Publicomos

Réf.

42738

Type

article

Titre

Identification of “exceptional circumstances” where reconstruction of cultural heritage is accepted

Langues

English

Auteurs

Okahashi, Junko

Maison d'édition

ICOMOS

Date

2018

Pagination de section

1-9

Titre de la revue

ICOMOS University Forum

Vol. & n°

v. 1 n.

ISSN

2616-6968

Mots-clés

cultural heritage / philosophy of conservation / theory of restoration / reconstruction / criteria / principles / authenticity / memory / sense of place / spirit of place / revitalization / rehabilitation / documentation / local communities / community participation / cultural identity / cultural significance / conservation of cultural heritage / conservation of historic monuments / conservation of historic sites / anthropology / reconstitution

Résumé en anglais

This paper offers a necessary descriptive review of documents and literature, notably the principle, international, platform-setting texts which have shaped the doctrine and attitude towards reconstruction of cultural heritage. In order to place, as it were, cultural heritage as a future-making tool, seeing future as equally important as past and present in the life and spirit of a place, no principle could be put forward without respecting the accumulation of existing documents, which reflects the continued discussion on the justified or non-justified acts of reconstruction. When we see armed conflict destroying emblematic World Heritage Sites or natural disasters destroying cherished historic monuments and urban heritage, devastating the identity and esteem of the local community and a larger public far beyond, we tend to think it is the moment of what appear in doctrinal texts as ‘exceptional circumstances’, where reconstruction might be supported. Future-making or history-making; since it is a continuous process in which we are involved at present, why not restitute a memory from the past, when symbolically lost, as memory for the future? Significance of reconstruction is not only about rebuilding the monument in the material sense, but also to revitalize the living environment of the local community in their familiar cultural context. This is to foresee the rehabilitation of social livelihood and restitution of self-esteem among the directly concerned community. On the condition that reconstruction of an architectural space could enable such situations, should it not be acceptable as an appropriate method of a forward-looking future society management?

Document joint

2_Okahashi.pdf

Licence

Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-Share Alike (BY-NC-SA)