Admission to AHO and successful completion of three years bachelor level studies (180 ECTS).
In a time when existing monuments and buildings are in the line of fire, on one hand demanded demolished and on another asked to be preserved, there is a pressing need to discuss the premises upon which our disciplines operate. We know that we have to reorient towards the reuse of what already exist, we need to rethink our methods, working techniques and terminology, and we need to raise the question of how we evaluate our cultural heritage. This elective course aims to interrogate the theoretical and conceptual frameworks used (historically and contemporarily) to approach the preservation and reuse of objects, buildings, cities, and landscapes.
Different categories of value permeate our culture, and are prescriptive for the ways in which society perceives its material framework. A heritage object’s importance, worth, or usefulness is subject to fluctuating opinions and practices, as is its mere status as a ‘preservation-worthy’ object. But what, exactly, are the values that prompt the preservation of a monument, regulate its reuse, and allows for its continued existence? Where are these values grounded, and by whom are they defined? How do we value and sustain the integrity of what is already there in ways that allow for imaginative reuse?
Value is an abstract term with a myriad of denominations. This seminar examines the multiple aspects of “value” that each, in its way, condition the preservation, use, longevity and estimation of monuments and material heritage.
The seminar is part of the research project "Provenance Projected: Architecture Past and Future in the Era of Circularity"
Knowledge:
Skill:
General competence:
Drawing from a diverse pool of canonical, experimental, academic, poetic, speculative, contemporary, and historical texts, the students will be assigned readings relating to the week’s topic for discussion. Each student will get a case study (a building) to be scrutinized throughout the semester. This will form the basis for student-led discussions, informed by the predefined topic, the assigned readings, and the set case study. The archival findings and other material will be collected on the digital content platform Sanity.
Form of assessment | Grouping | Grading scale | Comment |
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Portfolio assessment (Vurderingsmappe) | Individual | Pass / fail | The final grade will be based upon weekly deliveries and the final review, as well as the quality and logic of the uploaded material to the platform Sanity. |