Built Heritage

01/07/2025

Built heritage of health: Italian hospital’s inward/outward urban history and relocation dilemma Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico case study
Pilar Maria Guerrieri
Hospitals, health centres and asylum buildings fall within the sphere of so-called health architecture, places oriented towards health promotion and prevention. Architectural health structures need to be kept modern and up to date, and heritage buildings are generally considered unsuitable.The case of the Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico in Milan is particularly emblematic of the inwards/outwards hospital relocation phenomena that occurred around Italy during the 20th century, and it can compellingly trigger a debate over the conservation/innovation challenges faced by the built heritage of health.

Hospitals, health centres and asylum buildings fall within the sphere of so-called health architecture, places oriented towards health promotion and prevention. A solid evolutionary process characterises all structures that accommodate health-related functions owing to the constantly changing needs....

23/06/2025

Conservation of archaeological sites in the face of urban sprawl: the case of Independencia, Peru
Cleber Dionis, Mirtha Cristobal, Nataly Álvarez & Cristian Yarasca-Aybar
In Lima (the capital of Peru), archaeological sites are constantly being threatened by accelerated urban expansion. This study examines Independencia (a district in northern Lima), where 95% of archaeological areas have been encroached upon due to inadequate planning and conservation policies. Focusing on four key archaeological sites (Cerro La Cruz, Cerro San Jerónimo, Pampa de Cueva, and San Jerónimo), this study employed a comprehensive pathological analysis to assess the extent and causes of deterioration.

In Lima (the capital of Peru), archaeological sites are constantly being threatened by accelerated urban expansion. This study examines Independencia (a district in northern Lima), where 95% of archaeological areas have been encroached upon due to inadequate planning and conservation policies. Focus...

22/06/2025

Urban Heritage Sociocultural Impact Assessment (UHSCIA): scale development and psychometric validation
Shahim Abdurahiman
This study presents the development and psychometric validation of an urban heritage sociocultural impact assessment (UHSCIA) scale to evaluate the impact of urban development projects on the sociocultural fabric of historic urban precincts. The scale was designed to facilitate a heritage-led approach to urban development, ensuring the preservation and enhancement of urban heritage assets. The study adopts a mixed-method grounded theory to prepare the item pool and construct a framework.

This study presents the development and psychometric validation of an urban heritage sociocultural impact assessment (UHSCIA) scale to evaluate the impact of urban development projects on the sociocultural fabric of historic urban precincts. The scale was designed to facilitate a heritage-led approa...

20/06/2025

Chinese commemorative practices in an English graveyard – observations on the Elswick gravestones
Bruce Davenport, Yuan Zhang & Andrew Law
This paper explores the contemporary use, for commemorative purposes, of Chinese heritage situated outside of China, in the built environment of Newcastle-upon-Tyne (United Kingdom). The focus of the paper is the recent history of five gravestones of Chinese sailors who came to Newcastle in the 1880s as part of a delegation to receive cruisers that had been designed and built for the Qing Dynasty’s Beiyang Fleet. The restoration of the gravestone in 2016–19 situated the gravestones as historic artefacts marking the birth of the Beiyang Fleet. Drawing on material evidence of recent commemorative reuse of the gravestones by contemporary Chinese subjects, the paper considers their on-going role in fostering national identities.

This paper explores the contemporary use, for commemorative purposes, of Chinese heritage situated outside of China, in the built environment of Newcastle-upon-Tyne (United Kingdom). The focus of the paper is the recent history of five gravestones of Chinese sailors who came to Newcastle in the 1880...

19/06/2025

Geotechnics in the preservation of Machu Picchu, Cusco, Peru
Amparo Abarca Ancori
The Incan foundation techniques that have allowed the buildings of Machu Picchu to endure to the present are unknown. In this sense, one possible intervening factor is the proper application of geotechnical principles. This application guarantees the preservation of civil works through the effective management of local conditions and the physical and mechanical characteristics of soils. Therefore, the objective of this research was to determine whether geotechnics were related to the preservation of the Llaqta of Machu Picchu. For this purpose, three geotechnical factors were evaluated: 1) local site conditions, 2) physical and mechanical characteristics of the foundation soils, and 3) bearing capacity.

The Incan foundation techniques that have allowed the buildings of Machu Picchu to endure to the present are unknown. In this sense, one possible intervening factor is the proper application of geotechnical principles. This application guarantees the preservation of civil works through the effective...

16/06/2025

Book Review: Heritage education for climate action
Sevgi Türkkan
The growing nexus between heritage preservation and climate change is evident in increased academic attention. Meanwhile, both heritage education (pioneered by institutions like ICCROM since 1960’s) and climate change education is undergoing a transformative shift due to fast-evolving digital educational technologies and transformative pedagogies. These changes raise critical questions about how built environment, heritage, climate change, and their complex interrelations are taught, particularly within architectural and urban studies. Curulli, Ikiz Kaya, and Khaefi’s book timely addresses this gap by focusing on the role of education in bridging heritage preservation and climate change.

Book, conference and exhibition review Open access Published: 27 May 2025 Heritage education for climate action, by Irene G. Curulli, Deniz Ikiz Kaya, and Arghavan Khaefi. London: ISTE Ltd, 2023. ISBN 9781786309037 Sevgi Türkkan ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-6296-74931 Built Heritage volume 9, Article...

11/06/2025

Congratulations!!!👏👏👏

We are glad to communicate that our Executive Editor, Dr. Plácido González Martínez, is now a recipient of the 2025 Editor of Distinction Award, given by the publisher Springer Nature.

For the company’s 2025 honors, González Martínez was recognized for his work as an Executive Editor of Built Heritage since 2016, in two categories:

(1) The Springer Nature Editorial Contribution Award, acknowledging his meticulous assessment of submissions and rigorous management of the peer review process, safeguarding the scientific accuracy of the published record,
(2) The Springer Nature Author Service Award, acknowledging his exceptional service in improving the author experience and ensuring an efficient, constructive and fair peer review process.

“Your tireless efforts in developing your journal's community, supporting your authors and advocating for your communities are invaluable in advancing discovery,” wrote Ritu Dhand, chief scientific officer for Springer Nature, in a notification letter.

Plácido González Martínez is Associate Professor at the Department of Architectural History, Theory and Composition, University of Seville. Delegate of the University of Seville at the Sino Spanish Campus of Tongji University in Shanghai. He is also project advisor at UNESCO WHITRAP in Shanghai, and current Executive Committee Member of the Association of Critical Heritage Studies.

During his 7-year residence in China, he served at the College of Architecture and Urban Planning of Tongji University as Distinguished Professor (Oriental Scholar) of Shanghai Universities (2020-2022), and as Professor of the Summit Program (2016-2019), both awarded by the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission.

10/06/2025

Global Climate Change and Built Heritage
Guest editor: Lui Tam, Christopher J. Whitman & Oriel Prizeman, Welsh School of Architecture, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
This special issue collates new research and heritage practices related to the complex relationship between anthropogenic climate change and built heritage. Contributions cover practical, technical, and philosophical challenges posed by this global crisis, investigating the sub-themes of ‘The impact of the continued use of built heritage on climate change’, ‘The impact of climate change on built heritage’, ‘Learning from the past’, and ‘Built heritage, climate action, and environmental justice’. Here a series of detailed case studies and specific climatic contexts provide specific insight into the breadth of issues that are emerging as shared concerns.
https://www.springeropen.com/collections/Global-Climate-Change

09/06/2025

Architectural heritage as filming location: impact on identity and significance
Tejashree Lakras
Using architectural heritage sites as filming locations has unintended and diverse effects on the sites and their relationships with stakeholders. While this phenomenon has attracted scholars largely from the heritage domain and film-induced tourism (hereafter FIT) discourse, the research has been minimal, is still evolving, and is located primarily in the global west; thus, more research in this area is needed. This paper responds to such gaps in the literature by studying a case from India, where scholarly knowledge on this phenomenon is scarce, available only in the FIT literature, and lacks a heritage conservation viewpoint. The research findings reveal that the stakeholder’s overall approach prioritises the site as an ideal filming location over its historical identity, compromising the ethics of heritage conservation and, thus, overshadowing the site’s architectural significance.

Using architectural heritage sites as filming locations has unintended and diverse effects on the sites and their relationships with stakeholders. While this phenomenon has attracted scholars largely from the heritage domain and film-induced tourism (hereafter FIT) discourse, the research has been m...

08/06/2025

The heritagisation of the Pokfulam Fire Dragon Dance in Hong Kong
Stephanie Po Yin Chung & Lachlan Barber
In this paper, we examine the heritagisation of a local spiritual ritual in Hong Kong as an example of expanding the field of built heritage studies to encompass relevant nonmaterial heritage. Building on recent work in heritage studies that challenges established dichotomies, we show how these categories, which have separate mechanisms and policy frameworks, are, in this case, mutually constituted. The paper also demonstrates how heritagisation is a dynamic and, at times, pragmatic reinterpretation of cultural meaning involving multiple intersecting conditions, resources and actions.

In this paper, we examine the heritagisation of a local spiritual ritual in Hong Kong as an example of expanding the field of built heritage studies to encompass relevant nonmaterial heritage. Herein, we present the case that a listed example of intangible cultural heritage in Hong Kong, namely, the...

04/06/2025

The 2024 SCOPUS CiteScore was just released, with good news for the journal Built Heritage!

Our CiteScore leaped significantly, growing 20% from 2.0 in 2023 to 2.4 in 2024. This allows Built Heritage to remain in the highest Q1 positions among other journals in the field:

* Built Heritage advances 23 positions in the History category ranking, from #89/1760 in 2023 to #66/1850 in 2024, achieving a 96th percentile!
* Furthermore, Built Heritage remains at the top positions in the Conservation category, from #12/103 in 2023 to #13/103 in 2024, on the 87th percentile!

This progress could not be possible without the contribution of our esteemed authors, the cooperation of our top reviewers, the generosity of our committed guest editors, the guidance of our wonderful editorial board, the support of our publishers and the hard work of our editorial team.

Last but not least, we are indebted to our readers, who trust on the quality of our contents. We hope you will continue enjoying our journal as an open forum for scholarly exchange. We will strive to continuing making it better in 2025!

03/06/2025

Assessing the UNESCO community capacity building initiative: a case study from the historic city of Vigan, Philippines
Wanling Jian
Using an ethnographic approach to explore community members’ interactions with the homeowner manual, this article reveals the complex process undertaken by local communities in Vigan to develop their capacity for built heritage conservation. The presence of preexisting capacity and varied levels of social capital influence homeowners’ resources available for conservation projects. The difficulties encountered by local communities prompted discussions on the comprehensiveness of capacity-building programs and their adaptability to social dynamics.

The crucial role of local communities in heritage management has received increasing international attention over the past few decades, exemplified by the Five Key Strategies, the Historic Urban Landscape Approach, and the World Heritage Capacity Building Strategy. At the World Heritage 40th anniver...