Submissions Due – 30 June 2023

More information here

The traditional understanding of heritage as tangible (physical) sites that represent authorized discourses and histories is being challenged by the postmodern conceptualization of heritage as a dynamic and pluralistic process (or performance) across space and time. Critical heritage studies, contemporary conservation theory and adaptive reuse are all contributing towards the idea of heritage as an immaterial, people-focused activity that has the power to include or exclude.

Beginning from Laurajane Smith’s (2006) established premise that ‘all heritage is intangible’, this Special Issue is seeking papers that critically evaluate, through experimental and theoretical results, how architectural heritage and adaptive reuse relate to this critical conception of heritage. What is the relationship between approaches taken towards built heritage and the contemporary thematic issues made prominent in critical heritage studies? How can architectural, conservationist and adaptative reuse strategies evolve to maintain relevance to the topical debates and issues in relation to what heritage is and means in contemporary life? What other developments in neighboring fields of inquiry and professionalism (e.g., heritage management, archaeology, cultural heritage studies) might be appropriate to consider when thinking about the evolution of built heritage conservation in this way?

This Special Issue welcomes papers that consider the future of built heritage conservation from the following perspectives:

• The dynamic(s) between physical and non-physical heritages—intangible cultural heritage safeguarding within built heritage conservation, the transmission of intangible heritage through physical heritage(s), folklore and storytelling within the conservation process.
• Built heritage conservation and participation—inclusive conservation, equity through conservation, community engagement and ethical considerations within the conservation process, the social process of conservation.
• Built heritage and memory—contentious heritage, memory making and memory practices, multi-cultural and minority heritage representation, representation of the recent past, memory and conservation methods.
• Architectural heritage and the climate emergency—the future of retrofit and reuse, anastylosis and recycling materials, natural materials movement, social sustainability, philosophical dilemmas related to material permanence and decay.
• Digital futures for built heritage—future experiences of heritage, digital conservation and reconstruction methods, web-based methods, data mining, the role of the metaverse, evolving understandings of ‘authenticity’ in a digital context.

This Special Issue welcomes papers from a variety of architectural and non-architectural backgrounds providing the discourse is framed around the conservation and/or adaptation of built heritage. Papers can be methodologically motivated, data-driven, case study-focused or wholly theoretical.

Dr. Johnathan Djabarouti
Guest Editor

The Place Alliance is joining forces with Civic Voice and the Urban Design Group to explore how we can deliver high standards of design quality in new housing development in economically disadvantaged areas or in areas where poor design has been the norm in the recent past. Can you help us to identify stories of success by nominating new housing developments that raise the bar for design quality?

The challenge

Research published in 2019 by the Place Alliance and examining the external built environment revealed a stark divide between the quality of housing development in different parts of the country as determined by relative affluence. The analysis showed that poorly designed schemes are almost ten times more likely to be built in the least affluent areas than in affluent areas.

However, this is not always the case. The same study also revealed that it is possible to deliver well-designed schemes in disadvantaged areas while poor quality projects are sometimes built within affluent localities. A common story seems to be that communities whose local planning authorities are unwilling to accept substandard developments and instead push housebuilders for better design quality are typically those that benefit from better designed housing.

Unfortunately, follow-up research pointed to a particular reluctance amongst some local planning authorities to pursue better design outcomes, and that these tend to be concentrated in certain parts of the country where expectations are lower and less scrupulous housebuilders are allowed to ‘get away with it’.

To break this cycle, we need to identify stories of success that can inspire others to push for better and to understand how this is done. As Government policy says, “The creation of high quality, beautiful and sustainable buildings and places is fundamental … and helps make development acceptable to communities”.

What are we looking for?

To start this process, we are seeking examples of major housing developments where, in your view, design quality in the external built environment has been achieved. In other words, in how a development looks, how it functions, how it fits into its surroundings, the amenities it offers residents, and so on.

We are interested in schemes from all regions of England and particularly projects located in economically disadvantaged areas or in localities where poor quality new housing development has dominated in recent decades. Projects should be at least 50 homes and either currently under development or completed in the last ten years.

If you would like to nominate a project, then please fill out our online form below: this should take no more than two to three minutes to complete.

Click here to fill out our online form