Revalue: built heritage preservation as both a situative and performative practice

Tabula plena represents a new framework for architecture—a system where objects & systems, fragments & remnants, concepts & ideas, traces & meanings, buildings & structures, have been collected over time within the urban fabric without a clear hierarchy. REVALUE aims to approach this ever-expanding heritage collection in the built environment of Flanders from an architectural perspective. Transformation will become a primary objective in the new architectural production (climate change, densification, programmatic and cultural renewal, etc.). REVALUE wonders whether a specific methodology or intellectual context could be developed to encourage architects, faced with the vastness and richness of the tabula plena, to work across overlapping disciplines of architecture, heritage conservation, urban planning, to bridge the curated distance between architecture and conservation? Could 'design by reference' provide a framework where registration and transformation of the fragment are combined?

Throughout my research, I've delved deeply into studying the practice of aNNo architecten bv, where architectural heritage preservation intersects with design research. And the value of imagination.In my investigation, I've identified five emerging attitudes that seamlessly blend ecological consciousness with cultural appreciation: from embracing circularity in materials, components and product, to promoting adaptive reuse (function, space), and from cherishing the authenticity of "As Found" to fostering informal urban practices like temporary use and commoning, alongside experimental preservation methods.

These attitudes converge to form a novel framework for architectural heritage preservation, honoring and expanding upon the rich theoretical foundation laid by the Conservation Movement over the past 250 years. This framework encompasses the five thematic tracks identified during the theoretical phase of my research: foundational, functional, critical, contextual, and artistic perspectives, offering a holistic approach to heritage preservation rooted in the principle of care.