Regional building archaeology. The stakes involved in the improved management of historic architecture in Brussels
Notes de la rédaction
This is the press release related to the article from Paulo Charruadas and Stéphane Demeter, published October 3rd 2011. Read the article.
Everybody knows how delicate the question regarding the protection of architectural heritage is in Brussels. For a city known around the world due to the term 'Brusselisation', effective procedures for protection and preservation are absolutely necessary. The authors of the 52nd issue of Brussels Studies – Paulo Charruadas and Stéphane Demeter (ULB) – have examined the situation in the city-region.
The built heritage is a 'millefeuille' made up of successive layers, shaping the city and its buildings over time. The analysis of this complex situation requires the intervention of specialists who are able to reconstruct the different stages and define their relevance in terms of heritage.
The Brussels-Capital Region is greatly concerned about its built environment and has the necessary regulatory tools to protect it. In this area, considerable progress has been made over the past twenty years, but the authors regret the lack of importance given to archaeology. Well-designed laws are therefore applied superficially, based on oversimplified analyses. It is thus rare that a building is considered beyond its facade. Entire pieces of heritage are thus ignored and as a result are neglected.
Paulo Charruadas and Stéphane Demeter argue in favour of a better integration of archaeological approaches in the strategies to protect and preserve built heritage, in order to allow the development of a rational, systematic and scientifically justified policy in the area. This evolution is all the more necessary given that the identification, preservation and enhancement of built heritage are levers for the Region's development.
References
Charrudas, Paulo and Demeter, Stéphane, prenom “Regional building archaeology. The stakes involved in the improved management of historic architecture in Brussels”, Brussels Studies [Online], General collection, No 52, October 3rd 2011. URL: https://journals.openedition.org/brussels/1052
Contact
Benjamin Wayens, Senior Editor: bwayens[at]brusselsstudies.be