ADDIS ABABA UNIVERSITY

GENERAL BUILDING HERITAGE ARCH 3302

2005 UNESCO Vienna Memorandum on World Heritage

and Contemporary Architecture:
Managing the Historic Urban Landscape

Group Members ID No.

1. Betemariam Brook UGR/3842/12
2. Beza Assefa UGR/9792/12
3. Darik Mulubirhan UGR/5619/12
4. Hanan Juhar UGR/4620/12
5. Lidet Berhanu UGR/5265/12

Submitted to: Yohannes Mekonnen

March, 2022
 Vienna Memorandum on World Heritage and Contemporary Architecture
The Vienna Memorandum is the result of an international conference on the subject
of “World Heritage and Contemporary Architecture”, which was initiated by the World
Heritage Committee at its 27th session (Paris, 30 June-5 July 2003,) and held from
12 to 14 May 2005 in Vienna, Austria, under the patronage of UNESCO.
The driving forces were
 Increasing impact of contemporary architecture and infrastructure on historic
urban centres and areas
 Insufficient criteria to manage impacts on the historic urban landscape
 Contemporary architecture increasingly “indifferent” to the historic CONTEXT
 Loss of linkage with social values and public responsibilities
The objective was
 Continuous changes in functional use, social structure, political context and
economic development that manifest themselves in the form of structural
interventions in the inherited historic urban landscape may be acknowledged
as part of the city’s tradition, and require a vision on the city as a whole with
forward-looking action on the part of decision-makers, and a dialogue with the
other actors and stakeholders involved.
 The central challenge of contemporary architecture in the historic urban
landscape is to respond to development dynamics in order to facilitate socio-
economic changes and growth on the one hand, while simultaneously
respecting the inherited townscape and its landscape setting on the other.
Living historic cities, especially World Heritage cities, require a policy of city
planning and management that takes conservation as one key point for
conservation. In this process, the historic city’s authenticity and integrity,
which are determined by various factors, must not be compromised.
 The future of our historic urban landscape calls for mutual understanding
between policy makers, urban planners, city developers, architects,
conservationists, property owners, investors and concerned citizens, working
together to preserve the urban heritage while considering the modernization
and development of society in a culturally and historic sensitive manner,
strengthening identity and social cohesion.
 Taking into account the emotional connection between human beings and
their environment, their sense of place, it is fundamental to guarantee an
urban environmental quality of living to contribute to the economic success of
a city and to its social and cultural vitality.

  A central concern of physical and functional interventions is to enhance
quality of life and production efficiency by improving living, working and
recreational conditions and adapting uses without compromising existing
values derived from the character and significance of the historic urban fabric
and form. This means not only improving technical standards, but also a
rehabilitation and contemporary development of the historic environment
based upon a proper inventory and assessment of its values, as well as
adding high-quality cultural expressions.

As mentioned, before it was on June 30, 2003 that eighty-six States Parties to the
World Heritage Convention who are not members of the Committee were
represented as observers: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Australia,
Austria, Azerbaijan, Barbados, Belarus, Benin, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cambodia,
Cameroon, Canada, Chile, Comoros, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cyprus,
Czech Republic, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Dominican Republic, El
Salvador, Eritrea, Ethiopia, France, Gambia, Germany, Grenada, Guatemala, Holy
See, Honduras, Iceland, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Iraq, Israel, Italy,
Jamaica, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lao People's Democratic Republic,
Latvia, Lithuania, Madagascar, Malaysia, Malta, Morocco, Monaco, Mongolia,
Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Pakistan, Panama, Peru,
Philippines, Poland, Romania, Senegal, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia, Slovenia,
Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Sudan, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab
Emirates, United Republic of Tanzania, United States of America, Ukraine, Uruguay,
Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam and Yemen.
Committee members: Argentina, Belgium, China, Colombia, Egypt, Finland, Greece,
Hungary, India, Lebanon, Mexico, Nigeria, Oman, Portugal, Republic of Korea,
Russian Federation, Saint Lucia, South Africa, Thailand, United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland and Zimbabwe participated in the session.
The 21 members signed for the convention.