What does a heritage architect do?

 

 A heritage architect is a specialist dedicated to the conservation and restoration of buildings and sites that have cultural value.

 

Thanks to an exhaustive training and a considerable experience in the field, the specialist possesses the know-how necessary to determine the level of value of a building and to diagnose its ongoing problems. He’s well versed in the current national and European legislation on the subjects of architectural design, building construction and intervention on architectural heritage.

 

His sizable skills make the specialist an invaluable contributor at every stage of the preservation of a given building, urban ensemble and rural or natural site, whether or not they have an official statute as cultural heritage, and he can also contribute to the preservation and public exposition of archaeological sites. Deep knowledge of traditional building techniques and materials, as well as experience in diagnosing and resolving structural problems make the heritage architect not only a leading factor in the working process of intervention on architectural heritage, but very often designate him as an ideal coordinator for a multidisciplinary team of specialists.

 

The process of preservation of architectural heritage includes a variety of successive actions preformed either on a single building, an ensemble of buildings, a portion of urban or extra-urban territory or an archaeological site:

 

• Search and identification

• Study and documentation

• Prescription and application of emergency safety measures

• Elaboration of a project for conservation, restoration and adaptation

• Coordination of the project with competent institutions

• Implementation of the project, supervision of the execution

• Analysis, diagnostics and proposals for interventions within a protected zone

• Popularization of the building/ensemble/site, addressed to a specialized audience or to the general public   

 

Architectural heritage does not consist only of separate buildings with an official statute.

Basically, everything that we inherit from previous generations and that we would like in turn to transmit to next generations IS an item of heritage.  

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How I can help you:

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 A fundamental principle of the preservation of architectural heritage states that each object of study possesses its own specifics and that therefore there can be no ready solutions to be applied automatically. The architect must approach each case individually and every intervention must be preceded by thorough survey and research.

 

Following an inquiry from your part, I can conduct an on-site inspection, preliminary surveys and an analysis of the current state of your site. The goal of this essential step is to be able to formulate the right diagnose, in order then to choose the most adequate solution for the preservation of the site, in regard to its value.

 

This way, I can help you formulate an individual strategy of action, including one or several successive steps for intervention – from emergency measures to a project for conservation and restoration. If you are not yet prepared to implement a project, I can advise you on ways to protect and preserve your site until you’re ready to formulate your intentions.

 

Since not every owner/tenant/administrator of a heritage building is necessarily an expert in the legislation in this domain and is aware of all the requirements imposed by this statute, I can also help you get acquainted and get in compliance with the current laws and regulations, as well as assist you in your dialogue with the competent institutions.