indicators is one possible mechanism for the evaluation
of actions.
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Second part
RehabiMed tools
An aid
to renovating
traditional sites
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Tool 1
Concerning the perception of problems and justification of the intervention
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Tool 1
Tackling renovation today.
The case of historic centres
The profound changes in our society have made town planning
and urban development more and more complex: The increasing
number of people involved with conflicting interests, the influx of
new information and telecommunication technology, the
importance attached to networks of all kind (communication,
cultural, business, information, ...), the need for ecological
measures to protect the environment, migration of inhabitants,
globalisation, interdependence, the liberalisation of the economy
and the integration of markets, the decrease in the role of the
public sector, new methods of production, new social customs in
business and in leisure activities, the greater importance of culture
and nature, the modernisation of our transport infrastructure,
new concepts of mobility and logistic changes in the way people
and goods move,...
These are only some of the new aspects which affect and shape
our territory, and the incorporation of these aspects into urban
areas which historically responded to the needs of other times is a
difficult task. Limited areas, designed for other purposes, their
purposes, the purposes of their historical period, purposes which
in the past justified their existence.
These aspects cannot suddenly be incorporated into
neighbourhoods or urban areas which were created for other
purposes and which were built using the logic of another system.
These historic urban areas which have been unable to adapt to the
dramatic social and structural changes of our time have suffered
from a lack of interest and a lack of support from owners,
residents, businessmen/women and authorities. These groups,
often blinded by the prospect of offers of a very different kind,
have failed to offer the constant support required to adapt this
part of our architectural heritage to the times we live in and to
stop the area from falling into decay.
So, as a result of a gradual process of economic, structural and
functional decline, we inherit these neighbourhoods today in a
state of obsolescence but with the sensitivity to realise the need
for action to make up for lost time. Our objective is to try to
revitalise these urban areas so that they can cater for the aspects
of our current society. In that way, these areas will once again play
a major role within our urban system as a whole.
We have the opportunity to rethink the way that we deal with the
city. In facing this challenge we need to realise that there is no
global or universal solution for all the areas which require
revitalisation. Experience has shown us that no two situations are
the same and for that reason there is no universal model which
can be applied to meet each requirement for revitalisation. Each
Josep Armengol
Architect and town planner
Manager of FORUM S.A.
Manresa, Spain
1
Any urban rehabilitation intervention requires a huge effort of analysis in order
to strike an even balance between the “use value” of the territory and the
patrimonial and historic values of each traditional enclave.
neighbourhood has is own features and these will determine the
unique strategy required when carrying out the revitalisation
project.
There are many factors. Some can be foreseen while others are
imponderable: The idiosyncrasy of each place, the size of the city,
the urban and territorial model which we wish to consolidate,
historical factors (cultural heritage, economic and social
situation,…) ways and possibilities of financing the necessary
action in each place, administrative organisation, the leadership of
the public bodies and their capacity to encourage the involvement
of private organisations,...
In every sense it is difficult to establish universal guidelines for
urban revitalisation. Around the world we can see many
different experiences in this area. In Europe, apart from the
necessity for reconstruction of many cities after the Second
World War, it was not until the end of the 1960s and the
beginning of the 1970s, that people saw the need to intervene
to protect historic urban areas. This was done firstly to protect
the architectural heritage from depredatory groups, and also to
revitalize the areas after they had been left to decay as a result
of expansionist attitudes.
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Tool 1
Tackling renovation today. The case of historic centres
If we compare these experiences, we will not find two that are
the same and therefore it is impossible to establish universal
guidelines or a universal model for urban revitalisation. In spite
of this fact, it is also true that we live in a world which is
becoming more and more globalised, which tends to impose
global knowledge on us and which enables us to discover and
compare all types of experiences regarding urban renovation.
Deriving from this process of globalisation, there are three
aspects which unavoidably condition our way of thinking
regarding the contemporary city, that is to say the city of the
twenty-first century. These aspects are the so-called information
society, the competitive model of the city and the changeable
nature of the factors which affect urban development. Given
that these three aspects also have implications for the processes
of urban renovation, we should consider them first, before
discussing in detail the processes themselves and how to make
them viable.
Firstly, we are immersed in the information society. As Lluís Foix
said, one of the main conquests of capitalism has been to
achieve the nationalization of information and knowledge. It is
precisely this richness of universal knowledge that enables us to
draw conclusions, identify strengths and weaknesses and in
short, define general mechanisms for urban revitalisation which
offer guidelines to guarantee the success of each individual
operation in each place and in any place.
Secondly, it should be pointed out that it is this global reality in
which we are immersed which encourages the competitive
model of the city in which a city’s capacity to survive is
measured, above all, by its capacity to attract capital and
investment, by how quickly and easily it can be reached and
therefore by its transport and communication systems. But
competitiveness, and therefore the capacity of a city to survive,
also depends on different aspects, such as our capacity to take
into account the current concerns of our society such as concern
about protection of the environment and concern about our
heritage, our culture and the protection of nature. The growing
interest in the revitalisation of our historical urban areas forms
part of these concerns.
Finally, this competitive model of the city promotes innovation
and self criticism, it forces us to produce and exchange ideas and
it encourages the flexibility needed to adapt our cities to a world
The great metropolis has swallowed up the historic city. Cairo (Egypt)
56
The rehabilitation of historic centers often has the objective of destroying the
“walls” which separate them economically, socially and functionally from the rest
of the city.
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Tool 1
which is becoming more and more variable. At the same time,
this model forces us to constantly rethink our cities. It is precisely
in this context of a current, ever-changing situation, that we feel
the need to intervene as often as necessary to restore and
modernize our historic buildings.
The contradiction is that at the same time as the information
society enables us to witness any experience around the world
as it is happening, at that same moment the experience loses its
relevance or is no longer applicable. That is to say, that
paradoxically it is the very current and ever-changing nature of
such events that makes it difficult to establish universal
guidelines and mechanisms, valid in any place and at any time,
to enable us to revitalise our neighbourhoods and cities.
In spite of everything said before, the solution to the problem is
to be able to have global knowledge and think globally in order
to act locally. This is the challenge for urban revitalisation which
I will now deal with. As we can deduce from the aforementioned
conclusions, globalising does not have to mean making
everything uniform but instead it can mean dealing with
thousands of different situations.
In March 2000 the second conference on European local
government was held in Manresa. It was entitled “The Renovation
of Historic Areas in Medium-Sized Cities”. The conference,
organised by the Catalonian College of Public Administration and
the Bages University Foundation, was an opportunity to learn
about and compare events taking place all over Europe with the
same goals. At the final part of the conference in the session
entitled “Methods and Strategies of Action”, the common
elements of the events discussed were determined and can be
summarised in three categories:
Firstly, the objective in all the cases studied was the revitalisation
of a neighbourhood or urban area in order to give it an active role
within the urban system as a whole, while improving and taking
advantage of the features that distinguished it from other urban
areas: its proximity to the centre, ease of access, its historic value,
its economic and social characteristics, the diversity of uses and
previous activities carried out in it, etc.
Secondly, in all the cases studied, it was considered essential to
plan the action to be carried out according to a predetermined city
model within a municipal or supra municipal urban context. That
is to say, that all the cases studied had treated their urban
View of Jerusalem
View of Fes el Jedid (Morocco)
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renovation projects as an integral part of the overall framework
used to manage the urban development of each city. And in all the
cases studied the activities for revitalisation opted for a change in
the city model. They opted for a compact city model which takes
into account the additional economic, social, cultural and
environmental values, instead of the traditional model of an
extensive city which had been used up to that moment and which
opted for unlimited expansion. Despite the fact that everyone
agreed on the former model, nobody had managed to create the
mechanisms to construct this alternative city model.
Last but not least, in all the cases studies it was agreed that urban
revitalisation projects have to be integral and therefore at the
same time have to deal with economic, social, environmental,
functional and structural questions which means doing the
following things:
“option value” is very low or almost zero.
The third and final conclusion at the second conference on
European local government was on the instruments necessary for
action in historic urban areas and was divided into three different
categories :
Creating adequate living conditions
Supporting the inhabitants affected (training, jobs, housing, ...)
Improving public areas to make them more easily accessible
Improving the economic situation
Creating mechanisms to involve in the project, the groups of
people who are affected both directly and indirectly
When considering method and strategy it was agreed that there are
two urban situations which require our involvement. These two
situations require specific processes and entail two different
strategies: Rehabilitation and urban renovation. These two
strategies are different and provoke the traditional debate on
whether it is better to preserve a building or replace it with a new
one.
When deciding whether a part of our architectural heritage is worth
preserving or not, we have to consider its value. Here we can divide
this into two types of value: “option value”, which simply means
weighing up its “value for use” based on the functions that it may
directly or indirectly be used for and the “value of no use” which is
the value that can be attached to architectural heritage as property
in its own right or a part of our cultural identity.
The concept of renovation involves both preserving and rebuilding
our architectural heritage. This concept normally applies to historical
areas with a rich heritage which have been put at risk due to the
activity of those involved in the property market who acted without
considering the “option value” and in the majority of cases the high
“value of no use”.
On the other hand, the concept of renovation involves the
transformation and regeneration of historic areas (substitution
renewal,…) normally deserted areas which have been left to decay
as a result of gradual abandonment over a long period. In the
majority of these cases there is a loss in functional value and lack of
interest in the area from a heritage point of view and therefore the
58
A plan which defines the objectives and justifies the action to
be taken
A system to manage the project which will ensure that the plan
is carried out properly
A system of participation and follow-up to guarantee that all
the objectives are achieved
Since the second conference on European local government in the
year 2000, many sessions have been held to exchange information
on the revitalisation projects in historic urban areas that have been
carried out internationally. Many of these have been organised
and financed by the European Commission and despite the fact
that each project has been different, in the majority of cases, the
three instruments above have proved to be valid. I will comment
on this in more detail later on. Tool 12 .
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Housing: renovation issues in France
and the Mediterranean
Michel Polge
Technical director of the National Housing
Improvement Agency (ANAH)
France
1
The issue is not a specifically Mediterranean one, it affects any
country with a public policy on housing at national level. The issue
can be considered in many ways, but it will always raise the
problem of habitability and a qualitative trade-off between new
and old: although the old does not offer a product that performs
(operating cost, light, surfaces, facilities, parking, property value...)
as well as the new, a group of residents who cannot choose their
own destiny remains. The comparison and competition between
housing solutions is fortunate for the old; it opens up for it the
whole field of improvement to be grafted on to a mixed stock:
negative/positive, unsuitable/historic, an architectural and cultural
challenge which provides construction professionals with a nice
opportunity.
To quantitatively illustrate that it is impossible to ignore the old
when talking about housing, let's take the French example, with
400,000 new homes built every year. There are 30,000,000 homes
in total, of which 40% date from before 1949. That means any
massive action to promote housing depends on rehabilitation in
France, as it does elsewhere, because the Mediterranean countries
are all countries with ancient cultures. For example, if one wants
to considerably reduce domestic energy consumption it is certainly
necessary to have strict rules for new homes but, if one really
wants to act in a far-reaching way, action must be also taken on
the existing stock.
Here we will approach the issue of rehabilitation of existing homes
from the angle of the exclusively technical issues that concern
residential property, without covering social, urban or even
economic issues, which are separate, although they must be
considered at the same time in order to achieve a public housing
rehabilitation policy.
Existing housing: from evidence of the plans
for destruction to conviction of the need to rehabilitate
the old stock.
In the 19th century, following the line of Lumières, the issue of the
living conditions of the population was raised throughout Europe.
Doctors were in the front line: they strongly denounced serious
public health problems, associating these problems with the
housing issue and, more broadly, with the existing city. Notably,
they made the link between problems of epidemics – cholera,
tuberculosis... – and environmental issues. It became clear that
public policy to promote the health of the population depended
Often, the urban rehabilitation processes requires operations of studied “dedensification” of obsolete and non-recoverable parts of the urban fabric in
order to favor the improvement of the inhabitability of the habitat and of the
environmental quality of the traditional urban space.
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on the housing issue.
It is interesting to note that this approach to urban issues first
came from doctors, not from architects, town planners, political
decision-makers or engineers. But these others took up the
doctors' hygiene initiative on their own account and worked to
transform towns and cities in this sense. They invented new
architectural and urban forms with the idea of providing a
response to serious problems in society. There were many
consequences of this desire: the plan for the Eixample in
Barcelona, Haussmann-style planning in Paris which was then
diffused to the big French cities, garden cities, the Voisin plan,
radial cities like Marseille, the Weissenhof Siedlung, the urban
utopias of Proudhon or Fourier and Soria y Mata, which was first
put into practice in Madrid, and others, as these are just examples.
The common point of all these innovative town planning
approaches is that the existing city – except for its historic
monuments – was stigmatised and condemned to demolition or
radical transformation. Until the 1970s, there was a very real
consensus on the need to review the urban and housing issue with
radical solutions, inventing a new city.
For example, Victor Considérant, writing in the middle of the 19th
century: "In this Paris there are a million men, women and
unfortunate children, packed into a tight circle where the houses
jostle and press one another, raising and superimposing their 6
cramped floors; 600,000 of these inhabitants live without air or
light, above dark, deep, viscous courtyards, in damp cellars, with
attics open to the rain and the wind, to rats and to insects. And
from bottom to top, from cellar to rooftop, all is dilapidation, foul
air, filth and misery." Throughout the 19th century and for a large
part of the 20th, the general conviction concerning the existing city
was that it must be condemned with no hope of appeal. The
hygiene aspect of the issue was still largely to the fore when the
"National Anti-Slum League" was set up in France in 1924. This
organisation did not forget the rural world when it denounced
housing conditions: "It is not only in the overcrowded districts of
tentacular cities where one can find dark, dirty, lethal houses;
villages, too, have their cottages with narrow windows that are
never opened, with beaten earth floors foul with formidable
germs; they have their decrepit, unhealthy hovels, nests of
infection, where poverty is made still more poignant by the
contrast with the serene splendour of nature."
Strengthened by these principles, after the Second World War,
reconstruction policies were applied on a large scale, with
demolition, rebuilding or even construction of new districts from
scratch, at last providing a response to this general wish for a new
city, cleared of miasma and dilapidation. There was an evident
opportunity – the destruction of the war, then 30 years of
economic growth with rural exodus to support it, would generate
Without the necessary implication of the political powers at the moment of
population-awareness-creating and the favoring of a favorable technical and
economic context it is not possible to realize a successful rehabilitation.
Renovated houses opposite obsolete houses in Dar el Ahmar, in Islamic Cairo (Egypt)
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enormous housing need. At this point, the solutions did not
depend on rehabilitation: the existing city was preserved where
there was nothing better.
The reaction against this ideal of new cities provided at the cost of
eradicating old ones - a dreamlike future where the horizon
endlessly moved forward - appeared in the 1970s. There were
several reasons for this:
1. the first oil crisis put an end to the constant economic growth
following the war which had made it possible to imagine ever
more ambitious and radical schemes to destroy the old city with
the sole exception of its monuments
2. social disenchantment became clear in the new working class
districts, built on a massive scale and remarkably quickly but to
the detriment of the quality of the environment and services
(we should not forget to point out that these new districts, in
the very spirit of their designers, were meant to last 30 years
before again being destroyed and rebuilt in a "throwaway"
rather than "durable" replacement process
3. the existing city, abandoned to its own devices, gradually
became a kind of ghetto where, once the working day was
over, no-one but the poorest, the oldest and the most isolated
remained – those who could not get out of the old districts
with all their dilapidation and empty premises.
4. One might add that, before this, medicine had found its own
remedies for many diseases, such as the invention of BCG, the
vaccine against tuberculosis. Because of this, although the
housing issue remained a central one for doctors, dealing with
it was no longer the sole solution to public health issues.
Urban renovation operations in the centre of Barcelona / Foment de Ciutat Vella
(Barcelona, Spain)
A cultural aspect was also present in this rediscovery of the old
city: the notion of built heritage had come late, but urban heritage
made its appearance in planning tools (in the 1960s in France), a
long time after the "invention" of historic monuments.
After this, without any general theory or "founding discourse",
public intervention actions began to be launched on a pragmatic
basis everywhere to reoccupy, repopulate and rehabilitate old
districts. The result, 35 years later, is spectacular in a certain
number of countries where new investment has been made in
these old districts and where much – although far from everything
– has been done to rehabilitate them. In addition, rehabilitation
has become the economically dominant area of the construction
industry in many countries, including France.
The housing issue is a big one in public rehabilitation policy and, of
course, it concerns private housing (which is in the huge majority
compared to the public stock, but with a very variable proportion of
private rented stock compared to private owner-occupied stock).
The other 2 segments of this private stock are second homes, which
can be important in the Mediterranean, and empty housing, whose
quantity depends notably on the economic attractiveness of a sector
but also on other factors (financial return on rented stock, legal
problems concerning the status of property, etc.). Public policies
concerning rehabilitation therefore have several targets: the private
rented stock, the owner-occupied housing stock – the most
important in terms of size (with a special focus on the poorest
inhabitants) – and the treatment of vacant stock as a pool of homes
to be put back on the market to meet local housing need. We might
finally add "transformation of use" – that is, the transformation into
housing of buildings not initially intended for this use and which are
no longer practically useful.
Open space generated by the demolition of obsolete urban fabric in Palermo
(Sicily, Italy)
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It should also be noted, although this issue goes beyond the
objective of this article, that the rehabilitation of existing housing is
often made difficult in Mediterranean cities because of town
planning problems. A historical tendency to build very tightly
packed cities with a network of very narrow roads can make
"gutting" operations essential – unpicking the built-up fabric where
any intervention on the building itself would be doomed to relative
failure because really good habitability conditions would not be
obtained due to lack of air and light. It is particularly notable that
the Fez rehabilitation agency is called the "de-densification
agency".
A greater problem for rehabilitating old housing districts should also
be noted – although it is not the subject of this article either – in that
such rehabilitation only fully fulfils its promise if it can be achieved
without detriment to the more modest inhabitants of these districts
and their homes. The "return to the city" from 1975 onwards is
often accompanied by "gentrification" of the restored districts; that
is, a return of well-off people to the old cities. This is positive
because it generates a social mix, provided that the more modest
residents are not dislodged by such a movement.
Action by the public authorities is still more necessary when the
private owners are widely scattered: they are not construction
professionals with an up-to-date knowledge of technical problems.
In other words, there is very little presence by architectural
professionals in the rehabilitation market, which is certainly very
impressive in terms of spending, but which is divided into an infinite
number of small sites. Of course, private owners would be able to
identify their most immediate needs, such as installing facilities to
provide a minimum of comfort or repairing dilapidated masonry. But
they would not be able to identify more sophisticated technical
problems – for example, when degraded paintwork is dangerous to
the occupants and the technical solutions that must be applied. –
and still less choose cutting-edge techniques: good insulation and
heating, for example, with, at the same time, lasting, economical
solutions adapted to the existing building.
The issue for the public authorities, is, then, a three-fold one:
Another area is worth exploring in depth: "supervised" selfrehabilitation. Although this is a relatively minor issue in richer
countries, support for people rehabilitating their own homes can
play an essential role in less economically developed countries.
This means being capable of producing the supervisory conditions:
technical structures able to work with the residents to help them
to define their needs and carry out the work.
In order to conclude by saying what should happen to existing
housing tomorrow, we will recall what we are looking for:
raising public awareness of technical issues through the mass
media by suggestions solutions, using communications media
appropriate for all kinds of targets depending on the priority
technical issues
promoting a technical framework that allows "enlightened
decision-making"
creating a favourable financial environment
All public action therefore depends on the necessary mediators,
who will "bring in" the technical problems from an extremely
scattered audience and will be able to offer this audience
appropriate technical solutions.
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healthy, appropriate housing (where issues of hygiene, comfort
and access are resolved)
safe housing (where issues of structural stability, safety and
prevention of major risks are resolved)
housing that is economical in terms of energy and resources
(where issues of operating costs are resolved)
housing designed to last. (where issues concerning the
durability of the housing product are resolved)
All these points require sometimes far-reaching technical
transformations to improve the old housing and preserve its usage
value. All these points also require technical mediation, public
operational actions, aid properly calibrated for the benefit of
private owners and the creation of a "technical rehabilitation
culture" for the benefit of the major public issues involved.
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Heritage and the need to renovate.
The case of Greece
Architects
Lecturers at Salonika Architecture College
Greece
1
1. A difficult equilibrium: improvement of living conditions
versus the rehabilitation of built heritage
The question of housing conditions and their relationship to the
conservation of traditional urban housing is practically nonexistent in the majority of Greek city centres. Greece is a particular
case in terms of urban scale conservation issues. Lack of a
consistent conservation policy at a regional and urban scale, the
impossibility of designating urban conservation areas through the
existing legislation until recently, the lack of financing of urban
projects and restoration works, the lack of a national registry of
traditional architecture, are some of the reasons why there exist
but few well conserved historic centres in modern Greek towns.
The devastation of the country during the long war of
independence against the ottomans that began in 1821 is also an
important reason of this fact. There is a very small number of
medieval settlements and approximately 600 villages and small
towns all over the country dated to the last centuries of the
Venetian – Ottoman occupation as well as some very fine
examples of preserved settlements and modern towns founded
after the Greek independence in 1830, mostly of vernacular
neoclassical architecture.
As mentioned above, right after the Second World War urban
migration created a great demand for urban housing. This
situation was resolved by the state, with the establishment of a
legislative framework regulating construction, through which
private initiative carried out the reconstruction of all urban centres,
providing new housing, with practically no urban planning control
from the part of the state, even though individual building permits
were thoroughly controlled.
This was made possible through the formulation of a uniform
building code for the entire country. According to this code the
volume of a building that was possible to be constructed on an
urban plot was doubled or tripled in terms of the existing building,
depending on the location of the site and the scale of the town.
Consequently owners of urban land and structures were capable
of exchanging their property with a certain number of new
apartments of the building constructed after the demolition of the
existing structure. This operation was carried out plot by plot and
through private investments. No conservation policy existed
capable of controlling this process that devastated almost all
urban Greek centres (Fig. 1). The rise of land value resulting from
these measures made impossible for the state to expropriate land
and buildings even in latent conservation areas, making the
The traditional architecture has been forgotten in detriment of the significant
monumental classical patrimony, without taking into account that it represented a
still-alive and inhabited patrimony.
question of urban conservation synonym to restriction of
ownership and definitely not popular. No regional or urban policy
altered or compensated this situation. The housing stock of the
country though, was principally renewed, leaving very few people
living in insalubrious conditions.
In some, very few cases where urban listed quarters have been
conserved, initial residents, unwilling to undertake and finance the
restoration of their houses, finally moved out, leaving marginal
groups to inhabit their properties (i.e. Barbouta in Veria or the
Upper Town of Thessaloniki). These quarters remain in a
redundant state since the cost of their rehabilitation cannot be
faced either by the state or by their present occupants.
In the majority of cases though, where urban conservation
projects have been carried out, they resulted in the transformation
of the character of these areas, changing houses to leisure
functions or displacing the initial population in favor of higher
income users (Plaka in Athens, Ladadika in Thessaloniki)
Outside the urban context in well conserved traditional
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Heritage and the need to renovate. The case of Greece
settlements the rehabilitation of the vernacular houses needs to
be controlled. In settlements where pressure for tourist
development exists, the traditional habitat is undergoing changes
in order to accommodate new functions. In rural settlements still
inhabited, upgrading traditional houses often means the loss of
their original typology and architectural character.
Sites of traditional urban or rural architecture were mainly
preserved in cases where there was no pressure for demolition,
reconstruction or redevelopment. Of course, as stated in the first
chapter today there are still many sites and buildings in urgent
need of intervention and protection.
2. The range cases where to act
1. The old centres are now barely recognisable in some Greek cities.
3. Lack of maintenance is one of the factors that damage heritage.
2. Example of traditional space recovered in Greece
4. Traditional Greek site.
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Due to its geographical position and configuration (large insular
complexes and a hinterland fragmented by mountain ranges) as
well as the different cultural influences resulting from its long
tormented history, Greece has developed a wide range of building
traditions. Rural and urban sites, well preserved until the end of
Second World War, have been severely denatured as a result of
intensive interior migration that then took place massively and
resulted in the reconstruction of the majority of historic urban
centers, while rural settlements were abandoned and neglected.
The official state took time to realize the consequences of the total
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absence of a coherent regional and urban conservation policy that
would prevent the rapid loss of a large number of traditional sites
and monuments. Anyway traditional architecture was quite
neglected in terms of conservation issues until recently being
considered inferior to the important classical, Byzantine and postByzantine heritage of the country.
A systematic study of the traditional heritage was not really carried
out until a considerable part of it was already lost. Traditional
architecture in Greece today comprises:
1. Few partially preserved urban sites and a very limited number of
well conserved historic urban centers (fig. 2 )
2. A large number of isolated buildings (not all of them listed)
within the urban tissue of many cities, which are threatened by
demolition or by incompatible interventions. State services are
not capable of financing conservation projects and there is little
public awareness and appreciation of traditional urban heritage
(fig. 3) ;
3. A large number of well preserved traditional settlements
throughout the country (fig. 4), Numerous agricultural
structures and complexes, settings and landscapes around
traditional nuclei also call for attention (fig.5)
Among the well-conserved traditional settlements, there are
distinctive categories in terms of their present state, so there
are:
3.1. Settlements abandoned and threatened by deterioration
and complete lack of maintenance (fig. 6)
3.2. Settlements under pressure for tourist development (fig. 7)
3.3. Settlements where the uncontrolled incompatible
interventions result in the slow loss of their character.
(fig. 8)
Integrated diagnosis should provide policies for each particular
category considering present state and perspectives.
5. Agricultural structures linked to the Greek landscape.
In the last 30 years there have been studies of traditional
architecture in Greece. They can be considered neither exhaustive
nor focusing on all aspects of the building traditions of the
country.
6. Abandoned village in the Greek mountains.
7. Settlement under pressure for tourist development
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Most of them do focus on the morphology of the isolated
buildings and less on the construction materials and techniques.
Even less attention is given to the typology of buildings, mainly
considered in urban scale studies of traditional sites. The
morphology of open spaces of settlements and the overall
townscape values are less taken into consideration. There is little
research and evaluation of the social, cultural and environmental
aspects and values of the traditional heritage. The fact that these
sites present a sustainable, self sufficient model that is ecologically
profitable should also be a basic parameter to be pointed out and
which is mostly not taken into consideration.
In these studies vernacular architecture is viewed as static building
forms while an alternative dynamic and active approach should
have as an objective the consideration of these environments as a
source of architectural knowledge useful and applicable in
contemporary design.
It is important to note that there is no complete registry of the
traditional heritage while many important structures are not yet
listed. Minor complexes of rural and agricultural functions are not
protected while the conservation of landscapes and settings
critical for preserving the context of traditional
architecture is not even discussed. (fig. 9).
8. Unfortunate transformations are another factor that damage heritage.
The necessity of the operations of an integral type is demonstrated in cases such as
Athens and Thessalonica, where patrimonial conservation policies have been carried
out, but have resulted in transformations towards tertiary specialization and leisuresociety economies
9. The landscape is also a traditional value to be protected in Greece.
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The value of traditional urban
models. The case of Nicosia
Michael Cosmas
Architect
Cyprus
1
Next Friday at 7pm, the head of the State planning authorities’
housing department will be presenting an award to the winner of
the 8th Europan competition. This in itself might not be an
extraordinary event, but in the context of Cyprus, it carries a
particular significance for two reasons.
Firstly the scale the competition engages. Europan is a European
institution by now, having run for over fifteen years (Europan 1-8)
producing numerous fascinating and innovative projects, while at
the same time allowing younger architects the chance to materialize
their ideas and take a step into the production of the built
environment. Europan lies unique amongst other competitions in
that while it is essentially an idea’s competition, it demands from
competitors to attack their sites at levels that go beyond the
architectural project and engage a scale that is primarily urban.
This intermediary operational scale, which projects beyond the
boundaries of the single plot-based project and lies before the
strategic and planning scale, is completely absent from the
mechanisms of production of urban space on the island, making the
Europan 8 project a significant mark of new direction in thinking by
the local authorities.
The second reason is the choice of site for the competition. This is
of significant importance not only because it carries a particular
socio-political weight (it is one of a series of housing estates built in
the late 70’s to house the 200,000 refugees of the Turkish invasion),
but because even in its desperate state, the site carries the promise
of a different kind of urban assembly1.
The choice of site was indeed intended to be such, so as a
discussion about models of urban assembly is opened, prompting a
re-evaluation of the prevalent mono-cultural, anodyne, plot based
development of the post-colonial era that makes up the suburban
peripheries of the Cypriot city. This suburban sprawl and its socioeconomic as well as environmental impact has so far been little
contested either by authorities or by the general public.
The city of Nicosia post 1974: the Historic City
After the 1974 war and the subsequent division of the island,
cities in Cyprus experienced massive demographic changes.
Sudden population growth was coupled by rapid urbanization of
their periphery, while authorities, crippled by the state’s
impoverishment and organizational inadequacy remained
incapable to plan for these changes.
Nicosia was affected more than any other city on the island.
Dismembered by its division into north and south (a separation
wall, runs east to west through its historical center), and disfigured
The political powers should promote the historic city as a place of privileged
life-style, not only as a cultural entity and a picturesque backdrop for tourists.
As an alternative to the development of suburban urban models and the
multiplication of no-places in the contemporary city, the traditional urban models
can offer urbaneness nowadays in crisis.
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The value of traditional urban models. The case of Nicosia
by its subsequent disproportional (suburban) sprawl towards the
south, it has become the paradoxical city par-excellence.
The historical city (marked by its 14th century fortification by the
Venetians) and its immediate surroundings, has been up to and
until the war the geographic as well as socio-economic center of
the metropolitan region. The division has rendered this historic
fabric into a marginal territory, while its social and economic
importance has been dramatically reduced. Dramatic population
reduction after the war was followed by a steady hemorrhage of
inhabitants in the 1980’s, with numbers reaching an all time low
in the mid 1990’s.
With the historic center incapacitated, the parallel efforts that
aimed to develop the periphery (the authorities have been trying
for many years to alleviate circulatory problems in the center
caused by the inadequate road network and the explosion in
traffic), have resulted in a generous, sprawling poly-centric field,
on which the historic center is only but one of the nodes. In fact,
not only is it one of numerous of nodes of urban intensity, but it
is one that is of rather secondary significance.
The importance of an alternative urban assembly
The universal appeal of the suburban model to contemporary city
dwellers has been well discussed in recent years. A peaceful
environment that offers little anxiety, as inhabitants are usually
amongst their own kind, virtually (and sometimes physically)
segregated from uses and users that might upset their living
environments. Suburbia has stricken a chord with the middle class
values of contemporary society.
But it is also well known that the suburbs more often than not
remain mono-cultural and poor in diversity, incapable to support
activities that promote social and cultural exchange between
population groups. With the suburban model ‘the city’ fails as a
social and cultural exchange mechanism. It fails as a means for
society to understand itself, understand others, grow and produce
culture.
It is beyond the scope of this text to try and analyze the
(multivalent) problems associated with the suburban model. What
is of importance here is that the historic centers of our cities (as is
also the case of the housing estates we mentioned earlier),
startlingly present themselves as available alternatives to the this
prevalent model. Could it be that this age old city fabric, now
defunct and in disarray, could foster a new kind of city of living,
one not driven by romantic aestheticism, but by a social agenda
while indeed being capable of meeting contemporary needs and
desires?
The urban tissue in the Historic city possesses many of the qualities
that contemporary urbanists discuss as key characteristics of a
model urbanity. Built on the premise of proximity, the fabric
possesses a critical density that on one hand fosters community
and social knitting, but also friction and social-tension. Proximity
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The car plays the leading role in the historic centre of Nicosia, Cyprus.
Street in the historic centre of Nicosia (Cyprus)
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fosters social transparency, and therefore understanding,
acceptance.
The tissue possesses an infinite variety of spaces for public activity,
varying from the street to the urban square, and from the
neighborhood park to the private yard. The car slows down and
takes a secondary role, while the mostly pedestrianized network
of streets becomes the stage for daily urban encounters.
Efforts to rejuvenate the historic city
The Nicosia historic city is currently lying stagnant. A substantial
proportion of its built fabric is in complete disarray, while economic
and social activity (bar one or two exceptions) is in decay. Despite
numerous efforts over the years, the district has failed to generate a
positive dynamic, and remains an area with an unsure future2. The
efforts have all been well intended, with some exceptionally well
thought out and executed, but the general feeling is that they have
been rendered ineffective. There have been numerous reasons that
have rendered some of these efforts ineffective, but we would argue
that the most important factor has been a general misunderstanding
of the potentials of the historic city as a whole3.
Henry Lefebvre in his infamous text ‘the right to the city’ writes: “The
city historically constructed is no longer lived and is no longer
understood practically. It is only an object of cultural composition for
tourists, for estheticism, avid for spectacles and the picturesque…
Yet the urban remains in a state of dispersed and alienated actuality,
as kernel and virtuality…”.
The potential of the city lies in its urban qualities and not in its
aesthetic appeal. While it is of course important to salvage and
restore our architectural heritage, it is of most importance to
rehabilitate and enlist it as an active player in contemporary urban
life. It is important to disentangle the city from historicism and a
romantic appreciation, in order to develop an intellectual and
scientific armature that would guide interventions and policies
towards an active, dynamic future for the area, one that would allow
it once more to be “lived and understood practically”.
Architecture
So how would one go about changing the fortunes of this
valuable piece of urban fabric? The restoration and habilitation
of important architecture in the historic center is of course of
primary importance. Encouraging private initiative (the various
institutions that have set up their facilities in the historic city
have done an excellent job of restoring and or rehabilitating
buildings), facilitating and even financing projects through
public policy is already happening, while a more aggressive
policy by the municipality, in order to match owners to potential
buyers/ users might re-invigorate things.
But architectural interventions alone do not of course guarantee
an infusion of urbanity, let alone of a healthy one. As Jane
Jacobs writes to discuss the misunderstood association between
architecture and social behavior in her infamous book ‘The Life
and Death of Great American Cities’ “ ….there is no direct,
simple relationship between good …[buildings] and good
behavior …good shelter is a useful good in itself, as shelter”.
Demographics
After the 1974 war the historic city suffered a demographic shock,
with resident population abandoning the city en-force, with a steady
hemorrhage of inhabitants continuing until the mid 1990’s when
numbers reached an all time low. Light industry, and commerce
hang-on to the city a bit more, with cheap rents and flexible
infrastructures proving tempting enough to stay, but ultimately (with
the exception of small scale operations that cannot afford the
relocation), this population sector is also abandoning the city.
While inhabitants were fleeing, other population groups found room
to move in. In recent years the city has witnessed the settlement of
substantial numbers of economic immigrants, a phenomenon that
has infused the city with some urbanity. Parallel to this, in the last
decade the historic city has emerged as a popular host for the urban
night-entertainment scene, with numerous bars and clubs choosing
this area to set up, while tourism has once again re-emerged as a
significant source of income for the area, with numbers suggesting
a steady rise in visitors per year.
Action
These phenomena suggest that the historic city might no longer
be stagnant and could hope for a positive outlook. This might
indeed be true, but there are two important issues that arise, both
suggesting directions and areas for immediate action, by all
implicated parties.
The population groups settling into the city have little if any
interaction between them. The economic immigrants share no
common space with the carpenters and the smelters in the light
industry, let alone with the hordes of youngsters that populate the
after-hours club scene. This suggests a fragmented, more
vulnerable city.
Furthermore, none of these population groups is indeed ‘resident’
(the economic immigrants are more often than not in transit
status) which produces an environment that feels little cared for,
while suggesting a city weak in terms of representation and ability
to develop self-governance. Resident population matters, as it
represents votes, a good measure of the capacity for a
neighborhood or district to enforce change.
The need to attract new population groups, primarily resident
populations, is evident, while the existing population groups have
to be further intertwined with the new groups. The challenge lies
in how to entice these new settlements, and of course which
groups to target first. A strategy which has worked in a number
of similar cases abroad is to target population groups that are
early adopters, and groups that can be attracted by a quality
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work-live environment. Such groups include artists and artisans,
high-technology and services professionals and others.
Schemes and policies to attract the new settlers have to be
coupled with new projects that will equip the city with those
facilities that are necessary to cater for contemporary needs and
desires. Projects that range from parking infrastructures to sport
and leisure facilities are required to lift the desirability of the
historic city, while the guaranteeing of personal safety and security
for young individuals should not be underestimated.
Ultimately though, the qualities and potentials of the Historic city,
as previously discussed, lie latent in its urban tissue. With the
settling of new populations, this potential has to be further
explored with the rehabilitation and creation of elements that
intensify public activity and social knitting, while offering enough
diversity to cater for a new more diverse population.
it is going to happen only through public adoption and
participation. Society has to educate itself about the value of
urban life, before all appreciation and understanding of urbanity
is forever lost.
Footnote
Finally it should be stressed that public adoption remains key.
Lefebvre writes again “…Although necessary, policy is not
enough….Only social force, capable of investing itself in the urban
through a long political experience, can take charge of the
realization of a program concerning urban society…”
With the proliferation of non-places in contemporary life (as the
anthropologist Marc Augé has termed contemporary airports,
highways, theme-park shopping malls and similar nodes in
contemporary life) and the global explosion of a sprawling
suburbia, it is with particular importance that we should address
the issue of the city as place. If alternative models of urban
assembly are to be given a chance to demonstrate their potential,
Traditional buildings in the centre of Nicosia, Cyprus
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1
The site is typical of the refugee housing projects built in the 70’s, and follows an
organizational logic that draws heavily on housing and urbanism ideas prevalent
at the time. Car access and parking is organized in a series of cul-de-sacs that feed
off an arterial peripheral road, while the buildings are organized in linear patterns
running E-W. Open space and public facilities take a primary role, while the
buildings are relatively small scale, mostly two and three story multi-family
apartment blocks.
2
It important not to discard the positive changes brought to the historic city by the
recent settlements of significant numbers of economic immigrants, primarily from
ex-Soviet block countries. But these effects were mostly market driven and were
not organized or planned, while they remain largely unstable.
3
Various projects have been successful in their own right over the years. We would
include the restoration and re-habilitation of numerous historical buildings, the
construction of model housing units for young families in the Hrisaliniotissa area,
the Nicosia Contemporary Arts Center amongst others. But in terms of
transgressing their scope to become a factor that would change the dynamics of
the area, these projects have been less than effective.
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Concerning preliminary decisions
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The framework of governance
and public participation
Xavier Benoist
Economist and town planner
General Director of PACT ARIM
France
2
The driving role of public authorities
Rehabilitation operations bring together private initiatives (owner
occupiers, landlords, property developers) and public authorities
very closely.
It is appropriate here to review the different levels of political
engagement and the nature of the interventions to be made by
the public authorities during the three big stages of the
rehabilitation process, which are: diagnosis, strategy and specific
interventions.
Clear, firm political commitment both before and after
the project.
The first success factor for any rehabilitation programme is clear,
firm, unswerving political commitment, regardless of the
constraints and difficulties that may occur.
Political commitment has a direct effect on the way the project is
received by the people, as well as on the motivation of the
operational teams. It must be constantly renewed by the
responsible authorities, both before and after projects.
Political responsibility beforehand is expressed in participation in
setting up projects in order to ensure feasibility. Projects then
appear as contributions to the expression of a political ideal. They
are negotiated in such as way as to respond to the essential issues
for the future of the urban territory and the population.
Political responsibility afterwards is expressed in terms of capacity
to exploit the good practices springing from pilot projects in other
districts or other larger-scale projects. The lessons drawn from
these experiences must make it possible to improve existing
policies, regulations and institutions in order to respond better to
future rehabilitation requirements.
Popular participation
A rehabilitation project certainly requires strong technical skills and
political commitment, but this is not the only dimension. It must
be constructed and undertaken with the residents who are, in the
first place, the main group concerned by the project. This involves
a project initiative that is organised based on regular exchanges
and debates with the population, with civil society.
The implication of the residents, as well as the users of the conjunct of economic
and social agents, in order to reach consensus in the taking of decisions, will be key
in the guaranteeing of long-term success of the operations to be realized..
Depending on the city and the country, this attitude can lead to
forms of organisation that differ to a certain degree according to
the participation habits of the local population. They can run from
the establishment of public workshops to the organisation of
regular meetings to obtain agreement. Whatever the formula
used, participation by all components of the population must be
organised at each stage of the rehabilitation process (diagnosis,
strategy and specific operations).
Participation of all the population
Recent urban history is marked by the development of residents'
initiatives to protect their living space. District residents'
associations are, then, often excellent (or even unique)
interlocutors for the public authorities when it comes to
rehabilitation.
However, care must be taken not to limit mechanisms to
participation by residents. Instead they should be extended to
users, traders, NGOs and other economic agents capable of
becoming involved in investing and adding value to old districts.
Care must also be taken to integrate all residents, with all the
ethnic, social, cultural and religious components involved,
following the principle of non-discrimination.
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The framework of governance and public participation
Participation at the strategic level
2
The formation of strategic choices is incontrovertibly one of the
strongest moments for public debate. It comes at the point where
several lines of argument and territorial scales converge.
It is at this stage that the impact on the district of the relevant
choice of a strategy defined at city level (public facilities policy,
housing policy, mobility policy, etc.) is measured. It is also at this
stage when the set of conceivable actions at district level in
response to the problems identified and the expectations
expressed by the population is spelt out.
For the population, this is the chance to have a look at the
transformation envisaged by the project at district level and to
express proposals to enrich, amend or even redirect it. This makes
it possible to measure the level of acceptance of the project by the
population and its capacity to share and participate in it.
It is during this stage, and at the same time as the exchanges,
when the big trade-offs are expressed by the local representatives
concerning the different proposals, clearly pointing out what is
conceivable or negotiable and what is not.
All these debates must ultimately make it possible to finalise the
configuration of the project, its positioning in the municipal
agenda and the establishment of the technical and financial
means necessary to carry it out.
Meeting of experts in Kairouan, Tunisia)
The establishment of democratic participation mechanisms
Urban rehabilitation concerns all aspects of the population's daily life:
housing, mobility, public spaces, facilities, economic activities... etc.
It cannot go against the objectives of the surrounding area. This is
why democratic mechanisms must be established from the state, so
that the project becomes a successful collective one.
These participation mechanisms must make it possible to exchange
information, hold public debates and consultation and obtain the
agreement of the population. The implementation of such
mechanisms, associating civil society with the different stages of the
project, requires respect for the rules of the game in order to obtain
fruitful results. First of all, it is advisable to formalise a framework for
the debates in which each partner has its role: local authority officers
research and propose; the population informs, amends and confirms;
the elected representatives decide and show commitment.
The operational team must then be installed on the site in order for
the project to put down roots and to confirm their capacity to listen
to the population. This team must demonstrate a certain level of
availability to take into account suggestions and provide responses to
the many questions from residents. This approach must be
accompanied by a certain number of specific actions, such as
regularly holding public meetings or communicating information to
the public as the project progresses in the form of easily accessible
74
Residents of Al-Mazra'a Al-Qibliya Ramallah, PNA / Jamil Daragmeh, RIWAQ archive
Yorük (Turkey)
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The framework of governance and public participation
documents (permanent exhibition, leaflets, awareness-raising
brochure, periodic newsletter, radio or television broadcast,
posters...).
2
The project partnership
The development of public and private policies is constructed
around a project partnership formed by, as a minimum:
Local communities
The inter-council structure in charge of town planning and
transport
Other mobilised territorial groups
The State
Finance institutions
Residents' representatives
A steering committee presided over by the local authorities brings
together the different public agents involved and decides the
objectives, urban strategy and action programmes, as well as the
means each partner can bring to the project. These commitments
are enacted in the partnership agreement.
The running of the project is ensured by a project head who coordinates actions and all operations, accounts for the
implementation of the programme and prepares decisions to be
taken while the project is being carried out. The running of the
project must be organised so that it can be guided by the partners
in a single direction. The project executive (project head), assisted
by the partners' technical decision-making bodies, is accountable
to the steering committee. The many actions and, in particular the
many direct contractors working for the communities, mean that
strong liaison between the project management and city services
is required.
When certain missions are subcontracted to operators,
agreements on the respective missions of the contractor and
subcontractor and the role of the project director with regard to
the operators and to the community must be explicit. The mission
to run the project may also be delegated to an operator who will
ensure the entire running of the operation under the aegis of the
steering committee.
Moreover, decisions over contributions from the marketplace and
from aid to owners and investors must be delegated to ad hoc
committees in order to separate the mission of the awarding
authorities from operational missions, whether or not these are
contracted out. Guaranteed transparency in decision-making and
equality of opportunity for applicants must be ensured in the
whole process of the operation.
Visit at Sant Pere Rodes, Catalonia (Spain)
Technicians in Cairo (Egypt)
Consultation on the rehabilitation of the historical center of Embrun (France)
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Public initiative and citizen
commitment: the example
of the process of transformation
of the historical centre of Barcelona
Tool 2
Martí Abella
Director of the Communication Department
Foment de Ciutat Vella (Barcelona, Spain)
2
Barcelona/Ciutat Vella until 1980
Ciutat Vella is an urban centre whose origins go back more than
2000 years. Even today one can see well conserved ancient
remains of the Roman wall built in the early 4th century AD.
The original extent of the city was expanded by the building of
successive walls built during the 11th and 14th centuries. The
central area marked out by the final medieval defences was where
life in the Catalan capital was played out for more than 500 years.
In the mid-19th century (1854) the city was authorised to tear
down its defences, by then a huge barrier to urban growth. A new
period of general prosperity then began for the city, but the old
Barcelona entered into a new dynamic, in this case of decline and
loss of importance, which over time led to physical, economic and
social degradation.
In the 1970s, Barcelona society was still under the effects of rigid
control and Francoism, which among other methods of social
control, would not allow the development of normal political life.
In this period powerful social movements sprang up which, under
the protective umbrella of a (politically) aseptic civic and citizen
participation, took on a real representation of political options
opposed to the permanence of the dictatorial regime.
When the dictator died in 1975, the country gradually underwent
a costly process leading to political normality. This process involved
many old “civic” militants assuming direct political militancy and
beginning to lead activities in the area of political representation.
Nevertheless, the residents’ associations continued to show
considerable vitality, and this period coincides with the
introduction of municipal democracy and, at the same time, the
development of many of the plans for renovating and revitalising
neighbourhoods, which for so many years had been called for by
residents’ movement.
The municipal district which encompasses the city marked out by
the medieval walls, Ciutat Vella, began this process of renovation
in 1980, by commissioning a teams of leading urban experts
(architects, engineers, lawyer, economists), to draw up a number
of Special Redevelopment Plans (PERI), one for each
neighbourhood of the historical centre.
This first step resulted in an impressive process of renovation of the
degraded historical centre and represented a determined political bid
which led to the start of the firm social commitment of the municipal
government with the residents of the district which could not be
fulfilled until resolving the multiple problems converging in time
and the original ageing centre of the city of Barcelona.
76
In the historic center of Barcelona, the declaration of Integral Rehabilitation Area,
under the state legislation which destined economic resources to degraded areas,
supposed the definitive step toward concentrating technical and financial efforts in
their rehabilitation.
With this process, the direct participation of the residents’
associations began with the transformation of their own urban
environment. In first place the plans were based on two premises
defended by the residents in Ciutat Vella:
The need for a radical action plan giving the neighbourhoods
those elements which define the quality of life, that is:
1. Sufficient public space to carry out any type of activities of
residents and, at the same time, to reduce the density of urban
areas marked by the disorderly occupation of all available land.
2. Sufficient social, cultural, educational and sports facilities to
meet the needs of residents.
3. Renovation or creation of new networks of services and
infrastructures.
In addition, the social and residents’ movements defended the
need for the urban transformation and improvement programme
to be concentrated in the plans of old projects which involved the
opening-up of large urban through roads. As these had yet to be
developed they had become important axis of social and urban
degradation.
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Public initiative and citizen commitment: the example of the process
of transformation of the historic centre of Barcelona
The renovation of the historical centre of Barcelona -the then
recently created district of Ciutat Vella- was planned under these
premises within a process of decentralisation of municipal power
which has been immensely positive in guaranteeing that the
project has been properly developed, despite being, a priori, very
socially conflictive. The social axes of development of the plan
responded above all to the visions and pressures of residents, not
to the free and distant exercising of power, on the part of the
representatives of a new and promising political stage.
1980. The Special Redevelopment Plans (PERI)
In 1980, the City Council commissioned the drawing-up of urban
reform plans to several distinguished teams of professionals. The
first action of these professionals was to bring the public
participation process into operation. Residents were invited to an
explanation of the setting-up of the process and an
announcement was made on the collection and selection of the
proposals from residents’ organizations. In many cases, the initial
technical proposals were modified in accordance with the
opinions and arguments presented, both in meetings prior to the
first administrative approval and during the legal process which
stipulated that the project must have two different periods of
public exhibition, and that the project could be modified through
the presentation of declarations. Finally the urban plans were
approved in a plenary municipal session. It is the maximum urban
authority of the Autonomous Community which must approve or
not the project in function of whether it strictly meets the law and
urban planning procedures currently in force in Catalonia.
The reform plans include studies on the situation of origin of the
points to be modified from a sociological, town-planning and
architectural point of view. These are the bases upon which the
intervention proposals will be established.
In the 1980-1985 period, the main PERI for Ciutat Vella were
carried out and approved. These affected the neighbourhoods of
El Raval, El Sector Oriental and La Barceloneta. At a later date, the
plan which only affected a part of the Gothic neighbourhood was
added.
1984-1986. Integrated Restoration Area (ARI)
Once the urban plans had overcome the first administrative
approval stage, the City Council had now made an important
commitment to Ciutat Vella: by intervening and managing a
project of great importance for its residents, subject to an
expected investment which exceeded the real capacity of the
municipal corporation at the time: This situation prevented it from
scheduling the start of the renovation work. This problem
demanded the start of a difficult search for resources to finance a
project as costly as it was ambitious. The financial difficulty was
the first situation which put to the test the degree of municipal
commitment to the project.
The solution was found in the recently approved Spanish Law, RD
2329/83, passed in order to support the restoration of privatelyowned buildings and homes. The decree considered the creation
of territorial limits, the Integrated Restoration Areas (ARI), that is,
urban areas in which the administrations would concentrate
technical and economic efforts in order to promote the
revitalisation of degraded historical centres or neighbourhoods.
The city government understood that the declaration of the
district of Ciutat Vella as an Integral Restoration Area (ARI) would
entail the possibility of receiving grants from state funds in order
to finance, at least in part, the urban renovation considered in the
recently approved PERI.
Barcelona placed its hopes in the possibility of obtaining this
channel of financing and it made great strides towards achieving
this aim, but the decision also represented a decisive advance in
the consolidation and channelling of the permanent participation
of the representatives of residents in the process of renovation, as
the areas which obtained the ARI declaration had to be backed by
a managing commission, that is, a body in charge of analysing,
arguing, coordinating and making co-responsible the
administrations and the social representatives around the strategic
decisions for the development of the renovation plans which
made up the ARI.
The declaration of the ARI of Ciutat Vella, was an excellent
demonstration of the municipal commitment to the project and to
the participation of citizens. It moreover resulted in the same
involvement of the Autonomous Region Authority in the project.
The managing commission of the ARI was founded at the end of
1986, and since then it has evaluated the most substantial aspects
of the renovation process of the old historical centre of Barcelona.
Representatives at the highest level of the autonomous region
government (Generalitat of Catalonia), Barcelona City Council,
neighbourhood associations and the Chamber of Urban Property
met every three months and took a large number of decisions
which although not legally binding, in reality meant their coresponsibility in the development of a potentially explosive project
at a social level and one which was very difficult to carry out
without continual coordination between the administrations
involved. It is important to highlight the degree of responsibility
and commitment made by the administrations by accepting their
forming part of a joint committee with the residents’
representatives, whom on a regular and steady basis could put
forward their demands and points of view to the public authorities
in charge of developing the project.
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Development bodies: Promoció Ciutat Vella (1988);
Foment de Ciutat Vella (2000)
in the hypothetical case of their being developed in depth but
without guarantees of success, they could have even increased the
processes of degradation and the abandonment of residents and
activities - if they failed in their choice of operations or in the
management formula. Because of this, it was seen as essential to
previously build up an extensive network of political, social and
economic levels of complicity which would channel the coresponsibility and participation of the social sectors affected.
With the participation in the municipal mixed company, some of
the principal economic administrators of Ciutat Vella were present
during the taking of decisions on the urban renovation and
improvement project. Companies which generate or distribute
urban services, financial entities and above all the body, Promoció
Ciutat Nova/Iniciatives per a la Recuperació de Ciutat Vella, made
up of companies located in the district, were the main guarantors
from the business world of the municipal strategy designed to
replace degradation with revitalisation. This participation of the
economic world was seen by the municipality as an important
backing, both in terms of the management model of the
intervention, and in terms of urban role which Ciutat Vella should
play.
These two lines (ARI and PCV/FCV) made up the most significant
formulas used to channel the participation of the social
representatives and the economic world in the taking of the
decisions around the process.
In 1988, Barcelona City Council fulfilled its acceptance of its
responsibility with the process by creating the holding company
which was to deal with the development of the actions considered
in the urban plans which formed the municipal powers of the
project. The selection and assessment of the operations which
were to form the basic core of the transformation of Ciutat Vella
took place within the managing commission of the ARI, and it was
through this instrument for participation and co-responsibility
where the management guidelines were agreed which would
directly affect the daily life of many resident families in the district.
Without the realisation and acceptance by all those involved of a
series of general conditions of the project’s development, it would
have been impossible to successfully carry it out, especially
because of the considerable social impact which the management
of a project entailed, which ended with the expropriation,
emptying and demolishing of some 500 buildings, the elimination
of more than 4,500 homes and the rehousing of some 3,200
families. It should be noted that the rehousing of the families who
lived in homes which had to be demolished was done using new
homes built using public money and located in the same
neighbourhood where they lived before.
The management instrument took on the form of a principally
mixed-stock public limited company. This formula has enabled
gains in terms of greater flexibility and capacity for action
characteristic of a private company, compared to the typical
inflexibility and slowness of the public sector. Also essential in the
choice of this management model was the desire to promote the
maximum involvement of civil society in a complex project with a
high economic and social cost.
The forecasts for the improvement plan were so wide-ranging that
View of Santa Caterina market, a new focus for the improvement of the historic
district
78
Decentralisation. Participating Commissions
The municipal decentralisation approved in 1984 represented very
significant changes in the relations between the municipal
administration and citizens. The creation of new municipal districts
led to an administrative reorganisation which endowed the new
bodies with wide-ranging powers of decision-making in questions
which affected the district itself, reserving for the central areas the
control over matters which go beyond the scope of a single district
or which corresponded to general policies of the city.
Decentralisation entailed the creation of 10 municipal districts
which since 1984 have governed daily life in each their areas. These
districts have channelled the most direct participation of residents in
the political life of the community. The district hosts and develops
the participating commissions, including Urbanism, Trade and
Environment, Public Safety and Crime and Personal Services
(education, youth, the elderly, etc.).
Through the Urbanism Commission, the municipal administration
has presented the projects for the reform and renovation of Ciutat
Vella to civil society. Thus, representatives of bodies, citizens and
people who on a personal level wish to participate in the
transformation processes can influence the definition of these
projects before they are officially approved. The commission
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New square generated by the demolition of obsolete buildings. Adrià Goula
The construction of new homes has served to complement the typological range
existing in the historic fabric. Adrià Goula
Public aid has served to generate an important dynamic of private renovation.
Adrià Goula
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analyses and assesses both the urban projects with the most wideranging impact, and the design of buildings of municipal facilities or
the projects for the remodelling of streets and squares.
When the reaction of residents is unfavourable, the administration
must modify the original project, although this is not a legal
obligation.
The latest and interesting process of adaptation of a municipal
project to the opinions of affected citizens, is recent and
corresponds to the final urbanisation of a large public space (Jardins
de Metges-Jaume Giralt, 200x 40 m. l.), practically the last great
operation of the PERI governing the Sector Oriental neighbourhood.
The importance of this action has also required the development of
a participative process open to all citizens for a period of two
months which was led by an architect who was especially employed
to develop this process.
Support for civil society
Since the start of the renovation process, the municipal
administration has seen the existence of social partners for the
different aspects of the process as something fundamental. To this
end, it has devoted considerable efforts and resources to the
maintenance or expansion of the network of civic bodies and
organisations that can channel the vision of citizens into urban
policies which can be implemented.
Public premises have been made available to the neighbourhood
associations so they can carry out their work; joint campaigns have
been carried out on environmental awareness with specialized
organisations; permanent spaces have been offered to cultural
and social bodies (choral societies, activities with young people
with problems, etc.); and there has even been collaboration in the
creation of bodies which work in the promotion and coordination
of all the bodies and organisations existing in a given
neighbourhood (Tot Raval).
The process of transformation and improvement in Ciutat Vella
has taken into special consideration the civil society which through
multiple forms of co-responsibility and participation has always
been present in the different stages of the project.
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The agents involved
and the difficulties of consensus
on the nature of the intervention:
the case of Islamic Cairo
Cristina Scarpocchi
University of the Val d’Aoste
Italy
2
The study presented here concerns the part of Cairo identified as
“Islamic Cairo”, which UNESCO added to the World Heritage List
in 1979 and subsequently dubbed by the UNDP “Historic Cairo”.
This is the area with the highest concentration of medieval Islamic
monuments in the world and has been exposed to a number of
threats mainly caused by population pressure and urban
transformation as well as natural and environmental causes. It is
also a space where different and not always evident and
identifiable practices and discourses overlap, given the large
number of players which carry out their symbolic and/or concrete
action on it. This multiplicity of meanings is the result of complex
interactions between actors in defining what is Historic Cairo
heritage and how to preserve it which experiences the
convergence of cultural, religious and leisure practices,
restoration, conservation and urban rehabilitation projects, real
estate strategies, and plans for improving tourism development.
This process has involved many different actors at various levels
and scales: UNESCO and UNDP, Egyptian ministries, local
government, religious institutions, foundations for the promotion
of Islamic culture, NGOs, foreign cultural institutes and finally
scholars and experts.
1. The patrimonialization process
The official acknowledgement of Historic Cairo as World Heritage
site is the result of a process formally started in 1881 with the
institution of the Comité pour la Conservation des Monuments de
l’Art Arabe, but which can be traced back to earlier periods. The
Comité’s intervention focused on single monuments enhancing
their separation from the surrounding contemporary environment,
destroying those building which could interfere with the view of the
monument. The action of the Comité did not lead to any structured
rehabilitation policy and the interest in Historic Cairo continued to
be further shown through a series of publications on Islamic
architecture by eminent scholars, culminating in the foundation in
1973 of the Egyptian Society of Friends of Antiquities, under the
chairmanship of the first lady, Jihan Sadat. The Society received wide
political support, based on the new cultural perspective (also a
product of international pressure) that embraced the preservation
and restoration of historic town centres.
Although President Sadat’s assassination brought an end to the
Society’s activity, the issue of the decay in Islamic quarters had been
brought to the attention of the international community, with Jihan
It is necessary to create an organism that has authority over the process of
rehabilitation and that it be capable of reconciling the interests of residents
and public institutions. In the case of Islamic Cairo, the value of use demanded
by the residents runs up against the demanded symbolic and economic values
of the state powers.
Sadat’s call to UNESCO to add Islamic Cairo to the World Heritage
List in 1979, which led to the UN body drawing up a plan for the
area in which, beside the aim of accelerating the physical and
functional restoration and rehabilitation of the historic built
environment, much of the thrust of the project and its
recommendations addressed the need to set up suitably specialized
bodies and to reinforce an organization capable of supporting and
implementing a rehabilitation project as complex as that required
for the old quarters.
However, action was undertaken only by individual foreign cultural
institutes and cooperation offices, concerning some form of
intervention on single outstanding monuments. It was not until the
end of the 1980s and the early ‘90s that interest was once again
turned to wide-scale projects, projects that concerned whole
districts or particularly significant streets, rather than individual
monuments. The early 1990s saw the start of what was and still
remains the single most important project designed, given its scope,
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intervention: the case of Islamic Cairo
complexity, thoroughness, and accuracy, namely, the project carried
out by the UNDP’s experts. The guiding principle was to develop a
comprehensive project for Historic Cairo while in parallel defining a
protocol that would have served as a single overall framework for
all future interventions. A few months later, the UNDP team began
the background work by analysing every aspect relevant to the
area’s rehabilitation, from the physical and environmental to the
socio-economic and architectural. Despite its innovative proposals
and the consensus among experts, especially in the international
community, the UNDP’s view of the project never produced an
overall and coordinated working plan capable of giving direction to
and unifying the range of occasional interventions. This led to a
period of immobility which was broken in 1998 when, upon direct
initiative from the Minister of Culture the Historic Cairo Restoration
Project was launched by the highest governmental authority,
President Mubarak, as one of the most expensive Egyptian plans
(with a total budget of one billion of Egyptian pounds). In order to
overcome one of the main problems which has delayed the
rehabilitation Historic Cairo, the lack of coordination and of a shared
view of this specific heritage among he different agents, presidential
Decree n. 1352 was Issued, aiming at creating an inter-ministerial
Institutional framework involving seven ministries and Cairo
Governorate and put under the auspices of the first lady, Suzanne
Mubarak. In order to prepare and implement the restoration project,
the Centre for the Administration of Historic Cairo was formed
within the Ministry for Culture, marking this a radical shift in
Egyptian heritage policy in that it provided ground for the
establishment of a consistent group of only Egyptian experts to be
involved in the hundreds of restorations to be set up in the area.
During the '90s two other bodies were created with the aim of
ensuring coordination between the various stakeholders and players
involved, to a certain stage heirs of Society's attempt to forge a
single authority. The Executive Agency for the Renovation and
Development of Fatimid Cairo was set up in 1990, with the task of
overseeing large projects financed principally by loans and
donations from France and Saudi Arabia. The Permanent
Committee for the Preservation of Cairo Monuments was set up in
1994, its remit limited to the oversight of occasional interventions
made necessary for the most part because of abuse perpetrated by
inhabitants. In theory, the two new bodies should have acted as
bridges between the various players, unanimously considered as an
essential premise to the effective rehabilitation of the area’s urban
fabric as a whole. Both agencies were composed of members who
belonged to almost all the institutional bodies - the Governorate of
Cairo, the Supreme Council of Antiquities, and the Ministries of the
Awqaf, Tourism, Housing and New Settlements - as well as
individual experts in architecture, restoration and conservation.
Nevertheless, these agencies' competences too often overlapped,
rather than substituting, existing players' strategies and policies.
With regard to external actors, from the 70s onwards, interest in
Islamic architecture, and in that of Cairo in particular, has involved
cultural bodies both from Europe and from the United States.
Historically, the first foreign intervention in Egypt was undertaken by
Poland, followed by national missions from other, mainly European,
countries. From the 90s onwards, the USA also became involved.
Within the field of our investigation, these interventions may be
considered both fundamental and marginal. Focusing rehabilitation
efforts on a defined and limited number of representative
monuments corresponds to a strategy which does not consider, or
does so in very limited terms, the symbolic, social and economic
dimensions of the patrimonialization and urban rehabilitation
processes. In addition to this, the role played by individual cultural
institutes in the systematic and overall process of conserving the old
quarters is both a constraint and a resource, in that such institutes
often bring expertise, skills and technical resources that comply with
internationally recognized standards for restoration and
rehabilitation works, but in many cases do not extensively involve
local expertise.
It should be also noted that UNESCO and UNDP have played a
fundamental role in the patrimonialization process. These bodies
have made a significant contribution to the institutionalization of
the “issue”: prior to the studies carried out by UNESCO and UNDP,
interest in and awareness of the fate of the “historic city” was
limited to an elite of Egyptian and foreign scholars on Islamic
architecture. In the case of Cairo, the involvement of the
international bodies was de facto a source of legitimacy that has
supported the whole patrimonialization process and has ensured
that the fate of Islamic Cairo was brought to the attention of Egypt’s
political leaders.
2. The actors involved
In identifying the different actors involved in the patrimonialization
process, the first important aspect to note is the predominance of
institutional actors, among which the Ministry for Culture, together
with the Supreme Council for Antiquities (SCA), is the most
important one. The protagonism of the Ministry of Culture has
raised significantly since Faruk Hosni has been appointed as
Minister, in that, in his standpoint, Historic Cairo rehabilitation
should be a central point in Egypt's new cultural policy, also as part
of a wider cultural objective which sees Egypt becoming part of the
Mediterranean programme Museums without Frontiers. The second
player whose role is fundamental if we are to understand the
dynamics of heritage preservation processes in the old quarters of
Cairo, the Ministry of the Awqaf, responsible for religious property
and affairs. The Ministry is the owner of about 97 per cent of the
lots (empty and built) in Islamic Cairo. The Governorate of Cairo is
the third actor, being itself the local government in charge of the
buildings and infrastructure within the area of Cairo.
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3. Conflicts in Historic Cairo rehabilitation
In order to shortly synthesize the conflictual situation that the turn
from purely declarative and rhetorical good-willing statement to
an effective rehabilitation policy entails, we can distinguish three
kinds of controversies, concerning competence, popular
participation and restoration technical standards.
The major institutional conflict sees the Ministry of Culture
clashing with the Ministry of the Awqaf. While in the majority of
institutional clashes, the cause can be ascribed to the Ministry of
Culture’s efforts to obtain an exclusive hold over the management
of Cairo’s Islamic architectural heritage and the associated
rehabilitation and safeguard projects, the friction between the
Ministry of the Awqaf would seem to arise from a radical
difference in perspective and rationale which has often placed the
Ministry for Religious Affairs at the heart of disputes on the
rehabilitation of Historic Cairo. Here the conflict is cultural rather
than a question of scale, in that the historical and symbolic values
that underpin the definition of World Heritage are challenged, on
the one hand, by the Ministry of Culture’s understanding of their
economic and tourist value, and on the other by the Ministry of
the Awqaf’s understanding of the concept of heritage use which
shapes its heritage policies. Historical buildings owned by the
Awqaf have been managed like any other real estate also because
it is on its revenue that Ministry's budget is based. This policy of
parcelling out lots and renting properties was tacitly accepted,
another reason being that the public funds allocated for the
safeguard of the Islamic heritage were simply insufficient to
guarantee their maintenance. Legislation does not provide any
rigid indications but does permit for room for manoeuvre,
allowing the Ministry for Religious Affairs to rent parts of
properties and giving the SCA the supervisory role of preventing
abuse, with the right of veto, depending on the monuments’
physical condition. In order to mitigate accusations of property
speculation, the Ministry of the Awqaf has frequently expressed its
readiness to sell its property at less than the market prices, if the
buyers are local NGOs and the property is used for the benefit of
the community, but no follow-up was given to this proposal.
Another important source of conflict is that with the residents.
Local participation disputes are centred on clashing visions about
the meaning of Historic Cairo, i.e. about inhabitants' use-value
(Islamic heritage is where they live and where they unfold their
network of business, acquaintances, family relationships etc.)
versus institutions' symbolic and economic value (Islamic heritage
is something to be preserved in itself and, possibly, to be exploited
as a resource for tourism and real estate development). To this
purpose, it should be noted that the majority of owners do not live
in the buildings, rented under low-rent contracts which do not
cover even the burden of maintenance. The area has also been
subject to many cases of squatting, which is estimated to involve
up to 30,000 people, about ten percent of residents, who have
taken possession of vacant buildings, or ruined properties, or have
built on abandoned lots. Neglect on the part of owners and
occupiers has given the authorities, in different circumstances, the
opportunity to justify the area’s decay, laying the blame on the
inhabitants’ neglect and ignorance, given that urban sprawl no
longer provides a plausible excuse. More dramatically, the
relationship between rehabilitation projects and the commercial
and manufacturing activities traditionally established in the area
constitutes a site of even greater conflict, in that the process
usually leads to the forced relocation of all non-tourism activities,
such as workshops manufacturing aluminium, other metal
manufacturing, carpenters, jewellery ateliers and various other
workshops, outside Islamic Cairo. However, also the actions taken
against polluting activities by Cairo Governorate have been
fragmentary and pendulum like.
With regard to community participation, institutional actors are
left with two incompatible solutions. On the one hand, there is the
option of a total relocation not only of the businesses and other
activities, but also of the resident population, an option which has
frequently been proposed and pursued by Cairo Governorate and
by the Ministry of Culture. On the other hand, there is the option
of involving the local population in development projects for the
area, a solution UNESCO and UNDP have warmly proposed in a
number of documents and which is being successfully pursued,
for example, in the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) project at
Darb al-Ahmar. This option would seek a compromise between
the rationale supporting the safeguard of the environment and of
the heritage, and that related to the local community use of
heritage.
Another institutional conflict stems from the definition of the
safeguard of Historic Cairo as falling under purely national
jurisdiction, which brings the Ministry of Culture into conflict with
supra-local and external actors whose participation in the
patrimonialization process had been constant since the 1970s. In
this regard, the relationship between the Ministry and UNESCO
and UNDP seems to be particularly difficult, although it takes the
form of disinterest on the Ministry’s part rather than being an
open conflict. With regard to UNESCO, the Ministry has been
blamed of carrying out restoration works not in compliance with
international standards, while with respect to UNDP, the Ministry
has claimed its intention to follow its own line on total autonomy
from a presumed foreign influence, bringing to the abandonment
of the UNDP project’s founding principles.
Finally, technical conflicts arise, principally, from profound
divergences in the interpretation of heritage, and by extension of
what constitutes restoration, conservation, and rehabilitation.
Such conflicts fan out among both institutional and noninstitutional actors, the latter being represented by the many
foreign agencies that, from the 1980s onwards, and more
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significantly in the wake of the 1992 earthquake, have restored
numerous historic buildings in Historic Cairo. The purely technical
management of problems has also been marked by ambiguity and
contradiction. Also, technical conflicts are often used to hide
institutional conflict, like that between the Ministry of Culture and
the SCA or between national and supranational actors. By way of
example, the international agencies and donors have always
preferred to rely on foreign, rather than local, experts and this
choice has often been interpreted "politically" by Egyptian
authorities.
The multiplicity of conflicts is overlaid with the plurality of
exceptional and occasional interventions, on individual buildings
and monuments, which are not, however, sustained by a broader
strategy. The impasse is exacerbated by substantial differences in
the interpretation of the concepts of heritage and restoration
which have led to a mere “renewal” that has little connection
with the buildings’ original architecture.
importance of use that is, as we have seen, an essential
prerequisite to popular participation. It is not a question here of
defending, a posteriori, the Ministry of the Awqaf, as its
responsibility in the decline of Historic Cairo is universally
acknowledged. Rather it is a question of introducing into the
decision-making process the understanding and acceptance of the
notion of use which the residents attribute to the heritage in
which they, literally, go about their lives.
In this sense, local communities’ ability to form a representative
front and forge effective leadership, on the one hand, and the
position taken by the Egyptian elites and cross-scale actors such as
the AKTC, on the other, will be decisive. In particular, cross-scale
actors can play a fundamental role as intermediaries between the
different interpretations of what the heritage is.
Furthermore, the acceleration in restoration work imposed by the
Ministry of Culture has provoked a great deal of criticism from
both the international and the Egyptian community of experts. In
summer 2001, a dispute regarding the quality of restoration work
carried out on 31 monuments by the Ministry of Culture was
officially formalized by a committee of around thirty experts from
Western and Arab countries, called the Committee for the
Preservation of Islamic Monuments in Cairo, which presented a
petition to Suzanne Mubarak underlining that the Ministry of
Culture’s rehabilitation project for Historic Cairo corresponded to
a poorly articulated general plan and that it had been carried out
in violation of the recommendations of the 1964 Venice Charter.
More generally, the CPIMC also voiced the experts’ concerns over
“the falsification of the monuments’ historic and artistic values”,
the use of forbidden materials, such as Portland cement, and the
failure to resolve one of the main problems afflicting historic
Islamic buildings, the rising level of the underground water table
4. Conclusions: heritage, rationale and interconnections
In such a complex situation it is clear that the creation of an
oversight authority or other agency would guarantee neither the
resolution nor the prevention of controveries. The position of
supranational players towards the local community is also
ambiguous. On the one hand a great deal of importance is
accorded to participation by the local community; while on the
other, the proposal, put forward on many occasions by UNESCO
and UNDP, to transfer ownership of the monuments from the
Ministry of the Awqaf to the Ministry of Culture, would, in the
definition of patrimonialization policy, risk marginalizing the
View of Islamic Cairo (Egypt)
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due to the inadequacy of the sewage system with respect to
population pressure. The most significant aspect of the
institutional response is the declaration made by some ministers
that the petition was merely an attempt to propose “a return to
the era of colonial protection”, claiming the right to
independently take care of Cairo’s Islamic heritage A conference
was organized by the SCA and by UNESCO in 2002, where the
Ministry of Culture received official endorsement of the project by
UNESCO and the many experts participating, but this marked a
shift in the focus of institutional interventions from the main
issues, that is residents' involvement and participation, together
with a shared view of what Historic Cairo heritage means.
2
Operation of rehabilitation in Cairo (Egypt)
Street on Islamic Cairo (Egypt)
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Defining the framework
of governance and the agents
involved.
The Palestinian experience
Tool 2
Kaldhun Bashra
Architect
Head of the Conservation Department of RIWAQ
Palestine
2
Uncertainty is the term that may describe the status of Palestine in
general and the situation of Built Cultural Heritage in specific. The
Built Cultural Heritage suffers from different problems on different
levels, such as: the lack of National Agenda for the protection of
heritage, the lack of public awareness, the absence of appropriate
laws for the protection, the neglect or disregard of historic towns
and buildings, the urbanization which causes tremendous
pressure on historic centers, the looting and illegal digging of
archaeological sites (as a result of the absence of monitoring and
guarding systems) and the lack of human resources in the area of
conservation and cultural heritage management.
There is a vague framework of governance in Palestine which is
part of the vague political situation that Palestine passes through.
The Built Heritage in Palestine could be divided into two distinct
categories in terms of material culture found: Antiquity and
historic buildings (single or grouped). In terms of governance there
are two main players: the GOs (governmental organizations) and
the NGOs (non-governmental organizations).
Antiquity (Archaeological) sites1 are the most obvious, and fell
under the jurisdictions of the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and
Antiquity MOTA, if it happens to exist in (A or B Areas)2. The
majority of archaeological sites located in (C Areas) are under the
Israeli jurisdictions.
The historic towns and buildings (being single or grouped) have
more complicated status. Being under Palestinian Authority
jurisdictions, there has been tremendous efforts to clarify which
body is responsible for these sites. Still there are at least three
ministries claiming the responsibility over these sites. MOTA, the
godfather of historicity, claims that these historic buildings are the
archaeological sites of the future, thus fell under their jurisdictions.
Any change or alterations may only pass through MOTA. Legally
speaking, a historic building or a site may be declared as
archaeological site or as a classified monument protected by the
law if and only if the site in question was declared by the head of
Antiquity Department, passed the legal processes and then
published in the official newspaper. This procedure was not used
by the competent authority (MOTA) since its establishment (1993).
The Ministry of Culture is another Ministry that claims control over
these historic "sites". Since its establishment, the Ministry noted
the lack or absence of proper framework to protect or enhance
the Cultural Heritage. And as a Ministry of Culture, the Ministry
sought to have the Built Cultural Heritage under its umbrella as
the Ministry's name suggest. The Ministry found a department
named "The Doctrine of Cultural Heritage" that works profoundly
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In contrast to the archeological patrimony, it is not always clear that the agents
can legislate on the historic patrimony. In Palestine, up to three ministries dispute
its jurisdiction.
on the management and revitalization of historic towns and
buildings through the activation of these sites and the revival of
historic, festive, cultural events related to these sites. After the
year 2000, the Doctrine of Cultural Heritage was relocated within
Bethlehem 2000 Committee, and later was displaced within
MOTA.
The Ministry of Local Governance is the by-defacto responsible of
the historic towns and buildings since they are mostly located
inside urban fabric (rural or urban), and thus fell under the
jurisdictions of the Village and Municipal Councils affiliated to this
Ministry, and follow their by-laws entrusted by the Higher Council
of Planning. According to the law any area or building could be
designated as protected zone or a special zone if and only if it has
been provided with a detailed master plan that passes through the
ratification processes (Village or Municipal Council? the Higher
Council of Planning? The Ministry of Local Governance? the
Council of Ministries). The Ministry of Local Governance has been
working on by-laws that protect the historic sites within
delineated areas.
It is worth mentioning that Moslem and Christian AWQAF
(Endowments) functioned under all circumstances developing and
improving the Living Heritage conditions through day-to-day
follow up and maintenance of mosques, churches, fountains,
shrines…
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As to the NGOs, there are several agencies, which work in the field
of architectural heritage rehabilitation or restoration without
claiming control or governance responsibility. Right after the Oslo
Agreement (1993), Palestine witnessed substantial efforts to
protect and conserve both the tangible and the intangible Cultural
Heritage. These efforts were manifested in the establishment of
many motivated agencies as well as in the execution of large-scale
cultural heritage projects.
As it stands today, there exist a number of cultural heritage
agencies in Palestine; RIWAQ: Centre of Architectural
Conservation (established in 1991 being the only agency that
performed before Oslo Agreement), the Old City of Jerusalem
Revitalization Program OCJRP (1995), Hebron Rehabilitation
Committee (1996), Nablus Old Town Conservation Committee
and Bethlehem 2000 Committee (later known as the Bethlehem
Centre for Cultural Heritage Preservation). These heritage
agencies deal mostly with secular public buildings as well as
private residential areas. As their names indicate, most of these
agencies work on a specific town.
RIWAQ: Centre of Architectural Conservation
Unlike other agencies Riwaq Centre works on a national level; the
majority of Riwaq’s projects are located in rural areas as opposed
to major towns. The activities of Riwaq’s different units reveal its
approach and philosophy “the Bottom-up as well as Up-Bottom
approach”. Riwaq has been involved in rehabilitating tens of
historical buildings. The main objectives of these projects are to set
up technically and professionally good example or models of
restoration and adaptation. They are meant as show cases for the
local communities to imitate or follow. Riwaq has also been
organizing a number of workshops for architecture students,
engineers and workers in the field of conservation transferring to
them the know-how and traditional techniques. In 2002, Riwaq
initiated the Job Creation through Restoration Project. This project
aims at contributing to poverty alleviation through providing jobs
to the unemployed. It is worthwhile mentioning that Riwaq’s work
also includes: the compilation of Riwaq’s Registry of Historic
Buildings which include some 50,000 historic buildings,
community awareness campaigns and community participation,
facilitating a draft for a National Law for the protection of cultural
and natural heritage in Palestine associated with protection plans
for major historic centers and publishing a Monograph Series on
the Architectural History of Palestine.
The Welfare Association /
Old City of Jerusalem Revitalization Program OCJRP
Restoration activities of the OCJRP have been restricted to the Old
City of Jerusalem. This (Aga Khan winning Award for The Ninth
Award Cycle, 2002-2004) agency has since 1996 concentrated its
work on the rehabilitation of residential areas and public buildings
in the Old City of Jerusalem. The OCJRP role has been very
challenging due to the fact that they work on a World Heritage
Listed site3 whose jurisdiction lies within the Israeli Municipality of
West Jerusalem never mentioning the poor and almost slummy
conditions of many residential areas in the Old City. In Jerusalem,
the Palestinian conservation activities aim among other objectives
to strengthen the Palestinian presence in the City creating a defacto (opposing the Israeli de-facto) which on the one hand
protects the Old City from settlers, and on the other hand
constitutes an Arab de facto in any future peace negotiations.
The Hebron Rehabilitation Committee HRC
Due to the restless political situation, the HRC was established by a
Presidential Decree in 1996, clearly a response to the Israeli settlers
attempts to conquer (coming to live in the midst of) Arab
neighborhoods4. The HRC's work has been one of the largest in
scope and perhaps the most impressive. This agency (also an Aga
Khan winning Award, The Seventh Award Cycle, 1996-1998) works
in the Old Town of Hebron, the most politically, socially and
economically problematic areas in Palestine. In spite of the
deteriorated situation the HRC managed to rehabilitate major parts
of the Old Town of Hebron. Perhaps one of the most impressive of
the HRC's achievements was the way it handled the delicate and
extremely complicated issue of fragmented ownerships.
Bethlehem 2000 Committee /
Bethlehem Centre for Cultural Heritage Preservation
The rehabilitation of Bethlehem Prime Zone was a World
Community commitment towards Christ Birth Place, but was also a
political commitment towards the Peace Process. One of the
important initiatives of the Bethlehem 2000 Committee was the
establishment of the Bethlehem Centre for Cultural Heritage
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Preservation whose main activity was to follow up and supervise
conservation projects initiated by the Bethlehem 2000 Committee.
Bethlehem Centre later became a semi government agency
initiating and promoting cultural heritage, conservation and
community outreach programs mainly in the area of Bethlehem,
Beit Jala and Beit Sahur.
2
Nablus Municipality / the Old City Committee
The only city in the West Bank that witnessed conservation works
for no apparent political or religious reasons was Nablus. Nablus
Municipal Council was keen on upgrading the infrastructure in the
Old City market “al-Qasaba” to attract local tourism to shop in
the most viable commercial centre in the West Bank.
Unfortunately, infrastructural works which were meant to improve
the living standards of the Old City often resulted in the
destruction of archaeological sites which are more than two
thousand years old.
to rehabilitate more than 600 units (apartments) and hundreds of
stores along the commercial Casabas.
Renovated district in Hebron (Palestine)
Map of renovation areas in Hebron (Palestine). HRC
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1
The existing law of archaeology is a British Mandate law, adopted and revised by
the Jordanians (1964), and adopted by the PNA after Oslo Agreement (1993). The
Law only protects sites and building constructed before 1700 A.D.
2
According to Oslo Agreement (1993) West Bank and Gaza Strip were divided into
A, B and C Areas. A areas under full PNA jurisdictions; B areas under Israeli
security control whereas the civil responsibilities under the PNA jurisdictions. C
areas are under full Israeli jurisdictions.
3
Jerusalem has been listed on the WH List since 1981.
4
In Hebron there are 250-400 Israeli settlers living amongst 150,000 Palestinians.
5
Through the use of traditional roles of elders in the community, the Committee
managed to convince owners of properties to give the Committee the rights to
renovate and the right to sub-let properties out for tenants for a minimum of ten
years after which the owners get back their renovated property back.
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II. Diagnosis
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Putting the emphasis on knowledge of the area
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Tool 3
Rehabilitating architecture
as cultural dialogue:
concepts and principals
for discovering and renovating it
II. Diagnosis
Josep Muntañola
PhD architect
Lecturer at the Barcelona Higher Education College
of Architecture (Technical University of Catalonia)
Spain
3
1. Introduction
The essential thing in the act of restoration is making something
habitable once again, and the sad thing about some postures in
defence of modernity is the reduction of the importance of
restoration, due to an incompatibility between projects and
history, or between the innovation of a future and the
preservation of a past.
In previous studies I have looked at how this supposed
incompatibility conceals in fact, not a defence of modernity, which
is not incompatible with a reinterpretation of the past, but is, in
fact, just the opposite. This means a support for speculation in
order to make the greatest possible profits with architecture
within the framework of a market economy totally open and
unfettered by any rules. This free enterprise economy is selfregulating in cases such as cars or computers, as those who
accumulate to speculate then see how the price of these goods
quickly falls, making hoarding pointless. And in the case of
“natural” consumer goods, such as coffee or petroleum, there are
more or less efficient control mechanisms. However, with land and
buildings precisely the opposite occurs. Here there is a refusal to
penalise the ownership of empty flats or the accumulation of
properties in order prevent the price from falling, when it would
do so immediately if a fiscal policy of a variable scale were to be
adopted - as has been used in Denmark for many years now. Thus,
the market does not have the same freedom because, in this case,
the same sanctions should be applied as are successfully applied in
other sectors of economies.
Modern architecture, with exceptions, has not fallen into this trap.
Alvar Aalto is exemplary in this and his life is a constant testimony
that an incompatibility between modernity and tradition is a grave
error. He says thus:
“Human life contains to the same degree tradition and new
creation. We cannot throw tradition into the rubbish bin, claiming
that it is something old which must be replaced by something
new. Continuity is still essential to the life of man. Our old cities
can be combined perfectly with new planning and with their
interaction with nature …”
(Schildt, Goran: Alvar Aalto de palabra y por escrito. Croquis
Editorial, 2000) (Page 363).
It is essential to understand that the analysis and preservation of
the existing is not a brake on creativity and novelty, but rather, just
the opposite, a condition and a stimulus for an innovative future.
Alvar Aalto was not alone in defending this point of view which I
Rehabilitating a traditional enclave without having realized a previous phase of
analysis to determine its problems and possibilities in all their dimensions can lead
to the taking of decisions that derive in irreversible obligations in the sustainability
of the traditional enclave.
define as “dialogical”1: other important architects such as Carlo
Scarpa, Richard Neutra and Francesco Venezia have also defended it.
The stance of F.L.Wright is also of great interest. He always
defended the compatibility between tradition and modernity right
from the outset, stating in 1895 that the technical and artistic
advances should be placed in the hands of the best craftsmen and
the best brains of the tradition. It would be they who would know
how best to innovate.2 This is totally distinct to the European
posture of the period.
2. Conditions so that knowledge of the existing can be
a basis for innovation
To ensure good restoration, in-depth knowledge of the existing
situation is required. However, what conditions must this
knowledge meet in order to be useful and to stimulate a good
dialogical project? It is alarming that this question has today so
few answers and is supported by so little research. The late
Catalan architect, Enric Miralles was perhaps one of the architects
who best looked at these issues.3 In effect, what is important is
that this knowledge is placed in its socio-physical dynamic, or
between social history and its geography.
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II. Diagnosis
3
The nature of the territory to be analyzed will determine the composition of the
multi-sector analytic studies to realize with the objective of knowing and
understanding it completely.
Tool 3
Rehabilitating architecture as cultural dialogue:
concepts and principals for discovering and renovating it
means and how to arrive at this meaning. Only later can the
dialogical complementarity which Alvar Aalto referred to before
be achieved.
Knowledge of the “architecture” of a place is hence the necessary
condition in order to restore it correctly. To demolish a place and
build it anew, in contrast, does not demand this knowledge.
Herein lies the difficulty which makes it more difficult to accept the
restoration, as it necessitates this prior analysis. But, as we have
said, by destroying the existing there is a loss forever of
irreplaceable stimuli for the development of a culture, and whole
cultures. The same occurs with translation: if there were no
translations, the minority languages would be lost and we would
end up with a single language and with a huge linguistic and
cultural impoverishment based precisely on inter-language
dialogue. Languages (and architectures) which are completely
isolated die.
3. How the “Architecture” of a place is known
There exists here a surprising parallel with the question that
knowledge must have a good translator. Knowing both languages
and the cultural context of the original written piece, but, as the
best theoreticians note,4 the translator must also submerge the
new into the original language, seeking a dialogue between
rhythms and tones. The aim is more than an identification of
meanings than a literal word-for-word translation, which is
impossible, particularly in the case of poetry, which equates
translation with innovative poetry.
Therefore, knowledge of the existing must be “synthetic”, it must
be “architectural”. This is why Miralles says knowing an already
existing city or a building is to understand its “changes” of form
and use, and knowing its “why”. Or also when he indicates that
the most specific and interesting functions of a place are
discovered solely after many years of living in it.5 Developing a
place, building, city or territory, demands, hence, knowing what it
As we have said, knowing the architecture of a place is knowing
the raison d’être of its buildings, cities, landscapes, etc., not only
“knowing” its image, its style, etc.
Before restoring, one must thus first study and know what is to be
restored. In this way we see the importance of scale and the
delimitation of the field of knowledge required.
One of the most common errors is to believe that a building ends
in a building, and that a city ends in a city, etc. The first condition
of knowing the “architecture” of something is to discover how
the network of relations within a building is related to the network
of relations between the building and its context: city, country, etc.
Hence, an organization of spaces parallel to a facade in the 17th
or 18th centuries, responds to a typology of a “palace” which
sought to achieve a circulation with “views” over gardens, and
Rural landscape in Greece
Apamea region, Syria
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II. Diagnosis
also connecting a chain of spaces in a “theatrical” fashion. This
would have been meaningless without an “architecture” which
connects a social “order” with an “order” of a geographical
nature. This “architecture“ ends up being imitated by country
homes very far from the palaces of the Court.
Therefore, it is the relations between use of the territory and social
history which indicates what is the scale of architectural
knowledge. There are “passes” in an urban nucleus which have a
meaning in the sense of access to water and connection to the
river. In modern times, these “passes” are no longer necessary to
drink or obtain water. However: why shouldn’t we maintain the
connection with fountains and the river for reasons of
sustainability and, as Alvar Aalto says, in order to facilitate the
connections between the new and the old based on a correct use
of nature?
The raisons d’être of architecture are based, thus, on a “form of
knowledge” which synthesises space and time, on the one hand,
and physical and social reality, on the other. These “forms of
knowledge” are those which in dialogical theory are defined by
their “chronotopes”, that it by the connections between social
and, historical persons, on the one side, and the physical spacetime, of the calendar and astronomy, on the other.
Hence, finding the architecture of a place, in order to restore it
means finding its “chronotopes”6. When there is a change of
architecture in a city, its chronotopes are changed, and when there
are several cities superimposed, taken together they are a sum of
different chronotopes: Roman, medieval, etc. The sum or the
superposition of different architectures with their specific form
and function is precisely the architecture we are seeking. It is an
error to only seek a single historical period as the sole reference
used. There are more interesting periods than others from the
perspective of knowledge of architecture, but it is from the place
which is to be restored, where the overall situation should be
judged, and not -the other way round- to value it solely from a
virtual history – what is sought is always and in any case valid. Let
us look at an example: the Pyrenean region of the La Cerdanya,
inhabited since prehistoric times has become a tourist area with
“Cerdanya-rustic Pyrenean style” chalets, inexistent historically
and today a pure post-modern, tourist invention.
The highly complex and very specific “architecture” of this region
went almost unnoticed. Despite the drawing up of numerous
urban plans, the dialogical relationship with the past, which is not
something of “style”, hardly exists. Why?
Because everything in this valley, everything, was related and
based on a gigantic game of vigilance, by being an area of
passage, on the one hand, and a search for autonomy of
subsistence, on the other, as it was an isolated region of passage
of difficult access in winter dotted with small settlements.
Consequently, there was a network of visual relations between all
the windows and castles, towers and bastions and, in addition,
the towns, or buildings of each settlement possessed a huge
typological complexity in which there flourished a minimum level
of services: bread oven, church, hostel, small shop, charcoal, etc.
Without “knowing” this specific architecture of the valley, the
pseudo-traditionalism interprets all of this medieval world as
“disorder” or “spontaneous development”, without realising the
profound chronotopical unit of its architecture, in no way, in the
slightest way, spontaneous, but in fact necessary. And, I would like
to add the idea of attention because this gigantic and
kaleidoscopic architecture of La Cerdanya exists in three
dimensions. The “architecture” of a building, territory, or city, is
thus the result of a spatial-temporal network of relations between
objects located geographically and subjects related historically.
When we look an existing object to be restored, this object is like
a magnifying glass, spyglass, or telescope from which we can
understand the architecture which has made this possible.7
View of Casares, Andalusia, Spain
Urban landscape in Alexandria, Egypt
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4. The routes of recognition
(Les Parcours de la Reconnaissance)8
3
It is very difficult to translate this posthumous book by Paul
Ricoeur, the French philosopher who in the last years of his long
life left us excellent writings on architecture.9
Les Parcours de la Reconnaissance is an extremely beautiful text on
the relations between actions and humans and their social value,
that is, recognising oneself in the other from our “wandering
around the world”. What has this to do with architecture? A great
deal, as the relations between “routes” (the promenade of Le
Corbusier) and the “recognising oneself” in the other human
subjects is precisely “architecture” in its profoundest raison d’être.
Therefore, moving around an existing building or city is an attempt
to understand, or “recognising oneself” in those spaces from the
action itself (parcour) “instead of” other possible subjects. Each
chapter of the book could serve as a theoretical guide for our
proposal to restore appropriately, but I shall solely highlight the
intelligent symmetry between memory and promise (utopia) which
Ricoeur completes with the two opposing ideas: forgetting and
betrayal. That is, an excess of memory halts the promise of
something new, but forgetting prevents us from “recognising
ourselves” in existing buildings which could be preserved.
Forgetting all is the death of the memory and the total destruction
of the past, with a distressing and uncertain future. The promise
(utopia) complements the past and innovates it, but: how many
times must modernity betray the promise of a better quality of life,
better levels of social security, etc. in order to control its excesses?
For example, the pressure on old tenants for them to leave,
instead of giving life tenancies, etc.10
In conclusion, in each restoration project the “routes of
recognition” must be established for the architecture which is
worth preserving and so be able to “dialogue” with it from a
present modernity.
In diagram I, one can see this same phenomenological reality: the
space-time of architecture as a triple dimension organised both
from geography, from history, and from the project.11
The mental/educational chronotope
The social use
The construction of space
The social and historical
chronotope
The geographical
and territorial chronotope
The project
Diagram I: The three dimensions of the architecture
sea-mountain connections, fishing-agriculture, etc. There are
probably very few living examples left, but we must support the
work in these remaining few in order to promote their
reproduction, in a similar way as how animal and plant species
have been successfully conserved from a very few living individuals.
The complexity of these chronotopical relations present in
conserved architectures must be incorporated into new
settlements, or into the growth of old ones, without ever copying
building styles or techniques, but rather imagining how to
preserve the socio-physical and cultural relations in the interior of
the new architectures, something which has almost never been
done.
Learning from the past never means copying it but rather
understanding it: understanding its architecture, feeling that it is
its own: cultivating it.
It is therefore essential, in cases of preservation, to maintain the
5. Methodological principals for RehabiMed
We could test a series of methodological principles for the area of
the Mediterranean of RehabiMed, inspired by the above
theoretical fundamentals. Put another way: how can we bring
about the transformation of the Mediterranean coast by
dialoguing with what exists, instead of destroying it?
As a consequence, we must establish a spatial-temporal, sociophysical and chronotopical network of relations typical to the
Mediterranean vernacular architecture: its relations with the
activities in the sea, with the new tourist uses, with the necessary
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quality of these relations between sea and mountain, between
public spaces and the sea, between boats and traffic, between
private and public, between natural and artificial, between night
and day, between festivals and the non-festive, etc. There are
anthropological and methodological studies which can help in this
analysis of relations.12
Finally, it has to be decided how to invigorate these vernacular
fabrics without destroying them, or in other words without
destroying this network of relations, but rather, in contrast,
invigorating them. It would seem to be something impossible, but
it is not, as for many centuries it has been possible and so why not
now? Because do we not accept modern life in previous
architecture, before we bother to look at this possibility. Not all
modern activities are possible in all existing architectures. The aim
is to select in the comprehensive restoration plans which of these
are possible and where they are possible.
When a relation is broken and this rupture is accepted (for
example, sea views), it is because it loses sense due to a profound
cultural change, or because of other more important relations (for
example, profits from land speculation). But, in no case, is it
possible to build and restore without modifying, preserving or
eliminating relations.
Therefore, in any project of restoration, a prior analysis is essential
of what relations need to be stimulated, which are to be
eliminated and which are new and necessary. There is no doubt
that this involves a “hierarchy” (an “architecture”) of values. This
is not a mechanical decision or even a solely scientific one, but
rather, in addition, it is an ethical and aesthetic judgment.13
There are hundreds of lists of factors to take into account in a
place, in order to assess or to restore it. However, as I have
demonstrated in numerous studies,14 value is increasingly placed
on the factors related directly to the economy: the price of land,
Street market in Tunis, Tunisia
II. Diagnosis
possibility of work, proximity to shopping areas, etc. Although
essential, these “relations” are not sufficient. Here below I have
added several factors which are normally forgotten:
a) Group of factors related to noise, air pollution or forms of
radiation. Children and old people are particularly vulnerable.
b) Group of physical-social factors and vandalism and social
violence directly related to the appropriation of places and the
presence of social and natural vigilance (not only the Police).
c) Relations of the privacy–public sphere, with specific needs in
each age, sex, culture, etc.
d) Historical-cultural relations which stimulate and make relations
intelligible which are essential in the past or, in contrast, their
destruction turn the restoration into something unintelligible
or, even, something anecdotal or absurd.
e) Relations between form and transport, and their complex
articulations at different scales, including connection extremely important- between visibility and spatial orientation,
as their absence leads to all classes of accidents. And we could
continue in this vein.
6. An example of rehabilitated landscape
Together with the architect and historian Magda Saura I was able
to carry out between 1990 and 1992 the rehabilitation of an
exceptional seafront between the town of La Escala and the
village of Sant Martí d’Empuries. This project was the result of a
confluence of historical factors: the arrival of the Olympic Flame to
La Escala on route to the Olympic Games in Barcelona; the
intersection of several administrations; and the agreement
between the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, the Town Council
of La Escala and the Getty Foundation of Los Angeles which
provided a grant for the project thanks to the work done by
Magda Saura.
The project began with a special plan of protection, continued
with an exhaustive study of the highly degraded state of the
seafront between the Greco-Roman city of Empúries and the sea,
and ended with the construction of the seafront which was
respectful towards the sea, towards the ruins, towards the
vegetation, planted by the Catalan Government at the beginning
of the 20th century, and towards the dunes, the result of a
protection plan of the ruins carried out at the end of the 19th
century.
The work was worth it, although the process was not without its
multiple problems, as is commonplace in these cases in which so
many interests converge.
The essential point is that the final form was not an “a priori”
form, but rather a result driven by the essential intention that the
exceptional cultural landscape of the place should not lose its
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character, wealth of relations (sea-mountain, ruins and tourist use,
public space and lack of disturbance from road traffic, etc.). I
believe the quality in the socio-physical interplay of relations was
maintained and consolidated, as the cars were by then invading
the green areas and the sand.
Not everything we wanted to do was achieved, but what was
achieved, was thanks to the strength of the historicalgeographical study carried out beforehand and the profound
knowledge of the architecture of the place.
(see figures on following pages).
I believe that it would be a place which Alvar Aalto would enjoy
visiting today.
This project was published in Quaderns d’Arquitectura magazine
1 1 See Muntañola, J. Topogénesis. Edicions UPC, Barcelona, 2000. Original in
French in Anthropos, Paris, 1996.
2 M. Pollack, ed. The Education of the Architect. MIT Press, 1996.
3 Muntañola, J. Architecture 2000. Edicions UPC, 2004. (Texts in English and
Spanish).
4 Messori, R. La Parola Itinerrante. Mucchi, Modena, 2001.
5 See opus cit. note 3. Supra.
6 Muntañola, J. Architecture as a Thinking Matter. International Congress of
Semiotics. Lyons, 2004.
7 Saura, M. Pobles Catalans/Catalan Villages. Edicions UPC, Barcelona, 1999.
8 Ricoeur, P. Les Parcours de la Reconnaissance. Stock, Paris, 2005.
9 See Muntañola, J. ed. “Architecture et Hermeneutique”. (Original texts and
unpublished in French and Spanish). Edicions UPC, Barcelona, 2002.
10 In Barcelona there have been cases of this.
11 Muntañola, J. Las Formas del Tiempo. (In press).
12 Rapoport, A. Architecture, Design and Culture. (Text in English and in Castilian.
Edicions UPC,Barcelona, 2001.
13 Muntañola, J. Arquitectura, Modernidad y Conocimiento. Edicions UPC,
Barcelona, 2002.
14 Summary in conclusions of the European programme COST C2 (1996-2000).
Published by the European commission: Impact of Infrastructures on the Quality
of Urban Form. Publication number: EUR 19207. Year 2000. ISBN: 92-828-8996-3
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Town planning analysis and architectural values
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The view of the town planner:
traditional sites and their territorial
context
II. Diagnosis
René Guerin
Vaucluse Council of Architecture, Town Planning and the
Environment (CAUE)
France
Despite a strong common identity, the Mediterranean space
includes a great diversity of territories which, beyond the simple
"coast - inland" or "town - rural area" dualities, establish a system
of growing complexity. Before the diagnosis, the structural
analysis of a project's territory should be backed by a dynamic
approach making it possible to understand the mechanisms for
continuously reorganising the space, whatever pace these move
at. This analysis must be aimed at better closing in on the
components and variables of the space under consideration,
seeking a relevant definition of the setting for the urban
rehabilitation project.
The origins of territorial analysis
Territorial analysis has not always been present in the ethos of
urban projects. Town planning, influenced for a long time by the
thought of utopians like Thomas More1, was for a long time
supported by independent models of place. The concept of urban
analysis appeared with Baron Georges Haussmann2. It means that
operations are accompanied by an in-depth knowledge of the local
historical and geographical context. Patrick Geddes3 sought to relate
the different branches of knowledge in the service of human life. In
this spirit, he proposed that the town, which he understood as a
living being, should be studied in all its aspects, putting forward the
term "eutopia" (a good place) as against utopia (no place), which he
criticised. Patrick Geddes thereby defined the concept of preliminary
survey with its components of space and time.
Defining a territory for analysis, depending on the nature of
each project.
Firstly, it is a question of defining the spatial field for analysis.
The area of study depends on the nature of each project: so the
scale of the territory under consideration is defined depending
on the issues raised and expected impacts of the project. While
a programme to rehabilitate a whole district needs to take in
the urban context on the scale of agglomeration, even the
entire urban area, the rehabilitation of a block can content itself
with a simple analysis of the district concerned. It is therefore
first necessary to analyse the interactions of the project and its
surrounding space, which is a question of rigorous limitation
with a concern for saving on engineering.
4
The urban analysis should analyze the accessibility of the historic enclave in relation
with the territory in which it is located, not only from the physical point of view but
also considering the mobility of its residents and users and the flows of materials
and information.
Defining a territory for analysis, depending on the nature of
each project.
Depending on the place, the characteristics and impact of each
urban rehabilitation project belong to a specific territorial logic.
The Mediterranean and its hinterland show a great variety of
situations. Some regions are extremely polarised around their
administrative and economic capitals, thereby contributing to the
desertification of surrounding rural territories. The big multi-polar
urban regions are organised in networks around the
complementariness of functions guaranteed respectively by the
central agglomerations and the medium-sized and small towns
located around them. Some regions are the subject of linear urban
development, along valleys or the coastal fringe: the urban grid
there is generally less hierarchically organised because of its rapid
and spontaneous development. Many mountainous rural regions
or those extending over plateaux, with low populations, have
commercial centres represented by small towns or villages with a
large impact, despite their limited size.
It can initially be estimated that the project is rather more
structuring if the urban grid is weak. However, reality is less
categorical: for example, in a region provided with a powerful
urban apparatus, a modestly sized rehabilitation project can have
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The analysis of the existent uses in the territory should allow the taking of decisions
on its deficiencies with regard to expectations of the residents.
.
a strong medium-term structuring impact, through the
reproduction of the operation model at the level of the urban
area. Conversely, quite a large urban rehabilitation and
restructuring project at city level risks having only a limited social
and economic impact if the urban grid and dynamic of the
territory concerned are weak.
Tool 4
The view of the town planner: traditional sites and their territorial context
communication axes. In the same way, population density and the
level of urban development go along with the range of services,
as well as the level of facilities and the road infrastructure. At
district or block level, the urban morphology, characterised by the
topography, the road network and the built-up fabric, certainly
have an effect on accessibility; however, first of all it is useful to
consider the presence or absence of basic facilities, as well as the
proximity or distance of transport networks and polarising
structures which contribute to urban centrality. Proximity or
distance should preferably judged by comparing access time
rather than distance.
The accessibility of a place is also assessed with regard to the
mobility of its population or the fluidity of tangible and intangible
exchanges, such as access to information. This returns to the
notion of virtual accessibility that can notably be measured
through the level of facilities or through the use of communication
systems.
Identifying the social and economic context through
territorial dynamics
The accessibility of a project site is defined both at regional or
agglomeration level and at the level of the district or block
concerned. Clearly geography largely conditions the accessibility
of a region: for example, insularity or relief are aggravating factors
for territories established furthest from urban poles, ports or
The reading and interpretation of the components of a territory
and its dynamics are established in a retrospective and prospective
approach so that the urban rehabilitation project can form part of
a logical process of urban development. As project has been, a
priori, inspired by durability, it is a good idea to record the longterm context: beyond the confirmed trends underlining certain
irreversible developments, it is a question of detecting different
phenomena following variable trends and establishing different
scenarios based on which the highest common denominator will
be considered as a valuable, weakly random base considering the
definition of the setting for the project.
The urban context must, as often as possible, be understood at the level of the
agglomeration: view of Cairo (Egypt).
The almost deserted territory of Castille – La Mancha (Spain), which marks a strong
contrast with the sustained urban growth of Madrid.
Determining the tangible and intangible accessibility of
the site
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II. Diagnosis
4
A small town on the plain of Lombardy (Italy): the dense urban grid is organised in
a network around Milan, the regional capital.
The Costa del Sol (Spain), near Malaga, has been subject to extremely rapid urban
development since the middle of the 20th century.
Territorial dynamics can generate pressures, even tensions,
particularly when certain social or economic trends are
accelerating or when these phenomena exceed critical thresholds,
causing noticeable imbalances. Analysis of strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities and threats (SWOT analysis) for a territory can
provide support for identifying recorded phenomena based on
indicators of state, pressure and response.4. State indicators make
it possible to characterise the space studied at a particular point in
time based on significant data. The pressure indicators are
designed to predict future situations by expressing dynamic trends
or static situations. Finally, the purpose of response indicators is to
assess the appropriateness of insufficiency of policies and
measures undertaken to support or even extend positive trends or,
conversely, halt or attenuate the effects of negative trends.
The relevance of the choice of indicators is essential: the data to
be included must be selected according to the characteristics of
each project and the analysis systems must be in phase with the
objective of the planned rehabilitation. It is also a good idea to
relativise the data provided by the indicators, depending on each
territorial context. For example, the price of old flats in Marseille,
France, increased by an average of 88% between 2001 and
20055, which constitutes an unprecedented phenomenon in this
town; during the same period, the price of riads has, on average,
increased five-fold in the medina of Marrakech, Morocco6,
because of residential pressure and extreme tourism. Based on this
comparative situation, it would be hasty to state that there is a state
of moderate tension in the Marseille market in view of a property
dynamic which is noticeably less sustained than in the medina in
Marrakech. By contrast, comparing the income of the populations
and property prices in a particular territory makes it possible to assess
the level of pressure or tension experienced by the local population,
as well as by the various political, economic and social agents.
The town of Chefchaouen (Morocco) and its medina exercises a very far-reaching
influence on a large part of the Rif massif.
Accessibility to Chania (Greece), as with all towns on Crete, is penalised by
insularity.
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The question of the development of uses is particularly difficult to
pick up: a certain degree of hindsight is needed for the pressure
indicators. It is a question of knowing how to distinguish lasting
and irreversible trends linked to the development of ways of life in
response to the fundamental needs of populations from certain
passing effects. Urban analysis must show usage links to the
places studied to develop certain insufficiently represented
functions or those responding to the necessary social demands of
local life to strengthen certain complementary beneficial effects in
order to resolve usage conflicts or to reduce the extent of uses
damaging to the general interest.
4
The old tramway in Lisbon (Portugal) considerably reduces the difficulty of access to
districts perched on the slopes of the hills.
Territorial analysis does not exclusively resort to exact sciences; the
art of this study also lies in its sensitive and intuitive dimensions,
fed by the experience and culture of the place: this is really what
makes this practice interesting.
1
Thomas More or Thomas Morus (1478 – 1535): Chancellor of England, author of
Utopia.
2 Georges Haussmann (1809 – 1891): French administrator and Prefect of Paris,
where he directed many town planning operations.
3
Patrick Geddes (1854 – 1932): British biologist, sociologist and town planner.
4 Culturalp project (European Interreg IIIB programme "Alpine Space"): SWOT
Analysis
5 Source: Chamber of Notaries Public of Bouches-du-Rhône
6
Source: Estate agency Khalid Bounouis, Marrakech
A riad adapted as a tourist residence in the medina at Marrakech (Morocco), in a
context of extreme property speculation.
This square in the historic centre of Cagliari (Italy) corresponds to an essential need
of residents as a space for playing, meeting and relaxation.
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The city of Nice (France), subject to poorly contained property market pressure,
to the detriment of the preservation of natural areas.
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Heritage values of traditional
architecture. The example of Italy
Italy, that crowded peninsula surrounded by the Mediterranean
Sea, is characterised by a very varied territory shared by lakes and
marshes, plains, hills and mountains. This has led to the origin of
a wide variety of types of building depending on the subsoil, the
materials, the demands of the climate, the quality of the site and
agricultural production – fundamental elements in the occupation
of the territory and, consequently, in defining the architecture of
buildings and landscapes.
As everywhere, each territory expresses particular local building
features, ranging, for example, from the hard, constant slates of
the mountains of Dolomite origin to the soft, uncertain
"chianche" of Karstic origin in the south; from the wooden loadbearing structures in the Alps and the Apennines to the fired or
unfired brick ones of the plains of the north or the central hills or
the rough dry stone masonry blocks of the arid lands of the south.
Italy has also been a politically unified country only since the end
of the 19th century. Where national identities have been
confirmed earlier, the circulation of models of identity has
constituted a kind of national, rather than local, "transversality",
even "absorption" of models on one hand and, on the other
hand, a facility through the "opening up" of these models and the
circulation of a variety of local images unified under the same
political and administrative culture, thereby favouring the
possibility of adopting effective, unitary, protection policies at the
right time.
The lands of Italy were, for almost two millennia, politically
divided, often dominated directly or indirectly, by other countries
and other cultures. The result was the establishment of humanised
spaces which, limited by nature, have absorbed the influence and
integration of dominant foreign cultures more easily than others.
That is evident in the most everyday aspects of life, from the
language (the dialects are actually a mixture of local and foreign
expressions...), cuisine and culture in general, to the definition, of
course, of architectures and landscapes. So, while "noble"
construction culture was at times exported throughout Europe as
part of the process of conquest, "poor" architecture, everyday
buildings and rural spaces lived and regenerated themselves
between local identity and the influence of different foreign
cultures.
Although the first productive organisations in the country and the
establishment of towns in the Roman period were defined on the
"centuriatio" model so dear to the organisation of the military
system of the Roman Empire, the fall of the Empire, followed by
confused reorganisation, the organisation of "national States"
II. Diagnosis
Architect
Italy
4
Traditional architectural values, very diverse as in the cases of Italy, are the
expression of the application of certain constructive techniques, product of given
materials and the capacity of mankind to translate them into space and architecture
as a response to the physical, social and economic needs of each place.
inside national territory, conquests multiplying in these states,
wars and insecure territories, led to an urban decline in favour of
the hinterland. On the inland hills, after the second half of the first
millennium, an urban and rural system was organised that was
protected against the outside, exploiting geographical conditions
and new architectural models defined by the need for protection
(town walls, farm walls, agglomerations characterised by very
dense use of land and new forms and dynamics of links between
built-up and public spaces).
The countryside, for its part, was characterised by its natural
tendency towards impenetrability (geographical protection), or
was organised, on one hand, with a temporary occupation of
space (the great majority of human activity was inside the towns)
and, on the other, with real rural communities that were physically
protected (fortified farms). The appearance of certain
architectures on the southern coast of Italy (such as, for example,
the coastal towers for spotting any danger coming from the sea)
has, for more than a millennium, defined the character and
outline of the land seen from the sea, underlining the closed
elements of protection that have characterised this land for almost
two millennia.
Building techniques are the result of the use of local materials and
of human capacity to translate the need for survival in physically,
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Heritage values of traditional architecture. The example of Italy
economically and socially closed territories on to the spatial and
architectural plane. It is the techniques themselves that often
define the types of construction plan (for example, open or closed
courtyard systems); otherwise it is the production system with the
inevitable pyramid organisation of society that designs the
landscape and determines the organisation of the architecture (big
farms, spaces for the master, the foreman and the workers).
Mainly in the south, alongside the architecture of the big estates
and grand noble properties, poorer architectures have spread
gradually, first consisting of shacks, then the houses of agricultural
workers who aspired to own a plot of land. These are the
architectures very specifically defined under the term "traditional
architecture".
It makes sense that rudimentary materials and techniques should
appear on poor land that was difficult to exploit. This is where
simplicity is best expressed, where lack of means and human
ingenuity are closely linked. Appearing spontaneously without the
presumption of being architecture, over a series of opportunities
these rudimentary constructions could become so, helped by the
remorseless collapse of the large landowners due to the economic
disruption of the passing centuries, which gave them the chance
to occupy even more of the space they came to characterise.
The fragmentation of land ownership in the second half of the
19th century ended up by disrupting the image of the landscape
and definitively generalised the traditional existing models in the
countryside of the regions of this southern peninsula; this
phenomenon consecrated the adoption of models of building
accompanied by a strong tendency towards specialisation in the
traditional art of construction and the definition of ever more
refined architectures in terms of techniques and use of materials.
The possibility since then of living in the country without fear, as
well as the development of an agricultural economy based on
meeting needs at family and local level, determined considerable
urbanisation of the countryside and, consequently, the
development of traditional building techniques (where the farmer
himself is often the builder).
Simplicity of form, linear surfaces, décor limited to the essential
and extremely readable structures define the human value of this
architecture.
The function is defined by the simple classification of the interior
spaces: simple shapes without exterior differentiation, distributed
according to elementary schematic plans, generally over one or
two floors.
The essential unity of these architectures lies in the use of colour
and material, and above all because of a particular arrangement
of service volumes, which are rarely smaller than the others.
The structure becomes expressive through the construction
materials, often poor and simply cut and placed.
Florence (Italy)
Castellvechio di Roca (Italy)
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Heritage values of traditional architecture. The example of Italy
II. Diagnosis
X oncern for defence conditions and explains the shapes of rural
C
and urban housing, expressed in the readability of the volumes as
well as by psychological and non-technological reasons.
The defensive elements are analogous, despite the multiplicity of
buildings and sites: walls, defence of corners, rare, small openings
to the outside.
Both at the level of a territory and at the level of an architectural
grouping, the symbol of religious belief takes the form of small
chapels for peasant devotion.
The distinction between residential and service buildings is usually
underlined by the type of roofing, the rendering on the masonry
or the length of the buildings.
The classification of the architecture can be qualitative (according
to its use) or typological (simply according to its architectural
style).
An attempt at classification cannot disregard the difficulties linked
to the fact that it may refer to a single building or a grouping; that
is, the fact that it may be established in a context where it must
be possible to identify the different components using a dynamic
approach.
In differentiating between important isolated buildings and
groups of small elements of rural architecture, it should be
highlighted that, for the latter more strongly than for the former,
a stylistic formulation can be identified that very particularly
integrates the environment, not only in establishing the physical
size of the works and the particular technique using local
materials, but also in expressing the particular nature of the
defence ensured by man.
The urban space reflects a situation and conditions that have
already been mentioned. Until the industrial period, towns were
closed in on themselves, surrounded by ramparts. The inhabited
area within the walls is characterised by long, narrow Gothic
blocks where simple architecture is established, running parallel to
the streets and occupying volumes over two or three floors, with
one given over to storing goods. The centres of the blocks are
arranged into outdoor courtyards.
The materials are always similar and the simple building
techniques are analogous to those of the countryside, although
adapted to a better protected site. The particular dynamics are not
perceived in terms of the landscape, as in the countryside, but in
terms of the use of private and public spaces. The importance of
squares and communal spaces characterises the destiny of towns,
determining spatial dynamics which, in the same way, provide a
value of shared tradition between empty and built-up spaces and
which, still today, characterise what is still called "the culture and
art of living Italian style".
Naples (Italy)
Ozieri, Sardinia (Italy)
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II. Diagnosis
Modern versus traditional typologies
in Algerian medinas
Tool 4
Bougherira-Hadji Quenza
Lecturer at the University of Blida
Algeria
Modern architectural typolgies in the old centres of algerian
medinas
4
The urban crisis our regions are experiencing in a morphological
and urban landscape sense essentially concerns the problem of
typological integration at a level that is as much architectural as
urban.
Perception of spaces makes it possible to determine whether the
latter conform to the authenticity we expect from them, whether
they are in harmony with their cultural territory or not; for this,
perceptual observation is an important element of reading and
analysis. It is, in a way, an index of a deeper structural situation.
Perceived reality corresponds in fact, then, to the expression of a
structural typology that can be accessed by a more in-depth study:
it concerns the urban structure with what this involves in terms of
typologies of materials, aggregates, nodes, hierarchies, etc.
This structure generally conditions a certain type of space:
organically structured types of housing based on hierarchical
modular repetition in traditional architecture makes it possible to
obtain a unified whole in a harmonious and coherent relationship.
Meanwhile, so-called modern housing, making up big collective
housing developments, disregarding the structural unity and
modular coherence resulting from centuries of practice and
changes and adaptations presents, in terms of experience and
perception, alienated spaces, not recognised and not
comprehended by the residents. It is an artificial solution breaking
with the cultural reality of the place.
One sees in the act of spontaneous building – that is, the natural
practice of construction by populations who have a common code
of type of building corresponding to their cultural surroundings –
the transplantation of suburban architectural types as the
"conceptual type" of the present time. In as far as this practice
preserves the same building methods, adding the natural
evolution due to everyday adaptations, the old centres preserve
their coherence and their harmony. Today, the brutal change in
building techniques and materials used without any care for the
historic heritage creates situations of malaise concerning the
experience of these spaces.This "transplantation" of new
technologies with new materials and new forms, creates, then, a
new urban landscape, sometimes respecting the old fabric, which
is itself heritage (not merely the buildings making it up), but often,
unfortunately, not respecting it at all.
We sometimes even see the total demolition of old centres which
are generally in an advanced state of dilapidation, and their
replacement by so-called "modern" constructions.
108
The study of the types existent in the territory should not only be centered in the
analysis of the characteristics of the traditional types, but also in their diversity and
transformation throughout history, as well as the presence of more modern types.
Is replacing them worthwhile?
Do we have the right to carry out such actions, to introduce
modernity so violently into the old centres, destroying heritage
that represents an increasingly rare asset and which has less and
less chance of being reproduced?
As for transformation on an urban scale, this concerns the loss of
urban fabric through the demolition of old structures and their
replacement by new types, essentially made up of "rows" and
large spaces, where the urban notion of the old districts is
irredeemably lost.
In order to contribute to an improvement of this state of affairs, it
would be useful to establish capital in the form of knowledge of
the historic centres and traditional architecture as a basis for
future action to preserve and highlight heritage buildings.
In this article, we want to highlight this practice of integrated new
architectures into old sites, which is regularly adopted in
spontaneous construction in old centres.
First of all, we should note that reconstruction in old centres is
carried out following the types of the periphery.
This is quite a notable, common practice in unprotected old
centres.
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Modern versus traditional typologies in Algerian medinas
It is notable that the spontaneous consciousness of a population
leads them to build according to the "taste of the day" and not
to preserve old forms and techniques.
The massive practice of ancestral know-how will never be seen;
rather it will always appear in an evolved form, that is, as the
know-how of the moment.
Notions of typological evolution
The great typological variety in the same cultural surroundings is
much more the product of adaptation to the residents' needs and
means of meeting them, following a simple mechanism, than the
product of the ex-nihilo creativity of builders and designers.
The great mass of spontaneously constructed production bears
witness to massive popular activity showing a great degree of
analogy between its components. The differences between each
of its elements would only be variations on the same theme.
The great "collective work of art" making up the old centres
(Saverio Muratori; Giulio Argan) is often only a composition of
synchronous variants of a same type (Gianfranco Caniggia),
leading to the harmony and unity of these manmade
constructions.
It is generally established that urban cores mostly come from the
development of villages (apart from the urban centres founded as
towns). They correspond to the same logic as that affecting
architecture: that is, the fabric of the periphery is reproduced as
far as possible in the renewal of the centre (that is, in as far as it
is allowed by the sites that are clear at the same time, because it
is difficult to obtain big spaces that are free at the same time in
old centres).
Colonial building with traditional elements, Blida, Algeria
II. Diagnosis
Here we are talking about urban cores that have undergone
gradual transformations since they came into existence as rural
establishments. It is notable that the type of building moves from
a "proto-urban" type state to an "urban" type state. This is
morphologically translated by densification, which is first
horizontal and then vertical depending on the spontaneous
mechanisms for transforming housing over the centuries; first you
will see a staircase in the courtyard allowing access to the upper
floor, then a passageway to the rooms on the floor; the birth of
the patio is the only remaining step.
On a plot that has been built on, densification goes on gradually
until it occupies all possible space on the surface of the plot.
Superimposition of building modules will come next, to obtain
successive floors. We can see the successive states in cities with
variable development like Algiers, a dense city that had achieved
a high level of urbanisation in the medieval period. There we see
an evolved type of building sometimes going up to G+4, with an
average of G+2 in the Casbah.
Map of the town of Blida, Algeria (1842)
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II. Diagnosis
4
Tool 4
A town like Dellys, on the other hand, although it was founded as
long ago, shows a stagnation of typological development at a
proto-urban stage when compared to Algiers; staircases in the
courtyard, not integrated into the construction of the housing like
a mature element of the typology, are present as an occasional
architectural element for accessing a space on a floor newly
introduced into the typology, without, however, constituting a
typological constant of R+1 housing.
The very interesting typology of the rest of this town, partially
destroyed by the earthquake of 2003, shows, in a way, a
typological "petrification" at a stage between the rural
(Andalusian rural + mountain Berber from the region) and the
urban, represented by the Ottoman buildings of the period, as
shown by the typical Turkish kbous.
The town of Blida, on the other hand, shows, on one hand, a
proto-urban typology resulting from Andalusian rural occupation
(El Djoun) with its masters' houses and outbuildings such as
stables, servants' houses and gardens, as well as, on the other, an
urban typology imported from Algiers by the Turkish people from
the town in the Rue du Bey and Rue d'Alger district.
The most recent constructions in the El Djoun district are identified
with these urban typologies. So, all reconstructions will be made
following the typology of the house with patio, gradually
replacing the proto-urban house with courtyard (for example, Dar
Ben Kouider).
We therefore note, through these cases, which are quite
representative as they were chosen considering different sizes of
town and geographical positions, different points in the
typological evolution of the Algerian town.
In fact, these levels of evolution can be found in the same town,
because a spontaneous fabric has the particular feature of
evolving at plot level and not as a whole. The time variation in the
evolution of plots makes it possible to obtain the variety so much
appreciated by the human eye as against the monotony of a
development carried out in the same time period: (the case of
housing estates or other medium- or large-scale urban
operations).
However, buildings are put up rarely and according to ancestral
building methods only in cases of rehabilitation.
The spontaneous consciousness of a population leads them to
build according to the "taste of the day" and not to preserve old
forms and techniques.
This building logic can be observed at the level of the Bardo
Museum in Algiers, the former villa of Fahç Algèrois in the
Ottoman period, which has undergone multiple rehabilitations
and extensions that illustrate this situation well.
The massive practice of ancestral know-how will never be seen,
rather it will always be in an evolved form, that is, know-how of
the moment.
This is also the case with El Djoun, the old quarter of Blida (if not
nowadays the oldest that is partially preserved), where the new
building procedures (reinforced concrete structures and walls of
bricks and breeze blocks) have imposed this new type, which does
not in any way fit into the local typologies. These practices could
be avoided in a historic centre if it was classed as protected.
Unfortunately, this not being the case, spontaneous awareness in
building production has been happily applied. This spontaneous
awareness that has allowed the enrichment of typologies during
centuries of adjustments and adaptations of architecture to users'
needs, to give the most beautiful examples of heritage buildings,
such as Saharan ksours or medinas, has ended up becoming the
instrument for the degradation of this very heritage, using foreign
techniques and procedures in the surroundings where they are
Bastion 23, Algiers (Algeria)
Traditional typologies of the Algiers Kasbah, Algeria
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applied. So, the old historic centres are progressively wiped out for
the benefit of an architecture intended to be modern but far from
achieving the authenticity it is meant to express.
Spontaneous evolution of fabrics in relation to typological
evolution
Having established that towns are born from villages, which
themselves succeed more primary human establishments, that is
isolated constructions or small groups of isolated settlements
(Mumford, Caniggia), we can direct observation towards seeking
human establishments corresponding to intermediary phases of
producing the manmade space. This state of building generally
corresponds to a semi-nomadic socio-economic system, or a
seasonal one, as is the case with El Oued, where one can still
observe these little houses or groups of houses – the summer
settlements of town dwellers.
The context of their establishment is that of sufficiently vast spaces
(assured of the presence of water, of course) to allow first of all
scattered housing, then sufficiently large plots given over to each
home (in relation to the degree of advancement of the state of
urban development) and with the surrounding land open between
the houses, thereby allowing future evolution through
densification of the housing. If this group of homes meets the
necessary conditions (polarity, accessibility, proximity to an activity
zone...), it will develop into an urban centre.
A mutation phenomenon strangely analogous to biological
behaviour is, then, going to be put in place and, from sparse
housing, dense housing will be born, grouped by progressive infill
of the interstitial spaces without buildings.
Old towns as they have come down to us today, according to the
land surveys generally carried out since the 19th century, give us
little information on their actual birth and their first mutations.
The ancient centres we know were already urban when they were
designed or relaid out. With reading techniques developed by
Professor Caniggia, we can go back to the establishment of the
genesis of these centres, right to their very beginning.
The hypotheses put forward are, of course, backed by historical
texts or archaeological digs to obtain confirmation and
verification. But what we can directly confirm is the development
of this phenomenon of progressive densification of the fabric at
the level of successive extensions to the town.
In effect, since the first land registries of the 19th century, we have
been offered land surveys in the towns and their territories, and in
the countryside, about every decade, with the various surrounding
agricultural plots, right up to mountain and forest areas.
These successive land surveys make it easy for us to read the
evolution of the fabric of the extensions to towns and from this to
interpolate the results to interpret the probable evolution of the
II. Diagnosis
old centres according to this logic of settlement by human kind.
What one can always see is that towns are gradually filled in,
always densifying more in the centre and the nearest
neighbouring parts, narrowing its road network and occupying
every square centimetre offered by the space of the town before
climbing upwards once the land is saturated.
During this mutation, the architectural typology, meanwhile, also
experiences this mutation phenomenon. In fact, because of this
tightening of the fabric of the town, houses must also shed their
skins and transform themselves, gradually passing through
intermediary types, from a village house to a proto-urban house,
then an urban one and finally varying to follow the cultural trend
and the continual densification requirements.
From this, then, we can deduce the essential relationship between
architectural typology and urban typology.
The results at the level of the urban landscape as it is perceived
remain, however, varied and they are defined by the cultural
atmosphere.
In places where plot organisation is identical, we can see an
aggregation that is very dense horizontally, going as far as
attachments on the four sides of the house in the case of
courtyard houses (the case with central plots in Blida, Alger,
Miliana, Dellys…). However, in the case of extrovert types, we
cannot go beyond three sides with attachments.
Architectural production today is mass production, based on serial
production following a unique model with limited synchronous
Street in the kasbah in Algiers, Algeria
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II. Diagnosis
4
variants, thereby leading to the loss of richness and typological
variety of previous urban centres.
The coming of the row, the result of this production in series (it
must not be forgotten that the production of houses in series and
in groups is as old as the houses of Egyptian workers at the time
the pyramids were built), has led to the disappearance of the
organic fabric of the town. It is because of this that those gigantic
towns which project their tentacles into the surrounding territories
are sometimes compared to cancers.
So, with the help of new techniques and new construction
materials, the power of intensive, rapid production has become
consolidated and the direct relationship between man and his
product, in the case of the house, has been wiped out, leading to
the loss of the measurement of human scale in the production of
the built-up environment, something which is the instrument of
the harmonisation of all artificial things with nature, a sine qua
non condition of the sustainability of the necessary resources and
continued human occupation of the planet.
The arrival of recent types in old centres
In the case of Blida, it is noticeable that the new buildings in the
old quarter of El Djoundo not in any way correspond to the
cultural richness of the site.
The few old houses that still remain are dominated by the new
buildings, which are generally higher (G+2, G+3) as against singlefloor buildings for most old buildings. They use new construction
techniques – reinforced concrete structures, infill with hollow
bricks – introduced into a site where all the constructions are at
ground level in an area with strong seismic action. It is like saying
the death warrant is being signed for these old buildings,
considering the "hammer effect" relationships of concrete with
Colonial buildind in Algiers (Algeria)
112
Tool 4
earth structures. So the neighbouring houses risk being
demolished if there is an earthquake by these new buildings,
rather than having houses that support one another in absorbing
the forces transmitted by the earth tremors, soaking up the shock
like a monolithic entity.
It is the fabric that becomes anti-seismic, not the isolated house,
another asset of the correspondence between urban fabric and
architecture with traditional housing.
As for the architectural elements and the typological details of
local architecture, they have completely disappeared from the new
buildings. These express a mixture of languages in the absence of
a contemporary local typology meeting current needs. Some of
these windows have loggia above the street, some Provençal
windows, some neo-classical façades with regular openings. All
these new constructions disregard traditional local typologies,
whether deliberately or not, and show a total typological change
based on diatopic types imported from colonial and universal
sources.
Even more serious is the destruction of whole districts of old
centres to replace them with new buildings for mass housing. An
operation of this kind was launched in Blida during the 1980s.
Because it was impossible to confiscate the properties of the
residents of the time, the project was blocked for years, but was
relaunched in 2003-4, with mass destruction and the compulsory
purchase from the residents of a district that is at least three
hundred years old.
The first part of this scheme to densify the town centre, which was
developed in 1987 in the Remonte and Ducros military hospital
districts, was implemented on land that had hardly been built on,
as well as an old Turkish cemetery.
The Remonte which had been used for horse breeding, had
already lost its functions and the stables had already been empty
for a long time. However, the magnificent avenues of plane trees
and open spaces between the stables should have been able to
offer an ideal leisure and relaxation site near the old centre. They
are now built on with dense mass housing schemes that break
with the pre-colonial centre and that of the 19th century.
At the time of the excavations in order to build the residential
buildings planned for the scheme, it was found that the site had
been the Turkish cemetery. This did not stop the works.
The new town council's scheme shows an urban appearance
ripped to shreds, without coherence or apparent relationships
with the town, causing an additional divide between urban spaces.
The new schemes, unlike those established at the level of El
Djoun, show another appearance of new typological action in an
old centre, that of the mass building of collective housing in which
the disappearance of fabric can be observed, with the loss of the
dividing unit: the plot.
In this case, the typology imported from the periphery is totally
alien to the centre and, although sometimes an architectural
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element is picked up, it is only symbolic and decorative, not as an
authentic element used for its original function.
Conclusion
One constant seems to emerge from these observations:
spontaneous construction is carried out according to the most
developed and most economical typology and not according to
old typologies because of the will of the person or people carrying
it out.
The second important note is the fact that typological mutations
traditionally operate within a well determined, well delimited
urban and territorial setting. The transformation of urban fabric is
carried out alongside transformations to buildings: when the plot
reaches its limit, the town boundary constrains and retains the
urban fabric. Far from these thousand-year-old laws, the common
aspect of the new typologies is their denial of traditional limits. No
more plot boundary for buildings, no more urban boundary for
the town.
This loss of limits is, perhaps, a redefinition of the notion of
territory. The metropolis no longer recognises traditional territorial
limits; the only limit it seems to recognise is that of the planet, as
a market.
In the face of this situation, how can we still talk about a
traditional typology? The divide between metropolis and
traditional typology seems frighteningly deep. However, residents
of the towns of today still want a peaceful life in spaces produced
on a human scale, in the image of the old fabric. In this case,
typological architectural production, even producing replicas of
the old fabric, cannot guarantee its authenticity. For example the
new districts divided into plots in the suburbs seeking to
reproduce building quality through the act of division into plots.
II. Diagnosis
This leads us to ask ourselves the question: is the plot the essential
condition for reconstituting an authentic urban space? Lifeless
European suburbs spreading out of sight disprove this. The idea of
plots alone, without a return to the hierarchised integration of
territorial culture, is not enough.
This is why the integration of territorial, urban and architectural
scales is increasingly essential in defining schemes.
This integration is translated at urban level by the determination
of a location that is suitable for the polarities and nodes of the
town, as well as structuring the fabrics within a hierarchical system
respecting these polarities and nodes.
In summary, a more complete and operational reading of human
settlement must involve the recognition of particular urban
morphology in relation to the polarities and nodes structuring the
town. Dense plots in the centre, plots presenting their narrow
sides to the most important routes, big plots on the periphery…
As well as the recognition of the territorial structure as an initial
framework for all human establishment and as a directional
indicator for all future evolution of the town and any new nearby
urban centres.
And the recognition of cultural territory as an essential typological
resource in the production of basic buildings This will imply
parsimony in occupation of the territory and resources on a
human scale in order to structure it, such as limiting the
exploitation of the territory to its own resources in a concern for
sustainable development.
New buildings in the Algiers Kasbah, Algeria
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Tool 5
Analysis of economic parameters and socio-cultural values
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Which socio-economic parameters
must be considered?
The operation of property markets in the centres of historic towns
has carved itself a place in the dynamic of local property markets,
in the dynamic of the markets of the different towns that structure
the territory of the country, and even in the urban dynamics of
larger geographical areas corresponding to geopolitical regions
subject to the same rules and influences or in specific tourist
markets.
Beyond these external dimensions, the evolution of historic
districts is marked by socio-demographic evolution and urban
development putting pressure on property markets and urban
structures; the place and function of districts are displaced in
history, and it is a very rare old centre where the morphology and
structure do not have be modified to adapt to new uses.
Property structures can therefore evolve rapidly, an accelerated
evolution going along with the development of residential
mobility, tourist attractiveness and the tertiarisation of
employment. This evolution makes the maintenance of the
traditional social and functional diversity of these districts more
delicate, particularly when needs for urban rehabilitation mean
that property restoration is required1 and the improvement of
districts risks encouraging the exclusion of families and less welloff people from them. The increase in land and property values
must therefore be controlled by land action policies and support
for the production of social housing.
Conversely, some historic districts become run down because of
the gradual loss of their historic place in the urban network – the
displacement of administrative, trading, economic or political
functions to other towns or districts. This process of devaluation
sometimes leads to them becoming insalubrious and to a loss of
the economic attractiveness of territories, processes which
marginalise the district into merely receiving disadvantaged
populations. The fall in land and property values and their
consequences for the deterioration of buildings (putting some
properties in single ownership into joint ownership, division of
mansions and historic buildings into several accommodation units)
cannot be overcome without tough action to aid the conservation
of the structures of buildings and to preserve the most important
buildings in the sectors. These situations require actions to support
owners, who are often financially incapable of bearing the cost of
property restoration, and land and property actions to replace the
failing private ownership of public or private operators.
The approach to old centres and districts of towns will therefore,
in all cases, require precise identification of the place and function
of residential and urban property in property markets, of the
II. Diagnosis
Xavier Benoist
General Director of PACT ARIM
France
5
The economic analysis should not consider the enclave as an autonomous entity, but
rather should analyze its interaction with the territory in which it is inserted: the
economic role of the district in the city, of the town in the county...
district in the history and evolution of the town and of the town
in the history of the territory. This approach will be carried out on
many levels – from the district to the block and down to the
individual property – and will call on various disciplines and
analyses, giving rise to the drawing up of a scheme and of
particular intervention programmes making it possible to act
against the dysfunctions identified.
1. The place of the town in the urban hierarchy of its region
and its place in its territory will be the first criterion to be taken
into account in order to appreciate the place of the local property
market in the territory's property price hierarchy. Various indicators
make it possible to understand the cycle in which the local
property market is evolving: the income level of the local
population, the demographic development of the region, its
economic dynamism, the structure of the ownership and quality
of the housing, the housing costs and labour cost. Land and
property prices in the sector and the volume of annual
transactions, together with the vacancy rate for housing or the
speed of transformation of shops will characterise the probable
evolution of sectors and will give useful details for understanding
the changes, the types of investors (or disinvestment) and the
average amount of investment in the sector. This data will make it
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II. Diagnosis
5
The economic type studies should analyze the structure of the property and the
existing real estate dynamics, two important factors in relation to the possibilities of
management of the rehabilitation operations.
Panel advertising traditional homes for rent, Marrakech, Morocco
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Which socio-economic parameters must be considered?
possible to characterise the price rise or devaluation cycle
occurring in the districts and to specify the aid to be put in place
to run the programme for rehabilitating the housing and
commercial functions.
All old historic sectors have been subject to price rise/devaluation
cycles depending on the tensions in the markets and the place of
property in the historic centre in the local housing market.
Devaluation cycles generally accompany the impoverishment of a
region, but they can develop in active property markets as a result
of the rigidity of the land market or the absence of a range of
housing available for the most disadvantaged people or for
families – while price rise cycles can develop in not very dynamic
regions, from the simple fact of tourist pressure.
In effect, the rigidity of land markets, expressed by the resistance
exercised by certain owners to transferring their property (or
transforming it) in an attempt to boost land prices, accentuates
the trend towards the deterioration of the old fabric. The agreed
strategies of certain owners who prefer to wait for the
opportunity to demolish and rebuild rather than undertaking
considerable work to restore their assets, accentuate these
phenomena, which block the development of the market. The
absence of comfort and facilities in the housing, limiting the
attractiveness of groups of properties to young people, families
and the middle classes, will limit the development of populating
the district and accentuate the degradation of certain parts of
Estate agent in Marrakech medina, Morocco
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historic centres, often affected by the aging of their populations.
These factors will accelerate the process of property devaluation,
even more so if the prevailing property rehabilitation or restoration
rules do not allow poor owners to carry out work to bring their
properties up to a level without considerable aid from the group.
The means of public action will, therefore, be even more
necessary, in proportion to the accommodation needs of the
populations and the need to improve the housing.
2. It will be even more important to identify and specify the
functions of historic town centres in town planning documents
in as far as they strongly affect the rehabilitation policy to be carried
out and its different categorisations of the different types of
heritage and buildings to be protected or invested in.
The constraints of the programme and the rehabilitation levers will
be different depending on whether local urban planning allows the
extension and development of tertiary functions to fill the gap in
historic centres.
Receiving new tertiary activities in other districts, receiving tertiary
functions compatible with the identity of the district (cultural
facilities, school facilities), the displacement of polluting economic
activities and the maintenance of basic necessity commercial
activities are the main objectives to be achieved in local planning.
The purpose of the project will be to create new balances between
the structure of the districts, their social composition and their place
in the town, acting on the property structure and sometimes the
land structure.
3 Commercial and economic activities, partly supported by the
demand of resident populations and partly by tourist or leisure
demand, can become incompatible with the desire to maintain
residential uses in the districts. In certain extreme situations, these
Market in Gardaïa, Algeria
II. Diagnosis
displacements of commercial functions can amount to complete
"destructuring" of certain sectors, accelerating the departure of
traditional populations because of the nuisances created –
nuisances linked to the development of car traffic, to the needs for
parking or sometimes even night-time nuisance linked to the
transformation of the ground floors of buildings (transformation
into car parks, shops or restaurants and cafes).
This phenomenon can only be controlled by police-enforced
regulations and very precise, detailed rules for rights of occupation
of land of the kind that can contain these developments within
reasonable proportions. In fact, conflicts of use of public space
very often spring from the proximity of competing activities
(demand for local space for residents and demand for space for
the development of shops). These phenomena will be even more
accentuated as the profitability of economic activities is sometimes
out of proportion with the profitability of residential activities.
They sometimes prevent the reuse of floors of properties as
housing or damage the residentialisation of districts. The ways
shops are handled will be one of the important issues to be
tackled, and the negotiations with the representatives of this
economic sector will be particularly important.
4 Traffic and transport constraints, traffic regulation methods
and the handling of public spaces will be thought out to control
or supervise these developments. Public transport will therefore be
given preference over individual transport.
5. The analysis of property structures will be essential for
understanding the different strategies of owners, whether they
are landlords or occupants, buyers or occupants, in the face of
these various developments. The nature of ownership, the sizes of
the assets held by the owners in the sector, the proportion of
Craft workshops in Jraba Square, Kairouan, Tunisia
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property that is public or subject to complex transmission
regulations and the general state of buildings must be analysed.
The transformation of the property structure will be that much
faster if the transformation of the dominant function of the
districts is not controlled or planned, or even supervised. But the
transformation of heritage and its adaptation to modern housing
standards requires the establishment of levers for particular
interventions.
5
6. The population of the districts is also a determining factor,
depending particularly on their history and the range allowed by
the housing in the sector: a range of locations characterised by the
size of the accommodation, its degree of comfort, its location and
its cost; a range of access possibilities where the accommodation
attracts new populations seeking property opportunities
corresponding to their needs; a range for investors seeking asset
investments or tax investments when financial regulations
favourable to investment are established on the districts;
commercial range...
The classification of the function of the districts (area receiving
households looking for their first homes, area receiving families,
refuge area for vulnerable and disadvantaged populations...etc)
for the local populations will be one of the important points of the
diagnosis preceding the drawing up of an intervention strategy for
the district.
Summaries of the development of the sectors and the choice of
priority intervention targets may be drawn up depending on these
analysis elements in order to specify the intervention levers
making it possible to guide the programme for property
rehabilitation and structuring the district.
Three types of tools will be essential for use in the sectors:
New shop beside traditional commercial premises in Tunis medina
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the tools for improving housing, particularly aid and subsidies
to owners for carrying out agreed works,
the tools for property action necessary for restructuring certain
blocks to dedensify them or to acquire property in order to
define its use or to restructure it,
the tools for producing social housing, essential for rehousing
the population.
They will be mobilised to a greater or lesser degree depending on
the difficulties in dealing with the districts and the social,
economic or urban issues involved.
1 The term "property restoration" is used here to characterise far-reaching
intervention on the integral structure of old, run-down property: architecture,
structure, distribution, sanitation. This is more than merely improvement and
maintenance of the housing (comfort, safety). One might also say "heavy
rehabilitation".
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The people living in traditional
architecture. The case of Nicosia
Settlements develop as a result of human concentration in specific
localities, favored for their physical characteristics (location,
climate, topography, etc). People there, form communities and
networks that support their living and well-being. Social, cultural
and economic tights are developed between them, within the
settlements but also to other localities outside the boundaries of
the settlement. These relations provide the socio-economic
framework as well as the means for development. As socioeconomic factors change in time due to external influences,
settlements enter into cycles of deprivation and regeneration.
These cycles have an inevitable impact on the population
characteristics, as population and the built environment have a
mutual relationship. Cities are more than buildings connected in
an urban tissue. They embody the social, the economic and the
cultural character of the past and contemporary networks of
people that have called it their home.
People move and settle into the settlement forming initially its
core. As the town grows, new-comers tend to settle in specific
patterns, developing a microcosm of their own. Thus,
neighborhoods are formed as clusters of people of the same
characteristics: ethnic, national, religious, according to their
occupation, social status, etc. With the passing of time people
move from one part of the city to the other according to their
changing needs, means and status. Mainly families of upper and
middle classes move into new residential areas in the suburbs. At
the same time more people are moving into the settlement,
occupying empty dwellings. A relative static demographic
situation is maintained when people of a similar situation as of
those living come to live in the area. In areas where continuing
outward movement takes place without an equivalent inmigration, the population structure frequently becomes
increasingly dominated by older people. The decline in the
residential population is often accompanied by the increased
concentration of commercial activities.
The effects of in-migration are most clearly seen where the
migrants belong to an ethnic group different from that of the
majority of the city’s population. In the past adaptation was an
inevitable process, since immigrants were usually permanent. In
today’s globalized world, the movement of population due to the
economic restructuring but also to the easier means of transport
has been considerably increased, but also not so settled. People;
tend to move easier from country to country following their work
opportunities. On the same time the information technology allow
them to be better connected to their country of origin. Thus,
II. Diagnosis
Department of Town Planning and Housing,
Ministry of the Interior,
Cyprus
5
The demographic analysis should establish the bases of the strategies for fomenting
social cohesion: detection of pockets of poverty, of unemployment, of population
“ghettos”, of gentrification processes and expulsion of the autochthonous
population.
migrant communities are less or slower integrated in the recipient
community, than before. Since they are more or less separated
from the rest of the population because of their race, language,
religion or customs, they are likely to form themselves into
distinctive clusters, both for economic and social reasons.
Moreover, as immigrants are entering a strange social
environment, they are attracted by areas in which their
compatriots are already living and where they can find a place to
live (since discrimination often gives them a limited choice). In
such areas it is easier for them to recreate something of the
atmosphere of their old place or practice their religion. They might
also be attracted by relatives or friends that already live there, the
pioneers of their own society established in an alien environment.
Usually the members of these distinctive ethnic groups are
employed in more poorly paid jobs, and as a result their homes are
concentrated in the historic cores or in older residential areas,
where deteriorating properties of usually traditional architecture
have declined in value and have in some cases been subdivided
into smaller dwelling units. Often immigrants live at high densities
in overcrowded conditions.
The altered demography, the fear of the unknown and the alien,
the usually unbalanced sex ratio between men and women but
also the further degradation of the built environment, make the
historic cores less favored by the locals. But, on the other side, the
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The urban geography of Nicosia, the capital of Cyprus, has
developed over the centuries, reflecting the troubled history of the
island. Its population, a mixture of local Orthodox with Muslim
Turks, Armenians, Maronites and Latins, that have been arriving in
the island since the Frankish period, found their place and formed
their microcosm within the city. The basic element in the fabric of
the city was the neighborhood. These were developed around the
religious buildings of each community, the church or mosque, and
became centers for citizens of like ethnicity, and religion.
Moreover other areas were formed with the concentration of
people according to their social class or occupation. The trust that
developed between the two bigger communities in a later period
led to the establishment of mixed town quarters.
Modernization and the economic restructuring brought with it
building redevelopment but also the first signs of population
exodus. However, the process was interrupted by the brutal
separation in two parts of the city following the intercommunal
troubles between Greek-Cypriots and Turkish-Cypriots and the
establishment of the ‘green line’ in 1963. The situation was made
more permanent in 1974 following the Turkish invasion to the
island. The impact on the physical fabric of the city and its physical
and functional continuity was significant as it was for the
population of the city. People from both communities moved to
either side of the ¨line¨ altering the demography. The ¨green line¨
divided the city not only in physical terms but also in visual,
psychological, political and emotional terms. The heart of the city,
its main commercial area was devastated being in the buffer zone.
In the years to follow, the total of the adjacent area was to be
further abandoned as insecurity drove people away. In a number
of empty dwellings refugees from the occupied area were housed
forming a new displaced community. Moreover, new uses were
added in the abandoned dwellings, workshops further
deteriorated the buildings and their environment and shifted the
predominant use from mixed residential-commercial to workshop.
Further factors contributed to the decline of the walled city: traffic
congestion, lack of parking space and the ageing of the building
stock that could not respond to the new, improved, standard of
living, led to the move of a substantial number of inhabitants (of
the middle and upper class), enterprises and administrative offices
to the periphery of the city and to the new, better served, suburbs.
Today, the ageing of a considerable part of the building stock of
the inner city makes it unable to meet the contemporary life
House with Asian immigrants in the centre of Nicosia (Cyprus)
House inhabitated by an American citizen in the centre of Nicosia (Cyprus)
area is revitalized, filled with life, customs and attitudes so
different that they create a totally new environment. The cultural
diversity of people that share the same urban space enriches the
city and adds a totally new rhythm.
The example of Nicosia
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The people living in traditional architecture. The case of Nicosia
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II. Diagnosis
standard. On the same time the increased property values of
historic buildings and the high cost of their rehabilitation to meet
the contemporary living standards, make it difficult for their
owners to rehabilitate it. Furthermore, they are put off by the
social change and deprivation in the historic core. Thus, the return
in the city of the original inhabitants is a difficult aim.
The poor condition of the building has resulted in low rents that
attracted immigrants. In the opposite case, rehabilitated listed
buildings, are used as high cost residences for mainly high class
families or as bars, restaurants, offices or cultural centers.
Currently the population of the city consists of mainly immigrants,
refugees and few old local people. The low cost housing
opportunities have attracted a considerable number of immigrants
in the old city. These can be distinguished in two groups: circular
migration of mainly Philippine, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and eastern
European nationals and ‘permanent’ migration of Diaspora
Greeks. The latter enjoy a special status both before and after the
Cyprus accession to the European Community and migrate with
their families for a permanent stay. Recent research has shown
that 65% of the residents of the area are non Cypriots.
In a process of adaptation, social networks of different ethnicities
have created social structures that attract immigrants to a
friendlier environment. For example, a new market orientated
towards the everyday needs of these networks is currently
developed: stores selling Russian products alongside with Indian
spices and sari, Call Centers with low prices and internet cafes,
money transfer agencies, laundries, butchers that don’t sell pork,
Sunday hairdressers in garages or halls, etc.
With the concentration of a large number of immigrants living in
the city, a new urban geography is being formed. Or, to be more
precise, the long lost division of the city is being revitalized. Thus,
the once Latin quarter is used by the catholic Philippine, Indian
and Sri Lankan nationals that attend the Sunday Mass at the
Catholic Cathedral. The old St Joseph school has been converted
to a Community Center by the Catholic nuns, while the old
Convent offers its gardens and sheltered areas for the Sunday tea.
The Municipal garden as well as the Walls moat nearby, are used
for the Sunday’s stroll, picnic, party or even as a small bazaar. A
bigger open-air bazaar is organized in a parking lot on the
Medieval Walls. Cypriot tradesmen offer their low-price, lowquality goods, adjusted to the taste of their immigrant customers.
They often employ immigrants as salesmen to facilitate the sales.
Rarely immigrants are the bosses, usually selling music tapes.
The Muslim community is organized around the city’s Mosque, a
former Gothic cathedral, converted into a Mosque during the
Ottoman period. Hairdressers, butcher shops, convenient stores,
money transfer or DVD clubs are situated in shops in the adjacent
streets to serve the community.
The Orthodox community of the Greek Diaspora, is located in the
area around the Phaneromeni Orthodox church. They are actually
Asiatic inmigrants in the old town of Nicosia (Cyprus)
Main street in the old centre of Nicosia (Cyprus)
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5
settlers and since they share the same language (usually as second
language) and religion they are better incorporated in the local
community. Their network is more loosely connected than these of
the previous mentioned groups. However, their impact on the city
everyday life is significant since they use it in a round the clock
basis. The once deserted area is now filled with children’s laughter,
groups of women gossiping on the benches and companies of
men staring the passersby at the square.
Cypriots living in the area are usually either old people that
remained in the area after their children have left, or professionals
who mainly have their studios in the area but live outside the
historic core. There is a small number of young families that have
chosen the area for their permanent residence. These are either
refugees, housed in the government’s refugee camp, in the
rehabilitated by the Local Municipality Chrysaliniotissa area ir in
other better preserved or rehabilitated buildings.
The main street (Ledras street), however, is frequented by all kind
of people. Families with small children choose the pedestrianised
street for their walks, enjoying their coffee in the fancy cafeterias
such as Starbucks or Flo (multinational chains). People of all ages
and from both the city and the near villages go for an ice-cream
at Heracles. Turkish-Cypriots pass the checking point for shopping
and for a western feeling. Tourists are attracted by the traditional
architecture, the museums and the tourist shops and restaurants.
These networks of people of different ethnicities, cultures,
religions and interests, usually pass by each other or coexist in the
same urban fabric and at the same time moments, but without
really living together. Their worlds meet in a fleeting instance: a
service in the shop or restaurant, a smile on a pretty baby, a
snapshot, a glimpse of disapproval or hostility... Each group is
carrying its own story, and its relationship with the city differs
dramatically. An urban space is conceived and interpretated in a
different way for each one. What is important for the one is
indifferent for the other. It is thus the people who give life and
value to the public space, but also the space facilitates the
concentration and intensity of the people’s activities.
The city today is enriched by different sets of values or symbols
inherent in the different cultures that occupy it. It is a scene for
various plays often spontaneous or unpredictable. The city seems
to follow its own dynamics. However, this juxtaposition of
difference, diversity and social extremes of affluence and poverty
does create considerable tension and public debate.
The walled city is in an undisputable process of regeneration. For
its physical rehabilitation a 10 million Cyprus pounds from the
Structural Funds will be spent the next three years. Further funds
will be used from other Governmental sources. But the main
question remains: regeneration for whom? And how are the
targeted beneficiaries included in the decision-making process?
How exactly are the ‘Visiting” communities seen in the
kaleidoscope of the cities’ issues since, at this moment, they have
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the greatest impact on the city’s life and are most likely to be more
affected by the regeneration process. Furthermore, what is the
impact of these networks of people on the regeneration process?
Is it significant or are market and political forces stronger than the
social forces they create?
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The anthropological values
of traditional space
To perform an analysis of our heritage from a social and
anthropological point of view we can draw on a wide range of
sources of information. While this information may coincide at
times, we need to perform separate historical and technical
analyses. These various sources of information and the variety of
ways in which they can be analysed offer us a better “picture”
than one can obtain from a simple architectural vision of urban
shapes.
When starting this analysis one has to take into account the
primary sources of information related to our heritage as a whole,
from the information provided orally by inhabitants to direct
knowledge of phenomena such as the traditions associated with
architectural spaces and the social use they generate. To gain a
better insight into the current relationship between inhabitants
and their architectural surroundings, studies of the urban fabric
are being carried out. In these studies, data is being collected in
the form of graphs which provide information on routes used, on
how inhabitants function, on their relationships with their
surroundings and on the time they spend in particular areas. This
information is then compared with the physical structure of these
areas. These studies, which analyse the current relationships
between inhabitants and their heritage, give us a different point
of view to consider when it comes to the planning of urban
constructions. They offer us a better insight and they often
provide us with unexpected information.
In addition to analysing the current state of affairs we also have to
be sensitive to the constant modifications that these areas and
buildings have undergone. By carrying out a study that enables us
to assess how certain areas have altered their morphology very
subtly over the years while maintaining their symbolic or social
values, we can obtain useful tools for new architectural projects.
In this sense, it is necessary to draw on a range of sources which
are not primary sources in anthropological terms but sources
which can help us to determine the cultural value of certain areas
within communities and society. By obtaining this information,
however diffuse, we can perform a diachronic analysis of the
relationship between the population and the surrounding
buildings. In addition to the usual use of documentary and
photographic archives or the search for historiographical
bibliographies, it is also important to look at literary sources
(novels, chronicles, yearbooks) or graphical sources (illustrations,
prints) which are situated on the periphery of the study of
architectural heritage. From these sources one should not expect
a precise answer to a question but instead a wide, dynamic vision
II. Diagnosis
Albert Fuster
Architect
Lecturer at the Elisava Higher Education Technical College of
Design (Pompeu Fabra University)
Spain
5
Recent social-type studies help to demonstrate that certain structures of traditional
streets foment sociability and a community sense of the street.
of the values of different areas and their relationship with their
inhabitants.
The social and cultural value of a particular part of our heritage is
something variable and diverse. Furthermore, the constant, direct
bond which inhabitants establish with their surroundings can
challenge the canonical distinction between traditional and
modern marked by the 1920s period and used to define our
architectural heritage. This distinction, which is based purely on
architectural technique, can distort or oversimplify studies of our
heritage. The complex way in which the old town of Barcelona
grew from the beginning of the eighteenth century up to the
twentieth century, for example, contains a number of elements
which require more than a simple technical analysis and which
show a variety of urban solutions which need to be analysed from
more than one point of view. The changes made to the area
before the introduction of the motor car or the use of reinforced
concrete were just as profound as those made in the twentieth
century and the resulting morphology has been able to
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5
Bedouins on Apamea region (Syria)
Intensive use of public space. Jraba Square, Kairouan (Tunisia)
Fixed market in Tunis (Tunisia)
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The anthropological values of traditional space
incorporate them, preserving elements that may have lost their
original function.
In the same way, the houses in the coastal populations north of
Barcelona, have been adapted in ways which go beyond simple
technological evolution. Diverse social groups and public private
relationships have brought about changes to these buildings: the
façades, the entrance areas, the interior and even the courtyards.
These buildings have housed inhabitants as diverse as fishermen in
the nineteenth century, middle class summer holidaymakers at the
beginning of the twentieth century and business people linked
professionally to Barcelona at the beginning of the twenty-first
century. These inhabitants differ tremendously in their habits
regarding work, communication and leisure. However, while the
symbolic or social values of the buildings may have changed, they
have maintained their validity as urban structures right up to the
present time.
By understanding the historical social and anthropological values
which have developed alongside but separately from the
intrinsically architectural changes we are able to look at our
heritage from a different point of view and obtain more detailed
conclusions. When the inhabitants of an area do not change it
does not necessarily mean that the heritage will be physically
preserved. In the same way, changes in the use or symbolism of a
building do not necessarily lead to spatial or structural alterations.
The conflict that may arise in the relationship between the
anthropological, social and architectural value of our heritage, as
a result of the information provided by the aforementioned
sources, can only be beneficial to our analysis. A diachronic
analysis offers us flexibility when studying our architectural
heritage and enables us to act more effectively when deciding
future architectural projects.
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The social and cultural values
of traditional housing
II. Diagnosis
Yassine Ouagueni
Architect
Lecturer at the Technical College of Architecture and Town
Planning
Algeria
What is the fundamental nature of housing
in the sociocultural system?
This issue points to an explanation which is more extensive
depending on how far the cultural and social nature of housing is
recognised. So, housing, as a cultural product serving a social
need, stems from a similar production logic to that for other
objects produced in the same cultural area. Put another way, a
culture, more precisely, a cultural area, is a result of the same
"faculty" and uses the same mechanisms to create a social
response and assume the successive transformations over time in
order to ensure they are adapted to a world in perpetual change.
This faculty is "consciousness". It can behave in two ways,
depending on the conditions a culture finds itself in.
Consciousness is critical when it is maintained watchfully, because
it is subject to intellectual activity. This situation happens at a
particular time when a society faces a new problem1 or to the
need to review the solution to a problem whose details have
developed.
By contrast, consciousness is spontaneous when a society is
already equipped with responses to the collective problems that
concern it and tends to reproduce them without asking itself the
questions "Why?" or "How?". The response takes the form of a
total concept, a sort of standard shared by the whole group and
which is spontaneously produced at any time when the
requirement to satisfy a need of any kind (existential, spiritual,
etc.) is shown.
By way of example, weddings are the "response" to a problem
raised in all societies. They take specific forms in each culture. They
are a complex "action-response" like an organism, that include
rituals, meals, clothing, dances and various manifestations in
which forms and content are codified. The slightest lack of respect
for one of the components of an event as important as a wedding
lead to discontent and severe criticism. In all the traditions, it is
important for the organisers of the party to attend to and receive
the critical point of view of the guests. Because of this, every
society has its own representatives in charge of "official criticism",
who see that standards are scrupulously respected. In Algeria,
these are the women, notably the oldest ones, because they are
the holders, preservers and depositors of the norm for
"weddings".
This standard is, in itself, a latent mental project. From when the
decision to go into action is taken, all members of the family
concerned, dominated by spontaneous consciousness, assume
5
The traditional form of habitat is also a cultural product that describes a way of
collective living in and of social and human relations.
their respective roles without taking the trouble to organise
meetings or to prepare detailed plans like those drawn up for
military manoeuvres.
In the face of globalisation, weddings tend to become
standardised at the expense of weddings to the local norm and
what is nowadays called "traditional".
Based on this example of marriage as a cultural product, it is easy
to understand why all objects and manifestations of the same kind
in the same cultural area are similar, to the point where it is
permissible to take any product from a culture to design all the
objects of its family. Put another way, it should be admitted that
cultural reality is typological. However, the type indicated by a
tangible or intangible cultural product collectively codified to
respond to a shared need is not a schematic representation, but
rather the conceptual representation of the whole of the objectresponse in the spirit of those ready to carry it out2.
The readable, coherent and unitary nature of traditional
housing
Shared collectively, the "typical" is presented as an understanding
of the right thing to do. The typical is the object through which
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The social and cultural values of traditional housing
cultural cohesion is assured, and which in fact guarantees the
cohesion, coherence and unity of cultural production.
This is, then, what explains the unity of old towns. The houses all
belong to the same conception of a house. The variations are, at
a first level, an adaptation on the ground to practical
requirements: location in the town (centre, periphery, etc.),
position in the fabric (corner, edge, inside a block, etc.), the
topography (flat site, sloping one). At a second level, social
considerations come into play (sociological type: division of
buildings into socially defined districts) and economic ones
(hierarchisation of the components of the town: division of
districts into areas of activity accentuated specialisation depending
on development).
At a higher level, town and village are also types in as far as they
form a kind of response to living, a particular way of
understanding the agglomeration which, in all cases, tends to
produce the qualities of a real organism. Proof of this is the
resemblance of villages, towns, medinas and ksours, which is
easily noticeable in the same cultural area3.
Concerning architecture4, it is easy to note that historic centres, as
the best possible centres of heritage know-how, reveal, through
the harmony of the group of buildings, the existence of a
behavioural law adhered to by the majority of constructions.
In effect, this concerns the capacity of each building to affirm
through its architecture the concern to respond individually from
all points of view to the user's needs and, above all, to develop the
typo-morphological aspects necessary for the harmonious
formation of the group of neighbouring buildings.
This associative condition offers one of the most important
guarantees for the establishment of urban fabric, where the
configuration firmly and explicitly points to the organisational
nature of human society.
So, the typical building is never designed at all, but it is rather an
integral part of a physical environment from which it may not be
dissociated.
Nowadays, this quality is lost. The act of creating architecture is
essentially based on seeking exuberance – standing out at any
price – and on the intention to affirm distinctiveness under the
stranglehold of fashion and, particularly, the type dominating the
production of clothes5.
Because of the combined behaviour of the heterogeneity of their
architecture and of the leaning towards distinction, new districts
tend to show the image of a cultural situation dominated by
uncertainty rather than the effects of aesthetic work committed to
quality through the diversification of forms. All the preparations
made prior to urban schemes, as well as the decoration
operations undertaken afterwards, have not succeeded in
returning to these groups the spatial character necessary to
consolidate them in social life6. This is because the town
planning regulations tend to uphold the idea of the distances to
be maintained between buildings; they do not encourage the
search for the means of bringing them together to form an
aggregate capable of giving rise to a fabric representing the
profound aspirations of society7.
The consequences of this choice of increasingly atomised urban
forms will have unfortunate effects on the social organisation of
districts and towns. Districts in historic towns, as "little towns"
within the "town" because they have a certain structured
morphological autonomy (main street, centre, periphery, etc.) are
territories in which the hierarchised organisation of social groups
takes place spontaneously. Each age group has its specific space in
the district and the whole takes on the configuration of a kind of
house, in which rules of behaviour and responsibilities are
scrupulously respected.8.
Commercial activity in Fez (Morocco)
Kairouan (Tunisia)
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It is also easy to note that the built-up historic heritage represents,
through the unitary nature of its language (grammar, lexicon and
syntax), the reflection of social unity. On the other hand,
accessibility to the comprehension of architecture and town
planning, as well as its future, is guaranteed for all citizens thanks
to the readability of the forms and functions.
Nowadays, conversely, the different societies on the shores of the
Mediterranean show more than a century of libertine architectural
production and town planning, not anchored in local tradition,
under the pretext of seeking new "models" in the furrow of
modernisation, but, in fact, translating a state of cultural crisis.
So, heritage, because it is absolutely coherent in constructed
language according to a process similar to the phenomenon of
language itself, in fact becomes the specific landmark, the place
of reference for a possible take-off, breaking with the linguistic
disinheritance of our times, which the spirit of consumption does
not cease to maintain and impose. It is a form of environmental
pollution which damages well-being: the excess simultaneous
practice of different languages in the same urban organism leads,
unavoidably, to disorder, chaos and the paralysis of citizen
participation in the affairs of the City. The most fashionable
criticism finds this "deconstructed" aspect of the modern town
interesting and does not have any difficulty in comparing it with
the attempts at research practised for a pictorial work. Here,
exploration, projection towards the future for the future, curiosity
and trying things out are no longer considered as methodological
departures, but as results that must be replaced in the aesthetically
accomplished work. This situation, which tends to erect modern
"creator" in opposition to the traditional concept of artist9, can
only be explained because of the forced relegation of
spontaneous consciousness to oblivion and the installation of the
uncertainty of the activity of critical consciousness.
Traditional housing, a reference and a context for a return
to the roots
Alexandria (Egypt)
Coffe at Damascus (Syria)
The different current roles attributed to traditional housing tend to
be summed up in its link to local economic development. Tourist
attractiveness and its economic effects on various sectors of
activities, such as accommodation, catering, job creation, etc., as
well as its capacity to provide premises for commercial and craft
activities or accommodation are "buzzwords" for public
authorities when it comes to justifying operations to be
undertaken to rehabilitate historic districts.
The development of the discourse in favour of the economic
interest is explained because of the fact that the notion of "wellbeing" presented in the traditional building (which, moreover, all
societies seek) escapes all quantitative evaluation. Although
certain indicators referring to "quality of life" have been drawn
up, notably through regulations controlling the production of new
extensions, traditional housing has found it difficult to fit into this
quantitative systematic and globalising approach. In the same
way, the reality of traditional housing cannot be marginalised in a
constraining role in relation to the open field of planning.
Resistance to "change" is the paradoxical translation of the tacit
will to maintain consensual housing in use and to preserve it from
all individualistic replacement likely to forever alter a quality it has
that cannot be put into figures. It is in these, not very explicit,
terms, that modern society expresses the recognition of
typological values, which are in essence qualitative, and justifies
the practice of legal protection measures for traditional housing.
And it is also through the development of local tourism, which
continually gain ground compared to foreign tourism, that it is
appropriate to recognise the existence of a new need engendered
by the everyday dehumanising pressure of the modern built-up
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environment. A short stay in a coherent built-up environment
fashioned on a human scale (historic centre, villages, etc.)
constitutes a means of going back to the roots, like a "change of
scene" in an area dominated exclusively by nature (desert) or
country life (cultural park).
Tourism is only acting as an attraction where the causes are mixed
with the search for the values of a historic built-up environment.
And the greater value of traditional housing is none other than the
match between its formal and structural manifestations and the
nature of human society itself.
5
1 It is generally a question of seeking a response to a new need induced by contact
with another dominant cultural area (whether directly through physical
occupation or by remote influence).
2 The persistence of "types" concerning cultural response can also be verified
among people obliged to emigrate to other cultural areas. The example of the
cosmopolitan situation in the city of New York, shown by the juxtaposition of
culturally different group buildings, demonstrates the will to preserve the
existential balance (own culture) based on spontaneous awareness rather than
encouraging the "change" to the change in favour, in all cases, of another
neighbouring culture. Discourses on the integration of the North African
populations carried on in many European countries sometimes tend to ignore this
human phenomenon, which consists of them inevitably and permanently bringing
with them a heritage of solutions to problems of life without the slightest
intention of getting rid of them. All of us, for example, feel the desire to find a
restaurant where the menus are close to our culture.
3 Lots of examples bear witness to the existence of a concept of agglomeration. The
M’zab valley has several ksours which are fascinating because of the identity they
share as well as their dimensions, the choice of site and, notably, their
architectural components. This demonstrates that an old agglomeration imposes
a threshold on its urban growth for reasons it is not worth mentioning here, and
operates by founding a replica of another agglomeration that tends to be
produced in the same conditions as the first one.
4 Here we adopt the term "building", more precisely "base building" to indicate a
house. By contrast "specialised building" refers to all buildings resorting to
spontaneous consciousness to make use of the set of collectively acquired
experiences but which introduces an element of intention on the part of the
person who designs the product. Traditional architectural criticism has introduced
the following pairs of opposites: major architecture and minor architecture;
architecture and architecture without an architect. This distinction becomes
valuable in our explanation, but it reconsiders the value judgement. Primary status
is given to the base building because of its importance in building fabrics and the
town itself and, above all, because of its role in the chronology of the formation
of the town. "The base building" is the condition that takes precedence over the
existence of the "specialised building". Evidence of this is the familiarity of the
know-how that can be picked up in the same cultural area between the
architecture of a simple house and the architecture of a mosque or a church, or
even a palace.
5 It is useful to remember that fashion, as a manifestation characterising the
consumer society, has not penetrated all areas of cultural production equally. By
way of example, the area of cuisine is relatively reluctant to call into question the
traditional menu in favour of another one which we might call uncertain. The vital
nature of the culinary world, which places more importance on the nature of the
product to be ingested than its appearance, is quite difficult to fit into the game
of fashion. The scale of the effect of fashion on houses lies between the areas of
clothing and cuisine. On one hand, what most marks modern society is the quite
small space reserved for the manifestation of the typical because of the monopoly
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attributed, often with no possibility of sharing it, to the architect. From now on,
"you don't build your house you look for a house".
6 Nowadays we talk more about reclassification than rehabilitation when it comes
to correcting the urban incoherence showing up in modern residential estates.
7 This attitude of contemporary town planning regulations illustrates the trend of
modern societies to unconsciously reinforce social malaise by encouraging
individualism.
8 In a medina, the district is called a "houma". It is sad to note that the "houma"
as an urban space with its group of residents has disappeared in the large urban
developments carried out in Algeria from 1958 to the present day. Modern
society's inability to organise itself inside big residential developments, despite the
existence of "district committees" agreed by laws concerning associations,
demonstrates the influence of the spatial organisation of a built-up framework on
the organisation of society.
9 The artist, in all traditional societies, is a character provided with a particular
power, who has the capacity to translate into clear and accessible terms
everything society as a whole feels but finds it difficult to express. Sometimes
official criticism has condemned young singers, judging them uninteresting, but
the large number of discs they sell then proves them to be real interpreters of the
feelings of the general public.
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Recognition of historic values
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The historical view of territory and
traditional towns
The evolution of any territory is always complex. If this territory is
the Mediterranean, the possibilities around the different
methodologies of historical studies are infinite. In first place,
despite our object of study being absolutely physical, this is due to
the reflection and representation of the different civilizations and
cultures which have influenced and shaped our landscapes. In
second place, society is the protagonist of this landscape and
therefore is also object of study, so as to be able to assess the
physical transformations and in third place it is the territory in
itself, its orography, which decisively conditions, as has been
demonstrated by Fernand Braudel, the development of the
Mediterranean population, and therefore, its landscape.
The brief reflections discussed below on the evolution of territory,
more than proposing innovative methodologies on the nature of
historical studies, stress the need to consider an allencompassing approach to them. This revision of how to study
the city and its territory is a return to the classic concept of
civitas, in which city and territory formed part of a single whole.
And this whole is the landscape: a landscape which has been
transformed over the last two centuries in absolute terms,
leading to the fragmentation of the territory, and creating
segregations which go beyond spatial concepts. Centre and
periphery would undoubtedly be the result of ignoring this
classic definition of landscape and we have fallen back on this
in order to move away from reductionist approaches.
II. Diagnosis
Montse Villaverde
Art Historian
Lecturer at Ramon Llull University, Barcelona
Spain
6
So, as the study of maps and historic cartography allows for understanding of the
physical evolution of the structure of the city and the landscape, the engravings,
descriptions of travelers and texts allows for the understanding of the values of the
traditional space of those that have lived there throughout history
integrating reading of the city. These two sources allow us to
range our study from precise readings of the surroundings to
idealised views of the city and the territory as a whole.
Territory, city and landscape
Sources for the study of urban history
Of the different typologies of documentary sources to which we
currently have access for the study of urban history, it is possibly
graphical documentary sources and the descriptions of travellers
which allow us, in this article, to develop an integrating historical
vision of city and territory. This is not to say that all the sources
taken from the public administrations of the different empires and
later governments are not essential sources which should be used
in any complete study of a city. In order to explain the
transformations of certain Mediterranean cities under the
Ottoman empire, for example, we should study and analyse the
correspondence between the capital of the empire and the cities
which depended upon it. Bearing in mind the wealth, range and
complexity of existing documentary sources, we shall focus this
article on the graphical representations and on the descriptions in
the form of accounts of travellers in order to come to an
Until the 19th century many cities of the Mediterranean were
object of this description and representation. These two types of
sources, despite representing contents in a different way, have in
common the fact that they interpret the city as a global whole
formed by an urbanised centre within their own natural setting. In
visual representations, for example, a very dense urbanised space
is commonly represented, almost always enclosed in itself by
means of a city wall, in which the most important and differential
architectural and urban elements of the city can be clearly seen:
the layout of the walls, the mosques and the minarets, the castles,
the churches and the bell towers; but also all those elements of its
immediate territory which also make it unique in relation to
others.
However, there are also representations of nearby mountains, the
plain which opened up beyond the walls, the coastline and the
river which flowed past. In literary sources we also read how
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6
Tool 6
The historical view of territory and traditional towns
It is essential for a city not to turn its back on the surrounding area and for new ways
to be sought to integrate city and territory.
City and territory have, historically, formed a single landscape unit.
descriptions are centred on the most significant buildings and how
the elements of the physical surroundings are described. The
descriptions of the surroundings often have a political, fiscal or
military aim, detailing whether there are castles or watchtowers in
the nearby mountains, whether the plain around the city is fertile
land and whether there is farmland, if the coast is dangerous, if
the river which passes through the city is navigable and in what
condition is it in.
The old medieval walled city, characteristic of all the
Mediterranean area, is in the origin of the concept -today so
frequently discussed and debated- of the compact city. The walls
obviously involve a concentration of buildings and this is one of
the reasons why all the views of these cities, excluding the
architectural and geographical elements specific to each one,
look, to a certain extent, alike. It is, on occasions, surprising to see
the contrast between the detailed treatment given to the unique
architectural elements and the treatment of other urban
constructions. The latter merge into a undifferentiated mass of
homogenous almost mass-produced constructions, with little
difference from one city to the next. In any case the graphical and
literary representations of the modern era based on a concept
which was evident for centuries and which today, after the
processes of urban growth from the 19th century onwards, is
utterly lost: the exact correspondence, totally integrated between
Many of the graphic documents on the territory had military purposes and the
landscape elements, accesses to the city, fortifications, etc. were therefore detailed
with great accuracy.
The city exists in the representation of the territory as a very dense built-up area in
which the most important architectural elements and their immediate surroundings
stand out.
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II. Diagnosis
Analysing and delimiting the fertile and irrigated land and its situation with respect
to the urbanised area have been constant concerns throughout history.
A good topographical survey, such as that used as the basis for this project to
expand the city of Barcelona in 1858, makes it easier for us to have an overall
understanding of the civitas and its transformation.
the city and its immediate surrounding territory. The urban
constructions and the physical surroundings are shown
inseparable and together form a unique and specific unit of
landscape for each city.
This correspondence between city and territory built on the old
Roman distinction between urbs and ager, a functional
differentiation of spaces within a single whole which was the
civitas. The claimed binominal country-city was not seen with the
antagonism it would take on centuries later, and the two spheres,
suitably with grids and centuriate, were interpreted as spaces of
the city, both different in the silva, the space without urbanisation,
without civilising.
The Mediterranean city: processes of formation
and transformation
The disappearance of production functions in the area, which justified the city's link
with its immediate area, leads to rapid urbanisation, with the integration between
urbs and ager disappearing.
6
The formation and growth of the areas of city extension in the 19th
century and the creation of wider and more complex productive and
interchange networks gradually broke down the integration
between urbs and ager. City became understood solely as the old
walled centre and the territory, stripped of any productive function
which justified the old bond, became territory which could be
urbanised. The continuity and generalisation of this growth dynamic
throughout the 19th century, and the constant formation of new
areas which could be urbanised, more recently, and possibly
Modern cities – urban and social complexes – are not the result of an urbs that has
grown but rather an ager in transformation.
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6
disperse in space, fragmented and added complexity to the urban
network which had grown in absolute terms.
The transformation experienced by the Mediterranean cities in the
last two centuries is frequently explained in historical terms of an
incremental type: it is said the city, any Mediterranean city, is the
result of a progressive and unavoidable process of growth: from a
Roman pomoerium, a medieval incastellamentum or an Islamic
medina; to the formation of today large great metropolis. The
growth in absolute terms is associated with positive qualities such as
economic prosperity. This version is used at the same time as an
explanation, narration and legitimisation of the city itself and entails
a discourse in which the city becomes an abstract subject of
historical discourse and which the process of its growth goes way
beyond other more specific considerations.
This discourse also involves the historical and significant segregation
of the different neighbourhoods, because centre and periphery are
apparently spatial concepts but with extremely powerful social and
symbolic or metaphoric connotations. The centre always has the
value and the legitimacy given to it by its age, and it is awarded an
added value of essentialness. The social, historical or symbolic value
of each neighbourhood loses strength as the distance with respect
to the centre expands in space and time. Those most significant
places from a topography viewpoint in an old engraving, once they
have lost their generating function of a landscape, today become
symbolic, almost fetishist icons, which function as alleged elements
of collective identity in an ever larger city increasingly urbanistically,
socially and culturally complex.
The city today: an ager in transformation
This historical interpretation become rather unpractical in order to
analyse today's urban reality because it does not take into account
that history, above all else, is a method for understanding the
present by applying a chronological perspective for the analysis of
reality. Its effective application should not see the city-subject, the
protagonist of a narration, but rather the city-object, as an
element of analysis derived from multiple processes of
transformation developed over time. One should study and
interpret today’s city from all the elements which make up the
integrity of its structure, the global whole of its landscape
Historical knowledge from this conceptual perspective involves the
study and determination of the facts and contexts which explain
the current configuration of all the city or of one of its elements,
what has remained or been transformed and why. Whether this is
in an old quarter or a working-class neighbourhood, in both cases
the historical relevance is the same. And it is from this assumption
that we return to a reading of the city in a global and integrating
fashion, as was done in the past.
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We can thus integrate the global whole of contemporary
metropolitan phenomena in these studies. Everything which exists
in a city, be it ancient or modern, involves the possibility of
studying and especially of being able to explain the complexity of
its transformation. In summary, taking into account that today’s
city is not the product of an urbs which is growing, but rather an
ager which is being transformed.
The need to understand territory historically
Historical studies must be one of the basic tools employed prior to
engaging in intervention projects in the territory. Their contents
must provide readings which facilitate the understanding of the
landscape/Mediterranean landscapes today. In each case, the
specific object of the intervention will determine the aspects to be
analysed and in which to go into detail. Whatever the case, it is
essential to study all the agents involved in the permanent
transformation of the landscape either in order to intervene in a
street, a neighbourhood, a city or in the territory. Knowing why
part of the territory of the Mediterranean coast has been built
upon in the last forty years at an alarming rate is equally important
as knowing why during the 14th century some cities began to
regulate the form of their constructions through building rules.
Understanding the territory historically will allow us to act upon it
from a position of knowledge and to plan a future adapted to the
needs of each society.
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History, space and society
in Arab Medinas
II. Diagnosis
Mohamed Kerrou
Sociologist
El Manar University
Tunisia
What do the paradigms of the Medina tell us about spatial
arrangement, history and the local society of the urban entity that
is supposed to be original, specific and lasting?
Are we not still prisoners of an orientalist view that fashions the
urban imagination of tourists – those massed heirs of the old
Western travellers – and also of "locals", nostalgic for the oldfashioned "Arab town"?
These two questions could guide us in this brief voyage of
discovery of the Medinas in order to discover their identity,
morphology and social composition, as well as the continuities
and discontinuities that have affected them over time.
6
Paradigms of the North African town and urban area
The mosque is, without a doubt, the center of the traditional Islamic city, around
which were situated the “souks”, forming the center of economic life.
1. In this year marking the 600th anniversary of the death of the
North African sage Ibn Khaldûn (1332-1406), the question is
raised of finding out whether the urban paradigm he had laid out
when he opposed city civilisation (cumrân hadharî) and Bedouin
civilisation (cumrân badawî), is still relevant in order to grasp the
social and spatial dynamics of modern Medinas.
For Ibn Khaldûn, the notion of cumrân which, etymologically,
means "population, culture and prosperity", is the pivot for his
thought, based, as he himself said at the beginning of this
celebrated work "La Muqaddima" (Prolegomena) on an original
method and a new science designated by the term "cilm alcumrân al-basharî".
This science of human civilisation or human groupings ("al-ijtimâc
al-insânî") deals with savage and civilised life, the antagonisms of
clans and different forms of domination, techniques, trades and
knowledge, and the changes that can alter civilisation.
However, the privileged setting for civilisation (cumrân) associated
with sedentary culture is the town (al-madîna) or city (misr), seat
of the State (dawla) authority (mulk), coveted by the tribes living
on the periphery (dhawâh’î) and tending toward sedentary urban
life (istiqrâr/hadhâra).
When they show strong solidarity and esprit de corps (c.açabiya)
forged by blood ties and alliances, the tribes aspire to conquer the
State with a view to exercising political power. For this reason, the
existence of a constraining force (wazic) is necessary to supervise
and maintain the cumrân.
Certainly, Bedouin civilisation is an original, pre-existing phase,
based on agriculture and grazing, that provides a modest surplus
and a simple way of life. The Bedouins – both nomadic and
sedentary – are less docile, braver and tougher than city dwellers.
However, the Bedouins called cArab – in the sense of cIrâb – are
naturally inclined towards anarchy and towards the destruction
(kharâb) of cumrân.
Bedouin civilisation is objectively inferior to urban civilisation,
which is coveted by all because of the security, abundance and
well-being (taraf) it offers to the inhabitants of towns.
The move from Bedouin civilisation to city-based civilisation –
neither is homogeneous but rather differentiated and hierarchised
– corresponds to the development of civilisation and is the result
of demographic, economic, political and ideological factors.
Relationships between Bedouins and city-dwellers are at once
complementary and conflictive. They are complementary in as far
as the Bedouins require towns for their necessities and citydwellers need the Bedouins for their surpluses. They are conflictive
because city-dwellers subjugate the Bedouins because of their
force and superiority, which are proportional to the force and
superiority of the State when it resorts to an army to protect itself
and ensure order.
For Ibn Khaldûn, a disciple of Aristotle, politics is the form (sûra)
for the material (mâda) which is human civilisation; that is, the
element (shakl) guaranteeing its existence. The two structures are
inseparable and the failure of one affects the other, although
decadence basically comes from the State, where the weakening
of the caçabiya leads the gradual decline of the cumrân.
Here are the essentials of some rich, open, wide-ranging lines of
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Tool 6
History, space and society in Arab Medinas
thought, which do not cease to dazzle readers and which contain
hidden key elements for understanding towns and their
interactions with the surrounding countryside.
Such a concept is, to a large extent, found in the other paradigms
of urban North Africa, for example the orientalist paradigm and
the Berquian paradigm (by Jacques Berque).
6
2. For colonial North Africa, the standard portrait of the Medina
has been painted by Roger Letourneau showing continuity with
the debate on "Islamic identity" developed, from the 1920s
onwards, based on the works of William and Georges Marçais.
These eminent orientalists forged the idea of an Islamic citydwelling ethic as well as the religious nature of the Medina, a
town with a radial-concentric structure whose archetype is
Medina itself, the city of the Prophet Mohammed. The Marçais
brothers distinguished this "Islamic town" from the medieval
European town by referring essentially to the non-existence of
autonomous municipal life within the Medina.
For Letourneau, Muslim towns owing nothing in terms of their
layout to Roman towns show planning constants, such as the
existence of a central core made up the great mosque, the
Government house (Dâr al-imâra) and a group of souks with the
name Qaïçâriya. The so-called Muslim town is also bounded by a
continuous wall serving as a means of defence against attackers
from outside.
Between this wall and the heart of the town lie the various
residential districts, hierarchised depending on the social and
ethnic status of their inhabitants. The general plan of the Medina
is commanded from the centre and the gates in the wall. The
town appears as a series of cells that are juxtaposed and joined to
one another by narrow, tortuous streets. The aerial view also
shows a labyrinthine fabric in total contrast with the rectilinear
streets established by Roman town planning.
In addition, the Medina is distinguished by the absence of public
buildings or a central square, as well as by its low urban density.
Because of insecurity, it rarely extends outside the walls with
outskirts and suburbs. Along the same lines, the Muslim town
whose function is more political than economic appeared, in the
eyes of orientalists, as an island in the middle of an environment
it did not manage to enliven and rural populations it did not come
to dominate.
Neo-orientalism has distanced itself from this systematic view and
has retained only certain elements of it, like the souks, which
would be, according to Eugen Wirth, the only specific feature of
the "oriental town", while the historian André Raymond admits
only the existence of an "Arab town" which is characterised, in
the Ottoman period, by the clean separation between public
space of a religious and commercial nature and private space of
residential nature.
View of the Medina at Fes el Jedid. With the ‘new town’ in the background.
(Morocco)
People in the Medina at Fez (Morocco)
Shop in the Medina at Kairouan (Tunisia)
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3. For Jacques Berque, modern North African towns are structured
according to a specific urban trilogy: Medina/New Town/Shanty
Towns.
The Medina – the town "from on high" – has at its heart the
mosque, based on the spiritual. The new town, perceived as a
"higher town", is centred on the stock exchange and on
speculation. This is the result of technological change induced by
capitalism and industrialisation. Here, the dominant view looks
towards the future and, there, town planning is based on the past.
However, the new town increasingly overflows into the Medina,
superimposing itself by nibbling away at it and taking over the
shanty towns. At the same time, two symmetrical situations are
developing: an internal one in the districts, and a peripheral one –
that of the suburbs with a historically stronger, more active role in
North Africa than in Europe. Despite their differences, the two
towns have in common a "spontaneous, unofficial reaction,
against the communal will". There one finds a life that evades the
rules because there is, as Berque specifies, a kind of hostility and
tension between life in the city and in the kasbahs, slums and
II. Diagnosis
shanty towns. This tension, attached to a succession of types,
ideas, mores and political problems between the Medina, the new
town and the shanty towns, heralds the beginning of a new cycle:
the coming of the masses. If the shanty town denotes the
proletarian stampede of rural immigrants towards urban centres,
the suburb is the result of the overcrowding of the Medina as well
as the rural exodus.
This model of Islamic city is, following the example of that forged
by the orientalist paradigm, radial-concentric, with a focal point
formed by the great mosque, from where streets radiate out,
branching into the blind alleys that protect inviolable private
homes separated from the commercial streets. The Medina is
reduced, on one hand, to the trifunctional order based on
knowledge, business and crafts and, on the other, to the
combination between economic liberalism and religious rigour.
However, Berque realises that this model of Islamic town is too
perfect to be considered "historically correct", in as much as it is
rare that a Medina should have been founded from scratch or that
its morphology should not have been modified over the centuries.
Map of Kairouan (Tunisia) in 1881.
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Tool 6
The three urban paradigms whose contours we have just sketched
indicate the complex and historically changing social reality of the
Medinas. A demonstration of this is the spatiality that evolves,
depending on the period and the urban environment, as well as
the town's nature and gradual transformations.
The strength of the Khaldûnian paradigm is that he has not only
thought of the relationship between the town and the power of
the State but also of the incessant interaction between the citizens
who live in it and the Bedouins who flow into it and establish
themselves there. It is true that the Khaldûnian (and Muslim)
image of the Bedouins is strongly negative because of the real and
assumed effects of the disorders caused by these "intruders" and,
for North Africa in particular, because of the Hilalian invasion (11th
century), which was a point of catastrophic rupture in the history
of towns and of urban civilisation.
In turn, the merit of the orientalism – or colonial French, to be
precise – paradigm is in having underlined the vitality of the urban
space of the Medinas just at the time when the movements that
degraded them were beginning, with the appearance of the first
legal and municipal regulations intended to preserve them.
The major failure of orientalism – product of a conquering,
dominant West – is having perceived the Medina through a prism
of dichotomy (religious/"lay"; public/private; open/closed) which
was falsely comparative. Devaluing the Medina was in line with an
idealised and idealist view of the medieval European town.
However, the Medina should instead be thought of in a system of
power relationships between this differentiated urban entity and
the imposed colonial town trying to surround and gradually choke
it. Far from the orientalist obsession with fixing essentials, today it
Commercial activity in the Medina at Homs (Syria)
Sun and shadow in the Medina at Marrakech (Morocco)
This is why, in the mid-1980s, he put forward a more elaborate
model based on socio-historical differentiations and variations. So,
he introduced the citadel. Muslim urban order became, in theory,
four-dimensional: Great mosque (jamcâ), citadel (qalca), school
(madrassa) and souk (Qayçariya).
The originality of the Berquian model above all comes, as Oleg
Grabar said, from its "semiotic" nature, based on the multicentrism of the city, the segmentation of the districts, and the
alternation between order and disorder, as well as between
morphology and rhetoric, with people, noise and time playing an
active role.
In fact, the most important thing in the new Berquian model is not
so much the added element but rather that this urban model
makes it possible to reconstitute relationships, based on logic of
alternation and complementariness, between the two poles
structuring the Medina – city-dwelling and nomadism – and also
based on urban morphology, as the Medina no longer appears in
the classical form of a rectangle, a circle or a square but rather as
an "ellipse with many homes".
Urban spaces and societies of the Medinas
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is better to recognise that an absolute "Islamic town" does not
exist. There are, instead, Arab/Muslim towns differing from one
period to another and one region to another.
Moreover, at the same period and in the same region, or even in
the same country, towns differ depending on their purpose and
the type of foundation: "spontaneous towns", "towns created
from scratch", "ancient towns" and ones reproduced according
to an ancient model, etc., as all towns are moving and they
interact with their surroundings, people, the political will of the
public authorities and the initiatives of city dwellers or citizens. The
plan of the town – Kairouan, Tunis, Fez, Cordoba, Tlemcen… –
depends on the natural site and the material and cultural materials
mobilised by its inhabitants.
For this purpose, the negative image of a labyrinthine Medina
where (Western) strangers get lost is an imaginary representation
that does not correspond to local reality, where local people make
their mark and easily find their references. Such an image is even
more wildly incorrect when this town has been fashioned by a
whole science and art of building contained in the works of
Muslim jurisprudence (fiqh) and reflecting, in theory and practice,
methods of social organisation that have allowed urban life to
establish itself and expand in Islamic territory for centuries.
The alternation of closed and open areas is a subtle feature of the
urban space of the Medina and there is room to take account of
this logic, which operates in spaces for sociability which the
residential districts, were and still are, and also the business
districts and the districts for leisure and pleasure, as shown by the
historical documents exploited by the erudite Tunisian HassanHosni Abdelwahab.
In fact, it is very difficult to establish a sharp distinction between
public and private spaces, as proved by the existence of the blind
alley or finâ, the ultimate public and private space. Is not the souk,
which is supposed to be a public space for trade negotiations, also
a place for meeting and getting to know people, where slaves
were sold and private relationships between men and families
were forged? Meanwhile, is the space in the residential districts
that is supposed to be private not also a space for public exchange
between men and, during festivities, between men and women?
This is without mentioning the Arab bath (hammam) which is a
public place where bodies mingle and, at the time of the strictly
women's baths, husbands are chosen and matrimonial alliance
schemes are woven.
In all cases, Medinas were far from being anarchic or
compartmentalised spaces. On the contrary, they were wisely
organised urban spaces, as shown by the secular existence of the
institution of the habous, the strength of the writings concerning
them by the cadûls, the eminence of the knowledge of the
culamâ, the efficiency of the urban police run by the Muhtassib
also supervising the markets that local customers sometimes gave
over to a Mezouar, the effectiveness of the district sheikhs and amins
in the markets, the rational water draining system, the control and
maintenance of the buildings, the management of the cemeteries, etc.
The street is commerce in the Medina in Tripoli (Lebanon)
People in Islamic Cairo (Egypt)
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Tool 6
The fact remains that a number of elements unleashed by the
orientalist and Berquian paradigms have a certain historical and
sociological interest – a "baby" it is important not to throw out
with the bathwater, but rather to integrate into the context of
calm, in-depth knowledge of urban spaces.
So, the great mosque is undoubtedly the epicentre of the Medina,
where the surrounding souks form the economic zone. Associated
with many places of worship and knowledge (mesjeds, zaouïas),
they form the public space of this "traditional" town where the
residential districts are extended outside the ramparts by suburbs
(r’bats) – popular residential areas that are also the scenes of
professional activity.
All round the Medina and the suburbs, since the 19th century, the
"new town" or "European town" has been established, a place
nowadays increasingly downgraded by the appearance of a whole
range of modern districts. The latter form the new urban centres,
while the suburbs are increasingly swelled by a growing
population coming from both the old town centres and from
outside. Rural exodus is, in fact, a major phenomenon of the 20th
century and the citification of rural people and Bedouins has been
a continuous process throughout the history of North Africa.
Moreover, the Medina is not only an urban area or physical space
but also a living space where it is important to know, for the past
and the present, who is living there and who claims a connection
with it, either by birth, or adoption granted by the residents.
There are, in fact, different categories making up the urban
population whose heterogeneity depended, in the past, on a
person's level of fortune, rank, status and social and political
prestige (wajaha). These factors were created by affiliation and
descendency, the trade carried on and ethnic and spatial
belonging.
At the top of the social hierarchy were the nobles ("ashrâf") and
notables ("cayân") belonging to the aristocracy of power
("makhzen"), money ("kasb") and knowledge ("cilm"). These
privileged people formed an elite ("khâssa") which was
distinguished from the common people ("cammâ ", " sawâd
"…), most of whom were involved in "noble" or "common"
trades ("çanaîc") distributed within a bazaar made up of
specialised souks with their corporations (weavers, perfumers,
booksellers, blacksmiths, furniture makers, leather workers...) and
controlled by an urban police force.
Another distinction based on the triple social, ideological and
spatial plan was that operated between established city dwellers
("beldiyya"), people from the suburbs ("rabtiyya") and outsiders
("barraniya"). The latter came from outside the town ("barrâ")
and were divided between Bedouins ("badw") from surrounding
tribes and elements from neighbouring countries (for Tunisia,
these would be people from Tripoli, Algeria and Morocco).
In terms of religious and spatial division, the urban population of
the Medina included Muslims (Arabs and assimilated, Arabised
Berbers, assimilated black Africans...) and the "dhimmi-s" protected Jews and Christians whose districts ("Hara" in Tunisia
and "Mellah" in Morocco for the Jews) were situated outside or
on the edge of the Medina.
However, there was no spatial discrimination other than that
intervening between the inhabitants of the walled town and those
of the suburbs outside the walls. Almost everywhere, the houses
of the rich rubbed shoulders with the houses of modest families in
a domestic space governed by links of parentage and also by
fraternal senses of belonging all coming under the sense of
belonging to the Islamic community ("umma").
In the contemporary period (19th and 20th centuries) the Medinas
The Algiers Casbah surrounded by the road network of the modern city / Benévolo,
‘History of the city’
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were mirrored by "European towns" called "modern towns" and
a multitude of new districts where poor and well-off suburbs
alternated with one another. Often, a rich district was mirrored by
a poor district, supplying the required labour.
From the inter-war period onwards (1917-1945), the most
important phenomenon was the departure of part of the
population of citizens of the Medina to the European town or the
suburbs and sometimes to other towns, particularly in the inland
Medinas in a country, such as Kairouan and Sfax in Tunisia, Fez
and Marrakech in Morocco, and Constantine and Tlemcen in
Algeria. These departures followed the decadence of traditional
trades, suffering from increasing competition from manufactured
products, as well as the destruction of family structures, which
have undergone a slow transition from the extended model to the
nuclear model.
Since then and down to today, only a minority of the local
population, made up of all social strata, has lived in the Medina.
It houses 1/10 of the total population of the town and therefore
constitutes only an infinitesimal part of the total urban population.
The majority of the old houses in the Medina suffer from lack of
maintenance or abandonment, either forced or voluntary.
Traditional crafts are no longer what they were because knowhow is no longer ensured by the younger generations and cheap
junk products intended for tourists now invade the shop shelves,
despite the efforts of some creators and the public
encouragement of this sector, which provides a living for
thousands of city-dwelling families and which could become
profitable and competitive.
However, the Medina is becoming a symbolic landmark in as far as
it simultaneously offers a town planning model to be considered
by architects and an attractive space for visitors from other parts
of the town or from abroad. This is where they go to seek the
memory of a grandiose but never lost past and part of a dream
whose strength indicates the Medina's capacity to adapt and resist
the hazards of time.
Despite everything, the Medina forms a laboratory for reflection
and action to reorganise towns and urban areas. At the end of the
day, it is the job of public and private policies to safeguard and
conserve the universal heritage of the Medinas and to find new
ways of ensuring a link between the past, present and future, so
that the Medinas can live!
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Biophysical reading of the territory
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The value of landscape
Emilio Ramiro
Geographer and landscape expert
Spain
“Landscape is a space of the land surface; we intuitively know that
it is a space with a degree of permanence, which has its own
distinctive character, topographically and / or culturally, and above
all, that it is a space shared by a group of people”
John Brinckerhoff Jackson
This brief definition of landscape contains concepts which are key
to understanding the essence of landscape, something, which if
we manage to discover and interpret, will be of great use when
taking any action on it.
The concept of permanence introduces a new scale to
understanding landscapes; the temporal; as the landscape, due in
all surety to the speed with which it has been transformed during
the last century, has gone from a static vision to one far more
organic.
The physical and cultural factors cited in the definition cannot be
understood if one does not take into account a temporal
viewpoint, be this in order to understand, on the one side, the
dynamics of natural processes which have occurred in a given
landscape, along with the different societies which have worked
it, lived in it and used it. The value of history helps us to
understand a landscape today, and teaches us about the future. In
the words of Rosa Barba “landscape is living history, it is space in
time”.
A biophysical reading cannot be disassociated from a cultural one.
Topography generates river basins which contains valleys which
are crossed by rivers, and these rivers are sources of life and
therefore sources of attraction for human settlements. Between
two adjoining valleys cultural differences can be considerable,
owing to the relations which have been developed by their
societies with regard to their landscapes. The structure of land, its
fertility, the speed and temperature of wind, the water balance,
climate, natural hazards, relief..., all of these are natural factors
which influence the culture of the peoples inhabiting it and these
peoples are forced to settle and act in one way or another with
their landscapes. Reciprocally, the way different people act ends
up shaping the landscape –which is never final-. Hence we can
come to a twin conclusion, firstly, that societies and their relation
with the landscape are conditioned by their physical variables, and
secondly, that landscapes are the living reflection of the societies
which reflect them.
7
The analysis of the traditional landscape should recognize the conjunct of natural
factors as well as the socio-cultural dimension which has configured it throughout
history. Countrysides, access roads, water management systems and the building
are the four great factors of humanization of landscape.
This vision also offers us the possibility of supporting ourselves in
the geographical reading of territory when we intend to mark out
cultural landscapes; it is no coincidence that in each valley of the
Basque Country, in its farmhouses, a different dialect of Basque is
spoken; topography conditions the speed and accessibility of the
relations between societies and therefore the cultural flows. The
homogeneity of the distinct landscape units must lie in the
interrelation of biophysical and cultural factors.
The importance of biophysical reading is greater than we have
given it in western civilization, which, throughout the 20th century,
has gradually separated us from nature, empowering human
beings to the full. However, we are surrounded by the natural
order and we form part of it. And what is more, we should not
forget that we ourselves are nature.
There is something of truth with regards to environmental or
natural determinism which conditions humanity and living
creatures in general –as theorised by Alexander Von Humboldt
and Carl Ritter, the fathers of modern geography-, which was
paradigmatic in the sciences which studied the landscape during
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the 19th century and was later ignored, owing to the economic
needs of capitalism. When we act on the landscape we should
understand the natural order and ally ourselves with it. If we don’t
do so, if we ignore it, we run the risk that the different elements
of the landscape will remind us of it one day, as unfortunately
already occurs.
In order to understand the landscape –to know one has to
understand-, a biophysical reading is essential in order to arrive at
the keys which explain the interventions of the past and how the
present should be, whatever its purpose (exploitation, protection,
construction, renovation, restoration...); but as has been said, we
should not analyse natural elements without finding how they
interrelate with human elements. The complete and correct
analysis of the landscape should be tackled following a
multidisciplinary approach. Barragán considers 12 disciplines
when tackling the study of the landscape; engineering, physics,
chemistry, geology, economics, ecology, geography, sociology,
biology, law, history and urbanism. This does not mean that other
types of reading and interpretation are not valid or cannot offer
their vision, such as cinematographic art, painting or literature
among others.
Tool 7
Outil
x
Biophysical
reading of the territory
x value of landscape
The
Landscape at Jenin, Khirbit AlSabien (Palestine). Riwaq photo archives.
In order to arrive at a complete reading of the landscape we need
to know:
Natural elements formed by the geological and
geomorphological characteristics which shape relief
(landforms, heights, gradients, slopes, orientation...) and the
soil, along with its dynamics.
Hydrological characteristics, either underground or surface,
through rivers, their springs, tributaries and streams, along with
their water balances, flows, sedimentations and flood basins.
Meteorological dynamics, atmospheric elements and climatic
conditions through temperatures and precipitation; its effects.
Possible microclimates.
Types, communities and densities of vegetation; flora, wildlife
and their forms both in terms of habitat and how they
interrelate; habitat mosaics. Biological connectivity.
Cultural elements and their historical dimension through the
uses and activities which have occurred in the landscape; the
types of human settlement, whether this is residential,
industrial, agricultural, religious or of any other type of activity;
and human constructions from architecture forms through time
to constructions related to natural factors (irrigation,
channels/canals, walls, terracing,...). Historical and
archaeological heritage. External territorial limits (geographical
and administrative) and internal ones (structure of land
division...)
Mobility through communication networks; from today’s
motorways to the network of local paths and tracks;
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Landscape with crops near Fez in Morocco
Landscape in Osuna, in rural Andalusia (Spain)
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Biophysical
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x value of landscape
The
accessibility and connectivity of different places; fragmentation
rendered on the landscape.
Mobility through communication networks; from today’s
motorways to the network of local paths and tracks;
accessibility and connectivity of different places; fragmentation
rendered on the landscape.
Local and regional economic factors highly related to mobility
and the localization of centres both of population and of
production.
Social elements through the demographic structure; the
cohesion and social issues; the socioeconomic profile of its
inhabitants. Social relations and barriers created. Sensorial
factors through the influence of the landscape in the
perception and psychology of its inhabitants.
In addition to these elements, it is also very useful to find good
bibliographical sources and statistics, along with the use of the
direct method, that is, the observation in situ or direct
questionnaires –it is certain that more than one person will
have considered the same landscape problem. Through this
method we can find aspects of which we were unaware
–mythological, identity,... only known by those who inhabit this
landscape-, or others which were once important and which
could become so again. Field work in addition allows us to
determine the visibility of the landscape, and to study the visual
factors which characterise it: colours, lines, shapes, patterns,
II. Diagnosis
textures... This said, it should be remembered that however
much information we have, what is important is not the
quantity but rather how we work with it.
We should interpret all these elements as tools for analysing the
landscape, studying each separately and synthetically, as they are
all interrelated between each other. Only through a synthetic
reading can we know the degree of cohesion, harmony and
internal balance of the landscape.
When we analyse the landscape with the objective of taking
actions on it, the analysis should be carried out with intention,
that is, analysing the information which really is of use with regard
to the later project. For example, when restoration is the aim, the
analysis should make it very clear what reasons explain the
building types found in a given landscape, and these reasons can
be found, for example, in the detailed study of the geology of the
place. On another point, analysis is not useful if it does not provide
us with a diagnosis of the landscape in question, strong points to
be strengthened or maintained and weak, problematic or
dangerous points to be eliminated, mitigated or simply left
untouched. The analysis, finally, should provide us with the master
strokes or guidelines for action in order to develop the project.
Returning to Jackson’s initial definition of landscape, a final
concept stands above all the others: “and above all it is a space
shared by a group of people”. These people have slowly adapted,
over the centuries, to its places, its topography, its climate, its soil,
to the rest of people with whom they share this place..., and this
is reflected in accents, ways of dressing, ways of celebrating the
festivals, smells of the seasons, the taste of the local wine, the
sound of the church bells or traditional music itself... all these
characteristics form part of the essence of the landscape and
endow it with its uniqueness.
In summary, a biophysical reading of the landscape does not only
provide us with the information necessary on the substrate of life,
the environment which surrounds us and the conditions to which
they are exposed, but rather it also brings us closer to its people
and to our understanding of them, their behaviour, feelings and
their character and how they act upon the landscape; cognitive
aspects of vital importance for any action on a given landscape,
for, in the end, it is its people and the very soul of the landscape
who are going to live in and experience it.
Landscape on Santorini (Greece)
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Taking residents' expectations into consideration
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Tool 8
Diagnosis as a result
of a participative process
In a restoration process, the knowledge of the territory can never
be separated from the knowledge, needs, shortages and
expectations of its inhabitants.
This knowledge can be arrived at by different means, but it will
always be essential to establish the channels necessary in order to
achieve a dialogue directly with the inhabitants involved.
We are at the starting point of the public participation processes,
and in order for these to work they must be carefully designed and
later the dialogue channels required need to be put into service.
It is obvious that these processes are directly related to the degree
of development of the democratic administrations and the
legislation which supports them. This is because in order to be
receptive to those public expectations which involve an
improvement in the quality of living standards, a minimum degree
of welfare and quality must have been achieved. If this is not the
case, the desired objectives would be rather more basic in nature.
In the general case of the city and its urban planning, with respect
to its systems of facilities (creation and/or recovery and restoration
of free spaces and public facilities) in public land, the participative
process in order to ascertain the expectations of the public is
relatively easy: all that is required is to install the communication
channels necessary in order to publicize the proposals; and once
these proposals have been made public, to gather in the feedback
corresponding to public opinions and expectations which this
publicising had generated.
From this point on, the suggestions are studied and analysed, and
from this, inevitably, a greater proximity and knowledge of the
territory and the expectations of its inhabitants is gained, which
leads in turn to an analysis process which always ends up leaving
its mark on the project proposed.
But, in the specific case of the restoration of residential structures,
a unique and decisive factor comes into play when finding out
about public expectations and acting in function of these, and
which seriously complicates the procedure. This factor, arising
from the private use of land, is private property. This has a totally
different legal framework.
In this case, the initial diagnosis is carried out based on an
exhaustive knowledge of the area and its population, but always
with general criteria and based on a set of minimums which allow
more specific and appropriate responses and mechanisms to be
developed later.
In other words, the real and specific shortages in the residential
structure (that of private property) can only be revealed accurately
II. Diagnosis
Carmen Marzo
Architect
Head of projects and planning. ProEixample
Barcelona, Spain
In the process of rehabilitation, the knowledge of the territory may never be separated
from the knowledge of the needs and expectations of its population.
by their occupiers; and because of this, it is essential that the
relevant administrations become involved, establishing the
mechanisms and relationships necessary so that this may occur.
On another point, the restoration of private properties within the
existing legal framework, practically forces this restoration to be
developed at the initiative of the owners of the property.
Therefore in this framework of reference, the most direct way of
promoting and achieving the restoration of buildings and homes
at the initiative of the administrations involved should be based on
a policy of grants and subsidies for owners, who are the people
who can really carry the work out, according to the current legal
framework.
The administration, therefore, should establish the minimum
conditions required regarding habitability, safety and solidity of
buildings and homes. And private owners will have to fulfil these,
providing they wish to receive the current grants and subsidies.
And to complete the process, the Administration, acting through
the corresponding mechanisms for publicising, must ensure that
the information reaches all the citizens involved, explaining the
responsibilities of being an owner, the contents of the grants, how
to apply for them, the requirements necessary to obtain them and,
what is vitally important to close the circle: the mechanisms aimed
at obtaining and collecting the information from private owners in
order to ascertain the real state of the buildings and homes, and
so be able to act in the future.
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Prise
en considération des attentes des résidents
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Le diagnostic en tant que résultat d’un processus participatif
Exchange between experts and residents. Marrakech (Morocco)
Tool 8
Diagnosis as a result of a participative process
These mechanisms which can sometimes be complex have to be
designed for each specific casuistic. In the case of Catalonia, the
government, in order to allow private owners to gain access to
grants, has introduced the obligation to previously request an
assessment of the state of the building, (report on suitability for
habitability in the case of homes). The cost of this evaluation
document, issued by qualified professionals, is paid for by the
administration, without any cost to the private citizen.
This is the diagnosis instrument which is sought in this case, as it
provides us with real and accurate information, resulting from a
rather strange but necessary form of dialogue between the
administration and the buildings, which, in summary are those
which are to be sounded out in order to carry out the diagnosis
which enables us to then engage in correct and well-.designed
restoration work, and from which to draw up and focus the future
programmes of restoration.
8
'Cocrete, no thank you'. Valencia (Spain)
Awarness activity about traditional architecture in Nicosia (Cyprus)
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In order to know the expectations of the residents of a territory it is important to
guarantee that the observations of a representative conjunct of them be collected.
.
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Concerning scenarios of future
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The role of historic centres in today's
cities. The case of Islamic Cairo
III. Strategy
Dr. Mahmoud Ismail
Architectural engineer
PhD in Town Planning,
Egypt
Introduction
At the beginning of the 21st century, and almost a century and a
half after the foundation of the discipline of "town planning" by
the Spanish architect Ildefonso Cerdá1, we can say that nowadays
we are well informed about the contemporary town, on the
political and economic mechanisms that have produced it and on
the techniques that determine its forms and structures.
There are two opposing discourses concerning this contemporary
town, with its diffuse urban development. On one hand, some
fear the disappearance of all specific features identifying a
particular culture; on the other, it is considered that "globalisation,
far from being a simple universal expansion of the process of
Western industrial production, is based instead on a method of
valuing the specific features of each region of the world"2. One of
the consequences of the first discourse was described by Françoise
Choay as "heritage inflation"3. Nowadays, this heritage inflation
causes effects such as the constant drawing up of international
conservation maps affecting all kinds of historic heritage and the
growing interest in the restoration and rehabilitation of the
architectural and urban heritage. In the absence of choice
between these two discourses, the town is seen as artificially
divided into areas given over on one hand to development and, on
the other, to heritage. Useful in the period where battles had to
be fought against the ravages of urban renovation, this policy of
opposing areas with permission and areas with prohibition has
preserved many historic town centres, but today it has become
sterile, in the absence of an interesting overall plan for all
categories of area.
At the same time, the built-up heritage grows unceasingly
through the permanent annexation of new assets, the extension
of the chronological framework making it up, as well as the
geographical areas inside which these assets are recorded. Beside
this, architects invoke the right of artists to create. Like their
predecessors, they want to mark the urban space and not be
relegated outside its walls or, inside historic towns, be condemned
to pastiche. They recall that, over time, styles have also coexisted
and been juxtaposed and developed in the same town or the
same building: the seduction of a city like Paris or the historic
centre of Cairo come from the stylistic diversity of their
architectures and spaces. As for owners, they claim their right to
make free use of their assets to draw from them the pleasures or
profits of their choice. The discordant voices of the opponents of
all this are as powerful as their determination. Proof of this can be
9
The future value and the attraction of the historic centers, as in the case of Cairo,
should rest upon the patrimony they have. In the metropolis of Cairo this patrimony
still holds an enormous symbolic value for the citizenry.
seen every day. So, the permanent threats to heritage do not
prevent a large consensus in favour of its conservation and
protection – principles which are officially upheld in the name of
the scientific, aesthetic, memorial, social and urban values which
this heritage carries in advanced industrial societies4. We also note
the growing attention paid to problems in historic town centres,
which, more than expressing a cultural demand, reflects the
anxiety of everyone who, alarmed by conditions today, is seeking
a remedy for the future in the past5.
The historic centre of Cairo
We are going to discuss the current role of the historic centres of
Egyptian towns through the example of Cairo, nowadays the
biggest city in the Arab world and on the African continent, which
is representative enough of the contemporary mix. In half a
century of expansion, the metropolis has managed to absorb sites
charged with history. What remains of the ancient city now
represents only a small percentage of the current urbanised area.
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When speaking of the centre of the Cairo megapolis, the term
wast al-balad ("city centre") refers to a precise area — the
"modern" city of the 19th century, founded by the Khedive Ismail;
as for the "ancient" city, this continues to be referred to by terms
as diverse as the "oriental", "Islamic", "medieval", "Fatimid" or
"historic" city or "Old Cairo" - although this name refers rather to
the Coptic district Masr al-Qadîma — or "old city". As for the
concept of "medina", Mercedes Volait notes that it "is not — or
is no longer? — part of current vocabulary, while it remains in
common usage in other countries in the region"6.
There are two exceptional aspects to Islamic Cairo, the historic
centre of the city of Cairo, declared a "world heritage site" by
UNESCO in 1979 and recently named "Historic Cairo". The first is
that no city in the Muslim world has the architectural wealth of its
monuments and, in the world, only Rome – in variety but not in
number – surpasses this wealth. The second aspect is that, as in
Ispahan, Delhi or Samarkand, the monuments of Cairo mark the
rhythm of the city. They serve as focal points for the perception
and discovery of the state of the city and its urban environment
before the physical and social changes of the 19th century. A
considerable gap separates the new housing schemes of the
second half of the 19th century, built to an aerated, low-density
plan, and the oldest parts of the capital which, on the other hand,
began a slow process of impoverishment, at the same time as the
consciousness that they formed a heritage to be preserved was
being recorded in institutions. The transformation of the old
districts "in accordance with the requirements of hygiene and
traffic" was systematically undertaken, but strictly applying the
regulation urban development put in place before 1882.
Historic Cairo is made up of populated districts that are highly
polluted. Just like the residents of these districts, the historic
monuments and urban heritage endure the effects of the housing
crisis, the lack of open spaces, the density of traffic, the lack of
sewerage... With the construction of the business district during
the second half of the 19th century, the historic centre began to
lose its original inhabitants, above all the upper middle class and
religious and political leaders. By the 1950s, almost all the
population belonging to these classes and most of their housing
had been replaced by small factories and craft workshops, as well
as the arrival of many immigrants from the countryside.
Nowadays, the dominant impression is that of the poverty which
aggravates the negligence of public services in this forgotten
Cairo. Quickly deteriorating modern buildings replace old
constructions prematurely worn out by deficient maintenance and
over-dense occupation (fig. 1). The traditional activities that used
to ensure the equilibrium of the old city (commerce and crafts) are
declining or only subsisting around Khân al-Khalîlî as a "reserve"
for tourists. These central districts are "de-densifying", the
population seeking less acute conditions of discomfort elsewhere,
in the north-east and south.
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The role of historic centres in today's cities. The case of Islamic Cairo
Interaction between Historic Cairo and the Cairo megapolis
The old city appears among the top shopping areas of the city. Of
course, local shops are there to meet the needs of the residents
but, above all, it is specialised commerce that drains entire capital
flows there. "Nothing remains of the great international trade that
used to bring the centre alive. [...] However, the ancient site of the
centre remains unrivalled for certain products and certain
clienteles. For many people of Cairo and Egyptians, at least among
the working classes, the core area around Azbakiyya-Khân alKhalîlî, Mûski Street and Al-Azhar Street is a landmark area of
Cairo, a fundamental reference point7."
The old city has a virtual monopoly on crafts intended for tourists,
among others, sold in the market and being distributed
throughout the whole of Egypt. It also specialises in the sale of
costume jewellery and gold and silver, textiles, spices and leather,
and even in the trade in many different "rare" items found less
easily elsewhere. Whether their frequency of purchase is regular or
exceptional, people go to these districts or specific places to buy a
very wide range of products. So, textiles, the most important and
most dynamic activity in the old centre, is also the most
concentrated, with around 350 premises grouped around the
middle part of Al-Azhar Street. In the western part of the old city
are the "modern, imported" products of different kinds; Near
'Ataba Square there is a street for sewing machines and their
FIGURE 1. The old urban fabric, rich in historic monuments, is today invaded
by mediocre-quality modern concrete constructions / Mahmoud ISMAIL
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accessories, a street for chains, saws, etc. In the same sector, the
watches, small electrical appliances, hi-fis and videos can be found.
The seed shops, parasol and folding chair merchants, the garden
accessory shops and marble merchants are concentrated in
Ahmad Mâhir Street, near Bâb Zuwayla; during the month of
Ramadan, the lamps made for the occasion are also sold there.
Outside seasonal commerce, the other products are essentially
intended for customers from outside the old city.
Al-Muski Street, one of the busiest and liveliest shopping streets in
Cairo, is the place for ready-to-wear fashion, accessories and
textiles. Jean-Claude David catches the dynamism and particular
features of this centre: "It is a general souk on the route where
you have to walk to get to the specialised souks; it makes use of
their attractiveness and vice-versa8." So, on Mûski Street you can
FIGURE 2. Grouping of activities in the Rue al-Muizz. (Source of map: plan
of Islamic monuments in Cairo, 1948) / Mahmoud ISMAIL
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completely kit yourself out for a wedding, buying a wedding
dress, chandeliers, crockery, petticoats or sweets (products made
in the market place) and follow it as far as the jewellers of AlSâgha.
An analysis of the main central street of Historic Cairo, Al-Muizz
Street, gives us a representative example of activities in the old
centre (fig. 2). Smaller groups of activities exist along the street,
such as wakala al-Mirayat, located to the south of al-Ghouri and
specialising in furniture, and wakala Nafissa al Bayda (known as
wakala al Chama', well known for its production of quality wax).
However, those historically considered as specialised markets or
markets in certain parts of the centre are now in the course of
losing their commercial identity. Some activities, originally grouped
into a region, are now scattered on different sites. Service
activities, such as cafes, food sellers and small restaurants
represent a small proportion of the total number of shops (2.7%).
They provide a poor level of service and it is clear that there a lot
of services missing. Public facilities represent less than 2% of all
ground floor activities along the street.
One of the most marked features of the recent development of
the old centre is the development of small industrial workshops
with cheap equipment, employing four or five people for the
production of modern consumer goods (shoes in Bâb al-Cha'riyya,
aluminium utensils in Gamâliyya)9. These small industries are new:
they have developed since 1980, partly thanks to income from
emigration. A district like Darb al-Asfar, which was traditionally
given over to middle class housing, has been deeply affected by
this move towards manufacture. This transformation risks
upsetting the old city because of the nuisance involved (noise,
pollution) and because of the resulting degradation to buildings in
fragile historic areas.
In the western part of the old city, after Port Sa'îd Street (on the
Khalîg site) a double process of modernisation (coming from the
west) and degradation (coming from the east) tends to create a
transitional area where there is a blend between the two parts of
the city. These districts are often areas renovated at the end of the
19th century and the beginning of the 20th century which have
become increasingly working class. Timeworn modern buildings
dominate there and the debris of the old city takes up less and less
space. Several monuments remain, surrounded by their
scaffolding, as witnesses to the irredeemable degradation of
Historic Cairo10. The city that was modern in Ismâ'îl's time and at
the beginning of colonisation, to the west of Azbakiyya and the
'Abdîn palace, is becoming gradually detached from the old
districts. Business and, more to the south, administration,
continue to be concentrated in this sector, but there is a notable
emigration movement towards the western districts. The buildings
sometimes age poorly – timeworn constructions or recent ones
that have prematurely aged because of lack of maintenance.
The rapid rate of development of crafts and commercial activities,
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manufacturing and wholesaling, has had noxious effects on the
cultural heritage, the urban fabric, the environmental qualities and
the traffic of Historic Cairo and led to a fall in population in certain
qisms, such as Gamâliyya, al-Darb al-Ahmar and Bab al-Sharia,
which have lost 30% of their population over a period of ten years
(1976-1986). The expansion of commercial and trading activities
has led to the abandonment of residential buildings, recovered for
commercial uses, which, in turn, have exercised a pressure for the
conversion of new residential buildings and empty land to
commercial activities, reinforced by proximity of the centre of
Cairo. It is not surprising that these same qisms have the largest
number of monuments because government regulations, such as
the decree covering monument sites, have forbidden the
construction of residential buildings, encouraging storage and
warehouse uses11.
Strongly dependent on urban morphology, the functional
organisation of space is still marked by the areas given over to
housing, production activities and commerce, but these two latter
functions are spilling to a considerable degree outside the sites
where they were originally established and invading places where
they used to be absent. This phenomenon of penetrating the ends
of blind alleys and hâras, traditionally reserved for housing,
changes the pre-existing functional hierarchy. We are see the
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redeployment of the distribution of functions and the break-up of
sectorisation, while overlapping prevails at various levels. The
renewal of buildings alters the image and function of areas: new
workshops are established, the districts are opened up to
"foreigners" who come and live or work there; all these
components contribute to altering the perception of the district.
Ways of life evolve, trends and new models become current in
everyday practice, both in the areas of social life and within the
family unit12.
Nowadays, Historic Cairo is poorly grafted on to the city centre
and the streets of the central sector of Cairo. The main streets,
such as Al-Azhar Street (fig. 3), facilitate east-west connections to
and from central Cairo. The economic and commercial activities of
Historic Cairo are not integrated and the urban character this
sector offers is not compatible with the needs of central Cairo. The
dominant context swamps Historic Cairo with traffic jams and the
socio-economic deterioration of its environment. The central site
of the old city encourages land speculation, increasing the
transformation of land use from residential to commercial and,
moreover, reducing the economic advantages of keeping it as
poor quality housing and increasing land prices. The poor
economic management of the historic city contributes to
weakening the sense of civilised behaviour of the residents and
prevents appropriate urban development in the traditional
physical context. The problems of traffic and transport are linked
to the network of routes crossing the study area or passing around
it to connect with Greater Cairo.
Historic Cairo and rehabilitation
FIGURE 3. The Al-Azhar Street in the heart of historic Cairo with its heavy traffic,
eased by two tunnels created recently to absorb through traffic. / Mahmoud ISMAIL
162
In fifty years of history, the rehabilitation of existing old districts
has, in Western Europe as in other developed countries of the
world, become a fundamental element of urban policy, at the
same time as a field for notable institutional innovation. By
contrast, in Egypt, urban rehabilitation remains an area which is
still extremely unusual compared to new construction. In Historic
Cairo, as it appears today, with an important architectural and
urban heritage and many elements that do not belong to ancient
history, there is room for two combined approaches: rehabilitation
and urban conservation. Considering the considerable percentage
of empty sites, the old fabric also lends itself to new architectural
creation for the development of the historic city.
Western experience of urban rehabilitation gives rise to a degree
of continuity in reflection, based on the transmission of
knowledge from one period to another. Developments in the
manner of approaching the issue have been gradual, without a
real breach. Problems, such as methods of intervention, are
constantly extended and enriched according to the specific
experience accumulated by the agents on the ground13. This has
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given birth to institutional and regulatory tools; aid and finance
measures; and the creation of a body of experts and businesses
specialising in rehabilitation. The fact of the accumulation of
knowledge and the slow establishment of public policy shows up
the determining role of the principles of experimentation and
assessment. By contrast, the absence of public policy and the rarity
of urban rehabilitation and conservation operations in the
Egyptian context have not made it possible to produce suitable
institutional tools in this context or to create businesses
specialising in these areas.
In addition to this rarity of rehabilitation projects (only two major
schemes have been carried out over the last thirty years (figures 4
and 5) and one scheme is in the process of being carried out
(fig.6), another difficulty emerges when this rehabilitation is
combined with conservation in heritage areas. This difficulty is the
result of the official view of the State authorities. Heritage
conservation processes in Egypt reveal the important influence of
Egyptology and archaeology. The first laws appeared to protect
Pharaonic and Greco-Roman antiquities and, despite the fact that
such conservation has touched the Islamic and Coptic monuments
as well as the historic districts of Cairo, the act in force is still
entitled "the Protection of Antiquities Act". The word "heritage"
is absent at a legal level and there are no regulatory tools for
urban conservation apart from the boundary of limited protection
around each classified monument. The residents are almost absent
in planning any conservation/restoration operation. Compulsory
purchase is still the solution to save classified monuments from
residents and users, who are considered a danger and a menace.
This official view is still the same nowadays. In many recent articles
in the Egyptian Press, the "wish that the State would preserve
Historic Cairo properly" so it could become an "open museum"
for future generations, visitors and tourists can still be found. One
hundred and thirty historic monuments are in the course of being
restored and the Cairo Governor's Office is in the process of
improving and replacing the infrastructure. It is also taking care of
moving residents from this sector, as well as certain warehouses,
to other sectors of Cairo. Several are to be inaugurated and
opened to the public14". Residents are excluded and the
museographic aspect is taking the lead.
FIGURE 4. First big intervention: the renovation of the Al-Darb al-Asfar lane and the
restoration of its various monuments. In the photo we see the entrance to the lane
beyond Al-Muizz Street after renovation. / Mahmoud ISMAIL
FIGURE 5. Second big intervention: the renovation of the district known by
the name of "Forum of the religions" in Old Cairo. In the photo, we see façades
and warehouses as part of the project./ Mahmoud ISMAIL
The urban market and property market in Historic Cairo, in
the heart of the Cairo megapolis
We should particularly recall the lack of exploitation of traditional
urban resources in the tourism market, leading to a gap that
needs to be made up in terms of financial and economic receipts;
the encouragement of land speculation under the effects of the
location advantages resulting from central sites; the informal
employment sector and reduction in the job market. Finally, there
is the negative effect of urban poverty and the low incomes of
residents on the retail market.
The potential of tourism is still not sufficiently exploited in Historic
Cairo. Of the 537 officially classified monuments, only 34 (about
6.2%) are open to tourist visits. This gap is largely linked to the
mediocre quality of services and urban spaces. Despite the
substantial value of the monuments and the urban fabric, this
situation does not encourage the consumers (the tourists) and
does not increase (direct or indirect) financial revenue or the
profits of the producers (the government and the private sector).
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Finally, the situation reduces the economic advantages of the local
poorer classes. Currently, the only monuments benefiting from
appropriate financial revenues are the museums and the citadel,
which presents a well-preserved walled area.
The central site of Historic Cairo, at the heart of Greater Cairo,
influences its land value, which has become among the highest
anywhere in the city. These high prices encourage owners to
demolish their poorer quality houses and sell them as building
sites or to build commercial buildings of six floors or more to
increase their financial profits. Some empty plots subject to
inheritance remain disused for a long time following
disagreements between heirs. In addition, the fact that empty
plots are not taxed encourages land speculation.
The demand for labour in Historic Cairo is diminishing, while the
supply is continuously increasing. The main reasons are the
absence of new investment and the low qualification of the
workforce. Local investors, discouraged by the lack of social
services, the poor infrastructure and the traffic jams, show no
interest in Historic Cairo, while the government has designated
other sites inside or outside Cairo as having various tax advantages
and commercial freedoms, bringing in greater income.
Khan al-Khalili is the main traditional craft market for tourists and
local residents. In the past, when the production of goods required
a large workforce, the increase in producers caused by demand
did not affect the cost of production. The demand for labour was
flexible, increasing job offers and wages. Nowadays, in the context
of an unstable tourist market subject to the challenges
represented by the opening of markets to international products
(where some are imitations made in China that are cheaper than
Egyptian craft items), the producers are forced to sell their
products to the dealers at low prices, with a consequent reduction
in the number of employees and falling wages.
FIGURE 6. Third big intervention being carried out: the rehabilitation of the Al-Darb
al-Ahmar district undertaken by the Aga Khan foundation. In the photo, we see the
centre of the first renovation activities
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The high percentage of illiteracy and the quite low educational
level characterising the residents of Historic Cairo largely direct
employment towards the informal sector (aluminium kitchen
utensils, leather, traditional handicrafts, woodwork and car
repairs). Despite the fact that this sector offers opportunities of
work for the inexperienced or poorly qualified resident workforce,
its insecurity and vulnerability continuously increase, notably
concerning the tourist market.L'emplacement central du Caire
Historique, au sein du Grand Caire, influence sa valeur foncière qui
est devenue parmi les plus élevées. Ces prix élevés encouragent des
propriétaires à démolir leurs maisons peu avantageuses et à les
vendre comme terrain à bâtir ou à construire des bâtiments
commerciaux de six étages ou plus pour augmenter les profits
financiers. Certaines parcelles vacantes faisant l'objet d'héritages
restent longtemps inexploitées à la suite de désaccords entre
héritiers. De plus, le fait que les parcelles vacantes ne soient pas
taxées encourage la spéculation foncière.
Future value and attractiveness of Historic Cairo
The future value and attractiveness of Historic Cairo can legitimately
be based on a multitude of resources resulting from its exceptional
heritage and its role in multiple aspects within the Cairo megapolis.
"A lively place, a place of meetings and exchange, an area for
partying, celebrations, religion, history, consensus; a centre with
multiple landmarks, the old city exists as much for its realities as for
its representations15".
The old city still shows aspects of identity, religion and culture within
the megapolis, for its own residents and for all the people of Cairo.
Its omnipresent heritage fashions the representation of the space;
the monuments that punctuate it, characterised by their numbers
and their diversity, are like signs, landmarks and identifying
references. "In Cairo, the past often exists but often in a raw state.
Depending on the districts, it is still just as it is – everyday, functional
and non-decorative – it still commands part of the urban space; it is
present, visible; sometimes incongruous, often scandalous16."The
old city is still the best place for expressing collective religious
practices, such as mawlids17 which can each attract around a million
people18. While the people of Cairo come in great numbers, pilgrims
arrive from all over Egypt19, essentially under the banners of various
Sufi brotherhoods.
The central areas of the old city are, at the same time, linked to
tourism, places for provincial people to gather during the mawlids
and places of "communion" for the people of Cairo, who come – all
social classes mixed together - in the evening during Ramadan and
al-Husayn – to taste a culinary speciality, a drink, or just for the lively
atmosphere. This apparent strolling takes the form of a pilgrimage to
the symbolic spaces representing the baladi aspect20 of an Egyptian,
or at least Cairo, identity. This configuration of the old city makes it
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represent a consensual space - that of traditional cultural values around which the whole of society can recognise and find itself. The
elements symbolising the old city are so attractive that an effort is
made to reproduce them in other places. So, during Ramadan,
several large hotels prepare areas named after works by Naguib
Mahfouz or decorated like imaginary lanes from the old city
(minarets and moucharabiehs, characters and accessories, street
sellers' carts, craft shops, oriental cafes and restaurants where you
can have popular Ramadan dishes and drinks), in a would-be
baladi setting and atmosphere. Despite this pastiche and
folklorisation in a more comfortable setting than that of the old
city, the people of Cairo still continue to crowd in their thousands
into the old city every night during Ramadan to be part of the
genuine atmosphere of the place.
We have evoked the economic and commercial role of the old city,
with its unique craft activities. The surroundings of the great
mosques and Khân al-Khalîli are spaces for noble activities and
learning, and this is well known. Khân al-Khalîli is the landmark souk
in Egypt: it brings together about a thousand shops, some of which
have annexes in the large hotels, the smart districts or other towns
in Egypt. it is a place tourists have to walk through, where the circuits
are generally limited to the surroundings. In this commercial role, the
city centre and the old city complement one another and compose a
central rhythm in two times for the city of Cairo. We insist on the fact
that the historic centre and the modern city centre of Ismail (heritage
from the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries) are
complementary as a means of dealing with the challenge of creating
a property market for rehabilitation. It is because of the effect of this
eclectic city-centre heritage, evoking a lost tradition of multi-social
and multicultural cosmopolitanism, that it is possible to set in motion
a movement to return to the old city.
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value of use. This value is very much present and it cannot be
ignored in order to consider only the values linked to the
monuments of the historic centre. This allows us to conclude that
the basic principle of the conservation of the heritage of Historic
Cairo should be the preservation of activity – the value of use –
through processes of adaptation. In this way, the fact that
something is old does not only have to make it an element of
nostalgia, but can also constitute a value that can be adapted to
current practices and needs.
1 CERDÁ, Ildefonso. La Théorie générale de l'urbanisation, presented, translated
and adapted by Antonio Lopez de Aberasturi. Paris: Seuil, 1979.
2 BAUDOUIN, T. "La dimension immatérielle du patrimoine de la ville dans le
processus de mondialisation", p. 86, in : Patrimoine urbain et modernité, papers
of the conference organised by Theories of Urban Change (I.F.U.), 7 November
1995. Champs-sur-Marne: I.F.U., 1996.
3 CHOAY, Françoise. L'allégorie du patrimoine. Paris: Seuil, 1992, 278 p.
4 Ibid., p. 13 et 14.
5 CERVELLATI Pier Luigi, SCANNAVINI Roberto, DE ANGELIS Carlo. La nuova cultura
delle città. Milan: Arnoldo Mondadori editore S.p.A., 1977, trad. Fr. TEMPIA E. et
PETITA A. La nouvelle culture urbaine, Bologne face à son patrimoine. Paris: Seuil
(coll. Espacements), 1981, 188 p.
6 VOLAIT Mercedes, "Composition de la forme urbaine du Caire", Egypt.
Recompositions, Peuples méditerranéens n° 41-42, 1988.
7 DAVID J.-C., "Centralités anciennes et actuelles dans Al-Qâhira", in:
Établissements de rapport au Caire aux époques mamelouke, ottomane et
contemporaine. Cairo: IFAO, 1997.
8 Ibid.
9 MEYER, Günter. "Manufacturing in: old quarters of Central Cairo", pp. 75-90, in
Material on city centres in the Arab world, Bilingual research manual n° 19,
URBAMA study and research centre. Tours: University of Tours: and CNRS, 1988.
10 RAYMOND, André. Cairo. Paris: Éditions Fayard, 1993, p. 362.
And to finish
The case of the historic centre of Cairo is shared with many other
towns and cities in Egypt, including Alexandria and the Suez Canal
cities. The heritage of these historic centres is not a frozen
heritage that one would want to protect or preserve from attacks
or aggression linked to the daily life going on there. It is totally
impregnated with the banality of the everyday, which is itself the
expression of continuity and constitutes an essential factor in
heritage classification: heritage is also in social practices, ways of
life and behaviours. The dynamic nature of this heritage can lead
to divergences in the way it is perceived and interpreted and in the
way it is acted on by the different agents concerned, but this
character is strongly rooted and recorded in the continuity of a
process of sedimentation and selection that characterises the
development of the Arab-Muslim town in the context of
permanent adaptation to real needs linked to everyday life and the
11 AMMAR L., CHARARA M. and MADOEUF A., "Éléments pour une typologie des
implantations contemporaines", in: Établissements de rapport au Caire aux
époques mamelouke, ottomane et contemporaine, IFAO, Cairo.
12 DEPAULE J.-C., "Le Caire: emplois du temps, emplois de l'espace", MaghrebMachrek, n° 127, La Documentation française, Paris, 1990.
13 FORET Catherine et PORCHET Françoise. La réhabilitation urbaine. Paris: Centre de
Documentation de l'Urbanisme, Ministère de l'Équipement, 2001, p. 8.
14 MAGUED Amany et EL-SIOUFY Ahmed, "Le retour du sourire au visage du Caire
fatimide", Hours, 23rd year, n° 1, January-March 2005, pp. 67-77 (article in
Arabic, our translation).
15 MADŒUF, Anna. Op. cit., p. 117.
16 BENARD, Marie-Claude, "Impression et surimpression urbaines", Egypte/Monde
arabe, n° 5, 1st quarter 1991, Cairo, CEDEJ, p. 15.
17 Birthday celebrations of saints, the Prophet or members of his family (ahl al-bayt).
18 Figures given by the daily al-Ahrâm in 1994.
19 On the occasion of the festival of Al-Husayn, the train is free for pilgrims.
20 Baladi literally means "from the country", but the concept indicates what is
Egyptian, "traditional" and "popular". Cf. AL-MESSIRI NADIM S., Ibn al-balad, a
Concept of Egyptian Identity, Leyde, Brill, 1978
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The role of historic centres
in today's cities.
The case of Algeria
Tool 9
Yassine Ouageni
Architect
Lecturer at the Technical College of Architecture
and Town Planning,
Algeria
1. Introduction
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Taking traditional architecture into account in local development
programmes nowadays involves drawing up a strategy which,
although it constitutes a useful technical tool for bringing
together multisectorial efforts, cannot prevent reliance on cultural
convictions established on a platform broadly shared between all
the levels of agents directly or indirectly involved in the future of
historic heritage buildings.
The place occupied by the modest, discreet traditional house in
contemporary culture, or, put another way, its collectively
consecrated value, starts up the process conditioning the success
of all future planning.
It is therefore clear that devising or simply sketching out a strategy
promoting the rehabilitation of traditional architecture in an area
as important as the Mediterranean, even though its group of
historic buildings shows a relatively homogeneous heritage, seems
hard (but not impossible!), in view of the social, political and
economic shifts introduced by colonisation in the 19th century.
This contemporary history, with the division into extreme roles of
domination and dominated, cannot not fail to have a very
heterogeneous influence on the relationship each Mediterranean
country maintains with its own heritage of traditional architecture.
Two conflicting visions of the future of the “Kasbah” struggle in Algiers;
those that have purely tourist motivations and those that consider more central
the preoccupations of the habitants of the historic center.
2. The development of the place of traditional architecture
in Algeria after a generation
The different states and conditions1 the historic Mediterranean
centres are in can only give rise to different diagnoses, where the
treatment for better rehabilitation cannot fail to provide different
methodological approaches. These may be varied, but, in all cases,
they will all seek the same aim.
In order to better focus on some important aspects of the problem
of rehabilitating traditional architecture in the Mediterranean, it
would be appropriate to briefly run through the recent history of
the fate of historic centres in Europe and in Algeria.
After more than a century given over to the exclusive protection
of monumental architecture and "picturesque landscape", the
period following the Second World War officially introduced the
debate on the fate of the great urban and rural historic sites. So,
in a full economic boom and faced with a built-up environment
scarred by bombing, Europe originated two currents of thought
that would mark all continents.
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On one hand, there were those following a new vision, wanting
to break with tradition, and, on the other, those continuing the
Romantic cult, reassured by Nietzschian predictions that sowed
doubt concerning the idea of "progress".
However, the specific actions undertaken in the context of
reconstruction of historic centres would take different forms
based on opposing arguments. The reality on the ground would
bring into confrontation economic investors attracted by the
availability of plots of land resulting from collapses caused by
bombing and "nationalists" engaged in returning to the situation
which the enemy had sworn to wipe off the map.
Faced with this feeling of challenge and the extent of the damage
caused by the war, the applicable theory of "scientific restoration"
crumbled. The city of Warsaw, rebuilt identically on the ruins of
the old city, is an emblematic example of the cultural crisis that
dominated the post-war period and where accuracy finds its
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The role of historic centres in today’s cities. The case of Algeria
reward today with its classification on the world heritage list.
While Europe organised itself to tackle reconstruction plans and
was activated to establish tools to make the most of its historic
centres, Algerian towns subject to the yoke of colonisation were
also subjected to plans to demolish their medinas, or at least their
most important parts on the urban map.
Only the human establishments situated outside the network
belonging to the system for territorial occupation imposed by
colonisation were spared this destruction.
It is, then, in these latter places that building and maintenance
traditions have been preserved, for good and bad. The conditions
of social segregation between occupier and colonised, practised
as much at the level of the town as the territory, did not only
produce frustrations and popular risings, it also accidentally
contributed to preserving the authenticity of building practices,
notably in the remote areas of the High Plateaux and Sahara.
In the towns, the impact of the occupation was gradual and
remained brutal. The way that foreign and native populations lived
alongside one another was like a kind of apartheid which, after
the lifting of the yoke of colonisation, would come to determine
the psychological behaviour of citizens. The reappropriation of the
towns and national territory tended to be translated into the
attempt to pick up formal aspects radiating from Europe, rather
than into real reconciliation with the traditional heritage. So,
dazzled, they carried out "copy and paste" imitations that ended
by having regard only for foreign appearances (forms), often
without regard for the essential (content). It is within this logic
that followed the war of independence in Algeria, dominated by
the myth of progress, that traditional buildings suffered neglect
and suddenly lost their natural position as landmarks in the
construction of new districts.
In summary, it can never by highlighted strongly enough that the
perverse effects of post-colonisation contributed considerably to
the process, brutally initiated during colonisation, of discarding
the constructed historic heritage, notably the modest architecture
constituting the basic fabric of the old centres, nowadays
surrounded by contemporary towns.
Now, after a generation, while the Berlin Wall in Berlin has been
dismantled, the "Berlin Wall" of Algerian consciousness, erected
around its cultural heritage, is crumbling, in a context of cultural
crisis under the weight of a growing conviction in favour of
authenticity. So, once the subject of folklore and inconsistent
formalism, cultural heritage – whether tangible or intangible – it
nowadays occupies a fundamental place in existential life.
This new cultural context, that policies have positively driven
through the recent entry of the heritage dimension in the
programmes to develop assets in many sectors, opens the way for
all potential agents (public and private bodies, civil society, etc.) to
directly contribute to the rehabilitation of traditional architecture,
but inevitably introduces unfortunate misunderstandings, often
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leading to dysfunctions, whose consequences will have effects on
quality, budgets and time taken to implement schemes.
3. The roles of historic centres; the case of the Casbah
It is true that for practical reasons, it is customary to seek to
enclose a complex reality, notably that of historic centres, in a
term, preferably a single one. The role of historic centres is, in fact,
a set of very diverse aspects stemming from the complexity
characterising our times and, therefore, by way of response, the
public authorities are organised into various ministries each in
charge of a specific problem. So, the handling of the issue of
historic centres via the programmes of different ministries, which
it is not at all incorrect to compare to a significant part of the
whole situation of a country, can give rise to a credible diagnosis
of the state of places, and above all to the prospects for traditional
building in local development.
Currently, in Algeria, an important debate is being carried out on
the Casbah in Algiers. A set of texts, laws and regulations is
providing the clarification and guidelines needed to make sure the
traditional constructed heritage is taken into account. The
particular attention paid to the Casbah in Algiers is not really due
to it being classed on the world heritage list, but rather to the
keen interest naturally emerging with a new generation that has
not known colonisation.
"Saving" the Casbah through interventions is the credo. However,
there are many questions concerning what the Casbah can
contribute to improving the well-being of the inhabitants of the
city and visitors. The dilemma is quite clear-cut, and is summed up
by two opposing tendencies. The first would like to "fashion" the
Casbah on the basis of purely tourist motivations. By contrast, the
Commercial activity in the Algiers Kasbah (Algeria)
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The role of historic centres in today’s cities. The case of Algeria
second, upheld by the Ministry of Culture and the heads of the
local public authorities, tends to develop a view that would submit
the centre to the concerns of the inhabitants of the Casbah.
Moreover, this latter tendency does not want to limit the Casbah
to being a simple district functionally integrated into the modern
city – the same as a district on the urban outskirts living only for
itself.
It is certainly a case of considering and revaluing the tourist
attraction and its corollary, the creation of jobs in the Algiers
Casbah, but it is also important to make the historic centre a
positive, operational landmark, capable of contributing to making
sense of new urban extensions.
Algeria, used construction as part of an overall strategy for
rehabilitating historic centres involving all sectors. In this spirit, the
many limits on architecture (restriction to one category of
materials and to specific building systems, etc.), urban
development (prohibition of division of plots, etc.), or safety
(paraseismic standards, etc.), lose their coercive nature to become
guidelines2 to allow the conservation of historic heritage, on one
hand, and ensure coherence and unity in the production of
contemporary buildings, on the other. It is through this last point
that commitment in our time takes on real significance, because
urban development only lasts if it is anchored in historical
continuity.
Why and How
The historic Mediterranean centres constitute the last bastion of
resistance to the growing invasion of northern architectural
language, today based, as well as on the use of wood and cob, on
steel and glass2. This imported architecture, which dominates the
meaning attributed to modernity in exceptional works, tends to
gain a foothold in the architecture of houses – modest
architecture through which another dimension of ancient
Mediterranean towns is shown: the urban fabric.
In this sense, from all evidence, the medina is ceasing to become
solely the concern of the ministry in charge of culture or tourism, or
even employment, and it must now involve the ministry of housing,
not to intervene in the historic centre in its capacity as housing stock
to be maintained, but as a force for suggestion capable of directing
the definition of the qualitative content of the town planning tools
intended for the management of urban growth.
It is in this context, dominated by a debate rich in propositions and
by certain studies and conclusions, that the medina of El Djazaïr,
as a pilot scheme, must serve as an experience providing an
example for the rehabilitation of many medinas and ksours in
M’zat Valley protection office –OPVM– (Algeria)
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1 By way of example, in Morocco the historic centres are generally experienced
intensely, continuing tradition. This is the result of the fact that Morocco was
colonised under a protectorate system. By contrast, Algeria, which underwent
extended physical colonisation, has seen its historic centres have their vital parts
drastically amputated and replaced by imported architecture. Meanwhile, Europe,
after having neglected and altered its historic centres under the impact of the
"industrial revolution" is discovering their many values (spiritual, economic, etc.),
putting the all advances of modern technology at their service. The European
experience seems to be imposed as a model of reference for all Mediterranean
countries.
2 Cf. OUAGUENI Yassine, "La transformation moderne du Maghreb. Altération et
résistance du bâti en Algérie face à l’internationalisation du langage architectural",
in: Quaderni ICAR/4, Architettura moderna mediterranea, Editions Mario Adda, Bari
(Italy), 2003.
3 The guidelines given by the Ministry of Culture's services, following the presentation
of the scheme to rebuild on empty sites resulting from the collapse of buildings in the
Casbah in Algiers, focus on the need to adopt traditional materials (full bricks of
baked clay, stone, lime-based mortars etc.) in a system of load-bearing walls, in order
to preserve the same organic language that characterises the Casbah. The
codification of technical solutions judged to be in accordance with traditional
continuity is in progress and will be drawn up in the form of a restoration manual.
Moreover, the typological studies undertaken for many decades on the Casbah in
Algiers will serve as a basis for drawing up a book of guidelines that town planning
regulations may need in order to plan new districts.
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Opportunities for traditional
architecture in the rural world.
Experiences in Cyprus
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Ministry of the Interior
Cyprus
The world has witnessed a vast movement of urbanization that
has led to a mass concentration of population in the cities, while
the countryside has been left, in many areas, depopulated. Thus,
today a severe unbalance exists between the urban and the rural
areas in terms of population numbers, and subsequently in
economic, social and cultural opportunities.
The rural context in Cyprus
The rural world has no homogeneous picture in regard to the
concentration of the population and the economic, social and
environmental trends for its development.
In Cyprus, there are two tendencies according to the accessibility of
the settlement and its interconnections with the urban areas. In the
cases where the villages are situated in a relative proximity to the
cities, or near the motorways connecting the cities, they witness a
population rise. The improved communication system, the
recognition of a better quality of life experienced in the rural areas
in combination with the raised property values in the urban
conurbations, have led many young families to choose to settle in
the rural areas. This tendency brings life and social and economic
opportunities in the village, even though most people work in the
cities. On the other hand, however, the development of residential
zones around the historic core brings degradation to the
environment due to urban sprawl and the extended infrastructure
needed to sustain the zones. The historic cores of the settlements
seem to be suffocated by the new development, while its
traditional buildings often stay abandoned and neglected after
their aged owners have passed away.
In the opposite direction lay the settlements that are situated
further away, especially on the higher parts of the mountains.
Many Cypriot villages have been virtually extinguished by an
exodus of the bigger part of their population that has started after
the Second World War. For decades, they have been losing their
most active elements, namely the young men and women, while
only those who consider themselves too old to leave stay. Initially,
it was the impoverishment due to the shift in the economy from
agriculture to manufacturing that attracted people in the cities as
labour force. The city also provides a more prestigious and
profitable work for young people of both sexes. Moreover, the high
educational profile of the youth in Cyprus, leave the young
professionals with no other choice but to leave their village. Mass
emigration, towards the cities or abroad, has led to the decay or at
Agro-tourism has been an alternative possible for some time now,
as in the case of Cyprus.
least the stagnation of the area affected. The decline in population
numbers has been continuing steadily generating a number of
problems such the abandonment of the building stock, collapsing
buildings, lack of service provisions, etc.
It is however true that the more the settlement is abandoned the
better its architecture is preserved, free of interventions and
alterations, and the more the authenticity of the settlement is
preserved. For example, the village of Phikardou, a declared
Ancient Monument, that is today a beautifully preserved village,
without a community. But the sustainable development of the rural
world cannot be achieved by creating village-museums, but only by
ensuring the continuity of life of the settlements that must be
considered as living organisms rather than as a sum of building
structures and open spaces.
The villages in the semi-mountainous districts are in between the
two trends. Their relative accessibility, their milder climate and the
agriculture opportunities have helped in retaining a part of their
population. In some cases, they have attracted also a considerable
number of retired people, both from the island but also from
abroad. A number of villages in the Paphos district have been
turned into retirement districts for European citizens, favored for
their climate and their picturesque setting. This change in the
population affects the social cohesion and the traditional pattern of
social relations in the village on the one hand, while, on the other
hand, it regenerates the village at least during some parts of the
year.
The population in the rural world has low-average earnings and
household income. Rural economic activities are thus, considerably
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dependant on the financial flows originated from people living in
the urban areas. The high costs needed in order to rehabilitate a
traditional building, make it almost impossible for the aged
inhabitants to restore their homes and ensure a better quality of
life. Thus, the required investment comes mainly from the city
earnings, while the traditional buildings are rehabilitated to
become holiday homes for urban families, and more rarely for
permanent residences of more affluent people or services for the
tourist industry, such as small hotels, restaurants or coffee shops.
Tourist industry
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With the shift of the economy from the manufacture to the service
industry, a new chapter seems to open for the rural world offering
new opportunities for regeneration. Tourism is at the same time,
a growing product market and an employment provider. During the
last years the development of tourism has been regarded as a
panacea for economic activity and a key component for regeneration.
Tourism is considered to contribute to the sustainable development
of the rural world by creating and sustaining employment either in
the tourism industry directly (eg in small hotels or agrotourism
units) or indirectly (restaurants, shops, etc). Thus, other businesses
within the local economy may develop to facilitate the tourism
industry. Even agricultural income can be benefited by the
development of tourism since rural activities can be included as a
tourist attraction. Moreover, tourism development may contribute
to the economic and social infrastructure by attracting local
services that will serve both visitors and residents.
The tourism industry can also contribute to the costs of conserving
the traditional architecture, either directly – by the conversion of
traditional buildings to tourism units, or indirectly – by the
View of Kakopetria (Cyprus)
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Opportunities for traditional architecture in the rural world. Experiences in Cyprus
conversion to restaurants or even to museums and cultural centers
by the local authorities.
In Cyprus, the Tourism Development Programme, or Agrotourism
Programme as it is named, was fostered by the Cyprus Tourism
Organisation (CTO) towards the end of the 1980s. During its first
phase, that lasted until 1996, around 100 projects all over the
rural areas of the island were undertaken with CTOs subsidies.
These included mainly village squares, community centers and
small museums. The first units were created in 1996.
Since 1996, CTO has undertaken selected projects orientated
towards infrastructure and to the organization and improvement
of tourist units, through a newly founded “Agrotourism
Company”. The strategies for the development of tourism in the
rural areas include actions such as the education and training of
the actors involved, the preservation and promotion of traditions,
customs and gastronomy, the development of nature paths,
etc.Today, there are 84 accommodation units in traditional houses
all over the island.
A further step in the development of agro tourism and
subsequently to the process of regeneration of the traditional
settlements involved is the Agrotourism Programme funded by the
Structural Funds of the European Union (37%) and by National
Funds (63%), running in the period 2004-2006. The programme
involves small and medium sized enterprises dealing with
economic activities related to agro tourism, such as
accommodation units, small hotels, restaurants, workshops etc. In
the first phase of the programme 45 applications were approved
for the same number of traditional buildings all over the island.
The total investment involved is 7.5 million Cyprus Pounds (12.75
mil. Euro) from which CP 2.850.000 (4.845.000 Euro) will be
granted by the Funds. In the 2nd phase, currently running a further
60 projects is estimated that will be approved.
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Case study: Kakopetria
Kakopetria, is a mountainous village, popular amongst Cypriots.
The village has a rather compact historic core with a remarkable
and well preserved architecture, while its modern development
consists of rather indifferent buildings. It is a vivid settlement with
a population of 2000. Its nice climate and proximity with the
forest attracts the considerable number of around 10.000 visitors
during the summer period.
The Kouspes Company started its activity in 1995. Today it has
rehabilitated 20 traditional houses in the traditional core of
Kakopetria, converting them to 2 restaurants, a cultural centre
with a cafeteria and accommodation units. The company employs
15 people in the tourism sector and 5 people in the building
construction sector. The company is planning to rehabilitate
further 20 buildings that are in its possession over the next years.
Cultural landscape
The picture of the rural world can only be completed when adding
the cultural landscape. The dry stone terraces found in many areas
of Cyprus are an exceptional testimony to the cultural tradition of
wine-making, closely related to the civilization of the wine
producing villages. They are also an outstanding example of a
technological ensemble in sustainable land use. They form a
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landscape reflecting responses to changing technologies in the
context of an evolving relationship between man and the natural
elements.
The terraces have a double role, since they provide adequately
spacious stretches of relatively flat land, allowing the efficient
cultivation of vineyards, while at the same time help retain
precious soil and protect from landslides caused by strong rains.
Dry stone constructions and the dramatic landscape that they
create are the physical expression of traditional land use, the result
of human ingenuity, hard work and special skills of generations of
farmers. Thus, their very existence depends on land use. Whether
in or out of the settlement, their current state of preservation, as
well as their potential for future preservation, strongly depends on
their current and future use of the land of which they form an
integral part. The threats they face are numerous:
Abandonment and subsequent degradation due to the
desertion of cultivation, a result of wider socio-economic
changes,
Destruction due to contemporary means for cultivating land
Alteration due to the introduction of new techniques and
materials in construction, and
Alteration of the landscape due to new development and
development sprawl.
Under the pressure of the above mentioned factors, the
cultural landscape but also the character of the traditional
settlements is irreversibly altered. The historical testimony, as
well as the opportunities for sustainable development, seems
to be, in many areas, in a one way heading to extinction.
Case study: Lefkara
Inhabitants of Kakopetria (Cyprus)
Lefkara is for many people synonymous to its famous lace and
stone. These are the symbol of the settlement, its prime cultural as
well as commercial value. But Lefkara is more than that: it is a
place of coexistence of different worlds, the traditional with the
multicultural. A place of farmers, craftsmen, and tradesmen.
The village still maintains its particular architectural and town
planning characteristics, according to the period during which it
developed. The oldest part of Lefkara, its core, is guessed to be
dated in the Middle Ages. The settlement developed around it,
densely built with a continuous pattern of building and with a
large number of narrow, labyrinthine and often dead-end streets,
shaped on the basis of the sharp inclinations of the terrain and the
medieval ideas on planning.
The turn towards trade and the new lifestyle radically altered the
look of the settlement. The central streets were transformed from
a simple means of access to the buildings, to places of commercial
activity and social interaction, thus the main commercial axes of
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the settlement were formed. The existing vernacular buildings
were transformed into the new style by the addition of new floors,
wings or morphological features, and the new buildings were
constructed on the basis of urban prototypes.
The economic crisis of 1929 resulted in the emigration of a large
part of the population. The Turkish invasion in 1974 and the
subsequent urbanization have further worsened depopulation,
leaving big parts of the historic cores deserted and in material
decline. The new socio-economic reality has changed customs,
attitudes and activities. Agriculture was deserted, the lace was a
bit out fashioned and new employment opportunities had to be
created in order to maintain a vivid and active community. Despite
that, Lefkara is today one of the most important historic
settlements of Cyprus, owing that to its well-preserved and rich
cultural and architectural heritage. During the last decades,
Lefkara depends very much on tourism attracted due to the well
preserved traditional architecture and by the crafts of lace and
silver that made Lefkara well known in Cyprus and abroad. The
restoration and correct preservation of the architectural heritage is
thus inevitably linked to the future of the settlement, since it
promotes sustainable development and economic activity and
reverses depopulation and desertion.
However, the new development pressure on the periphery of the
settlement has led to a new set of problems. On one hand those
related to the environmental impact on the outskirts and on the
other hand the degradation of the historical urban pattern on the
core. The degradation of the built environment caused by the
desertion of the building stock, due to immigration and
urbanization, the ageing of the structures, the high cost needed for
the restoration and the adaptation of the old typologies to the
modern habits. Moreover, the inadequate – for the use of the private
car - road system and the lack of parking spaces make the historic
centre a rather unattractive place for active citizens and traders.
To satisfy the contemporary needs the settlement further expanded
to the periphery. But unlike the previous growth of the settlement,
the contemporary manner in which it has taken place has no
organic continuity with the traditional settlement. The
unthoughtful parcelation of the hill slope to accommodate the out
of centre retail development and the new standard residences, led
to a degradation of the natural environment. The new parcels and
the necessary road system have wounded the surrounding hills,
irreversibly altering the landscape. The relationship between the
settlement itself and the nature on the one hand, and the near by
settlements on the other, is further threatened by scattered
development.
These external, on the first glance, issues of the periphery have a
trickle-down effect on the preservation of the traditional
settlement or the historic core. For example, retail has been the
prime source of income for the last decades and had a major role
in the formation of the urban fabric of Lefkara. But the movement
of the commercial activities to the outskirts leads to the
abandonment of the traditional uses in the historic centre and the
need of new uses in the buildings of mixed use typology in the
commercial axes. The additional desertion of the traditional
housing units in the core together with numerous unsuccessful
interventions on the traditional buildings led too a further
degradation of the core.
Plan for Lefkara (Cyprus)
Street in the village of Lefkara, Cyprus
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Restaurant in Kakopetria (Cyprus)
Rural landscape in Cyprus
Another major problem is the construction of new buildings that
are not in harmony with the architectural character of the
settlements. They might be bad reproductions of past forms or
totally alien in both volume and quality of space.
But besides its problems, Lefkara offers considerable opportunities
for sustainable development due to its central geographical
position in the island and easy access from the national road
network, the remarkable and considerably preserved architectural
heritage, the traditional crafts of lace and silver and the
uniqueness of the landscape and the surrounding environment.
The architectural heritage is the symbol of Lefkara, in both the
conscious of the residents as well as for the Cypriots in general.
Thus, the preservation of the architectural heritage is the main axe
of planning in the area. The Department of Town Planning and
Housing, seeks to address these problems through policies of
Integrated Preservation, within the framework provided by the
legislation such as the Lefkara Local Plan. The Lefkara Local Plan
provides the framework for development and promotes sustainability
combining economic development with heritage preservation and it
provides the framework for development control.
Lefkara has also benefited by public works partly subsidized by the
Government. Their aim is to improve the infrastructure of the
settlement and the well-being of the people thus contributing to
its regeneration..
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Reflection criteria for sustainable renovation
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Some essential points on strategic
reflection
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René Guerin
Vaucluse Council of Architecture, Town Planning
and the Environment (CAUE)
France
In the area of urban rehabilitation, drawing up an action strategy
requires a spirit of openness towards society and its perspectives
in order to ensure that the scheme will last, as well as towards the
spatial environment of operation and towards the social and
economic agents who should be consulted beforehand. This open
approach leads to the consideration of three strategic points of
the scheme - the long-term perspective, the subsidiarity of levels,
and synergy between public and private interests.
Ensuring the long-term durability of the scheme
The villages and towns of the Mediterranean have a historical
charge of several centuries, or even millennia. Over time, buildings
are developed around the original centre, while the oldest and
least well adapted ones are gradually modernised or replaced: so,
the traditional agglomeration is established within a certain
continuity, with the added pieces assimilated over time and no
brutal rupture. The rehabilitation of a property, a block or a whole
district is, a priori, part of this slow process of urban renewal,
ensuring its durability. At various periods, though, certain district
rehabilitation operations have always caused social and physical
rupture, breaking the principle of urban continuity.
To anchor the scheme in the present and the future, it is therefore
necessary to open up the reflection to civil society, with an
approach looking both backwards and forwards. Beyond the
theoretical knowledge of the history of the district or village, it is
a good idea to perpetuate the memory of the place through the
testimony of the older residents and local associations, in order to
nourish the intangible dimension of the scheme and to provide
particular clarification on certain physical traces of the past which
must be preserved and improved. Putting the scheme in a longterm perspective, which cannot be dissociated from its historical
context, requires prior consultation with representatives of
associations, the political world and sometimes the religious
world, as well as a wide spectrum of local society.
Local elected representatives and public authorities must express
their view in accordance with the role they see the site concerned
playing within the territory as a whole. However, in the interests of
the durability of the scheme, it is worth separating the results of
short-term political strategy (at the level of a term of office) from
what really lies within a long-term objective of general interest. An
initial political agreement on the strategy for the scheme makes it
possible to limit the risk that the operation could become blocked.
If the rehabilitation actions are not agreed upon socially, it is not possible
to guarantee the long term success of the rehabilitation, since the doors
of conflict and disagreement have been left open.
10
Associations are often an extremely rich context because of their
diversity and human resources supporting a busy social life,
particularly in traditional districts. Associations can be directly
involved in the scheme as current or future users or simply as local
residents. In this case, their point of view on the scheme acquires
a degree of legitimacy provided the particular interests of their
members do not take precedence over the general interest that
the project is intended to serve. Some specific associations could
be a valuable aid in drawing up a strategy by offering specific
clarification on various matters or by expressing needs concerning
social life, education, culture, leisure, the environment, health or
security.
Beyond the facts and viewpoints highlighted by representatives of
the scientific and educational worlds, it is appropriate to find out
about the tendencies expressed by the various professional worlds.
Business leaders, such as representatives of professional chambers,
heads of firms, traders or craftspeople can provide their strategic
knowledge about the development of activities, markets and jobs,
as well as the potential and disadvantages for the scheme of the
site concerned. However, with the acceleration of the development
of means of production and economic models accompanying
globalisation, it is a good idea to be prudent concerning the
durability of the concepts to be adopted in the rehabilitation strategy.
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It is important to consider the dynamics of the territory in which the intervention
areas to be inserted in order to be conscious of the way our decisions may enter
in contradiction or modify the strategies established on other scales. So, for
example, the decision to create a pedestrian area has consequences for the
mobility of the territory in which it is inserted.
10
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criteria for sustainable renovation
x
Some
essential points on strategic reflection
Perugia, Italy
If public participation can only be envisaged at the stage of
defining the plan of action, the strategy must be guided in
advance by the choices of and expectations of the different
populations in order to gain a better understanding of different
future ways of life that the rehabilitation project must serve. The
suitability of the scheme for different future uses involves great
flexibility of planning, with heavy infrastructures limited in order to
facilitate changing functions and the ability of spaces to evolve.
Considering different territorial levels
Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Urban rehabilitation strategy cannot be limited to the village or
district, but it must include the problems and issues of larger
territories while respecting the necessary coherence between the
different objectives set at each geographical level. The relevant
scale of the context of the strategic reflection is defined
depending on the forecast impacts of the scheme.
The planning of housing is established depending either on a
social balance being sought or according to market forces: in
either case, the situation is analysed for the whole population
catchment area, that is, at agglomeration level. According to the
same principle, the creation or adaptation of premises for activities
or shops requires a market study taking account of the economic
and commercial facilities of the population catchment area in
order to correct any imbalances or so as not to disturb a stable
situation. Finally, the impact of the scheme on movements must
be considered with the greatest care: the pedestrian and
motorised traffic flows generated by future operation must be
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Marrakech, Morocco
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Some
essential points on strategic reflection
III. Strategy
estimated, which could lead to planning the widening of roads,
the establishment of bicycle parks or the restructuring of public
transport networks in the district concerned, in a neighbouring
district or at another point of the agglomeration.
An action strategy based on a subsidiarity of spatial layers
therefore requires the different agents to be identified, along with
their respective powers over the different territories included in
the reflection.
Creation of synergies for a public-private partnership
In villages and old town centres, the stock of property is essentially
private, although the majority of public facilities and buildings are
concentrated in these places. So, private agents are almost always
involved in rehabilitation actions undertaken as public initiatives,
with private and public interests converging. The success of a
rehabilitation strategy requires a partnership between public and
private agents, based on an explicit definition and divided
between general objectives, expected results, rules and
commitments by each party (financial support and what is
required in return).
An urban rehabilitation scheme is begun by the public authorities
when the property market is not dynamic enough or, conversely,
when it exercises strong pressure that threatens economic and
social equilibriums.
When the property dynamic is weak, the public authorities may,
without actually acquiring land, encourage private rehabilitation
through grants to owners; when social objectives are more
important, grants may be increased or reserved for people with
low incomes or for landlords letting housing at moderate rents.
In extreme cases, or where investment is insufficient to halt the
abandonment of buildings and the general degradation of the
district, the job of the public authorities is to provide relief for the
failing private initiative by going ahead and acquiring property,
either by exercising pre-emptive rights of purchase or compulsory
purchase. To prevent any risk of social rupture, it is appropriate to
keep activities and people – essentially consisting of tenants – in
place. Once the land-ownership structure has been ensured by the
public authorities, they may themselves ensure the rehabilitation
of the property or entrust it to one or more social or private
operators, following specifications, depending on the strategic
objectives sought. The land-holding structure thereby offers the
public authorities the opportunity, with relative independence of
market forces, to define the nature of housing, activities and
shops.
In circumstances of property speculation, the public authorities
may use market regulation tools, such as land action, the
application or planning rules or the establishment of taxes
intended to create social housing or public facilities.
It is important to find the balance between the public and private interests, being
the public initiative that which promotes that the private initiative invest in the
rehabilitation process. This necessary intervention need not condition the
consecution of the objectives agreed upon by the collective.
Original, effective formulas may be adopted to run or manage
operations and also for investment in urban rehabilitation. When
the public authorities have general interest objectives requiring
financial means which they cannot themselves mobilise, it may be
appropriate to resort to using a private operator. When this is a
mixed ownership company or private company, the operator
becomes involved only from a perspective of getting a return on
the capital invested over a period. So, there is a real synergy
between public and private partners based on the convergence of
long-term interests.
The strategy of intervening in old districts, which have been
gradually established over time, must be maintained over different
time scales. These different periods naturally fit with the different
spatial scales integrated into the reflection: the strategies
approaching the territory at regional or agglomeration level are
likely to have a longer horizon than limited urban planning. A
partnership between public and private agents is established
around lasting shared objectives. Ultimately, the long-term vision
necessary for the scheme to be a lasting one begins full of
uncertainties, given the increasingly rapid evolution of our
societies. The intuitive dimension to the approach seems essential:
this is where all the interest of strategic reflection lies.
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III. Strategy
Renovation understood
as a multidimensional process
10
The population of the Mediterranean Region lives predominantly
in urban areas, while the historic centres of our cities contain a
significant part of the finest examples of the world’s architectural
heritage.
Despite their importance, many of these historic environments still
experience spatial as well as social and economic deprivation
derived both from poor resources, political crises, sub urbanisation
and in other cases from the rapid shift from industrial processes to
service based economies and new technology which has affected
many countries and reshaped the environment of urban areas.
Whatever the causes are, the characteristics of these deprivations
include poor housing, deficiencies in public services, physical
degradation, loss of population, progressive aging of the
population, concentration of ethnic minorities, loss of economic
activity, problems of marginalisation and unemployment.
The emerging need to deal with the complex problems, which the
major cities were facing, led many European and Mediterranean
countries to experiment with various interventions during the past
decades.
Initial efforts in 1980s tended to combat urban problems of
historic centers focusing either only on the physical or the
economic aspect.
This policy was criticized in that it failed to reverse the process of
decline as it was narrowly targeted in ad hoc projects without any
overall strategic view. There was little consideration on the
priorities of the local communities.
In the 1990s the interdependencies that exist between physical,
economic, social and environmental aspects of deprivation have
been recognized.
Planning For Change
Currently three main factors have emerged which are changing
the way we think about cities:
The information technology and the networks connecting
people from the local to the global level.
The awareness of the impact that the consumption of natural
resources can have on the globe and the importance of
sustainable development.
The changing patterns of living reflecting increasing life
expectancy and the development of new lifestyle choices.
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x
Agni Petridou
Nicosia City Council,
Cyprus
One of the key factors of success is to be sure that the rehabilitation is not only
centered in interventions upon the physical framework, but that these must be
complemented with social, economic and environmental actions. Why would we
want beautiful buildings if nobody is going to live in them?
These new powerful drivers of change are transforming our towns
and everything depends from our ability to direct these drivers,
which will affect the future of urban areas.
Currently, the issues that have emerged in terms of successful
regeneration of historic cities include the following requirements:
Comprehensive Approach
To acknowledge that historic centers form integral parts of the city
as a whole. This implies that a comprehensive approach towards
their regeneration must be seen within the framework of a
strategic vision for the wider urban area and the region as a
whole.
Integrated Action
The need to tackle the interrelated aspects of deprivation in a holistic
way, by adopting a comprehensive regeneration approach which
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Critères
de réflexion pour une réhabilitation durable
x
Renovation
understood as a multidimensional process
includes not only physical and economic aspects but also the social
issues of safety, employment, social services, health, training etc.
Promotion of compact urban form.
The compact city of mixed uses, which favors walking, cycling and
public transport, is the most sustainable urban form. This urban
form highlights the value placed upon proximity to work, shops
and basic social, educational and leisure uses. It also gives priority
to the provision of public areas for people to meet and interact, to
learn from one another and to join in the diversity of urban life.
Creation of economic strength
Cities need to develop clear economic identities, which promote
specialized business in order to make them competitive within a
global market place.
Innovative regeneration delivery mechanisms
There is a need to define the appropriate legal instruments,
innovative implementation mechanisms as well as appropriate
institutional structures including various forms of partnerships.
The establishment of partnerships between public, private,
voluntary and community section leads to effective regeneration
since problems are tackled in an integrated way, it secures cooperation between all the stakeholders and the coexistence of
different skills and maximizes efficiency.
Investment in urban government-Regaining confidence
and public support for local government.
The local authorities must have the power to play a vital role in the
regeneration process. They are the elected representatives of the
local communities, they have knowledge of the particular
circumstances of their areas and they offer the opportunity to act
as catalysts and bring together other partners, including housing
associations, community groups and the private sector.
III. Strategy
The regeneration of the city centre, its future local and regional
opportunities, and the potential role that this area can assume in
the case of reunification, was placed within the metropolitan
framework.
Particular attention was given to the walled city, which constitutes
a common heritage to all the communities of Nicosia and
therefore was considered by the team as the most precious part of
the city.
The urbanisation initially and the division of Nicosia subsequently
resulted in a downward spiral for the walled city, creating a decline
in population, higher concentration of social problems, loss of
commercial activities and employment, inappropriate uses and
fluxes of migrants encouraged by the low rents, high number of
vacant properties, absence of private investment and deterioration
of its environmental quality.
These trends revealed the strong interrelationship between the
environmental, social and economic aspects and led to the
acknowledgment that the preservation and rehabilitation policy
for the historic centre must be seen as a multi-dimensional process
incorporating the following objectives:
Social objectives, relating to the rehabilitation of old residential
neighbourhoods, community development and population
increase,
Economic objectives, aiming to the revitalisation of the
commercial core and increase of employment opportunities,
Architectural objectives with regard to the restoration and
reuse of individual monuments and of groups of buildings, with
significant architectural and environmental qualities. This
objective has multiple benefits as it preserves the cultural
Public participation
The involvement of the local community in regeneration initiatives
both directly in partnerships, or more generally in participating
through the different stages of projects development, promotes
local democracy and leads to lasting benefits after the end of the
targeted regeneration programs.
The case of Nicosia
In 1978 the representatives of the two communities, agreed to
prepare a common flexible master plan for the city capable of
addressing the planning problems relating to the existing situation
and at the same time to be adaptable in the case that political
circumstances would allow the development of the city as one entity.
Nicosia (Cyprus)
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III. Strategy
heritage of the city while raises the potential of the historic
centre to attract contemporary functions.
Planning objectives for the balanced distribution of mixed-use
areas and the density of development, so that they will be in
harmony with the scale and character of the historic center.
Improvement of traffic circulation based on pedestrianisation
schemes and the one-way loops system in order to avoid
through traffic.
10
The objectives elaborated by the NMP for the historic centre are
implemented through a combination actions: through the
provisions of the Local Plan, economic incentives given to private
owners by the Government and through public investment
projects.
During the last fifteen years a series of bi-communal projects have
been implemented in selected areas on both sides of the historic
centre. The United States Agency for International Development
and the European Union provided the funds for these projects
through UNDP.
In most of these projects, emphasis is placed on housing
rehabilitation as it is considered that rehabilitation can only be
achieved as a long-term process only if it refers to social
revitalization, involving as its basis the revitalization of population
structure which is the precondition of sustained physical
conservation.
Of course, by itself housing does not make a neighborhood.
Neighborhoods need to comprise a mixture of activities, which
work to strengthen social integration and civic life. To do this will
mean concentrating a range of public facilities and commercial
uses in neighborhood and maximizing the re-use of existing
traditional buildings. These are important assets and can be
preserved and adapted to accommodate housing and other
essential uses.
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Renovation
Therefore, the first twin investment projects that have been
implemented in Nicosia were Chrysaliniotissa and Arab Ahmed
housing rehabilitation programmes one on each side of the buffer
zone.
The overall objective of these two projects was to increase the
available housing units and the provision of community services in
order to attract new residents. Both areas were characterised by
the outstanding architectural value and the neglected status of
their buildings, the low proportion of owner-occupiers, the low
income position of both owner-occupiers and tenants, the lack of
community facilities, lack of economically active residents, and a
high proportion of aged residents. All the data indicated that there
was no possibility for private initiative to lead to conservation and
revitalization of this Area.
As a result of that, in Chrysaliniotissa all the dilapidated
abandoned buildings and empty building plots have been
acquired by the public sector. After the restoration of 27 vacant
traditional houses and the construction of 15 new houses on
empty building plots, the new units have been allocated with
long-term rent to young couples with children willing to live there
permanently. Priority has been given to the families of the previous
owners and to people related to the neighbourhood. The
provision of community services such as a kindergarten, artisans
workshops, students hostel, and the enhancement of public open
space further upgraded the residential environment.
The strong demonstration effect of the project has gradually
stimulated private interest and investment in the restoration of
many listed buildings of the area, which are occupied by the
owners.
The pedestrianisation project of the commercial axis, of the
historic centre succeeded in the rehabilitation and the
environmental improvement of the business area and allowed it to
compete gradually with the new commercial centres of the
modern city.
Other priority investment projects were focusing on the
restoration and reuse of historic monuments while others
consisted of restoration of dilapidated facades of buildings,
improvement of infrastructure, paving of public open spaces.
Through these interventions it is expected to restore the urban
fabric, to enrich the historic environment, to attract new residents
and economic activity and to stimulate the private initiative to
invest in the old city.
These projects, apart of improving the living environment of
Nicosia, preserve the potential of the historic centre and its
importance in the future functional integration of the city.
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Critères
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Renovation
III. Strategy
Master Plan of Nicosia (Cyprus)
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Priority renovation objectives
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Priority objectives of rehabilitation
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Priority
objectives of rehabilitation
x
The commitment to sustainability:
well beyond environmental variables
Cities, as universal centres of employment, trade and exchange of
goods and services, are open to mass migration and finance flows.
Their rapid growth over the last century (particularly in the form of
peripheral development), and their emerging spatial configuration
as a result of physical, functional and demographic changes, has
led to the disintegration of established civic cores and the
abandonment of older residential, commercial and industrial city
parts and harbour zones. The negative effects of this
phenomenon have been particularly felt in the Mediterranean
region, where the intrinsic value of inner-city cores raises, also,
issues associated with the need to protect their historic fabric.
Contemporary cities often display concentrated extremes of
affluence and poverty. Occupying territorially stigmatised places in
the decaying historic parts of cities, certain disadvantaged groups
are spatially segregated, functionally and socially disconnected
from the prevailing economic prosperity, as they are unable to
follow the city’s dominant rhythms, residing in dually marginalised
urban spaces that suffer from class-based social marginalisation
and racialised social exclusion.
In many European countries, urban regeneration strategies
concentrated, initially, on the physical transformation of the built
environment and the improvement of environmental quality, to be
dominated, at a later stage by a clear emphasis on market criteria,
established as a direct consequence of the changed ideological
imperatives of the rising neo-liberal state. Although these
initiatives sought to create business opportunities in the inner
cities, claiming to bring “trickle-down” benefits for those who
lived within and near the designated areas, there has been no
evidence of such effects, as people in the deprived cores of the
major conurbations were not suitably skilled to secure a job or a
future in these schemes, while – in many cases – they were even
forced out of some of the redeveloped areas. Policies heavily
dependent on physical transformation have often raised
fundamental questions about the relationships between public
and private sector interests, and attracted major criticism for their
distributional consequences, in that such strategies tend to ignore
local factors and the need to achieve an appropriate balance
between the economic, social and environmental issues associated
with specific localities. In fact, the history of contemporary urban
policy has been marked by efforts – deliberate or not – to
marginalise or discipline specific groups held responsible for the
disorderly or decaying environment of certain parts of the city.
Such policies have consistently overlooked the crucial link
between the environmental and the social and economic goals of
III. Strategy
Kyriakos Koundouros & Irene Hadjisavva-Adam
Architects
Cyprus
The traditional Mediterranean city, because of its compact structure, facilitates the
proximity of services and reduces mobility, better responding to the requisites of
sustainability which present-day urban planning demands.
11
inner-city regeneration. Sustainable rehabilitation requires a more
integrated approach, which addresses equally the social,
economic and environmental issues of deprivation.
Many rehabilitation initiatives, imposed particularly over the last
few decades, failed to demonstrate lasting improvements, as they
restricted the role of local communities in the regeneration
processes and procedures, rather than empowering them in
taking increased ownership of their local environment. By
contrast, a holistic view to regeneration, which addresses the
complex causes, and not just the symptoms of deprivation,
involves an integrated, comprehensive and strategic approach that
aims to reduce the varying aspects of the multiple disadvantages
experienced in inner cities. Such a view calls for the development
of “bottom-up”, instead of “top-down” approaches, where the
public sector works as a catalyst, rather than a major player or
provider, while private and voluntary sectors and agencies, as well
as community groups, take up a more active role in a partnership
mechanism.
So far, most attempts to “cure the illnesses” of inner cities have
been marked by short-term thinking and the lack of strategy
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III. Strategy
11
Tool 11
Outil
x
Priority
x commitment to sustainability: well beyond environmental variables
The
(focussed on getting the maximum return from particular projects
/ sites), the fragmentation of effort and the weak involvement of
local economies and local communities. As Turok (1992) observes,
three of the main areas specifically ignored by property-based,
construction-led initiatives are human resource issues, such as
education and training (and consequential effects on incomes and
employment prospects); the underlying competitiveness of
construction (including its technology, productivity, and innovative
capacity); and investment in essential basic infrastructure (such as
transport and communications).
Sustainable urban regeneration requires a comprehensive and
integrated approach that addresses the complex dynamics of
urban areas and extends well beyond urban renewal and the
rehabilitation of the built fabric.
Firstly, there needs to exist a long term vision and commitment, in
pursuit of lasting economic benefit, so that high and stable levels
of economic growth and employment can be generated and
maintained. Initiatives should aim at creating and supporting a
more localised economy by encouraging local purchasing and
local employment. Educational and training programmes could
help local people (most importantly the young) increase their own
employability and secure a better place in the labour market, while
small businesses support schemes may ensure that a larger portion
of internally generated income and savings is re-circulated within
the designated area. Commitment to supporting the local
economy needs to begin right from the initial stages of the
rehabilitation / regeneration process, through the use of local
labour, local suppliers and local sub-contractors in the
construction schemes and the supply chains.
Sustainable regeneration needs to anticipate the complex
economic, social and physical problems as they arise and before
they become too severe to tackle. Therefore, flexibility, with the
ability to adjust to changing circumstances and respond to new
challenges, is a prerequisite of any successful strategy. What is
important to recognise is that while large companies have greater
capacity for development, small, local businesses may have greater
flexibility, adaptability and responsiveness.
Planning policy has a major role to play in sustainable
regeneration. It should seek to ensure that development is
concentrated within existing urban centres, so that pressure for
peripheral development, along with the need to travel, can be
reduced. Priority needs to be given to the provision of, and the
investment in, public infrastructure, particularly public transport.
As a parallel measure, a more efficient use of land should be
promoted by developing vacant plots, maximising the re-use of
previously developed land and existing buildings, raising
residential densities and reducing the amount of land used for
roads and parking in urban areas. A mix of uses and public open
spaces, integrated appropriately with public transport
infrastructure, could ensure that local people (particularly those
with restricted mobility and income) have good access to a range
of facilities and employment opportunities.
Coherent strategies recognise the inter-dependence of economic,
social and environmental measures and the danger of addressing
them separately. Issues such as housing, health, transport,
employment, education, training, environmental improvement,
crime reduction and good design are closely linked. Policies and
View of the dense centre of Aleppo (Syria)
Street in Tunis (Tunisia)
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The
III. Strategy
programmes need to be formulated in such a way that they can
deliver a balanced outcome in achieving sustainable economic
growth, tackling social exclusion, enhancing (rather than
suppressing) diversity, and improving the quality of urban life.
Actions and policies should provide opportunities for all urban
residents to achieve their full potential regardless of gender, age,
race or disability.
An integrated approach to sustainable regeneration makes use of
partnership mechanisms where all actors and stakeholders have
an opportunity and an interest to get involved in the process, as
the scale and complexity of large-scale interventions require the
concentration of all available knowledge, expertise and resources.
Public sector agencies need to work corporately; not only
internally (i.e. through a successful inter-departmental coordination), but also in bringing together other partners, including
the private sector, community and voluntary groups, local
agencies and organisations. A partnership approach can help to
ensure more widespread confidence and achieve consensus in the
resulting strategies. Empowering the community enhances social
sustainability, and strengthens the sense of local ownership of the
scheme implemented, along with all consequential benefits that
may arise.
Certainly, there needs to exist an enabling institutional and legal
framework, so that rights and responsibilities can be allocated and
assigned to each one of the actors, not only during the design and
execution of the strategy, but also for the long term management
and maintenance, care and repair of the regenerated areas. Such
a prospect requires an efficient urban management framework,
with respect to the preparation and implementation of the
programme and its long term running. Further, performance
needs to be consistently reviewed through systematic updating,
upgrading and monitoring against locally developed performance
indicators, so that any subsequent action may successfully
respond to new issues, new opportunities and new demands.
Any rehabilitation effort requires, above all, a firm political will and
commitment, not only in providing (or securing) the necessary
funds and resources to enable the effort to proceed, but also in
introducing pro-active land assembly programmes and
mechanisms to facilitate development. It is also crucial that central
government recognises the need to provide a strong institutional
framework at regional and local level, which has the ability to
deal, with efficiency and flexibility, with matters regarding funding
and allocation of resources, as well as in meeting new challenges
and changing priorities.
Rehabilitation initiatives, so far, have placed a strong emphasis on
the physical aspects of the problems experienced by residents of
areas in decay. Beautification strategies aimed solely at preserving
the fabric of a historic city, repairing its street facades and repaving
alleys with traditional cobblestones, have proved to be too shortsighted and narrowly defined, as they have ignored local factors
and the need to be sensitive to the social, political, environmental
and economic specificities of localities. Many recent major urban
experiments failed, as they underestimated the need to take into
account the spatiality of the city. The element of geographical
imagination, in any attempt to understand cities, is crucial. The
unparalleled growth of cities over the last few decades demands
that we grasp the complexity of these organisms in a more holistic
manner, so that we can provide the necessary answers, remedies
and interventions. What is needed is a thorough spatial
understanding of the city, but also the political will and the
resources to turn the potential of growth, and mixity, and
difference, and disorder, into positive interaction and creative
intensity, rather than despair, inequality and conflict.
Rehabilitated neighbourhood in Thessalonika (Greece)
View of Jaffa (Israel)
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Thornley, A. (1996) “Planning Policy and the Market” in Tewdwr-Jones, M. (Ed.) British
Planning Policy in Transition, London, UCL Press
Trumbic, Ivica (United Nations Environment Programme / Mediterranean Action Plan –
Priority Actions Programme Regional Activity Centre) (2005) Urban Regeneration in the
Mediterranean Coastal Cities – Proceedings of the 14th Biennial Coastal Zone
Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana
Turok, I. (1992) “Property-led urban regeneration: panacea or placebo?” in Environment
and Planning A, vol. 24
UK Sustainable Development Commission (2002), Vision for sustainable regeneration:
environment
&
poverty
–
the
missing
link,
http://www.sdcommission.gov.uk/pubs/regeneration02/
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Social cohesion:
objective and tool for renovation
III. Strategy
Filipe Mario Lopes
Architect
Ex-director of the Urban Renovation Bureau in Lisbon
Portugal
Social Cohesion
Social cohesion is the result of forces linking the different elements
of a community. When social cohesion exists, these links lead to
harmony despite real disparities.
Social cohesion may be stronger or weaker and cover very
different situations depending on the size of the communities: on
a global scale, social cohesion gives rise to international solidarity
movements. It exists at national, regional and local levels. In all
cases, what links the individual to a community is a feeling of
belonging, and this feeling may be positive, or negative if the
individual rejects the community or the community rejects the
individual.
Forces for cohesion at local level
Local social cohesion (districts of towns, villages or regions) is
constructed based on common values:
All the elements that create an identity: large- and small-scale
heritage, local culture, traditions, songs, festivals, customs and
crafts.
All the networks of mutual aid, solidarity and knowledge.
All common interests: available facilities, groups and
organisations, various associations.
By contrast, social cohesion reduces with the absence of concern
for the district and its inhabitants, with contradictory or diverging
interests, with rivalries, with situations of privilege or with divides
due to poverty or social exclusion. A local community consists of
very diverse situations in terms of the groups and people making
it up. This is a social asset to be supported and maintained, but
also one which can lead to tensions. The aim is not uniformity: it
is for the different generations, social strata, etc. to come
together. For cohesion to exist, comprehension and tolerance are
needed, as well as links, common goals, elements of identity and
common projects, tending, above all, to fight poverty and
exclusion in order to reduce divides. What creates social cohesion
between the individuals of a community is the consciousness that,
despite diverse needs and interests, there are links and common
interests justifying such cohesion.
One of the objectives of the process is the fomenting of social cohesion. It is
important that it be converted into a project shared by the inhabitants, in which
the improvement and beautifying of the constructed surroundings foments the
feeling of belonging to the territory.
11
Rehabilitation and Social Cohesion
Rehabilitation, aimed at improving living conditions in old districts
and villages and acting on buildings, but also on the social,
economic, environmental and spatial organisation of these
communities, must necessarily establish intervention programmes,
comparing them with criteria making it possible to assess their
effects on social cohesion. In fact, it the declared objectives of
rehabilitation clearly fit in with the substance of social cohesion,
which becomes a great, overall objective while, at the same time,
it is also a tool.
Certain rehabilitation options may not, in fact, benefit certain
members of the community, but it will nevertheless accept them
all the more easily if cohesion is strong.
Using social cohesion criteria, strategic reflection on the
intervention scenarios will check that they do not create tensions
in the community and that they do not contain elements of social
division. Conversely, these criteria must make it possible to assess
whether these scenarios can strengthen identity, make networks
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function or develop common interests. These are not decisions
taken by a majority. It must be ensured that the decision is not
going to damage social cohesion. If they are negotiated decisions,
which do not provoke furious opposition, and if they are properly
explained, they will be well tolerated.
Here we link up with the political justification of the intervention,
where the need not only stems from a desire to preserve
traditional buildings but also from the aim of improving the living
conditions of the population, requiring a flexibility of conservation
strategies which lead to the use of the term "rehabilitation", as
distinct from "restoration". The political justification of the
rehabilitation process through solving many problems has many
points in common with the requirements of social cohesion: from
the social perspective of fighting poverty and exclusion and
avoiding desertification, ghettos and marginalisation, as well as
from the town planning, economic, environmental and heritage
viewpoints, strengthening social cohesion by improving living
conditions.
To give a specific example, in the rehabilitation of the old districts
of Lisbon, initiated by the demands of the inhabitants of
deteriorated houses, all the interventions were directed at this
heritage, and interventions in public spaces were avoided.
However, works to restore the Church of Saint Anthony and
Lisbon Castle could be carried out without creating tensions
because these monuments exercise a cohesive force in these
districts as essential elements for their identity; Saint Anthony,
being a popular saint, born in the area, and the Castle because it
is a symbol of the origin of the city. Moreover, for the Castle, the
intervention provided for the rehabilitation of all the homes inside
the wall.
More than mere participation, the choice of scenarios must
provide for the real involvement of the residents, which is essential
so that, for example, in improvements to housing, where the
needs exceed the possibilities for immediate intervention, orders
of priority can be established and residents will accept having to
wait when confronted with cases which have been demonstrated
to them as more urgent because of the situations being
experienced.
Social cohesion, then, requires priority to be given the deepest and
most urgent needs. It is expressed in the solidarity which, in old
districts, forms real networks, and care must be taken not to
destroy these: links of mutual aid between neighbours, which
cannot be reconstructed.
The coexistence of different social situations is essential in order to
eliminate barriers between people/social classes/age groups.
In this sense, old districts and traditional villages have a great
wealth of morphologies, encouraging contacts between
inhabitants; quite the opposite of the closure frequently resulting
from contemporary town planning. Social cohesion is
strengthened by the tolerance of "others" and the recognition
that everyone is equally important in the community because
everyone is necessary: that leads to people helping the poorest,
the oldest and the most marginalised.
When it comes to choosing interventions to be carried, the filters
of social cohesion must be borne in mind, as they make the action
easier and, by strengthening cohesion, facilitate the future. It is
because options are generally not close enough to this notion that
obstacles build up, opposition is organised and communities
crumble..
A nail, a brick, a tile...Poster stimulating the population to get involved
in renovation at Yorük (Turkey)
Young people in a new square in the centre of Barcelona (Spain)
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The evaluation of traditional
heritage: the case of Greece
An integrated diagnosis of the present state of conservation of the
country’s traditional heritage should formulate criteria for
intervention according to the types of sites and buildings, their
context and their potential threats.
In terms of the urban traditional heritage, as we stated above in
the first chapter, there are few well preserved urban centers in
Greece today. Urban scale studies should focus both on the social
and cultural values as well as the architectural and townscape
values to be conserved. Relevant projects in Greece, even in cases
they were successful in conserving the townscape qualities of a
site (like Plaka in Athens and Ladadika in Thessaloniki) have never
managed to preserve the initial local population and functions. So
they have completely altered the existing uses of the built space
turning housing into commercial or recreation functions or rising
prices of real estate to the point of displacing the majority of the
initial residents.
As far as listed buildings in urban context are concerned, there is
a strong pressure for over exploitation of urban sites. In many
cases this leads to interventions(construction of additional floors,
preservation only of the facades for streetscape conservation
reasons…) eliminating the essential architectural and typological
identity of the buildings involved, while criteria for facing such
issues are quite ambiguous (Fig. 20, 21, 22).
The most critical issue though in terms of formulating criteria, is
that related to the conservation and development of existing well
preserved traditional settlements. There are three major categories
distinct in terms of their present state:
III. Strategy
Architects
Greece
11
Patrimony appreciation is only one of the objectives of rehabilitation. In Greece, as
in the majority of Mediterranean countries, we find three categories of threats to
the “patrimony”: abandonment, tourism development pressure and the accelerated
transformation of the traditional character of settlements.
a) Those under pressure for tourist development
b) Those abandoned, threatened by total lack of maintenance
c) Those where incompatible interventions are slowly depriving
them of their character.
It is important to formulate criteria and policies for these three
groups. Traditional settlements should be viewed, in any case, as
an organic ensemble to be conserved together with its natural
landscape and context allowing development that would not alter
the existing balance between natural and built space.
This ensemble can be the most persistent expression of a local
culture and tradition. Tracing down values to preserve would help
integrate new uses and new owners as opposed to conserving
static built spaces.
Action and criteria should be formulated by taking into
consideration points such as:
1. Local materials and construction techniques should be studied
not only for their potential morphological aspect but as
abundant in situ materials or sustainable environmentally
efficient techniques, considering their eventual application in
modern structures in combination with new techniques. New
constructions today in conservation areas are carried out
applying standard conventional materials and techniques used
throughout the country and paying attention only in the
imitation of morphological features of the traditional forms.
2. Typological and townscape studies should focus on the
cultural, social and behavioral values to be conserved together
with urban design and architectural elements.
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The
III. Strategy
3. Studies of the vernacular architecture should also consider the
possibility of allowing the insertion of new architectural forms
into conservation areas through the creative reinterpretation of
the existing tradition. Moving away from pastiche solutions we
should focus on developing methods for allowing a more
pluralistic attitude based on the thorough understanding of the
environmental, ecological, social and architectural features of
the traditional built space aiming at a dynamic use of the
knowledge provided through its study. Developing criteria for
this objective is critical for the future development of all
traditional settlements.
4. Preserving the social structure of a place should be a priority of
urban scale conservation projects.
5. Finally developing criteria for monitoring change especially in
settlements under pressure for tourist development is very
important. In Greece today the uniform way of construction
imposed through the uniform building code is threatening the
rural areas of the country since urban centers have been
completely congested. Developing local criteria and blocking
the application of this building code is a priority for controlling
construction in potential conservation areas of traditional
architecture.
11
1
2
Fig. 20, 21 and 22. Interventions adding elements in the historic centres of Greek
cities.
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Tool 11
Commitment to sustainable tourism.
The experience of Turkey
Can BINAN et Demet BINAN
Architects
Yildiz Technical University, Istanbul,
Turkey
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Cultural or sustainable tourism should be an alternative to mass tourism, whose
pressure has had a very negative impact upon the traditional patrimony of the
Mediterranean.
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1
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4
III. Strategy
7
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Concerning the integrated action plan
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Outil
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Concerning
the integrated action plan
x
Tools for action to renovate historic
centres
III. Strategy
Josep Armengol
Manager of FORUM S.A. (Manresa)
Spain
We can define three categories of instruments which are
necessary for action in historic urban areas:
Instruments for planning the project which define the
objectives and justify the action to be taken
Instruments to manage the project which will ensure that the
plan is carried out properly
Instruments for participation and monitoring to guarantee that
all the objectives are achieved
1. Instruments for planning
An in-depth diagnosis which enables us to understand in full the
situation to be dealt with. This diagnosis must also explain the
causes which have led to the area being abandoned or falling into
decay. This is essential in order to design and plan the action and
strategies required to restore the area. That is to say, that in order
to rectify the neglect and destruction that has occurred in many
historic urban areas it is essential to know the causes of this
situation and the events which lie behind it.
The instruments required for planning have to go beyond a
diagnosis and need to be devised according to two main
coordinators: wholeness and scale. The principal of wholeness is a
principal of horizontal or oblique coordination which guarantees a
complete and coordinated treatment of all the sectors which need
to be dealt with, directly or indirectly, in the restoration process in
order to begin successfully. This means integrating and
coordinating territorial, physical and structural aspects with
demographic, social and economic aspects.
The principal of scale is the principal of vertical coordination
which, on the one hand, ensures proper articulation and
integration of specific activities in order to act within a partial
area-that of the neighbourhood,-while employing a superior
urban strategy-at least in the municipal sense-using the global
idea of the city. On the other hand, this same principal must
guarantee that all the other inferior activities-buildings, services,
programmes,...- are not only valid in themselves but also within
the context of wholeness.
In order to be more specific about the instruments required for the
planning of restoration activities, it is important to differentiate
between different levels of planning tools. The majority of these,
given that they are designed to legislate on the action to be
The fundamental planning tool is the Integral Plan of rehabilitation, which
gluttonizes the conjunct actions by sectors and their respective programs.
carried out, are of a legal nature. For this reason, they depend to
a great extent on the type of legal rulings which regulate urban
activity in each different context. Here we are referring to
instruments which go from the legal ruling which establishes
methods and guidelines for general action to the rules for urban
planning which legislate on specific activities to physically
transform the city.
The legal rulings are based on legal texts: Laws, acts, rulings,
municipal regulations,… In this area of planning permission we
also have to include direct supra-municipal planning, general
urban planning, and detailed urban building projects which are all
regulated by the relevant urban planning laws such as the Plans
Especials de Reforma Interior (Interior Renovation Plan) and the
Estudis de Detall.
In spite of the possibilities that all these different regulations seem
to offer us when planning urban renovations, in the majority of
cases it is difficult to benefit from these laws. In many cases,
despite the fact that urban legislation in the majority of European
countries includes planning options, the same laws ignore and
don’t include the specific management tools to enable action in
historic urban areas. In any case, the most important thing here
is to emphasise the need to decide planning and management
instruments at the same time and to coordinate them. Only by
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12
doing this, will we avoid the lack of coordination which can make
urban restoration impossible.
The planning tools determine the method and scale of the project,
as well as the amount of renewal as opposed to restoration
required according to the “option value”. At the same time, due
to the fact that these projects are organised by the public sector,
it is normal to decide within the planning tools the level of private
involvement in the process.
Apart from the legal planning instruments, which, as we have
seen, mainly apply to the physical modification of buildings, there
are other mechanisms which are just as important. These are social
mechanisms or tools which involve direct support for people such
as for example, the Schemes to promote economic activity or the
Schemes to create Social Services.
The objective of the Schemes to promote economic activity must
be, above all, to introduce new business into the area while
maintaining businesses and services which, despite adversity, have
managed to survive. The process of degradation of an area tends
to accompany a gradual closing of businesses and services and
therefore new business activity along with the employment
prospects it offers the residents is usually a fundamental strategic
requirement for its revitalisation. The Schemes to promote
economic activity often include training programmes, ways of
promoting employment, services to advise people and encourage
new business and they often contain programmes to introduce
strategic activities into the area, for example the promotion of
tourism.
Another issue is that in these run down areas there tend to be
specific social problems. Sometimes these problems are due
directly to the neglect of the area but sometimes the social problems
are the same as in the rest of the city only more intense. To deal with
this specific social problem in run down areas, it is necessary to plan
a social policy through the Schemes which promote social services,
which like all the other planning tools must be consistent with the
social planning designed for the city as a whole.
Some examples of the programmes that can be included in the
Schemes to promote social services are the specific programmes
for elderly people, the programmes for receiving and integrating
immigrants, the programmes for infants and adolescents and the
schemes which fight against social exclusion.
Finally, within the tools for planning a revitalisation project, we
have to underline the importance of the Integral Schemes for
revitalisation. The Integral Schemes are a fundamental planning
tool which coordinates across the different sectors and
programmes. The Integral Schemes for revitalisation are a tool
which guarantees that in the revitalisation process all the problems
are dealt with using a common strategy and also that this is done
within a process of global development at city and territorial level.
In other words,, the Integral Schemes are the main guarantee of
the principles of wholeness and scale.
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for action to renovate historic centres
As we will see later on, the Integral Schemes for revitalisation are
not only a fundamental planning tool in the process of urban
renovation but also a tool for management, participation and
follow-up.
2. Instruments for management
The regulations in our countries have tended to make provision for
increases in the size of cities but not for renovation. In this way,
The Action Plan must provide for the creation of a renovation office or
management body. Panel for the office at Selva del Camp, Catalonia (Spain)
Planning tools must include all interventions in open space. Gonoscodina, Sardinia
(Italy)
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these legal tools have favoured the extensive city model, a model
which cannot be sustained environmentally, economically or
socially. From an environmental point of view, this model is
undesirable not only because it involves indiscriminate use of land,
but also because of the type of mobility it creates. From a social
point of view, this model is also undesirable because it causes
social segregation in urban areas.
In fact, the prevalence of these regulations, along with the lack of
specific laws to encourage the maintenance of our historic areas,
are the two factors which have caused the gradual abandonment
of these areas leaving them in the state of neglect in which we
find them today.
Here, we also want to stress the importance of the law as a
legislative tool for management of projects. We need new
legislation, specifically urban legislation, to make the revitalisation
of our historic areas viable. This is the challenge for many
countries and some countries have made more progress in this
area than others.
Here, a good example is France, which has for a long time been
the leader in this area having created a wide range of laws
designed to improve the management of revitalisation projects in
depressed areas. For example, the right of repurchase and the
power of mayors to declare properties uninhabitable if they do not
meet a minimum standard. There is also a wide range of laws
which make provision for a wide range of specific cases with
different criteria for action and with specific tools for management
(areas where urban architectural heritage is protected, perimeters
for property renovation, protected areas...) These are some of the
management tools that France has introduced to make
revitalisation projects in historic areas viable and effective.
In the last few years, some of these laws have also been passed in
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Catalonia. Specifically, in the year 2004, the Catalonian
Government passed several laws which establish specific
management tools for action in historic urban areas:
The Llei 2/2004 (Law 2/2004) of 4 of June for the improvement of
neighbourhoods, urban areas and towns requiring special
attention, and the decret 369/2004 (Act 369/2004) of 7 of
September which develops it further.
The Llei 10/2004 of 24 of December which modifies the urban Llei
2/2002 of 14 of March.
The Decret 454/2004 of 14 of December, which includes the Plan
for the right to housing 2004-2007, modified and updated by the
Decret 244/2005 of 8 of November
The Decret 455/2004, of 14 of December, which regulates the Plan
for the renovation of housing in Catalonia.
Before these laws were passed, Catalonian urban legislation
already included some valid tools for managing projects in historic
urban areas but few people were able apply them. Some examples
are the law of municipal heritage of land, the register of sites where
building has been compulsory, the units for urban action and the
system for expropriation. But, the great limitation of these
instruments has been that none makes provision for the financial
viability of these activities and therefore they depend on the amount
of deficit that the public bodies are able to or willing to incur.
With this range of laws, urban management of restoration
projects has many new instruments at its disposal such as the
possibility of repurchasing or the possibility to demand building
work to rectify situations where property doesn’t reach habitable
standards, and thus it legislates for the intervention of local
government. But above all, these laws provide effective tools for
Universitary building near a new square in the old centre of Barcelona (Spain).
Adrià Goula
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12
the financing of the project. Some of these, offer direct
financing which can be obtained from the law for
improvement of neighbourhoods requiring special attention or
the Act 455/05 which provides financial assistance for the
renovation of houses and buildings with houses. Other tools
for financing are indirect, such as the reversion of capital gains
from the moment of compulsory cessation of urban use
deriving from renovation.
In this urban context, when dealing with the question of
management tools, we must not forget that it is essential that the
public sector leads these processes of urban revitalisation.
However, we also need to emphasise the necessity to involve the
private sector in the process.
In fact, the success of a renovation process cannot be guaranteed
if private companies are not involved in it in the same way as they
are involved in other building processes in the city. For this reason,
it is important that the public bodies establish agreements with all
the private companies who could be involved in theses processes.
Agreements, for example, with the main service industries
(electricity, water, gas, telecommunications, ...), agreements with
professional organisations in the technical field (architecture,
technical architecture, engineering, ...), agreements with private
companies such as the manufacturers of the materials for the
renovations and above all, obviously, agreements with banks.
Finally, it is important to bear in mind that the agreement, as a tool
for management or to enable the renovation has to include a
commitment from the proprietors and the financial backers to
carry out specific activities for urban renovation.
With the same goal of encouraging private involvement in the
process of urban renovation, another important tool is the system
of financial assistance for renovations. It consists of several types
of financial support and has proved to be a way of encouraging
private involvement. It offers proprietors and financial backers a
range of resources which give them technical advice and financial
help in order to minimise their risk in backing the renovation of an
area in a state of degradation as opposed to backing new
construction in new urban estates where everything is much
easier, much more secure and much more predictable.
Within the area of legal options as a management tool for
renovation projects, we must emphasise the importance of
territorial legislation. There is a legal framework which if applied
effectively can help tremendously in the renovation of run-down
areas but if it is applied incorrectly it can produce the opposite
effect and condemn theses areas to permanent decay. Here, I refer
to territorial aspects such as the fiscal aspect, the civil aspect, the
housing aspect or the aspect of construction in general
One of these is the fiscal aspect. We must remember that there is
generally a high level of tax levied on urban building projects
regardless of whether these projects are for the improvement of
historic areas or for the growth or extension of the city. The
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It is important to have a single, multi-competent manager so as to promote and
coordinate the conjunct of necessary actions for the correct development of the
rehabilitation process.
experiences in countries like France, where the fiscal burden, with
reduction or exemption of taxes, is reduced considerably to
encourage private business to invest in the renovation of rundown areas, are a good example of how this management tool
can be used.
Legislation regarding urban rental, or legislation which regulates
ownership of property, as well as all the legislation regulating
building projects or the protection of historical and architectural
heritage, are further examples of legal tools for the management
of urban renovation.
When I spoke earlier about tools for planning, I referred to the
need for leadership from public bodies, especially local authorities,
when embarking on an urban renovation project. This leadership
is also required for the development and management of the
project and for the coordination of all the different parties involved.
As can be gathered from everything mentioned above, the
different models for the management of projects to restore rundown urban areas are designed legally according to the legislation
in each place. However, despite the differences that we can see
from the experiences in different places, in all cases, there was a
necessity to have one single management body with many skills to
promote and coordinate all the activities involved in carrying out
the renovation process correctly. This body is a fundamental tool
in ensuring that these processes are carried out correctly. It is
always a body which is linked to the local authority or acts in its
name and these bodies can have different legal frameworks:
private businesses funded publicly, public bodies, trusts, ad hoc
departments, etc.
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publicly to more complex tools such as community involvement in
which the neighbours take part in public debates and are involved
in the planning, management and follow-up of the project.
The most obvious instruments for participation are those which
take into account the situation of the people most directly
affected by the urban renovation process. These people share a
specific environment (a street, a neighbourhood, ...), they share
the same problems and the challenge of overcoming them and
they also share human, cultural and economic resources. This is
the basis for the development of a community in which we can
encourage a constructive dialogue between the people and
groups who make up the community and also encourage a
capacity for collective organisation.
In order to guarantee the coordination of the different parties
involved, the correct allocation of resources, the proper execution
of the restoration project and the review of the project as
necessary, we require two types of instrument.
Another very important tool is the system of economic aids, subventions as well a
tax breaks in attracting the private initiative to the process.
3. Instruments for monitoring and participation.
The final group of instruments for restoration projects are those of
follow-up and participation.
An integral restoration programme carried out without the
involvement of the population directly or indirectly affected by it,
is bound to fail. In order to guarantee the success of these projects
it is necessary to devise methods for participation in order to
involve various groups and above all in order to obtain the
opinions and the support of inhabitants both when embarking on
the project and when carrying it out.
There are many models to ensure participation which have evolved
as our society has evolved economically, socially and culturally.
With these participation systems, the citizens, as individuals or as
groups, are given a key role in the process of restoration of their
neighbourhood. That is to say, that these systems enable the
people most affected by these projects to decide how they want
their future to be designed.
A participation process is not simply a way of informing the
inhabitants what the plans are for the restoration of their
neighbourhood. It is something more complex. The aim of theses
processes is to make residents aware of their common problems
and of the current and potential resources that they have at their
disposal to solve them. Also, these processes have to encourage
collective organisation when it comes to facing the problems and
dealing with them.
There are many ways of inviting inhabitants to participate in the
urban restoration process. From simply explaining the plans
Instruments for follow-up
The system of indicators
With the creation of specific bodies, with representation and
participation of all the parties involved (the different public
authorities, the private companies, the neighbours, the local
business proprietors, the banks, ...), we guarantee that all the
action to be carried out is followed up correctly. Here I refer to
organisations like Committees for technical and political
coordination, the Committee to guide the process, the Boards of
financial institutions, local councils and also the unique Managing
Body or authority leading the project which I mentioned before.
The other fundamental tool to ensure that the project is followed
through properly is the System of indicators which periodically
allows us to evaluate the project, and decide to what extent the
work is being carried out according to the objectives set in the
plan of action at the beginning of the process. Establishing a
System of indicators allows us the compare work carried out with
the original plan and to compare specific work with work in the
area as a whole.
The requirements that the System of indicators needs to meet are
very simple. In fact the indicators have to be easily measurable and
easy for everyone to understand. It should be noted that here we
are not only talking about indicators but a system of indicators
and system means a group of indicators which enables a global
interpretation. In this way the system of indicators can create
ratios which incorporate diverse indicators.
Finally, it is necessary to be able to measure these indicators
frequently so that the decision-making bodies can interpret them.
The System of indicators must not only monitor action and check
that the objectives are being achieved, it must also enable
corrective action to be implemented to optimise the execution of
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plans, programmes and projects in the urban restoration process.
In order for the system of indicators to be effective, it must cover
all areas of activity and bear in mind the physical, social and
economic aspects.
As well as being a follow-up tool, the indicators can form part of
the process of dialogue and communication and they can be used
as part of a policy to inform people and make them aware of the
situation.
We have seen three categories of tools or instruments for the
process of urban restoration, which despite historical or cultural
differences or differences in scale, enable us to plan, carry out and
ratify urban renovation projects. Therefore, these instruments
applied systematically can enable us to take action everywhere in
run-down or abandoned urban areas and to incorporate into
these areas the aspects of life today. In this way, we will transform
them into neighbourhoods which are lively and full of activity and
which will form part of our contemporary city.
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The Action Plan must also include initiatives aimed at promoting renovation and
attention to heritage
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The multidisciplinary discussion is important when it comes to defining the aims
and objectives of the Plan. Renovation office at Gardaïa, Algeria
The drafting of the Action Plan must include the participation of all agents in the area
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Tool 12
Evaluation and choice
of interventions in traditional
environments.
The case of Nicosia
Within the framework of a rehabilitation effort, either for a
historic city centre or for the traditional core of a village, the
choice of an architectural project is – or should be – the result of
a long procedure, which takes into account a number of factors
concerning space and economy, in a larger scale, beyond the
vicinity of a certain building.
This procedure consists in a series of stages, each one having its
own importance, in order to provide a concrete base for the
successful implementation of any project.
The factors which have to be considered are in general social, economic
and cultural, and those should be analyzed through a methodology
which follows the basic steps of analysis-synthesis-action.
The analysis of all these factors and data, targets the
interpretation of the social structure and the economy base of the
study area, including population analysis, land use survey,
economic survey and identification of problems and prospects of
the “economy and society”.
It also comprises – or it should comprise – surveys concerning the
quality of the architectural heritage found within the study area,
as well as the analysis and evaluation of the existing building
stock, its problems of social and economic decline and its
prospects for development.
Through this analysis, a general strategy will develop within the
framework of the overall regeneration strategy for the historic city
centre or for the traditional core of a village. This strategy will set
out the policies and measures of intervention within the study area,
and will specify certain development areas and priority projects.
Within this planning procedure cultural heritage is considered as a
major aspect for the formation of policies and strategies setting
out the rehabilitation of the study area.
Following the identification of special development areas and
priority projects, the choice of certain projects lays on more
specific factors, which are the availability of a building and its
capability for being restored in order to host certain uses. It is very
important to incorporate a number of factors in each choice in
order to serve the main objectives of an intervention.
Within the framework of a rehabilitation effort, it is important that
the chosen project is serving the main objective of restoring and
conserving a part of the architectural heritage within the study
area. At the same time the project should promote certain uses
which provide the local community with facilities or which
reinforce the economic base of the area.
It should serve the most vulnerable parts of the population, targeting
the strengthening of their social and economic position in the society.
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Eleni Petropoulou
Architect
Masterplan for Nicosia
Cyprus
The Master Plan for Nicosia specified in detail the actions and projects to be
realized in the historic center of the city to revalue it, establishing priorities of
action.
Last but not least, it should of course provide the investor with
profit, in order to become a successful example for others to
follow.
In the case of Nicosia, a divided city since 1974, the overall
regeneration strategy was formed within a bi-communal effort, in
1976-1980. The output of this joint effort was a document - the
Nicosia Master Plan – which consists of the general policies for the
Street in Nicosia
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Tool 12
Evaluation and choice of interventions in traditional environments.
The case of Nicosia
Plan for operations established in the Master Plan for Nicosia, Cyprus / NMP
12
rehabilitation of the historic centre of a unified Nicosia. (Figure 1)
This document still provides the basis for all efforts to intervene in
the divided walled city, either bi-communal or for each side. All
projects implemented within the historic centre are projects that
the Nicosia Master Plan identifies as priority ones (Figure 2 and 3).
The public sector – local authorities, central government –
generally respects the priorities set out by the NMP for the historic
centre and implements projects which promote the effort for
rehabilitation of the declined walled city. At the same time,
policies and incentives for listed buildings reinforce the efforts of
the private sector to invest in the historic center by restoring
important buildings.
A large number of special projects are being implemented by the
NMP team – a cooperation of the two communities - from 1989
until today, focusing on : the restructuring of the Central Area of
the city, the rehabilitation and renovation of important areas of the
historic centre, the improvement of traffic and transportation, and
visual improvements in landscaping, urban form and urban design.
Nearly a hundred projects on both sides are listed as NMP Projects,
funded either by local funds or by foreign organizations
committed to contribute to the revitalization of Nicosia as a
whole. (Figure 4)
208
At the same time, these projects having an impact on the building
environment and in the economy of the study area, they reinforce
any effort from the private sector to invest within this area.
It is important that the public sector implements projects that
provide social community services and infrastructure, in order to
facilitate any project issued from the private sector, for which the
most important criteria are economic.
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Tool 13
Defining legal and planning instruments
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Towards an urban plan of renovation.
Strategies for intervention
on traditional sites
Oriol CUSIDÓ
Architect
taller 9s arquitectes, Barcelona
Spain
0. Introduction
2. Objective and tools of the plan
This document seeks to explain in a synthetic manner the
drawing-up and contents of an urban plan (from here on UP)
whose aim is the rehabilitation and revitalisation of an area
marked by traditional buildings, and at the same time, to establish
a series of recommendations upon which to structure the Plan.
However, one should always remember that these methodological
approaches are not rigid guidelines but rather considerations of a
general nature: a basic layout for help, which may to a greater or
lesser extent be adapted to each local context which seeks to be
a model programme in order to structure the urban plan which is
to be developed.
It should also be noted that the layout of the Plan considered here
is basically aimed at rehabilitation in historical centres and rural
settlements, without expanding the intervention to a territorial
level, which due to its complexity and specific nature, requires
specific treatment different from that presented here, though
many of the considerations herein are also applicable.
2.1. Objective
The Urban Plan is an instrument which proposes the strategy of
transformation and modification of the physical structure of the
traditional site in order to adapt it to a series of requirements of
accessibility,
functionality,
inhabitability,
environmental
quality…suitable for today’s needs, and at the same, to establish
the regulatory guidelines to adapt the intervention of public and
private agents so that this occurs in accordance with the action
strategy and as coherently as possible with the historical and
heritage values of the traditional site.
1. Work prior to the urban plan
Before developing the proposal stage of the Plan it is important to
draw up a well-designed document which syntheses all the work
and studies done during the analysis stage. This is a summary
document which recognises the strong points and dysfunctions of
the territory from the synthesis of all the studies done prior to this.
These prior studies should not only be based on urbanism and
architecture (structure of the territory, historical superposition of
fabrics, previous urban planning actions, current activities,
building and residential types …) but it should also, as has been
noted before, include all those studies of a social (demographic
studies, anthropological values…) , economic (real estate dynamic,
productive structure…) and environmental nature (hazards, flows
energy…) which have implications for the physical shaping of the
site. It is clear that the structure of a territory is not solely
conditioned by formal aspects, but rather that the social,
economic and environmental variables are undoubtedly
determinant.
The synthesis of the diagnosis, along with the set of plans which
illustrate it, should make up the initial part of the Plan. This is the
informative part from which the proposal part of the Plan is
developed.
2.2. Contents of the Plan
The document of the UP shall be made up of a set of documents of
a different nature, which we shall call TOOLS, which are the
documents needed in order to carry out a process of urban
renovation of the traditional site in a regulated and coherent
fashion.
1 A Report which describes the current situation and which
justifies the need to act and the intervention of a different
nature to be carried out.
2 A set of Plans at different scales (plans by subject matters,
synthesis plans…) which illustrate in first place, the current
state of the territory, and in second place, the urban and
strategic characteristics which the Plan defines.
3 A series of legal instruments in order to regulate the
interventions, whose principal legal instrument is the
Regulations of the Plan, but which it is advisable to consider
with the development of a series of complementary
instruments: catalogue of elements with heritage interest,
landscape regulations, rehabilitation manual…
4 An economic-financial study on the interventions to be
carried out, in parallel with a set of programmes to be
developed during the implementation of operations of the Plan,
which shall be presented in an orderly fashion and if possible
with the forecast of operational instruments (mechanisms of
management and their corresponding mechanisms).
Not all the documents of the Plan cited above have legal value and
validity. In fact, the legal regulation of building is limited to the
legal instruments and to the plans linked to them, which are
generally not all the plans which make up the Plan.
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2.2.1. Report
The report document should be structured basically in three basic
blocks: a justification of the need for intervention; a detailed
description of the current state and conclusions of the diagnosis;
and, a justification of the proposed actions in the different areas for
action. An annex features all the studies and the graphical and
written information which has been collected and drawn up.
2.2.2. Plans
The plans are used to represent on maps the territory both in
terms of the results of the analysis made and the proposals for the
Plan. The set of plans of the Plan includes both the synthesis plans
developed during the diagnosis stage (the so-called information
plans) and the propositional plans (proposal plans), which describe
the proposals and conditions of the planning.
Information plans
The documentation of the UP includes both the synthesis plans
developed during the diagnosis stage and the propositional plans,
as the former are important when explaining and setting out
decisions and they often incorporate and are closely linked to the
proposal plans themselves; a way of synthesising a reality is
adopting a stance in a proposal for action, explaining a set of
specific problems above others.
Proposal plans
This document proposes a series of plans of a generic and general
nature which should be completed with more specific proposals in
accordance with the reality of each action. A minimum set of
proposal plans, and with a possibly binding nature, might be the
following:
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PL1
PL2
PL3
PL4
PL5
PL6
PL7
PL8
PL9
PL10
PL11
PL12
Synthesis Plan
Final image plan of the territory
Landscape protection plan
Mobility infrastructure plan
Plan of interventions in free space
Zoning plan of residential rehabilitation
Building parameters plan
Plan of heritage values
Plan of public facilities and installations
Usage plan
Plan of infrastructure networks
Synthesis plan of the action programme
In addition to the specific plans of the different strategic lines of
action, two plans are also carried out which synthesise the
contents of the Plan: a synthesis layout of the Plan (PL1), which
expresses in a conventional fashion all the interventions,
regulations and protections (intervention in the free space, public
facilities, infrastructures, heritage…) and a plan of the final
image of the territory (PL2), which represents clearly and
realistically the final state of the territory after all the work has
been done. While the former is a regulatory document, the latter
should make visible the result after the process of rehabilitation,
with importance given to the use of graphic resources and the
criterion for representation so that it is more attractive and clearly
explains as much information as possible. Based on these basic
plans, other plans can be produced in order to explain general
questions of development of the Plan, such as the synthesis
layout of the action programme (PL12), which represents the
programmes defined in the territory. This can be accompanied by
another plan which explains, for example, the stages of execution.
Finally, it should be noted that it is interesting to map out the
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The lack of alternatives has ruined many towns and villages in inland Turkey
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View of Arnavutkoy (Turkey)
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proposals in a type SIG computer system, so as to be able to adapt
the plans to possible modifications or variations which may be
introduced in the Plan during its application.
2.2.3. Legal instruments
The legal instruments should order and regulate the rehabilitation
work. We can distinguish three types of legal documents: the
regulatory texts, regulatory reports and manuals, without
taking into account the majority of the plans previously mentioned
with which these are liked and referenced.
Within the regulatory texts we should highlight above all else the
text of the Regulations of the Plan (D1). This is the most
important legal document and coordinates the rest of legal texts
which are complementary to it. In fact, many plans have
traditionally worked solely with a single regulatory text, which is
more or less complete and detailed according to case, although
we believe that in order to optimally regulate the rehabilitation of
a traditional site, where there are many variables to be considered,
it is important to have, at least, two texts which are
complementary to the regulatory base, such as the Catalogue
(D4) and Landscape Regulations (D7). These complementary
legal texts can also be more or less extensive and precise in their
definition and scope. Without a basic set of regulations, a
minimum catalogue of protection of building elements and some
landscape regulations, it is difficult to guarantee a minimum level
of legislation around the rehabilitation process.
The regulatory reports (D2. Reports on sectors of rehabilitation
and D6. Reports on sectors of heritage interest) complete and
improve the regulatory contents of the Plan, enriching it, as they
can only be developed from an improved study and knowledge of
the territory. The manuals (D3. Manual for typological
transformations and D6. Rehabilitation Manual), which
III. Strategy
respond to a degree more than analysis of the territory, serve to
complete a coherent regulatory framework showing the reality of
the territory to be restored. Until recently, manuals were seen as
simple instruments of support, without regulatory capacity and
only used to advise and recommend solutions.
The set of regulations described include the regulatory framework
of the Plan and should not be understood as independent
elements, but rather as partial documents which should be
interrelated with each other, completing and complementing,
being coherent with the others and being referenced to each
document so that they form a single legal corpus with the same
rehabilitation criteria and aim.
Finally, it is important to add that the regulations should be thought of
as open and flexible elements, in no way invariable and closed, as is
the case of the Catalogue or the Reports, which can be modified over
time in order to gradually adapt to new requests and requirements.
2.2.4. Programmes and operational instruments
The programmes seek to organize and order the implementation
of the set of operations considered in the urban plan and which
should be carried out. Programmes are carried out in accordance
with the different areas or lines of action: infrastructures, free
space, actions for improvement in the residence…
In general each Development of Actions Programme (PD) will
develop the following aspects:
1 List of actions, specifying the surface area of action,
ownership, the system of action considered and a provisional
assessment of the cost.
2 Stages of execution of the different actions.
3 Simulation of forecast financing. That is, how the operations
are to be financed. And in the case of public operations, what
bodies and institutions are to be involved in their development.
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Moulay Idriss (Morocco)
As important as the stones are the people who live among them. Jerusalem
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In addition to an overall assessment and explaining the
mechanisms for financing the Plan, for the implementation and
monitoring of the set of programmes it is advisable for the Plan to
foresee and define the creation of a specific Management Body.
This managing body will deal with coordinating and producing a
combined schedule for the application of all the Urban Action
Programmes, as each one depends upon the others.
3. Methodological structuring of the plan
We propose to structure the Plan in a series of strategic lines,
which will centre on the reflection and organise the work, and
from which the proposal documents will be drawn up: both the
synthesis plans (P), the different regulatory documents (D) and
the programmes and proposals of the project (PA, PB...).
These lines of action, which are presented separately in order to
speed up and order the Plan proposal, respond to a series of
objectives and a line of argument which is necessarily common to
each one and which is integrated synthetically and ‘interweaved’
in the by-law and in the set of documents.
The strategic lines proposed include a series of goals for action
which may be more or less common in traditional Mediterranean
areas, although as is evident and desirable, they should not be
taken as a totally generalizable and dogmatic proposal, but rather
as a model of help for developing a plan which is more adapted
to the specific nature and possibilities of each context local.
(1) Although in this table it is structured around a specific strategic line, in which it
plays a crucial role, the By-law of the plan includes and coordinates the set of texts
and documents of a legal nature of the Plan.
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(2) The regulatory manuals are not binding in legal terms. Although it would be
recommendable that they were legally binding, it should be stated that this
demand should not be inflexible and definitive.
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Outline of strategic lines, regulations and programmes
A
Relation of the site with its environment
PA
Programme of territorial landscape valorisation
B
Accessibility and management of mobility
PB
Programme of measures for improvement in mobility
C
Appraisal of the structure of the traditional territory
PC
Programme and guidelines of intervention in the free space
D
Reactivation of the residential fabric
D1
D2
D3
PD1
PD2
By-law of the Plan (1)
Sectors of rehabilitation (specific reports)
Manual for typological transformations (2)
Programme of development of the comprehensive
rehabilitation areas
Programme for promotion of private rehabilitation (Office)
E
Conservation of the building heritage
D4
D5
D6
Catalogue of buildings and built areas with heritage value
Sectors of heritage interest (specific reports)
Rehabilitation manual (2)
F
Quality landscape of the traditional site
D7
PF
Regulation of landscape and visual protection
Programme for landscape improvement (Agency)
G
Planning of functions
PG
Programme of development of public facilities
H
Improvement of the networks of infrastructures
PH
Programme of improvement and development of
infrastructures
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A Relation of the site with its environment
Description
Particularly in isolated centres, it is important for the Plan to establish a series of
mechanisms in order to protect the image of the enclave as a cultural and
historical element to be conserved and respected, protecting the visual
appearance and studying the location of possible growth and infrastructures.
The aim is not to seek to improve the image of the site from a scenic point of
view, but rather to dignify the whole site so as to promote its values and
improve its perception, and as a consequence, create community awareness and
promote an esteem for the territory and its values. The care for the landscape
also seeks to make visible the value of a traditional site in order to foster its
attractiveness, taking into account tertiary and tourist activities.
Objectives
Protection of exterior visuals. Particularly in isolated centres, taking care of
the built-up, topographical and natural, etc. image of the site, establishing
levels of protection of its surrounding area and defining the areas where the
urban growth and the infrastructures should take into account the
referential presence of the heritage.
Forecast of mechanisms for correction and channelling of the existing
problems, such as for example the existence of infrastructures (power
lines…), fencing which affect the perception of the whole area, etc.
Proposal plans
PL 3. Plan for landscape protection
At a territorial scale. Situation of the built centre and its immediate
surroundings, indicating natural elements, structuring of territory (tracks,
fields…) and infrastructures and communication routes, in which are drawn the
areas of protection of visual elements, on which corrective measures and
protection regulations are carried out.
Programmes to be developed
PA. Programme of territorial landscape valorisation
A programme of application of the corrective measures will be developed in
order to improve the landscape integration of the site, with a timetable of
development and a forecast of costs. The management of the programme is
carried out by the Office of the Plan and the financing is public.
In isolated centres, it is important to establish mechanisms for protecting the
image of the site, controlling the establishment of new growth and
infrastructure.
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Catelsardo, Sardinia (Italy)
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B Accessibility and management of mobility
Description
The control of access by road traffic and the improvement in the system of interior
mobility could bring about many benefits in environmental quality and life in a
built-up setting which suffers from the consequences of not having been designed
to respond to the needs of flexibility and current access. The interventions in this
field should give priority to the residents and public services, along with the
functioning of the commercial activities…
Objectives
Reduction and restriction of the access of road traffic, a factor which
affects the harmonious image of the historical fabrics.
Minimisation of access points and roads for cars, so preventing routes
crossing the centre and generating loops (entry-exit) of restricted access, a
factor which enables an optimisation of access and a limitation of
unnecessary traffic. It is necessary to guarantee the access of service and
emergency vehicles.
Creation of specific areas and controlled routes in points of easy
accessibility, even with time limitations, in order to meet supply needs
(loading and unloading) of economic activities and other logistics activities
and basic functioning, such as for example refuse collection.
Forecast of points and parking areas, mainly on the edge with a few
points inside, in order to prevent the indiscriminate presence of vehicles in
the historical area. Priority will be given to parking and accessibility of
permanent residents in the car parks inside the centre through systems of
identification plates, for example.
Provision of parking areas with time limit in areas of dense commercial
activity, in order to allow access and parking to be optimised.
Priority given to pedestrians, pedestrianising wholly or merely giving
priority to pedestrians in most street, squares and routes in order to improve
the environmental quality of the built-up area.
Optimisation of access with public transport, installing bus stops at
strategic points and designing collective transport systems better suited to
for internal connections.
Occasional operations for improving streets (occasional widening of
streets, realignments…) in order to optimise vehicle access and the
protection of pedestrians. These operations are basically occasional, minimal
interventions of “acupuncture” in order to prevent conflictive points due to
their narrowness, poor visibility… Indiscriminate street widening operations
are never considered, etc.
13
Improving the internal mobility system – encouraging pedetrianisation and
public transport – can have great benefits for the quality of life in a built-up
environment not designed for cars.
Proposal plans
PL 4. Mobility infrastructures plan
Plan of the territory or centre which incorporates the mobility proposals of the
Plan. This includes the type of the different roads and streets (exclusive use for
pedestrians, priority…), routes and accesses for vehicles, location of car parks
(interior, perimeter and rotation-based), of the supply areas …along with
indicating those occasional operations for improvement in streets and roads.
PB. Programme of improvement measures in mobility
An application programme will be carried out on street improvements detailed
in the Plan and forecast building of public car parks. The programme will be
completed with a development timetable and a costs forecast for the work. The
programme management will be carried out by the Office of the Plan. The
initiative and financing will be public, although for the car parks mixed publicprivate formulas can be considered. Actions aimed at improving streets affecting
private land must take into account compensation mechanisms as per the town
planning law in each country.
Cars in Alexandria (Egypt)
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C Appraisal of the structure of the traditional territory
Description
The Plan must assume that the heritage of traditional sites lies not only in their
monuments, but also in the built-up whole. And within the built-up setting, not
only the buildings, but also the free spaces and nature, which as ‘negative’
spaces of the construction, end up becoming crucial elements in the definition
of an urban configuration or a given landscape. The plan must consider the
urban intervention from an understanding of the fabric in itself, taking into
consideration all the minor elements which form it and recognising the value of
free space as an articulating element of the built-on space.
Objectives
To regenerate free space as a revitalising element of the built-up
fabric, a crucial element to qualify the residential function, improve
activities, promote the interrelation between public and private
space…beyond the exclusive use on the part of traffic or tourists.
To take special care for each type of space: square, garden, alley, builton/natural space limit, pedestrian streets, spaces which cannot be built
on…publicly or privately owned, promoting and developing specific projects
for their architectural, social and environmental qualification.
To generate new free space, if it is necessary for reasons of density, with
occasional operations, in areas of high density and in parallel with operations
of improvement in the environmental quality of a residential sector. The
opening of proposed spaces must be coherent with the morphological
characteristics of the fabric and must not seem as a traumatic and discordant
empty space with the spatial reading of the whole area.
Proposal plans
PL 5. Intervention plan in free space
Image plan with the different categories of intervention in the free space and
the new free spaces proposed (complete projects, pedestrianisation, reurbanisation projects, occasional gardening/greening operations, etc.), and
according to the category of the different spaces.
PC. Programme and guidelines of intervention in the free space
Programme with the forecast of actions on the free space: list of projects to be
carried out, timetable of development of the actions and forecast of costs and
financing. On many occasions they are associated with operations on the
residence. The management of the intervention will be carried out by the Office
of the Plan. The programme can incorporate guidelines on the intervention in
the free space, complementary to the guidelines established in the regulatory
landscape. These guidelines must not excessively condition the freedom to
design each project.
The plan should approach town planning interventions based on an
understanding of the fabric itself, taking all the small elements making it up
into consideration and recognising the value of open space as the element
linking the built-up space.
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Streets in Hebron (Palestine)
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D Reactivation of the residential fabric
Description
This is undoubtedly the fundamental point of the intervention, as it has a direct
effect on the improvement in life of the population and on the re-classification
and adaptation of much of the heritage fabric in traditional sites. The aim is
hence not only to halt the possible loss of buildings and heritage, but also to
maintain alive a series of historical fabrics.
Objectives
To understand the intervention on the quality of the residence from
the intervention in the fabric where it is included, with it often being
necessary the partial or total demolition of buildings, the replacement,
improvement in free space, for example… in order to improve the
environmental conditions of the residential units.
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To identify the different needs and intensity of rehabilitation in the
territory based on the data obtained by the analysis carried out in the
diagnosis period, taking into account the determining factors of heritage
interest and the existing urban tensions. It is important to define different
areas of rehabilitation, ranging from operations at a level of building plots or
individual buildings to priority areas for renovation.
Areas of integrated action in preferential renovation sectors. Publicly or
privately promoted. They involve significant actions in a building sector,
including operations of demolition and replacement, intervention in free
spaces… These can be more easily developed in areas with buildings with a
low individual heritage value or with a high level of abandonment.
Areas of intensive rehabilitation: In areas with heritage or monumental
interest. Actions are carried out on building and free space. Public initiatives
generally on private property.
Areas of rehabilitation and replacement For operations of rehabilitation
which include replacement of buildings. Public initiative on private buildings.
From a consensus between both.
Areas of rehabilitation. Areas with signs of deterioration or abandonment.
Rehabilitation of buildings from private initiative with public help.
To detect the preferential sectors for renovation and propose
comprehensive projects of intervention, sectors where environmental
quality, urban tensions, state of degradation, public safety risks and
crime… are of most concern and a solution is urgently needed. The
promotion of complete single projects in areas of priority attention in the
territory is important in order to not only place the responsibility for the
process of rehabilitation in the management. The project can attack and
solve issues which management would find it very difficult to guarantee.
To promote the rehabilitation of buildings in an acceptable state and
with possibilities to be adapted to the current requirements of
accommodation and environmental quality, without their having a high
heritage value. Rehabilitation will give priority to the recovery of residential
values, in detriment to other activities which are not suitable for the
structure of the property.
To propose the replacement of the most damaged or irrecoverable
buildings with the aim of guaranteeing residential quality and the range
of typological diversity.
To define the parameters for building (heights, depth…) which should
condition the rehabilitation or building work in the territory. These
conditions are motivated by a careful reading of the reality of the territory
and should seek a homogenous and ordered reading of the territory. It is
because of this, for example, that in the definition of heights, it is advisable
not only to link it to the width of streets, but also to base it on the
recognition of the very characteristics of the different area of the territory,
since the sole dependency on the first parameter may lead to distortions
of the traditional form.
To incorporate concepts of sustainability in the projects of
rehabilitation and typological modification, restoring as far as possible
traditional techniques and solutions (natural ventilation, shading from
sun…)
Intervention in the housing stock seeks not only to prevent a possible loss of
buildings and heritage of interest but also to keep traditional sites "alive".
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Proposal Plans
PL6. Zoning plan for residential rehabilitation
Plan which situates the different areas or scopes of the rehabilitation: areas of
action based on the plot, areas of comprehensive operations, areas of intensive
rehabilitation…
PL7. Plan of parameters for building
Detailed plan which specifies in the territory (by plots, by blocks, by
properties…) the parameters for building which condition it, from the heights
to the depths. Plan which is highly linked to the text of the general by-law.
Regulatory documents
D1. General rehabilitation by-law
The Plan will incorporate specific regulations of an obligatory nature for the
rehabilitation work carried out in the framework of application of the Plan and
which shall detail all those characteristics which the buildings and rehabilitation
work / building norms should comply with. The regulations shall define a series
of structural formal and technical characteristics to be complied with, defined in
accordance with the specific characteristics of the traditional building norms of
the territory and according to the situation of what is to be restored and its
heritage value. The regulations shall also detail the requirements of
administrative procedures which the different levels of intervention should meet
(from simple maintenance up to operations of urban restructuring).
D2. Sectors of integral rehabilitation
Description of the sectors of integral rehabilitation by means of reports with the
explanation of the single projects of intervention. In each report a detailed plan
will show the buildings to be conserved and restored, to be demolished and to
be replaced, the operations of modification (reduction in heights, partial
expansion of green areas…), along with operations of improvement or of the
public space and proposals for the creation of public facilities. The ownership of
the buildings affected is cited and an estimate is given of the cost of the
operation. Priority is given in these operations to the structure of typological
modifications proposed by the Plan.
House in Baalbeck (Lebanon)
D3. Manual for the typological transformations
Guiding outline, although it may be regulatory in nature, for the interventions
of rehabilitation on plots and buildings which are not located in the sectors of
integral intervention. From the typological study carried out in the analysis
stage, a document is drawn up in which proposals are established for the
modification and transformation of the different types and models of residential
units detected, so as to be able to adapt them to the new habitability conditions
and in order to improve their environmental functioning (ventilation through
building, sunlight in rooms…). For some types, which are too small for example,
there is the possibility to group together units as a form of modification and to
facilitate their adaptation to the criteria of minimum habitability.
13
PD1. Programme of development of the sectors of integral rehabilitation
Schedule for developing the comprehensive actions in the residence detailed in the
analogical reports. These are operations in which actions converge on the building
norms with actions in the free space and public facilities. The management of the
operations is led by the Office of the Plan.
PD2. Programme for promoting private rehabilitation
Specific programme for promoting the rehabilitation of private building not
included in the sectors of comprehensive rehabilitation. This is managed by the
Office of the Plan and considers mechanisms (subsidies and/or tax exemptions)
in order to promote this. The office also offers technical and administrative help.
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Preservation of built-up heritage
Description
From the analysis of the heritage and architectural values of all the built-up area
carried out in the analysis stage, it is necessary for the Plan to consider, order
and regulate to ensure that the rehabilitation work is respectful and adapts to
the determining factors of heritage which are considered to be significant
Objectives
To identify those elements of the territory which have heritage
interest and to establish levels of protection in order to condition the
rehabilitation work.
To recognise the heritage value, not only in terms of the
compositional and formal aspects of the architecture, but also in other
aspects such as the building systems, the typologies and interior spaces
characteristic of the traditional architecture of the place…
Identify the heritage value not only of unique buildings, but also to
recognise the value of groups of buildings and areas with a relatively
homogenous and characteristic image and which it is necessary to maintain
the balance and the coherence of the whole, and not only because of its
architectural interest, but also because of its environmental, natural,
historical interest …unique and different to other areas of the territory.
To mark apart areas with a heritage interest in order to group those
buildings which meet a more or less analogical series of characteristics which
should be conserved and respected (typological uniformity, stylistic
treatment, historical period…). These areas may be conditioned by different
levels of protection.
To recognise the heritage value of those lesser elements or auxiliary
buildings which shape the traditional landscape, such as wells, huts and
fountains…
To establish a classification of the different typologies of built-up
heritage, classifying it in a catalogue which goes beyond the traditional
categories of monuments and unique buildings.
To understand the monuments and unique pieces of the territory as
parts of the whole, with which should be joined together and not shown
as isolated pieces; monuments which must be more used than admired.
Proposal plans
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PL8. Heritage plan
The different sectors of heritage interest of the territory are identified, recording
the monuments, catalogued buildings, complexes with heritage value of the
territory…. The level of protection or possibilities for rehabilitation are
conditioned by whether a building belongs to the catalogue and to a given
rehabilitation area.
D4. Catalogue of buildings and groups of buildings
A possible classification of the buildings in the catalogue is the following:
- Monuments (M). Those buildings notable for their unique characteristics, for
their history or use and which normally form part of what we shall call
historical-artistic heritage (churches, mosques, castles…)
- Buildings with a high heritage value (E). Unique Buildings which are not
considered as monuments due to their residential or civic use, for example,
and which possess heritage interest in their entirety, interest due to their
formal qualities, due to their typological uniqueness, due to their building
system…
- Buildings with heritage elements (L). Buildings which are not notable in their
entirety, but due to a specific factor, be this formal qualities, their building
system, or due to any unique element (a balcony, railings, stairwell…
- Buildings of a building complex (C). Buildings which form part of a building
complex with a certain degree of homogeneity or which due to, a space of
historical or anthropological interest from a traditional point of view
(washhouse, market, arcade street …). Taken individually they do not have
excessive heritage value, but do have so when taken together.
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The catalogue must include different categories of heritage: monuments,
singular buildings, singular elements, auxiliary elements and built-up sites.
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Minor and auxiliary elements of interest (A). Auxiliary buildings and other
minor building elements (fountains, wells, washrooms, huts…) which are
testimony to historical forms of living and which form together the image of
the traditional landscape.
D5. Reports on areas with a high level of heritage interest
A list shall be drawn up of all the identified areas with heritage interest and each
area should have a descriptive report. The reports accurately define the different
areas with heritage interest, defining their characteristics and establishing a
series of objectives for rehabilitation and a series of specific conditions for
building, which would be complementary to the general regulations, in no case
as a replacement, where criteria of materials, modification of form, etc are
defined.
D6. Rehabilitation manual
The Plan will include a manual designed to guide the rehabilitation work, taking
into account the material and traditional building systems. Specific solutions will
be established for problematic issues in accordance with the heritage existing in
the complex of buildings of the territory.
Taüll (Catalonia. Spain)
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Landscape quality of the traditional site
Description
Landscape is a series of elements, not only natural (such as vegetation,
hydrology, relief…) but also cultural, public or private ownership, permanent or
temporary, which together make up the image and perception of a territory, of
a village or of a city.
In a traditional site, the landscape is an important element to take into account,
as it is a determining factor in the definition of its heritage. Its valuation and
preservation must be an important point in the rehabilitation action. The aim is
not to improve the image of the territory and the city from a scenographic point
of view, but rather to dignify the whole so as to strengthen its values and
improve on its perception.
Landscape policy must be complementary, never a replacement nor solely in the
global framework of the rehabilitation, and to be effective, as we have
explained, it requires effective action in other fields: residence, functions,
mobility…
The aim is not, hence, to “embellish facades” but rather to regulate and give
incentives to a set of actions which seek an ordered, beautiful and harmonious
landscape with identity and meaning in an urbanistically undefined space. The
fitting of an antenna, a shop's sign, a bench in a square…are elements which
end up shaping the image of a territory, the landscape of a historical centre.
Objectives
To set out the guidelines for action in order to promote attention for
the landscape and to draw up a specific set of regulations in order to
guarantee its dignify and strength.
To create a legal instrument for planning and control which guarantees
that the private actions which affect the landscape of the territory and the
image of the village or historical centre take place in an orderly and coherent
fashion following the desired model. A set of regulations which must have
an integrated understanding and which includes regulations of a partial type
(advertising, installation of antennas, safety of ornamental stonework on
façades, street lighting…).
To recognise the role of public leadership in landscape policy. Public
initiative must develop strategic policies which promote at the same time the
demands of citizens. These demands spur on the improvement in the
landscape and the strengthening of pride among citizens.
To regulate the creation of a ‘landscape agency’ dedicated to protection
and improvement in the landscape values of the site.
It is not a question of improving the image of the area and the city as a
stage set but rather of bringing the site dignity in order to promote its values
and improve perception of it.
13
D7. Regulations of landscape and visual protection
Regulations which regulate all those aspects and activities which affect the
perception of the landscape. This should regulate both the qualities of the
building (colour code, textures…) and the fitting of superimposed and auxiliary
elements (facilities, commercial signs, fencing…). Likewise, several criteria will
be established for the regulation of the elements of the free space (paving,
furniture….). The regulation can respond to zoning criteria, criteria which must
be coherent in all cases with that defined in the corresponding reports of the
areas of heritage interest.
Programmes of action
PF. Programme for landscape improvement (Agency)
The programme will define the creation of a specific agency for the promotion
and monitoring of private actions which affect the landscape and the
management of the specific regulations. It will offer technical support to carry
out specific operations aimed at the improvement in the landscape and it will
promote actions to encourage the maintenance and valuing of the landscape.
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Advertisements hide the architecture. Luxor (Egypt)
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G Planning of functions
Description
Here we should stress the regulation and location of the functions of the
territory, distinguishing between activities of a local type and activities or
uses of a general or extra-territorial type.
In both cases, the intervention must affect the strengthening of activities
which contribute towards the maintenance of the traditional site as a
living territory. It must guarantee the presence of activities of proximity
and it must also promote the development and establishment of activities
of territorial polarity or of a general character, always considering its
compatibility and precise balance with residential use, which must
predominate. The activities or local facilities or of proximity, which must
be spread out relatively homogenously, are those which are related
directly to the residence and which provide it with services (daily trade,
educational facilities, social facilities…) and those of a territorial nature equally necessary- which do not offer a specific service to residents, but
rather due to their cultural and administrative vocation, etc, have a vocation at
a greater scale and serve to invigorate the territory and improve its
attractiveness.
Objectives
To reuse empty buildings and monumental spaces, mobilising them for
the development of unique facilities of a general character in order increase
the attractiveness of the territory. It is important to know that these
operations end up conditioning and modifying the activities which are
generated in the fabric near where they are implemented.
To introduce and develop new activities, businesses and services
(cultural, tertiary, administrative…) complementary to traditional activities.
To specify and adjust the implementation and localization of facilities
of an extra local nature, since their abuse may lead to an excessive
domination of the tertiary sector and/or tourist domination of the territory
which involves the attrition of the quality of life of residents and functional
incompatibility with residential use. However, it is not a bad idea to promote
localised areas of tertiary activity in places with low numbers of residents.
To study the ordering of facilities in the territory, guaranteeing the
presence of a homogenous network of basic services (educational,
cultural, social…), located at a reasonable distance from all the points of
residence. To distribute more facilities in the areas with greater residential
density. Without these services, the conditions of life, along with the
mechanisms of relations and citizenry are scarce, and hugely hinder the
recovery and vitality of the territory.
The intervention must affect the promotion of activities that contribute to
the maintenance of traditional sites as living, lively areas.
Proposal plans
PL9. Plan of proposal for facilities and provisions
Plan of the territory indicating the location of the different facilities by groups of
activity (cultural, administrative, leisure-recreational, educational, health…)
distinguishing between those which have a more local vocation and those which
are organised at a territorial level, indicting specifically those which have been
recently created which must complete the existing system.
13
PL10. Plans of uses
A plan dedicated to detailing the uses permitted in the different areas of the
territory, placing special attention on the commercial activity and also on other
activities (agricultural, industrial, craft, tertiary-offices, tertiary-tourism…), based
on the optimisation of the diagnosis plan. Although it is necessary to have
general plans in order to indicate the big areas of activity, it is essential to develop
relatively detailed plans at a small scale. These plans indicate those areas where
the commercial activity of proximity should be strengthened, and they mark out
the areas of tertiary development, etc. In general, it is a good idea to avoid
excessive zoning, but rather permit a general use of the territory, with limitations
to the density of specific activities and avoiding areas of specialization or singleactivity.
A bazaar in Tripoli, Lebanon
PG. Programme of development of facilities
Programme for the development of facilities considered in the Plan, defining a
forecast of costs and the management of the process.
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H Improvement of the networks of infrastructures
Description
The Urban Plan must influence the improvement in the infrastructures of the
territory (electrical supply, sewer network, management of the water supply,
refuse collection…) in order to adapt the territory to current needs. The
rehabilitation of the residential fabric cannot be considered without intervening
in parallel in the network of basic infrastructures of the territory.
Objectives
To guarantee that all the buildings are connected to all basic
infrastructures so as to be able to function optimally: electrical supply,
drinking water supply, sewer network and refuse collection.
To take advantage of the intervention in the public space in order to
develop the implementation of the network of infrastructures, which
must be developed in integrated galleries and must be easily accessible for
its maintenance.
To see the development of the network of infrastructures in a
coherent manner with the characteristics of the traditional territory,
without its implementation distorting or modifying the harmonious image of
the whole (elimination of overhead electrical networks, elimination of water
deposits, placing particular special on the study and optimisation of the
refuse collection network, as this can significantly affect the image of the
area.
To apply policies for the improvement in the efficiency of the
networks of infrastructures, applying as far as possible sustainable
policies (application of systems of local production of energy, optimisation
of the water cycle…)
Proposal plans
PL11. Improvement plan and development of infrastructures
Plan of the territory with the existing network of infrastructures and the new
proposed network.
13
PH. Programme of improvement and development of infrastructures
Programme for the development of infrastructures considered in the Plan with
a forecast of costs and execution. The financing will be public and will be
managed by the office of the Plan. The infrastructures Plan should be
coordinated in some points with the adaptation and intervention in the free
spaces..
The renovation of the residential fabric cannot be approached without
intervening alongside this in the network of basic infrastructures of the area,
improving them and integrating them as far as possible into the traditional
landscape.
Street lamps taking a leading role in the urban space. Kairouan (Tunisia)
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Draft By-Law
Definition of the Central Regulatory
Text of a Rehabilitation Plan
Introduction
The following is an rough By-law layout—the basic legal text of an
Urban Rehabilitation Plan—which is arranged in six sections and
various chapters. It is hoped that this model layout will serve as a
clear and useful guide to the elements to be considered and
regulated within a rehabilitation By-law, making it an effective tool
for organizing actions affecting the physical configuration of a
traditional territory.
The By-law presented in this document (and likewise the Plan
herein) is a rough, general layout that should be adapted to the
specific conditions, and the legal, social and economic
requirements of each region. It is an idealization that corresponds
to the layout of an ambitious Plan (which defines rehabilitation
areas, heritage sectors, etc.) even though today in many countries
certain propositions and figures are still not easily achieved. The
layout is not intended to be strict or inflexible, either with regard
to the number and arrangement of the chapters and articles, or
with regard to the regulations and propositions it includes. It can
be simplified in accordance with the development possibilities of
each territory and adapted to each local context.
As with the Plan, the By-law described here is based around
regulations for restoring historical urban centres and rural areas. It
does not contemplate the scale of a territorial as a whole, as this
would be far more complex and each particular territory involves
relations with a very specific nature, although some points do
make reference to the territorial scale.
Two different finishes of façade for the same building type. Senterada (Catalonia.
Spain)
The shape and materials of the roof without doubt determines the configuration
of the image of the traditional site. Ragusa, Sicily (Italy)
Operations to add new volumes must not end up being a burden for the existing
building. Deir Estia (Palestine)
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Layout of the legal text
PRELIMINARY SECTION / GENERAL OBSERVATIONS
The preliminary section details the general nature of the
regulations. This section clearly states the aim, and the
scope of its application, along with the interpretive
mechanisms, the means of updating the regulatory
framework and of determining jurisdiction.
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by-law. Definition of the Central Regulatory Text of a Rehabilitation Plan
SECTION ONE / GENERAL DEFINITIONS
This section: identifies the different situations in which
a plot or piece of land covered by the current Plan can
be with regards to levels of protection; specifies the
possibilities for, and modes of, intervention; and details
the allowed uses of land covered by the current Plan.
CHAPTER 1. LEVELS OF PROTECTION
Art. 1.
Definition and objective
1. The regulations that comprise this text form part of
the Complete Rehabilitation Plan of a specific
territorial site.
2. The objective of the By-law is to regulate
rehabilitation actions that are carried out in the
traditional site where the Plan is developed, and to
regulate all building projects that are developed
within the site, both by public and by private
agents, whatever their final objective and end use,
in order to ensure that they agree with the physical
requirements set out in the Plan and therefore that
they form part of the single, whole, coherent
physical structure of the traditional territory that is
to be revitalized.
Art. 2.
Territorial scope of application
The territorial scope of application, the physical area to
which the regulations apply, the field to which the
planning refers and from which these regulations are
derived, must be accurately given; whether it is a
historical urban quarter, a rural area or a specific
territory.
Art. 7.
Situation of the plots
1. In accordance with the argument previously
expressed in the Plan, we can define four possible
classifications for a building or plot of land:
a/ A plot of land situated within a Rehabilitation
Area or an area covered by a public initiative
plan of action specified in the planning.
b/ A plot of land that is not within one of the
prescribed Rehabilitation Areas, but which
belongs to an Sector of Heritage Interest.
Art. 3.
Contents
The Urban Rehabilitation Plan consists of:
An informative and explanatory report.
Informative
and
proposed
plans
and
maps–arrangements.
The current By-law and other supplementary
regulatory documents that pertain in each case.
An economic-financial study.
13
Art. 4.
Interpretation
With reference to interpretation, it is advisable to
explicitly state that, if the interpretation of the
regulations is questioned, the interpretation which is
deemed most favourable for the general interest will
be taken as the definitive interpretation.
c/ A plot of land that is not within one of the
prescribed Rehabilitation Areas or Sectors of
Heritage Interest, but which has a particular
heritage value, and therefore is included in the
Catalogue.
Art. 5.
Updating
With regards to bringing the regulations up to date,
which is a particularly thorny issue, it is advisable to allow
for a certain degree of flexibility so that the regulations
can be adapted to social and technical changes that take
place during their lifetime. In the long term it may prove
counterproductive to leave no mechanism for the
modification of the regulations.
Art. 6.
Competency
Finally, the section on competencies shall detail which
body (or bodies) or institution (or institutions) has (or
have) competence for executing the present Plan. This
may be the national government, regional governments
or town councils, depending on the specific town
planning legislation in each country.
226
d/ A plot of land that has no particular heritage
value (either at the individual level—
Catalogue—or through forming part of a
sector of great heritage interest) or which has
not been built on.
2. The Areas of Integrated Rehabilitation that the
Urban Plan establishes are specific areas of the
territory where public initiative integrated plans of
action are proposed and which it is advisable to
detail in the corresponding Documents (see
documents D2 in the Plan proposal) which define
the characteristics and the norms to be observed,
without affecting those established in the present
regulation in general for traditional building in the
site. These areas shall be indicated and defined
geographically on the maps that constitute the
Plan (PL6 of the proposed layout).
3. The Sectors of Heritage Interest that the Urban Plan
establishes are groups of buildings, and the
corresponding public spaces, with their specific
values which are detailed in the corresponding
Documents (see document D5 of the proposed Plan).
4. Buildings of particular heritage interest, and in
accordance with all the above, will be classified
into one of the following levels: Monuments (M),
Buildings of special heritage value (E), Buildings
with heritage elements (L), Buildings belonging to
an ensemble (C) and Auxiliary and minor elements
of interest (A). The plans of action for these
buildings will be subjected to the specific
conditions of their corresponding level of
protection, without affecting the regulations
corresponding to a Sector of Heritage Interest, if
that were the case.
5. A building will be deemed to have no specific
heritage value when it is not included in any of the
three preceding categories. Planned actions in
these buildings will be subject to the conditions
established in Section 3 which characterizes
traditional architecture
Art. 8.
Catalogue of buildings and ensembles
of buildings of heritage value
1. The Catalogue of buildings and ensembles of
buildings with heritage value will detail those
buildings of heritage interest. It is a document that
forms part of the Plan and is an inseparable part of
it. Although it usually only contains the specific
monuments and buildings of special interest, we
believe it necessary to extend it to include the
categories previously established.
2. The Plan does not need to be modified in order to
change the composition of the Catalogue. The
inclusion of new elements shall be foreseen.
3. The Sectors of Heritage Interest will be defined by
the existence of closely linked ensembles of buildings
(and the corresponding open space) with similar
characteristics and a value to be protected. In the
development of the Plan, the competent authority
will draw up programmes of integrated actions in the
different monumental sectors, combining the
protection of their specific values with encouraging
their residential role and those economic activities
that are compatible.
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4. A map will show the locations of all the elements
protected by the current Plan: both buildings and
supplementary spaces and elements (see PL8 of the
proposed Plan).
Art. 9.
Protection areas for the surroundings of the
traditional site
1. A specific article is dedicated to mentioning the
protection of the perspectives of the site and its
surrounding landscape. Existing traditional population
centres are to be considered as single units, both in
height and in terms of the existing boundaries,
accepting proportioned growth of this unit, and
always treating new settlements as independent units
to be combined within the general setting of the
landscape of the traditional site.
2. Different areas must be defined according to the
position of a new settlement, with different
degrees of protection (protected area, respected
area, etc). This information is to be included in the
synthesis map (PL3 of the proposed Plan layout).
3. The aim of this protection is to regulate the impact
of the buildings, installations, infrastructures, etc.
which are constructed outside, or in the area
surrounding the historic site and to strengthen the
overall traditional image of the ensemble. In
particular the location, shape (volume, height, etc.)
and materials of new constructions (whether
industrial, residential, or other) must be regulated
so that they blend in with the existing ensemble, or
they may even be prohibited.
4. The general idea is that no new construction will
ever become a landmark, nor will it hide or mask
the views of the existing elements—towers,
castles, mosques—that traditionally form part of
the balanced landscape.
5. Natural elements of value—woodland, gorges,
streams, etc.—shall be respected and new
constructions shall not restrict the views of them.
6. Panoramic corridors can be established along the
approach routes, minimizing, hiding (using
vegetation, for example) or even progressively
eliminating those elements that are obstacles to
the cultural and historic vision of the site (electric
wiring, cables, etc.). When such installations are
necessary, precise studies regarding the positioning
of the elements will be carried out, to ensure that
they do not change the character of the landscape.
Special attention is to be paid to how these
elements are connected to buildings.
7. In combination with protecting the views, care will
need to be taken regarding the definition of the
traditional landscape by encouraging native
species, prohibiting large movements of earth, etc.
CHAPTER 2. MODES OF INTERVENTION
Art. 10.
Types of intervention
1. There are many possibilities for intervening in an
existent territory and in traditional architecture,
and they have a very varied range of impact: from
a simple maintenance operation to demolition and
the construction of a new building. The regulations
must contemplate all the intervention possibilities
and regulate the administrative procedure
necessary to carry them out to guarantee their
coherence and viability according to what is laid
down in the planning and the by-laws.
2. The following list consists of four large groups of
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possible interventions in the physical configuration
of the territory. They are ordered from that with
the least to that with the greatest incidence on the
existent physical setting.
MAINTENANCE
PRESERVATION
When the objective of the intervention is to maintain
the building in good working order, without altering its
structure or distribution, and without hiding or
modifying constructive or formal features.
MINOR REHABILITATION
CONSOLIDATION
When the objective is to consolidate, reinforce or
substitute damaged elements to guarantee the
stability of the building and/or ensure there is no
degradation, while maintaining its current conditions
of use, with possible slight alterations to its structure
and distribution.
REHABILITATION
When the objective is to restore the building, or part of
it, to its original state, including consolidation or partial
demolition. Architectural and archaeological
preservation.
RECONDITIONING
When the objective is to improve the living conditions
of a building or part thereof, through redistribution of
the internal space and/or replacing or modernizing the
installations, always maintaining the morphological
characteristics of the building but not intended use.
COMPLETE REHABILITATION
PARTIAL RESTRUCTURING
When the objective is to intervene in structural elements,
and thereby modify the morphology, partially affecting
the building.
COMPLETE RESTRUCTURING
When the objective is to intervene in structural
elements, and thereby modify the morphology of the
building. It involves work that affects the building as a
whole, with important demolition work, but which
does not completely destroy the inside of the building.
NEW CONSTRUCTION
AND
‘DECONSTRUCTION’
ADDITIONS
When the objective is to increase the volume of the
construction through the addition of storeys or
through increasing the occupied floor space (annexing
volumes, modifying patios, etc.) of the existent
buildings.
REPLACING A CONSTRUCTION
When the objective is to demolish an existing
construction, or part thereof, and replace it by a new
building or construction.
NEW CONSTRUCTION
When the objective is to construct on plots or pieces of
land that had not previously been built on.
DECONSTRUCTION / DEMOLITION
When the total or partial disappearance of an existing
construction is involved.
3. For each type of intervention a specific
administrative procedure will be required and it will be
necessary to draw up a specific type of project as
defined by this By-law.
Art. 11.
Allowed interventions according to the level of
protection
1. Not all the modes of intervention detailed in the
previous article shall be allowed for all buildings,
but rather the level of intervention will depend on
the level of heritage protection.
2. For buildings classified as Monuments and
Buildings of Great Heritage Interest (see chapter 1)
interventions shall be limited to maintenance
operations and minor rehabilitation, allowing also
for the reconstruction of buildings in a poor state
of repair or which have been destroyed (always
after proving their prior existence), the destruction
of buildings and elements that have been added
on and which detract from their character or their
use, assuming that their use is compatible with the
overall preservation of their morphology. For these
categories, together with use and recovery of
traditional construction systems, construction with
current techniques should be allowed if they
represent an improvement in the conditions of the
building, so long as they do not detract from its
heritage value.
3. In interventions in Buildings with elements of
interest, necessary rehabilitation will be allowed, so
long as all the elements that led to the building
being listed in the catalogue are maintained, and
these elements do not take on a residual or merely
picturesque role and coherence is maintained
between all parts of the building.
4. Newly designed buildings must blend in with the
overall image of the ensemble of traditional
buildings of the town or area where they are
situated, with this requirement in no way
conflicting with application of contemporary
tendencies in architecture. To guarantee this
minimum relationship with the surroundings, new
buildings must follow the rules laid out in Section
3 of this By-law: “Characteristics of Traditional
Constructions”.
13
CHAPTER 3. USES OF THE TERRITORY
The uses to which the territory, a building or part
thereof can be put will be detailed in the planning,
whether the planning is of a more general nature or
that developed by this By-law, as is convenient, to
adapt the possible dispositions of more general plans
to the historical and socioeconomic specifics and
dynamics of the traditional territory affected by the
current planning.
Art. 12.
General considerations regarding uses
1. The By-law shall establish which uses are compatible
with the territory, regulating recommended,
tolerated and prohibited uses. In general, all those
uses shall be allowed that are compatible with: the
maintenance of the buildings in accordance with the
level of protection that is applicable to them; the
admissible modes of intervention; and the specific
heritage characteristics (typological, stylistic, etc.)
that shall be protected, depending on where the
construction is situated.
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2. In rural population centres, where the character does
not depend solely on the constructed elements but
on the complementary activities that are carried out
within them, such activities shall also be carefully
regulated.
3. Recommended uses are to be understood as those
that it is advisable to encourage or protect, since
their special traditional characteristics and suitability
reinforce the rural character of the population
centres. Given that on many occasions these
recommended uses can conflict with the dominant
tendencies, they shall be promoted and protected
with measures such as reduced tax burden,
exemption from licence fees, subsidies, etc.
4. Tolerated uses are to be understood as those which,
while not requiring protection or promotion, are
perfectly compatible with the character of the rural
population centres or historic quarters, even though
in some case they may need to be restricted or
regulated.
5. In general activities and uses are prohibited when
they are not compatible with the recommended and
tolerated uses in each situation, together with those
uses and activities classified as annoying, unhealthy,
toxic or dangerous.
6. In buildings declared of great heritage interest any
change of use must be authorised by the authorities
responsible for the protection of heritage.
13
Art. 13.
Zoning of uses
1. Beyond these general considerations, the urban
maps (PL10 of the proposed Plan layout) must
specify which uses are possible in each area.
Criteria of density, proximity, etc. will be given for
commercial and tourist uses, in order to prevent
areas of excessive specialization and guarantee
compatibility with residence.
2. Predominantly residential areas
Those areas that have traditionally been residential
shall be defined thus. Within these areas residential
use shall still be recommended and the first
priority, since it makes a decisive contribution to
providing the traditional site with its characteristic
values. In these areas other uses, such as residential
services, small-scale commerce linked—or not—to
housing, professional activities, commercial
accommodation, agriculture and other productive
activities linked to residence will be regulated
(density, etc.) and simultaneously allowed.
A distinction shall be made between permanent
residential use and second residence, with the
latter not always being recommended or without
limitations since an excess of second residences
can undermine the sustainability of the traditional
site. In any case, second residences must fit in with
traditional conditions.
3. Commercial or work areas
Commercial or work areas (workshops, craftwork,
etc.) are those that, while residential, currently
house, have historically housed, or potentially
house, a high level of work-related activities. The
aim of the existence of these areas is to guarantee
that historical population centres continue to
function as a centres, or to polarize certain rural
areas. They will also normally be classed as
recommended.
In these areas residential use shall be allowed,
along with commercial uses in general, service
provision, tourist activities, and administration, etc.
with a greater density than in predominantly
residential areas, but never to the detriment of the
existing residential use.
228
Commercial use shall preferably be located on
ground floors and shall respect the quality of the
façades.
Areas of amenities and facilities
Areas of amenities shall also comprise
recommended uses, and they shall include land,
buildings and installations destined to serve the
community, whether they are publicly or privately
owned, and in many cases housed in buildings of
heritage interest.
Tolerated uses will be those public or semi-public
services that, while serving the population of the
site where they are located, also have a broader
range and serve population from the surrounding
area.
System of infrastructures
Infrastructures, such as roads, water and electrical
infrastructures, etc. shall be clearly detailed in the
planning (development, limits, affectation, etc.)
and they will be developed in accordance with the
criteria of landscape and heritage protection laid
out above.
Systems of empty spaces
These are areas which cannot be built on, with the
exception of very specific cases to guarantee the
correct functioning of services.
In rural areas they shall be organized into a
hierarchy according to the degree of protection
and of landscape interest. Agricultural land can be
considered part of the system of empty spaces in
rural areas or they can be considered as a specific
system separate from the more natural areas of
landscape.
Productive and industrial uses
Much caution is required when it comes to
regulating productive uses. They must be strictly
limited to craft activity, agriculture, small-scale
secondary industries, small workshops, etc. linked
to traditional buildings, but at the same time
allowing the installation of new productive
activities capable of generating added value in the
territory.
Agricultural activities within rural population
centres and in exclusively dedicated buildings will
be a tolerated activity so long as they do not cause
annoyance for the houses and, particularly in the
case of farming, they provide sufficient guarantees
of salubriousness.
Warehouses and commerce in exclusively
dedicated buildings shall also be tolerated so long
as the activity is compatible with housing and
related to the productive uses of the population
(consumer cooperatives, agricultural or machinery
warehouses, etc.).
Any intervention that affects the buildings of an site
must be subject to requesting a licence, within the four
modes of intervention described, so that the competent
administration or the body to which it delegates
authority can ensure that the action to be performed is
so done in accordance with the objectives established by
the planning and therefore, coherently with the
conditions of the territorial site.
SECTION TWO / REGULATION OF INTERVENTIONS
Art. 16.
Documentation necessary for a licence request
1. Apart from the documentation required by the
legislation in each country and which the specific
details of each local context may make it advisable
to include in these regulations, it is advisable that
in the licence application at least the following
information is required:
General documentation
Deeds or document demonstrating ownership of
the construction where the intervention is to
happen.
An intervention project, drawn up by one or more
competent technicians, that includes at least:
Plan of location and situation (recommended
1:500 scale) which relates the intervention to the
4.
5.
6.
7.
The aim of this section is to detail all those
administrative aspects that must be considered to carry
out an intervention in the physical setting of the
territory. Although the aspects to be detailed and
regulated may be very diverse, and more or less
complex, in accordance with what the regulatory
framework and the administrative reality of each
country establishes, it is advisable to detail and require
a certain minimum regulation for intervention in
traditional territories.
CHAPTER 1. ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE FOR
REQUESTING A LICENCE
Art. 14.
Types of procedure
1. Ordinary building maintenance and preservation
shall be facilitated by minimizing the necessary
bureaucratic procedures.
2. However, for other types of building interventions,
the administrative procedure to be followed shall
vary in accordance with the following three
parameters:
a/ The location of the plot of land and whether or
not it belongs to a Rehabilitation Area.
b/ The heritage value of the building.
c/ The type of intervention to be carried out,
within the four modes allowed for.
3. These three parameters will determine the
administrative procedure necessary to carry out the
rehabilitation or construction.
Art. 15.
Applying for a Licence
1. Before any intervention, the competent authority
shall always be informed of the intention to carry
out the intervention. This takes the form of an
Intervention Licence Application.
2. The Intervention Licence Application shall
appropriately describe the intervention proposal,
making it clear which Mode of Intervention is to be
performed. It will consist of the minimum
documentation that the By-law shall detail (see the
next point).
3. The competent authority, normally via a specific
service comprising competent technicians, shall
determine whether the Mode of Intervention
described fits the criteria fixed in the regulations
and immediately determine whether this
corresponds to the level of protection of the
construction where the intervention is to take
place.
4. If the application fits in with the parameters of the
territory, a licence will be granted, stating how
long the licence holder has to perform and
complete the intervention. Otherwise, a report will
be drafted explaining why the licence was denied
and either offering a period in which the applicant
can revise the application and correct the
deficiencies, or simply denying the possible
intervention.
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roadways and important territorial elements that
allow it to be easily located. In a rural setting
(recommendable 1:2000 scale) it is advisable to
require a map which clearly shows to scale the
location of the intervention with respect to the
nearest population centre.
Intervention report, which will include at least:
Archaeological, construction and historical
overview of the founding and the existing
values of the construction.
Description and justification of the operation
to be performed, which is precise and
detailed enough to judge the desirability of
the licence request. Apart from the
description of the intervention and its
intended use, clear evidence must be given
to show that it complies with the conditions
of the planning and of the these regulations.
Plans of the intervention to be performed:
Explicative of the current state of the construction
(with a scale of at least 1:100 for construction).
Of the intervention, that are perfectly intelligible
(with a scale of at least 1:100) showing floors,
sections and elevations providing a clear
description of the intervention to be carried out.
Special attention shall be paid to the relation
between the current state, the proposal, and the
relation of the area affected by the work and the
rest of the building and/or the adjoining buildings
or the surrounding territory.
If necessary, the intervention report mentioned above
will also include an archaeological study.
2. The By-law shall specify whether it is necessary to
perform an archaeological study for all operations
or whether it is only necessary to provide an
archaeological study in specific cases, because of
their location or the legal nature of the land where
the construction is situated.
3. An impact study must be presented to the
competent body for all planned infrastructures,
electricity supply lines, reforestation projects,
housing estates, land division, industrial action,
etc. This study must provide evidence of the
environmental impact that the action supposes for
the site or the territory.
Art. 17.
Technical Commission
In some territories, because of the high degree of
heritage interest they represent, and if it is
economically and legally viable, it is advisable to set up
a specific Technical Commission, formed of experts in
architecture and heritage, which oversees the projects
that fall within its jurisdiction and which is delegated
by the higher competent body to award authorizations
to intervene in any type of heritage. Above all, this
commission shall aim at approving the best possible
new constructions that blend in with the overall
traditional surroundings, favouring their typological
enrichment through accepting contemporary
proposals. It shall meet when necessary and as
indicated in the By-law.
CHAPTER 2. TOWN PLANNING INFORMATION
Art. 18.
Queries
1. Everybody shall have the right to be informed by
the authority in writing of the urban planning
regime that is applicable to any property included
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in the current Plan, and a maximum period shall be
established for this.
2. Everybody shall be able to consult the
characteristics and conditions of the interventions
that may be performed on a specific property
before requesting a licence.
SECTION THREE/ CHARACTERISTICS
OF TRADITIONAL CONSTRUCTIONS
Rehabilitation or reformation of an existing construction
in a traditional territory, or any new construction, must
be performed respecting the characteristics established
in this chapter, so as to be coherent and blend in with the
overall traditional setting.
CHAPTER 1. CONCERNING TYPES AND
VOLUMETRIC PARAMETERS OF CONSTRUCTIONS
Art.19.
Plot or piece of land
1. Whatever the more common usage, the term “plot
of land” shall be used herein to designate a land
surface, whether built on or not, demarcated as a
single unit and with one or several owners.
Normally legally registered as such.
2. The plot of land must be the structural, functional
and informational basis for any Plan and the entire
set of them shall be shown graphically on the
planning maps. The form and configuration of the
set of plots of land defines the traditional
character and form of a given fabric or territory
and in a territory different structures of sets of
plots of land can combine and merge. That is why
it is important that the By-law recognizes and
considers these physical units so that they cannot
be
transformed
(through
aggregation,
segregation, etc.) into structures that are
completely alien to the traditional fabric.
3. In each case, the conditions a plot of land must
meet in order to allow it to be built on must be
established. These conditions must regulate the
minimum and maximum size, the minimum stretch
of street-front, the mechanisms of segregation and
aggregation of the plots of land and everything
that is necessary for their type definition according
to each fabric, bearing in mind traditional forms
and as far as possible respecting the characteristics
and densities of the local layout.
A mistaken definition of the parameters regulating
the size, minimum frontages and plot segregation
and aggregation mechanisms, paying little attention
to the features of the traditional fabric and densities
of immediate area, can alter the image of the site.
Art. 20.
Construction types and insertion into the
landscape
1. The type of construction (detached, terraced, etc.)
that can be developed in the regulated area shall
be fixed in accordance with the characteristics of
traditional constructions and how these types
relate and overlap to make up the traditional
fabric.
2. Since, there may be different types of buildings in
one area, this regulation could be set by areas or
plots of land. A detailed analysis of the territory is
required to detect the different configurations of
constructions to allow for them in the regulations
and allow them to respond to the specific
characteristics of the traditional fabric.
3. As a general rule, each type of construction will be
defined by different parameters that are set out in
general terms in this section and which are shown
on the maps for each plot of land covered by the
Plan (PL7).
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The By-law must specify the types of buildings that
must be developed on the traditional site, in order to
maintain the specific features of the area and prevent
a situation where new buildings are not coherent
with the rest of the site.
Art. 21.
Occupation and buildablity index
1. The buildablity index of each plot of land shall be
set so that the density is homogenous throughout
the whole constructed area. In general, in urban
contexts, the number of floors and the occupation
of the plot of land already define this density, but
in rural contexts, these two coefficients are
important for balancing the constructed density
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III. Strategy
and the open space in accordance with the
characteristics of the traditional landscape.
2. The buildablity index is used to denote the area of
floor space that can be built on a plot of land
compared to the total surface area of the plot. In
an urban setting it is found by multiplying the
inhabitable surface (not including patios, gardens,
etc.) by the number of floors. The By-law shall set
a coefficient for each plot of land.
3. The occupation of the plot of land, which is the
surface of plot of land that can be occupied by
constructions compared to the total surface area of
the plot of land, shall be set. This parameter will
depend to a great extent on the type of buildings
in each place and on the use of the constructions.
There are cases of 100% occupation in urban
settings and cases of minimum occupation where
there are isolated constructions linked to farming
activities, for example. Whatever the case, the Bylaw must set limits in each case with the objective
of consolidating the existing occupation.
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In compact centres, the depth of a plot that can be
built on is a parameter to be regulated in order to
maintain the relationship of the traditional site
between building and internal open space in blocks
and on built-up sites..
Art. 23.
Patios, gardens and other such elements
1. In some traditional sites, patios (inside the middle
of the building, behind the building, or in the
centre of a block) gardens or other specific
elements are important as they provide traditional
structure building. In these cases, and to maintain
the coherence and line of the built-up area as a
whole, the By-law shall take them into
consideration and lay out their morphological
characteristics: their dimensions, proportions,
height, relation with constructed bodies and so
forth, in order to maintain their unitary
appearance.
average height. Regulating by street widths could
lead to a certain degree of disfiguration of the
character of the site and generate dividing walls
and other elements currently nonexistent. These
regulations must be clearly expressed on the Plan
maps.
3. The By-law must specify from where, and to
where, this height is to be measured. Generally, the
height of a construction is taken as the distance
from the level of the ground floor to the start of
the roof or just above the last storey. Therefore, it
is necessary to define what is considered as the
ground floor, placing it in relation to the level of
the street or the natural ground, to the alignments,
or topographic differences and so on. Along
sloping streets or plots the ground level will be a
stepped along each stretch of façade. It is
necessary to limit the possibilities of modifying the
natural land, above all in areas of very spread-out
construction.
4. The height limit applies to all constructed volumes,
whether external or internal. Only the design of
the roof, and installed elements that for
technological reasons or reasons of functioning
require such a position (chimneys, pigeon lofts,
water tanks, communal aerials, etc.) can extend
beyond this height. In any case, their impact must
be minimized through correct integration into the
landscape.
5. It will also be necessary to regulate the minimum
free heights of the different floors (ground floor
flats, flats, etc.) taking into account the
characteristics of the traditional construction.
Excessive height in the ground floors for example,
could lead to an irrevocable modification of the
character of a traditional street. irréversible le
caractère d’une rue traditionnelle.
In urban and rural centres, the By-law must fix the
alignment of the streets so that new building does
not distort the traditional street structure.
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Art. 22.
Alignments and separations
1. In some urban fabrics, alignments need to be set
(lines that define the edges of the buildings with
respect to inner—the inside of a plot of land, for
example—and outer urban spaces) so that the
construction fits in with the physical configuration
of the traditional site. The construction must not
extend past these alignments so as not to alter the
traditional structure of the street, with the
exception of the protuberant parts, balconies,
galleries etc. that this By-law regulates.
2. The alignments, shown on the regulation maps of
the Plan, will be adapted to the specific
characteristics of the buildings and the location.
Sometimes it is only necessary to establish
continuity at the ground-floor level or to regulate
certain movements and breaks in the line at the
level of the upper floors.
3. In areas of detached constructions, the separation
between buildings, or between the construction
and the limits of the plot of land need to be given.
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On sites where courtyards are an element configuring
the typology, the by-law must regulate their shape.
Art. 24.
Height and storeys
1. The By-law shall specify the maximum number of
storeys that a specific construction on a plot of
land can have and the maximum height that the
overall construction can reach.
2. In general, the height regulations must respond to
a careful reading of the morphology of the
ensemble of buildings, to maintain their profile and
harmony. Although this regulation is normally set
by considering the relation between the
construction and the width of the road (the wider
the road, the higher the buildings) it is advisable to
set limits for storeys and heights for areas and
ensembles with a traditional nature (a block, a
street-front, etc.) considering, for example, the
Height regulation must correspond to a careful
reading of the average existing heights in the set of
nearby buildings.
Art. 25.
Roof
1. The type of roof any construction within the scope
of the Plan can have will be defined in accordance
with the characteristics of the local construction:
that is, whether or not pitched roofs are allowed
(specifying the maximum and/or minimum
gradient) or flat roofs or roof-top terraces, or either
solution indistinctly, or simultaneously and using
what combining mechanisms. The possibility of
topologies different from the traditional ones must
not be ruled out in exceptional cases and after
prior justification.
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2. The specifications that these elements must meet,
in terms of the finish (finishing materials, colours,
etc.) the starting point, incorporation of skylights,
eaves (maximum overhang in relation to the width
of the street for example) chimneys, etc. shall be
given.
3. The restrictions will be particularized or guidelines
will be drawn up for the location of installed
elements (aerials, water tanks, etc.) so that they
cause the least possible damage the harmony of
the overall ensemble and the traditional landscape.
The by-law must specify appropriate parameters so
that the shape of the roofs of the new buildings does
not clash with those of the buildings of the area.
Art. 26.
Overhanging Bodies
1. Jutting elements, or overhanging bodies, are
considered to be those that stick out from the
plane of the façade, such as balconies, galleries,
bay windows, etc, and which form a functional
part of it.
2. As a general rule, new protuberant structures shall
not be allowed, unless they form part of the
traditional typology. Generally their presence,
protuberance, the separation and distances
between elements, the type of fastenings,
handrails, etc. will all be regulated so that they
blend into the image of the designs in the area, not
permitting closed-in protuberant structures, for
example, where they do not form part of the
traditional construction.
3. The regulations will not only allow protruding
structures but in some cases will oblige them to be
adopted in new architectural projects that cover
whole
ensembles
(squares,
streets,
neighbourhoods, etc) where these solutions form
part of the traditional construction.
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CHAPTER 2. REGARDING COMPOSITIONAL AND
FORMAL FEATURES
Art. 27.
Façades
1. Composition
The regulations will set minimum mechanisms to
regulate the creation and positioning of openings
in façades in accordance with the characteristics of
traditional construction in the area, setting—if
possible and without compromising the
possibilities of the architectural project—guidelines
for their positioning (regularity, opening-to-wall
ratio, etc.) their sizes and their proportions,
regulating the presence of elements such as
balconies, galleries, protuberant structures, lintels
and covering elements such as blinds, shutters, etc.
The configuration of balconies, protuberances, etc.
shall be regulated beforehand by the restrictions
on volumetric configuration.
Since the regulation concerning composition and
gaps may sometimes contradict the current
housing requirements or new uses, the criterion to
be followed is to always respect the vertical
proportions rather than the horizontal ones, so
that the solid part dominates over the openings. It
is necessary to regulate, but always ensuring that
the regulations do not hinder the adaptation of
new housing to the current requirements.
Wooden elements must also be detailed, together
with the type of interventions that are allowed to
replace wood by other materials, always in
accordance with compositional and specific colour
criteria.
Regulations must ensure that new building does not
appear as a discordant element with respect to
existing buildings, while avoiding excessive
conditioning of the possibilities of architectural
planning.
In added upward extensions or new bodies, stylistic
imitation must not be sought. Instead, there should
be integration with the built-up environment based
on contemporary language.
3. Ornamental finishes and decorative designs
If necessary, to provide the traditional ensemble with
an overall unity, the presence of cornices,
protuberances and other decorative elements will be
regulated. In general, for new constructions, the
decorative designs of the façades must be modest,
simple,
giving
priority
to
contemporary
interpretations rather than imitating existing designs.
In general, no reproduction or imitation of an old
building will be allowed, except when they are being
replaced, or façades transposed, etc.
4. Additional elements
Add-ons are taken to be those elements that are
separate from the internal logic of the construction,
such as sun shades, canopies, flowerpots, shop
windows, posters, etc. Their location, dimensions,
materials, etc. shall all be regulated so that they do
not detract from the qualities of the building itself
nor from the harmony of the ensemble of buildings.
This regulation can be separate, forming part of the
Urban Landscape Regulations (see D7 in the
proposed Plan layout).
As a general rule, advertising for commercial
premises (shop windows, shop signs, etc.) shall be
contained within the internal space of the openings
on the ground floor, leaving the façade, arches, the
frames between openings and the lintels over them,
free from addition material. Loud or excessively large
sunshades and canopies will not be allowed, neither
will unauthorised advertising or posters. Painted
elements must be finished in colours that match the
solutions existing in the respective areas.
2. Materials, colours and textures
The materials used to finish and/or form the
façades must be detailed: which materials it shall
be made of (brick, masonry, etc.) how they shall be
used (sizes, tools, etc.) and how it shall be finished
(plaster, stucco, whitewash, etc.), specifying the
range of shades and colours, types of stone,
textures, etc.
New interventions must respect the traditional
colourings. So a Colour Plan must be draw up
where the colours of the different elements of the
façade (metallic elements, blinds, etc.) and possible
combinations are also given.
Projecting bodies must be permitted in places where
their existence forms part of traditional typology.
Advertisements and hoardings must be integrated into
façades without stridency and without overshadowing
or hiding the original features.
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Art. 28.
Common walls
1. In some traditional urban constructions, the
divisions are an important element to consider and
regulate, since a profusion of elements of different
heights means that they can become the façade,
and are an important part of the image of the
construction and of the building ensemble.
2. They will be regulated so that the dividing walls are
treated in the same way and with the same criteria
as the façade (colours, textures, etc.). For divisions
on neighbouring buildings, the promoter of a
property being restored or worked on must also
deal with those of the neighbouring buildings, but
only those that for example have been exposed.
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In traditional areas, plot boundary elements define
the traditional landscape and it is therefore important
to regulate their form and materials.
CHAPTER 3. CONCERNING TECHNOLOGICAL AND
CONSTRUCTIVE SYSTEMS
On some sites, where building typology configures
common walls the by-law must ensure that these are
not forgotten and are treated as façades.
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Art. 29.
Layout and types of housing
1. The design of the layout of the construction must
undoubtedly fulfil the functional requirements
necessary to meet its intended use and in the case
of dwellings, meet the current requirements for
habitable premises.
2. The By-law shall consider the characteristics and
the distribution layout of traditional constructions,
which normally respond to an ancestral way of life
and an organization between family relations and
the surroundings. Through detailed analysis of the
territory, before drawing up the By-law, the
diversity and structures of the traditional types of
building shall be appreciated (distribution layouts,
elements relating interior and exterior, use of the
different floors, privacy of the spaces, relation and
connection between primary and secondary
rooms, location of patios and stairways, etc.), and
what shall be protected and maintained as
expressions of local heritage.
3. The regulations must consider the diversity of types
expressed in traditional constructions and regulate
or recommend as far as possible, so that these
traditional forms can take on new uses and new
forms of life without large-scale modification.
These recommendations or regulations can form
part of a separate document, such as a
Rehabilitation Manual (see D6 in the proposed
Plan layout).
Art. 30.
Enclosing a plot of land
For isolated constructions, in rural contexts, the heights,
configuration and materials used to enclose a plot of
land shall be given, in order to maintain the harmony of
the unit.
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Art. 31.
Facilities
1. The By-law shall guarantee that all homes meet the
minimum standards of utilities and services, such
as the supply of water, removal of waste waters,
supply of electrical energy and domestic rubbish
collection. The implementation of these services
shall be integrated into the ensemble in a coherent
way without excessively distorting the overall
image.
2. The minimum supply of drinking water shall be
defined, where drinking water is that which meets
the health standards established in the legislation
and is correctly treated. Therefore, a priority will be
the removal of individual water tanks for
accumulating drinking water.
3. All homes must be able to connect up to the public
waste water disposal system, and local
corporations must do everything possible to
provide for the installation of toilets in homes that
do not have them. The volume of flow to be taken
into account for the connection with the sewer
network will be the same as that indicated for the
water supply. Generally, the use of septic tanks will
not be allowed and if waste does not empty into a
public disposal system, the corresponding
treatment system must be implemented.
4. Electric power lines for domestic use shall be
underground, and if for some warranted reason
this is not possible aesthetic aspects must be
protected.
5. A rubbish collection system shall be implemented,
organized around the corresponding municipal
service.
Art. 32.
Construction
1. Apart from the aesthetic considerations that
materials in the façade and roof must meet, as
explained in this section, all materials used in new
constructions or in rehabilitation interventions,
must meet the quality and technical requirements
of the local legislation.
2. The rehabilitation manual must contain a set of
traditional construction solutions to be considered
in rehabilitation projects, paying special attention
to those particular solutions with a great heritage
interest due to their specific nature.
3. Materials for enclosing constructions, shall
guarantee high resistance and be thermally inert,
as well as ensuring appropriate damp protection,
in accordance with the specific climate of each site.
In general, in the rehabilitation of existing
constructions, and if necessary to meet legal
requirements, current technological solutions will
be accepted to improve the insulation of outer
surfaces, to seal roofs, etc. so long as they are
compatible and do not conflict with the traditional
systems.
4. Interior materials and construction systems
(dividing walls, ceilings, etc.) shall also meet the
appropriate sound insulation requirements,
particularly for the separation between homes
belonging to different owners. If an improvement
is necessary, solutions compatible with the existing
traditional systems shall be adopted.
Art. 33.
Thermal comfort
1. In general, both the design and the materials used
in new constructions, and rehabilitation and
consolidation of old constructions, must above all
else ensure good climatic behaviour that allows
conditions of thermal comfort to be achieved,
aiming at suitable energy savings for the specific
climate conditions.
2. Sunlight
The behaviour of the construction with regard to
solar radiation must be considered due to the
fundamental importance this has in achieving
balanced thermal conditions that provide comfort
with minimum energy expenditure. In new
buildings, this condition shall, above all, be
considered to ensure compatibility with the
composition of the façade.
The regulations shall define a minimum incidence of
sunlight according to the use of the rooms,
specifying surfaces coherent with the characteristics
of existent traditional constructions.
3. Ventilation
All housing shall have adequate ventilation for
health and hygiene requirements. The regulations
shall define minimum openings
to ensure
ventilation, according to the use of each room
(bedroom, kitchen, etc.).
Interconnected ventilation systems will be
encouraged to reduce the impact of ventilation
and artificial air conditioning systems. To achieve
this, modifications will be allowed, so long as they
conform to the transformation possibilities
contained in the Rehabilitation Manuals based on
the detailed study of the existing types in each site.
4. Heat and sound insulation
All constructions shall meet the heat and sound
insulation requirements (exterior and interior)
established by each local legislation and sketched
above. All intervention projects shall include
precise calculations in this respect.
Art. 34.
Habitability
1. Rehabilitation projects and new building shall
meet, as is logical, the conditions of habitability
established in each country’s legislation concerning
sanitation and hygiene conditions in homes, along
with the general points mentioned previously
(sunlight, ventilation, utilities, insulation, damp
resistance, etc.) and with a minimum programme
for housing, which specifies minimum surface
areas, and heights or volumes for habitable spaces.
2. As mentioned above, and in order to improve the
habitability of the ensemble, modifications to
existing constructions will be allowed.
3. In buildings with a specific number of storeys or
homes, the installation of a lift will be obligatory,
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both in new construction projects and in complete
rehabilitation projects. In the latter case, although
the installation of a lift undoubtedly represents an
improvement and modernization of the traditional
construction, it must be physically possible and it
must not irreversibly damage the characteristic
heritage.
III. Strategy
necessary and the expected occupation densities.
2. Social, assistance and recreational amenities shall
be reinforced, in accordance with the forecasts of
the Plan, encouraging their location on the ground
floor, allowing other uses (such as commerce) as
complementary uses.
CHAPTER 2. SERVICES
Art. 37.
Distribution of goods
With the aim of reducing door-to-door or the
disorderly delivery of goods, it is advisable to establish
distribution points for goods. These centres will be
shown on the Plan maps and their purpose will be to
store consumable products for their later distribution,
together with reusable or waste material awaiting
collection.
With small modifications, traditional housing types
can be adapted to new habitability and comfort
requirements.
Art. 38.
Rubbish collection
1. The competent authority shall establish a system
for rubbish collection which is most suitable
according to the urban sector or the accessibility of
the territory, clearly marking the collection points,
the form of depositing rubbish and the timetables.
2. The accumulation of any type of rubbish or waste
in public thoroughfares or streets will be expressly
prohibited.
SECTION FIVE / MOBILITY INFRASTRUCTURE AND
OPEN SPACE
SECTION FOUR / AMENITIES AND SERVICES
CHAPTER 1. PUBLIC ROADS
CHAPTER 1. AMENITIES
Art. 35.
Definition and types
1. The Plan shall define the plots of land dedicated to
amenities and services for the community.
2. In general, and except in cases of reusing existing
constructions (in many cases recommendable)
because of their public and representative nature,
these amenities can be developed as individual
pieces within the ensemble and adopt suitable,
contemporary architectural forms, in order to
enrich the ensemble. In this way, they can better
respond to their functional requirements. So, the
indications contained in the preceding section shall
be taken as guidelines. Nevertheless, the project
shall sufficiently justify the chosen architectural
option and hear the recommendations of the
Technical Commission of the Plan.
3. The By-law shall define those uses considered
amenities and services (religious, cultural, socials,
administrative, educational, etc.). They shall be
clearly expressed on the Plan maps (map PL9 of the
proposed Plan layout).
Art. 36.
Modification of use and complementary uses
1. For implementing or modifying uses and internal
distribution in existing buildings dedicated to
amenities, a complete rehabilitation project report
must be drawn up that will be treated as a Design
Guide, covering all the facilities that will comprise
the uses and activities to be developed, the
rehabilitation or extension work that will be
Art. 39.
Types of Road
1. The system of roads is comprised of the
installations and spaces reserved exclusively for the
layout of the road network. The Plan organizes
roads by type and use. Roads shall always be
public, with the limitations of use that the
competent authorities establish in each instance to
guarantee their function and safety. A map shall
contain all this information (PL4 of the proposed
Plan layout).
2. In urban contexts and historical population centres,
roads shall preferably be pedestrianized, with
different degrees of pedestrianization an option:
roads where motorized vehicles are totally
restricted, or intermediate degrees with preference
for pedestrians or mixed use with right of way for
pedestrians, etc.
3. In rural contexts roads shall be differentiated (main
roads, providing access to towns, etc.) from forest
tracks and rural trails with a more local nature. The
planning shall give the position, dimensions and
priorities of each type of road, etc. along with the
tress and landscape elements that accompany
them, taking as priorities environmental quality
and protection of urban areas, both in terms of
their development and their route. In a similar way,
special attention will be paid to the care and
maintenance of rural trails and their relation with
traditional constructed elements and auxiliary
buildings (mills, fountains, barns, pigeon coops,
granaries, etc.).
In urban contexts, roads must preferably be
pedestrian, with the possibility of establishing
different levels of pedestrianisation.
Art. 40.
Slopes and profiles
The transversal profiles and slopes of roadways will
adapt to the local topography and the regulations shall
specify maximum gradients according to the use of the
roadway.
Art. 41.
Traffic by-law
The authority shall pass a special traffic and highways
by-law, subject to the criteria established in the current
Plan, organizing the use of roadways by vehicles, the
management of goods, parking, etc.
Art. 42.
Car parks and public transport
1. In historical population centres, to combine the
requirements of residential streets with the specific
characteristics of the local fabric, collective parking
areas must be provided. Their location, preferably on
the outskirts of the historic centre, will be decided
taking into consideration accessibility and
connections with the rest of the internal roads.
2. The use of public transport is to be encouraged in the
urban areas covered by the current Plan. This type of
transport can use public roads in consonance with
their other uses.
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In historic centres, to combine residents' needs with
respect for the characteristics of the historic fabric,
specific parking areas will be established, preferably
on the perimeter.
CHAPTER 2. OPEN SPACES
Art. 43.
Open spaces
1. Land that cannot be built on shall be considered
open space, to maintain the characteristics of the
social fabric or the historic landscape. Public
roadways will be established according to the
previous chapter.
2. Open spaces can be public or private. In an urban
context public squares, gardens and other such
public spaces that cannot be built on are open
spaces. In a rural context, they will consist of forest
systems, the waterways, the arable land, etc. A
map (PL5 of the Plan layout) will bring together all
this information graphically.
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Art. 44.
Conditions of use
1. In a territorial context, open spaces will generally
be regulated by the specific legislation concerning
each area (forests, waterways, etc.) that establishes
their corresponding conditions of use. In general,
continuing agricultural use will be encouraged to
maintain the traditional character of the landscape.
2. In towns, the use of open space must be
fundamentally pedestrian, since this is the use
most coherent with the traditional rural fabric, but
there will be spaces dedicated to road traffic,
which shall be adequately differentiated. The
movement and parking of vehicles will be limited
to that which is strictly necessary, in accordance
with the regulations passed by the competent
authority.
3. The uses made of all public open spaces and the
corresponding urban fixtures and furniture will be
considered provisional.
4. Private installations for public services that are
authorized in these spaces, such as kiosks,
commercial stalls and suchlike, will require the
corresponding licence or permission to use the
public space for private purposes. These
installations must always respect the monumental
character and the landscape of the surroundings in
which they are set.
5. If new electric or telecommunications installations
are required, the installation must be underground,
and telegraph poles, cables, fittings attached to
façades, and similar elements of existing
installations must gradually be replaced by
underground installations.
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Art. 45.
Road surfaces, pavements and urban fixtures and
furniture
1. In these spaces, those urban fixtures and furniture
that strengthen the identification and character of
the traditional fabric shall be given priority. This can
be further detailed in the Urban Landscape
Regulations.
2. Town planning, gardening, public street lighting
and similar projects, shall harmonize with the
character and essence of their respective
population centres and combine a suitable
aesthetic quality with their basic function. This Bylaw, without impeding the possibility of
contemporary projects, may specify materials and
certain design variables.
3. Road surfaces
In urban areas a distinction shall be made between
hard road surfaces (paving stones, cobbles, etc.)
and soft road surfaces (earth, grass areas, etc.).
Hard road surfaces are suitable for roadways and
areas of heavy traffic while soft road surfaces are
advisable for areas of light traffic and slight
erosion. An adequate drainage mechanism shall be
contemplated (surface drains with channels, etc.)
generally connected to a network.
As a general criterion, roadways designed for
vehicles will be kept to a bare minimum. In narrow
streets the tendency shall be to remove kerbstones
and pavements, paving the entire street in the
same fashion. As far as possible existing road
surfaces will be maintained, ensuring that they
meet suitable accessibility conditions (guarding
against landslides, allowing disabled access, etc.).
4. Urban fixtures and furniture
Urban fixtures and furniture (streetlights,
fountains, litterbins, benches, etc.) together with
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decorative elements (fountains, flowerbeds, etc.)
shall be the subject of minimum regulations
(design, material, colour, placement criteria, plants,
etc.) without this impeding the architectural
project for the open space, which, on the other
hand, will recognise the local conditions and be
resolved in a straightforward manner, discreetly
fitting into the surroundings.
5. Street lighting and road signals
Lighting and signalling elements shall respect the
local scale. Local lighting conditions will be
considered when arranging the lighting.
Urban signposts shall be brought together, thus
reducing the spread of obstacles for pedestrians.
6. Trees
Trees, as a primordial element in the makeup of the
landscape, will take their place on the maps
regulating the open space. Town planning projects
shall expressly consider tress, taking into account
their different uses to demarcate areas, protect
from sun and wind, channel perspectives,
complement urban fixtures and furniture, facilitate
landscaping, etc.
7. Public utility networks
These shall be underground.
looked after by their owners. When the owners do
not act to meet the conditions described above,
the administration responsible for heritage may
order the required actions to be performed with
subsidies. It may also grant assistance and carry out
the necessary work directly, if the most effective
preservation of the property requires such action.
4. Failure to meet the obligations established in this article
will be considered a reason for the forced expropriation
of the property declared of cultural interest.
Art. 47.
Declaration of a ruin
1. The regulations shall establish the possibility of
declaring a construction a ruin, and under what
conditions this is contemplated, in order to
restore it urgently, or partially or totally demolish
it. The declaration of a ruin or the adoption of
urgent measures will not relieve the owners of
any of the responsibilities that they may have
incurred, deriving from negligence in their
preservation obligations.
2. The procedure, to be initiated by the competent
authority, will be detailed in the Regulations and
may include the obligation to restore the
property, with the right to grants referred to in
this section of the By-law. Demolition will only be
agreed to in exceptional circumstances and must
be justified in terms of protection of the
environment or of an improvement in the overall
preservation of the character of the territory.
Art. 48.
Forced construction
1. Once this By-law comes into force, the competent
authority may require the owners of land that has
not been built on and that is covered by the
current Plan, to request a licence to construct
within a given period of time.
2. Failure to comply with such an order will lead to
expropriation or the mandatory sale of the land in
question.
Urban development schemes must be in tune with
the character of the traditional area and combine
functionality with an appropriate aesthetic treatment.
SECTION SIX / MANAGERIAL INSTRUMENTS
CHAPTER 1. RELATING TO THE PRESERVATION OF
CONSTRUCTIONS
Art. 46.
Preservation, use and rehabilitation obligations
1. The owners of all types of land and constructions
shall use them in each case for the purpose
established in this Plan and maintain them in safe
and healthy conditions.
2. The cost of work deriving from the contents of this
By-law are to be met by the owners or the
Administration. As a matter of course or at the
insistence of any interested party, the competent
authority will order the execution of the work
necessary to preserve the conditions established
above and will insist on the fulfilment of the legal
obligations to which this article refers.
3. Protected buildings appearing in the heritage
catalogue must be preserved, maintained and
CHAPTER 2. RELATING TO MANAGING THE
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLAN
Art. 49.
Encouraging private initiative
1. In keeping with the goal of protecting heritage
that inspires the current Plan, the competent
authority shall encourage the rehabilitation of the
buildings covered by the Plan, through awarding
grants and providing necessary technical and legal
assistance. Such grants shall be regulated in a
specific by-law and can be offset against grants
available from higher level authorities.
2. The grants may be economic or of another nature.
Economic grants can consist of:
Direct subsidies for work and projects
Indirect subsidies or exemptions from local taxes,
licences fees and other obligations.
Loans of scaffolding and other items necessary for
the work.
3. Grants which are not of an economic nature can
consist of technical and legal assistance for
estimates, technical solutions, etc. without
affecting the town planning information that the
administration is obliged to provide.
Art. 50.
Collaboration and agreements
To help achieve the objectives of the Plan, the authority
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shall promote agreements with other public and
private bodies.
Art. 51.
Office of the Plan
1. A Plan Office will be created, which will be in
charge of managing and coordinating the actions
that are to be carried out as part of said Plan,
together with the corresponding monitoring and
follow-up work.
2. The Office shall be configured as a special
management body, without its own legal identity,
but with functional autonomy that does not
jeopardise its direct link to the public
administration it depends on. The Office will have
the human and materials resources necessary to
achieve its goals.
Art. 52.
Execution of the Plan
The actions envisaged by the Plan will be carried out in
accordance with the Action Programme that shall form
part of the documentation of the Plan. This Action
Programme can be divided into different thematic
plans as has been done in this proposed Plan layout, by
way of example.
Art. 53.
Drawing up complementary by-laws
1. Once the Plan has been brought into effect, it is
important to draw up a series of complementary
by-laws as soon as possible, that will make the
implementation of the Plan more effective. These
by-laws are:
– Special rehabilitation grants by-law
– Special traffic and movement of vehicles by-law
– Special by-law to regulate activities and
installations in public highways and open spaces.
2. Likewise, the current By-law shall be
complemented with the following provisions:
– Landscape regulations which include a Colour
Plan.
– An advertising and public signs by-law.
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Renovation Manuals.
In Italy and the Mediterranean
countries
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The cultural tradition linked to issues of conservation and
rehabilitation of architectural and historic/traditional heritage, and
particularly the heritage of rural centres and environments, began
in the context of the rehabilitation manuals and codes of practice
that appeared in Italy at the beginning of the 1980s, thanks to the
work of specialists such as Paolo Marconi, Francesco Giovanetti
and Antonino Giuffrè.
The main aim of the rehabilitation manuals was to develop a new
culture of the conservation of the pre-modern architectural
heritage, based on a "[...] conviction of the crucial importance of
the rehabilitation of this type of asset in order to preserve and
develop the historical identity of the town"1.
The main idea of all the research underlying these documents is to
highlight the importance of an in-depth knowledge of traditional
architecture, from the point of view of its implementation on the
ground, typologies and distribution. In all cases, very special
attention is paid to the aspects of materials and technologies, as
a prior essential condition for supervising and conserving such
heritage.
The cognitive approach is considered as the basis of a new way of
designing a rehabilitation project for existing buildings which,
based on the critical analysis of traditional architecture, is capable
on reading and understanding the relationships involved in the
different building, structural and constructive typologies; the
purpose of all this is to be able to act on buildings and preserve
their character by selecting techniques and materials compatible
with the techniques and materials used in the original.
Raffaele Panella clearly expresses the scale of the problem in the
introduction of the Manual de Cittá di Castello, indicating "[...] the
exasperation of the theoreticians and operators involved in 'great
restorations' when it came to confronting the problem of
conserving millions of examples [...]" of historic buildings with
their elements of construction, and he puts on the table the
"conceptual limits and practices of restoration in the face of the
quantitative dimension of the problem […]"2.
A few years later, in accordance with the premises of publications
preceding the manuals, Francesco Giovanetti stoutly defended the
need not to interrupt dialogue with the universe of construction
in the past, not as an option involving technical regression but in
order to be able to provide convincing solutions to the main
problems, at least in harmony with traditional construction. On
one hand, new maintenance actions must be compatible with the
pre-modern method of building and, on the other, a paradox
appears with the "[…] [continuously growing] demand shown in
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Carlo Atzeni
Civil engineer
Lecturer in the Department of Architecture at the University
of Cagliari
Italy
Rome, analysis of the wall structure of a historic building (Manuale del Recupero
del Comune di Roma, 2nd edition, 2000).
the market for the recovery of the specific material qualities of
historical construction […]"3 continuing not to be met because of
the inability of technicians and businesses to properly deal with
the construction world of the past.
Rehabilitation manuals are designed as tools with eminently
practical characteristics, without attempting to answer all the
questions arising when it comes to tackling a historic building.
Among the best known, linked to the historic architecture of a
specific urban area, those drawn up for the cities of Rome (two
editions) Città di Castello, Palermo, Matera and Ortigia, must
undoubtedly be mentioned, to which must be added the more
recent experiments undertaken at Castel del Monte and Gênes.
In addition, during the last decade, more extensive studies have
appeared, associated with larger territorial areas, such as counties,
regions and even States. This is the case, for example, with the
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Manuals. In Italy and the Mediterranean countries
Tools for typological cataloguing facilitate knowledge of the basic architectural
heritage: abacus of the types of building of Marmilla on Sardinia (Manuale del
recupero dei centri storici della Marmilla, del Sarcidano, dell’Arci e del Grighine,
2006).
Rehabilitation Manual for the Abruzzo region, published in 2004,
the guide to the maintenance and rehabilitation of buildings for
Aveto, in Liguria, the Manual for the rehabilitation of architecture
and landscape in Irpinia, and the Manual for the recovery of
historic centres in Marmilla, Sarcidano, Arci and Grighine, in
Sardinia, to limit ourselves to Italian territory. Nor should the
interesting experiments carried out to draw up rehabilitation and
maintenance manuals for the traditional architecture of Syria and
Lebanon, created as part of the CORPUS Community research
programme be forgotten, or the Manual for the rehabilitation of
the architecture of the pre-Saharan valleys of Morocco be forgotten.
The building culture of a particular local area (which almost always
coincides with a well-defined urban context within precise time
limits) is the purpose of the studies for these manuals. The reason
for choosing this method, which might seem excessively selective,
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must be sought in the endemic nature of local forms of the premodern art of building. "Manuals always refer to a defined
vocabulary for a reference geographical and historical area. They
present the rules of the art of building existing in a specific cultural
area, which are determined based on the characteristics of the
available materials, typological models acquired from knowledge
and the set of technological answers given to existing demands.
Their validity is generally confirmed by the survival of the
constructed items down to our time."4 The aims of rehabilitation
manuals can be summarised under the headings of culture and
usage.
Firstly, the fact that the manual includes a wide range of elements
typical of traditional construction (covering structures, crowns,
walls, openings, etc.), thanks to detailed illustrations as well as
graphic and written tables, makes it possible to read them as
documents and to present them as a kind of directory of houses
based on which it is possible to identify existing construction
types. According to this view "[...] the manual is more of a
catalogue and the majority of its content is, without doubt, the
development of knowledge of the characteristics of old buildings,
with special reference to construction and the culture of materials
it incorporates."5
However, there is another very important aspect linked to the
interpretive way in which the manual can be consulted: in fact, the
manual provides technicians, as professionals, with a method of
approaching knowledge of traditional construction, but it also
constitutes a useful tool for envisaging intervention strategies for
actively conserving heritage. Panella further clarifies his
proposition, saying that "according to this [...] viewpoint, a
working profile inherent in the manual itself is revealed. This
reveals the original intentions and indicates later developments.
These are, undoubtedly, the development of the catalogue, which
will be carried out through the involvement of new families [...]
and, above all, to enrich historic implementation techniques
(which most cultural sources – architects, historians and the
authors of treatises – often forget). But these manuals essentially
represent a successive definition of criteria for active supervision;
that is, technical conditions guiding rehabilitation action, largely
intended for the maintenance and repair of ancient buildings."6
On one hand, the manual is aimed at the community in the area
it refers to and, on the other, at specialists, with their dual
theoretical and practical aspects; that is to say, as much at
technicians as at professionals. As for residents, the manual
should stimulate their desire to become closer to and appreciate
the value of historic centres because of the expressiveness of their
buildings, summing up the essence of traditional buildings, which
is not always appreciated in everyday life.
For experts, the aim consists of promoting awareness as well as
knowledge of the values of traditional construction, encoding the
principal rules transmitted down to the present thanks to the
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Palermo, axonometry, showing the details of the structure of a building in the
historic centre. The table highlights different aspects concerning the construction
and the materials used. (Manuale del Recupero del centro storico di Palermo,
1997).
Città di Castello, axonometry of a vault (Manuale del recupero del Comune di Città
di Castello, 1992).
practical experience and know-how of workers on sites, making it
possible to "[...] pass on this literature to future generations
without its meaning being either lost or twisted."7
For planners, the manual constitutes guidelines and support when
it comes to defining the rehabilitation action, guiding the choice
of materials and techniques which will be coherent with local
constructive tradition, according to a planning logic which will
operate with continuity and not in opposition to the past. "A
rehabilitation manual does not, and is not meant to, lay down the
law. Designed to provide a response to gaps in certain supervisory
regulations which are essentially limiting, its aim is to open the
way to attitudes and propositions. [....] It is a challenge to the
public authorities, in their various forms, to adopt a new attitude
concerning supervision; not designed to say what must not be
done, but rather to suggest what should be done."8
Manuals are not meant to be documents providing rules, at least
in the intentions of the authors of the early versions, but rather to
have merely indicative functions, maintaining their natural
purpose as constituting a complement to town planning
intervention tools (such as urban plans for renovating historic
centres) regulating rehabilitation activity. Thanks to prescribed
techniques and materials and by comparing the existing building
with the body of rules involved, the manual makes it possible for
historic centres to develop naturally, in accordance with the logic
of practical maintenance.
From this point of view, public local administrations, and, in
particular, the competent bodies, such as municipal technical
offices, are other potential users who manuals are aimed at. In
addition, we might highlight the fact that, at a point like the time
we are now living in, when conservation and the supervision of
traditional heritage of historic buildings are the subject of
significant investment by the European Community, it would be
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Nureci, Marmilla, analysis of the construction system of a traditional house
(Manuale del recupero dei centri storici della Marmilla, del Sarcidano, dell’Arci e del
Grighine, 2006).
absolutely desirable to be able to be able to rely on tools such as
manuals, which can provide clear, coherent indications to
professionals concerning interventions on buildings.
The implications of a manual when it comes to a rehabilitation
action bring the relationship between rules and plans to the
fore, taking into account a more mature, aware conception of
the need to recover common ground for dialogue between
tradition and innovation. The authors of the manuals take a
view associating rules with practice, strictly concerning the
restoration of traditional architectural heritage, leaving room
for a plan when the intervention – regardless of whether it
forms part of a rehabilitation programme - needs to include the
recomposition of destroyed or obsolete forms and structures.
According to this position, rules and plans are the two integral
parts of a single general rehabilitation programme and "[...] as
they refer to different actions"9 there can be no conflict
between them.
The manuals' support function, concerning matters of urban
supervision, may be expressed according to different orientations:
forming a link to the changing or replacement of construction
materials and supervised elements of construction worthy of
preservation; taking on a prescriptive connotation concerning the
materials and techniques to be used in interventions on existing
buildings, and, finally, thanks to the case study directory, providing
indications on the forms and strategies to be followed in the
rehabilitation scheme.
The research method followed to draw up the manuals deals with
the nature of old buildings from a particular viewpoint, getting
away from the logic of typification and making individuality its
strong point. The choice of unusual cases takes into account the
fact that construction characteristics are very general in the
reference area. To put it another way, the examples chosen,
despite their individual nature, can represent a huge number of
buildings with similar properties and characteristics10.
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Genoa, diagram summarising the different ways of constructing wooden
ceilings.
Rome, details of the wooden structure of a roof. (Manuale del recupero del
Comune di Roma, 2nd edition, 2000).
The most important construction elements, according to a
technical architectural classification, are studied, included and
represented with the help of graphic tables to show: "[...] their
structural capacity, that is, their ability [...] to support common or
pathological demands; technological features, that is, the
presence of elements, their combination and implementation
solutions; architectural quality; that is, the care taken with
decoration and finishing elements."11
In a parallel line of research to that of the renewal manuals, one
has recently seen appearing experimental codes of practice, coordinated by Antonino Giuffré in the cities of Palermo, Ortigia and
Matera. Codes of practice have a fundamental vision in common
with rehabilitation manuals but are different from them in terms
of the specific direction of the study. In effect, codes of practice
are interested in the structural behaviour of old constructions and
the analysis of the building is intended to provide a reading and
interpretation of the construction logic in order to understand the
static arrangement that relates this to the different structural
elements. The purpose of the codes of practice consists of
studying the safety and stability conditions of the building, above
all in relation to the problems of earthquake zones, and it makes
it possible to provide an intervention method seeking the key to
compatibility between old and new with a knowledge of the rules
of traditional construction.
This perspective developed from the conviction that, with
rehabilitation actions, one must "[...] reconstitute a structural
homogeneity that new materials cannot achieve, and this, of
course [it is what must be required] means preserving the cultural
significance of works from the past"12. In addition, it has been
possible to see that old structures, if they are well built, can
perfectly well stand up to critical situations, even those possibly
caused by an earthquake.
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Pre-Saharan Morocco, diagram summarising the different construction types for
wooden beam and cane roofs. (Manual for the conservation of the architectural
heritage for the pre-Saharan valleys of Morocco, 2005)
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Marmilla, diagram for the strengthening an under-sized wooden roof-bearing
structure. (Manuale del recupero dei centri storici della Marmilla, del Sarcidano,
dell’Arci e del Grighine, 2006).
13
In Giuffré's view, "the quality of a well-built building, that is, a
better adapted one, built according to the rules of the art, is the
result of proper organisation of all the different structural
elements and the static efficiency of each one of them. A building
constructed in this way will not only be stable when faced with
exceptional demands but will also be able to take on new
functions without them altering its shape or the nature of its
construction"13. This is where its strength and vitality lies.
The code of practice has been created as a tool to aid town
planning instruments and, from this point of view, it performs its
function as a guide for interventions on existing buildings,
ensuring a certain uniformity of method. Its exclusively operational
purpose is, however, a double one: to ensure projects are
conducted in accordance with the structural principles of old
buildings and, alongside this, check their capacity to stand up to
earthquakes. To meet this objective, a building diagnosis will be
carried out beforehand in a similar way to that done to prepare
the manuals, which will make it possible to predict possible
damage. This means that once the structural safety of the building
has been assessed (field work playing an essential role here) along
with the level of earthquake for which resistance is to be ensured,
it would be possible to identify the building's weak points, and,
consequently, the points where action is necessary, on the basis of
analysing damage caused by previous earthquakes.
This view, which assumes an orientation aimed almost exclusively
at intervention on existing buildings as a preventive supervision
measure, makes operational practice the principal tool for
conserving heritage buildings. The capacity buildings have to
adapt to the changing requirements of society and the way in
which they permit maintenance operations has already been
highlighted, in all cases provided that these are compatible with
the technological and construction principles that guided their
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construction. The manuals are offered to transmit just this
message. If the aim is to renovate heritage buildings by ensuring
they have an active role within the evolutionary processes of a
community (which can in no way be taken for granted), the reuse
of buildings constructed with traditional architecture and the
practice of rehabilitation supported by knowledge of traditional
techniques and materials seem to be inevitable.
1
Raffaele Panella, Manuale del recupero del Comune di Roma, p.15, Edizioni DEI
Tipografia del Genio Civile, Rome 1989.
2 Raffale Panella, "Per un contenuto conservativo del recupero", in Manuale del
recupero del Comune di Città di Castello, p. 9, Edizioni DEI Tipografia del Genio
Civile, Rome 2000.
3 Francesco Giovanetti, Manuale del Recupero del Comune di Roma, 2nd expanded
edition, p. 20, Edizioni DEI Tipografia del Genio Civile, Rome.
4 Previous reference, p. 16.
5 Raffaele Panella, Manuale del recupero del Comune di Roma, cit. p. 15.
6 Previous reference, p. 15-16.
7 Francesco Giovanetti, Manuale del Recupero del Comune di Roma – 2nd expanded
edition, cit. p. 19.
8 Francesco Giovanetti, Manuale del recupero del Comune di Roma, Ist edition, p.
45-46, Edizioni DEI Tipografia del Genio Civile, Rome 1989.
9 Raffaele Panella, Manuale del recupero del Comune di Roma, cit. p. 13.
The renovation of historical-traditional architecture: Sassi di Matera, detailed
diagram with indications of techniques and materials for intervention on a historic
building. (Codice di pratica per la sicurezza dei Sassi di Matera, 2000).
10 In "Per un contenuto conservativo del recupero", cit. p.13, Raffale Panella clarifies
this aspect of manuals, declaring that these are case studies from a construction
and architectural viewpoint that "[...] avoid the normal abstractions and
simplification processes, directing the operator's attention to the inevitably
individual nature of each site he will work on [...]. If there is a wish that the traits
of simplification and abstraction of the current typological action should not
appear, the classification operation - the typology - is revealed in full as showing
the range of fashions, at least those expressing the culture of the town or city at
a particular time. This is why one speaks of typification."
11 Francesco Giovanetti, Manuale del recupero del Comune di Roma – 2nd expanded
edition, p. 19, Edizioni DEI Tipografia del Genio Civile, Rome.
13
12 Antonino Giuffrè, Caterina Carocci, Codice di pratica per la sicurezza e la
conservazione del centro storico di Palermo, p. 3, Editori Laterza, Rome-Bari
1999.
13 Previous reference, p. 4.
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Cataloguing heritage.
A methodological process
There are two definitions of the term patrimony. One is related to
the concept of patrimony in an economic context. The other
involves the establishment of values -some unwritten- by which a
certain element (architectural, archaeological or natural) is worthy
of being included in a protection catalogue.
Society also understands this differentiation between a simple
economic-material criteria and a set of nuances labeled “artistic”
and/or “architectural” which confer a level of appreciation.
According to these values each person can identify with, admire
or be emotionally moved in the contemplation of a building,
sculpture, painting or landscape.
When patrimony, in capital letters, is spoken of it is understood
that it meets a set of assumed values. Upon these values, it is felt
that the property in question should be protected. This expression
translated to a legislative framework means that it must form a
part of or be included in a Catalogue.
The inclusion or membership to a Catalogue symbolizes that a
certain material good or property has been considered by the
experts as an element to protect. Most frequently, this protection,
in the case of architectural patrimony, reference is made to a
building group, a certain construction or even a ruin.
Generally, the cataloging of a public property is well accepted. On
the other hand, the protection of a private property can generate
a conflict of interests between the owner and the government.
These questions effect the carrying out of some duties and the
redaction of some criteria on its protection. One must underline,
especially, the use of the property and its maintenance and
management conditions derived from the regulation that
determines the protection plan or general area of planning.
In relation to the creation of any catalogue or derived planning
linked to the patrimony one must separate two lines of action
within the so-called previous analysis: the protected or easily
accepted patrimony and the proclaimed patrimony. The later is the
one that generates a greater discussion between all involved
parties: the government, the protection plan redaction team,
citizens at large including experts in the field of study of that
patrimony and the owner.
Under these two concepts, it is possible to state that the assumed
elements possess important values, generally linked to religious
interests (monasteries, churches, hermitages); military interests
(forts, castles, watch towers); buildings with a recognized style
(modernist, for example) or that possess some singular or symbolic
element (treatment of a facade: paintings, graffito), presence of
traditional forged elements or artistic details linked to the tradition
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Antoni VILANOVA
Architect
Spain
The catalogue should highlight the idiosyncratic aspects of the configuration of the
territory: course of streets, sections of streets or ways, form of lots or types of
buildings.
of the place.
Another general line in the analysis of the physical and territorial
framework previous to the drawing up of regulations is
represented by the group of elements that must justify their
values. It must be done previous to their inclusion and
incorporation into a catalogue or other type of patrimonial
protection.
Some of these elements will fall outside of the first line of
protection attributed in the catalogue, but should have, at least, a
presence in other protection figures. To them are attributed, for
the most part, social values rising from concepts such as
sentimentality or historical memory.
Evaluating patrimony today
In a city setting, one cannot only consider the patrimonial value
from the viewpoint of an urban model or from that of a certain
architectural element.
The planning must have an imminently wide vision, capable of
reading and interpreting the development and the transformation
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In the catalogue of traditional architecture, the assumed elements present in the
territory with important values (churches, castles...) are as important as the
elements without significant values by themselves, but are crucial in the forming of
a unified image of the enclave.
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of a city as a non-homogenous territory, formed of pieces,
groupings and surroundings with well defined criteria so that
diverse areas of protection can be differentiated. From these areas
of protection will be established the criteria of protection that will
permit their rehabilitation, renovation or transformation within
the physical framework where they are located.
It is necessary then to advance in the idea of the surroundings and
the interrelation of the diverse elements in global image that
permits the quality of an urban landscape to be determined where
the singular elements are also appreciated.
Form this generalist reflection, the drawing up of any type of
planning that implies the endowment of protection measures for
the patrimony, should be founded upon multi-disciplinary criteria,
paying special heed to a global conception of the patrimony. The
three frameworks of action and reflection are: the architecturalarcheological, the environmental-landscape and the historicalsocial. For these reasons, in the present moment, the historical
patrimony should be considered and analyzed not just from the
architectural angle, but rather that it should be understood as
giving structure to an interwoven urban fabric and, also, as an
archive of the collective memory.
The methodological structure and the procedure for the
drawing up of the document
The creation of a protection plan should begin from a general,
territorial and historical approximation, to conclude in a detailed
formulation of a conjunct of specific regulations for each element
or group to be protected.
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heritage. A methodological process
It is well known that in recent years the concept of the protection
of patrimony has evolved from positions that we could call
“defensive” and that often have failed, leading to the
immobilization and progressive degradation of some buildings
that were intended to be safeguarded, toward more “dynamic”
postures with which revitalization interventions are promoted,
preserving the most remarkable characteristics. This form of action
must coincide with the willingness of the governing bodies in
order to agglutinate the concept of the protection a whole
patrimony, centered not only in the values of the historical centers
but treating the whole area, be it urban or rural.
The act of contemplating a general vision in the planning of
protection must permit a better posterior management, as well as
the definition of new public equipment, open spaces and their
interrelation.
In the general framework of the drawing up and in accordance
with the premises of action defined in the previous analysis,
aspects such as mobility, differentiating spaces with pedestrian
priority or exclusivity, or other means of circulation, in function
with its location within the urban fabric.
The idea of a city or urban or rural landscape as a depository of
values to be preserved, frequently pits public and private rights
and interests against each other. For this reason a majority
acceptation of the regulating document by all interested parties
(public and private) should always be sought out. Property
owners, experts, neighbors, associations and cultural entities,
governing bodies and promoters must understand the necessity of
having a technical-judicial regulating framework, which facilitated
the management of all the elements which form a part of it.
It is also necessary to establish the limits of initiative of all
intervening parties, stimulating their collaboration and
participation, with the objective of preserving the persistent and
characteristic values of a determined urban or rural space. In this
way the definitive document will constitute an agile tool for the
regulation of the interventions and must make possible an easy
understanding by any citizen.
The need to conjure up, between themselves, different areas of
protection, allows buildings, groups, elements or surroundings,
which are deserving of some form of conservation or protection,
to be valued under this unified vision, without attaining the level
of protection which is normally understood as “catalogable”, in a
purely individualized reading.
The protection by means of urban planning regulations permits
the guaranteeing of real conservation by the accumulation of
more than one assigned value, specifying the form of intervention
and the elements to be preserved.
The implied mechanisms contained in a protection catalogue
permit the regulation of the presence of significant elements and
surroundings, not just at the level of a determined historical
conjunct, but in the materialization of better surroundings. One
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must work methodically, in superior surroundings and ones that
permit the establishment of aspects of visual continuity and of
dialogue, in order to relate actions between older structures and
contemporary interventions.
In the same way other aspects of the urban configuration must be
highlighted, such as: thoroughfares, sections of streets or other
throughways, forms of lots, building types and, finally, the works
or singular elements, directly or indirectly linked to the objectives
of a plan for their protection.
In all cases, the coordination must be guaranteed between the
protection effort, and the regulation which is derived from it, with
the urban planning determinations of the general planning, in
order that they do not enter into contradiction.
All catalogues or special plans for the preservation of patrimony,
as much in their general structure as in the individualized indexing,
of the conjunct or of the surrounding area, as well as in the
Fes (Morocco)
Caravanserai at Akko (Israel)
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planimetric documentation, must establish some criteria of
determined qualification, not only thinking of a single particular
element but in its interaction within the area of intervention.
To achieve these objectives it is necessary to establish some work
phases which are detailed below.
Establishment of the physical surroundings
In a first approximation the geographical framework of the
intervention must be defined. The catalogue must focus itself,
recognizing the morphologic unity upon which it acts with the
goal of promoting the measures and actuations directed toward
the preservation and revaluing of its elements in its conjunct. The
idea of protection must be accompanied by the knowledge of the
surroundings and the establishment of a determined perimeter.
Analysis of previous and antecedent documents
Next, it is necessary to begin the investigation phase, which
consists of analyzing the available material and complementing
the documental and historical search. All the studies and works
realized in the determined area shall be utilized, especially those
that affect the history and the formation process of the historical
center or nucleus upon which the drawing up of the catalogue
shall pivot.
Besides, all cartographic sources should be consulted; the
evolutions derived from the different planning, with special
mention of the photomaps and the historical images. All this work
must be undertaken following a methodology of previous
consultation and an examination of the documents in order to
open the investigation process, tending to complete to the
maximum level the knowledge of the historical area.
Judicial, economic and urban planning analysis
The present state of the geographical area, objective of the
protection plan or formulation of a catalogue, must be evaluated.
It is necessary to be conscious of the established majority uses in
the area; the property systems and, evidently, the urban planning
in force. For this, it is necessary to consult the existent data bases.
These bases will be complemented at the time of the realization
of the inventory of all the objective buildings of the study.
Determination of the general criteria of intervention
The very genesis of the geographical area and the different
elements subject to criteria of protection, give rise to the
formulation of some more or less generalized values, which
configure a good number of generalist intervention proposals. In
this way, some parameters homologous with the conjunct and
others individualized for each element will appear, without losing
sight of the history of the place and aspects conditioned by the
orography and the surroundings.
On some occasions architectural elements (mainly buildings or
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facades) will need to be protected, which for themselves do not
have any considerable value. Their value is found in their relation
or juxtaposition with other similar ones, with which they form a
conjunct difficult to separate. It can be assured that many pieces
do not have any sense without these surroundings which have
conditioned them and continue to condition them in their
conception. The decontextualization in this case would act in
detriment of the same piece: a bridge, without the water's course
which motivated its spanning the two banks, would not have any
sense as an isolated object even though its intrinsic value would
not be questioned; an isolated house cannot totally lose its
immediate yard, even though there not be any interest for its
configuration beyond the strictly atmospheric; a suburban type of
house is reinforced by the existence of others of the same type
next door (houses between fenced yards).
With attention to the previously mentioned standards, a outline
document must be established where the desired model of a city
or territory is being defined. In it the qualitative urban
improvements will be reached with the protection of the
patrimony and, definitively, the determinations to be incorporated
in the planning.
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Determining the levels of protection (general and specific)
The public administration has an obligation and right to protect,
conserve and restore cultural property. The judicial framework that
regulates the competencies of the city governments for the
protection of patrimony in Catalonia are made up of local laws,
the urban planning legislation and the Law of Catalan Cultural
Patrimony (LPCC, 9/1993)
Of these three, the legal instrument that can, with the greatest
transparency, preserve the essential characteristics of the municipalities
and resolve the problems derived from the cultural and economic
speculation is the general and derived urban planning.
The regulations based in the development of each one of the
processed instruments present different levels of approximation
and in some cases do not address the specifics of each setting. For
this reason, this heterogeneous situation creates dysfunctions in
the very systems of verification of the prescriptions of protection
and even insecurity and urban planning ambiguity for the
properties that should be resolved, in many cases, avoiding
interpretations which could be contradictory.
Another aspect that needs attention is the ephemeral quality of
the elements to be protected. This factor, from the point of view
of the criteria in force which instruct the urban planning
proposals, can be understood in two ways. One, the urban
planning proposal of protection can be modified in time be it
because the evolving character of the planning has so advised it.
The criteria of evaluation have been modified or because the
element being protected can lose those values that advised its
initial inclusion, or simply to incorporate new ones. Two, the main
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difficulty in the exclusion of pieces in a specific moment rests in,
unlike other urban planning options that can be reproposed in
time, the irreversibility of the loss of the element which is
protected. The reason for this is that a construction must enjoy the
criteria of protection, with a certain prevalence, with respect to
other urban planning arguments.
The identification of the alternatives allows the lines of action to
be established, in which the relationship of catalogue and
protection will be defined precisely for each case. In the case of
Catalonia, for example, the declaration of Cultural Property of
Catalan National Interest (BCIN) carries with it a determined policy,
as much as for the formulation of the protection, as for the criteria
of intervention.
This concrete case deals with buildings, historical gardens or other
constructions of singular character that, for their undeniable
patrimonial wealth, are considered “monuments”. This
specification clearly marks the line separating it from other
elements, of lesser status, that could be considered of this level.
For this reason, the assigned protection is total and the restoration
actions should not result in reinventions or changes in design.
The elements, catalogued with this level of protection, are the
object of conservation, consolidation and rehabilitation works and
actions; whenever its state requires it in order to safeguard its
values.
For the rest of the elements susceptible of being protected, the
Catalan legislation determines a generic concept: other elements
of the catalogue.
Under this denomination are incorporated into the catalogue list
all the remaining pieces with individual values of interest. The
specifications of the values of protection are established in a three
level scale: Local Level Cultural Property (BCIL), Properties with
elements of interest and Properties of documental interest.
The catalog level B or BCIL is designed for the protection of
buildings of constructions of singular value that, capable of being
incorporated in the superior category (A or BCIN), from a
comparative scale of values, it has been taken into consideration
that the element in question offers singularities appreciable at the
local level and not at the national. Formally, it could be indicated
that the elements susceptible of being catalogued with a level A
(BCIN) or B (BCIL), are different only in their scale of values in the
area of legislation or territory. For this reason, philosophically, they
should enjoy the same type of protection which will be detailed in
each of the specific indexes which a patrimony catalogue must
contain.
At this level may also be included buildings or constructions that
have lost their unitary and genuine coherence, as a result of
interventions upon the original model; that have suffered a
process of degradation; that have suffered an irreversible change
of use or, simply that their patrimonial values and their singularity
of origin have been affected.
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The permitted interventions in these elements are those of
rehabilitation of their original values with unified reform and
rehabilitation projects. These proposals must be accompanied by,
just as in the higher category, a historical, archeological and
architectural record of the building or associated construction,
including environmental aspects in the corresponding cases. In this
type of documents, after a patrimonial analysis, the elements that
confer its singularity are detailed. Also accompanying should be,
in the majority of cases, a photographic report and drawings of
the present state of the construction, previous to any dismantling.
The usefulness of this record lies in having available a very useful
and even necessary tool as previous phase to the formulation of
intervention proposals. In this way, many of the criteria of the
project are justifiable upon the basis of the previously drawn up
record.
The so-called properties with elements of interest are buildings
and constructions, or spaces in the territorial area, which have
specific values, destined to be adequately protected. With that in
mind, an attempt is made to forestall the loss of a determined
structural type, mainly expressed in its facade, without forgetting
singular aspects as are, for example, the vestibules, stairways and
its position or the very material structure.
At this level of protection, it is possible to inventory and catalogue
elements of interest incorporated in buildings of doubtful globally
considered value. The buildings themselves may be modernized as
long as the functionality or intrinsic sense of the protected
element is not altered.
The description of the parts to be preserved, as differs from others
that do not possess this estimation, should permit that
development of rehabilitation actions revalue the elements
specifically detailed.
These properties should be the object of conservation,
consolidation and rehabilitation works and actions, keeping in
mind the safeguarding of its essential values.
Finally, there is a fourth level of cataloguing: the properties of
documental interest. These represent a series of buildings or other
elements, susceptible of maintaining their memory. It deals with
constructions with a certain historic or architectural distinction
that, for some motive (physical state, urban planning
effectuation...) cannot be preserved. For this, they are buildings
which can be substituted and from which must be previously
removed, whenever it is specified, the significant elements that
may be of interest.
In these cases the historic record and the graphic documentation
which accompany it are fundamental for maintaining the objective
of its “documental” cataloguing. Closely linked to this level of
cataloguing is the chapter on interests of environmental or local
history. It represents a category that allows the inclusion of
elements of specifically local value, aspects of the historical and
documental report capable of being explained and identified by
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means of a specific marking. In a second stage there is the
possibility of determining itineraries or routes, for example
through a historic center, in order to show the architectural,
patrimonial and landscape values of the conjunct.
The diffusion of the catalogued elements at a global level, be it
symbolic or intangible, allows for the establishment of an
understanding of the conjunct that helps to rationalize the
proposals in future urban, general or derived planning. The
definition of pieces and of surroundings, as well as the diverse
urban types and setting configure the true values of the urban
landscape that are the synthesis and the object of the protection.
Sectoring of the surroundings with attention to the
established criteria
With the wish that the interventions of regeneration and
preservation, derived from the application of the catalogue, fulfill
the capacity of definition demandable in a historic conjunct, it is
necessary to determine some sub-areas or work areas from the
morphologic, historic, typological and urban planning analysis of
the very fabric, previously realized. In this way, within each area the
singular buildings which characterize it can be determined and all
the elements which make it up inventoried.
The technological contribution, an indispensable resource
in the making and managing of a patrimony plan
The appearance of the new technologies applied to the drawing
up of the patrimony protection plans and catalogues is orientated
two ways. The first establishes the formulation of the work bases
in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in order to facilitate, later
on, the elaboration of another system, called Consultation and
Visualization of the Catalogue. The second, which is the most
substantial, represents the elaboration of the general information
by way of the rendering of the historic conjunct in 3D.
The implementation of Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
geared toward the management of inventories and cataloguing of
historic properties is renovating procedures, methods and
traditional techniques. The functionality of GIS as data bases, with
georeferenced elements that can be visualized and analyzed in
varied and interactive ways, allows the urban space to be broken
down into layers of study on those few patrimonial buildings of
great historic value to be referenced (from a suitable cadastral
base). The main contributions can be resumed as:
Ease in the process of information capture and entry related
to the location and surroundings of a determined historic
conjunct, thanks to the use of digital cartography (cadastral) using
systems of consultations that allow the crossing of information
and the generation of thematic layers upon the age of the
buildings.
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Georeferenciation of historic bases and the superimposition
with modern cartography. A method which brings a new order
and rationality to the evolving configuration of the historic
nucleus, the detection and correction of interpretive errors and, at
the same time, an increase in the precision of the marking of the
catalogable elements.
Identification and geometric definition of the entities.Using
these techniques it is possible to identify a determined historic
building, as well as establish and link its relationship of proximity,
neighboring, street front and other typological aspects.
Capability of consultation upon reference entities, keeping in
mind criteria of spatial character -of location on a street or
proximity- or thematic (age).
Ease of integration of information, based on the capacity to
consult external sources, or also the presentation of results upon
more realistic and representative images of the landscape.
Appropriateness for the systems of cartographic representation
(composition and design of maps).
Improvements in the systems of analysis (generation of
thematic cartography, analytic for combination of different
variables by means of map algebra.).
ETo sum up, the creation of a digital data base compatible with
GIS, where the singular architectural characteristics of some of the
emblematic or historic-artistic buildings are described and
referenced, today represents an inestimable advance for the
generation of a catalogue of protection of the architectural,
archaeological or environmental patrimony, which is also capable
of incorporating the elaboration of a Consultation and
Visualization System of the same catalogue.
A practical case of the application of the new technologies: the
Special Urban Planning of the Historic Conjunct of Cadaques
The special plan circumscribes the historic nucleus of Cadaques
and its area of protection. It was drawn up by a team directed by
the architects Antoni Vilanova and Susanna Moya, with the
technologic contribution of the Laboratori de Modelizació Virtual
de la Ciutat (LMVC)7 del Centre de Política de Sòl i Valoracions, of
the Escola d’Arquitectura de Barcelona (ETSAB) and of the
Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC).
One of its manifested objectives has been the desire to create a
document that, from a wide and multidisciplinary formulation,
could undertake with detail and precision all the mechanisms for
a later dynamic and simplified management. The rendering in 3D
of the morphologic conjunct of the historic center of Cadaques,
using a high-precision instrument such as the terrestrial laser
scanner, constitutes an important technological aid in the analysis
and posterior diagnosis of the present state of the historic
conjunct. The modeling in 3D, as well as the rendering of all the
building fronts in an extensive historic conjunct, has allowed us to
work deftly and upon a base of high resolution. The threedimensional format, with great level of detail and a precise
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Safranboulu (Turkey)
Ia, Santorini (Greece)
Sidi Bou Saïd (Tunisia)
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Replacement of a row of façades using a scanner as a stage prior to making an
inventory and catalogue of them
geometric disposition offers a clear visualization of the area of
study. In this way it is possible to distinguish the course of the
streets, the different pavements, the slopes, as well as the
characteristics of all and every one of the buildings and their
elements.
Today the analytic capacity and rigor in the methodology in the
creating of a patrimony catalogue is as important as the
application of the technical means that facilitate its creation and
presentation, as well as the management of protection plan. All
this is geared toward the improvement of management which
allows a correct urban planning, applicable to any historic center
or patrimonial conjunct.
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Brief notes on the current situation
of heritage and planning legislation
in the Mediterranean
1. Cyprus.
The necessary development of local
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A Brief Overview of the Planning System
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The need to protect the natural and built environment from the
pressures of uncontrolled tourist growth, the massive influx of
population in urban centres, land speculation and increasing levels
of traffic congestion in the inner cities led to a heated debate
during the late sixties on the need to introduce a planning
framework to control development through the preparation and
adoption of development plans. And although the Planning Act
had been prepared as early as 1972, it was not introduced until
December 1990, due to conflicting interests between various
groups of the population, but mainly as a result of the 1974
events which led to the occupation of the northern half of the
island. The State was then called to address more pressing issues,
such as the restructuring of the economy and the provision of
housing for more than 200,000 refugees. Building development in
the years that followed, up to the introduction of the Town and
Country Planning Law (1990), has caused irreversible
environmental damage to the island’s sensitive ecosystems and
built heritage, but also to its capacity to grow and develop in a
sustainable manner.
The main instrument of land use control in Cyprus is the Local
Plan. Most municipal areas are covered by local plans, which
usually refer to wide geographical areas functioning as unitary
entities. Area Schemes have been introduced to cover smaller
areas – mainly conservation areas or areas with high development
pressures within local plan boundaries – with policy measures and
provisions substantially more detailed than those contained in the
local plans themselves. The Minister of the Interior – designated by
Law as the competent Planning Authority for the preparation of
development plans (local plans and area schemes) – has delegated
his powers to the Planning Board, an independent body appointed
by the government. In practice, plans are still prepared – in their
draft form – by Central Government (the Town Planning and
Housing Department of the Ministry of the Interior) in consultation
with a Joint Board (where local agents, pressure groups and
professional bodies are represented) and submitted to the
Planning Board to be decided, before being referred to the
Minister for approval. Generally, draft plans are adopted with
minor modifications.
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In Cyprus, the first plans proposed the limiting of growth in concrete areas of rural
municipalities and, for the first time, generated great rejection. Local authorities
and proprietors that saw their possibilities to build and speculate with the land
reduced.
For the rest of the territory of the State – i.e. areas not covered by
local plans – the promotion and control of development is considered
within the framework provided by the Statement of Policy for the
Countryside, a document prepared by the Minister directly.
An eight-month period for objections follows the publication of
any development plan (which comes in force from the date of its
publication – in this case on March 21st, 2003). Objections are
considered by a Committee set up by official representatives at
central and local level, which submits its Report to the Minister of
the Interior. The Report, accompanied by the Minister’s remarks, is
then referred to the Council of Ministers which proceeds with the
formal adoption of the plan.
Development Plans consist of two parts:- the written text
describing the general development strategy and specific policy
measures for the area, and a series of plans and maps defining
planning zones and land uses for distinct localities within the area.
The plans are revised and amended (where necessary) at periods
not exceeding five years.
The planning system operates without a higher tier plan that is
necessary to address planning issues of national significance. The
preparation of an Island Plan – a coherent, unifying plan of
strategic status originally intended to operate as a planning
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notes on the current situation of heritage and planning legislation
in the Mediterranean. Cyprus
instrument for the socio-economic development of the whole of
the island – has not been feasible due to the fact that half of the
island is under military occupation. This is undoubtedly the major
drawback of the system, especially with respect to matters
concerned with the design and provision of transport
infrastructure on a national level, the overall distribution of
population and employment, coastal development management
as well as other planning issues of strategic importance.
In general, public participation in the development plan
preparation processes is barely an issue, being limited to indirect
representation via local authority officials in the Joint Board, and
the formal submission of objections following the plan’s
publication.
Development of Sustainable Communities (Structural Funds)
In the framework of the Structural Funds, Regulatory Plans for 15
settlements are currently under preparation funded by the
Structural Funds of the EU and the Cyprus Government. Moreover,
projects for the rehabilitation of historic areas and infrastructure
improvement for the rural areas are to be included in the
framework. Revitalization Plans for downgraded urban areas are
also prepared for the city of Nicosia and its historic suburbs. These
projects will be prepared in 2006.
Case Study: Nicosia Local Plan
Nicosia Local Plan has been prepared according to the relevant
provisions of the Town and Country Planning Law, and its origins
lie in the Nicosia Master Plan, a project carried out during the
eighties by Central Government in co-operation with the Nicosia
City Council and the United Nations Development Program. It was
first published in December 1990, to be reviewed in October 1996
and, just recently, in March 2003. The plan covers an area of
19.000 hectares within which fall the boundaries of nine
municipal councils
The Plan looks ten years into the future (setting 2012 as the
“horizon year”) and attempts to set the framework for a rational
and coordinated distribution of land uses, providing a suitable
environment to stimulate economic activity, produce a high quality
urban environment, introduce measures to meet the housing
needs of the whole of the community, resolve traffic, car parking
and public transport issues, and ensure that future development is
as sustainable as possible. A central strategy of the Plan towards
achieving its objectives is to strengthen the approach of urban
regeneration in order to maintain the viability of residential use
within the boundaries of the Central Area and the Walled City,
protect areas with a high concentration of ancient monuments,
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listed buildings and important structures, and introduce and/ or
sustain uses and activities that are compatible with the historic
character of the city.
The main purpose/ aim of the Plan is to set and apply a suitable
framework for the long-term sustainable growth and coordinated
development of the city of Nicosia, up to the year 2012. The plan
aims for compact urban growth and the restraint of urban sprawl,
placing particular emphasis on regeneration.
The Plan’s main objectives are:
Rational distribution of land uses to sustain economic growth,
and preserve and improve the quality of life
Conservation of natural resources and development in a
sustainable manner
Sensible planning in order to safeguard the potential for the
reunification of the city
Provision of an efficient transport network system, accessible to all
Consolidation of the Central Business District within
identifiable boundaries, enhancing the area’s economic base
and competitiveness in attracting private development and
financial resources
Protection of the built heritage of the city
Regeneration / rehabilitation of the Walled City
Some of the objectives appear to conflict with each other; this is
an expected phenomenon since land-use planning is concerned
with resolving claims for the use of land. Also, several are general
and highly abstract statements, thus failing to provide the required
level of detail for the formulation of a framework within which
policies can be derived, and against which the success of their
implementation can be tested.
The Plan attempts to anticipate changes, and its policies are
intended to help guide development in ways that help secure the
overall aim and objectives. It is accepted, however, that many
objectives – and certainly the all-embracing aim – cannot be
satisfied by the plan alone, largely because the plan only has effect
where development changes are proposed.
Built Heritage and the Walled City
Most of the buildings of cultural, historic and archaeological value
in Cyprus, from the medieval period onwards, are concentrated
within the Walled City of Nicosia. The built heritage of the city is
addressed in no less than five chapters of the revised Local Plan.
The Plan identifies a series of problem areas associated with the
core of the city and its built heritage:
The existence of the Buffer Zone dissecting the city and
undermining its centrality
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Plan for the centre of Limassol (Cyprus)
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Physical decay and economic decline
Lack of identifiable city centre or focal points of congregation
Accelerating sprawl of shops, offices and recreation out of the
city centre
Traffic congestion, inadequate public transport infrastructure,
poor road access and limited parking provisions
Limited facilities for safe pedestrian movement and disabled
access
Lack of squares and green / open spaces
There are several mechanisms aiming at the protection of the built
heritage, mainly through legislation with respect to ancient
monuments and listed buildings. Nicosia Local Plan goes further in
introducing strict development control policies for listed buildings
and conservation areas. Designated archaeological sites, ancient
monuments and listed buildings are expected to be preserved in
their setting and historic context. Alterations and additions to a
listed building should respect and relate to its character and
appearance and be designed so as to enhance its principal
architectural features and use of materials. The re-use of a
redundant listed building must ensure that a balance is
maintained between the introduction of a suitable alternative use
and the need to protect the character and appearance of the
building. In conservation areas the aim is to retain and enhance
historic buildings, groups of buildings, or other features including
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open spaces and views which contribute to their special character
or interest. The emphasis will be on control rather than
prevention, to allow the area to prosper and at the same time
ensure that any new development accords with its special
architectural and visual qualities. The Plan’s conservation
philosophy does not only recognise the need to protect, preserve
and enhance the built heritage of the historic city but also to
encourage its beneficial use through the introduction of suitable
and sustainable activities within and around its fabric.
Over the last few years, medium-sized retailers and food-store
owners, artisans and craftsmen, located within the walled city,
have been calling for decisive government intervention for the
implementation of infrastructure projects and stricter regulations
with respect to out-of-town large-scale retail development. A
great number of them are now out of business.
The Plan introduces a series of actions / proposals in order to
stimulate the physical, functional, economic and cultural
redevelopment of the walled city:
Express the uniqueness of the capital city and its historical
importance, its climate, people, traditions, architecture and
economic development opportunities.
Foster rapid development while respecting those areas and
buildings which have historic, cultural and visual significance,
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Plan for the centre of Stovrolos (Cyprus)
with an emphasis on the protection of the City’s Walls, Moat
and Bastions.
Promote the tourist / historic attractions of Nicosia to compete
with the coastal towns.
Stimulate and satisfy the diverse physical, economic and
aesthetic needs of the city’s inhabitants and visitors.
Maintain the viability of residential use within the boundaries of
the Central Area / Walled City.
Allow, where suitable, mixed use development (housing –
including student housing – shops, workshops, leisure,
entertainment, galleries, cultural activities etc) to encourage the
creation of a sustainable microenvironment within the city’s walls.
Resolve traffic, car parking and public transport issues.
Address urban design issues through the visual and functional
restructuring of the city centre by articulating major focuses of
public places, important civic buildings, areas of recreation, and
the development of an efficient system of movement along
roads, pedestrian routes and open spaces.
Demonstrate commitment to the future of the divided city of
Nicosia and the role it can play in social, economic, cultural and
physical development as well as in inter-communal relations.
Initiate a process of public participation and discussion as a
means of securing the support and co-operation of the
residents for the proposed planning framework and urban
intervention.
An important means for the preservation of traditional building is
the Listed Building Law of 1992. For the walled city of Nicosia 3
Group Preservations Orders have been issued to date,
encompassing 867 listed buildings. For restoration work, as well
as any alteration, change of use, partial demolition etc, carried out
on a listed building, a special Consent is required, in addition to
the regular planning and building permits, with 90 such Consents
having been granted in the last five years.
To encourage the restoration and revitalization of listed buildings,
a package of incentives has been introduced since 1985.
Incentives provided through the Listed Building Law of 1992 are
upgraded periodically to accommodate inevitable rises in
restoration costs and other needs that arise. The incentives include
direct cash grant for up to 50% of restoration costs, generous tax
deduction, including the exemption of restoration costs and rent
obtained thereupon from income tax, the refund of property
registration fees, and the exemption from the property tax, the
transfer of development rights and the «provided plot ratio».
These measures have been very effective and have resulted in
creating owners interest for preservation works. Up to now,
approximately 70 buildings have benefited from these incentives,
while a further 25 applications have been approved for restoration
projects currently under way.
Considerable grants and subsidies, the transfer of property
development rights as well as other benefits are available for the
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restoration and renovation of listed buildings and structures in
conservation areas.
In addition, special provisions apply for the walled city and its
residents such as the Investment Programme for the Revitalisation
of Inner City Areas by the Buffer Zone. A number of major projects
have been successfully completed within the walled city with
central government funding:
Master Plan of Nicosia (Cyprus)
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Square in the centre of Nicosia (Cyprus)
Nicosia (Cyprus)
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The Tahtakalas Housing Project, a pilot project to create a selfsufficient community in a devastated part of the historic core
along the buffer zone.
The Chrysaliniotissa Rehabilitation Project, a project of
restructuring a derelict residential neighborhood of significant
architectural value through conservation, reconstruction,
infrastructure provision and introduction of supporting
activities, uses and public open spaces.
The Ledra – Onasagoras Pedestrianisation Project, a project
aimed at providing the necessary infrastructure and public
amenity to the main commercial route of the walled city in
order to enhance the street’s economic base and
competitiveness in attracting private development.
The Phaneromeni and Ariadne Public Car Parks for the
provision of short stay parking, combined with the introduction
of frequent mini-bus services.
Priority schemes, as considered by the Plan, include the
completion of the pedestrian network within the city , along with
the peripheral cycle route along the city walls, the Eleftheria
Square Project, and the integration of the New Town Hall with the
adjacent archaeological site currently under excavation.
The Local Plan accepts that the heart of the problem of evolving a
central place for Nicosia lies in the revitalisation of the Walled City
itself. The Walled City is the geometric centre of Nicosia where the
north-south axis of Ledra Street intersects the Buffer Zone. In the
future, it could provide the greatest opportunity to physically and
socially unite the city and its residents.
The Local Plan’s aim towards achieving its objectives through
urban regeneration initiatives focuses in maintaining the viability
of residential use within the boundaries of the Central Area and
the Walled City, protecting areas with a high concentration of
ancient monuments, listed buildings and important structures,
and introducing and/ or sustaining uses and activities that are
compatible with the historic character of the city.
As stated in the Nicosia Master Plan, (A bi-communal
multidisciplinary team of national and international experts was
formed in 1981, in order to handle the difficult task of preparing
a joint Master Plan and securing the harmonious development of
Nicosia. It was agreed that the two sides should co-operate closely
for the purpose of preparing a common Master Plan for the
proper unified development of the city. The development objective
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of the subsequently agreed Project document focused on the
improvement of the existing and future habitat and human
settlement conditions of all the inhabitants of the city. For this
project, technical assistance was requested and obtained from the
United Nations Development program UNDP. This team consisted
of town planners, architects, civil engineers, sociologist,
economists, and experts in traffic and transportation,
conservation, landscape, urban finance and other technical staff
from both sides. The formation of this bi-communal team was one
of the first attempts at technical co-operation between the two
communities.), the nature of urban development in Cyprus, as
much as in Nicosia, reflects the dominant role of the private sector
in the economy and the limited legal and fiscal capacity of the
authorities to assume effective management functions. However
desirable it may be, in many other respects, for a country blessed
with a dynamic business community and private enterprise, the
result has been that private financial interests and aims have
tended to prevail over public priorities and considerations of
general welfare. In the sphere of urban planning policy, this has
meant limited scope for implementation of laws and regulations
and extremely restricted urban development budgets.
Another major initiative is the preparation of a new strategic plan
for the regeneration of Nicosia, the so-called “New Vision for the
centre of Nicosia”, currently underway.
The State needs to demonstrate commitment to tackle the
complex issues of an integrated urban regeneration strategy. This
requires the formulation of a pro-active planning policy
framework, the encouragement of partnerships between public
authorities, the private sector and voluntary organisations, the
involvement of the community through the introduction of public
participation processes at all stages of plan-making and in
development control, and a sincere commitment to the
environmental, social and economic objectives of sustainability.
The Local Plan could be the vehicle for achieving these objectives.
Case Study: Lefkara Local Plan
The Lefkara Local Plan (LLP) was published in 2003 and has been
prepared according to the relevant provisions of the Town and
Country Planning Law by the Planning Board (an independent
body, appointed by the President, that has been delegated with
the power to prepare Development Plans), through the
Department of Town Planning and Housing. Its aim is to provide
the legal framework for the regulation and the control of
development in the Lefkara area, that covers the municipal area of
Pano Lefkara and the area of the Community Council of Kato
Lefkara, with a total of 6000 hectares and 1,039 residents
(according to the 2000 Census). It is the smallest area covered by
a local plan in Cyprus.
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The LLP seeks to answer to the main problems of the area such as
the degradation of the built environment due to the desertion and
the ageing of the building stock, scattered development and
parcelation, traffic congestion due to the excessive number of
cars, the inadequate road system and the lack of parking spaces
as well as the absence of a development control tool, such as the
present local plan, and of a holistic approach to planning in view
for sustainable development. To do so, it uses the significant
development opportunities that the area presents:
its central geographical position in the island and easy access
from the national road network
the remarkable and well preserved architectural heritage
the traditional crafts of lace and silver
the uniqueness of the landscape and the surrounding
environment.
The main objectives of the LLP are:
Preservation of the outstanding architectural heritage
Introduction of land use zones, sensible to the traditional
architectural character and to the natural and cultural
landscape that surrounds them.
Provision for a flexible transport network system
Protection, management and enhancement of the natural
environment
Development of the opportunities for leisure provided through
the natural environment and enhancing the tourist product
Rehabilitation of the built environment
The objectives are focused on the protection of the natural and built
environment and the opportunities for development that they present.
Furthermore, all policies of the LLP are focused on three axes: the
environment, built heritage and traditional crafts. Policies are
interrelated with the aim to achieve sustainable development versus
short-time economic gain through exploiting these three main assets.
Thus, the main and dominant objectives seem to be in harmony with
each other. That makes objectives more tangible.
A serious omission of the plan is that the need to reverse the
depopulation trend is not included in the objectives’ statement.
Depopulation is a major problem for rural communities and deserves
more consideration than that given to it in the policies of the present
plan for attracting population, stated in the relevant chapter.
The Plan incorporates policies derived from European
Conventions. For example the LLP Policy for the Landscape is
based on the European Landscape Convention (Florence, 2000),
while the Conservation Policy is based on the European Convention
for the Protection of Architectural Heritage (Granada 1985).
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Conservation
The architectural heritage is the symbol of Pano and Kato Lefkara,
in both the conscious of the residents and the people in general.
Thus, the preservation of the architectural heritage is the main axis
of planning in the area covered by the LLP.
The LLP seeks to address conservation related problems through
policies of Integrated Preservation, based on the following main
directions:
Restoration of individual listed buildings by utilising the
available grants
The issue of a Preservation Order for all traditional buildings
Identification of Conservation Areas
Introducing appropriate control and management tools
Organizing workshops and providing further education for
architects and builders on traditional skills and methods.
Introduction of specific guidelines
Readjustment of the Housing Zones
Programming and promoting public investment in
infrastructure
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In Conservation Areas, strict development control policies and
guidelines are introduced so as to ensure that the two historic
settlements will be preserved and enhanced by the correct
rehabilitation and additions on traditional and listed buildings. The
new buildings will be harmonically incorporated in the existing
pattern and the settlement structure and character, road pattern
or the relation of open-closed space will not be disturbed. The
guidelines include provisions for the volumes, forms, architectural
detail, materials, colours, urban free spaces, landscape elements,
infrastructure provisions, etc. Regarding new development, they
allow for a more innovative approach, through specific guidelines.
They provide an important and necessary tool for ensuring better
quality design, since a big part of the development is undertaken
by civil engineers or technicians.
The central government places preservation high on its agenda
and promotes it through considerable economic incentives that
are available for the rehabilitation of listed buildings. A major
programme for agro-tourism development in traditional buildings
is currently on the way (with a big success), using funds from the
central government and the Structural Fund of the European
Union. The Rehabimed programme for the rehabilitation of a
streetscape and for the education of craftsmen and architects in
Lefkara is also a proof of the consistency of the LLP intentions,
alongside with the actions undertaken by the government and a
presupposition for a considerable success of the policies (unlike
most of the other Cypriot local plans, where the initiative is left
only on the private sector). The implementation potential of the
LLP and the dynamism towards rehabilitation created by these
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Lefkara (Cyprus)
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initiatives undertaken by the public sector in cooperation with the
private sector is a major achievement.
Related provisions
The consideration for the environment (built and natural) is not
only covered in the relevant chapters, but also determines the
policies on other topics as well, since any development in an area
outside the village limits has an impact on both the natural and
the built environment. The way that the LLP addresses conflicts
through interrelated policies is demonstrated in the following
examples:
Since the development sprawl and ribbon development along the
main roads leading to the settlements can be considered as a
major drawback on the preservation of both the natural
environment and the traditional cores, limiting development
sprawl outside the designated “Development Zones” is a policy of
fundamental importance for the LLP. Moreover, the LLP has made
a brave step in identifying Areas of Special Policy. In these areas,
the LLP has reduced and even annihilated the building ratio - for
the first time in Cyprus planning history - and introduced strict
guidelines for the volume and the morphology of buildings, both
within “Areas of Special Character” (Conservation Areas) and in
the outskirts. With these policies, it attempts to prevent
development in the empty space in between the settlements and
thus protects the environment and the nominated “NATURA
2000” area, as well as the spatial character of the complex. This
policy was met with big hostility from the Local Authorities and
local land owners since, as they claim, this policy was followed by
a big change on property values and speculation. They also claim
that it will contribute to a further depopulation, since it will be
difficult (in other words, too expensive) to build a house in the
properties they own (and thus in conflict with the policy for the
augmentation of the population).
Another major problem is the out-of centre retail development
that has a “domino” effect on both the natural and the built
environment. Retail related to tourism is the first source of income
in Lefkara. The majority of businesses are family owned and are
trading lace and silver. Historically, commerce was developed
along the major road axes of the traditional core, where the
typology of the houses reflects the activity; the ground floor was
a shop, while the upper floor was a residence. Today, retail
development tends to concentrate on the main peripheral road
since traders prefer to set up their business at the outskirts of the
settlement, hoping to attract buyers. The sloping mountain is then
cut to accommodate the building and the necessary parking space,
thus destroying the immediate environment, causing circulation
problems due to the entrance of the shops and moving commercial
activity away from the historic core, where these activities were
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traditionally taking place. In order to limit this chain of events, the
main peripheral road is designated, as another Area of Special Policy.
The abandonment of the commercial use in the core reflects on
the abandonment of the historic properties and traditional uses.
The LLP seeks to further reverse the trend in favour of the out-of
town retail development by restricting the commercial use on the
outskirts and by forbidding the creation of superstores and
shopping centres. It also seeks to further strengthen the
commercial centre by adding to it administrative and cultural uses.
The recognition of the tourist industry as the driving force for
development further strengthens the need to protect the natural
and built environment. Lefkara has a big potential for cultural
tourism and agrotourism. The LLP seeks to achieve sustainable
tourist development through an overall policy towards
preservation of cultural heritage and promoting cultural
infrastructure and activities. Furthermore, an Integrated Tourism
Model is adopted through relevant policies.
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Lefkara, Cyprus
Lefkara, Cyprus
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2. Lebanon.
The lack of ad hoc legal tools
Beyond their cultural and identity dimensions, the built-up
heritage and archaeological sites of Lebanon constitute nonreplenishable resources, vital for relaunching the tourist economy.
In fact, despite the demolition of a large proportion of this
heritage and the numerous attacks on the character of sites by
anarchic construction projects, they remain a basic asset to the
country's economy.
The establishment of coherent policies for acting on Lebanon's
heritage (protection, improvement, revitalisation of ancient fabric,
etc.) largely depends, firstly, on legal and regulatory tools made
available to public and private agents and, secondly, on the
practical use made of these tools by the public administration in
its relations with private-sector agents.
Lebanon has an arsenal of regulatory tools which have proved
ineffective, inappropriate in practice or even clearly encouraging
the destruction of heritage:
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Habib Debs
Architect
American University of Beirut
Lebanon
In Lebanon the urban regulations allow construction of four-story buildings upon all
lots without specific planning. In the historic centers, generally with constructions
of two stories, the development of a protection plan is viewed as an unpopular
measure since it means the loss of the possibility to construct two more stories.
The law on antiquities: The classification procedure
ultimately involves the purchase by the State of classified
houses. It is therefore not used in the majority of cases because
of the State's very limited means.
Tax incentives: Given the weakness of Lebanon's tax system,
the various tax exemptions are not enough to constitute a
tangible incentive to owners.
The law on old rented properties is an incitement to the
destruction of heritage in as much as it authorises the owners
of old buildings to end lease contracts (generally very low ones)
with their tenants on the sole condition that the building is
demolished.
The regulations on land rights (planning law of 1983):
The procedure for putting in place local plans (called "detailed
schemes") theoretically allows the protection of historical
urban sites thanks to measures that can be based on land
occupation coefficients ultimately to the prohibition of
demolition, without any obligation on the State to compensate
the owner. However, this type of protection runs up against the
practice of lobbying by landowners. We will now discuss the
improvements that can be made to this procedure in order to
avoid the obstacles mentioned above and to allow the
establishment of real urban projects.
Beirut at the beginning of XXth century
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Gemmayzeh district in Beirut. Urban façade and impact of one of the residential
tower blocks planned in the historic centre.
Regulations on land rights
centres, which have largely disappeared because of this, with the
exception of some notable examples, such as the souks of Tripoli
and Saida or certain districts of Beirut (Zoqaq-el-Blat, Bachoura,
Gemmayzé) saved until now by their social image which is judged
negative by property developers.
A development of these tools therefore seems inevitable in order
to adapt them to the power relationships in force and to introduce
the notion of "Urban project" placing agreement on a local scale
at the base of drawing up urban policies and organisation
projects.
The directive scheme procedure and, more particularly, the
provisions of paragraphs 4 and 6 of article 8 concerning detailed
schemes, theoretically allow such projects to be put in place.
However, in practice, recourse to existing regulations here runs up,
as before, against the lack of political will to limit the right to build
on land.
Concerning the regulation of land rights, all policies to protect
groups of buildings in Lebanon run into two big problems linked
to two types of measures with many consequences that have been
taken by the administration in the past:
1. The principle of "generalised construction": article 17 of
the construction code guarantees the owner of any plot on
national territory the possibility of constructing a building of up
to four storeys - with a land occupation coefficient (called a
C.O.S.) of 80% - apart from some exceptions, that is, apart
from sectors covered by a zoning plan (land occupation plan,
called a P.O.S.). As the majority of old town centres outside
P.O.S. coverage are made up of buildings whose height does
not exceed two storeys, this makes any policy to protect this
heritage dependant on reducing rights to build on these plots
– a very unpopular measure which is generally rejected by the
landowners and the elected representatives who largely
represent them.
2. The increased zoning principle in the centre of towns and
villages: The central zones, generally corresponding to the
historic fabric, benefit from the highest land occupation
coefficients (up to six times the size of the plot in the centre of
Beirut). The effect of this has been to strongly increase land
pressure and the destruction of the built-up heritage and to
make protection of these districts very improbable, if not
impossible, as none of the governments that have succeeded
one another since Lebanese independence has been able to
decree a basis of coefficients that can stand up to the land
interests in these sectors, even if they had ever had the
intention of doing so.
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Improvement of existing tools
The impact of these regulations on the urban form has clearly
been translated into a growth of land pressure in the historic
Historic site in the Gemmayzeh district of Beirut. In black, the 11 tower blocks
planned for this district. In colour, the historic buildings.
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In order to get round this obstacle, in January 2002, the Minister
of Culture presented a bill providing for different ways of
compensating land and property owners through a transfer of the
right to build from their plot in a preserved sector (called the
"transmission" zone) to plots in less sensitive areas, declared to be
"receiving zones".
It is along these lines that a proposed decree affecting the
organisation of the territory (proposed by the CDR) and a heritage
bill (proposed by the Ministry of Culture) have been drawn up, but
their chances of adoption by the Council of Ministers or the
Chamber of Deputies are still uncertain.
Beirut (Lebanon)
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Tripoli. The suffering of traditional architecture.
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3 Italy. A dense web of legislation.
Article n° 9 of the Italian Constitution declares that "The Republic
supervises the cultural heritage and ensures it is improved" and
then specifies the State's powers concerning such supervision (art.
nº 117). However, there are no real specific regulations on
traditional architecture. Everything concerning this matter is
instead integrated into a series of laws that specifically concern
town planning, cultural heritage or, more recently, territorial
government.
“Territorial government" is carried out by local administrations
based on a large body of national and local laws, rules and
regulations that are superimposed on one another over time.
Certain provisions which still apply have their origins even before
the unification of the State (1870); this is why it is necessary to
renew and, above all to unify all the different planning rules into
"sole texts”.
During the last decade, an attempt has been made to move
towards a simplification of the regulations, while certain reforms
were introduced which have instead created problems at
management and organisation level, notably concerning local
administrations and their relationship with the public.
Local administrations have been invested with important new
responsibilities, on one hand, and, on the other, they have been
called on to provide more effective answers to old classic
problems.
The different cultural issues and the new regulations of the last
few years can be summarised in a few points:
A reform process covering all the regulations concerning the
planning and organisation of territory which has been
developed alongside growing awareness of issues of preserving
the environment through planning the use of territory;
A move from interest in issues of urban growth towards issues
of urban and territorial renovation and reclassification;
A new vision of the territory, previously perceived as an
independent physical space and now instead considered as a
real place capable of being promoted;
The difficult reform of the public works system beginning with
Act n° 109/94 ("Merloni Act”).
Besides these considerations, certain regulatory operations also
carried out with the intention of simplifying procedures must also
be mentioned.
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Architecte,
Italie
In Italy, where the legislative framework is very dense, a new law protects the
buildings and traditional rural landscapes, including aspects such as the roads,
watering systems and terraces.
The “unified text” concerning compulsory purchase (DPR n°
327/2001) eliminates all preceding regulations going back to 1865
and defines a "single procedure" where procedural powers over
the matter are attributed to officers. Here, elements of
participation are introduced where private agents are subject to
notification at the launch of each stage of the procedure.
The “unified text”, concerning construction (DPR n° 380/2001)
reorganises all regulations concerning the construction sector. This
text introduces the "one-stop shop for construction" whose
function is to simplify and accelerate the permission procedures
for private buildings. The importance of obtaining "permission to
build" is underlined, but also the importance of the "D.I.A."
(declaration of the opening of a construction site), corresponding
to permission that is quicker to obtain, is added.
This authorisation involves direct exemption from responsibility of
the owner and his/her architect; it is a tool intended for modest
operations (no extension of volume or significant changes to
façades) granted for the demolition and "identical reconstruction"
on one hand and, on the other, to new constructions on condition
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they are carried out within operational implementation plans and
on a sufficiently precise scale to ensure good progress on the site.
In Italy, the supervision of cultural and environmental heritage has
for a long time been governed by two main laws:
Act n° 1497/1939 concerning natural and landscape beauty;
Act n° 1089/1939 on the protection of "assets of artistic and
historical interest, including archaeological remains”.
These two laws are today brought together in the “unified text”
on cultural heritage (d. Lgs n° 42/2004) which, in 166 articles,
includes all legislation concerning cultural and environmental
heritage. The text specifies and expands the concept of heritage
based on the principle that each asset representing "material
remains with the value of civilisation" may be classified as a
"cultural asset".
At the same time, besides the conservation and supervision
functions assigned to the ministry and the superintendancies on
the ground, functions concerning the improvement and
promotion of heritage are underlined.
The thread running through this text is that of making the
relationship between citizens and institutions as simple and
effective as possible, through easier procedures.
The 1950s saw a negative assessment of pre-war plans and the
need for protection of historic town centres was underlined, with
a strong trend to go beyond the classical concept of "monument"
(the urban area as a whole, not just exceptional, isolated works).
Act n° 457/1978, intended to restore public and private heritage
buildings, defines types of intervention:
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ordinary intervention
extraordinary intervention
conservational restoration and renovation
restructuring of the building
urban restructuring.
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PII – integrated intervention programmes
PRU – urban renovation programmes
PRiU – urban reclassification programmes
C.dQ – district contracts
PRUSST - urban reclassification and sustainable territorial
development programmes.
These practices have taken over in the last few years as an
alternative to the individual operational town planning tools
which preceded them and lacked much effect except for their
extremely protective nature, paralysing capacity to express a clear
position on architectural objects and their future.
Village in Sardinia (Italy)
As a complement to this, Act n° 457/78 introduced the need for
renovation plans; however, attention remained exclusively centred
on the built-up sectors of towns: rural areas were governed by
protection criteria based exclusively on their productive character.
The 1990s saw the concept of restructuring at urban level brought
up to date, based on a new approach to renovation, introducing
a new view of the relationships between urban and rural areas,
alongside a growing concern for environmental issues.
These concerns ultimately tend to change the scale: from historic
sectors to whole towns to rural areas, with their complexity and
the different relationships that are established between them.
Finally, traditional architecture is taken into account in a number
of complex plans:
Village of Gangi, Sicily (Italy)
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These plans can be considered as the end of a journey which has
seen the interest in the physical expansion of towns move towards
the renovation of heritage. These plans are called "complex"
because they are characterised by various aspects, such as
promotion, drafting, and operational action, which the local
administrations must consider and which correspond to a change
in mentality: the public authorities cannot content themselves
with defining the core elements of the general programme.
Instead, they must be compared to private agents, with
agreements on deadlines, costs and ways of carrying out the
programmes.
This requires great capacity for negotiation, previously unthinkable
for public administrations, as well as, of course, a clear vision of
development and, therefore, building conservation policies.
It is also important to highlight, and by no means in last place, Act
n° 378/2003 – “Provision for the supervision and improvement of
rural architecture”, whose aim is to preserve and improve the
different types of rural architecture, such as farmhouses and rural
buildings constructed between the 13th and 19th centuries. This
law concerns enclosures, spaces intended for residence and work,
traditional coverings of outdoor spaces, historic roads, water
channelling systems and terraces.
Act n° 378/2003 identifies admissible actions, determines the
technical work concerned (materials, masonry, flooring, coverings,
façades, carpentry, etc.) and establishes a joint committee to carry
it out.
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4. Tunisia.
The difficult of applying the law
in practice
Current Tunisian legislation concerning heritage is the result of a
long evolution, comparable to that in other countries, particularly
European ones. The notion of protection and conservation has
dominated until recent times. During the last few years, this
legislation has developed to take into account notions of natural
and urban sites and to provide an important place for
improvement conditions. This outlook has been expressed in Acts
86-35 of 9th May 1986 and 88-44 of 19th May 1988, and, above
all, in the promulgation of the heritage code in 1994. However,
this development is marked by a paradox, as the will clearly
expressed by those in charge in Tunisia to run cultural heritage
with a dynamic development and promotion policy runs up
against the constraints resulting from the inheritance of a legal
system not adapted to the requirements of the urgency of
protecting heritage from aggression and handicapped by the
absence of applicable texts.
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Rammah Mourad
Secretary General of the Association for the Conservation of
Kairouan Medina
Tunisia
In Tunisia, the lack of managerial bodies translates as a serious handicap in putting
the new instruments of protection into practice.
D. 12 August 1923, forbidding a change in occupancy of urban
residential properties in protection areas without prior
authorisation.
The current situation in the legislation
The main legislative texts organising the protection and
improvement of Tunisia's cultural heritage are the following:
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Beylical decree of 7 March 1886 concerning the ownership and
conservation of monuments, objets d'art and antiquities,
Beylical decree of 8 January 1920 concerning antiquities
predating the Arab conquest,
Beylical decree of 3 June 1929 guaranteeing properties classed
as historic monuments, as well as certain protected sites and
areas in urban agglomerations, against all advertising.
Sidi Bou Saïd
D. 6 August 1915, on the protection of Arab constructions.
D. 6 April 1925 on the protection of Arab constructions.
A. 4 September 1996, affecting the creation and delimitation of
historic and traditional sites.
Since the end of the 19th century, specific protection measures have
been decreed for medinas and their traditional urban fabrics. This has
allowed Tunisia to legally preserve certain urban areas threatened by
the evolution of modern life. These measures essentially concern the
following towns and cities:
Tunis
D. 3rd March 1920, establishing a protection area for souks in the
Arab city.
D. 13 September 1921, extending the souk protection area.
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Sfax
D. 27 January 1925, on the conservation of old towns and cities.
Bizerte
D. 20 January 1926, on the conservation of old towns and cities.
Kairouan
D. 31 March 1914, forbidding building and planting around the
Great Mosque.
D. 18 October 1921, protecting souks and picturesque districts.
D. 6 May 1986, affecting the declaration of certain zones in
classified sites.
However, the first important legislative texts concerning the
protection of urban sites are relatively recent. They involve:
the Beylical decree of 17 September 1953 concerning the
protection of sites
Act 86-35 of 9 May 1986
This act declares the need to protect archaeological assets,
historic monuments and natural and urban sites in order to
preserve cultural heritage and that of the civilisations of Tunisia,
as well as the beauty of its landscapes inherited from the
generations who have succeeded one another in the country.
Their field of application extends to established archaeological
assets, to historic buildings and monuments, to historic urban
sites and to natural sites. The law redirects the classification
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mechanism instituted by the Beylical decree of 7 March 1886
and introduces the procedure of recording it in an inventory.
Act 88-44, 19 May 1988 concerning cultural assets
This law establishes the legal category of "cultural assets of
public utility" which are, under the terms of the law,
archaeological remains, whole buildings, sites, hand written
and printed documents, items of artistic interest and archives.
The law establishes that cultural assets that are the property of
private individuals should continue to belong to them and that
they should continue to enjoy them as long as they enter them
in a special register. This law establishes the higher council for
the preservation of cultural assets and encourages the creation
of action and preservation associations.
the Heritage Code - Act 35-94 of 24 February 1994
The Heritage Code introduces new categories of heritage
established from a perspective of development and historical or
natural coherence. These are "cultural sites", "historic and
traditional sites" and "movable objects".
After their boundaries have been set, the cultural sites are subject
to a procedure of establishment by decree, as well as a protection
and improvement plan (PPMV). The regulatory part of the plan
defines authorised activities according to the zones, conditions of
implementation and the easements involved in each area. Once
approved, the plan fully replaces the urban organisation plan.
Certain works, such as the installation of advertising, are subject
to a system of prior authorisation.
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View of Sousse (Tunisia)
Sidi Bou Said (Tunisia)
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Historic and traditional sites, including urban sites and villages
"with character" can form part of a protected sector. These
sectors are subject to a protection and improvement plan (PSMV),
covering division into plots as well as regulations indicating the
properties to be preserved, the properties to be renovated and
those which can wholly or partly be destroyed. The PSMV also
involves
specifications
determining
architectural
and
organisational rules and regulations, forbidden activities,
infrastructures and the necessary facilities. Within the protected
sector, certain works are subject to prior administrative
authorisation.
Since then, historic monuments have been subject to three levels
of protection: an ordinary protection order, a classification decree
made in an emergency, and a preventive order made in order to
prevent the threat of ruin, demolition or alteration. Works carried
out on a building protected by order require prior administrative
authorisation. In properties classified by decree, works are paid for
by the State to a maximum of 50%.
The owners can benefit from grants and tax exemptions. The
provisions of the law concerning relationships between owners
and tenants cannot be applied to owners who undertake works at
their own expense on a classified historic monument, except for
work considered as "sumptuary".
In the zones within 200m around classified or protected
properties, all properties, whether or not they are buildings, must
obey protection provisions defined by articles 26 to 44 of the
heritage code (prior administrative authorisation for undertaking
works, ban on putting up signs, ban on certain activities).
The State has the right to compulsorily purchase classified historic
monuments for the public good and benefits from a priority right
to purchase any classified or protected historic monument.
It is noticeable that the text of article 1 of the code attaches the
condition of heritage to remains left by previous civilisations or
generations, dating from ‘proto-historic’ or prehistoric periods,
whose national or universal value has been shown.
Reference to national or universal value risks becoming somewhat
reductionist when cultural assets whose importance does not go
beyond local or regional limits are concerned. This risks damaging
the interest that must be attributed to vernacular architecture and
to modest buildings.
The second paragraph of article 1 indicates that the
archaeological, historical or traditional heritage is part of the
State's public domain, except where private ownership has been
legally established. This general rule, the need for which can easily
be seen in the face of a sometimes very uncertain situation (failure
to identify owners, many situations of indivisibility, strong
population, economic and tourist pressure), ought to be given fine
detail by specifying in an appropriate legal means or tenet the
conditions under which the State may, in certain cases, transfer to
the public sector (regional communities) or the private sector
(associations and commercial organisations) the management of
this heritage without giving away ownership of it.
However, it can be stated that currently only the site of Carthage
– Sidi Bou Saïd has been delimited by a joint order by the ministers
Invasion of tourists at Sidi Bou Said (Tunisia)
Medina of Sfax (Tunisia)
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of culture and public works, signed on 4 September 1996. To
date, the decree approving the protection and improvement plan
(PPMV) of the site of Carthage - Sidi Bou Saîd has not been made,
although its specifications have been established.
The lack of precise definition of procedures, documents and the
respective roles of operators, as well as the absence of
administrative structures capable of overseeing land and property
procedures (changes, permission to demolish and build, respect
for regulations linked to the existence of a protection plan) form
the major handicaps to the establishment of new protection tools.
Ultimately, the fact that the delimitation procedure should have
been made by an order of the ministers of culture and public
works, without consultation with the local councils, shows that it
is not the kind of action making it easy to put operations into
practice.
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Sidi bou Said (Tunisia)
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5. Palestine.
Protection as a priority
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Farhat Muhawi
Architect
Head of the Planning Department of RIWAQ
Palestine
Introduction
13
This paper attempts to identify and analyze the legal system and
instruments, both existing and proposed, for the protection of
cultural heritage in Palestine,. The existing legal system and
instruments for the protection of cultural heritage in Palestine are
obsolete and fragmented. To date, only archeological sites and
buildings dated before 1700 AD, or 600 AD for human and animal
remains, are protected by law; the 1966 Antiquities Law. This Law,
applicable in the West Bank, is an insignificant amendment to the
1929 Antiquity law, which is still applicable in the Gaza Strip. Both
laws are to a great extent outdated and imply a fragmented legal
system, and in this context; different antiquity laws apply in the two
Palestinian territories.
For this reason a New Law for Cultural Heritage Protection was
prepared in 2003. This proposed law aims to protect, manage and
enhance cultural heritage properties in Palestine, covering all
components of cultural heritage1. This is consistent with
international law and regulations. Unfortunately, this law has not
yet been ratified by the Palestinian Legislative Council.
As a result of this, and due to many other factors such as urban
sprawl, the scarcity of land in the areas A,B2, the lack of efficient
cultural heritage bodies, the Palestinian cultural heritage and more
specifically the immovable cultural heritage stand at the threshold of
destruction. Moreover, cultural heritage has not yet been put as a
priority on the national agenda, and is still seen as a liability rather
than an economic and social development factor.
The Existing Legal System and Instruments
The Antiquity Laws fail to protect the various components and
parts of cultural heritage, leaving other components like Historic
Centers and Monuments unprotected. These legal instruments
lack coherence with international laws, standards and
conventions, and are very centralized; hence most of the authority
is centralized in the hands of the Director of the Department
Antiquities.
In spite of the need for new laws and legal instruments, one can
say that many of the cultural heritage components can be
protected simply by the enforcement of the existing legal regime.
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In Palestine, more than the plans of development and revitalization, the worrisome
state of abandonment of the traditional architecture urgently demands instruments
of protection.
In other words, the problem of protecting the cultural heritage lies
not only with an obsolete, and fragmented legal system, but also
in failing to make the maximum out of the existing legal
instruments; this in addition to a lack of human and financial
resources, and the inability to implement such mechanisms as a
result of lake of jurisdiction in areas, which are still under the full
military control of Israel.
Failing to implement the existing legal instruments can be
demonstrated under the following two headings:
Failure to maximize the use of the Antiquity Laws;
1. Since 1944, not a single cultural heritage property has been
declared as protected; both Antiquity Laws (that of 1966 and
that of 1929) allow for “the Director of Antiquity Department
to declare [in the Gazette] a list of archeological sites and
buildings, and he/she may add new items or amend the list”.
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in the Mediterranean. Palestine
The law also allows the Director to “delineate the borders of
those sites and buildings”3. This provision in the law has not
been used since the year 1944, and even though the Oslo
agreement (1993) gave the Palestinian National Authority
(PNA), total jurisdiction over areas A and B, unfortunately the
PNA has not made use of it.
2. Failure to activate the Consultative Board stated in both
Antiquity laws; “the Director of Antiquity Department consults
the council on matters both relating to and having
archeological value”4. This Board has been created by the law
with the intention of directing and consulting the performance
and plans of the Antiquity Department, and it has not been
activated to this date. By the end of 2005, the Ministry of
Tourism and Antiquities has established a new board with
unclear responsibilities.
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This team included experts in the field of cultural and natural
heritage, legal experts and international experts in both heritage
and legislations.
The new law for CNH protection suggests a system of registration
that allows the Cultural Heritage Authority to declare a cultural
heritage asset as protected in the duration of one year. This
duration gives the authority the time to study, identify the
significance and delineate the exact borders of cultural heritage
assets to be included in the National Register of Declared Cultural
Heritage Properties. Once a cultural heritage property is listed in
the National Register a set of by-laws, regulations and guidelines
are applied to this property. This system of registration is
considered as the main legal instrument for the protection of
cultural heritage properties.
Other legal instruments and tools can be identified in the
proposed Law for Cultural Heritage Protection:
Failure to make use of other relevant laws and
instruments such as the Planning Law of 1966;
The 1966 Planning Law allows for the delineation of areas (zones)
and the proposing of by-laws and regulations for the purposes of
planning, and building works within the delineated areas of
master plans borders of cities, towns and villages. Traditionally the
Antiquity Department was, and still is, the official body responsible
for the delineation of archeological sites that are protected by the
Antiquity Law. In 2005 the Antiquity Department has started to
delineate historic centers of cities, towns and villages, within the
limits of master plans area, although this action does not have any
legal reference. Furthermore, there has not been any attempt to
propose any bylaws and regulations for the protection of those
delineated historic centers.
1. Protection and Development Plans: the New Law for Cultural
Heritage Protection stipulates that the suggested Cultural
Heritage Authority must prepare a Protection and Development
Plan for declared immovable cultural heritage properties within
five years starting from declaration date. If five years passed
without preparing a protection plan for Historic Areas, and
monument of local significance, protection will lapse and
cultural heritage assets will be dropped off the National
Register of Declared Cultural Heritage assets. Protection will
stay after the five years period for archeological sites and
monuments of national significance. This legal instrument will
be explained in more details later on in this paper.
2. Emergency procedures for protection: the law gives the director
of the Cultural Heritage Authority the power for an immediate
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The Proposed Legal System and Instruments:
The project for realizing a National Law for the Protection of
Cultural Heritage was an initiative of the Palestinian Ministry of
Tourism and Antiquities (MTA) (through the Bethlehem 2000
Project Committee). The aim of the project was the improvement
of the cultural heritage management and its protection for
generations to come.
This project was divided into three phases, all of which were
carried out in 2003, these are: first, the preparation of a policy
framework document that guided the drafting process of the
law, second, the actual drafting of the law, and finally the
preparation of a memorandum of interpretation for the law, as
well as preparing the chart of secondary legislations that already
exist or newly drafted ones. An interdisciplinary team that
included Palestinian as well as international experts was formed.
Domestic possessions in a home in Jenin, Nazlat Ash-Sheikh Zeid, PNA / Idioms Film,
file Riwaq
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Map #1: The delineation of protected immovable cultural heritage properties in the
Town of Deir Ghassaneh
decision to declare a cultural heritage property as protected,
only when this cultural heritage property is under the danger of
collapse or/and destruction. This legal instrument, though
conditional to the state of conservation of a cultural property,
would give the cultural heritage body the ability to protect
cultural heritage properties in emergency cases.
13
Second: The Preparation of Protection Plans for Historic
Centres
It is worth mentioning at this stage that the built cultural heritage
in Palestine occupies 1% of the inhabited areas (area of master
plans) in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and around 0.01% of the
total land area. This minute area of land is considered Palestine’s
genuine treasure and therefore should be protected for the
generations to come.
There are more than 422 historic centers found in cities, towns
and villages in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. According to Riwaq
Registry for Historic Buildings in Palestine, those historic centers
contain 50,230 historic buildings. The preparation of protection
and development plans for this huge number of historical centers
is a tremendous burden on the official Cultural Heritage Authority
that would be in charge of this task.
Pending the final ratification of the proposed new Law for Cultural
Heritage Protection in Palestine and the creation of the Cultural
270
Heritage Authority, Riwaq - Center for Architectural Conservation,
started working on preparing Protection Plans for culturally
significant historical centers, on the basis of laws currently in
place, particularly the law regulating urban planning (Planning
and Zoning Law 1966, # 79). Although the new law states the
need to prepare a protection and development plans, under the
existing planning law, only protection plans can be prepared.
This initiative of preparing protection plans (and in some cases
development and rehabilitation plans) for historic centers has
been a non governmental one. Working on a national level, Riwaq
as well as other non or semi governmental local organizations like
the Hebron Rehabilitation Committee, Center for Cultural
Heritage Preservation in Bethlehem, the Cultural Heritage
Department in Nablus Municipality and the Welfare Association in
Jerusalem has been trying to utilize all possible legal and technical
means towards the protection of cultural heritage in Palestine,
while relevant governmental organizations are restrained by the
existing legal system and instruments which only protects
archeological sites.
The main objectives of preparing Protection Plans are to identify,
classify and delineate the borders of historic town and village
centers, and to propose by-laws for protection for those
delineated historic centers. Protection Plans also aims at forming
partnership with the Ministry of Local Government, and
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concerned Municipalities and Village Councils, and empowering
local governments and communities on issues related to the
protection, management and enhancement of Cultural Heritage.
The preparation of a Protection Plan includes the following three
phases:
First, reviewing, updating and analyzing available literature,
documents and plans (maps) concerning architectural heritage.
Second, classifying historic buildings and identifying the
significance of historic center, historic buildings and monuments.
Third, consolidating a Protection Plan that defines the borders of
historic center, group of historic buildings and monuments, and
propose by-laws for their protection, based on their significance
(see map number 1 and 2).
The team responsible for the preparation of these Protection Plans
consists of experts in the various fields of cultural heritage,
including architects, Urban Planners, archeologists, naturalists,
field researchers as well as experts from Riwaq’s Registry of
Historical Buildings.
Due to the complexity of ownership patterns, the British Mandate
(1923-1947) has excluded the "old cores" from the process of
land settlement. This resulted in the exclusion of old cores (historic
centers) from all master plans prepared for cities, towns and
villages in Palestine.
The Protection Plans prepared by Riwaq in partnership with local
municipalities and village councils must be submitted for the
Higher Planning Council at the Ministry of Local Government for
approval.
Map #2: Protection Plan for Deir Ghassaneh Historic Center
Protection Plan Manual and the drafting of Architectural
Heritage Ordinance in Palestine
Riwaq is currently in the process of preparing a Protection Plan
Manual. This Manual will be based on Riwaq's Planning Unit past
experiences in preparing six protection plans for Deir Ghassaneh,
Deir Istia, Birzeit, Al-Taybeh, Ajjoul, and Mazare' Al Nubani.
The Manual will include the steps needed for the preparation of
protection plans:
The formation of the team and the preparation of a work plan.
Gathering, updating, and analyzing of collected data and
maps.
The identification of significance.
The delineation procedures of cultural heritage properties.
The enforcement of existing planning ordinance.
The degradation of the traditional Palestinian historic heritage is considerable.
Hebron
It is hoped that this manual will be used by all parties involved in
the preparation of protection plans; Ministry of Local
Governments, cultural heritage NGOs as well as private
architectural practices.
The Higher Planning Council has recently (March 2006), and in
accordance with the Planning Law, passed a set of general and
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specific ordinances for the protection of historic centers and
buildings. These ordinances have been prepared by Riwaq in close
co-ordination with the Ministry of Local Governments. The
general ordinances5 will be applied for all historic centers and
monuments within the borders of cities, towns, village's master
plans, whereas specific ordinances will serve as a reference for the
preparation of protection plans.
1 Movable and immovable cultural heritage, where immovable cultural heritage
covers Sites (archeological and natural sites), Historical Areas and Monuments.
2 Areas A: Area which was under the security and administrative control of
Palestinian National Authority (PNA) after Oslo peace process. Areas B: only
administrative control o PNA.
3 Antiquity Law of 1966, provision number 9
4 Antiquity Law of 1966, provisions number 4,5 and 6.
5 Higher Planning Council Decision number 54, 11th of march 2006
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6. Turkey.
Conservation plans
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Nur Akin
Architect
Lecturer at the Technical University of Istanbul
Turkey
General view
In Turkey, the conservation of urban sites is more recent than
architectural rehabilitation. The first decision made concerning this
level of intervention dates from 1970. It was a decision related to
the protection of traditional houses overlooking the Bosphorus in
Istanbul. And, based on the first detailed law on historic
monuments of 1973, it was above all between 1973 and 1980
that a series of conservation decisions were taken at urban level.
Nowadays, many historic centres are recorded as urban sites, with
some having a conservation and improvement plan.
According to current legislation, these conservation plans are
prepared, taking into account the areas surrounding the defined
boundaries of the site. The aim of these plans is the lasting
conservation of the architectural and natural heritage of the site.
Conservation plans are based on a deep analysis of the site. In this
context, research at regional level and in cities, as well as at the
level of the planned site, are enterprises completed by analytical
studies at plot or building level. This research is followed by a
summary and assessments, then by decisions and propositions for
conserving the site. A detailed report, including the conditions
defined for the construction of traditional elements, as well as
reference typologies for the integration of works, always
accompany this plan. Besides conservation and physical
renovation, the essential point concerns the improvement in the
social and economic standards of resident populations. In an area
declared an "urban site" all construction activity is suspended
until the approval of a conservation plan. The historic monuments
commission of the place concerned must, within 3 months, define
the conditions providing for the conservation and use of the site,
until a plan can be drawn up within a period of 2 years.
Although plans are generally worked out in considerable detail,
the biggest problem concerns their application. After the approval
of the plan, responsibility passes to the historic monuments
commissions of municipalities. And, most of the time, snags occur
during the process of drawing up these plans. Socio-economic
changes in historic centres lead to accelerated urban
development, with a huge effect on historic centres, where house
rents are quite low. Some local residents prefer not to live on the
“urban site”, while others, who are happy to spend their lives
there, do not have the means to renovate their houses and,
In Turkey, in the zones declared “urban enclaves”, all construction activity has been
suspended until the safeguarding Plan has been approved.
without financial or technical aid from the State, they do not
manage to do what is necessary to preserve their properties. This
is why tourism becomes the sole objective of conservation,
notably in the historic towns and villages of the coasts, greatly
changing the traditional physical appearance of the“urban sites”.
In addition, there is the problem of seasonal activity in these
places. These historic centres, which are extremely busy in the
summer months, are almost empty in winter.
Antalya
One of the first conservation plans put into practice in Turkey is
the rehabilitation of the “urban site” of Antalya, the historic town
located on the Mediterranean coast. This is a town whose port
and walled area, including traditional houses, have been quite
well known for centuries.
Under the renovation work, the part overlooking the sea has been
revitalised with the establishment of a marina. This decision was
taken in 1974, just after the approval of the first detailed law on
conservation, following a protocol signed between the Ministry of
Culture and Tourism, Antalya Town Council and the Higher
Council of Historic Monuments of the time, marking the
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beginning of this first stage. The majority of historic buildings on
the coast used as warehouses, workshops for building or repairing
small ships and boats, restaurants and cafes for taxi drivers or
fishermen are restored or rebuilt with tourist purposes. A threestorey cotton warehouse dating from the end of the 19th century
was converted into a luxury hotel. A summer capacity for 4,000
people is planned for this renovated sector.
Rehabilitated house in Antalya (Turkey)
13
Traditional house rehabilitated for touristic use (Turkey)
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in the Mediterranean. Turkey
The works ended in 1984, the second stage of conservation of the
“urban site” of Antalya, consisting of renovating the historic
walled town located right beside the marina, began immediately,
to complete the revitalisation process. This new area included
most of Antalya's traditional houses, whose owners or tenants
were generally local people with limited means. The essential aim
of the renovation of this district was to keep the residents in place,
allowing them to participate in developing tourism and turning
their homes into summer guest houses. But tourism - the
fundamental objective of the first renovated area - had so
influenced the walled sector that life there was no longer as it had
been before, and the residents no longer wanted to live in such a
tourist-dominated environment. Some almost completely
converted their houses for tourism, while others sold them to
newcomers from other towns in Turkey.
So these houses - largely destroyed and rebuilt under the pretext
of being restored to be used as hotels, guest houses, restaurants,
cafes, tourist shops, etc. - have gradually altered the authenticity
of this walled sector. Besides the irreparable damage to traditional
houses, because of the seasonal frequentation of this walled
sector the busy streets that are so busy in summer are almost
completely deserted in winter and the majority of buildings are
closed up or half used during the winter.
Despite all these drawbacks, the conservation plan for the
“marina” and of the "walled area" of Antalya are the first
examples of fully implemented renovation in Turkey. This is why,
after thirty years, this plan and its implementation are still subjects
for discussion.
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7. France.
A policy of planned interventions
In France, the main action along these lines has consisted of the
invention in 1977 of the Planned Housing Improvement
Operations (OPAH). These are rehabilitation programmes launched
on the initiative of local groups. They are preceded by a study
phase (1 year) during which the needs of the districts or rural areas
concerned are specified, together with the objectives to be
achieved. When the OPAH itself is launched: it lasts between 3
and 5 years, within well-defined boundaries. During the period of
the programme, a promotion team is recruited, which plays an
essential role: it meets the owners and residents, informs them of
the aid they can apply for (subsidies, tax breaks, etc.), it advises
them on the technical plan, helps them to produce files for subsidy
applications, planning files, etc. This team also meets the need to
carry out specific missions: convincing owners to put empty
housing on the market, diagnosing the presence of lead-based
paint and providing useful information for saving energy, adapting
housing for handicapped or very elderly people, etc.
OPAHs are initiative actions: they do not mean imposing works,
but rather convincing owners of the usefulness of undertaking
them and of the aid available to do so. Almost 30 years after it
appeared, this procedure remains the basic tool for rehabilitation
in France for the public powers dealing with private housing (of
course, property rights are not called into question). At the
moment about 600 programmes (OPAHs and comparable
procedures) are "alive" each year in France.
This policy of planned action is largely encouraged by the
existence of public aid for rehabilitating the private stock: most
importantly, the National Housing Improvement Agency (ANAH),
which subsidises the work of owners and local groups for their
engineering needs (studies, cost of running the promotion teams).
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Michel Polge
Technical director of the National Housing Improvement
Agency (ANAH),
France
In France, the OPAH are initiative actions: it does not have to do with imposing
rehabilitation, but rather convincing the proprietors of their usefulness.
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Village in Corbières (France)
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8. Greece.
Traditional heritage is not
a priority
13
One of the first laws established by the newly founded Greek
State in 1833 (after four centuries of ottoman occupation) was the
“archaeological law” protecting all ancient Greek vestiges. This
was codified later, in1932, to law 5351 providing for the
protection of: a) all works of art (including architecture) dating
before 1453 (year of the fall of Constantinople to the Turks) and
b) medieval and post-medieval structures and historic monuments
prior to 1830.
Only in 1950 was the conservation policy extended to the
protection of the cultural heritage posterior to 1830. This law
provided for the conservation of buildings and settlements in
places termed as “sites of natural beauty”. This made possible,
from a legislative point of view, the protection and listing of
traditional settlements and sites. In addition to these two basic
laws, the general building code of 1973, revised in 1985,
determined the legislative framework for all building activity in
Greece. The code was issued by the Ministry of the Environment,
Regional Planning and Public Works. It was imposing limitations
in the architectural morphology of buildings in settlements or
complexes of “particular historic, folkloric, town planning,
aesthetic or architectural character”. A series of additional decrees
(mostly not used in practice) also provided clauses determining
conservation action to be taken at an urban scale.
Finally, in a new conservation law recently issued in 2002, the
Ministry of Culture improved the definition of “historic site” and
that of “protected settlement”, imposing new conditions for their
conservation. The new law is also proposing the elaboration of a
registry of all monuments and sites, a major gap for the
implementation of a coherent conservation policy so far.
It is evident that despite delays and omissions, Greek legislation
provided the framework for regulating and conserving built space
in traditional settlements. Impossibility of implementation was the
result of lack of coordination between the institutions responsible
as well as the insufficiency of specialized personnel employed. It
would also have been necessary to decentralize services responsible
for controlling urban scale conservation operations. Lack of funds,
however, can be considered as the most serious reason, together
with the fact that the protection of the country’s traditional
heritage had never been a priority within the regional and urban
planning policies of the state until today. Urban scale conservation
has always been fragmentary, incomplete, limited and inefficient.
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Architects
Greece
In Greece, as in the majority of Mediterranean countries, rehabilitation on an urban
scale has been fragmentary, incomplete, limited and inefficient.
.
Agios Artemios, Santorini, Greece
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Defining the operational framework
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Outil
x
Defining
the operational framework
x
The necessary financial instruments
III. Strategy
Xavier Benoist
General director of PACT ARIM
France
Available financial means
The existence of financial means is an indispensable condition for
the feasibility of all renovation projects. There must be a real
match between the financial means available and the operations
envisaged, so that the renovation scheme is realistic and actually
works.
Following the diagnosis of the existing situation, then, the
authorities need to proceed with an inventory of the means
available or which can be mobilised. These means come from the
local authorities themselves (tax revenue, public aid, loans) and
also regional, national and even European and international
sources. These different public means may be considerably
increased by the financial contribution of the private sector, as part
of partnerships with the public sector or strictly private
interventions respecting the guidelines governing the renovation
scheme.
The maintenance or strengthening of public participation in
renovation operations is essential in order to overcome the rules
of the land market and guarantee the social aims of the project,
particularly concerning housing. The success of renovation
operations largely depends on the creation of effective
partnerships between public institutions and private enterprises or
property owners, as well as any non-governmental organisations
and European or international partners backing the schemes.
These partnerships make it possible to substantially increase the
financial and human means for the operations and therefore to
multiply the results as part of a snowball effect. This partnership
approach involves new means of "governance" depending on the
creation of ad hoc co-ordination groups bringing together the
various organisations making up the project (agents and means).
They are organised according to contractual forms that could
prefigure future institutional arrangements. They also assume
other functions, as mediators, interfaces or coproducers.
Urban renovation is a contribution of resources and a two-way
process: from the bottom up and from the top down. In effect,
the consequences of renovation operations are not strictly limited
to the district. They also affect the whole town, and the region
too.
Conversely, most national and/or regional policies (housing,
territorial arrangement, cultural heritage, environmental,
transport, economic) have a direct impact on local policies. Certain
European policies - like regional development, cultural or social
cohesion – can affect local policies.
Even though the base of the financing of the rehabilitation operations should be
public, in order to guarantee the social objectives, more and more the success of
rehabilitation operations rests upon the creation of patrons between public
institutions and businesses or private proprietors..
The financial instruments resulting from these regional, national or
European policies can provide the local authorities and the private
sector with considerable support for renovation operations. There
are various kinds of this finance: bank guarantees and loans with
advantageous financial conditions, allowances, grants and a
variety of tax breaks.
This finance must be adapted to the needs identified locally:
particular aims of owner occupiers, new buyers and public or
private landlords, so that they function as medium- or long-term
investment or as assistance with preserving their assets.
The establishment of finance must be accompanied by specific
rules to take into account the needs of people, and particularly
those of people who are vulnerable because of their level of
resources or living conditions. In this way, the level of rents
covered by assisted operations can be regulated for periods of
variable length and tax advantages given while loans are being
granted.
One of the variables determining the parameters of aid
mechanisms for investment in rented property will be whether or
not there are aid mechanisms for individuals in the rental sector.
These aids for individuals are intended to make profitable rents
from operations compatible with the resources of modest and
disadvantaged households. These aids for individuals can also
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allow the repayment of loans taken out by owner occupiers or
tenants carrying out works on their homes. The establishment of
such aid presupposes account being taken, wherever possible, of
market rents in the local or national plan. Depending on these
levels, rent ceilings can be specified. Based on these rent ceilings,
aid mechanisms will be put in place and opened up to people
whose resources do not allow them to pay market rents. These
mechanisms may be put in place for variable periods, at least
equivalent to the periods necessary for the technical and financial
depreciation of renovation operations.
In the public sector, these periods will always be longer than in the
private sector; generally more than 25 years in the public sector
and around 10 to 12 years in the private sector.
It is therefore a case of putting finance mechanisms in place from
the beginning and co-ordinating the sectorial policies carried out
at the different authority levels in order to draw the maximum
possible benefit from their respective means of finance.
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Defining
x necessary financial instruments
The
respect the specific constraints linked to maintaining people with
modest incomes in the districts. These constraints will be easier to
accept if the mechanisms for compensation for the effort of
moderating rents agreed by the owners are established (aid to
individuals, subsidies for works, etc.) and if public policies are set
up to provide the long-terms establishment of populations with
modest means in properties at moderate rents compatible with
the resources of ordinary tenants in the districts. Clearly, the public
powers must lead the projects initially, with the private sector
joining later, when the improvement of the sectors will be
achieved.
In addition, public local authorities must be present throughout
the renovation processes to ensure the social objectives, notably
the maintenance of population balances. To maintain these
balances, it is a good idea to match all aid mechanisms to the
private sector with a constraint on rent levels and on the resources
of tenants moving into the accommodation and with respect for
the rules for maintaining renovated heritage.
The necessary maintenance of a public-private balance
The main types of aid and their mobilisation in practice
In effect, the private sector's part in urban renovation today seems
a fundamental issue. The private sector must participate and
contribute to the improvement of the urban heritage and property
assets in districts involved in urban renovation by accepting its
technical constraints and, during and after the works, it must
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Rehabilitation works at Peralada (Catalonia, Spain)
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Aid to owner occupiers.
In many countries, the profile of public aid for renovating the
private housing stock is based on the idea that owner occupiers or
tenants of property do not need it or need very little. So, aid is
often limited and reserved for very poor households. In fact it
turns out that their needs are considerable if their contribution to
the improvement is going to be high.
The stabilising effect of owner occupiers on districts is very
considerable – stabilising because they are consumers of services
and often occupy their homes for long periods. They form an
important part of the citizen base of districts. In some very
degraded districts, a low-quality new buyer market has been able
to develop alongside a rented market organised by slum landlords.
The operation of these "low quality" markets is often in conflict
with the possibility of strong improvement.
A good part of these homes belonging to owners and new
property buyers generally need average or considerable
renovation to install elements of comfort (where the connections
from networks are often problematic) to proceed with major
repairs (façades and roofs, among others) or to re-equip homes
that have become obsolete in terms of facilities (toilets, etc).
Suitable aid is necessary to encourage these occupants to carry
out works. In fact, the cost of the works required will often exceed
the financial capacity of the owners if appropriate financial
systems are not put in place to help pay for them. In the case of
very low quality markets, it is a matter of putting in place the
means for maximum financial assistance, whether this is direct
(grants) or indirect (loans accessible to people who generally have
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little or nothing to do with banks), accompanied by methods of
providing them in the form of advance payment funds.
Existing landlords
Landlords are key agents in the renovation of housing in districts.
There are two kinds of attitudes and behaviours among landlords:
landlords who behave like investors and inheriting landlords.
The former seek the profitability of the rented property; their
behaviour basically corresponds to an economic rationale.
Some hard-nosed investors – we might even say slum landlords –
are strictly looking for profits from the rent without caring about
the quality or usage conditions of the housing. This will be the
type most often be excluded from renovation processes, and
attempts will be made to prevent these practices through specific
enforceable rules intended to control, limit or forbid these
practices, based on legal regulations preventing renting of
housing if it is unsafe or there is a health risk.
Inheriting landlords may, often despite themselves, hesitate over
how they should behave. Obligations to carry out works often
lead them to abandon their properties, sometimes making room
for private or public investors who should be supervised to
facilitate quality operations, accessible to people with modest or
low incomes.
The new investors are those the policy can rely on to provide a
new range of housing. Two categories should be distinguished:
local investor landlords and professional investor landlords. The
former are more attached to the property and its quality, while the
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latter will be more interested in the financial or investment return
on their operations. The former will be more sensitive to aid for
building, the latter to tax aid mechanisms.
New buyers
Depending on the configuration of the local market, the
implementation of policies intended to encourage or supervise
processes of achieving property ownership may become a target
set for operations. In this case, it is important to dimension the
market, particularly compared to other competing operations
going on outside the centre. Beyond traditional clienteles of small
households and elderly people wanting to come back to town
centres, the question arises of old districts for young households
with children. These operations, not often carried out today,
could, in certain block structure configurations, be encouraged by
types of loan adapted to older housing.
The assessment of the solvency of existing households and
their capacity to carry out quality works (referring to predefined
standards of work)
An assessment of the potential for renovation by investors
(existing landlords, potential landlords, new buyers).
The definition of an improvement guide suitable for optimising
the financial means of existing households (works
programmes, necessary financial means).
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Example of intervention strategy (the case of France)
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The quantification of the average volume of operations forecast
and the level of each operation will make it possible to establish
the overall amount of aid and means to be mobilised during the
operation.
Organising a technical, social and financial assistance
service for people
The co-ordination of finance (loans, grants, advance payment
funds, establishment of guarantees) and their implementation
requires the establishment of a specific distribution structure as
part of the process of drawing up renovation files: technical
achievement, cost estimates, finance plans, tax position, financial
means to be mobilised. This overall financial service must be
determined for each individual project. It may be accompanied by
social services to assist the households in greatest difficulties or
those requiring rehousing.
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Poster with information on the plan for the centre of Nicosia created with European
Union funds (Cyprus)
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Public participation strategy
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Irene Marzo
Spain
1. Participation at the heart of the strategy
In all types of urban regeneration plans the decisions should enjoy
the complicity of all the effected parties in order to satisfy their
present and future necessities. This necessary implication is what
makes citizen participation a capital element in a mature
democratic society, guaranteeing the implication of residents as
well as users in the management of their city, town, territory, etc...
The Declaration of Rio for Development and the Environment,
unanimously approved in 1992 by the 178 represented states,
recognizes, in one of its 28 principles, citizen participation as a
fundamental aspect in the achievement of sustainable
development.
Before beginning the procedure we must define the rules and
modalities of the citizen participation.
Citizen participation must be understood as an expression of
citizen democracy, as a continued and progressive process. In
order that this process be possible and effective two things are
needed mainly: to begin with, a permanent political willingness
from the institutions, political representatives and experts; and
also a necessary apprenticeship and education of society, not only
before, but during and after the realization of the plans and
projects. The limits must be defined and, above all, a culture (of
participation) must be developed. Each initiative must be built
from the previous practices, with the willingness to incorporate a
higher level of participation. This participation must be taken into
account in each of the levels of the project's process, with the
help of the most appropriate experts, often times as spokesmen
between social agents and politicians. This is a really important
stage in the diagnostic process, in which are defined the short,
medium and long term objectives and priorities.
Citizen participation is a necessary condition in the achievement of
sustainable development in the plans and projects of urban
regeneration; given that only with the participation of all citizens
can successful results be guaranteed in the long term.
In general, the process of citizen participation must evolve in three
dimensions in order for it to be fully satisfactory: the type,
moment and the contents of the participation. Advancement in
each of these dimensions will enrichen the participation process.
The strategy of citizen participation should be progressively distanced from the
methods of coercion or simple information in favor of models of consensus and
cooperation.
1. Type of participation. We can resume in the following levels,
from lesser to greater citizen implication.
a. Coercive, when the politicians have no need to inform and
the residents do not have access to the making of decisions.
b. Informing of the projects to the citizenry, without them
being able to participate in the elaboration nor in the
decisions.
c. Improving awareness of the citizenry toward the problem, in
order that it understand the objectives and the goals, and so
its behavior be coherent with the decided projects.
d. Consulting the citizenry in order that its opinions be taken
into consideration before elaborating plans and projects.
e. Encounter of the experts and political representatives with
the citizenry, establishing a process of negotiation before
decisions are taken, reconciling the different points of view,
even though the decision remains in the hands of the
formers.
f. Cooperation of citizens in the entire decision-making
process and elaboration of the project, from co-production
to auto-management.
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2. The moment of participation. Four moments in the
development and implementation of a project, where the
processes of participation must be applied, have been
established.
a.
b.
c.
d.
Elaboration of the diagnosis.
Proposal of the lines of action and the projects.
Implementation of the project.
Follow-up and monitoring process once the project is
finished.
3. The contents of the participation. Perhaps the most
important point, but the most difficult to guarantee, given that
it requires the greatest learning effort on all parts. It deals with
moving the discussion from local issues and the short term
(easier to understand and assume) to consider problems and
collective needs in the longer term and to think more globally.
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In order that a participative process be a success it is necessary
to grow in all the mentioned dimensions and guarantee an
optimum level of implication of the experts as well as of the
citizenry and the conjuncts of social agents. It is essential that
the framework of participation be clearly defined, the type of
participation possible in each action, the limits of the local
government and of the local community, the situation taken into
account at each moment and the type of cooperation possible
between the different agents in order that it be efficient, limiting
the responsibilities of each.
Citizen participation in its maximum exponent, which signifies
the implication of the habitants in the process and taking of
decision between political representatives, experts and citizens,
the search for consensus and a common project shared by all,
should be situated in the center of any development and urban
reform procedure. Citizens should be involved not only in the
decisions of the project but also in its posterior follow-up, in
order to detect the problems that the realized interventions can
originate and be able to make changes in concrete actions,
insuring a true sustainability of the action realized.
Social cohesion improve participation. Barcelona (Spain)
Working session in Istanbul (Turkey)
2. Recommendations for the improvement of the
participative process
First stage: improving education in order to foment
participation
The starting point of any participative process is the foment of the
level of awareness, of consciousness, and the knowledge of the
population. Informing and educating constitute the first stage of
any participative procedure. For this reason, it must have a
structure and be given the means necessary.
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Animation with the inhabitants in Marrakech (Morocco)
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Second stage: The Participation as a continued process of
listening
The second stage of the participation is the listening to residents
and users and the consideration of all of their needs and
expectations. The expression of the population must help to define
the priority objectives of an urban project.
Third stage: integrating the participation to the problems
of organization (of the city, of the districts)
The advance from “social treatment” of the problems expressed
by the citizenry to the definition of the urban invention from a
sustainable perspective is imminently difficult. In a way, it is
necessary to integrate the different actors in the administrative
organization on the district's scale.
Fourth stage: Defining the rules of participation
The traditional hierarchical structures have to be rethought,
defining new rules by way of a Carta Local of participation where
all the local actors have their role to play in the decision-making
process.
Fifth stage: Making participation a process of knowledge
acquisition
Citizen participation must evolve within the framework of an
apprenticeship and knowledge acquisition process. The follow-up
and monitoring of the projects must constitute a strong element of
the participation, since it is in the concrete actions where behaviors
can change, often the initial cause of problems.
Sixth stage: Participation versus individualism?
Citizen participation enters into contradiction with the
individualist values that define our present-day societies, links to a
city without territory, defined by the coexistence of networks.
How to guarantee the participation in projects which are linked to
the territory?
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The organisation
of the decision-making process
in Palestinian communities
Kaldhun Bashra
Architect
Head of the Conservation Department of RIWAQ
Palestine
Introduction
The decision-making process usually aims at adequately
addressing the local community needs by enlarging the circle of
the stakeholders. This is possible to be achieved through the
involvement of local institutions and active bodies including
women, elderly, youth... Decision-making processes involve both
the subject and the stakeholders. As far as the cultural heritage
rehabilitation is concerned, the subject is usually a building or a
monument to be restored or rehabilitated to host certain activity.
The stakeholders are variety of actors or players. While the first is
clear, the later is usually complex, resulting in a complicated
decision-making process. There are also legal and social issues that
make the process troublesome.
Limitations on Decision-making processes
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It is quite important to note three important issues concerning
cultural heritage rehabilitation as an introduction to the decisionmaking process; these are the ownership, renting law and the role
of the elders in the community.
The system of inheritance in Islamic world (true to Palestine) led to
the fragmentation of ownership of the built heritage, because the
ownership is transferred systematically from father to his heirs
(sons and daughters) and then to their heirs... The fragmentation
of the ownership is a two-face sword; on one hand it protects the
property from being demolished because consensus is needed,
and on the other hand it prevents the property from being
developed because a consensus is as well needed.
The renting law in Palestine is an old law that goes back to the
British Mandate period. The law protects tenants; they cannot be
evacuated, and the renting sums may not be increased. As a
result, the rented built heritage lacks maintenance, which is under
the responsibility of the owner, who benefits nothing from his
property (because of the very low rent price compared to the
maintenance price). Nevertheless, the owner, according to the
same law, may prevent any restoration works carried out by the
tenant. This similarly led to further deterioration of these historic
buildings.
The role of the elders in Palestinian community is impressive; even
with the emerging modern nuclei family based community, still
there is a role for the elder of the family and the elder son to play
in the community. Based on tradition (mainly nomadic, while the
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The Islamic system of inheritance brings with it an enormous fragmentation
of the ownership of patrimony. This is a factor that on one hand avoids that
it be demolished but on the other complicates any rehabilitation, requiring
an enormous effort to agree upon decisions.
sheikhs kept in their hands the fate of individuals for the benefit
of the extended family), or on religion (where respect of father
and mother is a must). The built heritage is therefore controlled by
a traditional social relation rather than a rigid legal system. This
affects the cultural heritage in different ways, mostly positive.
Elders are capable to donate or promote the protection and
rehabilitation of their ancestors' edifices or houses for the sake of
their communities. The role of the elders contributed, for example,
to the Hebron rehabilitation committee's works in restoring and
rehabilitating much of the old town of Hebron, a project which
might not have been possible without engaging the elders to solve
the delicate issue of fragmented ownership mentioned earlier.
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Stakeholders in Decision-making process
According to the Palestinian experience, which is quite peculiar,
the decision-making process involves several players with their
own agendas. These are:
The owners of the built cultural heritage: both public and
private aim at suppressing their agendas that favor their
prospects and expectations, which are mostly economic
potentials and interest.
The promoter of the rehabilitation activity: this may include
the owners themselves and any other institution or community
(village or municipal councils, cultural centers, women
associations…) driven by political or social agenda. Both aim at
enhancing the living conditions of their community and
improving the environment of their localities, to attract
investment.
The responsible body of the cultural heritage in question: this
may be the competent Ministry, the Muslim or Christian
endowments; the local governorate… this body bears in mind
development and protection, as an output of restoration or
rehabilitation activities. It is driven by political (national or
religious) agenda.
The implementing agency: this could be a governmental
organization such as the competent ministry; a nongovernmental organization working on local or national level;
or international organizations such as UNESCO, UNDP… The
implementing agency aims at executing restoration or
rehabilitation projects in accordance with the promoter's and
responsible body’s wishes. They work on different levels:
management, conservation consultancy and contractor
procurement.
The Donor: this stakeholder aims at contributing to the
protection or development projects driven mainly by a political
(in the case of development and restoration projects) or
scientific agenda (in the case of research or archaeological
expeditions). It has been noted that the donors are interested
in both monitoring the transparency of the process and the
visibility of the donor and its contribution in the community.
The end-users: these are the local community or segments
from them. They are concerned with their needs, functionality,
utilization, respect of their habits and traditions, in addition to
the direct economic benefits from the execution of the project.
Ramallah, Bil'in, PNA / Idioms Film, RIWAQ photo archive
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Old City of Jerusalem / Emil Ashrawi, RIWAQ photo archive
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The
Complexity of Decision-making process
NABLUS, BURQA, / Mia Grondahl, RIWAQ photo archive
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Ramallah, Al-Mazra'a Al-Qibliya, PNA / Tom Kay, RIWAQ photo archive
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A process that involves so many stakeholders, with different
agendas, is indeed a complicated one. The main complexity rose
from considering the Built Cultural Heritage for what it sells and
not for what it constitutes for Palestinians as nationally contested
items. The owner believes very little in old "not civilized"
structures as a possible economic lifting agent. And hence owners
may contribute negatively to the process because they themselves
are not persuaded. The responsible agency on the one hand
wants to develop the BCH while bearing in mind on the other
hand the importance of this material culture, as a document from
the past not to be touched. The promoter has usually
enthusiastic approach (less conservative) to rehabilitation, thus
demanding alterations, renovation, and reconstruction… The
implementing agency, with whatsoever status, bears in mind
both the restoration standards while creating the promoters vision
that shouldn't come across with the responsible agency criteria's
and the owners expectations. The donor has been looked upon
as a colonial power who has a political agenda, and thus the
donor strive to make his tax-payers' money visible on one hand
and to clarify on the other hand his intentions towards the local
community, a community that considers the history of cultural
heritage as a history of colonization. The end-users try, during
the process of planning and during the implementation, to modify
and interfere in the conservation consultant work to
accommodate their aspirations coming across with the consultant
and with the contractor.
Politics, religion, nationalism, economy, science, function, respect
of local tradition… and some other concerns come usually across
in the process of the decision-making process. It has been
approved that hegemonic decisions are not sustainable and defeat
the goals, while a process that involves all the stakeholders from
the very beginning to the very end is a logical and potential
success story.
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The bodies and agents involved:
the Greek experience
As mentioned above, the many institutions and services involved
in listing and protecting the traditional architectural heritage of
the country have been quite inefficient, due to lack of
coordination and cooperation. Absence of a well trained and
sufficient, in number, personnel employed by these services was
also an important negative element. The existing legislative
framework, despite inefficiencies, could have provided the
implementation of a conservation policy if there was a better
operational scheme. It is evident though that the main reason for
the incapacity of putting in practice urban scale conservation
projects was the lack of sufficient financing and additionally, the
bad use of available economic sources, mainly from the European
Community. Land speculation, at urban scale, made impossible
the expropriation by the state, of sites and buildings, while there
were very few conservation projects carried out and even less
being realized.
For the few though urban scale projects that have been realized,
there was a special service set up explicitly for them, as in the
cases of Plaka and the Operation for the Unification of the
Archaeological Sites of Athens. These services were managing the
projects, informing the local community and securing its consent
while supervising all actual works. It is evident then that there is a
need of additional services with exclusive and full control of
conservation operations outside the existing central offices of the
Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of the Environment, Regional
Planning and Public Works (E.R.P.P.W.).
Most survey projects of traditional architecture have been carried
out by the Schools of Architecture of the country, either by
students or through research projects supervised by faculty
members. The services of Recent Monuments of the Ministry of
Culture have still today limited personnel in relationship with the
needs and responsibilities they are facing. The Ministry of
E.R.P.P.W., responsible also for listing, protecting and providing
special building codes for the traditional settlements, is lacking
also specialized personnel while recently, part of its authority has
been decentralized and taken over by the local authorities. The
Ministry of E.R.P.P.W., despite managing urban conservation
issues, has very rarely provided urban scale regulations, and even
in cases when it did, they have scarcely been implemented.
So despite the major issue of financing a conservation project, the
institutions responsible for the rehabilitation of traditional
architecture in Greece would need reforming. An important
priority would be the involvement of local communities through
local authorities. There, of course, lays a risk concerning the
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Architects
Greece
As is proclaimed in Greece, the decentralization of the authorities, with
competence in the politics of rehabilitation, would facilitate the application
of appropriate policies.
.
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Renovated street in an historical centre in Greece
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potential susceptibility of local authorities to political pressures by
local communities, in cases of restriction of property rights for
promoting conservation issues. Control of local governments by
central services will be always necessary, as well as an appropriate
legal framework. Appreciating the major values of local traditions
should be made through special services formed by the
communities involved, interested in preserving their local tradition
and the way the built space relates to the natural environment.
Salonika (Greece)
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xThe bodies and agents involved: the Greek experience
Local techniques should be studied, evaluated,, and eventually
applied in modern construction. Informing the public and
increasing the awareness of the local population in terms of the
qualities and values of traditional architecture should be assured
through programs at all levels of public education.
Decentralization of the authorities managing conservation issues
could make the application of relevant policies more efficient.
Projects for the survey and systematic study of traditional
architecture should also be carried out by specialized institutions
providing the data necessary for rehabilitation interventions.
In addition to all operational modifications, and above all, the state
should revise its policy towards the private sector, which is the major
regulating element of built space in Greece. A consistent policy
should provide motivation and promote private conservation
projects, while controlling incompatible interventions through
thorough knowledge and appreciation of traditional built space.
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Models for the inclusion of new architecture
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The inclusion of new architecture:
between the historic and the
contemporary
Why preserve, and for whom? What deserves to be preserved? Is
it possible to define the limits of a transformation that would
specify the parts to be eliminated and those to be added? The use
of existing architecture to turn it over to different functions is
established in the continuing process of transforming buildings,
with the double intention of creating new architectures for new
uses and preserving those already existing in their current uses.
Here we will present two extreme cases, one an addition and the
other a subtraction, involving two buildings with monument
status surviving in two run-down historic centres: the Brigittines
church theatre in Brussels, Belgium, and the Roman circus at
Tarragona in Spain.
An infinite number of cases and situations arise. Each conservation
intervention is clearly a project that cannot be a neutral, preestablished, codified entity, because the transformations carried
out are never identical and affect the use of the building – and
therefore its shape – differently. Such transformations must be
compatible with the ethical principles of identity and authenticity.
In the design of the project, these principles must be applied not
only when acting on what already exists but even more so when
new architecture is introduced into a historic centre. Failure to
observe these principles leads to the creation of places that always
have the tendency to become provisional "non-places", where the
continuous transformation does not allow the formulation of any
thought inviting one to preserve them in the memory.
One of the latent threats in transformation processes is the
creation of areas for construction in historic centres where low
properties are demolished and replaced with skyscrapers. In
historic centres, landmarks such as cathedrals and bell towers,
which emerged in other times as spiritual symbols, are today
designed to exalt the new icons of the consumer society. This
attitude irreversibly transforms the appearance of the places that
make up the urban identity which, on the contrary, one would like
to see protected.
Judging the validity of out-of-scale interventions based solely on
socio-economic and political considerations which have approved
their modes and volumes, is an undertaking which can only lead
to a unilateral verdict of approval or disapproval. It is clear that, if
one judges on the basis of principles of preserving the values of
historic sites and environments and not on the architectural
characteristics that define them, one will end up expressing a
negative judgement. In the absence of very precise links
universally or occasionally shared at local level, it seems very
difficult to establish absolute rules and limits for construction. The
IV. Action
Andrea Bruno
Architect
UNESCO councillor for the restoration of world cultural heritage,
Italy
The new edifications should be projected from the contemporary upon the base
of comprehension of the specifics of the enclave, avoiding postures of excessive
codification, absolute indifference, “radical imitation” or historic distortion.
economic interests and speculation sustaining these operations
are such that they block the best intentions to maintain
established situations of historical value over time; moreover,
these declared interests tend to demonstrate that history
continues, producing perpetual transformations with a logic that
is not always coherent with the past.
Having said that, it is quite possible to imagine the harmonious
development of built environments and the spaces surrounding
them. Nothing is immutable over time; but anyone planning
transformations must have a good knowledge of the architectural
and social fabric he or she is working on, adapting to it, respecting
its original authenticity and also all the important authenticities
stratified on top of that.
The control of transformations, attributed to specialists in various
disciplines found in the processes of constructing a town,
represents the only way of ensuring the survival of memory and
allowing it to evolve in the present and future. From this basic
consideration stems firm condemnation not only of certain
inappropriate demolitions but also of new buildings that do not
follow these principles. The condemnation also covers sly stylistic
or "com’era dov’era" reconstruction operations which please
those nostalgic for the past with their gentile image while
betraying the historical truth. Here I would like to recall the lucid
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thoughts, not of an architect but of a poet and man of culture
called Alberto Savinio on the "tragedy of reconstructions":
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The inclusion of new architecture: between the historic and the contemporary
church with its square, all forming one sacred unit. The main aim
of the extension scheme is, from now on, to offer the chapel a
new significance, a new life, sustained by the layout of the public
"What is tragic about the 'reconstructed' is, however, that it is
condemned to move within its own irresolution in the form of
a heart-rending conflict of identity. Perpetually suspended in its
half dead state, the 'reconstructed' cannot escape its destiny of
proximity to and distance from that which it can only resemble
and can never be.
Why do people pine for their past? It is silly to want to go back
to what one has been." (Alberto Savinio, Ascolto il tuo cuore in
città, 1944).
An intervention of addition: Extension of the Brigittines
Chapel in Brussels
The church of the Brigittines is in a critical area in the urban fabric
of Brussels. It lies between, on one hand, the railway and, on the
other, a particularly destructured district. It seems to be
overwhelmed by the block of social housing that dominates it
from behind. Its value as a monument is thereby almost
annihilated and its resulting historical and artistic value is also
heavily reduced. This was the origin of the idea of reinforcing its
existence and underlining its presence – its "being there" - to
reiterate its image in its double.
This doubling alters not only the perception of the church but also
the significance of the urban space surrounding it. It is necessary
to reaffirm the existence of the church in a context now very
different from its original one, which conceived it as the spiritual
centre of the old district. Current planning sets the scene for a
Preliminary draw of the project for the extension of the Chapelle des Brigittines in
Brussels
Situation of the extension for the Chapelle des Brigittines in Brussels
Render image of the extension to the Chapelle des Brigittines in Brussels
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space surrounding it. It is a matter of breathing new vitality into
this ancient structure.
The new building established beside the church is a light structure
which neatly recalls the general lines of the masonry mass,
without opposition to it. This contrast, however, does not destroy
the original identity of the church; on the contrary, it strengthens
and develops it. It is presented as a simplified image in which the
fundamental constructional elements of the old building are
references, reinterpreted in contemporary language. So, a new
façade is added to the old one. Half of it is made up of a
transparent inner wall, leaving the main structural cut of the new
building open to view, while the other half is dressed in Cor-Ten
steel panels whose design recalls the main lines of the existing
façade. Between these two halves a third constructed volume is
inserted as an attempt to join the negation of the façade and its
material expression.
On the main façade, the jutting steel profiles sketch out dark-andlight shadow plays recalling those of the cornices of the church.
On the sides, the girders are, at all levels in UPN profiles aligned
with the exterior back wall.
The ground floor, directly accessible from the square, is reserved
for the public. In the evening, it functions as the theatre foyer,
while, during the day, it becomes a covered square, a meeting
place. The apse area is reserved for exhibitions. From the ground
floor it is possible to perceive the organisation of the entire volume
through full-height glass.
The main staircase and lift are organised in the void that separates
the main old building from the new service building.
On the upper floor, a space for multiple uses has been arranged,
open to full height – a kind of winter garden as an alternative and
complement to the ground floor spaces.
Thus, the building becomes a living element, attractive not only
because of the shows, but also thanks to the presence of new
activities; giving life to the district but independent of the
theatrical activities. A new synergy is thereby achieved, capable of
transforming all this into a centre to promote culture in the name
of the old church, which is displayed as the key to the matter.
IV. Action
morphology.
The intervention was developed around two main poles at the
entrance to the higher part of the town: on one side, the circus,
inside the Roman citadel, and, on the other side, the
amphitheatre, near the surrounding wall and inserted into a
hollow sliding towards the sea. The two monuments, separated by
the ancient Via Augusta, are linked by a pedestrian walkway
putting into practice the intention to return the two sites to
visitors. So, a great archaeological park is imagined in which the
construction of a new museum is also planned.
The part of the project that has now been carried out fully evokes
the overall spirit.
Through liberation from parasite buildings, or even demolition,
the works have made it possible to highlight the complex layers of
the site.
At the time of the discovery, behind the medieval city wall, of
three arcades of a Roman circus, against the demand to knock
down the wall, it was proposed to empty the earth that filled in
the space between these two important pages in the city's history.
The narrow passage between earth and sky becomes an
observatory, allowing an understanding of the passage of time.
To cross this page of history, a 12-metre-high opening was made
in the medieval city wall, sacrificing a small quantity of its material.
Avoiding any fear of adding elements compatible with the spirit of
the place, it was necessary to construct a stainless steel and
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Demolishing to preserve: the Roman circus and medieval
wall of Tarragona
This is a project that opens up on an urban scale to develop the
complexity of a monumental site, preserving the richness of the
different phases of the transformations history has handed down to us.
The principles the project is based on flow from the difficulty of
understanding the urban development of the city of Tarragona
without reference to the remains from the Roman period. These
remains, which have conditioned the growth of the town, must
still today be considered as powerful symbols of the city's urban
View of the Roman circus and medieval wall in Tarragona
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bronze gate. This archaeological architecture is preserved with the
same care as an object placed in a glass case. Between the two
walls, a neutral, metaphysical section preserves a void in space and
time to be crossed to return to the city of today. The gate also
marks the point where the pedestrian walkway linking the arcades
of the circus to the Rambla arrives. It expresses the desire to cross
a boundary, to pass through an ancient monument without
destroying it, to show a still more ancient episode. The gate - a
clean, precise vertical cut – is made diagonally to avoid the
perception of the actual thickness of the wall and prevent a nondirectional view, sliding along the wall and offering the possibility
of inferring, through a fissure, that something is to be found
behind, while, at the same time offering the possibility of taking
in the monument at first glance, the glance of discovery.
1
2
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3
1, 2 and 3. Details of the Roman circus and medieval wall in Tarragona
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Architecture and identity: the Tal es
Safa project – learning from the past1
The Palestinian Israeli struggle over space and identity of the Holy
Land is expressed not only violently but also peacefully. Two
examples of this symbolic struggle are the planned An-Nakba (the
Catastrophe 1948) Museum, to be executed by the Palestinian
Ministry of Culture, and the Palestinian Museum of Natural History
and Humankind, an ongoing art project by Khalil Rabah. Both
museums strive to make Palestinian history visible and struggle
against the silencing of the Israeli state. Other examples of this
symbolic struggle include the growing interest among Palestinians
in indigenous cultural life including folklore, popular arts, food, as
well as the documentation and restoration of heritage sites.
The recreation of Palestinian identity through the reproduction of
traditional architectural forms and the reapplication of traditional
building techniques has particular salience in a political and
historical reality that has denied Palestinians their home. By
restoring and rebuilding Palestinian pre-Nakba homes, Palestinian
architects and planners are engaged in casting memories in
concrete. The community village of Tal es-Safa is one of these
projects.
"The red tiled roof represents the impeccable design and
meticulous craftsmanship of our stone homes. The green hills
suggest our tranquil natural landscape. The olive tree stands for
deep roots and the enduring Palestinian heritage" (Live the
Memories from the 19th century … in Tal es Safa, 2005).
Two rows of spacious stone apartment buildings and villas cling to
the hillside, with arcade walkways and stone staircases running
between them. Olive trees are scattered throughout the project
area. The 11,000m2 project, which consists of homes, plazas and
a community centre, is perched on one of the western ridges of
Ramallah with a view that stretches to Jaffa (in reality to Tel Aviv)
on a clear day. Built in the architectural style of late 19th century
that can be found in Jerusalem, Nablus or Jaffa, it seeks to
recreate the feel of a traditional terraced Palestinian village
combined with the highest standards of modern amenities of
contemporary life (electronic access gates, Jacuzzis, air
conditioning, under-floor heating, underground parking, a fitness
center with a swimming pool and aerobics hall and many other
conveniences of 21st century living); "The quality of life in the
village is in itself an invitation to luxury and comfort" . Classic
features in each individually designed home include domed
ceilings, decorative ironwork, hand-carved stone pillars and
internal courtyards with fountains. In this way, the village stands
IV. Action
Khaldun BSHARA
Architect
Head of the Conservation Department of RIWAQ, Palestine
In Tal es Safa, the new architecture is expressed in a schizophrenic manner,
combining façades that recreate an “authentic” traditional Palestinian town
with interiors that resolve the needs of the 21st century.
on the edge of modernity and tradition, not fully belonging to
either.
Tel es Safa Project sheds light on the dialectic of tradition and
modernity in the process of re-creating the "authentic" Palestinian
village and shows the significance of, as well as the contradictions
within a project that aims to reuse traditional Palestinian
architectural forms and techniques for identity and memory
retrieving processes in the Palestinian community. Tel es Safa raises
the question whether the reproduction of ancient models of
architecture strengthens or weakens the Palestinian identity
during their nation-state building process. The importance of
preserving their roots through preserving or creating ancient forms
of architecture is still not clear, because Palestinians experience a
very intense geo-political day-to-day life that distracts their
attention from the problematic issue of history. However, in the
last two decades, and in particular after the Oslo Agreement
(1993), Palestinians have witnessed a new era in which a lot of
attention is paid to the material reminders æ the built form in
particular æ through the founding of many institutions and
organizations that aim at the protection, restoration and
revitalization of historic towns and buildings, following a universal
trend. Palestinians are catching up with this "movement" as they
embark on their project to create a material national identity.
Tel es Safa is traditional and modern in the same time; this
schizophrenic character resulted from combining the traditional
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15
image of the façades and form with the 21st century contemporary
internal need. Until the mid twentieth century, the typical
Palestinian village and the peasant house maintained their
architectural characteristics and features. Both spatial organization
as well as functional divisions (reflecting kingship and gender
divisions) went through critical physical transformations as the
village was economically transformed from an inwardly looking
agrarian community into an outward-looking wage labour
community. In towns, urban architecture reflects the needs of
communities whose livelihood depended mostly on commerce
and trade. Good examples of such towns are the coastal towns of
Acre, Haifa, Jaffa, Lod, Ramleh, ‘Asqalan, Ashdoud and Gaza, and
the inland towns of Jerusalem, Nablus, and to a great extent
Hebron. One should remember that coastal towns were part of an
important Mediterranean cultural basin and hence planning and
architectural forms were comparable to other port towns located
along the Mediterranean such as Beirut, Sidon, Tyre, Alexandria,
and Istanbul.
Backed by Diaspora Palestinian investors, "Tal es Safa is the dream
of many Palestinians, who look back with nostalgia on foregone
days of childhood and youth — a time past that is now brought
to life. These, too, are the memories of Mr. Zahi Khouri who came
up with the idea of Tal es Safa project". The Diaspora nostalgia for
a particular form of life æ that is the former social relations or
community, or forms of built environment æ that is the home or
the neighborhood, is quite understandable and could be
compared to other cases in which nostalgia for a space/place
played a major role in peoples' identity formation, for instance in
Zionism.
According to Suad Amiry, the lead design architect, the project
shows different kinds of linkages to nostalgia; on one hand the
village represents the nostalgia of Palestinians æ mainly Diaspora
Palestinians æ towards their homeland lost during the 1948 War,
and on the other hand the village evokes nostalgia for the tranquil
towns and villages that were being destroyed by urbanization over
the last two decades. Thus, Tal es Safa is Mr. Zahi's virtual return
on one hand and the architects' recreation of desired architecture
and atmosphere on the other.
"In traditional cultures, the past is honored and symbols are
valued because they contain and perpetuate the experience of
generations. Tradition is not wholly static, because it has to be
reinvented by each new generation as it takes over its cultural
inheritance from those preceding it". Politically speaking, the
architects were involved in a project that has been looked upon by
others as patriotic work that aims to revive the Palestinian building
style as a material reminder of the pre-Nakba Palestine. It was also
viewed as a way of rooting Palestinians back in their traditional
forms as material evidence of their existence and as an act of
resistance against the Israeli occupation and narrative domination.
For the designers, Tal es Safa has been an experimental project of
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Architecture and identity: the Tal es Safa project – learning from the past
what a post-modern Palestine -architecturally speaking- might
look like. According to Jean-François Lyotard, the author who
popularized the notion of post-modernity, post-modernity refers
to a shift away from faith in humanly engineered progress. Tal es
Safa is an example of post-modern Palestinian architecture which
aims to build on earlier traditions and takes one step beyond
modernity, by relying heavily on the Palestinian legacy and knowhow in the building process and related crafts. In so doing, Tal es
Safa attempts to reproduce a spatial model of a Palestinian town
(the architecture of Jaffa and Jerusalem…) in which one can feel
what a Palestinian town might have looked like before the
Palestinian Catastrophe (An-Nakba) in 1948.
1
This contribution is an excerpt from a longer academic research entitled “Casting
Roots in Stones: The Tal es Safa Project in Ramallah” presented in Seventh
Mediterranean Social and Political Research Meeting at the European University
Institute / Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies Mediterranean
Programme, Florence – Montecatini Terme, 22–26 March 2006.
New buildings in Hebron (Palestine)
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Recommendations for planning open space
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The “open space issue” in renovation
culture and policies in Spain
Premises for intervention in open
space in historic Mediterranean
centres
IV. Action
Francisco Pol
Lecturer at the Higher Education College of Architecture in
Madrid (ETSAM)
Spain
1. Introduction
1.1 The degradation of open spaces in the processes of
decadence and predatory speculation in historic centres.
Particularly in the '60s and '70s, the historic centres in this country
were subject to the confluence of processes of deterioration and
predatory speculation, in various degrees and combinations but
always involving, as a common feature, the degradation of their
open spaces.
This process was due, above all, to the exaggerated predominance
of the car in all aspects of urban life, from the ideological
references of supposed "modernisation" to everyday preferences;
from planning to works, involving, both in centres of the great
cities and the smallest historic sites, the mean-spirited squeezing
of the spaces dedicated to pedestrians and the disproportionate
growth of space for traffic and parking. And, all this in a general
climate of administrations caring little for criteria imposing any
formal quality on public space, was reflected in the routine
application of asphalt even in the most valuable old centres, the
ruinous state of paving of the minimal pavements and few spaces
safe from the car, the crudity of the street furniture, the general
use of "functional" types of lighting meant to serve the
traffic...together with permissiveness towards drivers’ most
abusive attitudes to other road users, multiplying environmental
damage caused by the car. To complete this picture, it should be
said that the formal degradation of the "floor plane" was
accompanied by the debasement of the "vertical plane", with the
babble of commercial façades, the screeching advertisements and
the emergence – still more serious because of their irreversible
nature – of uncontrolled, discordant buildings.
However, renovation policies for historic centres begun since the
victory of municipal democracy at the end of the '70s and
beginning of the '80s, took time to dedicate attention to open
space, concentrating their efforts in actions on buildings, an
understandable priority because of the extent and intensity of the
problems of deterioration of buildings in working class districts
(we must indicate the exceptional cases of Barcelona and some
other cities, whose local councils, after the establishment of
municipal democracy in 1979, began significant programmes of
bringing open spaces up to standard, committing themselves not
only to their intrinsic value, but also to their capacity to induce and
irradiate processes of urban renovation).
In the operations on an urban scale, the configuration of the new spaces should
reflect the historic and cultural specifics of the fabric where they act.
In projects of singular spaces one of the premises of the project is contention and
moderation, avoiding exuberance and formal stridence.
16
1.2.
The recent spread of improvement policies:
Confidence and uncertainty in projects.
For some years the situation has been very different, with the
rapid spread across the country of actions with the common
feature of being "environmental or urban improvements" with
very diverse characteristics: in some very specific cases they
affected "singular spaces" and, in others, through broader
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IV. Action
programmes, they were almost always linked to new schemes for
reorganising mobility and accessibility.
But, in all cases, the planners' questions have been very similar
ones: What design criteria should be applied to the spaces
recovered from the car? How should they intervene in singular
spaces that had been deformed? How far should attitudes of
respect for the context go? How and when should they resort to
contemporary languages? ...
Such doubts and uncertainties, much more accentuated than
those surrounding similar processes in other nearby countries,
would have been affected, in my opinion, by the following
motivations:
the very weak Spanish tradition in this field, deriving above all
from poverty and the civil backwardness into which the two
great periods when European cities were beautified – the
Baroque and the bourgeois culture of the second half of the
19th and early 20th centuries – had to be fitted.
in the '60s and '70s, with the particular context of technocratic
desarrollismo, the almost generalised municipal assignation of
powers in this field to the "roads and works" departments,
where dismissive attitudes towards matters related to
architecture and to the shape of the old city predominated.
lack of attention to these planning fields in architectural and
town planning training, a problem aggravated by the absence
of alternative professional profiles, such as the different
academic training structures in landscaping in France, Great
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Premises for intervention in open space in historic Mediterranean centres
Britain or the northern European countries (a lack of
institutional attention that survives today).
the very low level of importance of bodies which, since the
'40s, had among their explicit objectives the conservation and
improvement of historic urban environments, that is, the
successive Directorates General of Fine Arts responsible for
supervising historic-artistic sites (a weakness that had
prevented the establishment of even a minimal body of
methods and procedures other than in some meritorious
works).
finally, the lack of valuable experiences in other countries that
could be "imported" as examples and references (by contrast to
urban renovation policies and methods, where other models from
nearby countries, above all Italian ones, had a great effect).
Because of this, it cannot be surprising that, despite the
advantages that measures to restrict cars have had for the urban
environment and for daily life, and the corresponding expansion
of areas for walking and sitting, its formal results have sometimes
been vulgar and even deplorable. There is also an aggravating
factor: the likelihood that this will remain so for many years, as it
will be difficult for future administrations (even if they achieve
particular cultural sensitivity) to justify to the public the carrying
out of new, costly and reforms always causing inconvenience,
solely because of aesthetic considerations.
The purpose of my account is precisely to reveal the roots of these
mistakes in the compositional and formal field, and then to
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The periphery of many cities, especially those that were located at the foot of walls
historically used for defensive ends, or at river banks, experience processes of
degradation due to the original “weakness” of the urban fabric. In such cases the
strategies of requalification of the open spaces must necessarily be incorporated
within complex urban planning projects.
The image, which corresponds to the fringes of the historic center of Almeria toward
San Cristobel hill and the Alcazaba in 2000, is a good example of this type of
problem. .
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The impact of the automobile upon the urban landscape was especially great in the
squares, that is, where the most singular architecture was generally concentrated. In
the image, Born Square of the Cuitadella of Minorca in 1995..
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attempt to sketch out some indications of planning routes which
I consider more appropriate.
But first I believe it is essential to indicate how often I have noticed
mistakes that could not be put down to theoretical uncertainties
or methodologies but which were simply rooted in spectacular
professional incompetence, administrative neglect or outside
intrusion from decision-making areas or the influences of local
powers.
1.3. Establishing initial boundaries: mistakes through
professional incompetence/incongruence due to the
intrusion of town planning "amateurs" and "do-ityourselfers".
Attempts to identify successes and mistakes must, in fact, take
account of aspects concerning "competences" in all senses of the
term: both professional skills and capacity for administrative
decisions.
As these are generally works falling within municipal
competences, we cannot ignore the fact that it will be difficult
to achieve appropriate quality in planning them if they are
assigned to internal technicians – not so much because of the
stereotyped (but so many times justified) mistrust of the
planning quality of the technical structures of local councils,
but rather because of the very particular requirements of this
type of action, which require special planning refinement and a
certain accumulation/sedimentation of experience (again we
must qualify such forthright declarations a little, as some local
councils, like Barcelona, have based their very valuable action
processes on solid technical departments).
The absence of specialised professional profiles makes it
difficult for the administrations to tackle jobs. In this respect, it
is very significant that it is in Catalonia where the majority of
the highest quality actions have been carried out, because of
various connected political, academic and cultural factors that
have generated a demand from an interested public as well as
a notable density of professionals.
Ultimately, we should indicate that the fact that it is apparently
"easy" to make decisions concerning the external shape of
open spaces, as there are no legal requirements for professional
competences, has, on more than a few occasions, encouraged
the "amateurish" intrusions of political leaders.
More than a few vulgarities and extravagances occurring in
some centres have had their origin, in effect, in "dictates" by
political leaders, transcribed by servile officers attached to the
local councils or required by the profession or by construction
companies with an obvious interest. They are jointly motivated
by vanity and fear, always trying to avoid any kind of
controversy and to "butter up" the voters, thereby achieving
IV. Action
the most vulgar common denominators of "taste"... These
attitudes are further strengthened by the insistent demands of
companies constantly tempting the politicians, stimulating the
extension of the very popular "do it yourself" hobby to extend
to the town planning field, offering to support this task with
the comfortable certainties of "catalogue buying".
2. A first distinction for the analysis for these new fields of
planning: operations on an "urban scale" and singular
projects.
Having given these caveats, we can now go into the full
argument, which will refer only to the field of professional actions
and which we assume enjoy their full quota of competences,
regardless of our degree of agreement with the different
approaches and results.
We will structure the account by distinguishing various fields:
operations on an "urban scale" coming within fairly complex
urban strategies.
one-off actions, generally limited to very particular spheres and
constituting "works schemes" only.
In turn, in both the fields, we should distinguish:
minor schemes.
actions in singular spaces.
3. "Urban scale" operations forming part of complex
strategies.
3.1. An essential step: examining the "internal" coherence
conditions of the planning approaches and methods.
These operations are usually linked to Special Urban Plans or Full
Renovation Programmes, with complex implications always
related to plans to reorganise transport lay-outs.
The assessment of these operations will, as a first step, require the
examination of the initial criteria and approaches on which the
planning processes will be based. The coherence of these
assumptions will in my opinion, be determined, by whether they
meet the following requirements:
Appropriate and efficient expression among structural and
formal, components, understanding structural aspects not only
in a town planning sense, but also concerning the way they
respect the social and economic structures of the town.
The adoption of forms capable of reflecting the specific
historical and cultural features of the various fabrics being
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clearly fixed at a certain "cultural moment" (and, therefore,
likely to be difficult to comprehend in the future); in these types
of spaces, both views can be legitimate. But, if we are referring
to small-scale actions, in my opinion, these fine distinctions are
not necessary as the preferred route should be to contain
expression, opting for the capacity for lasting absorption of
future changes in taste.
worked upon; that is, rejecting formal solutions that make
what the urban development of our cities has left us as
differentiated banal and homogenised. This warning is
particularly important in our country, for various reasons: the
original modelling of our centres by very diverse urban cultures
(Roman, Arab, Christian...with all their variations throughout
history); because of the diversity of geographical contexts,
highly accentuated even in Mediterranean regions, with what
this implies for the differentiation of all aspects of open spaces;
and, finally, because of the frequent and almost kaleidoscopic
successive modifications, superimpositions and additions on
top of original structures...
3.2. Looking at mistakes: wrong answers or poorly
formulated questions?
The most frequent mistakes can easily be deduced from a
comparison with these criteria:
The consideration of links and hierarchies in urban spaces,
which must, above all, affect the adoption of different formal
treatments of small-scale schemes and singular spaces.
Finally, the requirement for the necessary technical efficiency.
This aspect will be essential in operations on extensive areas,
which must never by carried out without at the same time
incorporating works to improve infrastructures or include new
networks and technical services.
The insertion of projects into precise time perspectives with
respect to their material – and also formal – durability. The first
caveat does not require justification, but the second does. In
effect, in a singular space we can always opt for formal
approaches with a degree of "atemporality" or, on the
contrary, those attached to a discourse or to tastes that are
Concerning the first of the conditions indicated above, we will
note that operations have frequently been carried out getting
only one of the required components - structural or formal right. For example, pedestrianisation operations or those
reorganising transport with beneficial effects for the
structuring of urban activities but with weak or even negative
forms; or, on the other hand, "decorative" actions without any
effect on the structural order; and even cases that are defective
in both aspects.
On the latter point, we could highlight numerous cases of the
homogenous treatment of fabrics of very diverse origins, which
have had the inevitable effect of creating banal perceptions of
cities, with the deployment everywhere of scenery that flattens
or even distorts the diversity of urban representations.
16
The Special Plan for Rehabilitation of the center of Minorca, from the late 90's,
constitutes a good example of the insertion of strategies of qualification of the open
spaces and of the urban landscape within a framework of urban planning. Those
strategies were articulated in several stages: at a general scale of the city, reordering
the systems of mobility with an aim to “unload” the old center of the excessive
pressure of the automobile; at the scale of the historic center, defining different areas
with regards to accessibility and foreseeing underground parking; and, finally, at a
detailed scale, advancing proposals of redesign of the main public spaces, style of
pavements, definition of urban elements, illumination, commercial scene, etc...
In the image, aerial view of the zone with the Born and the port at focal points..
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Appearance of the traditional pavements in one of the main streets.
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For the third aspect, we have noted all possible types of
imbalance: over-emphasis on certain singular spaces and
devaluation of other no less valuable ones for no other reason
than poor planning or incomprehension by public decisionmakers; shocking contrasts between the richness of certain
singular spaces and the poverty or coarseness of the minor
works; and even paradoxical effects of "inverted emphasis"
resulting from treating small streets, squares and alleys with
dense designs and extravagant, costly materials... while
forgetting the singular spaces (almost always because of the
confluence of two attitudes in the municipal administrations:
on one hand, fear of the complexity usually involved in action
in important spaces;
and, on the other, by seeking
"compensatory" spectacular effects in "minor" areas where
the action does not raise problems or questions.
IV. Action
1
4. Actions limited to adapting minor areas.
4.1 Some proposals on planning criteria.
The approach and methods in this field of action largely coincide
with those which we noted before for complex and "urban scale"
operations, as they will always involve a general background of
minor interventions regardless of the degree of density of their
implications and synergies. But we believe it is necessary to go a
little deeper into this issue because of its importance in
improvement policies.
So, to the conditions indicated above for the "urban scale"
programmes I would add the following specific recommendations
for these actions:
Understanding these works as being meant to improve the
historic built-up fabric in which they are situated and never as
"autonomous" schemes. This involves attitudes of respectful
insertion in context, expressing its specific historical and urban
nature, as we indicated earlier.
A preference for using all kinds of traditional materials and
elements. This does not mean it is not possible to opt
legitimately for other solutions in a thoughtful and justified
way, for example, applying industrialised elements or
combining them with traditional procedures.
The adoption of approaches showing containment of forms,
economy of materials... and also economy of expression, with
design procedures oriented towards rigour and precision in
details (there are few aspects of town planning where we are
so justified in our support for the lesson that “less is more”).
Attention to the typification of elements (kerbs and
boundaries, paving slabs, dropped kerbs, manhole covers,
joints between pavements and buildings, planters...)
considering them as keys to urban syntax and therefore taking
2
16
3
1, 2 and 3.
Different problems with the pavements, 1: deterioration and abandonment of the
majority of the popular areas. 2. Characteristic scene of the first pedestrian
interventions of the 60-70's, with paving stones of absurd geometries and loud
colors. 3. A municipal urban planning program, with a completely miscalculated
design, has damaged the scenery of a large portion of the city center. We see the
massive application of a grey cement paving, completely foreign to the traditional
solutions and in contrast to the architecture.
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IV. Action
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extreme care with their capacity to generate specific images
and identities for the town.
A severe approach in applying street furniture, shunning its use
without good reason, assessing its strict functional justification
and, in all cases, opting for succinct formal elements (nothing
is more deserving of rejection more than the process of making
a beautiful centre banal with the thoughtless and profuse
arrangement of furniture, regardless of its design quality and its
contemporary or historicist attachments).
Extreme attention to lighting, an issue normally forgotten in
town planning regulations or relegated to technical
department routines, although sometimes trivialised in the
choice of lamps, with the sterile clash between "historic
lamps" and "contemporary" elements. Faced with these
limitations and gaps, the lighting plan must intelligently use the
very broad range of options now technically possible to adapt
to all the criteria indicated above, for example, in terms of the
"differentiating the historically different", the hierarchisation of
spaces, adherence to architectural contexts, etc.
4.2. Mistakes: the difficulty of "getting the little things
right", of "caring for the fragile"...
Once again, it is almost unnecessary to refer to the mistakes
detected in this area as they can be gleaned almost directly, in a
negative sense, from the indications and recommendations we
have given.
But, almost symbolically, we would like to refer to some cases of
getting it spectacularly wrong. For example, there is the case of
Ciudadela de Menorca, a magnificent old centre, with an
architectural scene marked by the presence of stone, in golden
limestone blocks for the mansions and churches and, particularly,
in the special marés sandstone of the island, protected with
terracotta or pastel coloured lime wash. And with a few historic
pavements also in slabs of golden limestone, with refined
quartering and combinations, although limited to certain streets,
with precarious and heavily deteriorated asphalt largely
predominating in the centre. Well, in that context a public
programme went ahead a few years ago with the declared aim of
urban improvement, paving a large part of the centre, with the
massive and homogeneous application of probably the least
suitable material that could have been chosen – prefabricated
concrete paving stones – in the least appropriate colour - grey extending it through the network of small streets and the most
valuable squares, clashing ominously with the delicate colour of
the architecture and the strong Mediterranean light.
Proposal of the Special Plan for the “smaller portions”, based upon the
reinterpretation of the traditional models..
Proposal of the Special Plan in the central part of the city center. Directing architect
of the Plan: Francisco Pol.
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5. The main idea of the argument: planning "singular
spaces"
" – Could you tell me what direction I should take?
– That depends on where you want to go..."
from Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
We finally reach the central theme of the argument, the planning
of singular spaces, which I shall approach by differentiating two
planes: a first plane on which I will sketch the premises that, I
believe, should be essential as "rules governing methods" or
"coherence conditions" for schemes; and, a second plane which
will refer to the formal aspects of actions and for which I will
critically examine the validity and relevance of the different
approaches that have been deployed in this field over the last few
years.
I will conclude the explanation by supporting the expressive and
formal perspectives which, from my point of view, can bring
together analytical coherence, methodical rigour and capacity for
aesthetic significance or seduction, and which, because of this,
should preferably guide our working approaches.
IV. Action
5.1. Some proposals on starting points: the "planning
intelligence" needed for analysis work.
Among the premises which, in my opinion, would mark that first
plane of the conceptual basis, I would highlight the following:
Considering the specific features of “the local” (that is, the
specific features of the city where the action is to be carried out
and its regional environment), and using this reflection in many
directions: its impregnation with history (in all forms - cultural,
social, architectural history...), the conditions of the urban and
natural landscape, the tradition of building, images of the city...
But with the caveat that, on occasion, perhaps the most
stimulating indications are derived from the intelligent
combination of local features with a backcloth of global ones...
With this same approach but using a “zoom lens”, we should
try to decipher what is “specific” about the actual place where
the actions are being carried out, in all the forms indicated
above, paying special attention to the conditions of the builtup surroundings and also introducing some samples of its past
and present meanings and uses, its position in the "city's
imagination", its impregnation by historical events, its possible
reminiscences as "a literary place"); its sedimentation in tastes
and sensitivities...
16
Proposals for the area of Plà de Sant Joan, of extreme singularity for the presence of
the city wall and bulwarks of the port and of the Plà, a peculiar passage in which is
centered the spectacular Festival of the Horsemen, in San Juan.
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IV. Action
1
Stone pavement in a narrow street of the Ciudadela.
Examples of actuations based in the quality of the design of the pavements, with
minimizing criteria and refined solutions of detail.
2
4
3
5
16
1, 2 and 3. Stone borders in Granada.
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4 and 5. Surroundings of Larios Street in the center of Málaga. 2004.
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6
7
8
6, 7 and 8. Monells, Catalonia. Pavement and illumination, Architects: J. Fuses and
J.M. Viader. 1996.
IV. Action
Trying to get the scheme to establish some significant
relationships with these contextual conditions, both local and
specific, of the actual place. We should clarify that we will
consider as significant relationships those which might be
stimulated by the scheme, activating thoughts, feelings or
emotions... that is, relationships with a certain capacity to turn
on social subjectivity.
Understanding that the examination of these multiple
conditions of the place and its context will be of little use if it
leads only to a systemisation of information and will be of no
use at all if it is limited to their routine acceptance "because
of the requirements of the script" of "culturally correct"
methodologies. This approach will only be valid based on
planning intelligence; that is, introducing into the course of
the analysis concerns and intentions about the features of the
place that we might use to induce "significant" perceptions
in the sense indicated above and which could also be
modelled with the expressive resources of urban architecture
and design.
Assessing the conditions of coherence between the possible
usage programmes and the contextual and the characteristics
of the space where the action is being carried out.
Final premise: preference for containment and moderation in
all elements of the scheme. Perhaps this last assumption
appears more arguable than the previous ones, more derived
from personal opinions. But I believe it is possible to back it
with various arguments: firstly by simple reference to the
characterisation of open spaces throughout history, where
whispers have predominated much more than shouts (even at
moments of formal exuberance, like the Baroque period, we
find more games of counterpoint or choral resources than
strident arias of ornate elements); secondly because we
understand that, conceptually, historic open spaces must adopt
appropriate forms so that multiple confluences and very diverse
resonances can occur over time; and, thirdly, because the
scenarios of our historic centres are almost always modestly
deployed, with fragile balances that could easily be destroyed
if the elements making up the open spaces are given an
outlandishly prominent role.
It should be said that this cautious attitude, which some might
label Puritan, would also allow exceptions; for example faced
with scenarios that have almost vanished or become disjointed,
where the use of dense discourses can be justified in order to
contribute to giving them significance.
5.2. Some kinds of loss.
As with the comments we have made concerning the other forms
of action, in this case, too, a simple explanation of the premises
makes it possible to characterise the mistakes generated by failing
to follow them. So, a scheme guided by a reading of the context
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IV. Action
and sticking to conventional coded characterisations will very
easily fall into tiresome stereotyped repetition and, it is worth
repeating, will make the place where it is carried out a
commonplace. A mistake in the choice of references, assigning
excessive importance to irrelevant themes, can lead to distorting
or extravagant configurations. Basing the scheme on a poor
understanding of the specific conditions and significances can
lead to mistaken or false expressions. Proud distancing or
indifference in reading the contextual conditions will very probably
be translated into unnaturally vain "cries for attention" to the
contribution of the author...
In the interests of keeping the argument flowing, we will avoid
more detailed criticisms bar a few notes concerning two issues
which cannot be directly deduced from failure to comply with the
premises set out above:
16
The first issue concerns the frequent contradictions between
the functional programme and formal responses, with two
frequent and very different attitudes: on one hand, those who
attempt to tie the project strictly to supposedly "objectivised"
functional requirements; and, on the other, those who
arbitrarily try to tie subsequent uses to the capricious
impositions of the scheme.
Secondly, the preference for the profusion of materials,
elements or constructions, an expression of a certain "fear of
vacuum" caused, I believe, by various factors: firstly, many
planners' lack of theoretical understanding of the essential
shape of open spaces as vacuums, giving rise to the
automatic reaction of the architect, who tends to deploy
"constructions", considering them the only way of giving the
project impact. Secondly, the tendency to consider open
space as a sectorial and, therefore attrezzato facility. And,
finally, the inertia of the "domestic taste" which for so long
impregnated the traditional bourgeoisie, with its conception
of home as a setting for a multi-coloured accumulation of
objects (in passing, we invite the reader to look at the
masterly analyses of Baudrillard or Moles concerning systems
of objects, and compare the explanations in these of the
motivations in the traditional bourgeois home with what
happens in many of our public spaces, which seem to be
meant to appear like an interior crammed with furniture,
decoration and knick-knacks).
6. Formal languages in planning "singular spaces”.
Considering these brief comments on the premises and criteria on
which all schemes for singular spaces should be based, we can
now deal with the central theme of my account: the analysis of
the different formal perspectives for tackling interventions.
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6.1. An initial warning: the paradoxical fact that historical
spaces offer few opportunities for "ripristino" schemes.
I will begin with a warning which I consider essential to the
argument: there is very little scope for basing schemes on
rehabilitation criteria and ripristino methods.
At first sight, perhaps such a bald statement might appear
unjustified, as the possibility of applying methods similar to those
of rehabilitation interventions on historic buildings to this field
might appear reasonable.
However, nothing could be further from what is revealed to us by
an analysis of the issue. In fact, because of the particular features
of Spanish urban history, there are very few spaces that have been
created with single worthwhile schemes and which have then
undergone negative transformations that would justify actions
aimed at recovering or reinterpreting such a pristine layout. In
contrast with the firm and refined architectural and ornamental
characterisation acquired by many spaces in European cities in the
16th and, above all, in the 17th and 18th centuries, with the great
formal resources of the Baroque and then Neoclassicism, in Spain
the majority of the most important urban spaces had still not, by the
middle of the 19th century, been brought up to standard. So, what
would be revealed to us by an analysis of the historical evolution of
many singular spaces would not be a valuable basic configuration
but rather successive adaptations, without an imprint of any great
value towards which we might direct attempts at rehabilitation. The
abundant iconography on the urban landscapes most representative
of our centres in the first half of the 19th century very clearly
illustrates these claims (see, for example, the collections of views
created by French and English Romantic travellers of the first half of
the 19th century, such as Laborde in 1810, Taylor in 1823, Chapuy
in 1844... showing the predominance of irregular, neglected
pavements of bare earth or, in the best cases, disorderly flush stones
or slabs in many of the spaces with greatest historical value) des cas,
empierrés ou dallés de manière chaotique).
6.2. The diversity of formal approaches: from "historicist
routes" to the deployment of contemporary languages
with no intention of inserting them into the context.
The implications of the above considerations when it comes to
approaching a scheme are very clear: if material or documentary
traces with sufficient, convincing value cannot be found in the
past to be revived or reconstructed with any certainty, the tensions
that characterise any "ex novo" design tend to arise.
However, noting that the ripristino does not work does not mean
we can approach schemes as "free experiments". Instead we are
in situations similar to those marking a scheme for a new building
within a historic fabric; that is, having to work with the criteria
and methods of contextual insertion which have become attached
to modern architectural culture (although in the case of open
spaces there is rarely such detailed organisation as in building
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IV. Action
schemes). It should not need to be said that these considerations
will never lead to single formal solutions or even common general
guidelines. For this reason, it is not surprising that the trails the
actions carried out in Spain since the early '80s have been blazing
are very different ones.
A first basic scheme of analysis would be to distinguish two
general orientations that clash violently (because they are rooted
not so much in reflections and opinions but in tastes that are
deeply embedded in personal subjectivity and social preferences):
languages predominantly linked to continuity with tradition,
rooted in the tastes and forms of historical architecture and the
old city.
languages where contemporary resources from both
architectural languages and those of the artistic avant-garde
predominate.
6.3. Planning orientations following "historical forms"
We can distinguish various nuances within these attitudes:
The Plaza Mayor of Madrid in the 17th century. J. De la Corte, 1623. The plaza was
unpaved until the mid 19th century, period in which it was adapted first as a type of
French royal square, with its pavement and installation of the equestrian statue of
Felipe III in its center. Later, following reports of Anglo-Saxon squares, it would initiate
a process of displacements which would continue until recent dates.
Engravings by Nicolas Chapuy, in Vues de Espagne, edited in Paris in 1844.
preferences for renovation or conservative adaptation.
the routes of imitation.
interpretation procedures.
6.3.1. Preferences for "conservative adaptation".
Conservative actions motivated by the requirements of repair or
partial recovery or the functional or technical adaptation of
spaces, maintaining some valuable features, have been frequent.
We would highlight, for example, that carried out in the Plaça del
Mercat in Vic, consolidating and functionally improving its very
unusual and attractive bare earth surface.
This approach, if developed coherently, will make it possible to
achieve some interesting results precisely because it brings
together three very unusual aspects: the honesty involved in
accepting the pre-eminence of "inherited" values; modesty in
renouncing personal expressiveness; and the search for quality in
the refinement and precision of construction.
6.3.2. The "historicist imitation" routes.
These routes include "ex novo" actions with notable planning
density resorting to forms imitating historical languages. They are
culturally legitimate options provided they are developed based on
rigorous knowledge. This will clearly differentiate them from the
stage sets proposed by amateurs or incompetent professionals.
They will be advisable above all in very significant settings, with
architectural surroundings that have a strong historical character
which have been treated in an unfortunate or incongruous way
and which require notable transformation.
The choice of specific historical references for modelling the
scheme could correspond to different motivations, for example,
Seville, Plaza de la Constitución.
16
Madrid, Plaza de Santa Cruz.
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IV. Action
the intention to link with the dominant architectural languages in
the area; the interest in highlighting a certain type of architecture
considered as the focus; the will to evoke a certain historical
period considered particularly important for the place, etc.
It is true that the results of these approaches can be dull if they
lazily rely on the simple application of a repertoire, but they in no
way exclude inventive planning work. Maurice Culot, who
championed this route with the slogan “imitation, an adventure in
creation” provided more than a few reasons to support its
coherence.
The recovery of the Plaça Reial in Barcelona, the work of Correa y
Milá, which involved important elements of conservation, would
be a successful example of these approaches.
6.3.3. The "historicist interpretation" procedures
These are close to the imitation routes but there are subtle
differences, perhaps more because of the attitudes of the planners
than because of the actual results (to use a theatrical simile, we
might speak in these cases of preferences for the distancing that
Brecht called for in representations of his works). They do not
attempt to be accurate, like the imitative projects, but rather
intellectually convincing. They try to be severely didactic rather
than cheerfully narrative...
We might indicate the Plaza del Ayuntamiento in Murcia as a
successful example of this route. This work by Rafael Moneo,
carried out at the same time as his scheme for the new City Hall,
is based on a pavement with a geometrical layout linking the three
big pieces of architecture making up the square, using an old
resource of Baroque, although with contemporary quartering and
details.
The intervention in the Plaza de la Catedral in Almería, by Alberto
Campo Baeza, would also correspond to this approach. It consists
of a broad horizontal plane paved in white marble slabs,
structured in a grid following the internal modulation of the
cathedral, with slim palm trees situated at the crossing points
interpreting the structures of pillars and columns.
16
6.3.4. Some caveats: the difficult balances of historicist
orientations between the rigour of the analogies and distortion of
"the antique".
The intrusions of incompetent professionals or amateur political
leaders that we have already mentioned are usually expressed in
images with a supposedly "antique" flavour, for obvious reasons:
firstly, because they trust in these being "in tune" with the most
widespread public tastes; and, secondly, because these languages
are apparently easy to use, backed by repertoires of street furniture,
street lamps and all kinds of knick-knacks (including the advertising
artefacts that have distorted the scene in so many centres).
Those resources have, on many occasions, created images we
might describe as grotesque, in the sense Valle Inclán gave to this
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term: in the same way as grotesque in literature consisted of
reflecting the models of the classical heroes in the distorting
mirrors of the Callejón del Gato in Madrid, these urban grotesques
would turn out as fatter or thinner – but always deformed and
vulgar – reflections of the historic city's models of open space.
6.4. The pre-eminence of contemporary languages, without
attention or intention concerning historic contexts.
Within these perspectives we can distinguish many lines of
planning, almost as many as the different tendencies that have
become ingrained in architectural languages since the days of the
avant-garde. But, for the purposes of this argument, the most
important thing will perhaps be to identify two, very different,
attitudes:
"minimising" approaches, with extreme expressive reduction.
preferences for deploying forms with a “strong presence”.
6.4.1. “No illusions, no allusions”: the contained resources of
minimalism.
These attitudes would above all fit into the extensive field of
minimalism, which for many years has occupied an important
position on the architectural scene. Because of this, we might
characterise them by paraphrasing what is probably the most
precise definition of this artistic tendency: “no illusions, no
allusions” with respect to the historical contexts in which they are
set.
These formal schemes prefer coldness to warmth; the correct
greeting to the cordial conversation; neutrality to sympathy;
figures to stories... These are attitudes which, at times, can end in
indifference or distant contempt, but which in other cases reach
the level of elegant respect.
The majority of actions included in these approaches have
basically limited themselves to the "ground plane" sometimes,
but only for good reasons, including succinct protuberances:
because of this they can be justified in very heterogeneous
environments; generators of architectural babble before which
any "absorbent layer" will be received with gratitude. But they
can also be appropriate on sites bounded by extraordinary singular
or tumultuously expressive architecture, before which they play
the role of musical silences in relation to moments of pathos.
We would highlight some interesting actions coming within these
criteria, like the Passeig del Angel, work of Rafael de Cáceres, or
the Plaça de la Catedral, both in the centre of Barcelona.
6.4.2. Exasperation and exacerbation in the prevalence of
contemporary languages.
In common with minimalist approaches, these have a certain
disinterest in expressing the significances of the context and a
refusal to assume the improvement and highlighting of the
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Appearance of the Plaza de Vic, Catalonia, at the end of the 90's, after its
rehabilitation, traditionally unpaved.
The front of the new city hall in the plaza was conceived as a contemporary reelaboration of the traditional plans of the “retable-facades”, with tones of geometric
abstraction.
The Plaza Real of Barcelona. Rehabilitation project by Correa and Milá (1982).
The plaza was formed at the beginning of the 19th century as a result of the
demolition of a convent during the Desamortización. Originally it did not have any
vegetation. At the end of the 19th century, palm trees were planted and in the mid
20th century it was reformed with a topical solution of flower beds, while still
maintaining its aggressive automobile use. The project “cleansed” this space,
eliminating the flower beds, valuing the palm trees and accenting the presence of the
original Gaudí street lamps. At the same time it projected a new pavement of stone,
redesigned the benches, etc...
Adaptation project of the Plaza del Cardinal Belluga in Murcia developed in parallel
to the project of the new municipal seat. Rafael Moneo, 1993-98.
The design of the pavement is based on a system of spokes that link the most valued
buildings -the Cathedral, the new city hall, the Palace of the cardinal Belluga- also
highlighting the visual elements of the streets which lead to the setting.
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historic surroundings as a central aim of the scheme. But they are
differentiated from them because of their greater "density of
objects" (regardless of whether they opt for one contemporary
language or another), and, above all, by their desire for autonomy,
which often ends up achieving excessive pre-eminence over the
surrounding contexts.
The deployment of these projects has often corresponded to
emphatic self-affirmation or "affirmation of the author", coming
within the attitudes of "exaltation" that Colin Rowe and Fred
Koetter so caustically identify when referring to the arrogant
attitudes of the "heroic" avant-garde. And, in some cases, we can
also identify malicious attempts to use context as a pretext to
make the text of the project shine even more.
As at many other points of this explanation, we do not want these
critical warnings to be understood as dogmatic rejections for all
times and places. Nor can we exclude the possibility that these
approaches could lead to interesting results in cases of very poorly
delineated or altered environments (never, of course, in places of
high value). And, of course, provided they are entrusted to
planners of recognised solidity and come within a public debate.
16
But, even in these circumstances, we should be aware that these
options perhaps do not compensate for the risks involved. Too
many cases sadly justify these warnings: from the reckless
disappointment of the reform of Les Halles in Paris to the very
many projects scattered in so many historic cities in our country,
competing to exalt "innovation" and modern "rupture".
We were talking before about the grotesque in terms of certain
"neo-antique" orientations which clumsily tried to imitate great
classical models. But we should also speak of modern grotesques
in so many works which, despite their pretensions, remain clumsy
imitations of great landmarks of contemporary architecture.
In Seville, this option has recently been tried, with a hypertrophied
and tumultuous proposal for the Plaza de la Encarnación, a place
of very complex and contradictory historical and urban
conditioning factors. We hope the obvious risks of this proposal
will be overcome satisfactorily, finally resolving an environment
which has been the subject of so many and such different ideas
since the '80s and which we might consider as a "laboratory in
extreme conditions" of the issues that concern us.
1
1 and 2.
Rehabilitation of the Portal del Angel in Barcelona.
This avenue took its present form with successive reforms of the original historic
course. It is an important communication from the old city to the central enclave of
the Plaza de Catalonia, acting also as an important commercial axis with a dense flow
of pedestrians. The project tries to adapt to these conditions with a neutral formal
solution, based on the horizontal continuity of a homogenous paving, and accenting
lineality with a new disposition of the old street lamps, in an extensive line duplicated
by new lighting, characteristic of that of sports events.
Architects: A. Montes and J. Alemany, 1992.
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6.4.3. A mistaken route fortunately now closed off: erroneously
resorting to the post-modern.
Between fidelity to tradition and combative enlistment in
contemporaneity, in the '70s a trend emerged which took on a
certain resonance until the beginning of the '90s and which was
based on an attempt to revise architectural modernity (and also
the formulas of modern town planning, rooted in functionalism)
attempting to overcome its supposed "failures" by reinventing
"other" modern forms providing continuity with history.
As is well known, very diverse formulas were brought together in
this form of planning (or, to put it better, in this fashion) resulting
from the process of criticism of the codification of the Modern
Movement which erupted in the '70s and which – let's not forget
– made its accusations and proposals in a climate extended to
many other fields (philosophy, literary analysis, art, even politics)
included under the very appropriate term post-modernism.
It would be wildly pretentious to try, in this small-scale context, to
offer a serious assessment of such a complex phenomenon. We
can mention some accurate contributions on the matter that
concerns us: firstly, the full justification of its criticism of the
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codifications of modernity for the way it had relegated the
concepts and images of historic open spaces and, in general,
traditional cities; its caustic denunciation of the "unbearable
lightness" or even "negative energies" (to use two clichéd slogans
of the language of those years) of the urban open spaces
generated from these codifications; thirdly, the call for attention to
suggestions of historically established resources and forms of
construction and, fourthly, the support for "material" and
"mental" models of the traditional city to come up with essential
ways to link the disparate urban proliferations of the so-called
boom period and to structure new growth.
However, barring some exceptions, in practice they did not live up
to the expectations these theoretical discourses had generated. In
our field, the coincidence of the deployment of this tendency with
the emergence of the new improvement policies for open spaces
from the end of the '70s to the end of the '80s explains its effect
on the language of many interventions.
It is not possible to make a general judgment, as interesting works
were carried out from these perspectives, as well as some
conventional ones and others worthy of rejection, occasionally
16
3
3 and 4.
Avenida de la Catedral, Barcelona.
This Avenue is the result of an urban reformation, unconcluded because of the
interruption of the opening of the Gran Via. The actuation wanted to respond to the
confusing collection of inherited spaces, and build a huge underground parking
garage at the same time.
A solution of great formal simplicity was adopted, accenting the value of the great
flat central “emptiness”, paved in light-colored granite, which links the diverse
architecture of the plaza. The interior of the parking garage is linked environmentally
with the exterior by way of the continuity of the pavements and of the transparency
of the access and ventilation elements.Architects: M. Quintana and M.Periel. 1990.
4
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bordering on the kitsch. Undoubtedly these differences are partly
derived from the level of talent of their authors but also from the
"dose" of historical references (with the contained having a very
different effect from the prolix, and allusion from reiteration) and
from its means of expression (as the justified quotation or
restrained re-elaboration is not the same as the arbitrary
digression or shocking piece of irony). So, at one extreme we
might place works like the local squares in Gracia, by Bach y Mora,
with restrained resources in a post-modern key but with elegant
design and within a discourse dedicated to highlighting the
contexts, or the Moll de la Fusta, by M. Solà Morales, in Barcelona,
also with some post-modern re-elaborations of Catalan
Modernism but well integrated into the central objective of the
work: resolving complex problems of contact between the city and
the port. And, at the opposite extreme, we would place works
such as the reform of the Plaza del Pilar and its surroundings in
1
3
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2
1 and 2.
Examples of interventions in the old center of Tarragona, in archeological areas of the
Roman Tarraco, realized in the late 90's, with the participation of different architects.
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Zaragoza based on disseminated anecdotes (geographical reliefs
alluding to the Discovery of America and to "Spanishness" with all
kinds of sheets of water and arches alluding to the Roman past),
the reckless use of functional elements elevated to the level of
compositional markers (lamps), heavy and unnecessary stage sets
attempting to compensate for the irregularities and discontinuities
in the fabric, etc.
5
3, 4 and 5.
Remodeling of the Plaza de la Encarnación. Project by Jürgen Mayer, winner of the
2004 Contest.
The succession of debates and proposals over this place, in the center of Seville,
shows the special complexity of the interventions in areas with existing archeology.
At the beginning of the 80's the reordering of the zone was trusted to a project by
G. Vázquez Consuegra, that resolved the most difficult demands of the program – a
parking garage and a new structuring of the market implanted in the zone – with a
measured project with the traditional/modern resources characteristic of the “Seville
school” of that time.
The previous archeological excavations unearthed a substrate of great value of the
Roman and Arab cities.
After years of strong polemics, an international contest was held which demanded
the simultaneous fulfilling of evaluation criteria of the archeological remains, of the
implantation of a market and of the formation of substantial public spaces.
Mayer's project was based on a 30 m. tall structure in the form of an aluminum
“mushroom”, crowning the roof with a vegetative mat.
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7. Other arguments, other indications.
The context as incitement to contemporary planning
7.1. Working with "materials of memory" based on
sensitivities and languages committed to contemporaneity.
We can now finally deal with the crux of the matter that most
interests us: proposing a planning route that would be different
from the ones mentioned above because of its attention and
tension towards "the historical", "the contextual", "the local",
but committed in its expression to contemporary architectural and
artistic languages.
This perspective, whose first approaches are found in some works
by Gregotti and other Italian critics, clearly corresponds to the
propositions and debates on the links between innovation and
contextuality of new building in historic environments which have
punctuated this field of the architectural debate from the "other
avant-gardes" of the '30s (Asplund, Lewerentz, etc.) or the Italian
architecture of the '50s to increasingly varied recent experiments.
But, beyond the perception of some common aspects, we will
soon have to point out that the notable differences between the
two objects - "construction" and "open space" - will, from a
certain point, require the promotion of some specific lines of
method and planning in this latter field. These differences above
all concern:
the lower level of tension between function and form. In effect,
while in architectural planning formal modelling will be
situated as part of a complex set of responses to use, in open
spaces functional requirements for formalisation will almost
always be much less pronounced (in the majority of cases
reorganisation of surfaces previously dedicated to parking or
traffic, or occupied by spurious installations).
a shorter timescale than that for buildings. New architecture in
a singular historical context will almost always be intended to
last, both in the planning of the developer and in the intentions
of the planner. By contrast, this desire will rarely be expressed
in intervention in an open space, largely because of the cultural
assumptions concerning the very flexibility intrinsic in open
spaces... as spaces for communication, providing significance.
But, speaking of this characterisation as creating significance takes
us right to the heart of the debate. In effect, the strength of this
method of planning will essentially lie in the sequential
elaboration of significances and forms, in which the tension will
concern the following issues:
the identification of the "themes" or "significant references",
a task which will hardly ever be deduced mechanically from an
analysis of the place but instead will require a certain
intelligence of argument.
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the choice of the "means" or "resources" to express these
themes.
the setting of objectives related to improvements in the urban
structure.
the formal elaborations, in all their aspects of design, materials,
vegetation, urban elements, works of "urban art", etc.
In the first aspect, we must underline that the “materials of
memory” of the place may be of very different kinds: urban or
architectural traces – persistent, poorly drawn or faded; events of
the past; impregnations from certain uses; the very varied
expressions of the imagination of a city or a history; even literary
"atmospheres"...
The dispersal and heterogeneity of these aspects, which
sometimes even contradict one another, will require a certain
selection, as in any operation involving memory: the work of
Borges is a constant warning of the fraud of lack of memory but
also of the suffocation of life caused by excess memory (Funes el
memorioso). Our task in this field – which is actually the first part
of the planning process – will be precisely to extract the aspects
that could contribute to a more rigorous knowledge of the past by
our contemporaries, something which could open up new
perspectives on history or on the present day, which could
overturn inherited stereotypes and, above all, which could surprise
and therefore encourage curiosity and interest, stimulating new
tastes (remember Nietzche's accurate aphorism on the greater
importance in history of changes in taste than changes in opinion)
On the second aspect, and while we are talking about procedures
providing significance, we will surely find the clearest suggestions
concerning expressive "means" in literary resources. So, the
possibility of using the subtlety of allusion, or the delicate nuances
of evocation will be sketched out for us... ; or the route with the
strictest limits of transcription, of didactic explanation or the
"critical commentary on texts"; or games of mixing up,
détournement; and why not the unpicking of digression...; or the
experimentation of transtextuality... But, always, one way or
another, a story will be sketched out or poetic figures deployed....
Now dealing with the last aspect, it is very important to underline
that, sometimes, it will not be possible to model our expressive
intentions only with the resources of architectural languages. But,
these cases, which in my opinion are the most frequent ones, can
lie within other much broader fields of formal ideas: those
explored by the contemporary arts, from the first avant-garde to
1
16
2
1 and 2.
“The plazas of Gracia”. One of the most important programs in the urban
requalification strategy taken on by the City government of Barcelona in the
beginning of the 80's. It was centered in the old village of Gracia, characterized by a
tight urban fabric, punctuated by a few plazas of nearly domestic scale.
The projects were entrusted to Jaume Bach and Gabriel Mora.
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the latest contributions. So, a certain "theme of argument" can
suggest the use of a collage based on Cubism. Another perhaps
incites a game involving assemblage or the Dadaist objet trouvé.
Another place perhaps incites metaphysical kinds of taste, while still
others perhaps call for a tough expressionist emphasis. But, above
all, it will be the most recent trends that will incite the most
suggestive explorations: conceptual art, the minimal, and the
povera; the very varied claims of the event versus the work, from the
happening to performance; the extended territory of installations,
and land art with its many branches and still open derivations...
We are advocating a route which is undoubtedly a biased and
therefore a risky one. But it is obvious that these risks are no
different from those always taken by new architecture in historic
surroundings, from the moment it attempts to go beyond
imitative languages while at the same time attending to
contextual significance. They are the attractions and also the risks
that always derive from using imagination in planning and which
are so well expressed in André Breton's phrase: “Chére
imagination: ce que j’aime plus de toi ce que tu ne pardonnes
pas”. (Dear imagination: what I like most about you is that you do
not forgive).
16
“El Moll de la Fusta”, Barcelona. Project: Manuel de Solá-Morales, 1981
One of the most important actuations in the urban policies of City Hall, oriented
toward the idea of “opening Barcelona to the sea”. It effected an extensive area of
nearly 10 ha.
The rigid and aggressive barrier of the Ronda Litoral was eliminated by forcing it
underground. A pedestrian passage-way was created with a series of connections for
its linking with the level lower pier. It was developed in several phases.
The photograph corresponds to the initial phase of the construction.
The solution of the “facade” toward the pier, in stone and with its succession of
parabolic arches, as well as the finishing bulwarks, in glazed ceramic elements,
alludes to the characteristic solutions of the traditional architecture and, above all, to
the Catalan modernism.
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1
4
2
5
1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.
Intervention in the city wall of Cartegena and its surroundings. J.M. Torres Nadal.
1994.
The project articulates several objectives: valuing the weaving of the wall and
adapting the land that extends from its base; re-qualifying the upper open space as
a passage, stimulating its magnificent views of the bay and valuing its urban facade;
and facilitating the connections between the two planes with a series of central
stairways forming attractive “wells of light”
1 and 2. Aspects of the city wall.
3. Details of new “railings” and pavement of the Paseo de borde.
4. In order to “signal” the position of the linking nucleus with the lower level a plastic
element has been used which achieves the designation of insignia of that component
of the project.
5. Design of illumination elements which play a formal role, “punctuating” the
contact with the urban facade of the Passage.
16
3
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6
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7
8
6, 7, 8 and 9.
Rehabilitation of the Paseo de Ronda of the city walls of Palma de Mallorca.
E. Torres and J.A. Martínez Lapeña. 1983-93.
As William Curtis points out, it deals with an “orchestration of a series of events in
an unfolding of transformations disposed upon a precise geometry of triangulation.
In that lineal order are inserted curiosities and fragments which open up association
of ideas and interrelations”.
For example, in the theatre, references foreign to the chapel of Ronchamp can be
seen in the disposition of the benches and the scenery, such as in the tarp... In this
element the reference to sailing ships is reinforced by the use of the colors of the old
Mallorcan navy. Also, however, the intention of re-elaborating an exceptional work
of Gaudí and Jujol can be perceived, close to this place: the baldachin of the
Cathedral.
At the border of the “theatre”. the imprints of seats in the “boxes” formed by an
inclined plane of cement explore resources of surreal roots. The cells of the wood of
the background, with pieces whose profiles recall the traditional balustrades of the
city, transport us to gestalt perceptions of background/figure, the same as with other
elements, such as the tunnel, of cut section with a similar silhouette.
This skillful unfolding of the projected imagination is extended to all the detail: we
distinguish the pieces of concrete that form the pavement, which the authors named
“stone of Palma”, in which we can perceive the image of two crisscrossed palm trees
and at the same time an allusion to the rough trunk of the nearby palm trees. It is
true that this type of interventions runs the risk to falling into a “constructed
literature” with the weakness of a postmodern anecdote. But as Curtis points out,
these risks are saved, in this case, by a rigorous work of abstraction, by wise attitudes
of ambiguity and by a clear ordering of the projected intentions.
16
9
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1
16
2
3
1 and 2.
Ramps of the Castle of Castelldefells.
E.Torres and J.A. Martínez Lapeña, 1990.
The project organizes the pedestrian accesses to the castle with a prolonged zigzag
of ramps, defined by a repetitive element which acts simultaneously as a constructive
and formal function: folded weathering steel panels which serve as molds for the
retaining walls and give a strong contemporary image to this historic landscape.
3.
Maritime passage of the Barceloneta. Project by J. Henrich and O. Tarrassó. 1992-95.
Actuation of special transcendence in the recuperation of the maritime front of
Barcelona toward the beach of the Barceloneta. It is formed by a series of levels with
jagged profiles, which toward the interior embrace the geometry of the outline of the
district, and toward the beach with the serpentine and ever changing profiles of the
encounter with the sand of the sea.
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4
6
5
4, 5, 6 and 7.
Plaza de la Marina, Málaga. Manuel de Solá-Morales.
This actuation responded to some of the most frequent functional objectives in the
adaptation of large open spaces in the old city centers: the reordering of the course
of thoroughfares and the construction of a large underground parking, basis for the
vital recuperation of the exterior areas.
The reordering of the area converts what before was a transportation link into a
space for being, which links with the underground space of the parking garage by
way of diverse design resources, among which stands out a large double level
fountain, which acts as a focus of light and freshness and which maintains the
“memory” of a pre-existing fountain.
The project uses, with a certain eclecticism, resources alluding to different languages:
from roof gardens, with allusions to ripe grain; to the fountain, a contemporary reelaboration of classic models or the benches and walls with tiles of regional
references.
7
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The role of open space: two projects
on Crete and Cyprus
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Socrates Stratis
PhD architect and town planner
Lecturer in the Department of Architecture at the University
of Cyprus
Reprogramming urban voids through a project based logic action
in architecture : a self reflective comparative analysis of a project
in Athienou, Cyprus and a project in Heraklion, Crete, Greece.
Generating voids as a transitional political act
One of the pre-election promises of the mayor of Heraklion, Crete,
Greece, (200,000 inhabitants), was to get rid of the Redistribution
Centre of Fruits and Vegetables (built in the 50s), located near the
waterfront of the historical city of Heraklion, Crete. Through an
European architectural competition (Europan 4, 1995-96)1 the city
had formulated concerns and asked for proposals for the
regeneration of a large part of the old city waterfront including
the site of the Redistribution Centre of Fruits and Vegetables.
In Athienou, Cyprus (5,000 inhabitants), the very well planned
municipality bought a private parcel in the historical centre of the
community through an investment policy. In the parcel there was
a house built in the 50s and around it there were mostly
residences, a few shops and a cooperative bank.
In the case of Heraklion we won the competition2 through a
strategic plan of re-inserting limits (mostly temporal), between the
city and the sea. We were assigned among other things to study
the site of the former Redistribution Centre of Fruits and
Vegetables. Meanwhile, the mayor had been reelected and the
building was demolished leaving behind a void.
In the case of Athienou, the municipality demolished the private
house and was wondering what to do with the void left behind in
the centre of the community.
In the mean time, both of the sites were being used as parking
places. In Heraklion, it is in fact being used as an organized
municipal parking area and in Athienou it was used as parking for
the users of the nearby shops and Cooperative Bank. Two voids
with a potential undefined urban role.
16
A project based logic action in architecture
When one refers to a project based logic action in architecture,
there is an emphasis on non linear processes that take place
between the various actors that are involved into the making of
architecture. In this case there is an emphasis on a non linear
process into the reprogramming of urban voids. Actors in this case
regarding Athienou are the study team (architect, engineers)3, the
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Often, the vacuums generated by demolitions are used as parking lots. The
architectural project should give motives for recuperating them as public spaces.
mayor and the technical services of the municipality, the
Department of Planning and Housing (co-funding the project), the
Cooperative Bank (co-funding the land purchase), the users. In the
case of Heraklion, Crete the actors are the study team (architects,
engineers)4, two mayors and a few assistant mayors, (in the range
of ten years we had the experience of shifting of political actors),
the technical services of the municipality, the institutions that fund
the project (regional government, European funding through the
Central Greek government), the local architects organization, a
scientific committee that supervises the project and consists of
representatives of relevant government services, etc. The reason I
am referring to all these actors is to demonstrate in fact the
difficulties of proposing re-programming of existing situations and
having it approved and complied through various actors.
Usually what we encounter in these cases is a rigid set of problems
handed out by the client to the architects, seeking a rigid set of
answers from the architectural team involved. The process of
giving the answer and having it approved is rather linear with the
various actors being involved in a linear chronological manner.
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The role of open space: two projects on Crete and Cyprus
In both projects we proposed in fact, implicitly and explicitly a
non linear process of making things through flexible
frameworks of directions for defining and implementing the
projects. We shifted indeed, our role beyond the classical role
of the architect and we found ourselves involved directly or
indirectly in processes before and after what we were
supposed to be normally doing.
The political difficulties of reprogramming voids
After a few years of winning the competition in Heraklion and
thanks to a positive for us political condition we were called to talk
to the client about the redevelopment of the void left behind after
the demolition of the Fruits and Vegetables Distribution Centre.
We faced then a monolithic vision for the future of the void which
was a “green balcony of the city facing the sea” (Heraklion lies 7
meters above sea level). A political slogan used in fact for the preelection period. We were called indeed, to “green” the void that
was generated by the municipality of the city (the client).
For the case of Athienou, we had to persuade the municipality
that to give an urban role to the void they generated in the centre
of their community could not be done by the placement of a
water fountain in the centre and parking around.
In the meantime, the role given to the new voids as parking places
was thriving. For Athienou, the shop owner and his clients as well
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as the bank users and employees were more than happy to the
informal new status of the void. In Heraklion, the neighbors
started paying visits to the mayor insisting on the “voidness” of
their adjacent open space.
Shifting roles of an architect for reprogramming voids
In both cases we shifted our role in re-questioning the role of such
voids and their capacity to regenerate new urban conditions. With
an excellent collaboration with both municipalities we reworked
the program that usually is given fixed to the architects. For the
case of Athienou it was much simpler and in a smaller scale than
that of Heraklion.
The question for the Athienou case was in fact, how a void
created by the demolition of a private house can get an urban
role, more than just a parking spot? We proposed in that logic, a
hybrid building that could function as a mediator between private
and public domain related to space, time and uses. A small linear
building is placed actually, at the one edge of the open space
creating a filter with the adjacent road and opening out to the rest
of the open space. Its role for creating conditions of reconciliation
between the public and the private is concentrated on periodic
and everyday uses of the space (see diagrams 1-4). The building is
a structure of enclosed and covered spaces housing open-air
theatre events (changing-rooms, toilets), a coffee shop and a
playground, (see images).
16
Model of the scheme for Athienou
Model of the scheme for Athienou
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Diagram of the proposal for Heraklion
16
For the case of Heraklion the process of shifting roles for the
architectural team has been much more complex. Our studies
started long before the contract was assigned to us thanks to a
Europan culture of winners’ enthusiasm5. We developed in fact, a
series of scenarios of reprogramming the void of the former
Redistribution Centre of Fruits and Vegetables. These scenarios
facilitated the municipality to direct their own priorities and mostly
to persuade the State and European funding institutions for
funding a possible project. Early on, the municipality joined our
point of view of searching for possible uses that could give an
active urban role to the void. The politics of “greening” the void
stayed aside giving the possibility to propose possible reprogramming of the void.
Part of the program has been adapted and re-adjusted by the
European funding program, Urban II, (Centre of Rehabilitation and
Re-education and public square facilities). Succeeding of getting
funds through Urban II became indeed, the catalyst for further
funding from various sources. In this case, the role of the
architectural team was double: firstly to assure the coherence of
the project which was funded by at least four different funding
sources and secondly to take into account the political “vision” of
the openness of the void. Both of the tasks were rather complex
and tricky.
For the first case, the architectural team was put into a sort of
managing the limits between the areas funded by different
sources. Those areas were both juxtaposed and even more
difficult, superimposed in order to activate the void. A quite rich
program was approved after our proposals for re-programming
the void: Centre of Rehabilitation and Re-education,
neighborhood centre, parking garage for 132 cars, annexed
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building of a Municipal Youth Centre (internet café), periodic
market for antiques, info kiosks and kiosks for selling the products
of the Rehabilitation and Re-education Centre.
For the second case, that was taking into account the political
“vision” of the openness of the void most of the program has
been put under the street level (the Rehabilitation / Re-educational
Centre and the parking garage). The void on the street level
became a surface where the complex program is registered in
various ways. The Rehabilitation / Re-educational Centre registers
with a large linear covered space. It becomes a point of reference
for the re-programming of the void and an entrance space for the
program under the street level. The rest of the site is developed in
such a way as to give importance to the under street main spaces.
A lowered public space functions as an intermediate space
between the street level and the Rehabilitation / Re-educational
Centre. A sort of garden and a kids’ playground is proposed in
that space taking into account its protection from car traffic and
strong northern winds. The Internet Café and the periodic market
activate the open space on street level, (see images)
Difficulties in shifting the status of the void
In Athienou the project was implemented in 2000. The first
reaction came from the users of the void as a parking area. A
clever response from the municipality was to let the users to park
for a while in the public space until the new users would have
evolved and take over: kids playing in the playground guarded by
their grandparents, coffee shop tenants etc.) Then, they were
forced to move to the adjacent parking area. There are still indeed,
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disputes amongst the inhabitants who would have preferred a
“non active void”. Nevertheless, they all attend the open air
theatrical events that take place as well as the New Year’s Eve
celebration.
One major point to stress is that the actual re-programming of the
void is taking place in various levels. One level refers to the
decisions taken about the program by the municipality with the
implication of the architectural team. The second level refers to
the layout of the program by the architectural team and how it
creates conditions of activating the void. The third level of reprogramming takes places on a daily and on periodic base by the
users themselves. A sort of re-programming that lets its traces on
the space completing in fact the public space.
In the case of Heraklion the project will be implemented in phases.
The first phase will be ready by the end of 2006 and the rest by
the end of 2007-2008. The shifting of the status of the void into
its new condition remains to be seen as well as the way it will be
re-programmed by its users on a daily base.
1
2
3
4
5
16
Europan: European Architectural Competition for architects under 40 years old. It
takes place every two years. Europan 8 is running in 2006.
Winning Team : Socrates Stratis, Kyriakos Koundouros, Akis Ioannides, Maria
Loizidou
Socrates Stratis, architect-urbanist, Chrisos Touloupis, civil engineer, GEMAC
electrical and
mechanical engineers.
Socrates Stratis, Kyriakos Koundouros, Architectoniki Epe – architects, Mylonas &
Tzivanakis – civil engineers, LDK – electrical and mechanical engineers.
Usually the winners of each session of the Europan competition are full of energy
and more than willing to participate in the further development of their winning
project even if rather frequently the implementation process is long.
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Renovation of buildings
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For the introduction
of a METHODOLOGICAL GUIDE
to control building renovation
schemes
The public authorities have the capacity and the duty to ensure the
quality of public and private interventions in the buildings of a
municipality.
Commonly, a Public Administration's control mechanisms and
urban policy are based on the control of building permits. This
mechanism, which has become more sophisticated over the years,
involves the builder showing a proposal for building work and the
municipality checking that this meets town planning laws. In most
cases, a project is required, which usually includes a report, plans
and a budget. The level of detail demanded varies and on
occasions the minimal scale of the plans is indicated.
However some countries have established areas with special levels
of protection for their architectural heritage in which additional
material is also required which justifies the suitability of the
solution proposed. In some cases the project may require an
archaeological dig, the presentation of a historical study or the
preparation of a chromatic study of the façade.
Evidently, and following the concepts-guide of the RehabiMed
project, each step which enables a more precise understanding of
the reality of the building, will favour the quality of the
intervention and, therefore, the use of these studies should always
be considered positive.
Looking at this idea in more detail, the systematic use of a
methodological guide (see RehabiMed Guide for the rehabilitation
of traditional buildings in vol.2 of this work) would enable a global
vision of the whole restoration process of a building and,
therefore, would improve the quality of the final intervention.
In the Guide, four consecutive stages are proposed: I. Knowledge,
II. Reflection and project, III. The building work, and IV. Useful life.
It is precisely in each of these stages where it is possible to act in
order to improve the restoration work. Briefly, we shall show the
methodological possibilities of using the guide:
I. Knowledge. In the guide, a planned approach to the building
is proposed based on a prior diagnosis and a campaign of
multidisciplinary studies tailored to the needs (including the
chromatic, archaeological and historical studies, etc). The
Administration can steer the restoration of a
neighbourhood/city following these principles (for example in
some countries grants are not available from the
Administration for the restoration of buildings if an
independent, pre-diagnosis study has not been carried out).
II. Reflection and the project. The Public Administration plays
an important role here, not only in the already commonplace
IV. Action
Ramon GRAUS
Architect
Lecturer at the Technical University of Catalonia
Spain
The administration should watch out for the correct state of the buildings of the
area, promoting periodic inspections to verify their state of maintenance and
security, in order to avoid possible accidents.
control of the project itself, but also by setting out criteria on
the changes of use of traditional architecture and preventing
those which inevitably would harm it.
III. The work. Improving the restoration involves ensuring that the
building work is done with permits, and also demanding that
for certain types of restoration the firms involved have enough
experience and professional skills.
IV. Lifespan. When the restoration of the building is completed,
it begins to age again and it becomes increasingly necessary to
design policies which favour its maintenance. In this line, some
initiatives are interesting (le "ravalement" in France, the ITE
(“Periodic Technical Inspection”, in Spain), which promote the
frequent presence of the architect/engineer so that he/she can
inspect the state of the building, prevent accidents (masonry
falling off façades, electrical short circuits, etc.) and encourage
maintenance work.
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IV. Action
It is clear that the occasional application on the part of the
Administration of some of these measures would help to raise the
quality of the restoration work, but we should stress here that it is
precisely by applying a guide which encompasses the whole
process in its entirety, when the results tend to be most
satisfactory.
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Tool 17
For the introduction of a METHODOLOGICAL GUIDE
to control building renovation schemes
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Implementation of new infrastructures
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Tool 18
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Tool 18
In the territory: new infrastructures,
new landscapes?
The act of building neither belongs nor is exclusive to the urban
world; interventions in the countryside have been constant
throughout history with the aim of deriving maximum efficiency
from it. The traditional medieval concept of the universe already
distinguished between three different spaces on Earth, known in
Latin, ager, for places where man lived; saltus, for the rural world
transformed by man: and silva, for untouched areas –today
inexistent.
In order to both live and to farm, it has been necessary to build
and transform the landscape, and this is full of examples;
travelling through the history of agriculture, we can come across
terraces which made farming possible in the mountains, crops
grown in depressions formed by deltas, greenhouses..., all of
which are accessible through a system of networks comprising of
communication routes which break up the landscape with the
objective of making it accessible and manageable. We can state
that with the exception of the major landforms which form relief,
almost all the rest of the territory is conditioned by human beings,
and herein we can see the territory as an artifice, fruit of countless
interventions carried by the successive societies.
At present, the quantity and complexity of the changes introduced
in the territory, due to the new needs demanded by society and
the production system, are emerging as a danger for the
landscape, due to the loss of landscapes themselves, due to the
depersonalisation to which they are submitted or due to impacts
resulting from their natural functioning, which are frequently
irreversible.
The point of departure for an intelligent placing of infrastructures
lies in land use planning. This should not only serve for the
protection and preservation of unique spaces (historical, natural...)
but also should be used as a tool with which the administration
can create an ordered framework –which takes into account the
past, present and future-, in which the new infrastructures are
placed, making them compatible with the uses existing in the
territory and which protect the landscape values and their
historical memory. A series of guidelines for action and
infrastructure placing should be established for all types of
infrastructures, taking into account the place in question. In this
case, the government of Catalonia, through the Head Office of
Architecture and Landscape, is promoting codes for good
practices for the different types of landscape. Land use planning
and the guidelines for action must arise from the analysis and prior
knowledge of the territory.
IV. Action
Emilio Ramiro
Geographer and landscape expert
Spain
The administration should define the criteria for setting up and developing
infrastructures in accordance with the specifics of each type of landscape.
The current trend, in terms of the introduction of the new
infrastructures, is to impose building and engineering models,
which transfer the human dynamic onto the landscape –when this
knows nothing of fashions- which ends up globalising the
landscape and making it banal, erasing its original essence and
creating new landscapes, copied one from another, which reflect
the current importance of economic development above the real
territorial problems.
These new infrastructures, whether they are commercial,
industrial or residential estates or roads or bridges, etc. often
respond to pre-established models which in addition to erasing
the identity of landscapes, are crude and naïve interventions
which solely obey the advances of modernity and new building
fashions. Economic development can and must be compatible
with a solution for territorial problems and the conservation and
improvement of the landscape through other ways of acting upon
the territory which instead of creating these new impersonal
landscapes, promote already existing landscapes, and even in
many cases rediscover them.
When we intervene in the territory, it is essential to support our
work in the history of the places involved, in their construction
forms and in pre-existing forms of land-use planning, in order to
bring about a better approach to territorial projects, and
consequently to prevent the signs of the past (old roads and
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tracks, field divisions...) from being erased, so that they can still
continue to have a raison de être.
If we showed more concern for history, this would teach us how
to act in the present. For example, vernacular architecture: that
which was designed by people from a place, using local
techniques and materials, and which took into account the
environment, the traditions and the local economy, is much closer
to what we understand as sustainable building, integrated in the
landscape than current architecture. This does not mean that we
have to return to the past as many of the traditional materials and
techniques are no longer suitable for modern activities which are
today transforming the landscape. However, the project creator must
consider historical influences in so far as they are useful to solving the
problems of harmony with regard to the landscape environment,
making it compatible with the functionality of the project.
With regards to aesthetic value or the beauty of the design of
infrastructures in the landscape, these are highly related to their
landscape integration, at a chromatic,
material,
formal,
texturised and volumetric level.
Landscape affected by human activity in Greece
18
Landscape developed without town planning in Hasbaya, Lebanon
338
Tool 18
In the territory: new infrastructures, new landscapes?
In addition to historical sensitivity and landscape integration, a
physical and ecological sensitivity towards the territory is necessary
in order to recognise an area’s natural values along with its
dynamic, with the aim of preventing the destruction of places of
value.
-due to its forests, the quality and quantity of the ecosystem, its
physical beauty...-, or that in any case, they are re-valued without
harming them; so as not to commit aggressions which not only
affect the environment but all living creatures, and even in order
to prevent the construction of infrastructures which end up
becoming obsolete before their time from having disobeyed the
processes and physical and natural determining factors of the
territory.
As an example, the River Llobregat has deposited over the eons
more than 100 km2 of alluvial land in the delta which it ended up
forming. Far from understanding this and acting in tune with this
natural process, the Port of Barcelona has been expanded on land
reclaimed from sea, as a result of which it has also been necessary
to re-route the mouth of the river. This intervention, which only
responds to economic motives, has represented an ecological and
biological tragedy in which huge numbers of fish have died, when
they were trapped in a river without an outlet during the building
work, seriously damaging the food chain and the ecosystem in
general, in addition to representing the loss of a truly unique and
characteristic landscape as is that formed by deltas. Moreover, the
expansion of the port has not only failed to solve the problem of
the alluvial deposits, but could even aggravate it.
Preventing an environmental impact from the building of
infrastructures in the territory also represents an economic saving.
Many of the new infrastructures include projects aimed at
correcting the impact created; projects which have a significant
cost and which on many occasions, need even further investment
because the correction measures were not correct in the first
place. In all surety, the simplest and most economic thing to do
would be to build infrastructures which from the outset had no
type of impact -although initially these were more expensive-,
instead of setting up an economic fund to rectify this, without this
even being able to guarantee the correction of the impact created.
In conclusion, taking into account that socioeconomic factors only
see the territory as a means of production, it is necessary on the
part of the experts and agents who work in the territory and in
general in the landscape project, to have: a series of criteria and
knowledge about the landscape, an ecological sensitivity, a social
sensitivity which generates empathy towards those affected in the
territory, a rediscovery of the history of the places, and a great deal
of common sense.
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Tools for continual assessment
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Observatory and monitoring indicators
V. Monitoring
Oriol CUSIDÓ
Architecte
taller 9s arquitectes, Barcelone, Espagne
1. Mechanisms of continual assessment
As important as implementing the proposals included in the Plan
is the establishment of a system of assessing and monitoring the
satisfaction of the objectives proposed. The measures and
mechanisms to carry the monitoring and assessment of the
projects and actions carried out must be designed, forecast and
incorporated in the documents of the Action Plan.
The monitoring should be permanent from the beginning of the
intervention and should consider the possibility of modifying and
adapting actions to unforeseen problems which can arise, and to
the possible new requests which are detected during their
application and which can condition the possibility of achieving
the initial goals.
A system of indicators could be a good tool in the carrying out of monitorization of
the realized operations and the evaluation of the achievement of the set objectives.
2. Monitoring Commission
The first step in guaranteeing the proper monitoring of the Plan is
the creation of a Commission or Monitoring Observatory, which
should be formed by specialists from different disciplines who are
sensitive towards the issue of urban and territorial restoration, and
who should meet up on a regular basis to discuss and assess the
progress of the restoration process.
This Commission can consider the possibility of modifying or
adapting some of the decisions and actions proposed in the plan,
if this is necessary, in accordance with the tendencies detected
during its implementation. It is therefore recommendable, in the
stage of reflection and definition of strategies, to plan for the
integration of flexible mechanisms of adaptation and reversibility
of the projects and actions considered.
restoration process, including social, environmental and economic
factors. The intention is not to replace observations or specific
studies, but rather to serve as complementary aids to these.
The monitoring indicators are also a method of coordination and
communication:
Coordination because they may be the object of dispute
between different areas and associations, assessing the
evolution of the different actions and their causes and
consequences. The monitoring indicators do not explain the
process of change, but merely measure this change.
Communication because they can be used as tools of a policy
of information and for awareness-raising in the area to be
restored.
3. System of monitoring indicators
In order to decide on the assessment of the Plan’s actions one of the
possible tools involves the designing of a system of monitoring
indicators. These indicators must be adapted to the specific nature
of the Plan proposed in accordance with each local context.
The objective of the monitoring indicators is to aid the monitoring
commission and to improve awareness among the rest of local
agents and authorities about the changes in the territory,
considering the restoration goals in question, and taking into
account the myriad of aspects which are involved in the complete
The system of indicators considered in each case must cover the
set of aspects considered by the objectives of the Plan and factors
in order to guarantee the future sustainability of the territory. It
can have two functions: firstly, enable the monitoring of the
programme of actions, and secondly, monitor the evolution of the
territory’s development in accordance with the challenges of
sustainability.
The challenge of the system of indicators is to reflect these two
levels, being easily measurable indicators (with a time and a
limited cost). They must be understandable for everyone, so that
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V. Monitoring
they are a good element of communication and training. It should
also be possible to measure them at suitable intervals.
The indicators should be structured in a system and not in a
whole. By system we understand a structured set of indicators,
which should be applied jointly. It should not be possible for each
one to be interpreted individually, but rather, conclusions should
be established and trends detected by reading the whole set.
4. Example of a system of indicators
Shown below as an example is a list of indicators drawn up to
carry out monitoring of the operations of urban restoration in
accordance with five urban sustainability goals and the 21 key
points. This puts forward a system which balances landscape
values with the social, economic and environmental values of the
urban area. The battery of indicators which are presented are the
result of the European project HQE2R, fruit of the work of a group
of European institutions which have sought to establish a series of
guidelines for the sustainable restoration of neighbourhoods. The
system, more than the assessment of a specific Action Plan,
establishes a complete system for assessing the development of a
territory in accordance with sustainable criteria.
This is a generic list of indicators which should be adapted to each
local context when deciding on objective values and when
weighing up the importance and hierarchy of each indicator.
Some of the indicators are not considered as a numerical or
quantitative type but rather as a qualitative type in order to
facilitate their regular application. The qualitative valuation should
be the result of the work done by the monitoring commission.
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Example of a generic system of monitoring indicators
Objective 1
Objectives
Key points
ISDIS System
A
Energy efficiency
1A
% of buildings with a system of temperature control / insulation
which meet current law
B
Energy use
1B
Measures to reduce the use of electricity in the domestic sector
C
Renewable energies
1C
% of buildings which make use of renewable energies
D
Global warming
1D
Measures to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases in heating
2Aa
Home use of water per inhabitant and day
2Ab
% of facilities with water saving measures
to preserve
Natural Resources
and value
HERITAGE
01
To reduce the use of
ENERGY and improve
energy efficiency
A
02
03
04
05
To improve the
management of the
WATER cycle reduce use
To avoid using up land
and to rationalise the use
of the TERRITORY
Drinking water uses
B
Use of rainwater
2B
% of buildings which make use of rainwater
C
Management of the
water cycle
2C
% of rainwater from impermeable land managed locally
D
Water quality
2D
Quality of the water treatment system
3Aa
Urban density
A
Land use
3Ab
Area of public space per inhabitant
B
Land regeneration
3B
% of surface area of free space occupied by land without use or
contaminated land
C
Planning
3C
Number of sustainability objectives included inurban planning
A
Recycling of elements and
materials in the
construction of buildings
4A
Percentage of buildings which are built, restored or demolished,
taking into account the management of materials in environmental
terms, using certified materials and equipment, along with
considering their life cycle, the possibilities of recycling and
maintenance cost
B
Maintenance
4B
Percentage of public infrastructures which are built, restored or
demolished, taking into account the management of materials in
environmental terms
A
Building heritage
5A
Measures for the assessment and preservation of the architectural
heritage
B
Natural heritage
5B
To manage and reduce
the use of MATERIALS
To value the built and
natural HERITAGE
Percentage of open spaces subject to preservation and assessment
measures of their natural heritage and biodiversity
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Objective 2
Objectifs
Key points
ISDIS System
A
Urban landscape
6A
Measures for the improvement of the urban landscape
B
Visual quality
6B
Measures for the improvement of visual quality in public space
A
Building quality
7A
% of buildings in a serious state of disrepair
B
Quality of homes
7B
% of homes built or restored, taking into account environmental
parameters
7Ca
% of unoccupied homes
7Cb
Presence of homes adapted for elderly and disabled persons
8A
Existence of public space with an insufficient level of maintenance
8Ba
% of homes in unsuitable conditions
8Bb
% of overcrowded homes
To improve local
Environmental
Quality
06
07
To promote the quality of
the URBAN LANDSCAPE
To promote the QUALITY
OF HOMES
C
08
09
10
11
12
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To guarantee
CLEANLINESS, HYGIENE
and HEALTH
To improve SAFETY and
the management of
HAZARDS
Comfort
A
Cleaning public space
B
Habitability
C
Access to health
8C
Presence of doctors and nurses
A
Public safety/crime
9A
Number of robberies / 1000 inhabitants
B
Road safety
9B
Number of traffic accidents / 1000 inhabitants
C
Management of
technological hazards
9C
% of population exposed to dangerous emissions without control
measures
D
Management of natural
hazards
9D
% of population exposed to any natural hazard without control
measures
A
Indoor air quality
10A
% of new buildings with specifications related to the quality of
indoor air
B
Outdoor air quality
10B
% of residents exposed to levels of concentration of NO2 in the air
above 50µg/m3 on average a year
A
Noise pollution
11A
% of population exposed to high levels of noise
B
Noise pollution from
traffic
11B
% of roads with sound levels above 65 dB (A) per Leq a.m. - 10 p.m
C
Noise levels in building
work
11C
% of construction work which includes noise limits in their
specifications (for surrounding area and for workers)
A
Home waste
12A
% of waste collected selectively
B
Building waste
12B
% of building work with a permit which includes waste management
requirements
To improve AIR quality
To reduce NOISE pollution
To manage and minimise
the production of WASTE
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Objective 3
Objectifs
V. Monitoring
Key points
ISDIS System
to guarantee
Diversity
A
13
A
14
15
Objectif 4
To promote the presence
of several FUNCTIONS
To promote a stock of
varied HOMESS
Objectifs
Index of diversity of the active population in accordance with their
socio-professional category
13ab
% of inactive population with respect to the total population older
than 15
13B
Distribution of the population by age groups (a/b/c)
14A
Number of existing work places in a neighbourhood
Socioeconomic diversity
To promote a diverse
POPULATION
B
13Aa
Demographic diversity
Economic activity
B
Commercial activity
14B
Number of commercial retail licenses / 1000 residents (by central or
peripheral neighbourhoods)
C
Public facilities and
services
14C
Presence of facilities of at least 300 square metres
15A
% of social housing present in the neighbourhood
A
Diversity in stock of
homes
15B
% of owners who reside in the neighbourhood
Key points
Système ISDIS
A
Level of education
16A
Percentage of academic failure at the end of primary studies
B
Level of schooling
16B
Truancy levels in the schools of the neighbourhood in comparison
with the average for the city
17A
% of residents who live at least 300 metres from a public transport
stop connected directly with a public service or facility
17B
% of unemployment in comparison with the average for the city
Améliorer
l’intégration
urbaine
16
INTEGRATION
To guarantee improved
EDUCATION and training
URBANA
17
18
19
To allow the
ACCESSIBILITY of citizens
to all services
To make neighbourhoods
ATTRACTIVE places to live
and work
To facilitate 'clean'
MOBILITY at a smaller
scale
A
Proximity to services
A
Public facilities in city
18A
Presence of facilities of urban or regional interest, at the scale of the
city
B
Cultural activities
18B
Number of days a year when a social activity is held (market, fair,
exhibition…)
19Aa
Metres of street with a use which is fundamentally pedestrian or is a
cycle path per inhabitant
19Ab
% of journeys on foot or by bicycle / total number of journeys
19Ac
Metres of street without pavements or in bad condition per
inhabitant
19B
Collective transport systems (municipals or private) with low or null
levels of pollution
A
B
'Clean' transport
Collective transport
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Outil 19
Outils pour l’évaluation continue
Observatoire et indicateurs de suivi
V. Monitoring
Objectif 5
Objectifs
Key points
ISDIS System
A
Social involvement SD
20A
% of residents who participate in activities in favour of sustainable
development
B
Participation
20B
Restoration or construction operations in which the opinion of the
residents has been taken into account during the process of the
project
A
Membership of
associations and NGOs
21A
% of residents who participate in community activities
B
Social economy
21B
Presence of activities in the area of social economy
C
Solidarity
21C
Presence of North / South solidarity work
Social Cohesion
20
21
19
To encourage
PARTICIPATION and
permit GOVERNABILITY
To strengthen SOCIAL
ORGANIZATION and the
idea of CITIZENRY
Profil of Raval neighbourhood in the centre of Barcelona
348
Development of the indicators in accordance with two particular action scenarios.
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Graphic representing the application of the proposed indicators in the historic Raval
district in the centre of Barcelona.
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The application of GIS in monitoring
cultural heritage
Tool 19
Constantinos Alkides
Architec
Cyprus
Abstract
The utilisation of technological tools for the monitoring of the
cultural environment is every day becoming an utmost necessity.
Besides the integration of disparate data sources and their
interpretation into meaningful information, GIS (Geographical
Information Systems) and Remote Sensing (RS) are also
powerful in that they may assist in drawing short, medium and
long term strategies for the management of our historic
environment. This paper gives an overview of the applicability of
these technological tools in the field of cultural heritage and
addresses their importance for a holistic approach in the
management of the cultural environment.
1. Introduction
Cultural heritage forms a vibrant part of a country’s identity.
Legislation around the world provides for the protection of historic
individual or groups of buildings or structures of special
architectural interest. National, regional and local authorities seem
to be well equipped with spatial data pertaining to the historical
environment, yet it is ambiguous whether this vast amount of data
is universally handled in the most efficient way. While the advent
of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Remote
Sensing (RS) is considered as to have revolutionised data
handling, further emphasis on the computerised management of
spatially referenced information is constantly important. Following
a couple of key definitions, this paper proceeds into linking GIS
and RS with the cultural environment and then addresses a series
of concerns in the process of adopting GIS and RS technology.
2. Definitions
19
As Lauren and Thompson (1996) put it, spatial information
systems utilise data positioned in space. According to the U.S.
Federal Interagency Coordinating Committee (1988, in Robinson
et al. 1995), a GIS is a system of computer hardware, software and
procedures designed to support the capture, management,
manipulation, analysis, modularity and display of spatially
referenced data for solving complex planning and management
problems. Various other definitions have since evolved. Remote
Sensing is defined as “any process that measures a phenomenon
without actually coming into contact with it” (Willie and Finn
350
The new systems of geographic information (GIS) are not only powerful tools of
information management in the analysis phase but are, without a doubt, a potent
tool in the monitoring and evolution of the actions phase.
1996). These authors also define remote sensing imagery as any
physical or computer-based representation of the radiation
reflected from or emitted by terrain features or phenomena.
Finally, a database may be defined as the physical repository of
varied views of the real world representing our knowledge at one
point in time (Lauren and Thompson 1996).
3. GIS and RS for the cultural environment
Both surface and sub-surface features of interest to architects,
archaeologists, and historians, have been detected using RS
technology. Their findings have often been incorporated into an
integrated GIS/RS package for spatial analysis. Surface features
include visible ruins, mounds, rock piles, and various other surface
markings. Subsurface features include buried ruins of buildings,
ditches, canals and roads. According to Lillesand and Kiefer
(1996), when such features are covered by agricultural fields or
native vegetation, they may be revealed on aerial photographs by
tonal anomalies resulting from subtle differences in soil moisture
or crop growth. Parallel to archaeological prospecting, GIS and RS
technology can be implemented for the management of
architectural heritage, especially through the construction of an
extended database containing a variety of descriptive and
graphical data.
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The application of GIS in monitoring cultural heritage
3.1 GIS for cultural heritage
Strong links between GIS and predictive site modelling have been
identified. Savage (1990) has perceived GIS as a research tool in
landscape archaeology. Quantitative techniques have been used
for site location studies based on the assumption that non-cultural
aspects of the environment will correlate with and predict site
locations. Measurements of slope, aspect and elevation are
considered as difficult to acquire manually, thus GIS is largely used
for this task. Spatial relationships among humans and their
environment are also traced and demonstrated with the use of
Digital Elevation Models (DEMs), which are applications widely
supported by GIS software today.
Hardy (1997) has gathered a big number of excerpts from
publications of ICOMOS (International Council of Monuments and
Sites), UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organisation) and the WCMC (World Conservation
Monitoring Centre). All statements stress the importance of
computerised management of spatial data, for the works of
preservation, restoration or excavation. Some of these
publications talk about principles for the recording of monuments,
groups of buildings and sites and relate them to a flexible
mechanism for data retrieval, data standardisation, constant
provision of information on the threats of cultural heritage,
visualisation of the cultural richness of a place and many more.
Key motives for GIS implementation are deemed to be the
efficiency in data storage, the ease in the updating of data, the
accessibility to data and its transformation into meaningful
information, the ability for site monitoring for conservation
purposes, and the site maintenance potential, which contributes
to securing cultural and natural values for future generations.
Mackay and Mackay (2002) highlight the use of GIS in the
management of Australian urban archaeology, and they
emphasize on modern GIS mapping as a means to couple
historical sites with accurate cadastral information. The authors
assess the implementation of a GIS as an effective solution to
documentation and management of cultural heritage, especially
for entire study areas. Similarly, Steiner (2006) has implemented a
GIS to analyse historic and cadastral data in a cross-border region
between Austria and Hungary. She provides a thorough
explanation of the process she has followed and finally gives
examples on various observed changes which came out of the GIS
analysis, and which pertain to land-use, parcel geometry and
ownership.
3.2 Remote Sensing for cultural heritage
From a geographer’s point of view, a ‘site’ is an individual place
with specific attributes and which collectively makes up a spatial
pattern. The use of RS techniques for the detection and
investigation of archaeological sites, these being locations of
earlier cultural and economic activity, has been considerably
V. Monitoring
involved with the development of archaeological prospecting.
Contrast to the excavation which may be considered as
tantamount to the destruction of a site (Scollar 1990), remote
sensing is peacefully applied, providing data about archaeological
features below or over the ground surface, in areas accessible or
inaccessible to man. The predominant highlight of RS technology
is the superb multidimensional resolution (spatial, spectral,
radiometric and temporal) with which users can utilise, in order to
produce integrated analytical results.
Contrast to clearly defined structures such as buildings,
archaeological features are more of a fuzzy character. “Fuzziness”
is a type of imprecision characterising classes that for various
reasons cannot have, or do not have, sharply defined boundaries
(Burrough 1996). Fuzzy sets have been a matter of strong interest
to the GIS world, and as Couclelis (1992) has pointed out, it is only
a few objects in geographic space which have sharp and well
determined boundaries. Kavouras (1996) further explains that any
uncertainty in the boundary definition of objects with sharp
boundaries can be due to the lack, loss, poor quality and
inconsistency of definitional data, or limitations of the selected
representation.
In ground-based RS, archaeological sites are explored without
disturbance of the ground. Usually, applications are carried out
after evidence for existence of archaeological features, mainly by
means of an aerial photograph or satellite image. Ground-based
techniques can be active or passive. Active are those where an
external field is created locally and applied to the ground (Scollar
1990). Resistivity, electromagnetic prospecting, ground probing
radar and seismic methods are all under active archaeological
prospecting. Passive techniques, such as magnetic susceptibility,
thermal and gravity prospecting, do not introduce any change in
the environment. In this case, the prospector records a physical
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V. Monitoring
phenomenon which, by its nature, reflects the presence of
archaeological structures.
Researchers observe that air-borne and space-borne techniques
are uniquely powerful in discovering and photographing
archaeological sites. Low-altitude aerial photography is a passive
technique and it is the most commonly used method in
archaeological prospecting. Thermal and multi-spectral scanning
(MSS) are also passive techniques. The former operates in the
thermal-infrared portion of the electromagnetic spectrum and its
application relies on recording variations in landscape profile as
presented by either substantial structures (e.g. hill forts), or by
detailed patterns of banks, tracks and field systems. MSS forms a
version of the multiple-view1 approach to data collection and it is
considered to be the heart of multiple RS applications. In MSS
imagery, data are acquired simultaneously in several spectral
bands, thus providing more information than data collected in any
single spectral band. In archaeology, the superiority of multispectral scanning (MSS) imagery, contrast to the conventional
aerial photography, lies in the revelation of features which
contrast in spectral radiation with their adjacent environment in
other than the visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum.
For example, actual experiments using MSS data revealed
buildings and roads across an extensive area in New Mexico, USA.
It was also possible to trace irrigation canals 20 to 25m wide made
by the Hohokam people in Arizona, by means of pictures from
sensors of the Landsat satellite.
In the management of listed buildings and groups of dwellings in
historical cores, RS technology can be extremely useful. The high
resolution of satellite imagery can help observe not only changes
in the urban environment, but also perform classification and
analysis in regard to the plan typology of buildings. The
application of digital elevation model techniques may prove
valuable in tracing the height variation of structures or even
19
View of Girona, Catalomia (Spain)
352
Tool 19
identify open and built spaces. As a general overview, satellite
imagery can assist in classifying typological characteristics,
measuring environmental quality in densely populated historical
sites, and analysing trends and needs in conjunction with other
spatial features such as roads, open spaces for parking purposes
and public spaces.
4. Concerns when adopting GIS and RS
Technical, institutional, legal and economic issues are directly
linked to the adoption of GIS and RS technology. The complexity
incurred by the combination of these issues is probably one of the
reasons which explain the belated adoption of this technology by
national and local authorities.
The technical concerns deal with the hardware, software and data
related issues. Data storage is a major problem, especially when
the geographic databases support image sources (scanned
images, scanned aerial photographs, satellite imagery) beside
attribute data and maps. Coarse image resolution is considered as
partly contributing to storage space requirements but clarity and
detail quality are in this case challenged. Another hardware issue
is data transfer, and this problem applies to GIS networks where
spatial information is disseminated to a number of departmental
sectors. GIS networks are particularly important when different
sectors of an institution utilise the same data sets. Apart from the
speed in data transfer which is often insufficient, concerns on data
security may occur (e.g. information on ownership). The use of
copper wires in telecommunication systems makes the tapping of
transmitted data easy, thus violating data confidentiality.
Software issues mainly examine the Human-Computer Interface
(HCI) relationship. While a GIS/RS package integrates database
functionality for heterogeneous types of spatial data, the user
aims at selecting, manipulating and displaying the results of
combined data. Data related problems are of prime importance.
The quality of data in conjunction with correct data manipulation
will determine the correctness of spatial analysis for subsequently
reliable and valid decision making. Data quantity is also part of this
concern in that it is important for users to ensure that data are
adequate before being utilised for spatial analysis. Analysis will be
questionable in incomplete data sets. Data compatibility is also
crucial in that integrated results are the outcome of integrating
coherent data, the capture of which often poses difficulties in the
setting up of a geo-base.
The institutional issues encountered in a GIS and RS
implementation are sometimes even more significant than the
technical issues. Lack of encouragement and personnel
unawareness could make the adoption of technology impossible.
Moreover, poor managerial structures within an organisation
might prevent the continuation of the use of GIS and RS. Planning,
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Tool 19
organising, supervising, staffing and controlling are considered to
be the main elements of what constitutes management
(Obermeyer and Pinto 1994). The chief executive is expected to
fulfil the requirements of a powerful managerial structure if the
introduction of a new technology is to stand the test of time.
The third category includes legal and economic issues. Data
ownership is related to copyright, which is a form of information
control. Similar to this, liability also plays a significant role in the
adoption and development of IT (Information Technology). Epstein
and Roitman (1990) expand on two theories of liability; breach of
contract and negligence. In the case of complex computer
installations, or the structure of databases, detailed contracts need
to specify what the buyer expects and what the limits of the
seller’s liability are (Cassettari 1993).
Selling data is an economic issue which can raise ethical concerns.
By way of example, it is controversial whether the national
government should be entitled to sell data to the public (e.g.
digital maps). GIS and RS technology serve as a pure good in the
public sector (Obermeyer and Pinto 1994) and it may be argued
that the public should not invest money for goods the cost of
which has probably been included in prepaid tax. Many observers
have performed a benefit-cost analysis aiming to explain the ‘pros’
and ‘contras’ of adopting GIS technology. The initial economic
costs come with the purchase of hardware and software. The
assembling of data, its maintenance and the training of the
personnel are also key issues. The benefits, the number of which
exceeds that of the drawbacks, are time savings, increased
revenue, enhanced productivity, better decision making and
accurate results. Some of the intangible benefits of implementing
GIS technology include a better internal communication among
employees, improved morale and clearly enhanced public image.
V. Monitoring
In anticipation of the future generations, and with respect to our
antecedents, we should waste no more time but instead take every
necessary action for the protection of our cultural environment. The
experience of the technological innovations during the last fifteen
years has yielded amazing results and has proven that the cultural
environment can be very efficiently managed and preserved. The
ongoing enhancement of knowledge transfer mechanisms in the
field of geographical information systems and remote sensing can
help people realise the true benefits, and prepare the ground for an
integrated spatial approach.
Ghardaïa (Algeria)
5. Conclusion
Gone are the days when cultural heritage was managed through
the use of manual techniques. The cultural heritage of a place is
today partly in the hands of technology for its monitoring,
documentation, analysis, presentation and maintenance. The
complex application of spatial information systems is indeed a
challenge since resources and profound knowledge are required
well in advance of its implementation. Nevertheless, we should
not be obstructed by the hindrances that someone has to
encounter in the use of GIS and RS technology. There is no other
choice but to grasp the immense benefit incurred by the adoption
of geographically centred computerised systems, and go ahead
with ambitious plans for the management of cultural heritage.
Listed buildings, archaeological remains, neighbourhoods, even
entire cities are there awaiting the intervention of contemporary
technology.
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Landscape in Sicily (Italy)
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Outil 19
Outils
pour l’évaluation continue
V. Monitoring
L’application du SIG dans la gestion du patrimoine culturel
1
Multiple-view approach to data collection includes multistage sensing (data
collected from multiple altitudes), multi-spectral sensing and multi-temporal
sensing (data are collected on more than one occasions), (Lillesand and Kiefer
1994).
References
Cassettari S. (1993). Introduction to Integrated Geo-information Management.
Charman and Hall.
Couclelis H. (1992). People manipulate objects: Beyond the raster-vector debate in
GIS. In A. U. Frank, I. Campari and U. Formentini (eds.) Theories and Methods of
Spatio-Temporal Reasoning in Geographic Space. Springer. Pp.65-77.
Epstein E. F., Roitman H. (1990). Liability for information. In D.J. Peuquet and D.F.
Marble (ed.) Introductory Readings in Geographic Information Systems. Taylor and
Francis. Pp. 364-371.
Hardy R. (1997). GIS for World Heritage Conservation. Report for the Master’s
Practicum, University of Michigan.
Kavouras M. (1996). Geoscience Modelling: From continuous fields to entities. In P.
A. Burrough and A. U. Frank (eds.) Geographic Objects with Indeterminate
Boundaries. Taylor and Francis. Pp. 313-324.
Laurini R., Thompson D. (1996). Fundamentals of Spatial Information Systems.
Academic Press.
Lillesand M. T., Kiefer W. R. (1996). Remote Sensing and Image Interpretation. John
Wiley and Sons.
Mackay R., Mackay A. (2002). GIS-based Documentation and Management of
Australian Urban Archaeology. In ICOMOS, Proceedings of the 13th General
Assembly. Spanish National Committee of ICOMOS.
Obermeyer N. J. and Pinto J. K. (1994). Managing Geographic Information Systems.
The Guilford Press.
Robinson H. A., Morrison L. J., Muehrcke C. P., Kimerling J. A., Guptill G. S. (1995).
Elements of Cartography. John Wiley and Sons.
Savage S. H. (1990). GIS in archaeological research. In K. M. S. Allen et al. (eds.)
Interpreting Space: GIS and archaeology. Taylor and Francis. Pp. 22-32
Scollar I. (1990). Progress in Aerial Photography in Germany and Computer Methods.
Aerial Archaeology 2:8-18.
Steiner S. (2006). The Development of the Cross-Border Region of Hungary and
Austria Analyzed with Historical Cadastral and Land Register Data. In M. Campagna
(ed.) GIS for Sustainable Development. Taylor and Francis. Pp. 349-366
Wilkie S. D., Finn T. J. (1996). Remote Sensing Imagery for Natural Resources
Monitoring. Columbia University Press.
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RehabiMed Method Traditional Mediterranean Architecture I

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