Conservation of Architectural Heritage (CAH) – 10th Edition

Starting from this concept, the 10th edition of the International Conference on “Conservation of Architectural Heritage” (CAH) aims at bringing together academics and professionals who care about heritage from different points of view and share their visions in protecting, preserving, and enhancing cultural heritage for the future. The conference has proven its success year by year, and this 10th edition, held in collaboration with the University of Portsmouth, the University of Cagliari, and the Polytechnic University of Turin, will stand out by discussing all the Art and Science of Heritage.

The conference will be held at the Polytechnic University of Turin, where magnificent history meets industrial reinvention and modernist experimentation. The city is a place where each era has inscribed its mark on the urban fabric like layers of a palimpsest. From its Roman foundations and Savoy palaces to its Liberty façades and pioneering industrial complexes, Turin embodies the coexistence of monumental power, artistic flourish, and working-class innovation. The city’s transformation of factories into cultural hubs, its stewardship of UNESCO-listed royal residences, and its ongoing debates around conserving modernist icons reveal heritage not as a static inheritance but as a dynamic field of negotiation. Hosting our conference here places us in a living laboratory of heritage, where conservation, adaptive reuse, and cultural identity are not abstract debates but visible realities shaping the city’s past, present, and future.

Architectural and Cultural Heritage is testimony to past societies’ values, achievements, as well as political, social, and economic systems. Such heritage is represented in tangible and intangible forms and at landscape, urban, and architectural scales. Across these scales, it embodies both material and immaterial values and informs current and future societies with invaluable information about their history and identity. Unfortunately, cultural sites are no longer the same as they used to be. They are exposed to losing their authenticity and identity bit by bit due to many decay factors. The different levels of scale and the wide range of chronologies introduce different challenges that academics and professionals respond to in our contemporary time. For example, the concepts of archaeology, history, and identity are not the same between historic and modern heritage sites, which present an additional challenge to conserve and protect heritage that is not commonly seen as a legacy of the past (e.g., modern heritage). Furthermore, 19th- and 20th-century conservation approaches are sometimes not enough alone to achieve holistic and appropriate conservation, where community contemporary social values and input are essential in valuing, interpreting, and preserving heritage assets. Thus, it is important to advocate the need for equal consideration and in-depth studies for our heritage, considering its time, scales, and values. In addition, there is unprecedented recognition of culture within the Sustainable Development Goals, which will play a crucial role. In becoming a fundamental discourse within Sustainability, Cultural Heritage research will employ techniques and methodologies belonging to the Arts and Humanities, Architecture, Restoration and Conservation, Creative Practices, along with Sciences, Technology, and Engineering.