The 20th century built heritage and the preservation project

lbarc2144  2022-2023  Bruxelles Saint-Gilles

The 20th century built heritage and the preservation project
3.00 credits
30.0 h
Q2
Teacher(s)
Marino Giulia;
Language
Main themes
The 20th  century was a prolific and foundational period for architecture. It was at this point that the concept of innovation in construction became unavoidable, both in improvements to tried and tested techniques and the introduction of new materials and construction systems, most often dependent on the logic of industrialisation of building. The spatial, constructional and formal outcomes of this radical paradigm shift that began at the end of the 19th century and retains some relevance today form a significant and many-sided topic. 
Understanding the constructional logic of the recent past makes it possible, through its interpretation, to grasp the dynamics of today's design. But beyond its obvious cultural implications, a meticulous understanding of the material specifics of modern and contemporary production, down to the scale of the detail, should also be seen as a crucial step in implementing the project for preserving existing buildings with an eye to their adaptation to current technical uses and constraints. Hence the investigation of systems, processes and materials also takes account of the challenges of their conservation/adaptation, or even, where appropriate, their replacement with contemporary techniques.
20th-century building, by its constructional specifics, requires  us to develop purpose-made preservation strategies. Critical history and the analysis of construction and materials thus provide us with both a methodological basis and a true design tool in a creative process combining theoretical knowledge and technical know-how, demonstrating the disciplinary coherence of the options chosen. 
In studying events that were particularly formative for the discipline, the course will deal with theoretical and operational design in the existing – conservation, restoration, renovation, reuse, as well as techniques of intervention in 20th-century building – ranging from the monumental heritage to more ordinary works. Notions of the history of the theories of conservation that developed in the 19th and 20th centuries will be developed throughout the quadrimester, not only by studying the foundations of the discipline, but also by stimulating students to develop a critical and coherent attitude to the project in the existing.
Bibliography
Une bibliographie spécifique, par thème traité, sera distribuée pendant les cours.
Les supports de cours seront mis à disposition des étudiant·e·s via la plateforme d'échange Moodle du cours.
Faculty or entity
MARC


Programmes / formations proposant cette unité d'enseignement (UE)

Title of the programme
Sigle
Credits
Prerequisites
Learning outcomes
Master [120] in Architecture (Tournai)

Master [120] in Architecture (Bruxelles)