Built Heritage (2025)

02/12/2025

The monumentalisation of a Red memorial: the sublimation of the Shanghai Shikumen at the founding site of the Communist Party of China
Plácido González Martínez
Analysing the Site of the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China in Shanghai, I argue that the search for the ‘origins’ of the place is rooted in authorised heritage discourses that motivate constant arrangements of heritage conservation and architectural and urban design around Shanghai’s vernacular residential type: the shikumen.

Political memorials remain being a developing chapter of the current heritage boom in China, with evolving heritage narratives that resonate with inner political changes. Analysing the Site of the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China in Shanghai, I argue that the search for the .....

01/12/2025

Admission hospitals: 20th-century additions to English mental hospitals, heritage significance and challenges
Christina Malathouni
Considered within a broader exploration of special challenges and opportunities inherent in health-related built heritage, this article discusses the virtual absence of 20th-century mental healthcare facilities from English heritage lists. It aims to examine the reasons for such an absence and reflect on potential solutions towards a more balanced representation. The article also reflects on the relevance of broader developments in the field of heritage that can be seen as contributing to more holistic approaches, such as intangible heritage, heritage democratisation, multivocal narratives, or even rights-based approaches.

Considered within a broader exploration of special challenges and opportunities inherent in health-related built heritage, this article discusses the virtual absence of 20th-century mental healthcare facilities from English heritage lists. It aims to examine the reasons for such an absence and refle...

23/11/2025

Occidental discourses, materialities, spaces and assemblages: ersatz suburbs, replica towns and colonial histories and heritage in contemporary China
Andrew Malcolm Law & Qianqian Qin
Employing discursive, visual and internet analysis, we investigate two forms of Occidental assemblage that have emerged in the post-Maoist era: 1) a real estate/developer-based assemblage and 2) a conservation-heritage-based assemblage. We argue that ‘producers’ within both constellations create consumerist discourses and imaginaries of the Occident that serve a variety of elitist and nonelitist needs.Thus, our analysis of several faux Occidental real estate/developer landscapes (constructed by Assemblage 1) and several colonial heritage sites (constructed by Assemblage 2), leads us to argue that visitors and tourists to these spaces use these landscapes to construct discourses of romance, beauty, nostalgia and, in some instances, imaginaries of ‘escape’. As we suggest, rather than sites of elitism alone, these two Occidental assemblages serve as spaces by which Chinese consumers can escape the pressures and mundanity of everyday Chinese life.

Since the 1990s, a body of literature has emerged on the idea of Occidentalism in China. Many studies have explored the role of the Chinese state in the construction of a negative narrative of the Occident to legitimise state rule. Drawing upon the ideas of Xiaomei Chen, in this article, we argue th...

19/11/2025

Urban iconic soundscape, when historical perception overshadows acoustic perception: the case of preserving Yogyakarta's iconic sounds
Christina E. Mediastika et al.
A series of studies have been conducted to preserve the iconic soundscape, including the soundmarks of Yogyakarta, a city renowned for its rich cultural and historical heritage. Owing to limitations in implementing in situ approaches, the idea of virtual preservation through a virtual museum is being explored. The goal of this study is to present preliminary findings to local stakeholders for further data identification, confirmation, and validation and to gather acoustic perceptions through virtual soundscape surveys conducted at iconic locations, which will serve as guidance for advanced virtual preservation.

A series of studies have been conducted to preserve the iconic soundscape, including the soundmarks of Yogyakarta, a city renowned for its rich cultural and historical heritage. Owing to limitations in implementing in situ approaches, the idea of virtual preservation through a virtual museum is bein...

17/11/2025

Healthcare for everyone? The development, decline and heritage values of modern postwar hospitals in Slovakia
Laura Krišteková Pastoreková
This study explores the development and current heritage issues of healthcare built infrastructure in Slovakia from 1948 to 1989, a key period in the formation of a modern, centralised hospital network. It highlights that modernist hospital heritage demands informed renovation strategies rather than piecemeal modernisation. It also emphasizes the need for heritage-aware approaches in the face of climate considerations, changing medical practices, and private investment pressures. The deliberate registers of existing facilities and proactive modernisation plans are recommended to maintain functionality while safeguarding heritage.

This study explores the development and current heritage issues of healthcare built infrastructure in Slovakia from 1948 to 1989, a key period in the formation of a modern, centralised hospital network. It highlights heritage concerns while situating architectural and historical values at the centre...

15/11/2025

Mobility and permanence in the nomadic architectural traditions of Africa and Northern Siberia
Gordon Clarke
This paper explores the human response to questions of mobility and permanence in vernacular architectural design as the key to understanding the differences between nomadic architectures which are built afresh at each camp and thus are carried between camps purely as memory, and the productions of the nomads who produce mobile dwellings such as tents, in which the physical embodiment of their architectures is carried as they migrate between camps, such that the dwelling exists as temporary spaces within a constant materiality. In the former, the design pattern has a lineage, which may be thousands of years old, while the buildings themselves rapidly decay, in the latter, the process of constant repair and renewal means that the tents themselves may be hundreds, or even thousands of years old.

This paper explores the human response to questions of mobility and permanence in vernacular architectural design as the key to understanding the differences between nomadic architectures which are built afresh at each camp and thus are carried between camps purely as memory, and the productions of....

13/11/2025

Comprehensive evaluation of the landscape quality of Danjie Road in Loutang Ancient Town using AHP and entropy methods
Jianbin Li & Yuan Li
This study presents a context-specific evaluation framework for assessing the landscape quality of Danjie Road in Loutang Ancient Town, Shanghai. Drawing on historical research, field surveys, expert consultation, and public participation, this study develops a seven-criteria, twenty-six-indicator system that integrates physical attributes with intangible dimensions such as memory continuity, cultural identity, and microclimate adaptation. Although the AHP–Entropy method is employed to balance subjective and objective weights, the core contribution lies in reframing the evaluation of heritage streetscapes as a multidimensional and culturally embedded process.

This study presents a context-specific evaluation framework for assessing the landscape quality of Danjie Road in Loutang Ancient Town, Shanghai. Drawing on historical research, field surveys, expert consultation, and public participation, this study develops a seven-criteria, twenty-six-indicator s...

12/11/2025

The brick material culture of Urbino (UNESCO World Heritage, Central Italy) as inferred from a multidisciplinary archaeometric study on the historic architecture
Patrizia Santi, Francesco Veneri, Gianluigi Tonelli, Mario Tramontana, Laura Panzeri, Anna Galli & Alberto Renzulli
Roman to Modern times (19th century) brick samples from monuments, walls and other masonry buildings of the historic centre of Urbino were investigated through a multidisciplinary approach, including mineralogy and texture (thin section and XRPD), chemistry (major-trace elements), physical–mechanical properties and thermoluminescence (TL) dating, coupled with the historic literature data. TL mostly confirms the building periods of the architectural structures where the bricks were sampled, also emphasising for the Cathedral a building period that lasted more than three centuries. The absence of standardisation of the pyrotechnological processes probably led to the large variability of the physical–mechanical features even for bricks of the same building period. Uniaxial Compressive Strength of the investigated historic bricks, however, falls within the range of present-day full-bricks, and a general improvement of the brick quality from Roman to Modern times was highlighted, as well as a progressive refinement in preparation techniques before firing. The brick material culture of Urbino continues seamlessly, after the investigated periods, until the second half of the 20th century, testified by the presence of the brick factory of the Fornace Volponi, just outside the historic centre of the city.

Roman to Modern times (19th century) brick samples from monuments, walls and other masonry buildings of the historic centre of Urbino were investigated through a multidisciplinary approach, including mineralogy and texture (thin section and XRPD), chemistry (major-trace elements), physical–mechani...

07/11/2025

Relationship between lime mortars and defects of the Great Wall built by the Ming Dynasty in China
Shibing Dai, Yang Wu & Tanja Dettmering
A defining characteristic of the Ming Dynasty Great Wall is its use of dolomitic and calcium-rich lime mortars with minimal aggregates for bedding and pointing. Notably, the mortars possess higher capillary porosity than the bricks, a feature that historically enhanced the Wall’s durability in pre-industrial environments. However, structural degradation—manifested as cracks in mortar joints and bricks—is primarily attributed to chemical interactions between the mortars and air pollutants, with magnesium sulfates playing a key role in deterioration. To address this issue, compatible natural hydraulic lime (NHL) and formulated lime (FL) mortars have been developed as sustainable alternatives to cement-based grouts. This methodology was informed by prior studies evaluating the efficacy of modified NHL/FL mortars in filling cavities and cracks. Expanding on these findings, mortars based on formulated lime and NHL binders were systematically analysed, with particular emphasis on their pore structure and solid mortar properties.

A defining characteristic of the Ming Dynasty Great Wall is its use of dolomitic and calcium-rich lime mortars with minimal aggregates for bedding and pointing. These mortars exhibit remarkable strength and adhesion to both natural stone and kiln-fired bricks, owing to long-term mineralogical transf...

06/11/2025

Navigating discourses and local practices: the people-centred approach in urban heritage practice
Shuting Sun, Rohit Jigyasu & Naoto Nakajima
The discourse of heritage conservation has developed from a material-centred approach to a people-centred approach (PCA), reflecting a shift towards a relational and dynamic understanding of heritage-making. This study examines two models of PCA implementation in China and Thailand to reveal how discursive visions of heritage are enabled or constrained by extradiscursive forces such as governance practices, resource distribution, and actor dynamics. The authors proposes a staged framework that integrates the PCA discourse with institutions, empowers communities, embeds heritage goals in local planning, and enables iterative feedback mechanisms.

The discourse of heritage conservation has developed from a material-centred approach to a people-centred approach (PCA), reflecting a shift towards a relational and dynamic understanding of heritage-making. While the PCA is prominent in global discourse, its local implementation—particularly its ...

05/11/2025

Local community narratives on world cultural heritage: a case study of Quanzhou, China
Bin Lin
This case study explores local community’s narrative of Quanzhou’s UNESCO World Heritage status, based on interviews with 37 residents. Interview data was collected through 7 questions and analysed using grounded theory, identifying 42 primary concepts, which were organised into 3 core categories: European Authorised Heritage Discourse (AHD), Chinese Authorised Heritage Discourse (AHD), and local counter-discourse, touching upon 4 topics: Outstanding Universal Value (OUV), qualification, influence and tourism. The findings reveal the interplay between global, national, and local counter-discourses in shaping perceptions of local residents.

This case study explores local community’s narrative of Quanzhou’s UNESCO World Heritage status, based on interviews with 37 residents. Interview data was collected through 7 questions and analysed using grounded theory, identifying 42 primary concepts, which were organised into 3 core categorie...

04/11/2025

Heritage exclusivism of the colonial past: the dilemma of choosing what to recall or bury in the context of Qingdao’s urban regeneration
Shutong Man & Ning Lu
This paper takes industrial heritage with the colonial past in Qingdao as an example to explore how colonial heritage is reproduced and disseminated, what memories and values are included or excluded in the process of urban regeneration, and how it can be expressed in various ways. This study identifies the gap between diverse values and argues that a place-based and community-oriented approach is needed that can draw on diverse local value expressions in contemporary urban regeneration practices.

Heritage is essentially a value-based discursive process shaped by competing narratives, which often leads to heritage exclusivism—particularly in colonial heritage marked by value conflicts and attempts at integration. In the context of the Chinese narrative informed by national rejuvenation and ...

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