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From restoration to sustainable urban conservation

Chapter · July 2020

DOI: 10.4324/9781351057493-3

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 3 From restoration to
sustainable urban
conservation

On restoration and reuse of historic structures

Different approaches have been adopted at various times for the conserva-
tion of urban heritage and historical buildings, most of which have attempted
to reconnect the historical context of a given place with its people and their
socio-cultural values. These approaches may vary and sometimes contradict
each other, but each is supported by implicit and explicit motivations.1 This
chapter debates key aspects of these approaches and highlights the theo-
retical views supporting them through examples in the non-Western context
(Khan, 2015). Although the concept of preserving historical structures and
built heritage can be traced back to the early 19th century, it gained further
recognition and application in the 20th century. This recognition was due
to the global political conflicts of the two world wars, which resulted in the
destruction of historical buildings and heritage sites as well as whole cities
like Dresden, Germany, and Coventry, England. The classification of con-
servation approaches includes restoration with uniformity (in which certain
architectural elements are eliminated and new features introduced to create
a uniform appearance) and the more authentic urban conservation.
Restoration with uniformity was used extensively by Eugene-Emmanuel
Viollet-le-Duc (1814–1879), one of the best restoration architects and theo-
rists of his time. Viollet-le-Duc believed in restoring the whole building in
one predominating style, while integrating and neutralising other parts of
the building. In so doing, he radically introduced new shapes and forms
that had never been part of the original building. According to Viollet-le-
Duc, “to restore an edifice means neither to maintain it, nor to repair, nor
to build it; it means to re-establish it in a finished state, which may in fact,
never have actually existed at any given time” (Viollet-le-Duc, 1990:195).
This approach prevailed in Europe and, in 1904, was recognised as a basic
design principle at the Sixth International Congress of Architects (Locke,
1904:344). With the goal of improving the building by creating a unified
style, many parts of the original buildings were demolished and replaced by
new forms and new styles, with little respect paid to the authenticity and
purpose of the original building.

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 112  From restoration to urban conservation
cultural values of local societies and their inclusion as participatory stake-
holders in its rehabilitation.
These eight projects demonstrate the rationale behind the restoration of
historical structures either to their original use or to conserving them for
adaptive reuse. Some scholars believe that the built heritage should be held
in trust for future generations and is not ours to destroy. The principles
of the Islamic religion instruct its followers to be guardians of the earth.
Such actions and activities that promote and reinvigorate these principles
are deemed positive and responsible. The notion of stewardship includes
the protection of heritage, both natural and built (Khan, 2015). Neverthe-
less, stewardship in this context may take different routes; in many cases
preserving the historical sites and structures requires infusing new life into
them and introducing new functions that had never existed before. With
increasing recognition of the built heritage as a national asset, the conserva-
tion of historical urban fabrics and structures aims at safeguarding the built
heritage while ensuring its continuity through socio-economic development.
Further to being a national asset, the built heritage, whether in the scale
of a city, a district, or a building, is also seen as a source of national identity
and pride. In principle, the built heritage is a reflection of cultural values and
encompasses within it the collective memory of societies and communities.
It is thus an integral part of a cultural identity that could be forever lost if
this heritage is abandoned or ignored. From the aforementioned critiques, it
is clear that conserving the built heritage should not just be an urge to pre-
serve the past through restoring historical monuments and transforming them
into fake antiquities. Rather, the built heritage should be revived by adopting
and adapting rehabilitation objectives that meet the needs of modern life and
respond to contemporary values, while still respecting and preserving their
historical and cultural significance. The acclaimed excellence and significance
of the awarded and shortlisted projects lie in their ability to combine physi-
cal, social, and economic aspects in their conservation programmes, as well
as retain the historical meaning of the past and accommodate the social, cul-
tural, and economic needs of the present. This approach will help all residents
and stakeholders prepare to meet and address the challenges of the future.

Notes
1 Two special issues of Archnet-IJAR: International Journal of Architectural
Research have recently offered various perspectives on the conservation of
urban heritage and historical buildings. The first issue was published in 2015
and included articles that capture the contemporaneity of the built heritage, see
https://archnet.org/collections/34/publications/10063. The second was published
in 2017 and emphasised sustainability and resilience and the digital and virtual
realities that enable documenting, designing, and planning for conservation, see
https://archnet.org/collections/34/publications/12712
2 The client of Manouchehri House, Saba Manouchehri Kashani, is originally from
a Kashani family who migrated to Tehran. Being aware of the value of Kashan’s

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 From restoration to urban conservation  113
architectural and cultural heritage, Ms Manouchehri acted to save not only the
house under evaluation, named Reshadi House, but initiated a whole trend by
urging her friends with Kashani roots to invest in Kashan.
3 Many scholars wrote about the various terms used in the conservation of the
built heritage. Yet, the definitions used here are based on two key studies: Fowler,
P. J. (1987). The contemporary past. In: J. M. Wagstaff (ed.), Landscape and cul-
ture: Geographical and archaeological perspectives. Oxford, UK: Basil Blackwell,
pp. 173–191 and Lowenthal, D. (1985). The past is a foreign country. Cam-
bridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
4 World Heritage Conservation is formally the convention that protects the world’s
cultural and natural heritage.

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