12.00 – 13.00 pm, Zoom Webinar
Architectural Conservation as Re-Building, Re-Dwelling, Re-Thinking
This lecture is a plea for a philosophical standpoint and an ontological approach to Architectural Conservation. Monuments should be considered not as inert remnants of the past to be restored, but as cultural agents to be reactivated. We conserve monuments not for what they have been, but for what they are and the modes in which they can contribute to contemporary cultural life. Towards this end, key concepts in heritage charters and conservation practices, such as heritage values, authenticity, and cultural significance in the documentation, assessment and interpretation of monuments, as well as in various kinds and modes of intervention, are being reconsidered in a new light.
Vassilis Ganiatsas is Full Professor of ‘Architectural Syntheses & Theory of Architectural Design’ & Director of ‘Architectural Morphology’ Lab, School of Architecture, National Technical University of Athens. Studied Classics, Architecture, and Philosophy in Athens and Edinburgh/UK (Ph.D.1987). His Research (since 1983) and teaching (since 1985) focuses on Philosophy, Theory and Practice of Architectural /Urban/Landscape Design and Philosophy, Theory, and design of Heritage Management. His Architectural Practice gained 17 awards, the 2010 ‘EUROPA NOSTRA’ Medal for Architectural Conservation, and has been twice nominated (2015, 2017) for the European ‘EU-Mies van der Rohe Architectural Award’. Vassilis Ganiatsas is also an academic consultant/staff in Heritage Management Organisation, expert member to ICOMOS International Scientific Committees, and invited professor in Europe, USA, Japan.
