Managing heritage in the wake of war and conflict in Cyprus

In the wake of a Greece-inspired coup against the Greek Cypriot President of Cyprus in 1974, the Turkish military occupied the northern third of the island and continues to do so. Ethnic communities are still separated: Greek Cypriots moved to the south and Turkish Cypriots to the north. This paper covers issues raised by the bi-communal conservation projects resulting from the European Union’s Partnership for the Future Programme being implemented by the United Nations Development Programme. The projects require co-operation between mutually distrustful, fearful and disdainful communities for the sake of common objectives – social and economic wellbeing. Cyprus has apparently opted for conflict management rather than resolution, with both sides focused on achieving prosperity. Heritage conservation has become a tool for peaceful co-existence and mutual pride. Initially the projects involved places of shared heritage rather than places reinforcing the separate cultural identities of the communities. Loss of cultural identity is a concern of both communities. Ongoing operational issues derive from the illegality of the Turkish government in the north and the repercussions of this for international aid. The paper will contribute to the conference theme by exploring the professional challenges related to these issues and their possible resolution.

Role of daylight in preserving identities in heritage context

The narrow alleys and the small neighbourhood squares are the most recognisable urban configuration forms that highlight the fabrics of Old Cairo. Parts of Old Cairo are currently going through major conservation projects. The extent of the success of some of these projects in preserving the identity of the Cairene context is currently under scrutiny and has created a debate among local residents, professionals, and politicians. Preliminary investigation has been conducted to assess the rehabilitation strategy of the selected case of el-Darb el-Asfar in relation to its context. Daylight is an essential contextual ingredient that characterises particular places from its counterparts. The rehabilitation project, using new finishing materials, has led to changes in daylight levels and reflections in the space and hence modify the visual perception and the identity of the place itself. This paper aims to assess the impact of the proposed intervention on the visual perception and the identity of the selected built heritage. Daylight variables in open spaces, a combination of sunlight, skylight and the reflected light from the facades and the ground, are identified. Using TOWNSCOPE, daylight's components are calculated pre and after the implementation of the project. The performance of reflected component is traced by simulating the impact of the original and recently used materials. The paper concludes by suggesting a set of measures to achieve an appropriate daylight performance to achieve a sustainable development in the area and maintain the identity of the old city.

Whose identity? Valuing the culture built heritage in diverse and tensioned societies

The UNESCO declaration on cultural diversity in 2002 has raised more questions than answers. More recent events around the World have highlighted the immediate need for legislative actions to protect cultural built heritage in tensioned societies. This paper discusses the potential global risks that face cultural built Heritage. The paper argues that such risks are not only limited to regions where military operations are taking place but also to nations where questions of identity and cultural diversity are raised. The paper questioned the reasons and the impact of the rise of ethno nationalism on the protection of cultural built heritage. The different discourses of these groups that will lead to destruction of cultural artefacts are also explored. In order to properly legislate means for the protection of vulnerable cultural built heritage in conflict areas, the underline value system should be clarified and the values under threat identified. The paper concludes with a plea to move our understanding and definition of culture from the previous 'old' definition with relation to "people' to a 'new' one which is more relevant to context.

Daylight for sustainable regeneration of built heritage sites

Daylight is an essential contextual ingredient of place making. Research in daylighting has recently received major attention for its valuable contribution to the sustainability of the built environment. Previous research has investigated the role of daylighting in energy efficiency, its regional qualities in relation to the façade configuration, and its contribution to the sense of visual comfort. This paper argues that appropriate use of daylighting will ensure not only visual and thermal comfort in an urban setting, but also contributes to the place identity and hence sustainability of urban regeneration projects. The paper identifies the daylight variables that affect the success of the regeneration of heritage sites in Eastern Mediterranean. Daylight variables in public open spaces include a combination of sunlight, skylight and the reflected light from the facades and the ground. The Solar altitude, the geometry of sectional profiles, the reflectance of the opposing facades, the width of the street and the density of the urban built environment are examined to simulate the daylight performance in the selected heritage sites. Located in the historical Darb al-Ahmar district, Aslam Square is selected as part of one of the rehabilitation project in Cairo. This paper examines the photometric and morphological properties of the existing configuration using daylight simulation software. Various spherical projections were developed to represent full 3D visual environment. The paper calculates and analyses the direct radiation energy, the sky diffused energy and the reflected energy in the case study.

Valuing local built heritage in a global setting : identity & visual perceptions of cultural built heritage in Northern Ireland

‘In these troubled times with the world in search of its bearings and way ward minds using the terms “culture” and “civilization” in an attempt to turn human beings against one another, there is an urgent need to remember how fundamental cultural diversity is to humanity itself’ (UNESCO 2002). The progressive idea of culture can be used in regressive ways by extremists who used it occasionally to pursue the politics of xenophobia and exclusion. The hypothesis that different communities can share the same culture but have different visual perception of their built environment might seems contradictory. It is essential to describe what is meant by the ‘same culture’. The ever evolving changes of definition and re-definition of the word has not yet settled. This paper adopts the descriptive definition of culture while challenging its interpretation. The descriptive definition refers to ‘all the characteristics activities by a people’. While this description is generally accepted, the interpretation of what ‘a people’ means is divisive. It is not clear how Eliot defines ‘a people’. Is the term genetically prescribed or is ‘a people’ place related? And what about the moral and religious orientation? This paper argues that culture is basically place related and the forces that shape a culture of a ‘people’ are deeply embedded in the environmental forces that also shape other aspects of the place making and its identity. The paper addresses the questions of conflicts, value systems, and culture definitions and the inseparable links with architecture aesthetics.

Local built heritage in Northern Ireland is taken as a case study. Unlike many parts of the world, visual perceptions in Northern Ireland is well recognised with iconic as well as formal representations. The population is well aware of the signified as well as the signifiers. The boundaries between iconology and formalism theories are very blurred in the Northern Ireland context. This paper examines how the two communities visually perceive their shared built heritage and the extent of overlapping between the understanding of iconic and formalist visual representations in the built environment. The paper takes the buildings of the successful economic ventures of the shirt industry in the 19th century as a case study. The case study provides an insight of how a signified value of a successful economic regeneration initiative that is deeply imbedded in the social structure and within the urban fabric can overcome divisive visual perception. The paper examines the possibility of building upon the historical success of the shirt industry to promote architectural cultural dialogue in which cultural built heritage in Derry is able to facilitate knowledge creation and social capital in different arenas.

Highlights from the tennis Australia heritage collections : mini-exhibition in the player cafe, Rod Laver Arena

Summary : This 'mini-exhibition' arose as an opportunity to showcase recent acquisitions as well as established holdings of significant items of tennis related heritage within the Tennis Australia Heritage Collections. In general, the Collections have two main strengths, and the mini-exhibition was designed to communicate these. The first strength is the ability to show the evolution of tennis technology and practices over time, from the beginnings of modern tennis in the 1860s, to today. This evolution is a result of tennis being influenced by changes in the wider world, such as the Industrial Revolution. The second strength of the Collections is in showing the impact and influence of tennis on society. Many items in the Collections are evidence of the immense and enduring popularity of the sport across the world. The Collections contain many beautiful, rare and fascinating items of decorative arts, fashion, literature and social history which feature tennis as a motif. These items show the reverse influence - the deep impression tennis has made outside of the sport itself.  This mini-exhibition focuses on these two themes. Some displays focus on the first theme. They demonstrate the evolution of tennis racquets, tennis balls, instructional publications and other tennis related equipment over the past century and a half. Other displays focus on the second theme. There are cases which examine tennis' influence upon global popular culture, in board games, fashion and decorative arts from around the world.  The mini-exhibition includes items from the U.s, U.K., Germany, France, Austria, Japan and Australia, demonstrating the global phenomenon that tennis quickly became, and showcasing the international scope of the Collections.  Each case contains text panels listing the objects and their specifications, and panels providing contextual information about the display. The miniexhibition is expected to be on display until November 2009. A case-bycase breakdown of objects, with images and a layout map follows.