Modern Architecture and Cultural Heritage

Abstract

The problems of modern architecture as they pertain to the physical and social environment are acute and interconnected. Architecture has to contribute to an integrated collective effort for solutions.

Beyond traditional practice, architects need to adopt ecological design and be trained accordingly. Further to bioclimatic research and practice, teachings should also include the history of cultural heritage and its influence on design, intellectual development and ethical issues.

Architecture today is globalized; the same materials are used all over the world to reproduce a limited array of forms, while the principles of eco-design are often reduced to commercialized applications.

Believing that design is improved by taking into account experiences from different localities, a concept of Inter-locality is introduced as a synthesis of the design principles of different peoples in different localities facing similar problems. In my view, inter-locality is a vital alternative to the worldwide imposition of stereotyped forms that lead to an architecture without local character, without alternative expressions. As a major step, the establishment of a novel inventory of bioclimatic solutions as applied to traditional settlements of interest to architectural heritage and to individual anonymous architecture structures therein is proposed.

In my opinion, the study of architecture should adhere to the synergy between bioclimatic design and cultural heritage through inter-locality. None of the above can be achieved, though, without multidisciplinary collaboration starting at the borders of the University.